Observational analysis of decadal and long-term hydroclimate drivers in the Mediterranean region: role of the ocean–atmosphere system and anthropogenic forcing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Suárez-Moreno ◽  
Yochanan Kushnir ◽  
Richard Seager
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Anthropogenic Forcing ◽  
Observational Analysis ◽  
Atmosphere System ◽  
Ocean Atmosphere ◽  
The Mediterranean

scholarly journals Biogeochemical Controls on the Redox Evolution of Earth’s Oceans and Atmosphere

Elements ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher T. Reinhard ◽  
Noah J. Planavsky
Keyword(s):  
Redox State ◽  
Modeling Tools ◽  
Evolutionary Trajectory ◽  
Geochemical Tracers ◽  
Atmosphere System ◽  
Ocean Atmosphere ◽  
Dramatic Shift ◽  
Redox Evolution

The redox state of Earth’s atmosphere has undergone a dramatic shift over geologic time from reducing to strongly oxidizing, and this shift has been coupled with changes in ocean redox structure and the size and activity of Earth’s biosphere. Delineating this evolutionary trajectory remains a major problem in Earth system science. Significant insights have emerged through the application of redox-sensitive geochemical systems. Existing and emerging biogeochemical modeling tools are pushing the limits of the quantitative constraints on ocean–atmosphere redox that can be extracted from geochemical tracers. This work is honing our understanding of the central role of Earth’s biosphere in shaping the long-term redox evolution of the ocean–atmosphere system.

scholarly journals Seasonal predictability of Mediterranean weather regimes in the Copernicus C3S systems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignazio Giuntoli ◽  
Federico Fabiano ◽  
Susanna Corti
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Seasonal Predictability ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Weather Regimes ◽  
Weather Patterns ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Good Agreement

AbstractSeasonal predictions in the Mediterranean region have relevant socio-economic implications, especially in the context of a changing climate. To date, sources of predictability have not been sufficiently investigated at the seasonal scale in this region. To fill this gap, we explore sources of predictability using a weather regimes (WRs) framework. The role of WRs in influencing regional weather patterns in the climate state has generated interest in assessing the ability of climate models to reproduce them. We identify four Mediterranean WRs for the winter (DJF) season and explore their sources of predictability looking at teleconnections with sea surface temperature (SST). In particular, we assess how SST anomalies affect the WRs frequencies during winter focussing on the two WRs that are associated with the teleconnections in which the signal is more intense: the Meridional and the Anticyclonic regimes. These sources of predictability are sought in five state-of-the-art seasonal forecasting systems included in the Copernicus Climate Change Services (C3S) suite finding a weaker signal but an overall good agreement with reanalysis data. Finally, we assess the ability of the C3S models in reproducing the reanalysis data WRs frequencies finding that their moderate skill increases during ENSO intense years, indicating that this teleconnection is well reproduced by the models and yields improved predictability in the Mediterranean region.

scholarly journals Mediterranean Heathland as a Key Habitat for Fire Adaptations: Evidence from an Experimental Approach

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 748
Author(s):  
Susana Gómez-González ◽  
Maria Paniw ◽  
Mario Durán ◽  
Sergio Picó ◽  
Irene Martín-Rodríguez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Shock ◽  
Seed Size ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Fire Ecology ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Plant Evolution ◽  
Fire Adaptations ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

Some fire ecology studies that have focused on garrigue-like vegetation suggest a weak selective pressure of fire in the Mediterranean Basin compared to other Mediterranean-type regions. However, fire-prone Mediterranean heathland from the western end of the Mediterranean Basin has been frequently ignored in the fire ecology literature despite its high proportion of pyrogenic species. Here, we explore the evolutionary ecology of seed traits in the generalist rockrose Cistus salviifolius L. (Cistaceae) aiming to ascertain the role of the Mediterranean heathland for fire adaptations in the Mediterranean Region. We performed a germination experiment to compare the relationship of seed size to (i) heat-stimulated germination, (ii) dormancy strength, and (iii) heat survival in plants from ‘high-fire’ heathland vs. ‘low-fire’ coastal shrubland. Germination after heat-shock treatment was higher in large seeds of both ‘high-fire’ and ‘low-fire’ habitats. However, dormancy was weaker in small seeds from ‘low-fire’ habitats. Finally, seed survival to heat shock was positively related to seed size. Our results support that seed size is an adaptive trait to fire in C. salviifolius, since larger seeds had stronger dormancy, higher heat-stimulated germination and were more resistant to heat shock. This seed size–fire relationship was tighter in ‘high-fire’ Mediterranean heathland than ‘low-fire’ coastal shrubland, indicating the existence of differential fire pressures and evolutionary trends at the landscape scale. These findings highlight the Mediterranean heathland as a relevant habitat for fire-driven evolution, thus contributing to better understand the role of fire in plant evolution within the Mediterranean region.

