Extinction: A Very Short Introduction

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul B. Wignall
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Relative Role ◽  
Short Introduction ◽  
History Of ◽  
Extinction Events ◽  
Ground Sloths

Extinction has occurred throughout the history of life, with the result that nearly all the species that have ever existed are now extinct. Extinction: A Very Short Introduction looks at the causes and nature of extinctions, past and present, and the factors that can make a species vulnerable. Summarizing what we know about all of the major and minor extinction events, it examines some of the greatest debates in modern science, such as the relative role of climate and humans in the death of the Pleistocene megafauna, including mammoths and giant ground sloths, and the roles that global warming, ocean acidification, and deforestation are playing in present-day extinctions.

scholarly journals A short history of ocean acidification science in the 20th century: a chemist's view

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 7411-7422 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. G. Brewer
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
History Of ◽  
Chemical Knowledge ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Ph Scale ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. This review covers the development of ocean acidification science, with an emphasis on the creation of ocean chemical knowledge, through the course of the 20th century. This begins with the creation of the pH scale by Sørensen in 1909 and ends with the widespread knowledge of the impact of the "High CO2 Ocean" by then well underway as the trajectory along the IPCC scenario pathways continues. By mid-century the massive role of the ocean in absorbing fossil fuel CO2 was known to specialists, but not appreciated by the greater scientific community. By the end of the century the trade-offs between the beneficial role of the ocean in absorbing some 90% of all heat created, and the accumulation of some 50% of all fossil fuel CO2 emitted, and the impacts on marine life were becoming more clear. This paper documents the evolution of knowledge throughout this period.

scholarly journals Simulated retreat of Jakobshavn Isbræ since the Little Ice Age controlled by geometry

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2249-2266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Steiger ◽  
Kerim H. Nisancioglu ◽  
Henning Åkesson ◽  
Basile de Fleurian ◽  
Faezeh M. Nick
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Climate Forcing ◽  
Relative Role ◽  
Regional Warming ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Term Response

Abstract. Rapid retreat of Greenland's marine-terminating glaciers coincides with regional warming trends, which have broadly been used to explain these rapid changes. However, outlet glaciers within similar climate regimes experience widely contrasting retreat patterns, suggesting that the local fjord geometry could be an important additional factor. To assess the relative role of climate and fjord geometry, we use the retreat history of Jakobshavn Isbræ, West Greenland, since the Little Ice Age (LIA) maximum in 1850 as a baseline for the parameterization of a depth- and width-integrated ice flow model. The impact of fjord geometry is isolated by using a linearly increasing climate forcing since the LIA and testing a range of simplified geometries. We find that the total length of retreat is determined by external factors – such as hydrofracturing, submarine melt and buttressing by sea ice – whereas the retreat pattern is governed by the fjord geometry. Narrow and shallow areas provide pinning points and cause delayed but rapid retreat without additional climate warming, after decades of grounding line stability. We suggest that these geometric pinning points may be used to locate potential sites for moraine formation and to predict the long-term response of the glacier. As a consequence, to assess the impact of climate on the retreat history of a glacier, each system has to be analyzed with knowledge of its historic retreat and the local fjord geometry.

Weathering the Soviet Countryside: The Impact of Climate and Agricultural Policies on Russian Grain Yields, 1958–2010

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolai M. Dronin ◽  
Andrei P. Kirilenko
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
State Level ◽  
Relative Role ◽  
Agricultural Policies ◽  
Production Potential ◽  
Russian Agriculture ◽  
Land Privatization ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact

Agriculture in Russia has always had to contend with unfavorable climate. At the same time, large-scale socio-economic experiments have also strained the country’s food production potential throughout the 20th century. The relative role of climate and state agricultural policies in affecting production of cereals was studied for the period of 1958–2010. The study used statistical yield modeling to explain the variations in observed yields with slowly changing progress in technology and management and weather variability. The correlation between the actual and weather-explained yields is moderate to high: measured at the level of the entire country, Pearson’s r is 0.74 and Spearman’s rho is 0.68. Further, we suggest that the residual yield variability can be explained partially with the influence of large-scale changes in agricultural policies at the state level. Between these policies, we consider the following key periods in the history of Russian agriculture: “Virgin Lands” campaign (end of 1950s), Kosygin-Liberman initiatives (late 1960s), Brezhnev’s investment programmes in response of stagnation of agriculture (late 1970s – early 1980s), Gorbachev’s “Perestrojka” (1985–1991), and land privatization and price liberalization (1990s).

scholarly journals History of Mahakala Cult in Buryatia

2021 ◽  
pp. 273-288
Author(s):  
S. R. Batomunkueva
Keyword(s):  
Short Introduction ◽  
Buddhist Temple ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Common

The history of the cult of Mahakala in Buryat Buddhism is considered. A short introduction to the history of the deity is presented. It is noted that this is one of the main patrons of the Geluk school, whose views and traditions have spread among the Buryats. A review of works containing the earliest information on the veneration of a deity in Buryat temples is carried out. It is reported that the cult of Mahakala in Buryatia is represented by the predominant veneration of its three forms: Six-armed, Four-faced and White Six-armed. The important role of the cult of Mahakala, which replaced the most revered shaman spirits-ongons in the common Mongolian world, is shown. It is reported that during the spread of Buddhism among the Buryats, the Sakyas direction with its main patron Gurgon Mahakala dominated among the Mongols. It is noted that, despite the Mongolian traditions, another — the Six-armed form of the deity — was established in Buryat Buddhism. The author believes that this is connected with the name of the first Pandito Khambo Lama Damba-Darzha Zayayev, who introduced veneration of this deity to Buryat Buddhism directly from Tibet and appointed him the patron of the first Buryat Buddhist temple. The conclusion is made about the significance of the Mahakala cult, which not only acquired great importance within the framework of its original religion, but also entered the system of shamanistic beliefs.

