Drought and the future of rural communities: Opportunities and challenges for climate change adaptation in regional Victoria,Australia     

Anthony S. Kiem  Emma K. Austin 《Global Environmental Change》2013,23(5):1307-1316

Australia's vulnerability to climate variability and change has been highlighted by the recent drought (i.e. the Big Dry or Millennium Drought), and also recent flooding across much of eastern Australia during 2011 and 2012. There is also the possibility that the frequency, intensity and duration of droughts may increase due to anthropogenic climate change, stressing the need for robust drought adaptation strategies. This study investigates the socio-economic impacts of drought, past and present drought adaptation measures, and the future adaptation strategies required to deal with projected impacts of climate change. The qualitative analysis presented records the actual experiences of drought and other climatic extremes and helps advance knowledge of how best to respond and adapt to such conditions, and how this might vary between different locations, sectors and communities. It was found that more effort is needed to address the changing environment and climate, by shifting from notions of ‘drought-as-crisis’ towards acknowledging the variable availability of water and that multi-year droughts should not be unexpected, and may even become more frequent. Action should also be taken to revalue the farming enterprise as critical to our environmental, economic and cultural well-being and there was also strong consensus that the value of water should be recognised in a more meaningful way (i.e. not just in economic terms). Finally, across the diverse stakeholders involved in the research, one point was consistently reiterated: that ‘it's not just drought’. Exacerbating the issues of climate impacts on water security and supply is the complexity of the agriculture industry, global economics (in particular global markets and the recent/ongoing global financial crisis), and demographic changes (decreasing and ageing populations) which are currently occurring across most rural communities. The social and economic issues facing rural communities are not just a product of drought or climate change – to understand them as such would underestimate the extent of the problems and inhibit the ability to coordinate the holistic, cross-agency approach needed for successful climate change adaptation in rural communities.  相似文献   

Nanometre-scale spheroids on sands, Vulcano, Sicily: possible nannobacterial alteration     

Robert L. Folk  Emma T. Rasbury † 《地学学报》2002,14(6):469-475

ABSTRACT Spheroids in the size range of 30–200 nm coat sand grains on sediments around the island of Vulcano. They occur as single individuals, as ball-shaped clumps resembling biological colonies with radiating chains of bodies, and eventually merge into sheets in which the individual nannobacteria are no longer evident. Rarely, they appear to bore into the glass grains . Older rocks are composed mainly of closely packed nanospheroids. These spheroids are believed to be nannobacterial cells based on their resemblance to nannobacteria found in other surficial environments, and their occurrence in colony-like groups. If so, nannobacteria play a very important role in the destruction of volcanic materials on Vulcano.  相似文献   

Field Study of Vertical Screening Distance Criteria for Vapor Intrusion of Ethylene Dibromide     

Ian Hers  John T. Wilson  Ravi V. Kolhatkar  Matthew A. Lahvis  Emma Luo  Parisa Jourabchi 《Ground Water Monitoring & Remediation》2022,42(1):65-80

Several regulatory agencies recommend screening petroleum vapor intrusion (PVI) sites based on vertical screening distance between a petroleum hydrocarbon source in soil or groundwater and a building foundation. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) indicate the risk of PVI is minimal at buildings that are separated by more than 6 feet (1.8 m) from a dissolved-phase source and 15 feet (4.6 m) from a light nonaqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) source. This vertical screening distance method is not, however, recommended at sites with leaded gasoline sources containing ethylene dibromide (EDB) because of a lack of field data to document EDB attenuation in the vadose zone. To help address this gap, depth-discrete soil-gas samples were collected at a leaded gasoline release site in Sobieski, Minnesota (USA). The maximum concentration of EDB in groundwater (175 μg/L) at the site was high relative to those observed at other leaded gasoline release sites. Soil gas was analyzed for EDB using a modification of U.S. EPA Method TO-14A that achieved analytical detection limits below the U.S. EPA Vapor Intrusion Screening Level (VISL) for EDB based on a 10⁻⁶ cancer risk (<0.16 μg/m³). Concentrations of EDB in soil gas above LNAPL reached as high as 960 μg/m³ and decreased below the VISL within a source-separation distance of 7 feet. This result coupled with BioVapor model predictions of EDB concentrations indicate that vertical screening distances recommended by regulatory agencies at PVI sites are generally applicable for EDB over the range of anticipated source concentrations and soil types at most sites.  相似文献   

Seasonal variations of biomarker responses in the marine blue mussel (Mytilus spp.)     