The role of allelopathy in legume decline in pastures. III. Tolerance of subterranean clover lines to the allelopathic compounds released from Phalaris residues

1995 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 1039 ◽  
Author(s):  
JH Leigh ◽  
DM Halsall ◽  
WJ Muller ◽  
RN Oram ◽  
JP Edlington ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Performance Index ◽  
Root Length ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Distilled Water ◽  
Trifolium Subterraneam ◽  
Allelopathic Compounds

The tolerance of 126 lines of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneam L.) to allelochemicals released in cold water leachate from dry herbage of phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L. cv. Australian) was examined and compared. The lines were 112 accessions from grassy associations in the Mediterranean region and 14 Australian cultivars. Measures of germination, radicle length, nodulation and root length in seedlings exposed to three concentrations of extract relative to those obtained from seedlings exposed to distilled water only were obtained. A performance index for each line was derived from these measures. Large differences between lines for these four parameters were evident. On the basis of these comparisons, scope exists to select and recommend lines of subclover which are tolerant to these allelochemicals and thus are capable of higher production and greater persistence in long-term perennial phalaris pastures.

Wanted: A Comparative History of the Modern Mediterranean

2012 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-53
Author(s):  
Edmund Burke
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Third World ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
The West ◽  
The Third ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Third World

There is something seriously flawed about models of social change that posit the dominant role of in-built civilizational motors. While “the rise of the West” makes great ideology, it is poor history. Like Jared Diamond, I believe that we need to situate the fate of nations in a long-term ecohistorical context. Unlike Diamond, I believe that the ways (and the sequences) in which things happened mattered deeply to what came next. The Mediterranean is a particularly useful case in this light. No longer a center of progress after the sixteenth century, the decline of the Mediterranean is usually ascribed to its inherent cultural deficiencies. While the specific cultural infirmity varies with the historian (amoral familism, patron/clientalism, and religion are some of the favorites) its civilizationalist presuppositions are clear. In this respect the search for “what went wrong” typifies national histories across the region and prefigures the fate of the Third World.

scholarly journals From troubles to solutions: conservation of Mediterranean tortoises under global change

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Graciá ◽  
Roberto Carlos Rodríguez-Caro ◽  
Marcos Ferrández ◽  
Albert Martínez-Silvestre ◽  
Irene Pérez-Ibarra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Wild Animals ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
Testudo Graeca ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Endangered Status

Chelonians are among the animal groups with the poorest conservation status. Since tortoises are long-lived species that need very long time to reach sexual maturity, they are extremely vulnerable to human pressure. Despite their endangered status, there are no common strategies for the development of conservation actions. At the “Mediterranean workshop to develop tortoise conservation strategies”, scientists, conservation associations, environmental managers, IUCN advisers and CITES inspectors met in October 2019 in Alicante (Spain). The aims were to update the diagnosis of the conservation status of the Hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hermanni) and the spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca) and to suggest strategies that guarantee their preservation at the Mediterranean Region. The main conclusions are summarized by: i) Mediterranean tortoises are wild endangered species that must be protected in, and together with, their natural habitat. Their main threats are habitat loss and fragmentation and pet trade, but we should also pay attention to wildfires, spread of diseases, the introduction of exotic species or lineages and climate change. ii) Long-term efforts and stablished protocols are needed to accurately diagnose and monitor the conservation status of wild populations, as well as flows among captive and wild animals. iii)  Tortoise trade should be banned because it threatens the conservation of wild populations of tortoises. Illegal practices related to tortoises should be decidedly persecuted. People should consider tortoises as wild animals that are endangered and deserving of protection. It is possible to enjoy them by responsibly observing them in their habitat. iv) Tortoises may carry pathogens or parasites and their sanitary status cannot be fully assessed. They should always be considered potential vectors of tortoise diseases and of zoonosis. Hygiene protocols should be implemented when managing them. v) The researchers attending this workshop aimed to develop a scientific network for the long-term monitoring of graeca and T. hermanni populations in the Mediterranean Region. They will need the support from public administrations.  

scholarly journals A peach (Prunus persica [L.] Batsch.) in Ancient and Early Byzantine Medicine According to Selected Sources (1st – 7th c. AD.)