Muck, Mummies and Medicine: Disgust in Early Modern Science

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-65
Author(s):  
Sarah-Maria Schober
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Culture Studies ◽  
Early Modern Science ◽  
History Of Emotions ◽  
History Of ◽  
Changing Role ◽  
Over Time

Abstract This essay shows that early modern practices that used human bodily matter cannot be – as hitherto – explained by the absence of the emotion of disgust nor as being conducted in spite of disgust. Instead, it proposes to read those practices’ changing history as part of the history of the ‘paradox of disgust’. Four case studies (on anatomy, excrement, mummies and skulls) demonstrate that disgust was highly productive: it attracted fascination, allowed physicians to fashion themselves, and was even believed capable of healing. Over time and for complex reasons, however, the productive side of disgust declined. Combining current approaches in the history of emotions and material culture studies, this essay sets out not only to propose a new narrative for the changing role of disgust in early modern science and societies, but also to explore how variations in settings and human intervention changed the way emotions were used and perceived.

Eugenics in Russia and the Soviet Union

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolai Krementsov
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Relative Weight ◽  
Relative Role ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
History Of ◽  
Soviet Russia ◽  
Local Traditions ◽  
Scholarly Attention

The history of eugenics in Russia has attracted relatively little scholarly attention. Eugenics garnered a warm reception among Russian hygienists and public health doctors. This article is concerned with the rise and fall of medical genetics in Soviet Russia and identifies three key components of eugenics. It further proceeds with the discussion of eugenics in revolutionary society and mentions that Russian eugenics' life span, institutional and disciplinary composition, patronage pattern, and research foci differed substantially from those in other countries. It discusses the relative weight of structures and historic contingencies in shaping the history of eugenics during the three distinct periods of its existence in Russia. It also mentions the relative role of international contacts and local traditions in molding Russian eugenics' institutions and activities.

scholarly journals Phylogeny and adaptation shape the teeth of insular mice

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1824) ◽  
pp. 20152820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronan Ledevin ◽  
Pascale Chevret ◽  
Guila Ganem ◽  
Janice Britton-Davidian ◽  
Emilie A. Hardouin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Wood Mouse ◽  
Relative Role ◽  
Resource Exploitation ◽  
Shape Variation ◽  
Geometric Morphometric ◽  
Competition Level ◽  
History Of

By accompanying human travels since prehistorical times, the house mouse dispersed widely throughout the world, and colonized many islands. The origin of the travellers determined the phylogenetic source of the insular mice, which encountered diverse ecological and environmental conditions on the various islands. Insular mice are thus an exceptional model to disentangle the relative role of phylogeny, ecology and climate in evolution. Molar shape is known to vary according to phylogeny and to respond to adaptation. Using for the first time a three-dimensional geometric morphometric approach, compared with a classical two-dimensional quantification, the relative effects of size variation, phylogeny, climate and ecology were investigated on molar shape diversity across a variety of islands. Phylogeny emerged as the factor of prime importance in shaping the molar. Changes in competition level, mostly driven by the presence or absence of the wood mouse on the different islands, appeared as the second most important effect. Climate and size differences accounted for slight shape variation. This evidences a balanced role of random differentiation related to history of colonization, and of adaptation possibly related to resource exploitation.

And yet, we were modern. The paradoxes of Iberian science after the Grand Narratives

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Pimentel ◽  
José Pardo-Tomás
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Scientific Revolution ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Grand Narrative ◽  
Spanish Science ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Franco Dictatorship

In this article, we try to explain the origin of a disagreement; the sort that often arises when the subject is the history of early modern Spanish science. In the decades between 1970 and 1990, while some historians were trying to include Spain in the grand narrative of the rise of modern science, the very historical category of the Scientific Revolution was beginning to be dismantled. It could be said that Spaniards were boarding the flagship of modern science right before it sank. To understand this décalage it would be helpful to recall the role of the history of science during the years after the Franco dictatorship and Spain’s transition to democracy. It was a discipline useful for putting behind us the Black Legend and Spanish exceptionalism.

scholarly journals The First Major Grammars of English and Romanian: A Comparative Approach

Linguaculture ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-62
Author(s):  
Daniela Doboș
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
English Language ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
The Political ◽  
Short Introduction ◽  
English Grammar ◽  
The North ◽  
History Of ◽  
North Western

If the history of the English language is the story of its written texts, the same holds true for the history of the Romanian language, and in both cases the first grammars played a major part in the shaping up of the respective vernaculars. The paper proposes a comparative approach to the beginnings of codified grammars in English and Romanian, with a focus on those that are deemed to be the first major works– Robert Lowth’s A Short Introduction to English Grammar (1762) and Samuil Micu and Gheorghe Şincai’s Elementa linguae daco-romanae sive valachicae (1780). This approach considers topics such as why grammars might have been desirable in the eighteenth century (the political factor), and the functions of ‘grammars’, which are relevant in both cases; what language was actually codified, as well as the role of Latin in this enterprise, since it is worth noting that while English and Romanian belong in different language families, Latin was a formative element in both, ever since the territories of the two respective countries marked the North-Western and South-Eastern borders of the Roman Empire.

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