Verissima et ivcvndissima descriptio..., de Ulrico Schmidl: literatura de viagem ou relato de viagem?

Pós-graduação em Letras - FCLAS

Refuge Update – November/December 2007, Volume 4, Number 6

Table of Contents: Celebrating 20 Years of Science on the M/ V Tiglax, page 5 Kevin Bell is honored as Captain of the largest ship operated by the National Wildlife Refuge System. Focus on…A River Runs Through It, pages 8-15 Rivers on refuges are managed for recreation, habitat restoration, water rights and sheer beauty. The Fight Against Giant Salvinia, page 18 Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Texas is fighting a weed that can travel three-quarters of a mile in 24 hours. Awards, page 21 From protecting the land to going “green,” awards recognize excellence.

Evaluation of operational SSM/I ice-concentration algorithms

The United States National Ice Center (NIC) provides weekly ice analyses of the Arctic and Antarctic using information from ice reconnaissance, ship reports and high-resolution satellite imagery. In cloud-covered areas and regions lacking imagery, the higher-resolution sources are augmented by ice concentrations derived from Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSMII) passive-microwave imagery. However, the SSMII-derived ice concentrations are limited by low resolution and uncertainties in thin-ice regions. Ongoing research at NIC is attempting to improve the utility of these SSMII products for operational sea-ice analyses. The refinements of operational algorithms may also aid future scientific studies. Here we discuss an evaluation of the standard operational ice-concentration algorithm, Cal/Val, with a possible alternative, a modified NASA Team algorithm. The modified algorithm compares favorably with CallVal and is a substantial improvement over the standard NASA Team algorithm in thin-ice regions that are of particular interest to operational activities.

Baleen Whales: Conservation Issues and The Status Of The Most Endangered Populations

Most species of baleen whales were subject to intensive overexploitation by commercial whaling in this and previous centuries, and many populations were reduced to small fractions of their original sizes. Here, we review the status of baleen whale stocks, with an emphasis on those that are known or thought to be critically endangered. Current data suggest that, of the various threats potentially affecting baleen whales, only entanglement in fishing gear and ship strikes may be significant at the population level, and then only in those populations which are already at critically low abundance. The impact of some problems (vessel harassment, and commercial or aboriginal whaling) is at present probably minor. For others (contaminants, habitat degradation, disease), existing data either indicate no immediate cause for concern, or are insufficient to permit an assessment. While the prospect for many baleen whales appears good, there are notable exceptions; populations that are of greatest concern are those suffering from low abundance and associated problems, including (in some cases) anthropogenic mortality. These include: all Northern Right Whales Eubalaena glacialis, Bowhead Whales Balaena mysticetus of the Okhotsk Sea and various eastern Arctic populations, western Gray Whales Eschrichtius robustus, and probably many Blue Whale Balaenoptera musculus populations. We review the status of these populations and, where known, the issues potentially affecting their recovery. Although Humpback Whales Megaptera novaeangliae and Southern Right Whales Eubalaena australis were also heavily exploited by whaling, existing data indicate strong recovery in most studied populations of these species.

Cetacean Notes. I. Sei and Rorqual Whales on the Mississippi Coast, a Correction. II. A Dwarf Sperm Whale in Mississippi Sound and Its Helminth Parasites

