scholarly journals The impact of COVID-19 on foreign travel plans of Polish tourists in 2020

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 59-69
Author(s):  
Bartosz Korinth
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Foreign Travel ◽  
Domestic Tourism ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Impact

The aim of this article is to analyse foreign travel plans of Polish tourists in 2020 and how they were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is based on information collected through an online survey involving 355 respondents. The survey was anonymous and consisted of 6 questions. It was found that the outbreak of the pandemic significantly changed foreign travel plans of Poles in the analysed period. Only a third of the respondents said they were planning a tourist or recreational trip abroad. There was much less interest in countries like Turkey, Egypt or Tunisia, in favour of European countries, mainly those located in the Mediterranean area, such as Spain and Italy. The study has also shown that domestic tourism can be expected to increase, as indicated by data collected by the Polish Chamber of Tourism.

scholarly journals African dust outbreaks over the Mediterranean Basin during 2001–2011: PM<sub>10</sub> concentrations, phenomenology and trends, and its relation with synoptic and mesoscale meteorology

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 28195-28235 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Pey ◽  
X. Querol ◽  
A. Alastuey ◽  
F. Forastiere ◽  
M. Stafoggia
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Moderate Intensity ◽  
Sharp Change ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Mesoscale Meteorology ◽  
Transitional Area ◽  
African Dust ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The occurrence of African dust outbreaks over the whole Mediterranean Basin has been identified on an 11-yr period (2001–2011). In order to evaluate the impact of such mineral dust outbreaks on ambient concentrations of particulate matter, PM10 data from regional and suburban background sites across the Mediterranean area were compiled. After identifying the daily influence of African dust, a methodology for estimating natural dust contributions on daily PM10 concentrations was applied. Our results reveal that African dust outbreaks occur with much higher frequency in southern areas of the Mediterranean, from 30 to 37% of the annual days, whereas they take place less than 20% of the annual days in northern sites. The central Mediterranean emerges as a transitional area, with slightly higher frequency of dust episodes in its lower extreme when compared to equivalent areas in western and eastern sides of the Basin. A decreasing south to north gradient of African dust contribution to PM10 is patent across the Mediterranean. Our study demonstrates that this gradient may be mainly explained by the latitudinal position. A longitudinal increasing trend of African dust contribution to PM10 is also observed from 25° E eastwards, and is due to the annual occurrence of intense dust episodes. Thus, the slightly higher frequency of African dust episodes over the lower part of Central Mediterranean is compensated by its moderately lower intensity. Concerning seasonality patterns and intensity characteristics, a clear summer prevalence is observed in the western part, with low occurrence of severe episodes (daily dust averages over 100 μg m−3 in PM10); no seasonal trend is detected in the central region, with moderate-intensity episodes; and significantly higher contributions are common in autumn-spring in the eastern side, with yearly occurrence of various severe episodes. Overall, African dust emerges as the largest PM10 source in regional background southern areas of the Mediterranean (35–50% of PM10), with seasonal peak contributions to PM10 up to 80% of the total mass. The multi-year study of African dust episodes and their contributions to PM10 concentrations allowed us to identify a consistent decreasing trend in the period 2006/2007 to 2011 in 4 of the 17 studied regions, all of them located in the NW of the Mediterranean. The observed trend is almost parallel to the NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) index for the summer period, progressively more negative since 2006 onwards. As a consequence, a sharp change in the atmospheric circulation over the last 5 yr (a similar negative NAO period occurred in the 1950 decade) have affected the number of African dust episodes and their mean contribution to PM10 in the NW part of the Mediterranean. The investigation of summer temperatures at 850 hPa suggest that warm air accomplishing African dust air masses moved anomalously through the central Mediterranean in the 2007–2008 period, whereas it was displaced atypically to the NW African coast and the Canary Islands in the 2009–2011 period.

scholarly journals Geo-Climatic Changes and Apomixis as Major Drivers of Diversification in the Mediterranean Sea Lavenders (Limonium Mill.)

