Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Seasonality in Bioaccumulation of Organochlorines in Lower Trophic Level Arctic Marine Biota

Organochlorine (OC) pesticides in ice algae, phytoplankton, and microzooplankton during summer months and in meso- and macrozooplankton throughout 1993 in the Canadian archipelago (Barrow Strait) were compared with seasonal changes in seawater (upper 50 m) concentrations. α-HCH, HCB, ΣCHL, dieldrin, γ-HCH, ΣPCB, and ΣDDT ( 100 ng g-1 lipid, >10 ng g-1 wet weight) than ice algae and phytoplankton. Highest OC concentrations occurred in macrozooplankton during the winter−spring period of ice cover. Concentrations for all compounds except HCHs decreased during the open water period when bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) (tissue:water concentrations) were maximum (106−107 lipid weight basis) for CHBs and ΣDDT and minimum (103−104) for HCHs. BAFs on a wet weight basis mirrored lipid-based values but were approximately 10-fold lower. Meso- and macrozooplankton had minimal BAFs in July and Aug.
ANELASTIC STRUCTURE AND EVOLUTION OF THE CONTINENTAL CRUST AND UPPER MANTLE FROM SEISMIC SURFACE WAVE ATTENUATION

Regional variations of the intrinsic shear wave quality factor Qµ in both the upper crust and upper mantle of continents are large, with values in old, stable cratons exceeding those in tectonically active regions in both depth ranges by as much as an order of magnitude or more. Qµ depends upon frequency, at least near 1 Hz, and that frequency dependence also varies regionally in the upper crust. It is typically low in tectonically active regions and higher in stable regions. Because of the large variations in Qµ from region to region, it is easy to map regional variations of both upper crustal Qµ and Q estimated from the coda of Lg waves (QLgc), even though both measurements may be marked by large uncertainties. Although coda Q of direct body waves may be strongly affected by scattering, QLgc appears to be primarily governed by intrinsic Qµ in the upper crust. Both upper crustal Qµ and QLgc values correlate with the time that has elapsed since the most recent tectonic activity in continental regions. A tomographic image of the variation of QLgc values across Africa shows reduced Q values which correspond to recent tectonic activity in the East African rift system and other regions of Mesozoic or younger age. Reductions of QLgc that correlate with tectonic activity that occurred in the early Paleozoic during the coalescence of the cratons which formed that continent can also be detected. Qµ increases rapidly at midcrustal depths, in a range which appears to coincide with the transition to the plastic lower crust. In the lower crust and upper mantle, Qµ decreases with increasing depth, possibly by progressive unpinning of dislocations with increasing temperature. Observed regional variations in upper mantle Qµ at depths of about 150 km can be explained by differences in temperature alone, but those at crustal depths cannot. Regional variations of Qµ in the upper crust are most easily explained by differences in the density of fluid-filled fractures in which fluids can move during the propagation of seismic waves. Studies of the regional variation of Qµ and QLgc indicate that crack density is greatest during and immediately following tectonic activity in a region and that it decreases with time. Permeability determinations in deep wells show that fluid movements in those cracks may be largely restricted to zones of crustal fracturing. That situation will produce widely differing values of Q in local studies, depending on the location of the study relative to the fractures. The fluid volume in cracks appears to decrease with time by loss to the surface or by retrograde metamorphism, causing a reduction in the number of open cracks and a concomitant increase in Qµ.
European continental shelf as a significant sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide

The concentration of carbon dioxide was measured during 18 cruises in the surface waters of the North Atlantic European Shelf (Galician sea, Gulf of Biscay, Armonican Sea, Celtic Sea, English Channel, North Sea), covering all four seasons (9 out of 12 months) at interannual scale. This is the very first intensive field study of continental shelves, in terms of source/sink for atmospheric CO2, which allows to integrate fluxes on an annual basis and over a large surface area. Here we show that European continental shelves are a sink of 90–170 million tons of carbon per year, which is an additional appreciable fraction to the presently proposed flux for the open North Atlantic Ocean (∼ 45%). The air‐sea fluxes of CO2 we obtained are similar to those recently reported in the East China Sea, allowing us to conclude that the coastal ocean plays a considerable role in the global oceanic carbon cycle.
Reappraising elastic thickness variation at oceanic trenches

