Rapid rise in Effective Sea-Level in southwest Bangladesh: Its causes and contemporary rates

Evidence is presented from three estuarine tide gauges located in the
Sundarban area of southwest Bangladesh of relative sea level rise
substantially in excess of the generally accepted rates from altimetry, as
well as previous tide-gauge analyses. It is proposed that the difference
arises from the use of relative mean sea level (RMSL) to characterise the
present and future coastal flood hazard, since RMSL can be misleading in
estuaries in which tidal range is changing. Three tide gauges, one located in
the uninhabited mangrove forested area (Sundarban) of southwest
Bangladesh, the others in the densely populated polder zone north of the
present Sundarban, show rates of increase in RMSL ranging from 2.8 mm
a-1 to 8.8 mm a-1. However, these trends in RMSL disguise the fact that high
water levels in the polder zone have been increasing at an average rate of
15.9 mm a-1 and a maximum of 17.2 mm a-1. In an area experiencing tidal
range amplification, RMSL will always underestimate the rise in high water
levels; consequently, as an alternative to RMSL, the use of trends in high
water maxima or ‘Effective Sea Level Rise’ (ESLR) is adopted as a more
strategic parameter to characterise the flooding hazard potential. The rate
of increase in ESLR is shown to be due to a combination of deltaic
subsidence, including sediment compaction, and eustatic sea level rise, but
principally as a result of increased tidal range in estuary channels recently
constricted by embankments. These increases in ESLR have been partially
offset by decreases in fresh water discharge in those estuaries connected
to the Ganges. The recognition of increases of the effective sea level in the
Bangladesh Sundarban, which are substantially greater than increases in
mean sea level, is of the utmost importance to flood management in this
low-lying and densely populated area.

Evolving southwest African response to abrupt deglacial North Atlantic climate change events

Climate change during the last deglaciation was strongly influenced by the „bipolar seesaw‟, producing antiphase climate responses between the North and South Atlantic. However, mounting evidence demands refinements of this model, with the occurrence of abrupt events in southern low to mid latitudes occurring in-phase with North Atlantic climate. Improved constraints on the north-south phasing and spatial extent of these events are therefore critical to
understanding the mechanisms that propagate abrupt events within the climate system. We present a 19,400 year multi-proxy record of climate change obtained from a rock hyrax midden in southernmost Africa. Arid anomalies in phase with the Younger Dryas and 8.2 ka events are apparent, indicating a clear shift in the influence of the bipolar seesaw, which diminished as the Earth warmed, and was succeeded after ~14.6 ka by the emergence of a dominant interhemispheric atmospheric teleconnection.

The geoarchaeology of Paleolithic rivers of southwest Britain

In Britain, the majority of Lower and Middle Paleolithic archaeological finds come from river terrace deposits. The impressive “staircase” terrace sequences of southeast England, and research facilitated by aggregate extraction have provided a considerable body of knowledge about the terrace chronology and associated archaeology in that area. Such research has been essential in considering rates of uplift, climatic cycles, archaeological chronologies, and the landscapes in which hominins lived. It has also promoted the view that southeast England was a major hominin route into Britain. By contrast, the terrace deposits of the southwest have been little studied. The Palaeolithic Rivers of South West Britain (PRoSWEB) project employed a range of geoarchaeological methodologies to address similar questions at different scales, focusing on the rivers Exe, Axe, Otter, and the paleo-Doniford, all of which were located south of the maximum Pleistocene glacial limit (marine oxygen isotope stage [MIS] 4–2). Preliminary analysis of the fieldwork results suggests that although the evolution of these catchments is complex, most conform to a standard staircase-type model, with the exception of the Axe, and, to a lesser extent, the paleo-Doniford, which are anomalous. Although the terrace deposits are less extensive than in southeast Britain, differentiation between terraces does exist, and new dates show that some of these terraces are of great antiquity (MIS 10+). The project also reexamined the distribution of artifacts in the region and confirms the distributional bias to the river valleys, and particularly the rivers draining southward to the paleo–Channel River system. This distribution is consistent with a model of periodic occupation of the British peninsula along and up the major river valleys from the paleo–Channel River corridor. These data have a direct impact on our understanding of the paleolandscapes of the southwest region, and therefore our interpretations of the Paleolithic occupation of the edge of the continental landmass.

