Climatology of aerosols over the Caribbean islands: aerosol types, synoptic patterns and transport

We present a climatological study of aerosols in four representative Caribbean islands based on daily mean values of aerosol optical properties for the period 2008- 2016, using the Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) and Ångström Exponent (AE) to classify the dominant aerosol type. A climatological assessment of the spatio-temporal distribution of the main aerosol types, their links with synoptic patterns and the transport from different sources is provided. Maximum values of AOD occur in the rainy season, coinciding with the minimum in AE and an increased occurrence of dust, while the minimum of AOD occurs in the dry season, due to the predominance of marine aerosols. Marine and dust aerosol are more frequent in the easternmost islands and decrease westwards due to an increasing of continental and mixture dust aerosols. Therefore, the westernmost station displays the most heterogeneous composition of aerosols. Using a weather type classification, we identify a quantifiable influence of the atmospheric circulation in the distribution of Caribbean aerosols. However, they can occur under relatively weak and/or diverse synoptic patterns, typically involving transient systems and specific configurations of the Azores High that depend on the considered station. Backward trajectories indicate that dry-season marine aerosols and rainy-season dust are transported by air parcels travelling within the tropical easterly winds. The main source region for both types of aerosols is the subtropical eastern Atlantic, except for Cuba, where the largest contributor to dry-season marine aerosols is the subtropical western Atlantic. Different aerosol types follow similar pathways, suggesting a key role of emission sources in determining the spatio-temporal distribution of Caribbean aerosols.

Applied social sciences: concepts and perspectives

The book “Applied social sciences: concepts and perspectives vol.01, edited and published by South Florida Publishing, gathers ten chapters that approach themes of relevance in the context of education and are available in Spanish. The book will feature, a study on establishing the development of literary transcendentalism and how it manifests itself between the islands of Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico from the years 1927 to the mid-1950s. Literary transcendentalism was a manifestation that contemplated various ideologies and positions among our Caribbean islands. Another study that will be discussed is the explanation of basic personality traits in a case of homicide perpetrated by a subject who exercised professional activity in the elite military field (he was a sniper specialized in special missions abroad), what are the repercussions or consequences juridical-juridical that led to the crime of (civil) homicide perpetrated by him and sentence handed down to that effect. The third chapter presents a search for a model for the assessment of competencies in basic education through a case study at the Los Pinos de Algeciras school. We are in the middle of the infant school. A survey will also be presented in a global company, located in Brazil, on how it is facing knowledge management and its dissemination, through corporate tools and by managers. It also aims to research market tools that can improve this management and make companies move towards a future within the plan, without significant loss of their intellectual capital and embedded knowledge, among other works. Thus, we thank all authors for their commitment and dedication to their work and we hope to be able to contribute to the scientific community, in the dissemination of knowledge and in the advancement of science.

Fact Sheet: Mayaro Virus

Mayaro virus (MAYV) can be spread from mosquitoes to humans. The geographic distribution of Mayaro virus is expanding from South and Central America into the Caribbean Islands, which means that, under the right conditions, this virus could one day become important to Florida. This publication is intended to serve as a fact sheet communicating information about MAYV to researchers and stakeholders in mosquito control and public health professions and to the general public.

Building a More Resilient and Low-Carbon Caribbean - Report 3: Impact of Subsidized Financing to Support Resilient Buildings in the Caribbean

The Caribbean islands are among the 25 most-vulnerable nations in terms of disasters per-capita or land area, and climate change is only expected to intensify these vulnerabilities. The loss caused by climate events drags the ability of the Caribbean countries to invest in infrastructure and social programs, contributing to slower productivity growth, poorer health outcomes, and lower standards of living. Within this context, building resiliency should become a priority for the Caribbean countries. The series “Building a more resilient and low-carbon Caribbean”, focuses on improving the resiliency, sustainability and decarbonization of the construction industry in the Caribbean. The results show that increasing building resiliency is economically viable for the high-risk islands of the Caribbean, generating long term savings and increasing the infrastructure preparedness to the impacts of CC.