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantina Koutroumpa ◽  
Ben H. Warren ◽  
Spyros Theodoridis ◽  
Mario Coiro ◽  
Maria M. Romeiras ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Extrinsic Factors ◽  
Diversification Rates ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Impact

The Mediterranean realm, comprising the Mediterranean and Macaronesian regions, has long been recognized as one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, owing to its remarkable species richness and endemism. Several hypotheses on biotic and abiotic drivers of species diversification in the region have been often proposed but rarely tested in an explicit phylogenetic framework. Here, we investigate the impact of both species-intrinsic and -extrinsic factors on diversification in the species-rich, cosmopolitan Limonium, an angiosperm genus with center of diversity in the Mediterranean. First, we infer and time-calibrate the largest Limonium phylogeny to date. We then estimate ancestral ranges and diversification dynamics at both global and regional scales. At the global scale, we test whether the identified shifts in diversification rates are linked to specific geological and/or climatic events in the Mediterranean area and/or asexual reproduction (apomixis). Our results support a late Paleogene origin in the proto-Mediterranean area for Limonium, followed by extensive in situ diversification in the Mediterranean region during the late Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene. We found significant increases of diversification rates in the “Mediterranean lineage” associated with the Messinian Salinity Crisis, onset of Mediterranean climate, Plio-Pleistocene sea-level fluctuations, and apomixis. Additionally, the Euro-Mediterranean area acted as the major source of species dispersals to the surrounding areas. At the regional scale, we infer the biogeographic origins of insular endemics in the oceanic archipelagos of Macaronesia, and test whether woodiness in the Canarian Nobiles clade is a derived trait linked to insular life and a biotic driver of diversification. We find that Limonium species diversity on the Canary Islands and Cape Verde archipelagos is the product of multiple colonization events followed by in situ diversification, and that woodiness of the Canarian endemics is indeed a derived trait but is not associated with a significant shift to higher diversification rates. Our study expands knowledge on how the interaction between abiotic and biotic drivers shape the uneven distribution of species diversity across taxonomic and geographical scales.

scholarly journals APIFLAME v1.0: high resolution fire emission model and application to the Euro-Mediterranean region

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 5489-5551
Author(s):  
S. Turquety ◽  
L. Menut ◽  
B. Bessagnet ◽  
A. Anav ◽  
N. Viovy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Emission Factors ◽  
Fuel Load ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Emission Model ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Horizontal Grid

Abstract. This paper describes a new model for the calculation of daily, high-resolution (up to 1 km) fire emissions, developed in the framework of the APIFLAME project (Analysis and Prediction of the Impact of Fires on Air quality ModEling). The methodology relies on the classical approach, multiplying the burned area by the fuel load and the emission factors specific to the vegetation burned. Emissions can be calculated on any user-specified domain, horizontal grid, and list of trace gases and aerosols, providing input information on the burned area (location, extent) and emission factors of the targeted species are available. The strength of the proposed algorithm is its high resolution and its flexibility in terms of domain and input data (including the vegetation classification). The modification of the default values and databases proposed does not require changes in the core of the model. The code may be used for the calculation of global or regional inventories. However, it has been developed and tested more specifically for Europe and the Mediterranean area. In this region, the burning season extends from June to October in most regions, with generally small but frequent fires in Eastern Europe, Western Russia, Ukraine and Turkey, and large events in the Mediterranean area. The resulting emissions represents a significant fraction of the total yearly emissions (on average amounting to ~30% of anthropogenic emissions for PM2.5, ~20% for CO). The uncertainty on the daily carbon emissions was estimated to ~100% based on an ensemble analysis. Considering the large uncertainties on emission factors, the potential error on the emissions for the various pollutants is even larger. Comparisons to other widely used emission inventories shows good correlations but discrepancies of a factor of 2–4 on the amplitude of the emissions, our results being generally on the higher end.

scholarly journals APIFLAME v1.0: high-resolution fire emission model and application to the Euro-Mediterranean region

