Response of the diatom flora in Jiaozhou Bay, China to environmental changes during the last century

The diatom flora in a 164 cm long sediment core obtained from Jiaozhou Bay (Yellow Sea, China) was analyzed in order to trace the response of diatoms to environmental changes over the past 100 years. The sediment core was dated by Pb-210 and Cs-137 and represented approximately 100 years (1899-2001 A.D.). The flora was mainly composed of centric diatoms (59-96%). The concentration of diatoms declined sharply above 30 cm (after similar to 1981 A.D.), while the dominant species changed from Thalassiosira anguste-lineatus, Thalassiosira eccentria, Coscinodiscus excentricus, Coscinodiscus concinnus and Diploneis gorjanovici to Cyclotella stylorum and Paralia sulcata. Species richness decreased slightly, and the cell abundance of warm-water species increased. We argue that these floral changes were probably caused by climate change in combination with eutrophication resulting from aquaculture and sewage discharge. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Elemental carbon record of paleofire history on the Chinese Loess Plateau during the last 420 ka and its response to environmental and climate changes

An elemental carbon (EC) record, covering the last 420 ka, was reconstructed using chemical oxidation method on a loess and paleosol sequence from the Lingtai section on the Chinese Loess Plateau. The EC record reveals the paleofire history and its relationship with climate and vegetation changes on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Our results show that the EC abundance is generally higher in the paleosols than in the loess layers, showing a glacial/interglacial pattern, which is coincident with biomass changes. This variation pattern indicates that paleofires were intensified when biomass accumulated and climate changed abruptly especially from wet to dry conditions. The EC abundance increases sharply at similar to 130 kaB.P., indicating a dramatic change in the vegetation and climate variation patterns. The occurrence of a peak value with the highest average EC abundance in the Holocene may reflect the occurrence of a major climate event at similar to 6 kaB.P., and may also be partly due to more frequent anthropogenic fire usages. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmental and biological characteristics of lagoons on the southwest coast of Ireland

Coastal lagoons are defined as shallow coastal water bodies partially separated from the adjacent sea by a restrictive barrier. Coastal lagoons are protected under Annex I of the European Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). Lagoons are also considered to be “transitional water bodies” and are therefore included in the “register of protected areas” under the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). Consequently, EU member states are required to establish monitoring plans and to regularly report on lagoon condition and conservation status. Irish lagoons are considered relatively rare and unusual because of their North Atlantic, macrotidal location on high energy coastlines and have received little attention. This work aimed to assess the physicochemical and ecological status of three lagoons, Cuskinny, Farranamanagh and Toormore, on the southwest coast of Ireland. Baseline salinity, nutrient and biological conditions were determined in order to provide reference conditions to detect perturbations, and to inform future maintenance of ecosystem health. Accumulation of organic matter is an increasing pressure in coastal lagoon habitats worldwide, often compounding existing eutrophication problems. This research also aimed to investigate the in situ decomposition process in a lagoon habitat together with exploring the associated invertebrate assemblages. Re-classification of the lagoons, under the guidelines of the Venice system for the classifications of marine waters according to salinity, was completed by taking spatial and temporal changes in salinity regimes into consideration. Based on the results of this study, Cuskinny, Farranamanagh and Toormore lagoons are now classified as mesohaline (5 ppt – 18 ppt), oligohaline (0.5 ppt – 5 ppt) and polyhaline (18 ppt – 30 ppt), respectively. Varying vertical, longitudinal and transverse salinity patterns were observed in the three lagoons. Strong correlations between salinity and cumulative rainfall highlighted the important role of precipitation in controlling the lagoon environment. Maximum effect of precipitation on the salinity of the lagoon was observed between four and fourteen days later depending on catchment area geology, indicating the uniqueness of each lagoon system. Seasonal nutrient patterns were evident in the lagoons. Nutrient concentrations were found to be reflective of the catchment area and the magnitude of the freshwater inflow. Assessment based on the Redfield molar ratio indicated a trend towards phosphorus, rather than nitrogen, limitation in Irish lagoons. Investigation of the decomposition process in Cuskinny Lagoon revealed that greatest biomass loss occurred in the winter season. Lowest biomass loss occurred in spring, possibly due to the high density of invertebrates feeding on the thick microbial layer rather than the decomposing litter. It has been reported that the decomposition of plant biomass is highest in the preferential distribution area of the plant species; however, no similar trend was observed in this study with the most active zones of decomposition varying spatially throughout the seasons. Macroinvertebrate analysis revealed low species diversity but high abundance, indicating the dominance of a small number of species. Invertebrate assemblages within the lagoon varied significantly from communities in the adjacent freshwater or marine environments. Although carried out in coastal lagoons on the southwest coast of Ireland, it is envisaged that the overall findings of this study have relevance throughout the entire island of Ireland and possibly to many North Atlantic coastal lagoon ecosystems elsewhere.

