ALBERT

Description: Active volcanoes characterized by open conduit conditions generate sonic and infrasonic signals, whose investigation provides useful information for both monitoring purposes and studying the dynamics of explosive processes. In this work, we discuss the automatic procedures implemented for a real-time application to the data acquired by a permanent network of five infrasound stations running at Mt. Etna volcano. The infrasound signals at Mt. Etna consist in amplitude transients, called infrasound events. The adopted procedure uses a multi-algorithm approach for event detection, counting, characterization and location. It is designed for an efficient and accurate processing of infrasound records provided by single-site and array stations. Moreover, the source mechanism of these events can be investigated off-line or in near real-time by using three different models: i) Strombolian bubble; ii) resonating conduit and iii) Helmholtz resonator. The infrasound waveforms allow us to choose the most suitable model, to get quantitative information about the source and to follow the time evolution of the source parameters.

Description: Published

Description: 1215–1231

Description: 6V. Pericolosità vulcanica e contributi alla stima del rischio

Description: JCR Journal

Description: open

Description: Volcanic crises are complex and especially challenging to manage. Volcanic unrest is characterised by uncertainty about whether an eruption will or will not take place, as well as its possible location, size and evolution. Planning is further complicated by the range of potential hazards and the variety of disciplines involved in forecasting and responding to volcanic emergencies. Effective management is favoured at frequently active volcanoes, owing to the experience gained through the repeated ‘testing’ of systems of communication. Even when plans have not been officially put in place, the groups involved tend to have an understanding of their roles and responsibilities and those of others. Such experience is rarely available at volcanoes that have been quiescent for several generations. Emergency responses are less effective, not only because of uncertainties about the volcanic system itself, but also because scientists, crisis directors, managers and the public are inexperienced in volcanic unrest. In such situations, tensions and misunderstandings result in poor communication and have the potential to affect decision making and delay vital operations. Here we compare experiences on communi- cating information during crises on volcanoes reawakening after long repose (El Hierro in the Canary Islands) and in frequent eruption (Etna and Stromboli in Sicily). The results provide a basis for enhancing commu- nication protocols during volcanic emergencies.

Description: Published

Description: 1-17

Description: 6V. Pericolosità vulcanica e contributi alla stima del rischio

Description: N/A or not JCR

Description: A multi-model set of atmospheric simulations forced by historical sea surface temperature (SST) or SSTs plus Greenhouse gases and aerosol forcing agents for the period of 1950–1999 is studied to identify and understand which components of the Asian–Australian monsoon (A–AM) variability are forced and reproducible. The analysis focuses on the summertime monsoon circulations, comparing model results against the observations. The priority of different components of the A–AM circulations in terms of reproducibility is evaluated. Among the subsystems of the wide A–AM, the South Asian monsoon and the Australian monsoon circulations are better reproduced than the others, indicating they are forced and well modeled. The primary driving mechanism comes from the tropical Pacific. The western North Pacific monsoon circulation is also forced and well modeled except with a slightly lower reproducibility due to its delayed response to the eastern tropical Pacific forcing. The simultaneous driving comes from the western Pacific surrounding the maritime continent region. The Indian monsoon circulation has a moderate reproducibility, partly due to its weakened connection to June–July–August SSTs in the equatorial eastern Pacific in recent decades. Among the A–AM subsystems, the East Asian summer monsoon has the lowest reproducibility and is poorly modeled. This is mainly due to the failure of specifying historical SST in capturing the zonal land-sea thermal contrast change across the East Asia. The prescribed tropical Indian Ocean SST changes partly reproduce the meridional wind change over East Asia in several models. For all the A–AM subsystem circulation indices, generally the MME is always the best except for the Indian monsoon and East Asian monsoon circulation indices.

Description: Published

Description: 1051-1068

Description: 3.7. Dinamica del clima e dell'oceano

Description: JCR Journal

Description: open

Description: The presence of quarry and mine blasts in seismic catalogues is detected using the Wiemer and Baer (Bull Seism Soc Am 90(2):525–530, 2000) algorithm. The procedure is based on the observation that quarry blasts generally take place during daytime hours: the areas with a high ratio of daytime and night-time events are likely to be regions with quarry activity. In the first part of this work we have tested the method, using both a synthetic and a regional catalogue; in the second part the procedure has been applied to some of the European regional catalogues available on line. The comparison between the results obtained and the location of known quarries and mines for the analysed catalogues confirms the reliability of the methodology in identifying mining areas.

Description: This research was partially supported by the transnational access activity of the European Union project NERIES (contract number 026130)

Description: Published

Description: 229–249

Description: 4IT. Banche dati

Description: JCR Journal

Description: open

Description: Earthquake catalogues for Romania supply for 11th–15th century earthquakes located in the region of Vrancea records that consist of a complete set of parameters, including magnitude and depth. Scope of this paper is to verify the reliability and consistency of these parameters with the informative background as explicitly referenced by the catalogues. After retrieving the original sources they mention, the set of data appeared to be related almost exclusively to the Russian plain and too poor to be at the very origin of the parameter assessment. Data for 19th–20th century earthquakes, such as instrumental locations and CMT solutions, added to the understanding of the macroseismic response of the Russian plain to Vrancea earthquakes. On the one hand, the investigation and analysis of historical earthquake records for the fourteen events listed by the catalogues in the 11th–15th centuries has shown that for three earthquakes (1022, 1038, 1258) no primary sources could be traced, and three more earthquakes (1091, 1170 and 1328) are attested only by scarcely reliable records and had to be classified as doubtful, and one (1473) is simply a duplication of the 1471 event. On the other hand, the availability of data on recent earthquakes that may be compared to historical ones in terms of macroseismic effects allowed the authors to agree with the previous catalogue compilers’ solution with regard to both magnitude and depth of the past earthquakes for which do exist reliable primary historical records.

Description: Published

Description: 575–604

Description: 4IT. Banche dati

Description: JCR Journal

Description: open

Description: Sediment delivery to the abyssal regions of the oceans is an integral process in the source to sink cycle of material derived from adjacent continents and islands. The Zambezi River, the largest in southern Africa, delivers vast amounts of material to the inner continental shelf of central Mozambique. The aim of this contribution is to better constrain sediment transport pathways to the abyssal plains using the latest, regional, high-resolution multibeam bathymetry data available, taking into account the effects of bottom water circulation, antecedent basin morphology and sea-level change. Results show that sediment transport and delivery to the abyssal plains is partitioned into three distinct domains; southern, central and northern. Sediment partitioning is primarily controlled by changes in continental shelf and shelf-break morphology under the influence of a clockwise rotating shelf circulation system. However, changes in sealevel have an overarching control on sediment delivery to particular domains. During highstand conditions, such as today, limited sediment delivery to the submarine Zambezi Valley and Channel is proposed, with increased sediment delivery to the deepwater basin being envisaged during regression and lowstand conditions. However, there is a pronounced along-strike variation in sediment transport during the sea-level cycle due to changes in the width, depth and orientation of the shelf. This combination of features outlines a sequence stratigraphic concept not generally considered in the strike-aligned shelf-slope-abyssal continuum.

Description: Fast die Hälfte der gesamten weltweit durch Marikultur erzeugten Biomasse sind Makroalgen. Die unterschiedlich gelierenden Bestandteile ihrer Zellwände (Hydrokolloide) werden industriell genutzt. Offensichtlicher für den Verbraucher ist die Verwendung als Lebensmittel, z.B., die Rotalge Pyropia als Nori für Sushi. Es wird erklärt, warum diese Produkte teuer sind.

Description: Extremereignisse zeigen am augenfälligsten, wie verletzlich Deutschland gegenüber dem Klima und seinen Veränderungen ist. Betrachtet man Extremereignisse genauer, verursachten in den vergangenen 20 Jahren Hochwasser die größten Schäden (Ernst Rauch, Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft, persönliche Mitteilung). In der Wissenschaft herrscht Einigkeit darüber, dass sich der zukünftige globale Wasserkreislauf durch steigende atmosphärische Treibhausgaskonzentrationen verändern wird (Kirtman et al. 2013). Doch selbst bei der vergleichsweise guten Datenlage für Deutschland ist es unsicher, ob sich die Auftrittsrate – die Anzahl an Ereignissen pro Jahr – von Hochwasser verändert (Trend), wie stark eventuell vorliegende Trends sind und wie stark der Klimawandel ursächlich einwirkt. Diese Zuschreibung der Ursachen wird als Attribution bezeichnet. Gleichzeitig bilden diese Informationen eine wichtige Grundlage für Entscheidungsträger, die über Mitigations- und Anpassungsstrategien befinden. Die damit verbundenen Unsicherheiten müssen daher möglichst transparent kommuniziert werden, um einen Umgang damit zu ermöglichen. Ihre Quellen und Ausmaße werden im Folgenden am Beispiel der Elbehochwasser ausführlich illustriert. Für die Elbe ist der Wissensstand aufgrund der guten Datenqualität und umfangreicher wissenschaftlicher Untersuchungen relativ hoch. Für andere Flüsse (▶ Kap. 10) und andere Ereignistypen sind die Unsicherheiten zum Teil wesentlich größer.

Description: A new quasi-analytical mixed-layer model is formulated describing the evolution of the convective atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) during cold-air outbreaks (CAO) over polar oceans downstream of the marginal sea-ice zones. The new model is superior to previous ones since it predicts not only temperature and mixed-layer height but also the height-averaged horizontal wind components. Results of the mixed-layer model are compared with dropsonde and aircraft observations carried out during several CAOs over the Fram Strait and also with results of a 3D non-hydrostatic (NH3D) model. It is shown that the mixed-layer model reproduces well the observed ABL height, temperature, low-level baroclinicity and its influence on the ABL wind speed. The mixed-layer model underestimates the observed ABL temperature only by about 10 %, most likely due to the neglect of condensation and subsidence. The comparison of the mixed-layer and NH3D model results shows good agreement with respect to wind speed including the formation of wind-speed maxima close to the ice edge. It is concluded that baroclinicity within the ABL governs the structure of the wind field while the baroclinicity above the ABL is important in reproducing the wind speed. It is shown that the baroclinicity in the ABL is strongest close to the ice edge and slowly decays further downwind. Analytical solutions demonstrate that the e-folding distance of this decay is the same as for the decay of the difference between the surface temperature of open water and of the mixed-layer temperature. This distance characterizing cold-air mass transformation ranges from 450 to 850 km for high-latitude CAOs.