Study of the water consuption of the international tourism sector in the costal zone of southwest Europe

Dissertação de Mestrado, Gestão da Água e da Costa, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, 2009

Ecological tools for the management of cyanobacteria blooms in the Guadiana River watershed, Southwest Iberia

Strong water demand for irrigation, energy and drinking water production is responsible for an increasingly regulation of freshwater flow patterns and watersheds. In this context, the construction of dams allows water storage but seriously restricts freshwater flow downstream. Due to scarcity of freshwater resources, reservoir water management often promotes high hydraulic residence. This may cause strong impacts on biological components of aquatic ecosystems, influencing the development of cyanobacteria blooms and aggravating their harmful impacts.

Spiny lobster fishery on the southwest coast of Portugal: conciliating fisheries and conservation

Dissertação de mest., Aquacultura e Pescas (Pescas), Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Univ. do Algarve, 2011

Settlement patterns of mussel recruits at different temporal scales in the Peniche-Berlengas area (Southwest Portugal)

Dissertação de Mestrado, Biologia Marinha, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, 2015

Neotectonics of the southwest Portugal mainland : implications on the regional seismic hazard

Tese de doutoramento, Geologia (Geodinâmica Interna), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2015

Identification of Potential Sources of Airborne Olea Pollen in the Southwest Iberian Peninsula

This study aims to determine the potential origin of Olea pollen recorded in Badajoz in the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula during 2009–2011. This was achieved using a combination of daily average and diurnal (hourly) airborne Olea pollen counts recorded at Badajoz (south-western Spain) and Évora (south-eastern Portugal), an inventory of olive groves in the studied area and air mass trajectory calculations computed using the HYSPLIT model. Examining olive pollen episodes at Badajoz that had distinctly different diurnal cycles in olive pollen in relation to the mean, allowed us to identify three different scenarios where olive pollen can be transported to the city from either distant or nearby sources during conditions with slow air mass movements. Back trajectory analysis showed that olive pollen can be transported to Badajoz from the West on prevailing winds, either directly or on slow moving air masses, and from high densities of olive groves situated to the Southeast (e.g. Andalucía). Regional scale transport of olive pollen can result in increased nighttime concentrations of this important aeroallergen. This could be particularly important in Mediterranean countries where people can be outdoors during this time due to climate and lifestyle. Such studies that examine sources and the atmospheric transport of pollen are valuable for allergy sufferers and health care professionals because the information can be incorporated into forecasts, the outputs of which are used for avoiding exposure to aeroallergens and planning medication. The results of studies of this nature can also be used for examining gene flow in this important agricultural crop.

HIV-1 drug resistance transmission networks in southwest Switzerland.

To determine viral subtypes and resistance mutations to antiretroviral treatment (ART) in untreated HIV-1 acutely infected subjects from Southwest Switzerland. Clinical samples were obtained from the HIV primary infection cohort from Lausanne. Briefly, pol gene was amplified by nested PCR and sequenced to generate a 1?kb sequence spanning protease and reverse transcriptase key protein regions. Nucleotide sequences were used to assess viral genotype and ART resistance mutations. Blood specimens and medical information were obtained from 30 patients. Main viral subtypes corresponded to clade B, CRF02_AG, and F1. Resistant mutations to PIs consisted of L10V and accessory mutations 16E and 60E present in all F1 clades. The NNRTI major resistant mutation 103N was detected in all F1 viruses and in other 2 clades. Additionally, we identified F1 sequences from other 6 HIV infected and untreated individuals from Southwest Switzerland, harboring nucleotide motifs and resistance mutations to ART as observed in the F1 strains from the cohort. These data reveal a high transmission rate (16.6%) for NNRTI resistant mutation 103N in a cohort of HIV acute infection. Three of the 5 resistant strains were F1 clades closely related to other F1 isolates from HIV-1 infection untreated patients also coming from Southwest Switzerland. Overall, we provide strong evidence towards an HIV-1 resistant transmission network in Southwest Switzerland. These findings have relevant implications for the local molecular mapping of HIV-1 and future ART surveillance studies in the region.

The New Continental Line Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad West and Southwest schedule

The New Continental Line Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad West and Southwest schedule. The schedule is slightly torn. This does not affect the text, Sept. 4, 1881.