I. Gunter and Christmas (1973) described the events leading to the stranding of a baleen whale on Ship Island, Mississippi, in 1968, giving the species as Balaenopteru physalus, the Rorqual. Unfortunately the identification was in error, but fortunately good photographs were shown. The underside of the tail was a splotched white, but there was no black margin. The specimen also had fewer throat and belly grooves than the Rorqual, as a comparison with True’s (1904) photograph shows. Dr. James Mead (in litt.) pointed out that the animal was a Sei Whale, Balaenoptera borealis. This remains a new Mississippi record and according to Lowery’s (1974) count, it is the fifth specimen reported from the Gulf of Mexico. The stranding of a sixth Sei Whale on Anclote Keys in the Gulf, west of Tarpon Springs, Florida on 30 May 1974, was reported in the newspapers and by the Smithsonian Institution (1974). II. Gunter, Hubbs and Beal (1955) gave measurements on a Pygmy Sperm Whale, Kogia breviceps, which stranded on Mustang Island on the Texas coast and commented upon the recorded variations of proportional measurements in this species. Then according to Raun, Hoese and Moseley (1970) these questions were resolved by Handley (1966), who showed that a second species, Kogia simus, the Dwarf Sperm Whale, is also present in the western North Atlantic. Handley’s argument is based on skull comparisons and it seems to be rather indubitable. According to Raun et al. (op. cit.), the stranding of a species of Kogia on Galveston Island recorded by Caldwell, Ingles and Siebenaler (1960) was K. simus. They also say that Caldwell (in litt.) had previously come to the same conclusion. Caldwell et al. also recorded another specimen from Destin, Florida, which is now considered to have been a specimen of simus. The known status of these two little sperm whales in the Gulf is summarized by Lowery (op. cit.).

Estimating abundance of killer whales in the nearshore waters of the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands using line-transect sampling

Killer whale (Orcinus orca Linnaeus, 1758) abundance in the North Pacific is known only for a few populations for which extensive longitudinal data are available, with little quantitative data from more remote regions. Line-transect ship surveys were conducted in July and August of 2001–2003 in coastal waters of the western Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. Conventional and Multiple Covariate Distance Sampling methods were used to estimate the abundance of different killer whale ecotypes, which were distinguished based upon morphological and genetic data. Abundance was calculated separately for two data sets that differed in the method by which killer whale group size data were obtained. Initial group size (IGS) data corresponded to estimates of group size at the time of first sighting, and post-encounter group size (PEGS) corresponded to estimates made after closely approaching sighted groups.

Results from the April 2009 Gulf of Alaska Line Transect Survey (GOALS) in the Navy Training Exercise Area

Little is known about the present-day occurrence of cetaceans found in offshore waters in the Gulf of Alaska; however, whaling records and a few recent surveys have shown this area to be important habitat. The U.S. Navy maintains a maritime training area in the central Gulf of Alaska, east of Kodiak Island, and has requested additional information on marine mammal presence and use of this area. To describe the occurrence and distribution of marine mammals in and around the U.S. Navy training area, a line transect visual and acoustic survey was conducted 10-20 April 2009 from the NOAA ship Oscar Dyson. The primary survey area encompassed nearshore and offshore pelagic waters of the central Gulf of Alaska. Survey lines were designed to provide equal coverage of the nearshore and offshore habitat.

A literatura no Ensino Fundamental - anos iniciais: entre o prazer emancipatório e o escolar pragmático

The Children's Literature is an invaluable tool for human formation, ethics, aesthetics and politics, as well as serves as an instrument for the formation of interdiscourse and transforms teaching procedures of text written production. Then, the investigation of how the literature is being worked in school. Therefore, in this work, constitutes the general objective, to investigate how the teaching of Children's Literature is organized in the early years of elementary school and if that organization promotes the development of literary literacy of the student, and language skills written and the reader behavior, making it critical on several topics. The question that served as a north to the research was the following one: is Teaching Children's Literature, in the early years of elementary school, organized to develop the literary literacy while acting as a catalyst tool for learning to read and write? Have been established the following objectives: a) describe how the teaching of children's literature is organized (teaching routine) in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th years of elementary school ; b) identify the literary genres that have worked in each school year, describe how they are worked out, analyze whether this work is related to the teaching of writing and the nature of that relation ship; c) verify if the Children's Literature teaching procedure seeks ways to articulate literary activities with the establishment of the interdiscourse as content for writing the textual production. The methodology that was included was the field research, from a qualitative interpretation approach and it had as direct data source the natural environment in which it was developed the teaching of Children's Literature. The work presents data results analyzed according to the concepts of Aesthetics of Reception (Iser, 1977; Jauss, 1977), and the functions of Literature, according to Candido (2000), Yasuda (2004), among others. From the results were extracted

Verissima et ivcvndissima descriptio..., de Ulrico Schmidl: literatura de viagem ou relato de viagem?

