Search results for " Life"
showing 10 items of 18406 documents
Interpretation of the nitrogen isotopic composition of Precambrian sedimentary rocks: Assumptions and perspectives
2016
International audience; Nitrogen isotope compositions in sedimentary rocks (d(15)N(sed)) are routinely used for reconstructing Cenozoic N-biogeochemical cycling and are also being increasingly applied to understanding the evolution of ancient environments. Here we review the existing knowledge and rationale behind the use of d(15)N(sed) as a proxy for the Precambrian N-biogeochemical cycle with the aims of (i) identifying the major uncertainties that affect analyses and interpretation of nitrogen isotopes in ancient sedimentary rocks, (ii) developing a framework for interpreting the Precambrian d(15)N(sed) record, (iii) testing this framework against a database of Precambrian d(15)N(sed) va…
Modelling the Effects of Climate Change on the Supply of Inorganic Nitrogen
2009
Human-induced changes in the nitrogen cycle due to the increased use of artificial fertilisers, the cultivation of nitrogen-fixing crops and atmospheric deposition have made nitrogen pollution to surface waters a long-standing cause for concern. In Europe, legislation has been introduced to minimise the risk of water quality degradation from excessive nitrogen inputs e.g., the European Union Nitrates Directive (EU, 1991), Drinking Water Directive (EU, 1998) and Water Framework Directive (EU, 2000). Coastal regions in particular have been an important focus, since coastal eutrophication has been attributed to increased fluxes of nitrogen from the landscape (Howarth et al., 1996; Boesch et al…
Increase inabovegroundfreshlitterquantityover-stimulatessoil respiration inatemperatedeciduousforest
2010
In the context of climate change, the amount of carbon allocated to soil, particularly fresh litter, is predicted to increase with terrestrial ecosystem productivity, and may alter soil carbon storage capacities. In this study we performed a 1-year litter-manipulation experiment to examine how soil CO2 efflux was altered by the amount of fresh litter. Three treatments were applied: litter exclusion (E), control (C, natural amount: 486 g m −2 ) and litter addition (A, twice the natural amount: 972 g m −2
Contribution of environmental factors to temperature distribution at different resolution levels on the forefield of the Loven Glaciers (Svalbard)
2007
ABSTRACTThe climate and its components (temperature and precipitation) are organised according to different spatial scales that are structured hierarchically. The aim of this paper is to explore the dependence between temperature and deterministic factors at different scales on a 10 km2 study area on the northwestern coast of Svalbard. A GIS was developed which contained three sources of information: temperature, remotely sensed imagery and digital elevation models (DEM), and derived raster data layers. The first layer, temperatures, was acquired at regularly observed temporal intervals from 53 stations. The second layer comprised remotely sensed images (aerial photography and SPOT imagery)…
Ocean Acidification and the End-Permian Mass Extinction: To What Extent does Evidence Support Hypothesis?
2012
International audience; Ocean acidification in modern oceans is linked to rapid increase in atmospheric CO 2 , raising concern about marine diversity, food security and ecosystem services. Proxy evidence for acidification during past crises may help predict future change, but three issues limit confidence of comparisons between modern and ancient ocean acidification, illustrated from the end-Permian extinction, 252 million years ago: (1) problems with evidence for ocean acidification preserved in sedimentary rocks, where proposed marine dissolution surfaces may be subaerial. Sedimentary evidence that the extinction was partly due to ocean acidification is therefore inconclusive; (2) Fossils…
Environmental change during the Early Cretaceous in the Purbeck-type Durlston Bay section (Dorset, Southern England): a biomarker approach.
2007
20 pages; International audience; The Purbeck-type section (Durlston Bay, Dorset, UK) exhibits littoral lagoonal to lacustrine facies. It shows a gradual climatic/environmental change from semi-arid conditions associated with evaporites at the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition, to a more humid climate at the end of the Berriasian. Though generally organic-poor (total organic carbon, TOC, <1.3%), the Durlston Bay section shows an organic-rich episode (TOC up to 8.5%) located at the transition from evaporitic to more humid facies. A biomarker study was performed in order to determine the origin of the organic matter (OM) in the section and see if changes in organic sources accompanied the genera…
Understanding deep learning in land use classification based on Sentinel-2 time series
2020
AbstractThe use of deep learning (DL) approaches for the analysis of remote sensing (RS) data is rapidly increasing. DL techniques have provided excellent results in applications ranging from parameter estimation to image classification and anomaly detection. Although the vast majority of studies report precision indicators, there is a lack of studies dealing with the interpretability of the predictions. This shortcoming hampers a wider adoption of DL approaches by a wider users community, as model’s decisions are not accountable. In applications that involve the management of public budgets or policy compliance, a better interpretability of predictions is strictly required. This work aims …
Diving into exoplanets: Are water seas the most common?
2019
One of the basic tenets of exobiology is the need for a liquid substratum in which life can arise, evolve, and develop. The most common version of this idea involves the necessity of water to act as such a substratum, both because that is the case on Earth and because it seems to be the most viable liquid for chemical reactions that lead to life. Other liquid media that could harbor life, however, have occasionally been put forth. In this work, we investigate the relative probability of finding superficial seas on rocky worlds that could be composed of nine different, potentially abundant, liquids, including water. We study the phase space size of habitable zones defined for those substance…
Mapping Vegetation Density in a Heterogeneous River Floodplain Ecosystem Using Pointable CHRIS/PROBA Data
2012
River floodplains in the Netherlands serve as water storage areas, while they also have the function of nature rehabilitation areas. Floodplain vegetation is therefore subject to natural processes of vegetation succession. At the same time, vegetation encroachment obstructs the water flow into the floodplains and increases the flood risk for the hinterland. Spaceborne pointable imaging spectroscopy has the potential to quantify vegetation density on the basis of leaf area index (LAI) from a desired view zenith angle. In this respect, hyperspectral pointable CHRIS data were linked to the ray tracing canopy reflectance model FLIGHT to retrieve vegetation density estimates over a heterogeneous…
Oligo-Miocene lacustrine microbial and metazoan buildups from the Limagne Basin (French Massif Central)
2018
The Limagne Basin (French Massif Central) is an extensive continental lacustrine system accommodating microbial and metazoan buildups from Chattian to Aquitanian age. A description of these buildups and their associated biotic components in Grand Gandaillat and Crechy quarries provides insights into their spatio-temporal distribution patterns. Flats, cauliflowers, domes, cones and coalescent columnar morphologies have been identified with a main laminated mesofabric and laminated, columnar, filamentous and caddisfly-coated microfabrics. Two low-gradient margin models emerged based on the changes in the distribution, morphology and size of the microbial and metazoan-rich deposits through tim…