Building a more Resilient and Low-Carbon Caribbean - Report 1: Climate Resiliency and Building Materials in the Caribbean

The Caribbean islands are among the 25 most-vulnerable nations in terms of disasters per-capita or land area, and climate change is only expected to intensify these vulnerabilities. The loss caused by climate events drags the ability of the Caribbean countries to invest in infrastructure and social programs, contributing to slower productivity growth, poorer health outcomes, and lower standards of living. Within this context, building resiliency should become a priority for the Caribbean countries. The series “Building a more resilient and low-carbon Caribbean”, focuses on improving the resiliency, sustainability and decarbonization of the construction industry in the Caribbean. The results show that increasing building resiliency is economically viable for the high-risk islands of the Caribbean, generating long term savings and increasing the infrastructure preparedness to the impacts of CC. Report 1 - Climate Resiliency and Building Materials in the Caribbean, presents a quantification of the economic losses caused by climate impact events in the Caribbean Region and correlate these figures with the most common construction materials, typically used in each of the countries building typologies. The losses caused by hurricanes concentrate mostly in the residential infrastructure and are mainly caused by weaknesses in roofs and their connection to the walls. The analysis suggests that improving the resiliency of outer walls and roofs in the Caribbean could significantly reduce the regions vulnerability to hurricanes and other climate impacts.

Building a More Resilient and Low-Carbon Caribbean - Report 2: Analysis of the Benefits from Resilient Building Materials and Construction Methods in the Caribbean

The Caribbean islands are among the 25 most-vulnerable nations in terms of disasters per-capita or land area, and climate change is only expected to intensify these vulnerabilities. The loss caused by climate events drags the ability of the Caribbean countries to invest in infrastructure and social programs, contributing to slower productivity growth, poorer health outcomes, and lower standards of living. Within this context, building resiliency should become a priority for the Caribbean countries. The series “Building a more resilient and low-carbon Caribbean”, focuses on improving the resiliency, sustainability and decarbonization of the construction industry in the Caribbean.

Ashura

Ashura is the name of the tenth of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar. Ashura day is allegedly associated with a number of biblical events in the ancient history of the Middle East and constituted the day of fasting during the early years of Islam. It is also the day of celebration and festivities in some North African countries. However, Ashura is particularly observed by Shi’i Muslims as the day when Husayn ibn Ali and his few companions were brutally massacred at the battle of Karbala in the 7th century over the disputed legitimacy of the Umayyad dynasty. The years after the death of the prophet Muhammad were a time of political struggles and disputes over who would be the legitimate leader of Muslims. However, the atrocity of killing Husayn, the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, left a perpetual mark on the history of Islam and contribute to dividing the Muslim community into Shi’i and Sunni factions, which was fully institutionalized later. The tragedy of Ashura is not considered as the root of the division, but it has played a major role in establishing the division that was theologically institutionalized later. The Shi’i popular phrase: “Every day is Ashura, and everywhere is Karbala” implies that from the Shi’i point of view the battle of Karbala is an eternal struggle for justice, not a mere historical battle over a political dispute. Thus, Ashura and its annual commemoration have become the keystone of Shi’i creed and rituals. Throughout history, Shi’i Muslims have developed diverse rituals to observe Ashura, aimed at narrating the tragedy, expressing sorrow over Husayn’s suffering, or reenacting of the battle of Karbala. The rituals of paying tribute to the martyrdom of Husayn originated in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and Iran, and they were then diffused to and propagated throughout the Indian subcontinent. While observing Ashura is associated with Shi’i communities in the Middle East, the commemoration is not solely affiliated with Shi’i Muslims in India; rather, it is practiced as an intercommunity ritual. Although the Middle East is the birthplace of Shi’i rituals, Indian communities have made a major contribution to the geographic dispersal of the rituals across the British Empire as far as the Caribbean islands. Tribute to the Ashura tragedy annually begins from the first of Muharram until forty days after Ashura, known as the day Arb’aein (the fortieth). Although the commemoration takes place over fifty days, it is particularly intensified from the seventh to the tenth of Muharram.