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-41
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Jagusiak ◽  
Maciej Kokoszko
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Prunus Persica ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Persian Empire ◽  
Pliny The Elder ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Early Byzantine

The peach (Prunus persica [L.] Batsch) is a tree native to the region known today as Northwest China, where its fruits were known around 2000 BC. Inhabitants of the Mediterranean Area came into contact with the peach probably between the 6th and 4th century BC thanks to the contacts with Persian Empire. In the western part of the Mediterranean Region the peach appeared later (ca. 1st c. AD). In the period under study there were many varieties of the peach, and they were eaten in many different ways – e.g. raw, dried, boiled etc. They could be consumed without any other ingredients, or as an element of more complicated dishes. Ancient and early Byzantine authors, who wrote their treatises between the 1st and 7th c. AD, and dealt with medicine (Dioscorides, Pliny the Elder, Galen, Oribasius, Aetius of Amida, Paul of Aegina, Athimus and others), described dietetic properties of a peach with details. Moreover, they left some information about a medical use of this fruit. This aspect of their works is an element of a wider and well-known phenomenon, i.e. an important role of all groups of aliments in the ancient art of healing.

scholarly journals Lateral variations of pressure-temperature evolution in non-cylindrical orogens and 3-D subduction dynamics: the Betic-Rif Cordillera example

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eloïse Bessière ◽  
Laurent Jolivet ◽  
Romain Augier ◽  
Stéphane Scaillet ◽  
Jacques Précigout ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Major Change ◽  
Geodynamic Setting ◽  
Time Deformation ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Longitudinal Variations ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Slab Tearing ◽  
Mantle Exhumation

<p>Orogens closely linked to 3-D subduction dynamics are frequently non-cylindrical and the Mediterranean region is a perfect natural laboratory to observe several of them, as well as their interactions. Through the succession of extension, subduction and sometimes collision events, the kinematic reconstructions of such orogens can be difficult and the subject of active debates. The internal zones are often non-consensual, especially when their long-term Pressure-Temperature-time-deformation (P-T-t-d) evolutions are studied. This complexity is mostly due to pre-orogenic inheritance or complex interactions between the subducting lithosphere, the overriding plate and the asthenosphere. All these elements are described and documented in Mediterranean orogens, i.e., a complex shape of the Eurasian and African margins in pre-orogenic times and a complex slab retreat and tearing dynamics. Their 3-D geometry results in strongly arcuate belts, such as the Betic-Rif Cordillera, located in the westernmost part of the Mediterranean region.</p><p>Focused on the Internal Zones of the Betic-Rif Cordillera and based on recent findings (Orogen Project framework), a synthesis of the tectono-metamorphic evolution shows the relations in space and time between tectonic and P-T evolutions. The reinterpretation of the contact between peridotite massifs and Mesozoic sediments as an extensional detachment leads to a discussion of the geodynamic setting and timing of mantle exhumation. Based on new <sup>40</sup>Ar/<sup>39</sup>Ar ages in the Alpujárride Complex (metamorphic formations of the Betic Internal Zones) and a discussion of published ages in the Nevado-Filabride Complex (metamorphic formations of the Betic Internal Zones), we conclude that the age of the HP-LT metamorphism is Eocene in all the Internal Zones. A first-order observation is the contrast between the well-preserved Eocene HP-LT blueschists-facies rocks of the Eastern Alpujárride-Sebtide Complex and the younger HT-LP conditions reaching partial melting recorded in the Western Alpujárride. We propose a model where the large longitudinal variations in the P-T evolution are mainly due to (i) differences in the timing of subduction and exhumation, (ii) the nature of the subducting lithosphere and (iii) a major change in subduction dynamics at ~20 Ma associated with a slab-tearing event.</p>

Observational analysis of Mediterranean decadal hydroclimate variability: role of Atlantic-Mediterranean sea surface temperatures

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Suarez-Moreno ◽  
Richard Seager ◽  
Yochanan Kushnir
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
The North ◽  
Hydroclimate Variability ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The Mediterranean

<p>The Mediterranean region is a semi-arid climate zone, subject to droughts, where water resources are scarce and observational data and climate models suggest a tendency towards greater aridification. Moreover, the Mediterranean region is an area of social and political instability and, in the Middle East, open warfare, which might be further stressed by climate change. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is the dominant mode of winter climate variability in the North Atlantic sector, playing the leading role in driving Mediterranean hydroclimate variability from seasonal to multidecadal timescales, whereas the influence of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) remains unclear. Nevertheless, the mechanism underlying the NAO is still under debate, and the possibility for coupled ocean-atmosphere decadal interactions, for which several mechanisms have been proposed, would support the role of SST. Based on observations and reanalysis, we conduct a statistical-observational analysis to explore the decadal drivers of Mediterranean hydroclimate variability for the winter half-year (October-to-March) wet season. Our results put forward the uneven intraseasonal influence of the decadal NAO, being the leading driver during the winter peak season (December-to-March), while decadal Atlantic-Mediterranean SST variability exhibit a consistent link for the first months of the wet season (October-to-January). These results emphasize the need to further explore the ocean-atmosphere feedback mechanisms and their possible modulations under climate change. Understanding these mechanisms is essential to improve predictability of hydroclimate in the Mediterranean region, leading to adaptation strategies that mitigate the effect of climate change on the vulnerable population.</p>

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