We reassess the variation of elastic thickness as a function of lithospheric plate age using a global database of bathymetric and free-air gravity profiles which are perpendicular to oceanic trenches. As in many previous studies, our starting point is the well-known floating elastic plate model. In order to remove the influence of short-wavelength features not associated with lithospheric bending, adjacent profiles from 10-Myr bins have been stacked together to construct average profiles with standard deviations. Each average profile was then inverted in a two-stage procedure. First, singular value decomposition was used to determine two unknown flexural parameters, together with a regional slope and offset, for any given elastic thickness. This procedure was repeated for a range of elastic thicknesses. Second, residual misfit was plotted as a function of elastic thickness, and the global minimum was identified. This two-stage procedure makes no prior assumptions about magnitude of the load, size of the bending moment, or whether the elastic plate is broken/continuous. We obtained excellent fits between theory and observation for both bathymetric and gravity profiles from lithosphere with an age range of 0–150 Ma. The shape of the residual misfit function indicates the degree of confidence we have in our elastic thickness estimates. The lower limit of elastic thickness is usually well determined but upper limits are often poorly constrained. Inverse modeling was carried out using a range of profile lengths (250–300, 500, and 700 km). In general, our estimates show no consistent increase of elastic thickness as a function of plate age. This surprising result is consistent with recent reassessments of elastic thickness beneath seamounts and implies either that elastic thickness is independent of plate age or that elastic thickness cannot be measured with sufficient accuracy to reveal such a relationship. Modeling of short free-air gravity profiles (250–300 km) does tentatively suggest that elastic thickness increases linearly from 5 to 10 km between 0 and 20 Ma and from 10 to 15 km between 20 and 150 Ma. This variation roughly matches the depth to the 200°C isotherm which corresponds to an homologous temperature of 0.4 for wet peridotite. Unfortunately, for longer profile lengths, there is no temporal dependence, and elastic thicknesses vary considerably for all plate ages. Bathymetric profile modeling yields similar results although uncertainties are larger.
Review of trilobite biofacies distributions at the Cambrian–Ordovician Boundary

Abstract Detailed analysis of trilobite assemblages at the Cambrian–Tremadoc transition reveals the presence of four, possibly five, biogeographic provinces: Baltic, North China, Southeast China, North American, and possibly Siberian. One or more discrete biofacies characterize the transition in each province. When plotted palaeogeographically these appear to be largely temperature controlled. Interdigitation of provincialized trilobite biofacies is recognized by the representation of dominant types of trilobite, olenaceans, ceratopygaceans, remopleuridaceans, dikelocephalaceans and leio-stegiaceans in particular, on key boundary sections. These sections, at Nochixtlán, Mexico; Batyrbay, southern Kazakhstan; Broken Skull River, District of Mackenzie, Canada; and Jiangshan–Chang-shan, western Zhejiang, China, permit the correlation of biogeographic provinces globally. As a result of the application of trilobite biostratigraphy relatively few problems prevent the maintenance of a Cambrian–Ordovician Boundary stratotype section in its traditional Baltic biogeographic setting.
Serum interleukin-8 and insulin like growth factor-1 in Egyptian bladder cancer patients.

