scholarly journals The Upper Pleistocene stratigraphy of the Starunya site as a “bridge” between the stratigraphical frameworks of Western Europe and the plain area of Ukraine

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-220
Author(s):  
O. M. Аdamenko
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Roe Deer ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Interdisciplinary Studies ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Mud Volcano ◽  
Plain Area ◽  
The Carpathians ◽  
Woolly Rhinoceros

The first discoveries of mummified carcasses of the woolly rhinoceros, mammoth, horse, roe deer and other animals were made at a depth of 12 m in the course of mining work at an ozokerite mine near the village of the Starunia. In 1929 an expedition of the Academy of Arts and Sciences from Krakow, when investigating the mine at a depth of 17 m, found the remains of 3 more woolly rhinoceroses. There were also numerous bones of small vertebrates (rodents), artichokes, numerous insects, beetles, parasitic worms, fleas, butterflies, spiders, snails, vascular plants, seeds and branches of dwarf birch, alder, and other representatives of tundra flora. In March 1977, after the earthquake in the Vrancha Mountains (Romania), the first and still the only mud volcano in the Carpathians, which added an entirely new “ note “ to the Starunia paleontological location , arose on the ozokerite deposit. In the 1970s-80s several dozen remains of ancient man from the late Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods were discovered. In 2004-2009, two Ukrainian-Polish expeditions were organized. The results of both expeditions were published in 2005 in the book «Polish and Ukrainian Geological Studies (2004-2005) at Starunia – the area of discoveries of Woolly Rhinoceros» and the scientific collection «Interdisciplinary Studies (2006-2009) at Starunia (Carpathian Region, Ukraine). The main achievements are set forth in 17 articles and relate to the geological environment, geomorphology, lithology, stratigraphy and paleography of the Holocene deposits, their palynological and paleobotanical characteristics, chronostratigraphy and environmental changes during the period of the late Pleistocene and Holocene, and also research by methods of electric probe, gravity and microgravity survey, geochemical analysis, microbiological characteristics and bitumen of Quaternary deposits. An important result was the discovery of the most productive area where the remains of giant mammals and even Pleistocene Cro-Magnon could still be found at depths. All the numerous interdisciplinary research of Polish and Ukrainian scientists confirms the uniqueness of Starunia on a global scale, requiring the preservation and further study of the paleontological finds and of the only mud volcano in the Carpathians. Such findings can onlybe made by organizing the Starunia International Ecological and Tourist Center «Geopark Ice Age».

Lake Chala 2k: the last two millennia of environmental change in equatorial East Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inka Meyer ◽  
Irina Papadimitriou ◽  
Dirk Verschuren ◽  
Marc De Batist
Keyword(s):  
East Africa ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
East African ◽  
The North ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation

<p>In order to disentangle natural climate variability from anthropogenically caused variations, environmental reconstructions of the past 2000 years have gained renewed scientific interest during the last ~20 years. Whereas climatic and environmental changes during this period, such as the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) and the Little Ice Age (LIA) are fairly well expressed in western Europe and the North Atlantic area, knowledge about equivalent changes in African climate and environment (e.g. changes in temperature and precipitation, monsoonal activity and resulting vegetation feedbacks) can be much improved. Here we present new results from Lake Chala, a crater lake in equatorial East Africa, based on sedimentary grain-size distributions. Notwithstanding the relatively minor clastic mineral component, we are able to discriminate between different aeolian and fluviatile sources of terrigenous material and to reconstruct temporal trends in their contribution to the sediment. This can be linked to both local environmental dynamics and changes in the large-scale monsoonal systems over the East African landmass. Our findings point to arid conditions during the MCA and humid conditions during the LIA, in support of regional hydroclimate history as reconstructed from other moisture-balance proxies. The results of this study form an important piece of the puzzle to better understand past changes in African environments, which is a key aspect in the debate about future climate change in one of the most climate-sensitive regions on the planet.</p>

scholarly journals Abundant Citizen Science Data Reveal That the Peacock Butterfly Aglais io Recently Became Bivoltine in Belgium