Quaternary geology of the German North Sea and Western Irish Sea Mud Belt: revised stratigraphies, geotechnical properties, sedimentology and anthropogenic impacts

The climatic development of the Mid to Late Quaternary (last 400,000 years) is characterised by fluctuation between glacial and interglacial periods leading to the present interglacial, the Holocene. In comparison to preceding periods it was believed the Holocene represented a time of relative climatic stability. However, recent work has shown that the Holocene can be divided into cooler periods such as the Little Ice Age alternating with time intervals where climatic conditions ameliorated i.e. Medieval Warm Period, Holocene Thermal Optimum and the present Modern Optimum. In addition, the Holocene is recognised as a period with increasing anthropogenic influence on the environment. Onshore records recording glacial/interglacial cycles as well as anthropogenic effects are limited. However, sites of sediment accumulation on the shallow continental shelf offer the potential to reconstruct these events. Such sites include tunnel valleys and low energy, depositional settings. In this study we interrogated the sediment stratigraphy at such sites in the North Sea and Irish Sea using traditional techniques, as well as novel applications of geotechnical data, to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental record. Within the German North Sea sector a combination of core, seismic and in-situ Cone Penetration Testing (CPT) data was used to identify sedimentary units, place them within a morphological context, relate them to glacial or interglacial periods stratigraphically, and correlate them across the German North Sea. Subsequently, we were able to revise the Mid to Late Quaternary stratigraphy for the North Sea using this new and novel data. Similarly, Holocene environmental changes were investigated within the Irish Sea at a depositional site with active anthropogenic influence. The methods used included analyses on grain-size distribution, foraminifera, gamma spectrometry, AMS 14C and physical core logging. The investigation revealed a strong fluctuating climatic signal early in the areas history before anthropogenic influence affects the record through trawling.

Holocene deposits from Neptune’s Cave, Nordland, Norway: Environmental interpretation and relation to the deglacial and emergence history of the Velfjord–Tosenfjord area

Neptune’s Cave in the Velfjord–Tosenfjord area of Nordland, Norway is described, together with its various organic deposits. Samples of attached barnacles, loose marine molluscs, animal bones and organic sediments were dated, with radiocarbon ages of 9840+/-90 and 9570+/-80 yr BP being derived for the barnacles and molluscs, based on the superseded but locally used marine reservoir age of 440 years. A growth temperature of c. 7.51C in undiluted seawater is deduced from the d13C and d18O values of both types of marine shell, which is consistent with their early Holocene age. From the dates, and an assessment of local Holocene uplift and Weichselian deglaciation, a scenario is constructed that could explain the situation and condition of the various deposits. The analysis uses assumed local isobases and sea-level curve to give results: that are consistent with previous data, that equate the demise of the barnacles to the collapse of a tidewater glacier in Tosenfjord, and that constrain the minimum extent of local Holocene uplift. An elk fell into the cave in the mid-Holocene at 510070 yr BP, after which a much later single ‘bog-burst’ event at 178070 yr BP could explain the transport of the various loose deposits further into the cave.

Lacustrine evidence of Holocene environmental change from three Faroese lakes: a multiproxy XRF and stable isotope study

The vegetation history of the Faroe Islands has been investigated in numerous studies all broadly showing that the early-Holocene vegetation of the islands largely consisted of fellfield with gravely and rocky soils formed under a continental climate which shifted to an oceanic climate around 10,000 cal yr BP when grasses, sedges and finally shrubs began to dominant the islands. Here we present data from three lake sediment cores and show a much more detailed history from geochemical and isotope data. These data show that the Faroe Islands were deglaciated by the end of Younger Dryas (11,700 10,300 cal yr BP), at this time relatively high sedimentation rates with high delta C-13 imply poor soil development. delta C-13, Ti and chi data reveal a much more stable and warm mid-Holocene until 7410 cal yr BP characterised by increasing vegetation cover and build up of organic soils towards the Holocene thermal maximum around 7400 cal yr BP. The final meltdown of the Laurentide ice sheet around 7000 cal yr BP appears to have impacted both ocean and atmospheric circulation towards colder conditions on the Faroe Islands. This is inferred by enhanced weathering and increased deposition of surplus sulphur (sea spray) and erosion in the highland lakes from about 7400 cal yr BP. From 4190 cal yr BP further cooling is believed to have occurred as a consequence for increased soil erosion due to freeze/thaw sequences related to oceanic and atmospheric variability. This cooling trend appears to have advanced further from 3000 cal yr BR A short period around 1800 cal yr BP appears as a short warm and wet phase in between a general cooling characterised by significant soil erosion lasting until 725 cal yr BP. Interestingly, increased soil erosion seems to have begun at 1360 cal yr BP, thus significantly before the arrival of the first settlers on the Faroe Island around 1150 cal yr BP, although additional erosion took place around 1200 cal yr BP possibly as a consequence of human activities. Hence it appears that if humans caused a change in the Faroe landscape in terms of erosion they in fact accelerated a process that had already started. Soil erosion was a dominant landscape factor during the Little Ice Age, but climate related triggers can hardly be distinguished from human activities. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Micro-environmental change as a trigger for granite decay in offshore Irish lighthouses: implications for the long-term preservation of operational historic buildings.

