Search results for "80"

Mountain building in NW Sicily from the superimposition of subsequent thrusting and folding events during Neogene: structural setting and tectonic ev…

2017

We present a 1:25.000 scale geological map of the Kumeta-Pizzuta ridge in north-western Sicily (Italy), achieved by integrating stratigraphic, structural and geophysical data. In this area, the tectonic edifice results from the piling-up of deep-water-, carbonate platform- and pelagic platform-derived tectonic units (Imerese and Sicilide, Panormide and Trapanese domains, respectively) resulting from deformations of the former southern Tethyan continental margin. The structural setting shows interference of tectonic events, different types of structural styles and different scales of deformational patterns. Early overthrust of the Imerese on the Trapanese units (since the late Serravallian) …

Preface to theHydrological processes in urban environments: Updates on urbanization, naturalization and climate changeSpecial Issue

2018

Analysis of drought and vulnerability in the North Darfur region of Sudan

2018

North Darfur of Sudan is located on the edge of the Sahara Desert and endures frequent droughts due to water shortages and high summer temperatures. Monitoring and understanding drought characteristics are essential for integrated drought risk mitigation and prevetion of land degradation. This study evaluates drought conditions in North Darfur by analyzing the spatiotemporal distribution of drought using three drought indices (Standardized Precipitation Index, Vegetation Condition Index, and Soil Moisture Content Index) and their combined drought index (CDI) from 2004 to 2013. Biophysical and socioeconomic indicators are further used to measure vulnerability to drought risk and its three co…

Global Groundwater-Vegetation Relations

2017

Groundwater is an integral component of the water cycle, and it also influences the carbon cycle by supplying moisture to ecosystems. However, the extent and determinants of groundwater-vegetation interactions are poorly understood at the global scale. Using several high-resolution data products, we show that the spatial patterns of ecosystem gross primary productivity and groundwater table depth are correlated during at least one season in more than two-thirds of the global vegetated area. Positive relationships, i.e., larger productivity under shallower groundwater table, predominate in moisture-limited dry to mesic conditions with herbaceous and shrub vegetation. Negative relationships, …

A risk assessment of the effects of mercury on Baltic Sea, Greater North Sea and North Atlantic wildlife, fish and bivalves

2021

Abstract: A wide range of species, including marine mammals, seabirds, birds of prey, fish and bivalves, were investigated for potential population health risks resulting from contemporary (post 2000) mercury (Hg) exposure, using novel risk thresholds based on literature and de novo contamination data. The main geographic focus is on the Baltic Sea, while data from the same species in adjacent waters, such as the Greater North Sea and North Atlantic, were included for comparative purposes. For marine mammals, 23% of the groups, each composing individuals of a specific sex and maturity from the same species in a specific study region, showed Hg-concentrations within the High Risk Category (H…

Estimating Profit, Price, and Productivity Changes in Water Industry Using Bennet-Bowley Indicator

2019

AbstractThe assessment of profit, productivity, and price change over time is valuable for regulators and companies when setting tariffs. This paper innovates by comparing profit, price, and produc...

Worlds apart, drawn together: Bears, penguins and biodiversity in climate change cartoons

2021

This study shows how cartoonists use iconic and stereotypical animals in their works to reflect society’s knowledge about the effects of climate change. Studying 1022 climate change cartoons including depictions of animals, we noticed that there is very little biodiversity depicted in cartoons. Cartoonists generally avoid using animals indigenous to their own countries; this point is especially true regarding the low presence of insects and other invertebrates. This text also encourages cartoonists to adhere to some recommendations to improve climate change communication. These guidelines are (1) using indigenous wildlife, (2) depicting invertebrate wildlife, (3) improving their knowledge …

Topographic descriptors and thermal inversions amid the plateaus and mountains of the Jura (France)

2018

Sixteen temperature measurement sites under forest cover are distributed across the plateaus and mountains of the Jura (France). They are composed of pairs of stations located, one at the bottom of a topographic trough, the other at least 50 m higher in altitude. Three descriptors (station elevation, altitudinal difference (amplitude) between the two stations of each site, and topographical context) are used to explain how the frequency, intensity, and duration of inversions are spatially structured. Depending on whether one considers: 1) tn (minimum temperature) or tx (maximum temperature), 2) frequency or intensity, the sign of the correlation values changes. This reflects the fact that n…

Performance analysis of Alamouti-coded OFDM systems over spatio-temporally correlated underwater acoustic channels

2017

In this paper, we analyze the performance of Alamouti-coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems over time-varying underwater acoustic (UWA) channels. A realistic UWA channel model has been considered, which can be correlated in either time or space or simultaneously in both domains. An exact analytical expression for the bit error probability (BEP) is necessary to analyze accurately the performance of Alamouti-coded OFDM systems over the spatio-temporally correlated UWA channel model. Hence, by using this UWA channel model, an expression has been derived for the BEP of Alamouti-coded OFDM systems assuming that the receiver knows perfectly the channel state information.…

Holocene vegetation and fire history of the mountains of Northern Sicily (Italy)

2016

Knowledge about vegetation and fire history of the mountains of Northern Sicily is scanty. We analysed five sites to fill this gap and used terrestrial plant macrofossils to establish robust radiocarbon chronologies. Palynological records from Gorgo Tondo, Gorgo Lungo, Marcato Cixé, Urgo Pietra Giordano and Gorgo Pollicino show that under natural or near natural conditions, deciduous forests (Quercus pubescens, Q. cerris, Fraxinus ornus, Ulmus), that included a substantial portion of evergreen broadleaved species (Q. suber, Q. ilex, Hedera helix), prevailed in the upper meso- mediterranean belt. Mesophilous deciduous and evergreen broadleaved trees (Fagus sylvatica, Ilex aquifolium) dominat…