Search results for "baltic states"
showing 10 items of 48 documents
An aeolian or a glaciolacustrine record? A case study from Mieļupīte, Middle Gauja Lowland, northeast Latvia
2017
Abstract In the Middle Gauja Lowland, northeast Latvia, dunes are distributed over a vast glaciolacustrine plain that formed during the retreat of the Fennoscandian ice sheet. Such a direct contact between aeolian and glaciolacustrine sediments can be used to infer depositional settings and decipher to what extent these sediments bear an aeolian component. Our proxies, although preliminary, reveal a limited range of variation in grain-size parameters, a significant presence of quartz grains with silica precipitation and matt-surface grains of various rounding degrees and massive structure combined with horizontal lamination. These are indicative of periglacial-aeolian depositional condition…
Systems Approach to Eastern Baltic Coastal Zone Management
2020
Relying on the results of multivariate analysis of the re-analysis case studies from the BaltCoast project, specific features of integrated coastal management (ICM) approaches in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian Federation are highlighted in this paper. Eleven Eastern Baltic ICM case studies have been re-analyzed in-depth, which was the main focus of the present paper, covering a wide range of coastal landscapes, themes, policy issues, and ICM approaches. Five principal components explaining 84.86% of the total variance of ICM factor scores have been elicited by calculating rotation sums of squared loadings: (1) Stakeholder Involvement
The genetic prehistory of the Baltic Sea region
2018
Correction: Nature communications 9 (2018), art. no. 1494 doi:10.1038/s41467-018-03872-y While the series of events that shaped the transition between foraging societies and food producers are well described for Central and Southern Europe, genetic evidence from Northern Europe surrounding the Baltic Sea is still sparse. Here, we report genome-wide DNA data from 38 ancient North Europeans ranging from similar to 9500 to 2200 years before present. Our analysis provides genetic evidence that hunter-gatherers settled Scandinavia via two routes. We reveal that the first Scandinavian farmers derive their ancestry from Anatolia 1000 years earlier than previously demonstrated. The range of Mesolit…
New Modes of Regulation for Health and Safety: Post-Enlargement Policy Perspectives for the European Union
2006
The recent joining of ten new member states to the European Union, eight of which are former communist countries, has reopened inherent tensions in current European Union (EU) policy-making on safety and health in the workplace. These spring from seemingly incompatible objectives; the need to ensure broad EU member state compliance with regulation, around agreed minimum standards through active regulatory enforcement, and the promotion of “softer” voluntary initiatives in the management of workplace risks and hazards in order to create “a culture of prevention.” The present EU strategy which ends in 2006, seeks to secure a balance between both sets of objectives. However, with respect to t…
Prostate cancer incidence and mortality in the Baltic states, Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine
2019
BackgroundProstate cancer incidence varies internationally largely attributable to differences in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) use. The aim of this study was to provide the most recent detailed international epidemiological comparison of prostate cancer incidence and mortality in six north-eastern European countries (Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Russian Federation and Ukraine).MethodsThe number of incident prostate cancer cases was obtained from the countries national cancer registries. Prostate cancer mortality and corresponding population data were extracted from the WHO Mortality Database. Age-specific and age-standardised incidence and mortality rates were calculated (Eur…
Solar PAR and UVR modify the community composition and photosynthetic activity of sea ice algae
2015
The effects of increased photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and ultraviolet radiation (UVR) on species diversity, biomass and photosynthetic activity were studied in fast ice algal communities. The experimental set-up consisted of nine 1.44 m(2) squares with three treatments: untreated with natural snow cover (UNT), snow-free (PAR + UVR) and snow-free ice covered with a UV screen (PAR). The total algal biomass, dominated by diatoms and dinoflagellates, increased in all treatments during the experiment. However, the smaller biomass growth in the top 10-cm layer of the PAR + UVR treatment compared with the PAR treatment indicated the negative effect of UVR. Scrippsiella complex (mainly…
Dynamics of particulate major and trace elements in the lower reaches of the Daugava River and adjacent area of the Gulf of Riga (Baltic Sea).
2004
Suspended particulate matter (SPM) was collected in the freshwater-seawater mixing zone in the lower reaches of the Daugava River (Latvia) and adjacent marine area, during five cruises in 1998-2001. The study focused on biogeochemical phase exchange processes. SPM in the freshwater was found to be mainly allochthonous with a high content of organic matter, Mn and sorbed phosphate. Property-salinity plots suggested flocculation of humic-Fe complexes across the salinity gradient. The variability of sorbed phosphate was related to particulate Fe, although no dependence on pH and ionic strength was observed. The Mn contents of SPM mainly follow conservative mixing, but there are also indication…
Eiropas aizsardzības stiprināšana un Baltijas valstu izaicinājumi
2018
Kopējās drošības un aizsardzības politika ir kļuvusi par vienu no lielākajām prioritātēm un kritiski apskatītāko diskusijas tematu Eiropas Savienībā, kas automātiski izveido jaunu platformu attīstībai valstīm, kuras ir vistuvāk ES ārējām robežām. Maģistra darba galvenais izvirzītais mērķis ir identificēt Eiropas Savienības aizsardzības un drošības sektora jaunās iespējas un piedāvātās metodes, kas tiks aktualizētas un īstenotas Daudzgadu finanšu shēmas (Multiannual Financial Framework) ietvaros no 2021. –2027.gadam, un piedāvāt ieteikumus un risinājumus, plānojot to iespējamo izmantošanu un pielietojumu Baltijas valstīs. Pētījuma rezultāti parāda, ka, pirmkārt, Eiropas Savienības valstis ir…
Bioaccumulation of hepatotoxins : A considerable risk in the Latvian environment
2014
Abstract The Gulf of Riga, river Daugava and several interconnected lakes around the City of Riga, Latvia, form a dynamic brackish-freshwater system favouring occurrence of toxic cyanobacteria. We examined bioaccumulation of microcystins and nodularin-R in aquatic organisms in Latvian lakes, the Gulf of Riga and west coast of open Baltic Sea in 2002–2007. The freshwater unionids accumulated toxins efficiently, followed by snails. In contrast, Dreissena polymorpha and most lake fishes (except roach) accumulated much less hepatotoxins. Significant nodularin-R concentrations were detected also in marine clams and flounders. No transfer of nodularin-R and microcystins between lake and brackish …
A statistical model for predicting the inter-annual variability of birch pollen abundance in Northern and North-Eastern Europe
2018
The paper suggests a methodology for predicting next-year seasonal pollen index (SPI, a sum of daily-mean pollen concentrations) over large regions and demonstrates its performance for birch in Northern and North-Eastern Europe. A statistical model is constructed using meteorological, geophysical and biological characteristics of the previous year). A cluster analysis of multi-annual data of European Aeroallergen Network (EAN) revealed several large regions in Europe, where the observed SPI exhibits similar patterns of the multi-annual variability. We built the model for the northern cluster of stations, which covers Finland, Sweden, Baltic States, part of Belarus, and, probably, Russia and…