Chronostratigraphic palaeo-climate phasing based on southern African wetlands: From the escarpment to the eastern seaboard

This paper aims to identify chronostratigraphic palaeo-climatic boundaries based on proxy indications from mountain- and coastal wetlands in eastern South Africa and Lesotho. Phase boundaries were identified from timing of climate change inferred by proxies, as well as regime shifts in climate variability. Sometimes magnitude and/or frequency of change was also considered. Summarizing the common palaeo-climatic indications suggest the following chronostratigraphic climate phases: 25 to 18 ka, 18 to 15 ka, 15 to 11.5, 11.5 to 8 ka, 8 to 5.5 ka, 5.5 to 2 ka and 2 to 0 ka. The most robust boundaries were identified at 18 ka, 15 ka and 2 ka, i.e. these boundaries were supported by several proxies/sites. The other boundaries were less clearly detected from available proxies/sites and should be regarded tentative. The timing of a climate shift often coincides at coast and mountain sites. However, the climate conditions within each chronostratigraphic phase sometimes vary between coast and inland sites. The 25 to 18 ka phase was cool and dry with strong and frequent storms, followed by the ca. 18 to 15 ka period when conditions were less severe but still generally cool and dry. At ca. 15 to 11.5 ka several proxies infer warmer climate, with less winter rains. During 11.5 to 8 ka a general increase in wetness is inferred, followed by warming over the 8 to 5.5 ka phase. Between 5.5 and 2 ka a successive change towards wetter is indicated, although timing differ between sites. After 2 ka generally a more variable climate is seen, often with high magnitude shifts between dry and wet. The data resolution, i.e. the number of available wetland records, increases with time from very low during glacial times, to highest resolution during late Holocene. Geographically, sites in the mountain region are overrepresented compared to coastal sites. A comparison with coastal lake records suggests a more variable climate at coastal sites compared to mountain sites during mid- and late Holocene, although different proxy resolution and methodology cannot be ruled out as an explanation. A case study compares multiproxy records from Drakensberg (Sekhokong, Ntsikeni) and the coast (Mfabeni), discussing advantages and problems associated with proxy-comparisons within and between sites.

Description of the metoposaurid Anaschisma browni from the New Oxford Formation of Pennsylvania

Metoposaurids are a widespread and ubiquitous constituent of Late Triassic non-marine paleoenvironments. In North America, this group is practically the only large-bodied temnospondyl clade, and is particularly well documented from the American southwest and south-central regions (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas). However, metoposaurids are poorly documented from eastern North America, with fragmentary, doubtfully diagnostic historical material such as “Dictyocephalus elegans” Leidy, 1856 and “Eupelor durus” Cope, 1866. The Zions View (early Norian?) locality in Pennsylvania preserves more-complete material, which previous workers noted as belonging to “Buettneria perfecta” Case, 1922 (=Anaschisma browni Branson, 1905). However, the material has never been described in a fashion that characterizes the anatomy or that justifies the taxonomic assignment, yet it would represent the most complete material in eastern North America and a substantial expansion of this taxon's geographic range. Here we redescribe the Zions View metoposaurid material in detail, differentiating it from Calamops paludosus Sinclair, 1917, the only other Late Triassic temnospondyl from the eastern seaboard, and demonstrating confident affinities with A. browni. Our study is the first to properly justify the taxonomic referral, underscoring the broader importance of proper documentation of voucher specimens, especially for potential geographic outliers. Anaschisma browni is thus the most widely dispersed metoposaurid. Its easternmost documentation underscores the importance of the undersampled and understudied metoposaurid record on the eastern seaboard for understanding the development of a metoposaurid zone of exclusivity in North America and demonstrates the need for further exploration to refine conceptualizations of Late Triassic tetrapod evolution.

It Often Howls More than It Chugs: Wind versus Ship Noise Under Water in Australia’s Maritime Regions

Marine soundscapes consist of cumulative contributions by diverse sources of sound grouped into: physical (e.g., wind), biological (e.g., fish), and anthropogenic (e.g., shipping)—each with unique spatial, temporal, and frequency characteristics. In terms of anthropophony, shipping has been found to be the greatest (ubiquitous and continuous) contributor of low-frequency underwater noise in several northern hemisphere soundscapes. Our aim was to develop a model for ship noise in Australian waters, which could be used by industry and government to manage marine zones, their usage, stressors, and potential impacts. We also modelled wind noise under water to provide context to the contribution of ship noise. The models were validated with underwater recordings from 25 sites. As expected, there was good congruence when shipping or wind were the dominant sources. However, there was less agreement when other anthropogenic or biological sources were present (i.e., primarily marine seismic surveying and whales). Off Australia, pristine marine soundscapes (based on the dominance of natural, biological and physical sound) remain, in particular, near offshore reefs and islands. Strong wind noise dominates along the southern Australian coast. Underwater shipping noise dominates only in certain areas, along the eastern seaboard and on the northwest shelf, close to shipping lanes.