BACKGROUND Bladder cancer is a major health problem in Egypt as it represents the most common malignancy. AIM Evaluation of the potential usefulness of serum IL-8 and IGF-1 in Egyptian bladder cancer patients. METHODS Serum levels of IL-8 and IGF-1 were determined in 51 bladder cancer patients and 45 controls using a chemiluminescence enzyme immunometric assay. RESULTS Serum IL-8 was significantly higher in cancer patients than in controls (P < 0.0001). It was significantly higher in patients with invasive cancer than those with superficial cancer (P < 0.01). Also, IL-8 showed a significant elevation in relation to schistosomal infection (P = 0.02) however, it did not differ in relation to either pathological type of tumor or its grade (P > 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve indicated that IL-8 cut-off value of 35 pg/mL yielded the best combination of sensitivity (71%) and specificity (98%) for differentiating patients with bladder cancer from control subjects. Serum IGF-1 levels showed no significant difference between bladder cancer patients and controls (P > 0.05). There was no relationship between IGF-1 levels and clinicopathological parameters. CONCLUSIONS In Egyptian patients with bladder cancer, serum IL-8 is significantly elevated and its level is related to tumor invasion and associated schistosomal infection. Moreover, serum IGF-1 level does not help as a serum tumor marker in these patients.
Aromatic hydrocarbons as ozone precursors before and after outbreak of the 2008 financial crisis in the Pearl River Delta region, south China

[1] In the second half of 2008 China's highly industrialized Pearl River Delta (PRD) region was hard-hit by the financial crisis (FC). This study reports volatile organic compounds measured in the PRD during November–December in both 2007 before the FC and 2008 after the FC. While total mixing ratios of non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) on average were only about 7% lower from 40.2 ppbv in 2007 to 37.5 ppbv in 2008, their ozone formation potentials (OFPs) dropped about 30%, resulting from about 55% plummet of aromatic hydrocarbons (AHs) against a greater than 20% increase of total alkanes/alkenes. The elevated alkanes and alkenes in 2008 could be explained by greater emissions from vehicle exhausts and LPG combustion due to rapid increase of vehicle numbers and LPG consumption; the drop of AHs could be explained by reduced emissions from industries using AH-containing solvents due to the influence of the FC, as indicated by much lower ratios of toluene to benzene and of xylenes/trichloroethylene/tetrachloroethylene to carbon monoxide (CO) in 2008. Source apportionment by positive matrix factorization (PMF) also revealed much less contribution of industry solvents to total anthropogenic NMHCs and particularly to toluene and xylenes in 2008 than in 2007. Based on PMF reconstructed source contributions, calculated OFPs by industrial emissions were responsible for 40.8% in 2007 in contrast to 18.4% in 2008. Further investigation into local industry output statistics suggested that the plummet of AHs in 2008 should be attributed to small enterprises, which contributed largely to ambient AHs due to their huge numbers and non-existent emission treatment, but were much more influenced by the FC.
Improving First Nations' participation in environmental assessment processes: recommendations from the field

This paper presents results from research into the perspectives on environmental assessments of Canadian indigenous peoples, in particular British Columbia's West Moberly First Nations, the Halfway River First Nation and the Treaty 8 Tribal Association. This collaborative project included interviews with First Nation government officials and staff as well as community members to determine their analyses of what worked and, more significantly, what did not work in engaging and consulting indigenous people. Based upon this research, six key recommendations, derived from First Nations' experiences, are made; these recommendations would facilitate First Nations' future participation in environmental assessment processes in British Columbia and Canada.
Physically based parameterization of cirrus cloud formation for use in global atmospheric models

Motivated by the need to study the climatic impact of aerosol-related cirrus cloud changes, a physically based parameterization scheme of ice initiation and initial growth of ice crystals in young cirrus clouds has been developed. The scheme tracks the number density and size of nucleated ice crystals as a function of vertical wind speed, temperature, ice saturation ratio, aerosol number size distributions, and preexisting cloud ice, allowing for competition between heterogeneous ice nuclei and liquid aerosol particles during freezing. Predictions of the parameterization are compared with numerical parcel simulations of ice nucleation and growth from atmospheric aerosols, with a special focus on explaining the indirect effects of ice nuclei on the properties of young cirrus clouds. The uncertainties of the parameterization are discussed and its implementation in a general circulation model is briefly outlined. This new scheme establishes a flexible framework for a comprehensive assessment of indirect aerosol effects on and properties of cirrus clouds in global climate, chemistry transport, and weather forecast models.
Focal mechanisms and locations of earthquakes in the vicinity of the 1975 Kalapana Earthquake aftershock zone 1970–1979: Implications for tectonics of the south flank of Kilauea Volcano, Island of Hawaii

