Characteristics of acoustic recordings of narwhals (Monodon monoceros) north of Disko Island, April 2007 and 2009

A total of 1,690 individual narwhal nonecholocation sounds were recorded over 5 h in 2007 and 2009. Each sound was classified as either tonal (FM) or pulsed (amplitude modulated). Omnipresent in all the recordings were the songs of bearded seals, Erignathus barbatus, which were often so loud and numerous that the lower frequency ranges of narwhal sounds could not be distinguished.

Global electrification:multinational enterprise and international finance in the history of light and power, 1878-2007

William J. Hausman, Peter Hertner, and Mira Wilkins. Global Electrification: Multinational Enterprise and International Finance in the History of Light and Power, 1878–2007. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. xxiv + 487 pp. ISBN 978-0-521-88035-0, $80 (hardcover).

Isotopes content, mineralogical composition, Uranium and Thorium contents and determined activity ratios from METEOR cruise M74/3 in 2007

Authigenic carbonate deposits have been sampled with the remotely operated vehicle 'MARUM-QUEST 4000 m' from five methane seeps between 731 and 1823 m water depth along the convergent Makran continental margin, offshore Pakistan (northern Arabian Sea). Two seeps on the upper slope are located within the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ; ca. 100 to 1100 m water depth), the other sites are situated in oxygenated water below the OMZ (below 1100 m water depth). The carbonate deposits vary with regard to their spatial extent, sedimentary fabrics, and associated seep fauna: Within the OMZ, carbonates are spatially restricted and associated with microbial mats, whereas in the oxygenated zone below the OMZ extensive carbonate crusts are exposed on the seafloor with abundant metazoans (bathymodiolin mussels, tube worms, galatheid crabs). Aragonite and Mg-calcite are the dominant carbonate minerals, forming common early diagenetic microcrystalline cement and clotted to radial-fibrous cement. The delta18O carbonate values range from 1.3 to 4.2 per mil V-PDB, indicating carbonate precipitation at ambient bottom-water temperature in shallow sediment depth. Extremely low delta13Ccarbonate values (as low - 54.6per mil V-PDB) point to anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) as trigger for carbonate precipitation, with biogenic methane as dominant carbon source. Prevalence of biogenic methane in the seepage gas is corroborated by delta13C methane values ranging from - 70.3 to - 66.7per mil V-PDB, and also by back-calculations considering delta 13C methane values of carbonate and incorporated lipid biomarkers.

Follow-up of the sponge and asteroid populations at the station Larsen A south (PS69/724-1 and PS77/253-1), Antarctic Peninsula, between 2007 and 2011

Over 30% of the Antarctic continental shelf is permanently covered by floating ice shelves, providing aphotic conditions for a depauperate fauna sustained by laterally advected food. In much of the remaining Antarctic shallows (<300 m depth), seasonal sea-ice melting allows a patchy primary production supporting rich megabenthic communities dominated by glass sponges (Porifera, Hexactinellida). The catastrophic collapse of ice shelves due to rapid regional warming along the Antarctic Peninsula in recent decades has exposed over 23,000 km**2 of seafloor to local primary production. The response of the benthos to this unprecedented flux of food is, however, still unknown. In 2007, 12 years after disintegration of the Larsen A ice shelf, a first biological survey interpreted the presence of hexactinellids as remnants of a former under-ice fauna with deep-sea characteristics. Four years later, we revisited the original transect, finding 2- and 3-fold increases in glass sponge biomass and abundance, respectively, after only two favorable growth periods. Our findings, along with other long-term studies, suggest that Antarctic hexactinellids, locked in arrested growth for decades, may undergo boom-and-bust cycles, allowing them to quickly colonize new habitats. The cues triggering growth and reproduction in Antarctic glass sponges remain enigmatic.

Desafios 2012: a noção de número racional em alunos do 4º ano de escolaridade

Com este estudo pretendi perceber as estratégias e dificuldades que persistem em alunos que supostamente terão sido alvo de um trabalho com números racionais nos primeiros anos de escolaridade, mais concretamente perceber a noção de partilha equitativa, bem como de comparação de frações dos referidos alunos. Decorre do referido objetivo as seguintes questões de investigação: (1) Que estratégias e dificuldades apresentam os alunos na resolução de situações de partilha equitativa? (2) Que estratégias e dificuldades apresentam os alunos na comparação de números racionais? Para atingir o objetivo pretendido recorri a uma investigação de cariz interpretativo, abordagem essencialmente qualitativa e pesquisa documental, pelo que analisei as provas de Matemática realizadas por 1330 alunos de 21 agrupamentos do Distrito de Leiria, no âmbito do concurso “DESAFIOS 2012”, mais concretamente as respostas dadas a uma tarefa relativa aos números racionais. De salientar que os alunos que participaram no concurso “DESAFIOS 2012”, frequentaram o 1.º ciclo do ensino básico, já no âmbito da entrada em vigor do Programade Matemática do Ensino Básico - PMEB (ME, 2007). Os resultados levam a concluir que uma das estratégias mais usada é o recurso à modelação da tarefa para a partilha equitativa das sandes, bem como formas intuitivas de pensamento para a comparação de frações. As dificuldades prendem-se essencialmente com a modelação da tarefa e identificação das quantidades envolvidas, bem como o recurso ao pensamento diferencial para a comparação das frações.