The 1926 Lake Denmark Explosion: An Extraordinary Mishap That Changed Military Safety Standards

Prior to 1926, the American Table of Distances did not adequately take into consideration the potential for munition storage facilities to exceed capacities. This study aims to provide an overview of the construction and use of munition storage facilities and examine how the American Table of Distances would dramatically change due to the 1926 explosion at the Lake Denmark Naval Ammunitions Depot. The historical literature examining the correlation between the American Table of Distances and storage capacities is limited, and independent inquiries by the United States Government and first-person accounts of the explosion exist. However, these sources had not been collectively assembled into a study to provide historical context. From this research, it can be determined that it was only a matter of “when” would a disaster strike, as storage facilities up and down the eastern seaboard were experiencing exceeded capacities. This disaster, while unnecessary, provided an opportunity for the Army to respond, make changes, and ultimately allow the government to update outdated safety standards. Additionally, this study serves the dual purpose of highlighting the newly established Navy Hill Historic District associated with the unfortunate disaster and its important legacy.

LARGE SCALE IMPACTS OF JETTIES AND TRAINING WALLS - EXPERIENCE ON THE AUSTRALIAN EAST COAST

Entrance jetties and training walls have instigated fundamental perturbations to coastal and estuary processes at several locations on the Australian eastern seaboard inducing long term changes to foreshore alignments, tidal current velocities, tidal plane elevations and marine ecologies with significant consequences, some having been realised only recently. This paper presents examples of long-term impacts of entrance jetties and training walls on coastal and estuary processes, gleaned from experience on the NSW coast. Jetties constructed at estuary entrances have the potential to alter fundamental coastal and estuary processes inducing changes that evidence indicates may take centuries to resolve. While many beneficial and adverse impacts of jetty construction have been known for many years, such as the improvements to navigation and flood mitigation from rainfall runoff and the interruption to littoral drift transport causing down-drift erosion, some impacts of jetties and training walls have not been well understood.Recorded Presentation from the vICCE (YouTube Link): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARF55RPCPbA&feature=youtu.be

Yet two more firsts for Mary E. Barber (1818–1899), and a new synonym for the largest aloe, Aloidendron barberae (Asphodelaceae subfam. Alooideae)

Walker et al. (2019: 12) suggested that the name Aloe zeyheri (Barber 1870a: 80) (Asphodelaceae subfam. Alooideae) was merely proposed and not validly published for the species of tree aloe today known as Aloidendron barberae (Dyer 1874a: 566) Klopper & Gideon F. Sm. in Grace et al. (2013: 9) (Fig. 1A–C). Aloidendron barberae occurs naturally along the eastern seaboard of South Africa, and slightly inland, and caused quite a stir in botanical circles when it was first and more or less simultaneously collected in South Africa’s Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.

ESTIMATING PREVALENCE AND TIME COURSE OF SARS-CoV-2 BASED ON NEW HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS AND PCR TESTS: Data posted in the COVID 19 tracking website for RT-PCR (PCR) results and hospital admissions are used to estimate the prevalence of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the United States (1). Hospital admissions mitigate positive sampling bias in PCR tests due to their initially limited test numbers and application as a diagnostic, instead of a surveying tool. As of July 31, the United States' cumulative recovered population is estimated at 47% or 155 million. The remaining susceptible population is 53%, or 47% excepting the 6% infectious population. The estimated mortality rate of the cumulative recovered population is 0.09% death per case. New (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Serological testing for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies showed a lack of response in close to 50% of formerly afflicted patients. In addition, antibodies were found to be transient, and concentration index to disease severity. These findings made this classical method for the estimation of the recovered population from COVID-19 of limited value. The method presented on this paper relying on % RT-PCR testing and controlling for sampling bias with new hospital admission data provides an effective alternative for estimation of the extent and time course of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. OBJECTIVE The method presented on this paper relying on % RT-PCR testing and controlling for sampling bias with new hospital admission data provides an effective alternative for estimation of the extent and time course of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. METHODS Daily results for %RT-PCR, Total Test Results, Hospitalized Currently, Hospitalized Cumulative available at COVID-19 Tracking Project are used to estimate mitigation of sampling bias of RT-PCR results and daily Hospital Admissions. Since at high daily testing levels and low % positives RT-PCR evidence of sampling bias disappears, it is correlated to daily Hospital Admissions and this correlate value used to mitigate the % RT-PCR findings where sampling bias is present. This information is used to estimate time course of the infection. Knowing that the disease lasts for an average of 20 days allows the integration of the time course values to obtain cumulative recovered population. RESULTS Prevalence and time course of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the United States are estimated. The recovered population amounts to 47%. The states of the eastern seaboard, as exemplified by New York and Massachusetts, display a sudden early onslaught of the pandemic. While California, Texas, and Florida lagged. Mortality rate is twice higher in the eastern seaboard states compared to the entire nation and the other presented states. Given the large number of the convalescent population mortality is about 0.09% nationwide. CONCLUSIONS Novel approach to estimating time course and prevalence shows that the recovered population is much larger, and consequently, mortality rate (0.09%) about a factor of 10 lower than currently recognized.

Description of Hyalina cunhai, a new species of Marginellidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from the eastern seaboard of Brazil

A new species of the marginellid genus Hyalina is described from Brazil. The new species Hyalina cunhai is compared to four other western Atlantic Hyalina species, including H. avenacea Deshayes, 1844, H. moolenbeeki Espinosa & Ortea, 2012, H. pallida Linnaeus, 1758, H. tenuilabra Tomlin, 1917, and five western Atlantic Volvarina species, including V. adrianadiae Cossignani, 2006, V. af inis Reeve, 1865, V. brasiliana Boyer, 2000, V. frazzinii Cossignani, 2006 and V. lactea Kiener, 1841. When compared to these similar species, H. cunhai varies from them with distinct differences in body shape, spire, lip, and body ornamentation