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 683
Author(s):  
Marc Herremans ◽  
Karin Gielen ◽  
Jos Van Kerckhoven ◽  
Pieter Vanormelingen ◽  
Wim Veraghtert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Science Data ◽  
The Public ◽  
Online Portal ◽  
Spring Generation ◽  
Reproductive Cycles ◽  
New Generation

The peacock butterfly is abundant and widespread in Europe. It is generally believed to be univoltine (one generation per year): adults born in summer overwinter and reappear again in spring to reproduce. However, recent flight patterns in western Europe mostly show three peaks during the year: a first one in spring (overwintering butterflies), a second one in early summer (offspring of the spring generation), and a third one in autumn. It was thus far unclear whether this autumn flight peak was a second new generation or consisted of butterflies flying again in autumn after a summer rest (aestivation). The life cycle of one of Europe’s most common butterflies is therefore still surprisingly inadequately understood. We used hundreds of thousands of observations and thousands of pictures submitted by naturalists from the public to the online portal observation.orgin Belgium and analyzed relations between flight patterns, condition (wear), reproductive cycles, peak abundances, and phenology to clarify the current life history. We demonstrate that peacocks have shifted towards two new generations per year in recent decades. Mass citizen science data in online portals has become increasingly important in tracking the response of biodiversity to rapid environmental changes such as climate change.

scholarly journals Eastern Andean environmental and climate synthesis for the last 2000 years BP from terrestrial pollen and charcoal records of Patagonia

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 2121-2157 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. D. Sottile ◽  
M. E. Echeverria ◽  
M. V. Mancini ◽  
M. M. Bianchi ◽  
M. A. Marcos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Circulation System ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Proxy Records ◽  
The Andes ◽  
Precipitation Regimes ◽  
Southern Patagonia

Abstract. The Southern Hemisphere Westerly Winds (SWW) constitute an important zonal circulation system that dominates the dynamics of Southern Hemisphere mid-latitude climate. Little is known about climatic changes in the Southern South America in comparison to the Northern Hemisphere due to the low density of proxy records, and adequate chronology and sampling resolution to address environmental changes of the last 2000 years. Since 2009, new pollen and charcoal records from bog and lakes in northern and southern Patagonia at the east side of the Andes have been published with an adequate calibration of pollen assemblages related to modern vegetation and ecological behaviour. In this work we improve the chronological control of some eastern Andean previously published sequences and integrate pollen and charcoal dataset available east of the Andes to interpret possible environmental and SWW variability at centennial time scales. Through the analysis of modern and past hydric balance dynamics we compare these scenarios with other western Andean SWW sensitive proxy records for the last 2000 years. Due to the distinct precipitation regimes that exist between Northern (40–45° S) and Southern Patagonia (48–52° S) pollen sites locations, shifts on latitudinal and strength of the SWW results in large changes on hydric availability on forest and steppe communities. Therefore, we can interpret fossil pollen dataset as changes on paleohydric balance at every single site by the construction of paleohydric indices and comparison to charcoal records during the last 2000 cal yrs BP. Our composite pollen-based Northern and Southern Patagonia indices can be interpreted as changes in latitudinal variation and intensity of the SWW respectively. Dataset integration suggest poleward SWW between 2000 and 750 cal yrs BP and northward-weaker SWW during the Little Ice Age (750–200 cal yrs BP). These SWW variations are synchronous to Patagonian fire activity major shifts. We found an in phase fire regime (in terms of timing of biomass burning) between northern Patagonia Monte shrubland and Southern Patagonia steppe environments. Conversely, there is an antiphase fire regime between Northern and Southern Patagonia forest and forest-steppe ecotone environments. SWW variability may be associated to ENSO variability especially during the last millennia. For the last 200 cal yrs BP we can concluded that the SWW belt were more intense and poleward than the previous interval. Our composite pollen-based SWW indices show the potential of pollen dataset integration to improve the understanding of paleohydric variability especially for the last 2000 millennial in Patagonia.

scholarly journals Can the subterranean fauna be used as proxy for past environmental changes? – the example of the Carpathians cave fauna

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oana Teodora Moldovan ◽  
Ionut Cornel Mirea ◽  
Marius Kenesz
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
General View ◽  
Carpathian Mountains ◽  
Small Areas ◽  
The Carpathians ◽  
Cave Fauna ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
Geological Units

