Permafrost vulnerability to contemporary climate changes in Eastern Chukotka coastal plains (NE Russia)

Author(s):  
Alexey Maslakov ◽  
Nina Komova ◽  
Evgeny Egorov ◽  
Polina Mikhaylyukova ◽  
Mikhail Grishchenko ◽  
...  

<p>Recent permafrost degradation is detected in many cold regions of the world. This process is due to surface lowering caused by ice-rich sediments thaw and massive ice beds melt. Eastern Chukotka coastal plains polygon is one of the key sites for studying climate change's impact on permafrost conditions and human activity. This region is the habitat of indigenous people, concentrated in the coastal villages. The study site is approximately 400 km<sup>2</sup> in area and characterized by a variety of landscape, geomorphological, and permafrost conditions. Using remote sensing data, field observations, and shallow drilling results, we ranked and delineated the areas on their susceptibility to thermokarst, thermal erosion, and solifluction activation due to the further air temperature increasing and potential human disturbances. Spatial analysis on current thaw settlement rates combined with drilling data allowed us to map the areas with a high concentration of surficial massive ice beds. These studies provide a better understanding of permafrost conditions in Eastern Chukotka and its response to human impact and climate change.</p>

Author(s):  
B. McGuire

Periods of exceptional climate change in Earth history are associated with a dynamic response from the geosphere, involving enhanced levels of potentially hazardous geological and geomorphological activity. The response is expressed through the adjustment, modulation or triggering of a broad range of surface and crustal phenomena, including volcanic and seismic activity, submarine and subaerial landslides, tsunamis and landslide ‘splash’ waves, glacial outburst and rock-dam failure floods, debris flows and gas-hydrate destabilization. In relation to anthropogenic climate change, modelling studies and projection of current trends point towards increased risk in relation to a spectrum of geological and geomorphological hazards in a warmer world, while observations suggest that the ongoing rise in global average temperatures may already be eliciting a hazardous response from the geosphere. Here, the potential influences of anthropogenic warming are reviewed in relation to an array of geological and geomorphological hazards across a range of environmental settings. A programme of focused research is advocated in order to: (i) understand better those mechanisms by which contemporary climate change may drive hazardous geological and geomorphological activity; (ii) delineate those parts of the world that are most susceptible; and (iii) provide a more robust appreciation of potential impacts for society and infrastructure.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Alderighi ◽  
Carlo Baroni ◽  
Maria Cristina Salvatore

<p>The peculiar landscape of Carrara (Apuan Alps) is well renown all over the world for the many naturalistic and anthropic landforms which are strictly related to quarrying activity. The valuable white Apuan marble was exploited since the first millennium BC predating the Roman period and was chosen by many artists, as Michelangelo, for their masterpieces. The pluri-millennial quarrying activity left a high density of quarries (among the highest in the world), determining a unique landscape dominated by anthropic landforms including the huge quarry dump deposits, locally called “<em>ravaneti</em>”.</p><p>Waste materials from marble quarrying of Carrara basin retain typical textural characteristics closely linked to the different techniques adopted over time for marble extraction. Therefore, quarry dumps represent a key access for reconstructing the evolution of the Apuan marble exploitation. For this reason, ancient ravaneti assume an inestimable value within the historical and cultural heritage of Italy.</p><p>In this highly dynamic context, the shape of quarry dump deposits is frequently modified because of their continuous addition and re-exploitation, also due to the necessity of preventing slope processes inducing instability (i.e. debris flows). In fact, during the last decades widespread debris flows frequently affected the area representing serious hazardous events for quarrying activity, infrastructures as well as urban centres.</p><p>Here we present the “Geomorphological Map of<em> Ravaneti</em> of Carrara Marble Basins”, developed applying a detailed landscape analysis, updated to 2017, using remote sensing data and field surveys in key sites. All the data were managed in GIS environment and collected into a properly created geomorphological database of the Apuan Alps. The map shows the spatial distribution of quarry dumps according to their geomorphological and sedimentological characteristics.</p><p>We identified and quantified the number and the extent of areas affected by natural processes, as debris flows, landslides and running water erosional landforms. Quarry dump deposits were distinguished on the basis of the size of the debris, the weathering of the clasts surface and different vegetal cover degree. The presence and abundance of fine matrix in quarry dump deposits play a relevant role in favouring their stability and in regulating their reservoir effect during intense precipitation events. The geomorphological characterization represents a relevant tool for the monitoring and management of <em>ravaneti</em> suggesting both potentially removable and potentially worthy of geo-conservation quarry dumps on the bases of ì) their historical heritage, ìì) their role in slope instabilities, and ììì) their role in preventing hazardous flooding events, being this sector among the rainiest regions of Europe.</p><p>Considering that <em>ravaneti</em> are highly hazardous being widely affected by debris flows, the updated geomorphological data will be relevant for evaluating most susceptible areas and for developing risk assessment models.</p><p> </p>


