Search results for "fossil"
showing 10 items of 412 documents
A HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY MODEL POINTS TO POST-NEOGENE SURVIVAL OF THE MEDITERRANEAN OLIVE
2004
Research on the subfossil record and paleoecology of Olea europaea suggests a new interpretation of its history and ecology with reference to the Mediterranean climate since the Neogene. New results are based on the wood anatomy of ancient and extant Olea and a model estimating hydraulic conductance established for wild forms belonging to Olea europaea subsp. europaea. These suggest that during glacial periods wild olive populations survived in protected microenvironments, particularly riparian habitats. Thereafter, the postglacial expansion of olive associated with climatic warming took place from these refuge areas. This new evidence suggests that the continued existence of Olea in Medite…
The Physical Economy of France (1830–2015). The History of a Parasite?
2019
Abstract This article explores long-term trends and patterns of material use in France for a 185-year period. It is the first long-term study of material flows for France with national and yearly data for most of the period. Based on a material flow analysis (MFA) that is fully consistent with current standards of economy-wide MFAs and covers domestic extraction, imports, and exports of materials, we investigated the evolution of the French metabolism from industrialization to financialized capitalism. Over the whole period, there is a 9-fold increase in domestic material consumption, an expansion of material use per capita, and a spectacular addition of abiotic resources (fossil fuels and …
A functional multivariate analysis of Mesopithecus (Primates: Colobinae) humeri from the Turolian of Greece.
2012
12 pages; International audience; The genus Mesopithecus is well represented in the late Miocene of Greece by several recognized species. The present paper investigates functional aspects of the humeri of Mesopithecus delsoni/pentelicus, M. pentelicus and M. aff. pentelicus of several Turolian sites from central and northern Greece, using multivariate approaches. For these purposes, we selected significant humeral functional features, which were represented by 23 linear dimensions and three angles on 14 fossil humeri and 104 humeri from 10 genera and 22 species of extant African and Asian Colobines. All size-adjusted measurements were examined through a principal components analysis, follow…
A Sustainable Energy Mix for the Aeolian Islands
2018
The paper examines the current status of the electrical energy production in the Aeolian Islands, an Italian archipelago, composed by small island North of Sicily. Instead the availability of renewable energy sources, like wind, solar, geothermal and sea wave, these islands produce electrical energy using almost entirely fossil fuels. Starting from this initial condition, the paper proposes an energetic mix based on the available resources and focusing the attention on sea wave. An innovative device is presented in order to exploit this energy source.
The emission saving related to the use of renewable energy sources: The case study of solar thermal collectors
2003
The employment of renewable energy sources can represent a useful way to reduce air emissions released by conventional ones. In this paper we describe the results of a Life Cycle Analysis performed upon one of the most world-wide diffused renewable technologies: the solar thermal collectors for warm sanitary water. Two domestic solar plants have been investigated: mono-familiar plant with a passive flat collector and a large solar plant with forced fluid circulation. The first step has been the evaluation of direct and indirect emissions related to the production and use of plants. The main emissions have been categorised in three of the most important indicators (Global Warming Potential, …
A Reconstruction of the Taphonomic History of GBY
2011
This chapter aims to reconstruct the taphonomic processes that influenced the assemblages of Layers V-5 and V-6, as well as to identify the taphonomic role of particular agents that may have influenced the fossil bones and the stone artifacts deposited in these layers, and considers these results vis-a-vis other data, both from the site and experimental.
LCA of a solar heating and cooling system equipped with a small water–ammonia absorption chiller
2012
The development of renewable energy technologies is a critical tool for reducing climate change and the reliance on fossil fuels. However, renewable energy technologies cannot be considered totally clean because they require energy consumption and have environmental impacts that cannot be neglected during their life cycle. In this paper, the life cycle assessment methodology was applied to assess resource use and other environmental burdens related to the entire life-cycle steps of a solar cooling plant. The investigated system works with an absorption chiller assisted by a solar plant. Two back-up configurations (hot back-up and cold back-up) were examined in two localities: Palermo (south…
Modern Electrochemical Aspects for the Synthesis of Value‐Added Organic Products
2017
The use of electricity instead of stoichiometric amounts of oxidizers or reducing agents in synthesis is very appealing for economic and ecological reasons, and represents a major driving force for research efforts in this area. To use electron transfer at the electrode for a successful transformation in organic synthesis, the intermediate radical (cation/anion) has to be stabilized. Its combination with other approaches in organic chemistry or concepts of contemporary synthesis allows the establishment of powerful synthetic methods. The aim in the 21st Century will be to use as little fossil carbon as possible and, for this reason, the use of renewable sources is becoming increasingly impo…
Disentangling temporal patterns in our perception of the fossil history of gymnosperms
2012
By taking gymnosperms as a case study, this article evaluates the perception of plant life history from the fossil record to test the biases associated with the time-dependent aspects of the taxonomy, following a stepwise modelling procedure based on two divergent sets of time units. The idea that the effects of the temporal component of paleobiological inference need to be evaluated to remove any possible bias in our interpretation and perception of plant evolution based on analyses of large-scale data sets is investigated. The results reveal important differences in our perception of the tempo of gymnosperm evolution and how it is biased in terms of time unit length due to the loss of inf…
The trace fossil gyrochorte: ethology and paleoecology
2021
Specimens of the trace fossil Gyrochorte from the Ordovician, Jurassic and Cretaceous of Utah, and the Pliocene of Spain are described. These occurrences expand the stratigraphic range of the ichnogenus, and allow for a reexamination of this paleoenvironmentally sensitive and puzzling trace fossil. The recognition of the penetrative characteristic of the trace is essential for a correct identification, as some trace fossils have been erroneously ascribed to Gyrochorte in the past. The producer must have been a detritus-feeding worm-like animal, probably an annelid, that created a bilobed, vertically penetrating and sometimes plaited meandering trace. Gyrochorte typically occurs in sandy f…