Description: Amphipoda from the superfamily Lysianassoidea Dana, 1849 play an important role in Southern Ocean benthic food webs due to their high biomass, abundance and predominantly scavenging mode of feeding. Our knowledge on the lysianassoid fauna, even in well-studied areas of the Western Antarctic Peninsula, is incomplete. Here we report the findings of an integrated study of lysianassoid amphipods of Potter Cove, King George Island/Isla 25 de Mayo (KGI), combining morphological and molecular species identification (COI barcoding) methods, investigating more than 41,000 specimens from baited traps. For comparison, 2,039 specimens from the adjacent Marian Cove were analysed. Ten lysianassoid species were recorded in the deeper outer Potter Cove, whereas the inner cove (〈50 m) was dominated by a single species, Cheirimedon femoratus Pfeffer, 1888 (99.44% relative abundance). It is hypothesised that the impoverished lysianassoid fauna inside the meltwater-influenced inner cove represents a model for future conditions along the Western Antarctic Peninsula under conditions of increased glacial melting. Abyssorchomene charcoti (Chevreux, 1912) and Orchomenella pinguides Walker, 1903 were recorded in KGI waters for the first time. Furthermore, one new lysianassoid amphipod species of the genus Orchomenella Sars, 1890 is described: Orchomenella infinita sp. n. Seefeldt, 2017. First-time DNA barcode data was established for Cheirimedon femoratus, Hippomedon kergueleni Miers, 1875, Orchomenella rotundifrons K.H. Barnard, 1932 and Orchomenella infinita sp. n.

Description: The Arctic represents an extreme habitat for phototrophic algae due to long periods of darkness caused by the polar night (~4 months darkness). Benthic diatoms, which dominate microphytobenthic communities in shallow water regions, can survive this dark period, but the underlying physiological and biochemical mechanisms are not well understood. One of the potential mechanisms for long-term dark survival is the utilisation of stored energy products in combination with a reduced basic metabolism. In recent years, water temperatures in the Arctic increased due to an ongoing global warming. Higher temperatures could enhance the cellular energy requirements for the maintenance metabolism during darkness and, therefore, accelerate the consumption of lipid reserves. In this study, we investigated the macromolecular ratios and the lipid content and composition of Navicula cf. perminuta Grunow, an Arctic benthic diatom isolated from the microphytobenthos of Adventfjorden (Svalbard, Norway), over a dark period of 8 weeks at two different temperatures (0 and 7 °C). The results demonstrate that N. perminuta uses the stored lipid compound triacylglycerol (TAG) during prolonged dark periods, but also the pool of free fatty acids (FFA). Under the enhanced temperature of 7 °C, the lipid resources were used significantly faster than at 0 °C, which could consequently lead to a depletion of this energy reserves before the end of the polar night. On the other hand, the membrane building phospho- and glycolipids remained unchanged during the 8 weeks darkness, indicating still intact thylakoid membranes. These results explain the shorter survival times of polar diatoms with increasing water temperatures during prolonged dark periods.

Description: A new method of macroseismic surveys, based on voluntary collaboration through the Internet, has been running at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) since July 2007. The macroseismic questionnaire is addressed to a single non-specialist; reported effects are statistically analysed to extrapolate a probabilistic estimate of Mercalli Cancani Sieberg and European Macroseismic Scale intensities for that observer. Maps of macroseismic intensity are displayed online in almost real time and are continuously updated when new data are made available. For densely inhabited zones, we have received reports of felt effects for even very small events (M=2). Six earthquakes are presented here, showing the ability of the method to give fast and interesting results. The effects reported in questionnaires coming from three towns are carefully analysed and assigned intensities are compared with those derived from traditional macroseismic surveys, showing the reliability of our web-based method.

Description: Published

Description: 1.11. TTC - Osservazioni e monitoraggio macrosismico del territorio nazionale

Description: JCR Journal

Description: open

Description: We investigate the dynamics of turbulent pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) by adopting a 3D, Eulerian-Eulerian multiphase flow model, in which solid particles are treated as a continuum and the grain-size distribution is simplified by assuming two particulate phases. The turbulent sub-grid stress of the gas phase is modelled within the framework of Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) by means of a eddy-viscosity model together with a wall closure. Despite the significant numerical diffusion associated to the upwind method adopted for the Finite-Volume discretization, numerical simulations demonstrate the need of adopting a Sub-Grid Scale (SGS) model, while revealing the complex interplay between the grid and the SGS filter sizes. We also analyse the relationship between the averaged flow dynamic pressure and the action exerted by the PDC on a cubic obstacle, to evaluate the impact of a PDC on a building. Numerical results suggest that the average flow dynamic pressure can be used as a proxy for the force per unit surface acting on the building envelope (Fig. 5), even for such steeply stratified flows. However, it is not possible to express such roportionality as a constant coefficient such as the drag coefficient in a steady-state current. The present results indeed indicate that the large epistemic and aleatory uncertainty on initial and boundary conditions has an impact on the numerical redictions which is comparable to that of grid resolution.

Description: Unpublished

Description: (10)

Description: 3.6. Fisica del vulcanismo

Description: 4.3. TTC - Scenari di pericolosità vulcanica

Description: open

Description: Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration provided warmer atmospheric temperature and higher atmospheric water vapor content, but not necessarily more precipitation. A set of experiments performed with a state-of-the-art coupled general circulation model forced with increased atmospheric CO2 concentration (2, 4 and 16 times the present-day mean value) were analyzed and compared with a control experiment to evaluate the effect of increased CO2 levels on monsoons. Generally, the monsoon precipitation responses to CO2 forcing are largest if extreme concentrations of carbon dioxide are used, but they are not necessarly proportional to the forcing applied. In fact, despite a common response in terms of an atmospheric water vapor increase to the atmospheric warming, two out of the six monsoons studied simulate less or equal summer mean precipitation in the 16xCO2 experiment compared to the intermediate sensitivity experiments. The precipitation differences between CO2 sensitivity experiments and CTRL have been investigated specifying the contribution of thermodynamic and purely dynamic processes. As a general rule, the differences depending on the atmospheric moisture content changes (thermodynamic component) are large and positive, and they tend to be damped by the dynamic component associated with the changes in the vertical velocity. However, differences are observed among monsoons in terms of the role played by other terms (like moisture advection and evaporation) in shaping the precipitation changes in warmer climates. The precipitation increase, even if weak, occurs despite a weakening of the mean circulation in the monsoon regions(‘‘precipitation-wind paradox’’). In particular, the tropical east-west Walker circulation is reduced, as found from velocity potential analysis. The meridional component of the monsoon circulation is changed as well, with larger (smaller) meridional (vertical) scales.

Description: In press

Description: 3.7. Dinamica del clima e dell'oceano

Description: JCR Journal

Description: open

Description: In this chapter, a review is given of progress to date on an intercomparison project designed to compare and evaluate the ability of climate models to generate tropical cyclones, the Tropical Cyclone climate Model Intercomparison Project(TC-MIP). Like other intercomparison projects, this project aims to evaluate climate models using common metrics in order to make suggestions regarding future development of such models.

Description: Published

Description: 3.7. Dinamica del clima e dell'oceano

Description: restricted

Description: In this paper, a Bayesian procedure is implemented for the Probability Tsunami Hazard Assessment (PTHA). The approach is general and modular incorporating all significant information relevant for the hazard assessment, such as theoretical and empirical background, analytical or numerical models, instrumental and historical data. The procedure provides the posterior probability distribution that integrates the prior probability distribution based on the physical knowledge of the process and the likelihood based on the historical data. Also, the method deals with aleatory and epistemic uncertainties incorporating in a formal way all sources of relevant uncertainty, from the tsunami generation process to the wave propagation and impact on the coasts. The modular structure of the procedure is flexible and easy to modify and/or update as long as new models and/or information are available. Finally, the procedure is applied to an hypothetical region, Neverland, to clarify the PTHA evaluation in a realistic case.