In an era of mass mobility, those who are permitted to migrate and those who are criminalized, controlled, and prohibited from migrating are heavily patterned by race. By placing race at the centre of its analysis, this volume brings together fourteen essays that examine, question, and explain the growing intersection between criminal justice and migration control. Through the lens of race, we see how criminal justice and migration enmesh in order to exclude, stop, and excise racialized citizens and non-citizens from societies across the world within, beyond, and along borders. Neatly organized in four parts, the book begins with chapters that present a conceptual analysis of race, borders, and social control, moving to the institutions that make up and shape the criminal justice and migration complex. The remaining chapters are convened around the key sites where criminal justice and migration control intersect: policing, courts, and punishment. Together the volume presents a critical and timely analysis of how race shapes and complicates mobility and how racism is enabled and reanimated when criminal justice and migration control coalesce. Race and the meaning of race in relation to citizenship and belonging are excavated throughout the chapters presented in the book, thereby transforming the way we think about migration.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziyou Yang ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Yongxiang Han ◽  
Chris J. Hassell ◽  
Kar-Sin Katherine Leung ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Despite an increasing number of surveys and a growing interest in birdwatching, the population and distribution of Asian Dowitcher (Limnodromus semipalmatus), a species endemic to the East Asian–Australasian and Central Asian Flyways, remains poorly understood, and published information about the species is largely outdated. In boreal spring 2019, over 22,432 Asian Dowitchers were recorded in a coastal wetland at Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China, constituting 97.5% of its estimated global population. Methods In 2019 and 2020, we conducted field surveys at Lianyungang to determine the numbers of Asian Dowitchers using the area during both southward and northward migrations. We also assessed the distribution and abundance of Asian Dowitchers elsewhere along the China coast by searching literature and consulting expert opinion. Results The coastal wetlands of Lianyungang are the most important stopover site for Asian Dowitchers during both northward and southward migrations; they supported over 90% of the estimated global population during northward migration in two consecutive years (May 2019 and 2020). This area also supported at least 15.83% and 28.42% (or 30.74% and 53.51% using modelled estimates) of the global population during southward migration in 2019 and 2020 respectively. Coastal wetlands in the west and north of Bohai Bay also have been important stopover sites for the species since the 1990s. Although comprehensive, long-term monitoring data are lacking, available evidence suggests that the population of the species may have declined. Conclusions The high concentration of Asian Dowitchers at Lianyungang during migration means the species is highly susceptible to human disturbances and natural stochastic events. The coastal wetlands of Lianyungang should be protected and potentially qualify for inclusion in China’s forthcoming nomination for World Heritage listing of Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase II) in 2023. Additional research is needed to understand Asian Dowitchers’ distribution and ecology, as well as why such a high proportion of their population rely on the Lianyungang coast.


Author(s):  
Magdalena Golonko ◽  
Marcin Wysokiński ◽  
Arkadiusz Gromada

The main purpose of the article was to assess the regionalization of agricultural production in the world and the changes occurring in this aspect. The article presents the concentration level of agricultural production in the world by continent. The source of materials was data from FAOSTAT. The research period covered the years 2004 - 2016. In the analyzed period, the value of gross agricultural production doubled. Various trends were observed within the period studied. In the years 2004-2010, in all regions of the world, there was an increase in gross production of agriculture, while in the period 2010-2016 only in two – North America and Asia. It was noted that there was a high concentration of agricultural production, mainly concentrated in Asia and Europe. In the analyzed period, there was a relative increase in the share of agricultural production in Asia and South America as compared to other regions. Individual groups of agricultural products, such as cereals and animal production, were also analyzed. In both cases, concentration was different. The pace of concentration in animal production was higher than in plant production.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 231-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martín José Montero-Martínez ◽  
Julio Sergio Santana-Sepúlveda ◽  
Naydú Isabel Pérez-Ortiz ◽  
Óscar Pita-Díaz ◽  
Salvador Castillo-Liñan