Carpathian Mountains were one of the main refuge areas during the climate changes of the Pleistocene and the Holocene in Europe and one of the richest regions in the world in subterranean (caves and associated habitats) endemic species. Nevertheless, the Carpathian Mountains subterranean fauna importance is underestimated especially due to dispersed information on its diversity and the scarcity of molecular studies in the area. Here, we present a first general view of the cave fauna hotspot represented by the Romanian Carpathians and the geological and historical processes that shaped the patterns of subterranean distribution and diversity at regional scale. The Carpathians are an amalgam of various geological units with complex paleogeographical evolution that is reflected in completely different species assemblages dominated by unit specific fauna groups. Phylogeography of Coleoptera and environmental parameters are adding to the general view at regional scale and offer additional explanation for this exceptional subterranean diversification in a non-Mediterranean region. We also use the example of the Carpathians cave fauna as proxy for past environmental changes in the area. Troglobionts are endemic on small areas and by studying their present distributions and phylogeny, past processes of landscape evolution on the surface can be better understood.

Chrysophyte microfossils record marked responses to recent environmental changes in high- and mid-arctic lakes

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (6) ◽  
pp. 747-752 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander P Wolfe ◽  
Bianca B Perren
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Arctic Lakes ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Algal Community ◽  
North Coast ◽  
Baffin Island ◽  
Lake Ecosystems ◽  
The North ◽  
Ecological Changes ◽  
Community Shifts

Rapid stratigraphic changes are recorded in recent assemblages of subfossil Chrysophyceae from the sediments of two highly contrasted arctic lakes, one situated in the polar desert of west-central Ellesmere Island, and the other on eastern Baffin Island in the mid-Arctic climatic zone. In Sawtooth Lake on the Fosheim Peninsula, concentrations of chrysophycean stomatocysts increase dramatically in sediments deposited since AD 1920. Only trace abundances of stomatocysts are encountered in older sediments. In Kekerturnak Lake, on the north coast of Cumberland Peninsula, scales of Mallomonas spp., previously absent from the sediment record, appear suddenly in the upper 5.5 cm of sediment and subsequently become ubiquitous in the top 1.0 cm. These results corroborate diatom stratigraphic data from other sites in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, together suggesting that unprecedented ecological changes are presently occurring across this vast region. In all likelihood, these abrupt algal community shifts reflect the response of arctic lake ecosystems to well-documented climate warming since the Little Ice Age, with the implications that recent rates of environmental change are unprecedented in the context of the Holocene.Key words: Paleolimnology, arctic lakes, Chrysophyceae, stomatocysts, Mallomonas.

scholarly journals A multi-proxy investigation of late-Holocene temperature change and climate-driven fluctuations in sediment sourcing: Simpson Lagoon, Alaska

The Holocene ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 984-997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea JM Hanna ◽  
Timothy M Shanahan ◽  
Mead A Allison ◽  
Thomas S Bianchi ◽  
Kathryn M Schreiner
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Clay Mineralogy ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Temperature Reconstruction ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Fluvial Systems ◽  
Arctic Regions ◽  
Coastal Marine ◽  
Decadal Scale ◽  
Climate Events

The significant and ongoing environmental changes in Arctic regions demonstrate the need for quantitative, high-resolution records of pre-industrial climate change in this climatically sensitive region; such records are fundamental for understanding recent anthropogenic changes in the context of natural variability. Sediment contained within Arctic coastal environments proximal to large fluvial systems has the ability to record paleoclimate variability on subdecadal to decadal scale resolution, on par with many other terrestrial climate archives (i.e. lake sediments, ice cores). Here, we utilize one such sediment archive from Simpson Lagoon, Alaska, located adjacent to the Colville River Delta to reconstruct temperature variability and fluctuations in sediment sourcing over the past 1700 years. Quantitative reconstructions of summer air temperature are obtained using the branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether (brGDGT)-derived methylation index of branched tetraethers (MBT’)/cyclization ratio of branched tetraether (CBT) paleothermometer and reveal temperature departures correlative with noted climate events (i.e. ‘Little Ice Age’, ‘Medieval Climate Anomaly’). In addition, temporal variability in sediment sourcing to the lagoon, determined using a multi-proxy approach (i.e. granulometry, elemental analysis, clay mineralogy), broadly corresponds with temperature fluctuations, indicating relative increases in fluvial sediment discharge during colder intervals and decreased river discharge/increased coastal erosion during warmer periods. The Simpson Lagoon record presented in this study is the first temperature reconstruction, to our knowledge, developed from coastal marine sediments in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea.