Description: In press

Description: 4.4. Scenari e mitigazione del rischio ambientale

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: This study investigates the possible changes that the greenhouse global warming might generate in the characteristics of the tropical cyclones (TCs). The analysis has been performed using scenario climate simulations carried out with a fully coupled high-resolution global general circulation model. The capability of the model to reproduce a reasonably realistic TC climatology has been assessed by comparing the model results from a simulation of the 20th Century with observations. The model appears to be able to simulate tropical cyclone-like vortices with many features similar to the observed TCs. The simulated TC activity exhibits realistic geographical distribution, seasonal modulation and interannual variability, suggesting that the model is able to reproduce the major basic mechanisms that link the TC occurrence with the large scale circulation. The results from the climate scenarios reveal a substantial general reduction of the TC frequency when the atmospheric CO2 concentration is doubled and quadrupled. The reduction appears particularly evident for the tropical North West Pacific (NWP) and North Atlantic (ATL). In the NWP the weaker TC activity seems to be associated with a reduced amount of convective instabilities. In the ATL region the weaker TC activity seems to be due to both the increased stability of the atmosphere and a stronger vertical wind shear. Despite the generally reduced TC activity, there is evidence of increased rainfall associated with the simulated cyclones. Despite the overall warming of the tropical upper ocean and the expansion of warm SSTs to the subtropics and mid-latitudes, the action of the TCs remains well confined to the tropical region and the peak of TC number remains equatorward of 20° latitude in both Hemispheres. An extended version of this work is in available on Journal of Climate (Gualdi et al.,2008 - DOI:10.1175/2008JCLI1921.1)

Description: Published

Description: 287-321

Description: 3.7. Dinamica del clima e dell'oceano

Description: open

Description: We describe the mineralogy, geochemistry, and mesomicrostructure of fresh subvolcanic blocks erupted during the 5 April 2003 paroxysm of Stromboli (Aeolian Islands, Italy). These blocks represent ∼50 vol.% of the total erupted ejecta and consist of fine- to medium-grained basaltic lithotypes ranging from relatively homogeneous dolerites to strongly or poorly welded magmatic breccias. The breccia components are represented by angular fragments of dolerites entrapped in a matrix of vesiculated (lava-like to scoriae) crystal-rich (CR) basalt. All of the studied blocks are cognates with the CR basalt of the normal Strombolian activity or lavas and they are often coated by a few-centimeter thick layer of crystal-poor (CP) basaltic pumice erupted during the paroxysm. We suggest that they result from the rapid increase of pressure and related subvolcanic rock failure that occurred shortly before the 5 April 2003 explosion, when the uppermost portion of the edifice inflated and suffered brecciation as the result of the sudden rise of the gas-rich CP basalt that triggered the eruption. Dolerites and magmatic matrix of the breccias show major and trace element compositions that match those of the CR basalts erupted during normal Strombolian activity and effusive events at Stromboli volcano. Dolerites consist of (a) phenocrysts normally found in the CR basalts and (b) late-stage magmatic minerals such as sanidine, An60-28 plagioclase, Fe–Mn-rich olivines (Fo68-48), phlogopite, apatite, and opaque mineral pairs (magnetite and ilmenite), most of which are never found both in lava flows and scoriae erupted during the persistent explosive activity that characterizes typical Strombolian behavior. Subvolcanic crystallization of the Stromboli CR magma, leading to slowly cooled equivalents of basalts, could result from transient drainage of the magma from the summit craters to lower levels. Fingering and engulfing of the material that collapsed from the summit crater floor into the shallow basaltic system during the late evening of 28 December 2002 coupled with the short break in the summit persistent explosions between December 2002 and March 2003 permitted the CR magma pockets to solidify as dolerites, which were confined to the uppermost portion of the system and thus not involved in the ongoing flank effusive activity. Crystal size distribution of the basaltic blocks and crystallization of the finer-grained (〈0.1 mm) mafic minerals of the dolerites over a time interval of ∼100 days closely agrees with the above interpretation. Vesicle filling (miarolitic cavities) locally found in some dolerites, with minerals deposited as vapor-phase crystallization is a result of continuous gas percolation through the rocks of the uppermost portion of the volcanic system. Poorly welded magmatic breccias formed during syn-eruptive processes of 5 April 2003, when the paroxysm strongly shattered the shallow subvolcanic system and many dolerite fragments were entrapped in the CR magma. In contrast, the high degree of welding between the dolerite clasts and the CR basaltic matrix in the strongly welded magmatic breccias provides a snapshot of subvolcanic intrusions of the CR basalt into the dolerite when, after a 2-month break in activity, CR magmas started to rise again to the summit craters. Blocks similar to these subvolcanic ejecta of 5 April 2003 were also erupted during previous paroxysms (e.g., 1930) suggesting that changes in the usual Strombolian activity (e.g., short breaks in the persistent mild explosions and/or flank effusive activity) lead to transient crystallization of dolerites in the shallow plumbing system.

Description: Published

Description: 795-813

Description: 3.5. Geologia e storia dei vulcani ed evoluzione dei magmi

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: Natural precipitation and water samples from passive devices were collected at Mt. Vesuvius and Vulcano Island, Italy, during the period 2004–2006, in order to investigate its possible interactions with fumarolic gases. Evidence of chemical reactions between fumarolic fluids and rain samples before and after its deposition into the sampling devices was found at Vulcano Island. Very low pH values (down to 2.5) and significant amounts of chlorine and sulfate (up to 22 mEq/l) were measured at sampling points located close to the fumarolic field. In contrast, anthropogenic contributions and/or dissolution of aerosols (both maritime and continental) influence the chemistry of rainwaters at Mt. Vesuvius, which show inter-annual variations that are highly consistent with those recorded at the coastal site at Vulcano Island. Chemistry of waters directly exposed to fumarolic fluids may then give useful information about its temporal evolution, holding the signal of the ‘‘maximum’’ chemical event occurred in the meanwhile. In addition, the observation of the health status of vegetation colonizing the immediate surroundings of the fumarolic fields, due to its strong dependence on the interactions with these fluids, may work as a possible biomarker of volcanic activity

Description: In press

Description: 1.2. TTC - Sorveglianza geochimica delle aree vulcaniche attive

Description: N/A or not JCR

Description: reserved

Description: In the last years, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems have become very attractive for various commercial, industrial, public, scientific, and military operations. Potential tasks include pipeline inspection, dam surveillance, photogrammetric survey, infrastructure maintenance, inspection of flooded areas, fire fighting, terrain monitoring, volcano observations, and any utilization which requires land recognition with cameras or other sensors. The flying capabilities provided by UAVs require a welltrained pilot to be fully and effectively exploited; moreover the flight range of the piloted helicopter is limited to the line-of-sight or the skill of the pilot to detect and follow the orientation of the helicopter. Such issues are even more important considering that the vehicle will carry and operate automatically a camera used for a photogrammetric survey. All this has motivated research and design for autonomous guidance of the vehicle which could both stabilize and guide the helicopter precisely along a reference path. The constant growth of research programs and the technological progress in the field of navigation systems, as denoted by the production of more and more performing global positioning systems integrated with inertial navigation sensors, allowed a strong cost reduction and payload miniaturization, making the design of low-cost UAV platforms more feasible and attractive. In this paper, we present the results of a flight simulation system developed for the setup of the vehicle’s servos, which our autonomous guidance system, as well as the module for camera photogrammetric image acquisition and synchronization, will be based on. Building a simulated environment allows to evaluate in advance what the main issues of a complex control system are to avoid damage of fragile and expensive instruments as the ones mounted on a model helicopter and to test methods for synchronization of the camera with flight parameters.

Description: Published

Description: 85-95

Description: 1.10. TTC - Telerilevamento

Description: N/A or not JCR

Description: reserved

Description: Panarea volcano (Aeolian Islands, Italy) was considered extinct until November 3, 2002, when a submarine gas eruption began in the area of the islets of Lisca Bianca, Bottaro, Lisca Nera, Dattilo, and Panarelli, about 2.5 km east of Panarea Island. The gas eruption decreased to a state of low degassing by July 2003. Before 2002, the activity of Panarea volcano was characterized by mild degassing of hydrothermal fluid. The compositions of the 2002 gases and their isotopic signatures suggested that the emissions originated from a hydrothermal/geothermal reservoir fed by magmatic fluids. We investigate crustal deformation of Panarea volcano using the global positioning system (GPS) velocity field obtained by the combination of continuous and episodic site observations of the Panarea GPS network in the time span 1995–2007. We present a combined model of Okada sources, which explains the GPS results acquired in the area from December 2002. The kinematics of Panarea volcano show two distinct active crustal domains characterized by different styles of horizontal deformation, supported also by volcanological and structural evidence. Subsidence on order of several millimeters/year is affecting the entire Panarea volcano, and a shortening of 10−6 year−1 has been estimated in the Islets area. Our model reveals that the degassing intensity and distribution are strongly influenced by geophysical-geochemical changes within the hydrothermal/geothermal system. These variations may be triggered by changes in the regional stress field as suggested by the geophysical and volcanological events which occurred in 2002 in the Southern Tyrrhenian area.

Description: Published

Description: 609-621

Description: 1.5. TTC - Sorveglianza dell'attività eruttiva dei vulcani

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: The Irpinia Seismic Network (ISNet) is deployed in Southern Apennines along the active fault system responsible for the 1980, November 23, MS 6.9 Campania-Lucania earthquake. It is comprised of 28 stations and covers an area of about 100x70 km2. Each site is equipped with a 1-g full-scale accelerometer and a short-period velocimeter. Thanks to its design characteristics, i.e. the wide dynamic recording range and the high density of stations, the ISNet network is mainly devoted to estimating in real-time the earthquake location and magnitude from low- to high- magnitude events, and to providing ground-motion parameters to get some insights about the ground shaking expected. Moreover, the availability of high-quality data allows studying the source processes related to the seismogenetic structures in the area. The network layout, the data communication system and protocols and the main instrumental features are described in the paper. Most of the data analysis is performed through the Earthworm software package, that also provides the automatic earthquake locations, while custom software has been developed for real-time computation of the source parameters and shaking maps. Technical details about these procedures are given in the article. The data collected at the ISNet stations are available upon request.

Description: Published

Description: 1105-1129

Description: 4.1. Metodologie sismologiche per l'ingegneria sismica

Description: JCR Journal

Description: open

Description: In the present work we analyse one of the active normal faults affecting the central Apennines, i.e. the Mt. Morrone normal fault system. This tectonic structure, which comprises two parallel, NW-SE trending fault segments, is considered as potentially responsible for earthquakes of magnitude C 6.5 and its last activation probably occurred during the second century AD. Structural observations performed along the fault planes have allowed to define the mainly normal kinematics of the tectonic structure, fitting an approximately N 20 trending extensional deformation. Geological and geomorphological investigations performed along the whole Mt. Morrone south-western slopes permitted us to identify the displacement of alluvial fans, attributed to Middle and Late Pleistocene by means of tephro-stratigraphic analyses and geomorphological correlations with dated lacustrine sequences, along the western fault branch. This allowed to evaluate in 0.4 ± 0.07 mm/year the slip rate of this segment. On the other hand, the lack of synchronous landforms and/or deposits that can be correlated across the eastern fault segment prevented the definition of the slip rate related to this fault branch. Nevertheless, basing on a critical review of the available literature dealing with normal fault systems evolution, we hypothesised a total slip rate of the fault system in the range of 0.4 ± 0.07 to 0.8 ± 0.09 mm/year. Moreover, basing on the length at surface of the Mt. Morrone fault system (i.e. 22–23 km) we estimated the maximum expected magnitude of an earthquake that might originate along this tectonic structure in the order of 6.6–6.7.