The November 29, 1975, Kalapana earthquake of magnitude 7.1 on the south flank of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, represents a major rift tectonic event. It is generally understood that the earthquake resulted from movement on a nearly horizontal fault plane, with the crustal block south of Kilauea's east rift zone moving south-southeastward up to several meters. Well-recorded earthquakes on the south flank of Kilauea from 1970 to 1979 were analyzed and focal mechanisms determined to obtain a better understanding of the details of south flank tectonics. Included are a large number of earthquakes from the aftershock sequence of the 1975 earthquake. Hypocenters are distributed in a subplanar zone that dips 2° to 3° to the west at a depth of about 8–9 km depth. We interpret this pattern to coincide with a portion of the slip plane of the Kalapana earthquake and to be consistent with the notion of the slip plane occurring in a weak layer at the top of the old oceanic crust. Focal mechanisms are remarkably constant throughout this time period, both before and after the 1975 event, and closely agree with the mainshock mechanism. P axis azimuths and slip vectors for the low-angle fault planes are normal to the middle and lower east rift zones of Kilauea. There is suggestion of a change in the orientation of P axes from shallower to steeper plunge at the time of the Kalapana earthquake. Such a change is consistent with a general reduction in the horizontal compressional stress normal to the rift zone at the time of the large earthquake. No other evidence of precursory reorientation of the stress field was found and the precise predictability of this event remains in doubt. However, a general model of the tectonics of the volcanic rift system is now available that satisfies a number of geological and geophysical observations.
Effect of aragonite saturation, temperature, and nutrients on the community calcification rate of a coral reef

(1) In this study we investigated the relations between community calcification of an entire coral reef in the northern Red Sea and annual changes in temperature, aragonite saturation and nutrient loading over a two year period. Summer (April-October) and winter (November-March) average calcification rates varied between 60 ± 20 and 30 ± 20 mmolm � 2 � d � 1 , respectively. In general, calcification increased with temperature and aragonite saturation state of reef water with an apparent effect of nutrients, which is in agreement with most laboratory studies and in situ measurements of single coral growth rates. The calcification rates we measured in the reef correlated remarkably well with precipitation rates of inorganic aragonite calculated for the same temperature and degree of saturation ranges using empirical equations from the literature. This is a very significant finding considering that only a minute portion of reef calcification is inorganic. Hence, these relations could be used to predict the response of coral reefs to ocean acidification and warming.
Simulations of the West African Monsoon with a Superparameterized Climate Model. Part II: African Easterly Waves

AbstractThe relationship between African easterly waves and convection is examined in two coupled general circulation models: the Community Climate System Model (CCSM) and the “superparameterized” CCSM (SP-CCSM). In the CCSM, the easterly waves are much weaker than observed. In the SP-CCSM, a two-dimensional cloud-resolving model replaces the conventional cloud parameterizations of CCSM. Results show that this allows for the simulation of easterly waves with realistic horizontal and vertical structures, although the model exaggerates the intensity of easterly wave activity over West Africa. The simulated waves of SP-CCSM are generated in East Africa and propagate westward at similar (although slightly slower) phase speeds to observations. The vertical structure of the waves resembles the first baroclinic mode. The coupling of the waves with convection is realistic. Evidence is provided herein that the diabatic heating associated with deep convection provides energy to the waves simulated in SP-CCSM. In co.
Analysis of the atmospheric energy budget: A consistency study of available data sets