Wiebke Schmidt  Emma Power  Brian Quinn 《Marine pollution bulletin》2013

Biomarkers, which can detect changes at the biochemical level, have been used for many years as early warning tools in environmental monitoring. In order to distinguish between natural variability and the potential effects of anthropogenic pollution, it is essential to identify background levels and establish the potential influence of abiotic (season, temperature and salinity) and biotic (gametogenesis) factors. In this study, we examined various biomarkers of stress (glutathione S-transferase (GST)), reproduction (vitellin-like proteins) and damage (lipid peroxidation (LPO) and DNA damage (DNA)) in marine mussels (Mytilus spp.) from a known pristine hybrid zone. Levels of all biomarker expression varied between seasons and appeared to be linked to the reproductive cycle. Oxidative stress in winter, with low GST expression and a higher expression of LPO and DNA damage displayed could be explained by low food availability. These data provide vital baseline information for future ecotoxicological and environmental monitoring studies.  相似文献   

Historical water resources in South Asia: the hydrological background     

John Sutcliffe  Julia Shaw  Emma Brown 《水文科学杂志》2013,58(5):775-788

Abstract

The development of historical water resources in the South Asian subcontinent has been largely dependent on the hydrological background. The runoff patterns are derived from climate statistics and the historical developments in different areas are related to these patterns.

Citation Sutcliffe, J., Shaw, J. & Brown, E. (2011) Historical water resources in South Asia: the hydrological background. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(5), 775–788.  相似文献   

Opaque assemblages in CR2 Graves Nunataks (GRA) 06100 as indicators of shock‐driven hydrothermal alteration in the CR chondrite parent body     

Neyda M. Abreu  Emma S. Bullock 《Meteoritics & planetary science》2013,48(12):2406-2429

We have studied the petrologic characteristics of sulfide‐metal lodes, polymineralic Fe‐Ni nodules, and opaque assemblages in the CR2 chondrite Graves Nunataks (GRA) 06100, one of the most altered CR chondrites. Unlike low petrologic type CR chondrites, alteration of metal appears to have played a central role in the formation of secondary minerals in GRA 06100. Differences in the mineralogy and chemical compositions of materials in GRA 06100 suggest that it experienced higher temperatures than other CR2 chondrites. Mineralogic features indicative of high temperature include: (1) exsolution of Ni‐poor and Ni‐rich metal from nebular kamacite; (2) formation of sulfides, oxides, and phosphates; (3) changes in the Co/Ni ratios; and (4) carbidization of Fe‐Ni metal. The conspicuous absence of pentlandite may indicate that peak temperatures exceeded 600 °C. Opaques appear to have been affected by the action of aqueous fluids that resulted in the formation of abundant oxides, Fe‐rich carbonates, including endmember ankerite, and the sulfide‐silicate‐phosphate scorzalite. We suggest that these materials formed via impact‐driven metamorphism. Mineralogic features indicative of impact metamorphism include (1) the presence of sulfide‐metal lodes; (2) the abundance of polymineralic opaque assemblages with mosaic‐like textures; and (3) the presence of suessite. Initial shock metamorphism probably resulted in replacement of nebular Fe‐Ni metal in chondrules and in matrix by Ni‐rich, Co‐rich Fe metal, Al‐Ti‐Cr‐rich alloys, and Fe sulfides, while subsequent hydrothermal alteration produced accessory oxides, phosphates, and Fe carbonates. An extensive network of sulfide‐metal veins permitted effective exchange of siderophile elements from pre‐existing metal nodules with adjacent chondrules and matrix, resulting in unusually high Fe contents in these objects.  相似文献   

A less‐is‐more approach to geovisualization – enhancing knowledge construction across multidisciplinary teams     

Catherine Emma Jones  Mordechai Haklay  Sam Griffiths  Laura Vaughan 《International journal of geographical information science》2013,27(8):1077-1093

The ‘less‐is‐more’ concept in interface design for computer applications has recently gained ground. In this article, the concept is adopted for a user‐centered design of geovisualization application. The premise is that using simple and clear design can lead to successful applications with improved ease of use. Over the last three decades, the development of GIS and geovisualization has seen a marked increase in the levels of interaction between the user, the system and the information. However, these enthusiastic advances in technology have not resulted in a significant increase in the number of users.