Description: Dipartimento della Protezione Civile Nazionale

Description: In press

Description: 3.2. Tettonica attiva

Description: JCR Journal

Description: open

Description: The South Atlantic magnetic Anomaly (SAA) is an important feature of the present geomagnetic field. In this paper we model the space-time evolution of this anomaly for the last 400 years in terms of the resultant between a decrease of a global axial dipole and an increase of a virtual local monopole source. Some characteristics of this evolution are investigated and some considerations are made on the light of a possible special state of the global geomagnetic field dynamical regime. Among the possible speculations, one is made regarding the topography of the core-mantle boundary (CMB) and its possible aspect underneath the SAA region in terms of simple sinusoidal undulations met by the monopole source during its centennial motion.

Description: In press

Description: 1.6. Osservazioni di geomagnetismo

Description: 3.4. Geomagnetismo

Description: JCR Journal

Description: open

Description: Moderate-magnitude shallow earthquakes in the Atlantic Ocean, hundreds of kilometres southwest of Lisbon, can generate efficient suboceanic Rayleigh waves (SRW) that are well recorded in Portugal. Here we compare moderate-size earthquakes recorded by seismic stations in Portugal with the Tyrrhenian Sea earthquakes recorded in peninsular Italy where SRW were recently observed. In spite of a different behaviour of high frequencies due to the different tectonic setting of the two areas, similar results are found in the intermediate-period range, suggesting that this effect, if extrapolated to a magnitude larger than 8, could be devastating at regional distance in terms of ground motion amplitude and duration. Through 1D models, we explore the hypothesis that the high level of destruction and the long duration of shaking felt during the Great 1755 Lisbon earthquake were caused by SRW. In this preliminary study, we check the role of critical model parameters. We find that duration and amplitude are largest when the average thickness of the water layer is 2 km and shear-wave velocity of the ocean floor is close to the speed of sound in the water. Both conditions are realistic for a source in the Atlantic Ocean, few hundreds of kilometres southwest of Lisbon. Moreover, the propagation of SRW at regional distances accounts for durations of more than ten minutes as the effect of a single large earthquake.

Description: Published

Description: 283-295

Description: 4.1. Metodologie sismologiche per l'ingegneria sismica

Description: open

Description: On 30 December 2002, a 25-30 × 106 m3 landslide on the NW flank of Stromboli volcano produced a tsunami that caused relevant damage to the Stromboli village and to the neighboring islands of the Aeolian archipelago. The NW flank of Stromboli has been the site of several, cubic kilometer-scale, landslides during the past 13 ka. In this paper we present sedimentological and compositional data of deep-sea cores recovered from a site located about 24 km north of the island. Our preliminary results indicate that: (i) turbidity currents were effectively generated by the large-scale failures and (ii) volcanogenic turbidity current deposits retain clues of the landslide source and slope failure dynamics. By analogy with Hawaii and the Canary islands we confirm that deep-sea sediments can be effectively used to assess the age and scale of past landslide events giving an important contribution to the tsunami hazard assessment of this region.

Description: Unpublished

Description: -

Description: 3.5. Geologia e storia dei vulcani ed evoluzione dei magmi

Description: 4.3. TTC - Scenari di pericolosità vulcanica

Description: reserved

Description: Active volcanoes characterized by open conduit conditions generate sonic and infrasonic signals, whose investigation provides useful information for both monitoring purposes and studying the dynamics of explosive processes. In this work, we discuss the automatic procedures implemented for a real-time application to the data acquired by a permanent network of five infrasound stations running at Mt. Etna volcano. The infrasound signals at Mt. Etna consist in amplitude transients, called infrasound events. The adopted procedure uses a multi-algorithm approach for event detection, counting, characterization and location. It is designed for an efficient and accurate processing of infrasound records provided by single-site and array stations. Moreover, the source mechanism of these events can be investigated off-line or in near real-time by using three different models: (1) Strombolian bubble; (2) resonating conduit and (3) Helmholtz resonator. The infrasound waveforms allow us to choose the most suitable model, to get quantitative information about the source and to follow the time evolution of the source parameters.

Description: Published

Description: 1215–1231

Description: 1.4. TTC - Sorveglianza sismologica delle aree vulcaniche attive

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: Direct measurements of the geomagnetic field have been made for more than 400 years, beginning with individual determinations of the angle between geographic and magnetic North. This was followed by the start of continuous time series of full vector measurements at geomagnetic observatories and the beginning of geomagnetic repeat stations surveys in the 19th century. In the second half of the 20th century, true global coverage with geomagnetic field measurements was accomplished by magnetometer payloads on low-Earth-orbiting satellites. This article describes the procedures and instruments for magnetic field measurements on ground and in space and covers geomagnetic observatories, repeat stations, automatic observatories, satellites and historic observations. Special emphasis is laid on the global network of geomagnetic observatories.

Description: Published

Description: 1.6. Osservazioni di geomagnetismo

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: The 2001 and 2002–2003 flank eruptions on Mount Etna (Italy) were characterized by intense explosive activity which led to the formation of two large monogenetic scoria cones (one from each eruption) on the upper southern flank of the volcano. Continuous monitoring of Etna, especially during flank eruptions, has provided detailed information on the growth of these cones. They differ in genesis, shape, and size. A set of high resolution (1 m) digital elevation models (DEMs) derived from light detection and ranging (LIDAR) data collected during four different surveys (2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007) has been used to map morphology and to extract the morphometric parameters of the scoria cones. By comparing LIDAR-derived DEMs with a pre-eruption (1998) 10 m DEM, the volume of the two scoria cones was calculated for the first time. Comparison of the LIDAR-derived DEMs revealed in unprecedented detail morphological changes during scoria cone degradation. In particular, the morphologically more exposed and structurally weaker 2002–2003 cone was eroded rapidly during the first few years after its emplacement mainly due to gravitational instability of slopes and wind erosion.

Description: Published

Description: 1209–1222

Description: 3.5. Geologia e storia dei vulcani ed evoluzione dei magmi

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: A multidisciplinary geological and compositional investigation allowed us to reconstruct the occurrence of flank eruptions on the lower NE flank of Stromboli volcano since 15 ka. The oldest flank eruption recognised is Roisa, which occurred at ~15 ka during the Vancori period, and has transitional compositional characteristics between the Vancori and Neostromboli phases. Roisa was followed by the San Vincenzo eruption that took place at ~12 ka during the early stage of Neostromboli period. The eruptive fissure of San Vincenzo gave rise to a large scoria cone located below the village of Stromboli, and generated a lava flow, most of which lies below sea level. Most of the flank eruptions outside the barren Sciara del Fuoco occurred in a short time, between ~9 and 7 ka during the Neostromboli period, when six eruptive events produced scoria cones, spatter ramparts and lava flows. The Neostromboli products belong to a potassic series (KS), and cluster in two differently evolved groups. After an eruptive pause of ~5,000 years, the most recent flank eruption involving the NE sector of the island occurred during the Recent Stromboli period with the formation of the large, highly K calc-alkaline lava flow field, named San Bartolo. The trend of eruptive fissures since 15 ka ranges from N30°E to N55°E, and corresponds to the magma intrusions radiating from the main feeding system of the volcano.

Description: The mapping of Stromboli was supported by a grant to S. Calvari (Project V2/01, 2005–2007, funded by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia and by the Italian Civil Protection). This work was partly supported by INGV through a research grant financed by MIUR-FIRB to G. Norini. We wish to thank the former Director of INGV-Sezione di Catania, A. Bonaccorso, for making additional funds available for field trip and datings.

Description: In press

Description: 3.5. Geologia e storia dei vulcani ed evoluzione dei magmi

Description: JCR Journal

Description: restricted

Description: We investigated the relationship between volcano-seismic events, recorded at La Fossa crater of Vulcano (Aeolian Islands, Italy) during 2004-2006, and the dynamics of the hydrothermal system. During the period of study, three episodes of increasing numbers of volcano-seismic events took place at the same time as geothermal and geochemical anomalies were observed. These geothermal and geochemical anomalies have been interpreted as resulting from an increasing deep magmatic component of the hydrothermal fluids. Three classes of seismic events (long period, high frequency and monochromatic events), characterised by different spectral content and various similarity of the waveforms, have been recognised. These events, clustered mainly below La Fossa crater area at depths of 0.5–1.1 km b.s.l., were space-distributed according to the classes. Based on their features, we can infer that such events at Vulcano are related to two different source mechanisms: (1) fracturing processes of rocks and (2) resonance of cracks (or conduits) filled with hydrothermal fluid. In the light of these source mechanisms, the increase in the number of events, at the same time as geochemical and geothermal anomalies were observed, was interpreted as the result of an increasing magmatic component of the hydrothermal fluids, implying an increase of their flux. Indeed, such variation caused an increase of both the pore pressure within the rocks of the volcanic system and the amount of ascending fluids. Increased pore pressures gave rise to fracturing processes, while the increased fluid flux favoured resonance and vibration processes in cracks and conduits. Finally, a gradual temporal variation of the waveform of the hybrid events (one of the subclasses of long period events) was observed, likely caused by heating and drying of the hydrothermal system.

