Search results for "Island"

The first colonization of Ibiza and Formentera (Balearic Islands, Spain): Some more islands out of the stream?

1995

Abstract The Balearic Islands, off the east coast of Spain, have provided a focus of interest in investigations of the earliest colonization of the Mediterranean islands, because of the relatively late date of their oldest sites. Mallorca was visited in the fifth millennium BC and inhabited by the third, and Menorca was colonized during the closing centuries of the third millennium; this therefore makes Ibiza and Formentera special cases of isolation, since they were evidently not occupied until about 2000 BC and moreover were essentially deserted between roughly the thirteenth and seventh centuries BC. The paper presents all the currently available data relevant to this question, particula…

The production cycle of lime-based plasters in the Late Roman settlement of Scauri, on the island of Pantelleria, Italy

2018

This paper deals with the archaeometric study of lime-based plasters found in the archaeological settlement of Scauri, located in the homonymous bay in the south-western part of Pantelleria Island. Since 1999, archaeological surveys have led to the recovery of the huge remains of a Late Roman settlement dating back to the fourth-fifth century AD. It is well known that the island of Pantelleria is entirely composed of volcanic rocks. Accordingly, the production of quicklime required calcareous rocks to be imported. Also, the selection criteria of the sandy aggregate are relevant and of interest to this study, to evaluate the achieved technological level. Within this context, a mineralogical …

Decadal climate variability of the North Sea during the last millennium reconstructed from bivalve shells (Arctica islandica)

2014

Uninterrupted, annually resolved paleoclimate records are crucial to contextualize the current global change. Such information is particularly relevant for the Europe realm for which weather and climate projections are still very challenging if not virtually impossible. This study presents the first precisely dated, annually resolved, multiregional Arctica islandica chronologies from the North Sea which cover the time interval ad 1040–2010 and contain important information on supra-regional climatic conditions (sea surface temperature (SST), ocean productivity, wind stress). Shell growth varied periodically on timescales of 3–8, 12–16, 28–36, 50–80, and 120–240 years, possibly indicating a…

The seasonal water temperature cycle in the Arctic Dicksonfjord (Svalbard) during the Holocene Climate Optimum derived from subfossil Arctica islandi…

2015

Future climate change will have significant effects on ecosystems worldwide and on polar regions in particular. Hence, palaeo-environmental studies focussing on the last warmer-than-today phase (i.e. the early Holocene) in higher latitudes are of particular importance to understand climate development and its potential impact in polar systems. Molluscan bivalve shells constitute suitable bio-archives for high-resolution palaeo-environmental reconstructions. Here, we present a first reconstruction of early Holocene seasonal water temperature cycle in an Arctic fjord based on stable oxygen isotope (δ18Oshell) profiles in shells of Arctica islandica (Bivalvia) from raised beach deposits in Di…

Numerical Studies of the Diffusion Processes and First Step Oxidation in Nickel-Oxygen Systems by Variable Charge Molecular Dynamics

2010

Variable charge molecular dynamic simulations have been performed to study the diffusion mechanisms of oxygen atoms (O) in nickel (Ni) in the temperature range 950-1600 K and the very first steps of oxidation of monocrystalline nickel surfaces at 300 K and 950 K. The oxygen diffusivity can be well described by an Arrhenius law over the temperature range considered. The oxygen diffusion coefficient has been analysed and values of Ea = 1.99 eV for the activation energy and D0 = 39 cm2.s-1 for the pre-exponential factor were obtained. The first steps growth of the oxide layer show that after the dissociative chemisorption of the oxygen molecules on nickel surface, the oxidation leads to an isl…

Quantifying Local Tourism at the Aeolian Islands and Cefalù: the Research Design.

2013

A web-based autonomous weather monitoring system of the town of Palermo and its utilization for temperature nowcasting

2008

Weather data are crucial to correctly design buildings and their heating and cooling systems and to assess their energy performances. In the intensely urbanized towns the effect of climatic parameters is further emphasized by the "urban heat island" phenomenon, known as the increase in the air temperature of urban areas, compared to the conditions measured in the extra-urban areas. The analysis of the heat island needs detailed local climate data which can be collected only by a dedicated weather monitoring system. The Department of Energy and Environmental Researches of the University of Palermo has built up a weather monitoring system that works 24 hours per day and makes data available i…

On the geographical distribution of pseudocholinesterase variants.

1975

The incidence of pseudocholinesterase (PCHE equals E.C. 3.1.1.8) variants in samples of 8 different population (total of 2218 individuals) is reported. Together with previously mentioned data from the literature, a general survey on the geographical distribution of PCHE isoenzymes is given. Possible reasons for present-day heterogeneity of their distribution are also discussed. Concerning the incidence of the C5 variant, it is pointed out that the validity of applying population genetic models depends upon the accuracy of the genetic basis.

Removing the relocation bias from the 155-year Haparanda temperature record in Northern Europe

2017

The village Haparanda in northern Sweden hosts one of the longest meteorological station records in Europe depicting climate conditions in the subarctic. Since the station was relocated several times, moving gradually from urbanized to more rural areas, the record is likely biased by anthropogenic influences. We here assess these influences and demonstrate that even in villages urban heat island biases might affect the temperature readings. We detail a method to quantify this bias and remove it from the long Haparanda station record running since 1859. The correction is based on parallel temperature measurements at previous station locations in Haparanda. These measurements revealed a disti…

Detection and elimination of UHI effects in long temperature records from villages – A case study from Tivissa, Spain

2019

Abstract Since villages are usually regarded as part of the rural area, associated temperature records are assumed to be free of urban influences and might be used as unbiased reference data for city records. However, based on two years of data from a high temporal and spatial resolution sensor network, this study proves the development of a substantial UHI in the Spanish village Tivissa with intensities of >1.5 K in summer Tmin and Tmax compared to a rural reference. Hosting a meteorological station that has been relocated several times within Tivissa during its >100-year history, we here detail a method to remove UHI biases at past measurement sites to create a more reliable rural tempera…