The Pantanal under Siege—On the Origin, Dynamics and Forecast of the Megadrought Severely Affecting the Largest Wetland in the World

The Pantanal is the largest wetland of the world and one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in South America. An unprecedented ongoing megadrought is severely affecting its ecological functioning, flood pulse dynamics, and fire regime. Regarding this problematic, the present study generates reliable information about the following key issues: 1—Evolution and dynamics, 2—Origin and determinants, and 3—Forecast based on identified determinants and current trends. Results show that the evolution of the megadrought has been differentiable in both, space and time. As for its origin and determinants, Climate Change was ratified as one of the most important threats to the Pantanal, and to vast areas of South America, since a strong correlation was identified between megadrought’s dynamics and the occurrence of intense marine heatwaves at Northern Hemisphere oceanic waters, and more specifically, at the Northeast Pacific. Results also show that the megadrought is expected to continue at both the Pantanal and the surrounding Highlands, at least until December 2023. Thus, an intensification of fires risk, extending now to areas historically flooded or perhumid should be expected, concomitantly to a very negative impact on non-fire-resistant vegetation cover, as well as ecosystem functioning and biodiversity, perhaps even worse than those from 2020, widely covered by the international media.

3D few cycle optical pulses in carbon nanotube-based photonic crystal with allowance for mechanical stress

This paper constructs and numerically analyzes a theoretical model of three-dimensional few cycle optical pulse dynamics in semiconductor carbon nanotube-based spatially-modulated refractive index medium. It takes into account external deformation in terms of the gauge theory. It identifies the stable propagation of that kind of pulses in photonic crystal. The paper also reveals the dependence of pulse dynamics on photonic crystal characteristics (refractive index depth and modulation period in particular).