Description: Published

Description: 803-816

Description: 1.4. TTC - Sorveglianza sismologica delle aree vulcaniche attive

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: In this paper we present a model for the growth of a maar-diatreme complex in a shallow marine environment. The Miocene-age Costa Giardini diatreme near Sortino, in the region of the Iblei Mountains of southern Sicily, has an outer tuff ring formed by the accumulation of debris flows and surge deposits during hydromagmatic eruptions. Vesicular lava clasts, accretionary lapilli and bombs in the older ejecta indicate that initial eruptions were of gas-rich magma. Abundant xenoliths in the upper, late-deposited beds of the ring suggest rapid magma ascent, and deepening of the eruptive vent is shown by the change in slope of the country rock. The interior of the diatreme contains nonbedded breccia composed of both volcanic and country rock clasts of variable size and amount. The occurrence of bedded hyaloclastite breccia in an isolated outcrop in the middle-lower part of the diatreme suggests subaqueous effusion at a low rate following the end of explosive activity. Intrusions of nonvesicular magma, forming plugs and dikes, occur on the western side of the diatreme, and at the margins, close to the contact between breccia deposits and country rock; they indicate involvement of volatile-poor magma, possibly during late stages of activity. We propose that initial hydromagmatic explosive activity occurred in a shallow marine environment and the ejecta created a rampart that isolated for a short time the inner crater from the surrounding marine environment. This allowed explosive activity to draw down the water table in the vicinity of the vent and caused deepening of the explosive center. A subsequent decrease in the effusion rate and cessation of explosive eruptions allowed the crater to refill with water, at which time the hyaloclastite was deposited. Emplacement of dikes and plugs occurred nonexplosively while the breccia sediment was mostly still soft and unconsolidated, locally forming peperites. The sheltered, low-energy lagoon filled with marine limestones mixed with volcaniclastic material eroded from the surrounding ramparts. Ultimately, lagoonal sediments accumulated in the crater until subsidence or erosion of the tuff ring caused a return to normal shallow marine conditions.

Description: In press

Description: 3.5. Geologia e storia dei vulcani ed evoluzione dei magmi

Description: JCR Journal

Description: open

Description: What is the impact of new design methodologies and methods on the industrial product development process and its productivity? This is one of the key questions for today's industrial engineering companies when they decide on the introduction of new methods or tools, as well as for researchers and tool providers when they assess their ideas and work. A quantitative (at best monetary) assessment of a new design method's value and impact will increase a manager's decision basis significantly and will lead to well directed investments in process optimisations. It is not sufficient to analyse the impact of a new design method just for the specific process step it is applied to. Implications on following steps, sometimes on the whole engineering process must be considered as well. Furthermore, decisions on the use of new design methods must be made on a multi-criteria basis through the well-known cost/time/quality triangle (e.g. Burghardt, 2006).

Description: Chronic, low intensity herbivory by invertebrates, termed background herbivory, has been understudied in tundra, yet its impacts are likely to increase in a warmer Arctic. The magnitude of these changes is however hard to predict as we know little about the drivers of current levels of invertebrate herbivory in tundra. We assessed the intensity of invertebrate herbivory on a common tundra plant, the dwarf birch (Betula glandulosa-nana complex), and investigated its relationship to latitude and climate across the tundra biome. Leaf damage by defoliating, mining and gall-forming invertebrates was measured in samples collected from 192 sites at 56 locations. Our results indicate that invertebrate herbivory is nearly ubiquitous across the tundra biome but occurs at low intensity. On average, invertebrates damaged 11.2% of the leaves and removed 1.4% of total leaf area. The damage was mainly caused by external leaf feeders, and most damaged leaves were only slightly affected (12% leaf area lost). Foliar damage was consistently positively correlated with mid-summer (July) temperature and, to a lesser extent, precipitation in the year of data collection, irrespective of latitude. Our models predict that, on average, foliar losses to invertebrates on dwarf birch are likely to increase by 6–7% over the current levels with a 1 °C increase in summer temperatures. Our results show that invertebrate herbivory on dwarf birch is small in magnitude but given its prevalence and dependence on climatic variables, background invertebrate herbivory should be included in predictions of climate change impacts on tundra ecosystems.

Description: Der menschengemachte CO 2-Anstieg und die dadurch verursachte Ozeanversauerung wirken auf alle Meeresorganismen. Bei Tieren kann die Sensitivität gegenüber erhöhten CO 2-Werten sehr unterschiedlich ausfallen und begründet sich vermutlich in der Fähigkeit zur extrazellulären pH-Regulation. Die beobachteten Reaktionen gegenüber Ozeanversauerung reichen von Verhaltensänderungen bei Fischen und verlängerter Entwicklungsdauer bei Krebsen bis hin zur Wachstumsabnahme bei Muscheln und reduzierter Kalkbildung bei Korallen.

Description: © The Authors, 2009. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License. The definitive version was published in Estuaries and Coasts 33 (2010): 15-29, doi:10.1007/s12237-009-9244-y.

Description: Future estuarine geomorphic change, in response to climate change, sea-level rise, and watershed sediment supply, may govern ecological function, navigation, and water quality. We estimated geomorphic changes in Suisun Bay, CA, under four scenarios using a tidal-timescale hydrodynamic/sediment transport model. Computational expense and data needs were reduced using the morphological hydrograph concept and the morphological acceleration factor. The four scenarios included (1) present-day conditions; (2) sea-level rise and freshwater flow changes of 2030; (3) sea-level rise and decreased watershed sediment supply of 2030; and (4) sea-level rise, freshwater flow changes, and decreased watershed sediment supply of 2030. Sea-level rise increased water levels thereby reducing wave-induced bottom shear stress and sediment redistribution during the wind-wave season. Decreased watershed sediment supply reduced net deposition within the estuary, while minor changes in freshwater flow timing and magnitude induced the smallest overall effect. In all future scenarios, net deposition in the entire estuary and in the shallowest areas did not keep pace with sea-level rise, suggesting that intertidal and wetland areas may struggle to maintain elevation. Tidal-timescale simulations using future conditions were also used to infer changes in optical depth: though sea-level rise acts to decrease mean light irradiance, decreased suspended-sediment concentrations increase irradiance, yielding small changes in optical depth. The modeling results also assisted with the development of a dimensionless estuarine geomorphic number representing the ratio of potential sediment import forces to sediment export forces; we found the number to be linearly related to relative geomorphic change in Suisun Bay. The methods implemented here are widely applicable to evaluating future scenarios of estuarine change over decadal timescales.

Description: This study was supported by the US Geological Survey’s Priority Ecosystems Science program, CALFED Bay/ Delta Program, and the University of California Center for Water Resources.

Description: © The Author(s), 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 108 (2017): 195–209, doi:10.1007/s10705-017-9852-z.

Description: Meeting food security requirements in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) will require increasing fertilizer use to improve crop yields, however excess fertilization can cause environmental and public health problems in surface and groundwater. Determining the threshold of reasonable fertilizer application in SSA requires an understanding of flow dynamics and nutrient transport in under-studied, tropical soils experiencing seasonal rainfall. We estimated leaching flux in Yala, Kenya on a maize field that received from 0 to 200 kg ha−1 of nitrogen (N) fertilizer. Soil pore water concentration measurements during two growing seasons were coupled with results from a numerical fluid flow model to calculate the daily flux of nitrate-nitrogen (NO3−-N). Modeled NO3−-N losses to below 200 cm for 1 year ranged from 40 kg N ha−1 year−1 in the 75 kg N ha−1 year−1 treatment to 81 kg N ha−1 year−1 in the 200 kg N ha−1 treatment. The highest soil pore water NO3−-N concentrations and NO3−-N leaching fluxes occurred on the highest N application plots, however there was a poor correlation between N application rate and NO3−-N leaching for the remaining N application rates. The drought in the second study year resulted in higher pore water NO3−-N concentrations, while NO3−-N leaching was disproportionately smaller than the decrease in precipitation. The lack of a strong correlation between NO3−-N leaching and N application rate, and a large decrease in flux between 120 and 200 cm suggest processes that influence NO3−-N retention in soils below 200 cm will ultimately control NO3−-N leaching at the watershed scale.

Description: Earth Institute, Columbia University; National Science Foundation IIA-0968211; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Description: © The Author(s), 2016. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Ecosystems 20 (2017): 316–330, doi:10.1007/s10021-016-0026-7.

Description: Sub-arctic birch forests (Betula pubescens Ehrh. ssp. czerepanovii) periodically suffer large-scale defoliation events caused by the caterpillars of the geometrid moths Epirrita autumnata and Operophtera brumata. Despite their obvious influence on ecosystem primary productivity, little is known about how the associated reduction in belowground C allocation affects soil processes. We quantified the soil response following a natural defoliation event in sub-arctic Sweden by measuring soil respiration, nitrogen availability and ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) hyphal production and root tip community composition. There was a reduction in soil respiration and an accumulation of soil inorganic N in defoliated plots, symptomatic of a slowdown of soil processes. This coincided with a reduction of EMF hyphal production and a shift in the EMF community to lower autotrophic C-demanding lineages (for example, /russula-lactarius). We show that microbial and nutrient cycling processes shift to a slower, less C-demanding state in response to canopy defoliation. We speculate that, amongst other factors, a reduction in the potential of EMF biomass to immobilise excess mineral nitrogen resulted in its build-up in the soil. These defoliation events are becoming more geographically widespread with climate warming, and could result in a fundamental shift in sub-arctic ecosystem processes and properties. EMF fungi may be important in mediating the response of soil cycles to defoliation and their role merits further investigation.

Description: This work was supported by NERC (UK Natural Environment Research Council) research Studentship training grant NE/J500434/1.

Description: © The Author(s), 2016. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Plant and Soil 414 (2017): 33-51, doi:10.1007/s11104-016-3089-5.