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 587-612 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Turquety ◽  
L. Menut ◽  
B. Bessagnet ◽  
A. Anav ◽  
N. Viovy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Regional Analysis ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Emission Factors ◽  
Fuel Load ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Emission Model ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. This paper describes a new model for the calculation of daily, high-resolution (up to 1 km) fire emissions, developed in the framework of the APIFLAME (Analysis and Prediction of the Impact of Fires on Air quality ModEling) project. The methodology relies on the classical approach, multiplying the burned area by the fuel load consumed and the emission factors specific to the vegetation burned. Emissions can be calculated on any user-specified domain, horizontal grid, and list of trace gases and aerosols, providing input information on the burned area (location, extent), and emission factors of the targeted species are available. The applicability to high spatial resolutions and the flexibility to different input data (including vegetation classifications) and domains are the main strength of the proposed algorithm. The modification of the default values and databases proposed does not require any change in the core of the model. The code may be used for the calculation of global or regional inventories. However, it has been developed and tested more specifically for Europe and the Mediterranean area. A regional analysis of fire activity and the resulting emissions in this region is provided. The burning season extends from June to October in most regions, with generally small but frequent fires in eastern Europe, western Russia, Ukraine and Turkey, and large events in the Mediterranean area. The resulting emissions represent a significant fraction of the total yearly emissions (on average amounting to ~ 30% of anthropogenic emissions for PM2.5, ~ 20% for CO). The uncertainty regarding the daily carbon emissions is estimated at ~ 100% based on an ensemble analysis. Considering the large uncertainties regarding emission factors, the potential error on the emissions for the various pollutants is even larger. Comparisons with other widely used emission inventories show good correlations but discrepancies of a factor of 2–4 in the amplitude of the emissions, our results being generally on the higher end.

scholarly journals Aquaculture and Restoration: Perspectives from Mediterranean Sea Experiences

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 991
Author(s):  
Adriana Giangrande ◽  
Maria Flavia Gravina ◽  
Sergio Rossi ◽  
Caterina Longo ◽  
Cataldo Pierri
Keyword(s):  
Restoration Ecology ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Filter Feeder ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Fodder Production ◽  
Suitable Site ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Impact

In this paper, the different possibilities and innovations related to sustainable aquaculture in the Mediterranean area are discussed, while different maricultural methods, and the role of Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) in supporting the exploitation of the ocean’s resources, are also reviewed. IMTA, and mariculture in general, when carefully planned, can be suitable for environmental restoration and conservation purposes. Aquaculture, especially mariculture, is a sector that is progressively increasing in parallel with the increase in human needs; however, several problems still affect its development, mainly in relation to the choice of suitable sites, fodder production, and the impact on the surrounding environment. A current challenge that requires suitable solutions is the implementation of IMTA. Unfortunately, some criticisms still affect this approach, mostly concerning the commercialization of new products such as invertebrates and seaweeds, notwithstanding their environmentally friendly character. Regarding the location of a suitable site, mariculture plans are currently displaced from inshore to offshore, with the aim of reducing the competition for space with other human activities carried out within coastal waters. Moreover, in open water, waste loading does not appear to be a problem, but high-energy waters increase maintenance costs. Some suggestions are given for developing sustainable mariculture in the Mediterranean area, where IMTA is in its infancy and where the scarce nutrients that characterize offshore waters are not suitable for the farming of both filter feeder invertebrates and macroalgae. From the perspective of coupling mariculture activity with restoration ecology, the practices suggested in this review concern the implementation of inshore IMTA, creating artificially controlled gardens, as well as offshore mussel farming coupled with artificial reefs, while also hypothesizing the possibility of the use of artificially eutrophized areas.