Pós-graduação em Letras - FCLAS

Experimental comparative study on vortex-induced motion (VIM) of a monocolumn platform

An analysis methodology is presented as well as a comparison of results obtained from vortex-induced motion (VIM) model tests of the MonoGoM platform, a monocolumn floating unit designed for the Gulf of Mexico. The choice of scale between the model and the platform in which the tests took place was a very important issue that took into account the basin dimensions and mooring design. The tests were performed in three different basins: the IPT Towing Tank in Brazil (Sept. 2005), the NMRI Model Ship Experimental Towing Tank in Japan (Mar. 2007), and the NMRI Experimental Tank in Japan (Jun. 2008). The purpose is to discuss the most relevant issues regarding the concept, execution, and procedures to comparatively analyze the results obtained from VIM model tests, such as characteristic motion amplitudes, motion periods, and forces. The results pointed out the importance of considering the 2DOF in the model tests, i.e., the coexistence of the motions in both in-line and transverse directions. The approach employed in the tests was designed to build a reliable data set for comparison with theoretical and numerical models for VIM prediction, especially that of monocolumn platforms. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4003494]

Motion-based wave estimation: Small-scale tests with a crane-barge model

This paper provides additional validation to the problem of estimating wave spectra based on the first-order motions of a moored vessel. Prior investigations conducted by the authors have attested that even a large-volume ship, such as an FPSO unit, could be adopted for on-board estimation of the wave field. The obvious limitation of the methodology concerns filtering of high-frequency wave components, for which the vessel has no significant response. As a result, the estimation range is directly dependent on the characteristics of the vessel response. In order to extend this analysis, further small-scale tests were performed with a model of a pipe-laying crane-barge. When compared to the FPSO case, the results attest that a broader range of typical sea states can be accurately estimated, including crossed-sea states with low peak periods. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rapid assessment survey for exotic benthic species in the São Sebastião Channel, Brazil

The study of biological invasions can be roughly divided into three parts: detection, monitoring, mitigation. Here, our objectives were to describe the marine fauna of the area of the port of São Sebastião (on the northern coast of the state of São Paulo, in the São Sebastião Channel, SSC) to detect introduced species. Descriptions of the faunal community of the SSC with respect to native and allochthonous (invasive or potentially so) diversity are lacking for all invertebrate groups. Sampling was carried out by specialists within each taxonomic group, in December 2009, following the protocol of the Rapid Assessment Survey (RAS) in three areas with artificial structures as substrates. A total of 142 species were identified (61 native, 15 introduced, 62 cryptogenic, 4 not classified), of which 17 were Polychaeta (12, 1, 1, 3), 24 Ascidiacea (3, 6, 15, 0), 36 Bryozoa (17, 0, 18, 1), 27 Cmdana (2, 1, 24, 0), 20 Crustacea (11, 4, 5, 0), 2 Entoprocta (native), 16 Mollusca (13, 3, 0, 0). Twelve species are new occurrences for the SSC. Among the introduced taxa, two are new for coastal Brazil. Estimates of introduced taxa are conservative as the results of molecular studies suggest that some species previously considered cryptogenic are indeed introduced. We emphasize that the large number of cryptogenic species illustrates the need for a long-term monitoring program, especially in areas most susceptible to bioinvasion. We conclude that rapid assessment studies, even in relatively well-known regions, can be very useful for the detection of introduced species and we recommend that they be carried out on a larger scale in all ports with heavy ship traffic.

Experimental model identification of open-frame underwater vehicles

Most of the works published on hydrodynamic parameter identification of open-frame underwater vehicles focus their attention almost exclusively on good coherence between simulated and measured responses, giving less importance to the determination of “actual values” for hydrodynamic parameters. To gain insight into hydrodynamic parameter experimental identification of open-frame underwater vehicles, an experimental identification procedure is proposed here to determine parameters of uncoupled and coupled models. The identification procedure includes: (i) a prior estimation of actual values of the forces/torques applied to the vehicle, (ii) identification of drag parameters from constant velocity tests and (iii) identification of inertia and coupling parameters from oscillatory tests; at this stage, the estimated values of drag parameter obtained in item (ii) are used. The procedure proposed here was used to identify the hydrodynamic parameters of LAURS—an unmanned underwater vehicle developed at the University of São Paulo. The thruster–thruster and thruster–hull interactions and the advance velocity of the vehicle are shown to have a strong impact on the efficiency of thrusters appended to open-frame underwater vehicles, especially for high advance velocities. Results of tests with excitation in 1-DOF and 3-DOF are reported and discussed, showing the feasibility of the developed procedure.