Description: Hydro-biogeochemical processes in the rhizosphere regulate nutrient and water availability, and thus ecosystem productivity. We hypothesized that two such processes often neglected in rhizosphere models — diel plant water use and competitive cation exchange — could interact to enhance availability of K+ and NH4+, both high-demand nutrients. A rhizosphere model with competitive cation exchange was used to investigate how diel plant water use (i.e., daytime transpiration coupled with no nighttime water use, with nighttime root water release, and with nighttime transpiration) affects competitive ion interactions and availability of K+ and NH4+. Competitive cation exchange enabled low-demand cations that accumulate against roots (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+) to desorb NH4+ and K+ from soil, generating non-monotonic dissolved concentration profiles (i.e. ‘hotspots’ 0.1–1 cm from the root). Cation accumulation and competitive desorption increased with net root water uptake. Daytime transpiration rate controlled diel variation in NH4+ and K+ aqueous mass, nighttime water use controlled spatial locations of ‘hotspots’, and day-to-night differences in water use controlled diel differences in ‘hotspot’ concentrations. Diel plant water use and competitive cation exchange enhanced NH4+ and K+ availability and influenced rhizosphere concentration dynamics. Demonstrated responses have implications for understanding rhizosphere nutrient cycling and plant nutrient uptake.

Description: This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological & Environmental Research Terrestrial Ecosystem Science program under Award Number DE-SC0008182 to Z.G.C. and R.B.N.

Description: © The Author(s), 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Animal Cognition 20 (2017): 1067–1079, doi:10.1007/s10071-017-1123-5.

Description: Most mammals can accomplish acoustic recognition of other individuals by means of “voice cues,” whereby characteristics of the vocal tract render vocalizations of an individual uniquely identifiable. However, sound production in dolphins takes place in gas-filled nasal sacs that are affected by pressure changes, potentially resulting in a lack of reliable voice cues. It is well known that bottlenose dolphins learn to produce individually distinctive signature whistles for individual recognition, but it is not known whether they may also use voice cues. To investigate this question, we played back non-signature whistles to wild dolphins during brief capture-release events in Sarasota Bay, Florida. We hypothesized that non-signature whistles, which have varied contours that can be shared among individuals, would be recognizable to dolphins only if they contained voice cues. Following established methodology used in two previous sets of playback experiments, we found that dolphins did not respond differentially to non-signature whistles of close relatives versus known unrelated individuals. In contrast, our previous studies showed that in an identical context, dolphins reacted strongly to hearing the signature whistle or even a synthetic version of the signature whistle of a close relative. Thus, we conclude that dolphins likely do not use voice cues to identify individuals. The low reliability of voice cues and the need for individual recognition were likely strong selective forces in the evolution of vocal learning in dolphins.

Description: Fieldwork for this study was funded by Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Grossman Family Foundation, Dolphin Quest, Inc., NOAA Fisheries, Disney, the Office of Naval Research, Morris Animal Foundations Betty White Wildlife Rapid Response Fund, the Batchelor Foundation, and the Joint Industry Program.

Description: © The Authors, 2010. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License. The definitive version was published in Ecosystems 13 (2010): 239-248, doi:10.1007/s10021-010-9315-8.

Description: Ecosystem nutrient budgets often report values for pools and fluxes without any indication of uncertainty, which makes it difficult to evaluate the significance of findings or make comparisons across systems. We present an example, implemented in Excel, of a Monte Carlo approach to estimating error in calculating the N content of vegetation at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire. The total N content of trees was estimated at 847 kg ha−1 with an uncertainty of 8%, expressed as the standard deviation divided by the mean (the coefficient of variation). The individual sources of uncertainty were as follows: uncertainty in allometric equations (5%), uncertainty in tissue N concentrations (3%), uncertainty due to plot variability (6%, based on a sample of 15 plots of 0.05 ha), and uncertainty due to tree diameter measurement error (0.02%). In addition to allowing estimation of uncertainty in budget estimates, this approach can be used to assess which measurements should be improved to reduce uncertainty in the calculated values. This exercise was possible because the uncertainty in the parameters and equations that we used was made available by previous researchers. It is important to provide the error statistics with regression results if they are to be used in later calculations; archiving the data makes resampling analyses possible for future researchers. When conducted using a Monte Carlo framework, the analysis of uncertainty in complex calculations does not have to be difficult and should be standard practice when constructing ecosystem budgets.

Description: © The Authors 2009. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License. The definitive version was published in Biogeochemistry 99 (2010): 1-13, doi:10.1007/s10533-009-9392-y.

Description: Human activities have profoundly altered the global nitrogen (N) cycle. Increases in anthropogenic N have had multiple effects on the atmosphere, on terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems, and even on human health. Unfortunately, methodological limitations challenge our ability to directly measure natural N inputs via biological N fixation (BNF)—the largest natural source of new N to ecosystems. This confounds efforts to quantify the extent of anthropogenic perturbation to the N cycle. To address this gap, we used a pair of indirect methods—analytical modeling and N balance—to generate independent estimates of BNF in a presumed hotspot of N fixation, a tropical rain forest site in central Rondônia in the Brazilian Amazon Basin. Our objectives were to attempt to constrain symbiotic N fixation rates in this site using indirect methods, and to assess strengths and weaknesses of this approach by looking for areas of convergence and disagreement between the estimates. This approach yielded two remarkably similar estimates of N fixation. However, when compared to a previously published bottom-up estimate, our analysis indicated much lower N inputs via symbiotic BNF in the Rondônia site than has been suggested for the tropics as a whole. This discrepancy may reflect errors associated with extrapolating bottom-up fluxes from plot-scale measures, those resulting from the indirect analyses, and/or the relatively low abundance of legumes at the Rondônia site. While indirect methods have some limitations, we suggest that until the technological challenges of directly measuring N fixation are overcome, integrated approaches that employ a combination of model-generated and empirically-derived data offer a promising way of constraining N inputs via BNF in natural ecosystems.

Description: We acknowledge and are grateful for financial support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (C.C. and B.H.), the National Science Foundation (NSF DEB-0515744 to C.C. and A.T. and DEB-0315656 to C.N.), and the NASA LBA Program (NCC5-285 to C.N.).

Description: © The Author(s), 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Ecotoxicology 26 (2017): 820-830, doi:10.1007/s10646-017-1813-4.

Description: Mathematical models are essential for combining data from multiple sources to quantify population endpoints. This is especially true for species, such as marine mammals, for which data on vital rates are difficult to obtain. Since the effects of an environmental disaster are not fixed, we develop time-varying (nonautonomous) matrix population models that account for the eventual recovery of the environment to the pre-disaster state. We use these models to investigate how lethal and sublethal impacts (in the form of reductions in the survival and fecundity, respectively) affect the population’s recovery process. We explore two scenarios of the environmental recovery process and include the effect of demographic stochasticity. Our results provide insights into the relationship between the magnitude of the disaster, the duration of the disaster, and the probability that the population recovers to pre-disaster levels or a biologically relevant threshold level. To illustrate this modeling methodology, we provide an application to a sperm whale population. This application was motivated by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico that has impacted a wide variety of species populations including oysters, fish, corals, and whales.

Description: This research is part of the Littoral Acoustic Demonstration Center-Gulf Ecological Monitoring and Modeling (LADC-GEMM) consortium project supported by Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Year 5–7 Consortia Grants (RFP-IV). Hal Caswell also acknowledges support from ERC Advanced Grant 322989.

Description: © The Author(s), 2016. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Estuaries and Coasts 40 (2017): 22-36, doi:10.1007/s12237-016-0138-5.

Description: Geomorphology is a fundamental control on ecological and economic function of estuaries. However, relative to open coasts, there has been little quantification of storm-induced bathymetric change in back-barrier estuaries. Vessel-based and airborne bathymetric mapping can cover large areas quickly, but change detection is difficult because measurement errors can be larger than the actual changes over the storm timescale. We quantified storm-induced bathymetric changes at several locations in Chincoteague Bay, Maryland/Virginia, over the August 2014 to July 2015 period using fixed, downward-looking altimeters and numerical modeling. At sand-dominated shoal sites, measurements showed storm-induced changes on the order of 5 cm, with variability related to stress magnitude and wind direction. Numerical modeling indicates that the predominantly northeasterly wind direction in the fall and winter promotes southwest-directed sediment transport, causing erosion of the northern face of sandy shoals; southwesterly winds in the spring and summer lead to the opposite trend. Our results suggest that storm-induced estuarine bathymetric change magnitudes are often smaller than those detectable with methods such as LiDAR. More precise fixed-sensor methods have the ability to elucidate the geomorphic processes responsible for modulating estuarine bathymetry on the event and seasonal timescale, but are limited spatially. Numerical modeling enables interpretation of broad-scale geomorphic processes and can be used to infer the long-term trajectory of estuarine bathymetric change due to episodic events, when informed by fixed-sensor methods.

Description: © The Author(s), 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Carbon Balance and Management 12 (2017): 10, doi:10.1186/s13021-017-0077-x.

Description: Determining national carbon stocks is essential in the framework of ongoing climate change mitigation actions. Presently, assessment of carbon stocks in the context of greenhouse gas (GHG)-reporting on a nation-by-nation basis focuses on the terrestrial realm, i.e., carbon held in living plant biomass and soils, and on potential changes in these stocks in response to anthropogenic activities. However, while the ocean and underlying sediments store substantial quantities of carbon, this pool is presently not considered in the context of national inventories. The ongoing disturbances to both terrestrial and marine ecosystems as a consequence of food production, pollution, climate change and other factors, as well as alteration of linkages and C-exchange between continental and oceanic realms, highlight the need for a better understanding of the quantity and vulnerability of carbon stocks in both systems. We present a preliminary comparison of the stocks of organic carbon held in continental margin sediments within the Exclusive Economic Zone of maritime nations with those in their soils. Our study focuses on Namibia, where there is a wealth of marine sediment data, and draws comparisons with sediment data from two other countries with different characteristics, which are Pakistan and the United Kingdom. Results indicate that marine sediment carbon stocks in maritime nations can be similar in magnitude to those of soils. Therefore, if human activities in these areas are managed, carbon stocks in the oceanic realm—particularly over continental margins—could be considered as part of national GHG inventories. This study shows that marine sediment organic carbon stocks can be equal in size or exceed terrestrial carbon stocks of maritime nations. This provides motivation both for improved assessment of sedimentary carbon inventories and for reevaluation of the way that carbon stocks are assessed and valued. The latter carries potential implications for the management of human activities on coastal environments and for their GHG inventories.