scholarly journals Exploring the perspectives of members of international tuberculosis control and research networks on the impact of COVID-19 on tuberculosis services: a cross sectional survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oluwatosin Nkereuwem ◽  
Esin Nkereuwem ◽  
Arnauld Fiogbe ◽  
Eno E. Usoroh ◽  
Abdou K. Sillah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
West African ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Diagnosis And Treatment ◽  
Research Networks ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Tb Control ◽  
Treatment Services ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruption to healthcare services globally and has impacted on tuberculosis (TB) patients and TB diagnosis and treatment services both in low- and high-income countries. We therefore explored the perspectives of members of regional and international TB control and research networks to further understand TB service disruptions and compared the experiences of members from West African and European countries. Methods This cross-sectional, explorative descriptive study was conducted from May to July 2020 using an open online survey with target respondents from both West African and European countries. The survey comprised discrete questions exploring challenges faced with TB screening, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and changes implemented. Additionally, respondents were asked to provide recommendations for remedial actions. Results We analysed responses from 124 respondents based in 29 countries located in Europe and West Africa. About half of the respondents reported challenges in delivering routine TB services during the COVID-19 pandemic, with over one third reporting having some form of guidance issued regarding maintaining delivery of routine TB services. Respondents emphasised the need for strengthening TB services especially in light of COVID-19 pandemic. Considerable similarities were found between the challenges experienced by TB professionals in both West African and European settings. Responses also highlighted the hidden challenges faced in some countries prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in some West African settings where staff shortages and laboratory issues predated COVID-19. Conclusions TB control and research professionals in West African and European settings experienced similar challenges to the delivery of TB diagnosis and treatment services due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and highlighted the need for clear communication of guidelines, prioritisation of routine TB service delivery, ongoing health education, and possible integration of TB and COVID-19 services to ensure that TB services are more resilient against the impact of the pandemic.

scholarly journals Interactions between climate change and human activities during the early to mid-Holocene in the eastern Mediterranean basins

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1847-1877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Francois Berger ◽  
Laurent Lespez ◽  
Catherine Kuzucuoğlu ◽  
Arthur Glais ◽  
Fuad Hourani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Central Anatolia ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Lake Systems ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. This paper focuses on early Holocene rapid climate change (RCC) records in the Mediterranean zone, which are under-represented in continental archives (9.2 to 8.2 ka events) and on their impact on prehistoric societies. This lack of data handicaps the general interpretation of climate impacts on human societies, which flourished in recent years. Key questions remain about the impact of early Holocene cooling events on the Mediterranean climate, ecosystems and human societies. In this paper, we discuss some examples from river and lake systems from the eastern to central Mediterranean area (central Anatolia, Cyprus, northeastern and northwestern Greece) that illustrate some palaeohydrological and erosion variations that modified the sustainability of the first Neolithic populations in this region. Results allow us to present direct land–sea correlations and to reconstruct regional long-term trends as well as millennial- to centennial-scale climatic changes. In this context, we question the socio-economic and geographical adaptation capacities of these societies (mobility, technology, economic practices, social organisation) during the “early Holocene” interval (11.7 to 8.2 ka), which corresponds partly to the Sapropel 1 deposition in the eastern Mediterranean sea.

scholarly journals Interactions between climate change and human activities during the Early to Mid Holocene in the East Mediterranean basins

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Berger ◽  
L. Lespez ◽  
C. Kuzucuoğlu ◽  
A. Glais ◽  
F. Hourani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Climate Impact ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Central Anatolia ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Long Term Trends ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Lake Systems ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. This paper focuses on Early Holocene Rapid Climate Changes (RCC) records in the Mediterranean zone, which are under-represented in continental archives (9.2 to 8.2 ka events) and on their impact on prehistoric societies. This lack of data handicaps indeed assumptions about climate impact on human societies which flourished in recent years. Key questions remain about the impact of Early Holocene cooling events on the Mediterranean climate, ecosystems and human societies. In this paper, we discuss some examples from river and lake systems from the eastern to central Mediterranean area (Central Anatolia, Cyprus, NE and NW Greece,) that illustrate some paleohydrological and erosion variations that modified the sustainability of the first Neolithic populations in this region. Results allow us to present direct land-sea correlations, and to reconstruct regional long-term trends as well as millennial to centennial-scaled climatic changes. In this context, we question the socio-economic and geographical adaptation capacities of these societies (mobility, technology, economic practices, social organisation) during the "Early Holocene" interval (11.7 to 8.2 ka) which corresponds partly to the Sapropele 1 deposition in the Eastern Mediterranean sea.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document