scholarly journals Expressions of climate perturbations in western Ugandan crater lake sediment records during the last 1000 yr

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 5183-5226 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Mills ◽  
D. B. Ryves ◽  
N. J. Anderson ◽  
C. L. Bryant ◽  
J. J. Tyler
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
East Africa ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Ecosystem Response ◽  
Large Lakes ◽  
Crater Lakes ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Western Uganda

Abstract. Equatorial East Africa has a complex, regional patchwork of climate regimes, with multiple interacting drivers. Recent studies have focussed on large lakes and reveal signals that are smoothed in both space and time, and, whilst useful at a continental scale, are of less relevance when understanding short-term, abrupt or immediate impacts of climate and environmental changes. Smaller-scale studies have highlighted spatial complexity and regional heterogeneity of tropical palaeoenvironments in terms of responses to climatic forcing (e.g. the Little Ice Age [LIA]) and questions remain over the spatial extent and synchroneity of climatic changes seen in East African records. Sediment cores from paired crater lakes in western Uganda were examined to assess ecosystem response to long-term climate and environmental change as well as testing responses to multiple drivers using redundancy analysis. These archives provide annual to sub-decadal records of environmental change. The records from the two lakes demonstrate an individualistic response to external (e.g. climatic) drivers, however, some of the broader patterns observed across East Africa suggest that the lakes are indeed sensitive to climatic perturbations such as a dry Mediaeval Climate Anomaly (MCA; 1000–1200 AD) and a relatively drier climate during the main phase of the LIA (1500–1800 AD); though lake levels in western Uganda do fluctuate. The relationship of Ugandan lakes to regional climate drivers breaks down c. 1800 AD, when major changes in the ecosystems appear to be a response to sediment and nutrient influxes as a result of increasing cultural impacts within the lake catchments. The data highlight the complexity of individual lake response to climate forcing, indicating shifting drivers through time. This research also highlights the importance of using multi-lake studies within a landscape to allow for rigorous testing of climate reconstructions, forcing and ecosystem response.

scholarly journals Evidências Geomorfológicas de Mudanças Ambientais na Baía Esperança, Península Antártica

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 137-149
Author(s):  
Rafaela Mattos Costa ◽  
Carina Petsch ◽  
Maria Eliza Sotille ◽  
Katia Kellem da Rosa ◽  
Jefferson Cardia Simões ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Physical Weathering ◽  
Geomorphological Mapping ◽  
Transport Distance ◽  
Coarse Grains ◽  
Geomorphological Features ◽  
Sentinel 2

A geomorphological interpretation of the glacial geomorphology of the proglacial environments of the Buenos Aires, Kenney and Flora glaciers in Hope Bay, Antarctica, between the coordinates 63° 23'S and 63° 26'S latitude and 56° 8'W and 57° 4'W longitude. Sedimentary, granulometric and morphological analyzes were carried out on 15 samples collected in 2017 for the identification of depositional geomorphological features and subsequent geomorphological mapping. The glacier fronts were delineated from Sentinel-2 and Quickbird images of 1988, 2008 and 2017 using the ArcGIS® software to identify the landforms chronology of the shapes. The higher number of coarse grains, low selection, and high values of C40 in all samples indicate modification by erosive processes in supraglacial environment and/or transport distance after substrate quarrying process and grain fracturing by post-depositional physical weathering. The reconstruction of the Hope Bay’s Holocene landscape of indicates glaciers with tens of meters of advance compared to the current front during the Little Ice Age (LIA). The geomorphological mapping and sedimentary analyzes showed recent environmental changes in the proglacial system, with formation of hummocky moraines indicating the retreat/stabilization of the glaciers in the LIA. Furthermore, they set evidences of recent recession moraines, which prevail in the Buenos Aires Glacier predominate in the 2008-2017 phase, on the Flora Glacier in 1988-2008 period and the Kenney Glacier in the 2008-2017 period.