Description: We acknowledge research support from ETH Zurich and the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Description: © The Author(s), 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Earth, Planets and Space 69 (2017): 138, doi:10.1186/s40623-017-0724-1.

Description: Despite strong anisotropy seen in analysis of seismic data from the NoMelt experiment in 70 Ma Pacific seafloor, a previous analysis of coincident magnetotelluric (MT) data showed no evidence for anisotropy in the electrical conductivity structure of either lithosphere or asthenosphere. We revisit the MT data and use 1D anisotropic models of the lithosphere to demonstrate the limits of acceptable anisotropy within the data. We construct 1D models by varying the thickness and the degree of anisotropy within the lithosphere and conduct a series of tests to investigate what types of electrical anisotropy are compatible with the data. We find that electrical anisotropy is possible in a sheared and/or hydrous mantle within the lower lithosphere (60–90 km depth). The data are not compatible with pervasive electrical anisotropy in the crust. Causes of anisotropy within the highly resistive upper and mid-lithosphere, as seen seismically, are not expected to cause measurable impacts on MT response.

Description: RLE was supported by NSF Grant OCE-0928663.

Description: The South Atlantic magnetic Anomaly (SAA) is an important feature of the present geomagnetic field. In this paper we model the space–time evolution of this anomaly over the past 400 years in terms of the resultant between a decrease of a global axial dipole and an increase of a virtual local monopole source. Certain characteristics of this evolution are investigated and some considerations are made in the light of a possible special state of the global geomagnetic field dynamical regime. Among the possible speculations, one is made regarding the topography of the coremantle boundary (CMB) and its possible aspect beneath the SAA region in terms of simple sinusoidal undulations met by the monopole source during its centennial motion.

Description: Published

Description: 339-347

Description: 3.4. Geomagnetismo

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: Understanding the historical and future response of the global climate system to anthropogenic emissions of radiatively active atmospheric constituents has become a timely and compelling concern. At present, however, there are uncertainties in: the total radiative forcing associated with changes in the chemical composition of the atmosphere; the effective forcing applied to the climate system resulting from a (temporary) reduction via ocean-heat uptake; and the strength of the climate feedbacks that subsequently modify this forcing. Here a set of analyses derived from atmospheric general circulation model simulations are used to estimate the effective and total radiative forcing of the observed climate system due to anthropogenic emissions over the last 50 years of the twentieth century. They are also used to estimate the sensitivity of the observed climate system to these emissions, as well as the expected change in global surface temperatures once the climate system returns to radiative equilibrium. Results indicate that estimates of the effective radiative forcing and total radiative forcing associated with historical anthropogenic emissions differ across models. In addition estimates of the historical sensitivity of the climate to these emissions differ across models. However, results suggest that the variations in climate sensitivity and total climate forcing are not independent, and that the two vary inversely with respect to one another. As such, expected equilibrium temperature changes, which are given by the product of the total radiative forcing and the climate sensitivity, are relatively constant between models, particularly in comparison to results in which the total radiative forcing is assumed constant. Implications of these results for projected future climate forcings and subsequent responses are also discussed.

Description: Published

Description: 1461-1475

Description: 3.7. Dinamica del clima e dell'oceano

Description: JCR Journal

Description: open

Description: In this paper, a high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) of the Ischia Island has been created, and a digital terrain analysis has been carried out to identify of morphostructural elements of this landscape. Ischia is an active volcano located in the Western sector of the Gulf of Naples that is characterized by historical and recent volcano-tectonic activity. The local kinematics is unclear, and so identification of tectonic lineaments might elucidate recent tectonic processes. We identify morphostructural features using geomorphic parameters derived from analysis of the high-resolution DEM. Successively, the comparison with known geologic features provides validation of the extracted morphotectonic data.We found that one of the main directions of the morphostructural lineaments extracted is consistent with the regional NE–SW extensional stress field; moreover, the lineaments on the northern flank of Mt. Epomeo are strictly correlated with the mapped faults that have a history of strong and moderate earthquakes. The technique implemented for this study area allowed us to identify new original morphostructural lineaments in a reproducible way that may be useful for investigating various landscapes where field survey is not possible. Indeed, the extracted lineaments represent potential active faults near the northern coast of the Ischia Island, where both seismicity and intense urbanization delineate a high seismic risk.

Description: Published

Description: 73-82

Description: 3.2. Tettonica attiva

Description: N/A or not JCR

Description: reserved

Description: Natural precipitation and water samples from passive devices were collected at Mt. Vesuvius and Vulcano Island, Italy, during the period 2004–2006, in order to investigate its possible interactions with fumarolic gases. Evidence of chemical reactions between fumarolic fluids and rain samples before and after its deposition into the sampling devices was found at Vulcano Island. Very low pH values (down to 2.5) and significant amounts of chlorine and sulfate (up to 22 mEq/l) were measured at sampling points located close to the fumarolic field. In contrast, anthropogenic contributions and/or dissolution of aerosols (both maritime and continental) influence the chemistry of rainwaters at Mt. Vesuvius, which show inter-annual variations that are highly consistent with those recorded at the coastal site at Vulcano Island. Chemistry of waters directly exposed to fumarolic fluids may then give useful information about its temporal evolution, holding the signal of the ‘‘maximum’’ chemical event occurred in the meanwhile. In addition, the observation of the health status of vegetation colonizing the immediate surroundings of the fumarolic fields, due to its strong dependence on the interactions with these fluids, may work as a possible biomarker of volcanic activity.

Description: Published

Description: 159-171

Description: 1.2. TTC - Sorveglianza geochimica delle aree vulcaniche attive

Description: JCR Journal

Description: restricted

Description: We report on the paleomagnetism of ten sites in the products of the most recent silicic eruptive cycle of Pantelleria, Strait of Sicily. Previously radiometrically dated at 5–10 ka, our comparison with proxies for geomagnetic field directions allows us to narrow considerably the time window during which these eruptions occurred. The strongly peralkaline composition causes the magmas to have low viscosities, locally resulting in strong agglutination of proximal fall deposits. This allows successful extraction of paleomagnetic directions from the explosive phases of eruptions. One of our sites was located in the Serra della Fastuca fall deposit, produced by the first explosive event of the eruptive cycle. The other nine sites were located in the most recent explosive (pumice fall and agglutinate from Cuddia del Gallo and Cuddia Randazzo) and effusive (Khaggiar lava) products. The (very similar) paleomagnetic directions gathered from eight internally consistent sites were compared to reference geomagnetic field directions of the last 5–10 ka. Directions from Cuddia del Gallo agglutinate and Khaggiar flows translate into 5.9- to 6.2-ka ages, whereas the Fastuca pumices yield a slightly older age of 6.2–6.8 ka. Hence, the most recent silicic eruptive cycle lasted at most a millennium and as little as a few centuries around 6.0 ka. Paleomagnetically inferred ages are in good agreement with published (and calibrated by us) 14C dates from paleosols/charcoals sampled below the studied volcanic units, whereas K/Ar data are more scattered and yield ∼30% older ages. Our data show that the time elapsed since the most recent silicic eruptions at Pantelleria is comparable to the quiescence period separating the two latest volcanic cycles.

Description: Published

Description: 847-858

Description: 2.2. Laboratorio di paleomagnetismo

Description: JCR Journal

Description: reserved

Description: Experimental data and numerical modelling were used to study the effect of local geology on the seismic response of the Catania area. The town extends on a marly clays bedrock and terraced deposits made up by coastal sands and alluvial conglomerates. This sedimentary substratum is deeply entrenched by paleo-valleys filled by lava flows and pyroclastics. Available borehole data and elastic parameters were used to reconstruct a geotechnical model in order to perfome 1D numerical modeling. Seismic urban scenarios were simulated considering destructive (Mw = 7.0), strong (Mw = 6.2) and moderate (Mw = 5.7) earthquakes to assess the shaking level of the different outcropping formations. For each scenario seven real accelerograms were selected from the European Strong Motion Database to assess the expected seismic input at the bedrock. PGA and spectral acceleration at different periods were obtained in the urban area through the equivalent linear numerical code EERA, and contour maps of different levels of shaking were drawn. Standard and horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios were achieved making use of a dataset of 172 seismic events recorded at ten sites located on the main outcropping lithotypes. Spectral ratios inferred from earthquake data were compared with theoretical transfer functions. Both experimental and numerical results confirm the role of the geological and morphologic setting of Catania. Amplification of seismic motion mainly occurs in three different stratigraphic conditions: (a) sedimentary deposits mainly diffused in the south of the study area; (b) spots of soft sediments surrounded by lava flows; (c) intensely fractured and scoriaceous basaltic lavas.

Description: In press

Description: 4.1. Metodologie sismologiche per l'ingegneria sismica

Description: JCR Journal

Description: restricted

Description: © The Authors 2009. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License. The definitive version was published in Functional & Integrative Genomics 10 (2010): 97-110, doi:10.1007/s10142-009-0142-y.