Diez años de observaciones desde el B/H Esperanza del Mar, 1985-1995

Se presentan algunos de los resultados preliminares de las observaciones realizadas desde 1985 a 1995 entre las Islas Canarias y Cabo Blanco (28-21ºN), desde un barco de oportunidad que ha operado en éste area regularmente durante 25 días al mes. Se presenta la comparación de la distribución de la flota con los principales indicadores de afloramiento

Modeling the gas and aqueous phase chemistry of the marine boundary layer

Ein eindimensionales numerisches Modell der maritimenGrenzschicht (MBL) wurde erweitert, um chemische Reaktionenin der Gasphase, von Aerosolpartikeln und Wolkentropfen zu beschreiben. Ein Schwerpunkt war dabei die Betrachtung derReaktionszyklen von Halogenen. Soweit Ergebnisse vonMesskampagnen zur Verfuegung standen, wurden diese zurValidierung des Modells benutzt. Die Ergebnisse von frueheren Boxmodellstudien konntenbestaetigt werden. Diese zeigten die saeurekatalysierteAktivierung von Brom aus Seesalzaerosolen, die Bedeutung vonHalogenradikalen fuer die Zerstoerung von O3, diepotentielle Rolle von BrO bei der Oxidation von DMS und dievon HOBr und HOCl in der Oxidation von S(IV). Es wurde gezeigt, dass die Beruecksichtigung derVertikalprofile von meteorologischen und chemischen Groessenvon grosser Bedeutung ist. Dies spiegelt sich darin wider,dass Maxima des Saeuregehaltes von Seesalzaerosolen und vonreaktiven Halogenen am Oberrand der MBL gefunden wurden.Darueber hinaus wurde die Bedeutung von Sulfataerosolen beidem aktiven Recyceln von weniger aktiven zu photolysierbarenBromspezies gezeigt. Wolken haben grosse Auswirkungen auf die Evolution und denTagesgang der Halogene. Dies ist nicht auf Wolkenschichtenbeschraenkt. Der Tagesgang der meisten Halogene ist aufgrundeiner erhoehten Aufnahme der chemischen Substanzen in die Fluessigphase veraendert. Diese Ergebnisse betonen dieWichtigkeit der genauen Dokumentation der meteorologischenBedingungen bei Messkampagnen (besonders Wolkenbedeckungsgrad und Fluessigwassergehalt), um dieErgebnisse richtig interpretieren und mit Modellresultatenvergleichen zu koennen. Dieses eindimensionale Modell wurde zusammen mit einemBoxmodell der MBL verwendet, um die Auswirkungen vonSchiffemissionen auf die MBL abzuschaetzen, wobei dieVerduennung der Abgasfahne parameterisiert wurde. DieAuswirkungen der Emissionen sind am staerksten, wenn sie insauberen Gebieten stattfinden, die Hoehe der MBL gering istund das Einmischen von Hintergrundluft schwach ist.Chemische Reaktionen auf Hintergrundaerosolen spielen nureine geringe Rolle. In Ozeangebieten mit schwachemSchiffsverkehr sind die Auswirkungen auf die Chemie der MBL beschraenkt. In staerker befahrenen Gebieten ueberlappensich die Abgasfahnen mehrerer Schiffe und sorgen fuerdeutliche Auswirkungen. Diese Abschaetzung wurde mitSimulationen verglichen, bei denen die Emissionen alskontinuierliche Quellen behandelt wurden, wie das inglobalen Chemiemodellen der Fall ist. Wenn die Entwicklungder Abgasfahne beruecksichtigt wird, sind die Auswirkungendeutlich geringer da die Lebenszeit der Abgase in der erstenPhase nach Emission deutlich reduziert ist.