The conquest of the southwest : the story of a great spoliation

UANL

Mobilités de travail et (re)construction des rapports sociaux au sein d’une communauté Hmong de Chine (province du Guizhou)

La mobilité rurale-urbaine est sans contredit l’un des phénomènes les plus marquants que la Chine a connus depuis ses réformes des années 1980. D’une ampleur colossale, elle a constitué un fondement essentiel de sa transition et de son développement économiques. Or, si l’impact social de cette mobilité a été abondamment étudié dans les villes où séjournent les paysans, il demeure peu connu dans leur communauté d’origine, et encore moins en contexte de « nationalité minoritaire ». Reposant sur une enquête de terrain de plus d’une année, cette thèse en géographie sociale examine la (re)construction sociale dans une communauté rurale et minoritaire (c.àd. Hmong ou Miao) de Chine en lien avec le phénomène de la mobilité de travail. D’une intensité croissante, la pratique de la mobilité de travail par les membres de cette communauté est double. Les migrants sont soit des herboristes ambulants dans les villes de l’espace régional, soit des travailleurs salariés dans les villes orientales du pays. L’utilisation d’une approche du changement social intégrant les sphères du réel et de l’imagination et prenant en compte les dimensions territoriale et économique du phénomène migratoire est originale. De même, l’importance égale portée aux discours et aux actions des migrants et des non-migrants dans le processus de transformation sociale se veut novatrice. Dans ses résultats, cette thèse fait état, premièrement, d’une refonte des logiques territoriales et économiques de la communauté étudiée sous l’effet du phénomène migratoire. De toute évidence, les fondements géographiques de son territoire se sont récemment complexifiés et multipliés. Désormais, une variété de lieux, de frontières, de réseaux sociaux et d’échelles se dessine dans les configurations territoriales de ses membres. Les implications économiques sont tout aussi patentes. Outre la forte dominance des transferts d’argent des migrants dans les budgets familiaux, les questions du développement et des inégalités aux différentes échelles de la communauté renvoient aujourd’hui essentiellement au fait migratoire. Deuxièmement, cette thèse montre la forte empreinte laissée par la mobilité dans la sphère sociale. Nécessitant soutien aux extrémités de leur parcours, les migrants sollicitent de plus en plus l’aide de leurs réseaux lignagers, claniques, villageois et matrilinéaires. Et dans ce processus, il n’est pas rare qu’ils enfreignent consciemment les principes hiérarchiques traditionnels de leurs rapports familiaux. Aussi, au travers de la mobilité, des groupes longtemps marginalisés, tels les femmes et les jeunes adultes, ont acquis estime, autonomie et pouvoir décisionnel. Parallèlement, l’ordre social s’est bouleversé. Ce n’est plus le volume de la production agricole, mais le nombre de travailleurs migrants qui détermine aujourd’hui les différentes classes sociales de la communauté. Finalement, dans le contexte plus large des populations rurales et minoritaires de Chine et du Massif sud-est asiatique, cette thèse fait ressortir l’importance d’aborder la question de l’impact social de la mobilité au-delà des paradigmes de la modernisation et de l’intégration. Contrairement à la plupart des écrits touchant à cette question, il ne suffit pas de porter le regard sur l’influence que les urbains et leur mode de vie soi-disant moderne exercent sur les migrants. Il est également nécessaire de reconnaître les capacités d’initiative et d’innovation sociale des membres de ces populations, migrants et non-migrants. Mais aussi, cette recherche démontre que la question identitaire se doit d’être prise en compte. Les sentiments de marginalité et de subordination demeurent vivaces au travers du phénomène migratoire. Et de tels sentiments semblent se traduire, le plus souvent, par un renforcement des liens sociaux et intracommunautaires au sein même de ces populations minoritaires.

Studies on Ilmenite of Chavara and Manavalakurichi Deposites, Southwest Coast of India

The present work attempts to trace the variation in the physical and chemical behavior of ilmenite, since its release from country rocks and subsequent transportation to the coast through the progressive weathering environments of laterite, sedimentary rocks, rivers and estuarine systems. Since the hinterland of the study area consists of crystalline and sedimentary rocks and their weathered forms (laterites), the contribution of each lithological system to the beach placer is attempted. The results of the study show that the most magnetic fraction contains more content of altered phases than the relatively unweathered fractions. The fractions separated above 0.35A define a high grade of ilmenite ore enriched in Ti content. The lattice volume generally decreases with alteration. The magnetic studies revels that the Chavara ilmenite are found to be made up to low magnetic crops with about 46% of the bulk ilmenite constituted by fractions separated at above 0.35A. In the Manavalakurichi ilmenite on the other hand, around 91% of the beach ilmenite is made of fractions separated at or below 0.3A