Ubiquitous Computing for Microbial Forensics and Bioterrorism

2011 ◽  
pp. 86-101
Author(s):  
Gaya Prasad
Keyword(s):  
Ubiquitous Computing ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Database Systems ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Microbial Diseases ◽  
High Resolution Data ◽  
Microbial Forensics ◽  
Genetically Engineered Bacteria ◽  
Diverse Data

Microorganisms are ubiquitous in their presence. They are present in air, soil, water, and all kinds of living creatures. Varieties of microbes have been linked to diseases of humans, animals, and plants. Advances in molecular biology, electronics, nanotechnology, computer sciences, and information technology have made it possible to hybridize these to create ubiquitous devices and biosensors that would indicate presence of microbial agents in water, foods, air, hospitals, animal farms, and other environments. Analyses of microbial genomes and phylogenies have become increasingly important in the tracking and investigation of events leading to spread of microbial diseases and biocrimes. The capability of microorganisms to communicate with similar as well as different microorganisms, the ability to react to the environmental changes, and most of all, the intelligence to manage themselves without the need for supervision during deployment and operation; makes them attractive agents for use in Biosensors. Biosensors such as genetically engineered bacteria have been proven useful. It appears possible to develop biosensors that could detect the presence of biocrime/bioterror agents in diverse environments. Ubiquitous computing technology has the potential to develop integrated small devices which could detect bioterrorism agents. Similarly, pervasive computing could be a tool to monitor the microbial pollution in water, milk, and other edible commodities. Microbial forensics has become an important field for research and development due to increased threats of biocrimes. Microbial forensics requires utilization of diverse data that are acquired through standard processes in distributed locations. Technologies for data production are evolving rapidly, especially with respect to instrumentation and techniques that produce high-resolution data about the molecular constituents of living cells (DNA, mRNA, proteins, and metabolites) that are used as microbial signatures/fingerprints. Both bioinformatics and computational biology have grown over the last 20 years, and diverse database systems and analytical tools have been developed and deployed. Some public domain resources, such as GenBank, have become very important resources of research on a global scale. Effective responses to natural, accidental, or intentional outbreaks of infectious diseases in humans, livestock, and agricultural crops, will require that the information be easily accessed in realtime or near real-time. Flexible, decentralized, modular information system architectures, able to adapt to evolving requirements and available on the Internet, are needed.

scholarly journals Successful post-glacial colonization of Europe by single lineage of freshwater amphipod from its Pannonian Plio-Pleistocene diversification hotspot

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hedvig Csapó ◽  
Paula Krzywoźniak ◽  
Michał Grabowski ◽  
Remi Wattier ◽  
Karolina Bącela-Spychalska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Pannonian Basin ◽  
Balkan Peninsula ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Index Number ◽  
Operational Taxonomic Units ◽  
Low Genetic Diversity ◽  
Coi Barcoding ◽  
Historical Times

Abstract Gammarus roeselii Gervais, 1835 is a morphospecies with a wide distribution range in Europe. The Balkan Peninsula is known as an area of pre-Pleistocene cryptic diversification within this taxon, resulting in at least 13 Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs). The morphospecies diversified there during Neogene and has probably invaded other parts of the continent very recently, in postglacial or even historical times. Thus, the detailed goals of our study were to (1) identify which lineage(s) colonized Central-Western Europe (CWE), (2) determine their possible geographical origin, (3) verify, whether the colonisation was associated with demographic changes. In total, 663 individuals were sequenced for the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) barcoding fragment and 137 individuals for the internal transcribed spacer II (ITS2). We identified two MOTUs in the study area with contrasting Barcode Index Number and haplotype diversities. The Pannonian Basin (PB) appeared to be a potential ice age refugium for the species, while CWE was colonised by a single lineage (also present in PB), displaying low genetic diversity. Our results suggest that G. roeselii is a relatively recent coloniser in CWE, starting demographic expansion around 10 kya.

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