Contact calls of island Brown-throated Parakeets exhibit both character and variance shifts compared to calls of their mainland relatives

Learned vocalizations play a key role in parrot social dynamics and vocal dialects have been documented for several mainland species, but to date no studies of geographically structured call variation in parrot species have examined the role of isolation on islands. In a study of the Brown-throated Parakeet (Eupsittula pertinax), which inhabits 5 small Caribbean islands as well as the adjacent mainland, we found that the contact calls of island and mainland parakeets show divergence in vocal characters as well as in call variability. We assessed call variation using 3 approaches: frequency measurements, spectrogram cross-correlation (SPCC) analyses, and call duration measurements. Island parakeets’ calls were longer and had lower mean frequencies, and calls from different islands were distinguishable from each other as well as from mainland calls using measures derived from the SPCCs. In addition, we measured call variability at 2 different levels—within-location and within-individual. We found calls to be more variable for island parakeets for SPCC and duration measures, but less variable for frequency measures. The observed call differentiation among locations may be due to drift, whereas the lower frequency of island calls could either be a response to the windy environment on the islands or a consequence of the island subspecies’ larger body sizes. We also hypothesize that the isolation of parakeet populations on small islands may have resulted in reduced selection for local call convergence, allowing island parakeets to produce more variable calls. We suggest that due to poor signal transmission in the windy island environment, selective pressures may favor variability in more easily perceived call features (like call duration) rather than more subtle features, like frequency shifts. Experimental tests are required to determine whether observed call patterns translate into similarly structured patterns in the responses to vocal variants.

Physical and Chemical Characterisation of the Pigments of a 17th-Century Mural Painting in the Spanish Caribbean

The arrival of Spaniards in the Caribbean islands introduced to the region the practice of applying pigments onto buildings. The pigments that remain on these buildings may provide data on their historical evolution and essential information for tackling restoration tasks. In this study, a 17th-century mural painting located in the Cathedral of Santo Domingo on the Hispaniola island of the Caribbean is characterised via UV–VIS–NIR, Raman and FTIR spectroscopy, XRD and SEM/EDX. The pigments are found in the older Chapel of Our Lady of Candelaria, currently Chapel of Our Lady of Mercy. The chapel was built in the 17th century by black slave brotherhood and extended by Spaniards. During a recent restoration process of the chapel, remains of mural painting appeared, which were covered by several layers of lime. Five colours were identified: ochre, green, red, blue and white. Moreover, it was determined that this mural painting was made before the end of the 18th century, because many of the materials used were no longer used after the industrialisation of painting. However, since both rutile and anatase appear as a white pigment, a restoration may have been carried out in the 20th century, and it has been painted white.

Cybister (s. str.) poblanus sp. n. from Mexico and notes on other species of Cybistrinae (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)

Cybister (s. str.) poblanus sp. n. is described from the Puebla state in Mexico. The species belongs to a group of members of the genus Cybister Curtis, 1827, which occur only in North America (including the Caribbean Islands) and are characterised by having several distinct ridges on the metacoxae (stridulatory organ) in males. The new species is the third of the genus reported for Mexico and the fourth for North America. It can easily be separated from its congeners by its great size and the shape of the male aedeagus. The habitus, the male genitalia and other details of C. poblanus sp. n. are illustrated and photographs of the male genitalia of the other three Cybister are given for comparison. Megadytes (Bifurcitus) lherminieri (Guérin-Méneville, 1829) and M. (B.) magnus Trémouilles & Bachmann, 1980 are the only other big species of subfamily Cybistrinae which occur in North America. They are externally similar to the new species and can easily be confused with it, hence the illustrations of their aedeagi to facilitate identification. A key to species is given for all species of Cybistrinae occurring in America north of Belize and Guatemala, including Cuba and the Bahamas. Lectotypes are designated for Cybister flavocinctus Aubé, 1838, Cybister explanatus var. fusculus Zimmermann, 1919, and Cybister (Megadytes) aubei Wilke, 1920. Notes are given on material of some Neotropical and Nearctic species of Cybister and Megadytes stored in different museums.