Abstract. It is a matter of current study to determine potential climate changes in different parts of the world, especially in regions like a basin which has the potential to affect socioeconomic and environmental issues in a defined area. This study provides a comparison between several climate change indices trends of two very different basins in Mexico, one located in the northern arid region (the Conchos River basin) and the other in the southern humid area (the Usumacinta River basin). First, quality control, homogenization, and completion of the missing data were applied before calculating the climate change indices and their respective trends for the combined period 1961–1994. A clear warming signal was found for the two basins in addition to an increment in the DTR, in agreement with other studies in Mexico. Also, the Conchos River basin was found to be more humid and the Usumacinta River basin drier, in accordance to a supposed seesaw behavior indicated in previous analysis.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Necla Türkoğlu ◽  
Serhat Şensoy ◽  
Olgu Aydın

It is known that the increase in air temperature from 1980 to present has dramatically changed the phenological periods of the plants in a large part of the world. In this study, the relationships between phenological periods of wheat plant, apple and cherry trees planted large areas in Turkey and climate change were investigated. In this study, the climate and phenological data for 1971-2012 period belonging to the General Directorate of Meteorology were used. The correlation coefficients between temperature and phenological data were calculated, and their trends were examined using Mann-Kendall trend analysis. In Turkey, positive temperature anomalies have been observed since 1994 until present days. Negative relationships were found between phenological periods of apple, cherry and wheat and the average temperatures of February-May period when the plants grow faster. This situation shows that the plants shift their phenological periods to the earlier times in response to the increasing temperatures. The trend calculated for harvest times of apple, cherry, and wheat are -25, -22, -40 days/100 years respectively. It was calculated that an increase of 1.0ºC in the temperatures of the February-May period will shift the harvest times of apple, cheery and wheat by 5, 4 and 8 days earlier respectively. Özet1980’lerden günümüze hava sıcaklıklarındaki artış, Dünya’nın büyük bir bölümünde bitkilerin fenolojik dönemlerini önemli ölçüde değiştirmiştir. Bu çalışmada Türkiye’de geniş alanlar kaplayan buğday, elma ve kiraz bitkilerinin fenolojik dönemleri ile iklim değişikliği arasındaki ilişkiler araştırılmıştır. Çalışmada Meteoroloji Genel Müdürlüğü’ne ait 1971-2012 döneminin iklim ve fenolojik verileri kullanılmıştır. Sıcaklık ile fenolojik veriler arasındaki korelasyon katsayıları hesaplanmış ve Mann- Kendall trend analizi ile eğilimlerine bakılmıştır. Türkiye’de 1994 yılından bu yana pozitif sıcaklık anomalileri bulunmuştur. Elma, kiraz ve buğdayın fenolojik dönemleri ile bitki gelişiminin fazla olduğu şubat-mayıs ortalama sıcaklıkları arasında negatif ilişki saptanmıştır. Bu durum bitkilerin artan sıcaklıklara tepki olarak fenolojik dönemlerini erkene kaydırdıklarını göstermektedir. Elma, kiraz ve buğdayın hasat tarihleri için hesaplanan trend sırasıyla-25, -22, -40 gün/100 yıl şeklindedir. Şubat-mayıs arası sıcaklıklarda 1.0°C’lik artışın anılan bitkilerin hasat tarihlerini sırasıyla 5, 4 ve 8 gün erkene kaydıracağı hesaplanmıştır.


Eos ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Goss

Around the world, the seasonal snowpack is changing. Eos’s October issue looks at how we study winter weather, adapt to climate changes, and even fight for the snow we love.


2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thaisa de Sousa Selvatti ◽  
Luis Antônio Coimbra Borges ◽  
Helena Cristina Carvalho Soares ◽  
Álvaro Nogueira de Souza ◽  
Luiz Moreira Coelho Junior

ABSTRACT This papaer analyzed the global MDF production and its concentration degree between 1995 and 2016. In order to measure and analyze this concentration, we used the Concentration Ratio [CR(k)], the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), Theil Entropy Index (E), Hall and Tideman Index (HTI), the Comprehensive Concentration Index (CCI), and the Gini Index (G). Global MDF production grew 12.81% p.a. from 1995 to 2016, reaching 99 million m3 at the end of the time series. China took over the hegemony in 2001 and arrived in 2016 with about 60% of the world’s MDF supply. The CR(k) of the global MDF production inferred a high concentration, mainly in the CR(4) from 2009. The CR(8) remained with a moderately high average concentration. During this period more than 90% of the offer was retained in the CR(20). The HHI, E and HTI indices corroborate that there is high concentration in global MDF production, as well as the CCI in the studied period. The inequality indicated by G also presented increasing behavior and was classified as strong and very strong. The concentration indicators were efficient in evaluating the concentration degree of the world MDF supply.


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