This study examines the following question: Are the recently available climate data sets consistent with each other in describing the atmospheric energy budget? If they are not, what is the sign of the systematic bias and how large is it? The atmospheric radiative cooling in this budget analysis is derived from satellite measurements of radiative fluxes at the top of the atmosphere and satellite-algorithm products at the surface. Atmospheric transports are derived from the National Centers for Environmental Protection/National Center for Atmospheric Research and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts reanalysis products. Surface turbulent heat fluxes are derived from products on the basis of Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Sets and reanalysis. Spatial and temporal averaging is performed to reduce random uncertainties in each data set. It is found that these data sets result in an unbalanced atmospheric budget with a residual of 20 W m−2 when averaged from 50°N to 50°S. The sign and magnitude of this systematic bias are shown to be consistent with the recently debated insufficient absorption of solar radiation in the atmosphere.
The static equilibrium of drag anchors in sand

This paper examines the static equilibrium of drag anchors during embedment in sand. A limit equilibrium method is developed to allow the anchor holding capacity to be predicted given a specific anchor geometry and position relative to the free surface of the sand. The method is based on the earlier approach of Le Lievre and Tabatabaee, but is extended to include a three-dimensional soil wedge, which is consistent with experimental observation. The solution procedure is also extended to be more applicable for anchors at a preultimate stage by incorporating a force behind the anchor fluke. To calibrate the method, a series of centrifuge model anchor tests has been performed in silica and calcareous sands. The static capacity of the anchor during embedment is compared with the static limit equilibrium solution and good agreement is demonstrated. Key words: drag anchor, statics, sand, limit equilibrium, ultimate holding capacity.
Nonvolcanic tremor locations and mechanisms in Guerrero, Mexico, from energy‐based and particle motion polarization analysis

We introduce the Tremor Energy and Polarization (TREP) method, which jointly determines the source location and focal mechanism of sustained nonvolcanic tremor (NVT) signals. The method minimizes a compound cost function by means of a grid search over a three‐dimensional hypocentral lattice. Inverted metrics are derived from three NVT observables: (1) the energy spatial distribution, (2) the energy spatial derivatives, and (3) the azimuthal direction of the particle motion polarization ellipsoid. To assess the tremor sources, TREP assumes double‐couple point dislocations with frequency‐dependent quality factors (Q) in a layered medium. Performance and resolution of the method is thoroughly assessed via synthetic inversion tests with random noise, where the “observed” data correspond to an NVT‐like finite difference (FD) model we introduce. The FD tremor source is composed of hundreds of quasi‐dynamic penny‐shaped cracks governed by a time‐weakening friction law. In agreement with previous works, epicentral locations of 26 NVTs in Guerrero are separated in two main groups, one between 200 and 230 km from the trench, and another at about 170 km. However, unlike earlier investigations, most NVT hypocenters concentrate at 43 km depth near the plate interface and have subparallel rake angles to the Cocos plate convergence direction. These locations have uncertainties of ~5 km in the three components and are consistent with independent results for low‐frequency earthquakes in the region, supporting their common origin related to slip transients in the plate interface. Our results also suggest the occurrence of NVT sources within the slab, ~5 km below the interface.
The effects of EU fisheries partnership agreements on fish stocks and fishermen: The case of Cape Verde

The viewpoints of 30 Cape Verdean fishermen are used together with an analysis of the state of tuna stocks in the Atlantic Ocean to question the EU's claim that their fleet only targets surplus species. Additionally, local marine catches of the artisanal and semi-industrial fleet are evaluated and the importance of the fisheries sector for the inhabitants of Cape Verde is shown. It is argued that even though the EU condemns illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU); their approach to stop IUU fails. In order to support this hypothesis, monitoring of the European fleet, movements of tuna fish and coverage of recent Fisheries Partnership Agreements (FPAs) are analysed. Finally, the prevalence of fisheries subsidies is discussed. Here, the focus is set on those subsidies embedded in two FPAs between the EU and Cape Verde. It is concluded that the subsidies provided by the EU to their fleet increase the problem of overfishing in Cape Verde. A theoretical solution is discussed and it is proposed that the external component of the European fisheries policy, namely Fisheries Partnership Agreements, has to change toward an association that deserves the name partnership.