Description: Bacteria of the genus Shewanella can thrive in different environments and demonstrate significant variability in their metabolic and ecophysiological capabilities including cold and salt tolerance. Genomic characteristics underlying this variability across species are largely unknown. In this study, we address the problem by a comparison of the physiological, metabolic, and genomic characteristics of 19 sequenced Shewanella species. We have employed two novel approaches based on association of a phenotypic trait with the number of the trait-specific protein families (Pfam domains) and on the conservation of synteny (order in the genome) of the trait-related genes. Our first approach is top-down and involves experimental evaluation and quantification of the species’ cold tolerance followed by identification of the correlated Pfam domains and genes with a conserved synteny. The second, a bottom-up approach, predicts novel phenotypes of the species by calculating profiles of each Pfam domain among their genomes and following pair-wise correlation of the profiles and their network clustering. Using the first approach, we find a link between cold and salt tolerance of the species and the presence in the genome of a Na+/H+ antiporter gene cluster. Other cold-tolerance-related genes include peptidases, chemotaxis sensory transducer proteins, a cysteine exporter, and helicases. Using the bottom-up approach, we found several novel phenotypes in the newly sequenced Shewanella species, including degradation of aromatic compounds by an aerobic hybrid pathway in Shewanella woodyi, degradation of ethanolamine by Shewanella benthica, and propanediol degradation by Shewanella putrefaciens CN32 and Shewanella sp. W3-18-1.

Description: This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Biological and Environmental Research under the Genomics: GTL Program via the Shewanella Federation consortium.

Description: National seismic risk maps are an important risk mitigation tool as they can be used for the prioritization of regions within a country where retrofitting of the building stock or other risk mitigation measures should take place. The production of a seismic risk map involves the convolution of seismic hazard data, vulnerability predictions for the building stock and exposure data. The seismic risk maps produced in Italy over the past 10 years are compared in this paper with recent proposals for seismic risk maps based on state-of-the-art seismic hazard data and mechanics-based vulnerability assessment procedures. The aim of the paper is to open the discussion for the way in which future seismic risk maps could be produced, making use of the most up-to-date information in the fields of seismic hazard evaluation and vulnerability assessment.

Description: Published

Description: 149–180

Description: 4.2. TTC - Modelli per la stima della pericolosità sismica a scala nazionale

Description: JCR Journal

Description: open

Description: In this study, we attempt to improve the standards in Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment (PSHA) towards a time-dependent hazard assessment by using the most advanced methods and new databases for the Calabria region, Italy. In this perspective we improve the knowledge of the seismotectonic framework of the Calabrian region using geologic, tectonic, paleoseismological, and macroseismic information available in the literature. We built up a PSHA model based on the long-term recurrence behavior of seismogenic faults, together with the spatial distribution of historical earthquakes. We derive the characteristic earthquake model for those sources capable of rupturing the entire fault segment (full-rupture) independently with a single event of maximum magnitude. We apply the floating rupture model to those earthquakes whose location is not known sufficiently constrained. We thus associate these events with longer fault systems, assuming that any such earthquake can rupture anywhere within the particular fault system (floating partial-rupture) with uniform probability. We use a Brownian Passage Time (BPT) model characterized by mean recurrence, aperiodicity, or uncertainty in the recurrence distribution and elapsed time since the last characteristic earthquake. The purpose of this BPT model is to express the time-dependence of the seismic processes to predict the future ground motions in the region. Besides, we consider the influence on the probability of earthquake occurrence controlled by the change in static Coulomb stress (ΔCFF) due to fault interaction; to pursue this, we adopt a model built on the fusion of BPT model (BPT + ΔCFF). We present our results for both time-dependent (renewal) and time-independent (Poisson) models in terms of Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) maps for 10% probability of exceedance in 50 years. The hazard may increase by more than 20% or decrease by as much as 50% depending on the different occurrence model. Seismic hazard in terms of PGA decreases about 20% in the Messina Strait, where a recent major earthquake took place, with respect to traditional time-independent estimates. PGA near the city of Cosenza reaches ~ 0.36 g for the time-independent model and 0.40 g for the case of the time-dependent one (i.e. a 15% increase). Both the time-dependent and time-independent models for the period of 2015–2065 demonstrate that the city of Cosenza and surrounding areas bear the highest seismic hazard in Calabria.

Description: Published

Description: 2497–2524

Description: 5T. Modelli di pericolosità sismica e da maremoto

Description: JCR Journal

Description: This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Marine Biology 164 (2017): 181, doi:10.1007/s00227-017-3211-0.

Description: Understanding population dynamics in broadly distributed marine species with cryptic life history stages is challenging. Information on the population dynamics of sea turtles tends to be biased toward females, due to their accessibility for study on nesting beaches. Males are encountered only at sea; there is little information about their migratory routes, residence areas, foraging zones, and population boundaries. In particular, male leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea) are quite elusive; little is known about adult and juvenile male distribution or behavior. The at-sea distribution of male turtles from different breeding populations is not known. Here, 122 captured or stranded male leatherback turtles from the USA, Turkey, France, and Canada (collected 1997–2012) were assigned to one of nine Atlantic basin populations using genetic analysis with microsatellite DNA markers. We found that all turtles originated from western Atlantic nesting beaches (Trinidad 55%, French Guiana 31%, and Costa Rica 14%). Although genetic data for other Atlantic nesting populations were represented in the assignment analysis (St. Croix, Brazil, Florida, and Africa (west and south), none of the male leatherbacks included in this study were shown to originate from these populations. This was an unexpected result based on estimated source population sizes. One stranded turtle from Turkey was assigned to French Guiana, while others that were stranded in France were from Trinidad or French Guiana breeding populations. For 12 male leatherbacks in our dataset, natal origins determined from the genetic assignment tests were compared to published satellite and flipper tag information to provide evidence of natal homing for male leatherbacks, which corroborated our genetic findings. Our focused study on male leatherback natal origins provides information not previously known for this cryptic, but essential component of the breeding population. This method should provide a guideline for future studies, with the ultimate goal of improving management and conservation strategies for threatened and endangered species by taking the male component of the breeding population into account.

Description: Sample collection in Nova Scotia, Canada, was supported by funding from Canadian Wildlife Federation, Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, George Cedric Metcalf Foundation, Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (USA), National Marine Fisheries Service (USA), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and World Wildlife Fund Canada. Funding for US samples was provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Cape Cod Commercial Fisherman’s Alliance. Funding support for this analysis and for Kelly R. Stewart was provided by a Lenfest Ocean Program Grant.

Description: © The Author(s), 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Surveys in Geophysics 38 (2017): 1529–1568, doi:10.1007/s10712-017-9428-0.

Description: Trade-wind cumuli constitute the cloud type with the highest frequency of occurrence on Earth, and it has been shown that their sensitivity to changing environmental conditions will critically influence the magnitude and pace of future global warming. Research over the last decade has pointed out the importance of the interplay between clouds, convection and circulation in controling this sensitivity. Numerical models represent this interplay in diverse ways, which translates into different responses of trade-cumuli to climate perturbations. Climate models predict that the area covered by shallow cumuli at cloud base is very sensitive to changes in environmental conditions, while process models suggest the opposite. To understand and resolve this contradiction, we propose to organize a field campaign aimed at quantifying the physical properties of trade-cumuli (e.g., cloud fraction and water content) as a function of the large-scale environment. Beyond a better understanding of clouds-circulation coupling processes, the campaign will provide a reference data set that may be used as a benchmark for advancing the modelling and the satellite remote sensing of clouds and circulation. It will also be an opportunity for complementary investigations such as evaluating model convective parameterizations or studying the role of ocean mesoscale eddies in air–sea interactions and convective organization.

Description: The EUREC4A project is supported by the European Research Council (ERC), under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement No. 694768), by the Max Planck Society and by DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, German Research Foundation) Priority Program SPP 1294.

Description: © The Author(s), 2016. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Evolutionary Biology 44 (2017): 5-10, doi:10.1007/s11692-016-9385-4.

Description: The evolution of senescence is often explained by arguing that, in nature, few individuals survive to be old and hence it is evolutionarily unimportant what happens to organisms when they are old. A corollary to this idea is that extrinsically imposed mortality, because it reduces the chance of surviving to be old, favors the evolution of senescence. We show that these ideas, although widespread, are incorrect. Selection leading to senescence does not depend directly on survival to old age, but on the shape of the stable age distribution, and we discuss the implications of this important distinction. We show that the selection gradient on mortality declines with age even in the hypothetical case of zero mortality, when survivorship does not decline. Changing the survivorship function by imposing age independent mortality has no affect on the selection gradients. A similar result exists for optimization models: age independent mortality does not change the optimal result. We propose an alternative, brief explanation for the decline of selection gradients, and hence the evolution of senescence.

Description: HC acknowledges financial support from ERC Advanced Grant 322989, NSF Grants DEB-1145017 and DEB-1257545, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Description: © The Author(s), 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Ambio 46, Supple. 1 (2017): 160-173, doi:10.1007/s13280-016-0870-x.

Description: Long-term measurements of ecological effects of warming are often not statistically significant because of annual variability or signal noise. These are reduced in indicators that filter or reduce the noise around the signal and allow effects of climate warming to emerge. In this way, certain indicators act as medium pass filters integrating the signal over years-to-decades. In the Alaskan Arctic, the 25-year record of warming of air temperature revealed no significant trend, yet environmental and ecological changes prove that warming is affecting the ecosystem. The useful indicators are deep permafrost temperatures, vegetation and shrub biomass, satellite measures of canopy reflectance (NDVI), and chemical measures of soil weathering. In contrast, the 18-year record in the Greenland Arctic revealed an extremely high summer air-warming of 1.3°C/decade; the cover of some plant species increased while the cover of others decreased. Useful indicators of change are NDVI and the active layer thickness.

Description: The Toolik research was supported in part by NSF Grants DEB 0207150, DEB 1026843, ARC 1107701, and ARC 1504006.

Description: Anthropogenic litter contamination of the oceans is a global problem of growing concern and currently receives strongly increasing attention by policy makers, public authorities, media and the general public. Unlike many other pollutants, marine litter on beaches and its deleterious effects on marine mammals, birds and turtles have attracted much attention as they can be directly observed by stakeholders.