Following automation of lighthouses around the coastline of Ireland, reports of accelerated deterioration of interior granite stonework have increased significantly with an associated deterioration in the historic structure and rise in related maintenance costs. Decay of granite stone- work primarily occurs through granular disintegration with the effective grusification of granite surfaces. A decay gradient exists within the towers whereby the condition of granite in the lower levels is much worse than elsewhere. The lower tower levels are also regions with highest rela- tive humidity values and greatest salt concentrations. Data indicate that post-automation decay may have been trig- gered by a change in micro-environmental conditions within the towers associated with increased episodes of condensation on stone surfaces. This in turn appears to have facilitated deposition and accumulation of hygro- scopic salts (e.g. NaCl) giving rise to widespread evidence of deliquescence in the lower tower levels. Evidence indicates that the main factors contributing to accelerated deterioration of interior granite stonework are changes in micro-environmental conditions, salt weathering, chemical weathering through the corrosive effect of strongly alkaline conditions on alumino-silicate minerals within the granite and finally, the mica-rich characteristics of the granite itself which increases its structural and chemical susceptibility to subaerial weathering processes by creating points of weakness within the granite. This case study demonstrates how seemingly minor changes in micro-environmental conditions can unintentionally trigger the rapid and extensive deterioration of a previously stable rock type and threaten the long-term future of nationally iconic opera- tional historic structures.

Changing Climate, Human Evolution, and the Revival of Environmental Determinism

The role of climatic change in determining the shape of human evolution,
a theme that came to prominence during the early years of the twentieth
century, has resurfaced with renewed vigor. The author examines the rise and
resurgence of the modern history of the idea that hominid evolutionary pathways
have been triggered by climatic causes to illustrate the continuing vitality of environmental determinism and to highlight some continuities between early-twentieth century and contemporary archaeoanthropology.

How useful are databases in environmental and criminal forensics?

Advances in computational and information technologies have facilitated the acquisition of geospatial information for regional and national soil and geology databases. These have been completed for a range of purposes from geological and soil baseline mapping to economic prospecting and land resource assessment, but have become increasingly used for forensic purposes. On the question of provenance of a questioned sample, the geologist or soil scientist will draw invariably on prior expert knowledge and available digital map and database sources in a ‘pseudo Bayesian’ approach. The context of this paper is the debate on whether existing (digital) geology and soil databases are indeed useful and suitable for forensic inferences. Published and new case studies are used to explore issues of completeness, consistency, compatibility and applicability in relation to the use of digital geology and soil databases in environmental and criminal forensics. One key theme that emerges is that, despite an acknowledgement that databases can be neither exhaustive nor precise enough to portray spatial variability at the scene of crime scale, coupled with expert knowledge, they play an invaluable role in providing background or
reference material in a criminal investigation. Moreover databases can offer an independent control set of samples.

Using geotechnical and LIDAR spatial monitoring to determine key environmental slope instability thresholds of a Jurassic coastal landslide: Straidkilly Point, Northern Ireland, UK.

The Antrim Coast Road stretching from the seaport of Larne in the East of Northern Ireland to the famous Giant’s Causeway in the North has a well-deserved reputation for being one of the most spectacular roads in Europe (Day, 2006). At various locations along the route, fluid interactions between the problematic geology, Jurassic Lias Clay and Triassic Mudstone overlain by Cretaceous Limestone and Tertiary Basalt, and environmental variables result in frequent instances of slope instability within the vadose zone. During such instances of instability, debris flows and composite mudflows encroach on the carriageway posing a hazard to road users. This paper examines the site investigative, geotechnical and spatial analysis techniques currently being implemented to monitor slope stability for one site at Straidkilly Point, Glenarm, Northern Ireland. An in-depth understanding of the geology was obtained via boreholes, resistivity surveys and laboratory testing. Environmental variables recorded by an on-site weather station were correlated with measured pore water pressure and soil moisture infiltration dynamic data.
Terrestrial LiDAR (TLS) was applied to the slope for the monitoring of failures, with surveys carried out on a bi-monthly basis. TLS monitoring allowed for the generation of Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) of difference, highlighting areas of recent movement, erosion and deposition. Morphology parameters were generated from the DEMs and include slope, curvature and multiple measures of roughness. Changes in the structure of the slope coupled with morphological parameters are characterised and linked to progressive failures from the temporal monitoring. In addition to TLS monitoring, Aerial LiDARi datasets were used for the spatio-morphological characterisation of the slope on a macro scale. Results from the geotechnical and environmental monitoring were compared with spatial data obtained through Terrestrial and Airborne LiDAR, providing a multi-faceted approach to slope stability characterization, which facilitates more informed management of geotechnical risk by the Northern Ireland Roads Service.