This article suggests that types of user interaction should not simply emphasize traditional GIS functions such as zooming and panning but move towards interaction based on facilitating the knowledge construction process. Considerations are made for the complexity of the system, the task at hand and the skills and limitations of the users. These elements are particularly important when maps act as the mediators in collaboration with users across disciplinary backgrounds. In such cases, the emphasis on simplicity and usability becomes as important as functionality. In these situations a geovisualization application designed for specific uses can maximize effective development of geographic knowledge.

In this article, a minimalistic design approach to geovisualization is adopted by creating a geographic profiling tool which shifts the emphasis from technological advances or interaction with the map to the interaction elements key to building the spatial knowledge of GIS experts and non‐experts alike. To evaluate this notion of ‘less‐is‐more geovisualization’ the profiling tool is evaluated according to usability matrices: efficiency, effectiveness and learnability. How well the Suburban Profiler contributes to these elements is assessed by conducting a video analysis of the types and forms of user interaction available. The video analysis demonstrates the usefulness and usability of the Suburban Profiler, providing proof of concept for ‘less‐is‐more geovisualization’.  相似文献   

Colonisers of the dark: biostalactite‐associated metazoans from “lu Lampiùne” submarine cave (Apulia,Mediterranean Sea)     

Antonietta Rosso  Rossana Sanfilippo  Adriano Guido  Vasilis Gerovasileiou  Emma Taddei Ruggiero  Genuario Belmonte 《Marine Ecology》2021,42(1):e12634

Metazoan/microbial bioconstructions, or biostalactites (BSTs), discovered in submarine caves of Apulia c. 20 years ago—and later found in several shallow‐water Mediterranean caves—are receiving increasing attention in the last years. Examination of a single BST from the “lu Lampiùne” cave (Apulia), at the limit between the Adriatic and the Ionian seas, has been addressed for the first time in this paper. The BST started growing at c. 6,000 years ago with a rapid accretion of large‐sized serpulids (Protula), slowing down since about 3,000–4,000 years ago with a shift in main bioconstructors, probably caused by environmental changes. The present‐day community on the outer BST surface is dominated by skeletonised epibionts, mostly small‐sized serpulids, bryozoans and foraminifers, which contribute carbonate to the BST growth, by encrusting sponges, and by a few endobionts, including boring bivalves and insinuating sponges. New data remarkably increase biodiversity known for the “lu Lampiùne” cave and the cave habitat in the region. Thirty‐five taxa (16 bryozoans, 10 serpulids, 3 brachiopods, 2 foraminifers, 2 sponges, 1 bivalve and 1 cirriped) are recorded for the first time from Apulian marine caves, highlighting the need for further research in the area. In addition, the BST‐associated community seems to differ from those of individual BSTs from other Mediterranean caves, revealing the individuality of these communities.  相似文献   

Sedimentary regimes in Arctic's Amerasian and Eurasian Basins: Clues to differences in sedimentation rates   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Emma Selln  Martin Jakobsson  Jan Backman 《Global and Planetary Change》2008,61(3-4):275-284

A standard lithostratigraphic model based on cores retrieved 1963–1973 from the ice island T-3 was developed by Clark et al. [Stratigraphy and glacial-marine sediments of the Amerasian Basin, central Arctic Ocean. Geological Society of America Special Paper, 181, 1–57, 1980] for the Amerasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean. We have investigated whether or not it is possible to apply this lithostratigraphy to cores from the Lomonosov Ridge, which can be correlated to Eurasian Basin cores, for the purpose of correlating the Amerasian and Eurasian stratigraphies. Published averaged sedimentary proxies from a selected set of T-3 cores are used to correlate with the identical published proxies for the included Lomonosov Ridge cores. The standard lithostratigraphic classification could not be applied to the Lomonosov Ridge cores, which is interpreted to result from differences in sedimentary regimes in the Amerasian and Eurasian Basins. These differences also apply to the barrier between the two basins, the Lomonosov Ridge. The general sedimentation rates are three to four times lower in the Amerasian Basin than in the Eurasian Basin if the first down-core paleomagnetic inclination change is used to correlate between the two basins whereas correlation based on sediment coarse fraction suggests only two times lower rates in the Amerasian Basin.  相似文献   

Survival: survival of the human race - Edited by Emily Shuckburgh     

Emma Mawdsley 《Area》2009,41(1):110-111

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