Ecological genetics in the North Atlantic: environmental gradients and adaptation at specific loci

The North Atlantic intertidal community provides a rich set of organismal and environmental material for the study of ecological genetics. Clearly defined environmental gradients exist at multiple spatial scales: there are broad latitudinal trends in temperature, meso-scale changes in salinity along estuaries, and smaller scale gradients in desiccation and temperature spanning the intertidal range. The geology and geography of the American and European coasts provide natural replication of these gradients, allowing for population genetic analyses of parallel adaptation to environmental stress and heterogeneity. Statistical methods have been developed that provide genomic neutrality tests of population differentiation and aid in the process of candidate gene identification. In this paper, we review studies of marine organisms that illustrate associations between an environmental gradient and specific genetic markers. Such highly differentiated markers become candidate genes for adaptation to the environmental factors in question, but the functional significance of genetic variants must be comprehensively evaluated. We present a set of predictions about locus-specific selection across latitudinal, estuarine, and intertidal gradients that are likely to exist in the North Atlantic. We further present new data and analyses that support and contradict these simple selection models. Some taxa show pronounced clinal variation at certain loci against a background of mild clinal variation at many loci. These cases illustrate the procedures necessary for distinguishing selection driven by internal genomic vs. external environmental factors. We suggest that the North Atlantic intertidal community provides a model system for identifying genes that matter in ecology due to the clarity of the environmental stresses and an extensive experimental literature on ecological function. While these organisms are typically poor genetic and genomic models, advances in comparative genomics have provided access to molecular tools that can now be applied to taxa with well-defined ecologies. As many of the organisms we discuss have tight physiological limits driven by climatic factors, this synthesis of molecular population genetics with marine ecology could provide a sensitive means of assessing evolutionary responses to climate change.

Environmental impact of sand mining

This thesis Entitled Environmental impact of Sand Mining :A case Study in the river catchments of vembanad lake southwest india.The entire study is addressed in nine chapters. Chapter l deals with the general introduction about rivers, problems of river sand mining, objectives, location of the study area and scope of the study. A detailed review on river classification, classic concepts in riverine studies, geological work of rivers and channel processes, importance of river ecosystems and its need for management are dealt in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 gives a comprehensive account of the study area - its location, administrative divisions, physiography, soil, geology, land use and living and non-living resources. The various methods adopted in the study are dealt in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 contains river characteristics like drainage, environmental and geologic setting, channel characteristics, river discharge and water quality of the study area. Chapter 6 gives an account of river sand mining (instream and floodplain mining) from the study area. The various environmental problems of river sand mining on the land adjoining the river banks, river channel, water, biotic and social / human environments of the area and data interpretation are presented in Chapter 7. Chapter 8 deals with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Management Plan (EMP) of sand mining from the river catchments of Vembanad lake.

Environmental Resources Assessment of Cochin

In the case of urban centres of the developing countries, corrective measures for the environmental consequences of spontaneous or wrongly planned developments are often prohibitively costly. Hence environmentally planned development alone appears to be the solution for which, a compre-hensive assessment of all the resources is an essential pre—requisite. An under-standing of the prevailing environmental conditions is essential for the effective management and execution of programmes for sustainable development. The present work is a modest attempt at assessing the environmental resources of Cochin, the industrial and business capital of Kerala and a fast developing metropolis.

Monitoring procedures in environmental geochemistry and compositional data analysis theory

First discussion on compositional data analysis is attributable to Karl Pearson, in 1897. However, notwithstanding the recent developments on algebraic structure of the simplex, more than twenty years after Aitchison’s idea of log-transformations of closed data, scientific literature is again full of statistical treatments of this type of data by using traditional methodologies. This is particularly true in environmental geochemistry where besides the problem of the closure, the spatial structure (dependence) of the data have to be considered. In this work we propose the use of log-contrast values, obtained by a simplicial principal component analysis, as LQGLFDWRUV of given environmental conditions. The investigation of the log-constrast frequency distributions allows pointing out the statistical laws able to generate the values and to govern their variability. The changes, if compared, for example, with the mean values of the random variables assumed as models, or other reference parameters, allow defining monitors to be used to assess the extent of possible environmental contamination. Case study on running and ground waters from Chiavenna Valley (Northern Italy) by using Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, HCO3-, SO4 2- and Cl- concentrations will be illustrated