WorldWideScience

Sample records for slope tundra travel

  1. Alaska North Slope Tundra Travel Model and Validation Study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harry R. Bader; Jacynthe Guimond

    2006-03-01

    The Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Division of Mining, Land, and Water manages cross-country travel, typically associated with hydrocarbon exploration and development, on Alaska's arctic North Slope. This project is intended to provide natural resource managers with objective, quantitative data to assist decision making regarding opening of the tundra to cross-country travel. DNR designed standardized, controlled field trials, with baseline data, to investigate the relationships present between winter exploration vehicle treatments and the independent variables of ground hardness, snow depth, and snow slab thickness, as they relate to the dependent variables of active layer depth, soil moisture, and photosynthetically active radiation (a proxy for plant disturbance). Changes in the dependent variables were used as indicators of tundra disturbance. Two main tundra community types were studied: Coastal Plain (wet graminoid/moist sedge shrub) and Foothills (tussock). DNR constructed four models to address physical soil properties: two models for each main community type, one predicting change in depth of active layer and a second predicting change in soil moisture. DNR also investigated the limited potential management utility in using soil temperature, the amount of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) absorbed by plants, and changes in microphotography as tools for the identification of disturbance in the field. DNR operated under the assumption that changes in the abiotic factors of active layer depth and soil moisture drive alteration in tundra vegetation structure and composition. Statistically significant differences in depth of active layer, soil moisture at a 15 cm depth, soil temperature at a 15 cm depth, and the absorption of photosynthetically active radiation were found among treatment cells and among treatment types. The models were unable to thoroughly investigate the interacting role between snow depth and disturbance due to a

  2. Alaska Tundra Travel Modeling Project and implications for seismic best management practices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schultz, G. [Alaska Dept. of Natural Resources, Anchorage, AK (United States)

    2007-07-01

    Much of the oil and gas exploration in the Alaskan North Slope depends on winter off-road travel to gain access to remote exploration areas. A study was conducted to relate vehicular off-road travel to tundra disturbance. Four types of vehicles were driven on the tundra on specific plots at various times throughout early to mid winter in an effort to determine if travel could occur earlier than current practice without impacting tundra integrity. Variables were measured the summer before travel, at the time of travel and the summers following travel. The results were used to develop a management tool to determine when conditions are adequate to allow winter vehicular off-road travel. It was determined that the soil temperature should be 5 degrees C or colder at a depth of 30 cm, with snow depths of 15 cm in coastal sedge tundra or 23 cm in foothills tussock tundra. This presentation also discussed the implications for managing off-road travel associated with seismic operations and recent changes in the types of vehicles used for these operations. figs.

  3. Fire behavior, weather, and burn severity of the 2007 Anaktuvuk River tundra fire, North Slope, Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benjamin M. Jones; Crystal A. Kolden; Randi Jandt; John T. Abatzoglu; Frank Urban; Christopher D. Arp

    2009-01-01

    In 2007, the Anaktuvuk River Fire (ARF) became the largest recorded tundra fire on the North Slope of Alaska. The ARF burned for nearly three months, consuming more than 100,000 ha. At its peak in early September, the ARF burned at a rate of 7000 ha d-1. The conditions potentially responsible for this large tundra fire include modeled record high...

  4. Tundra plant above-ground biomass and shrub dominance mapped across the North Slope of Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berner, Logan T.; Jantz, Patrick; Tape, Ken D.; Goetz, Scott J.

    2018-03-01

    Arctic tundra is becoming greener and shrubbier due to recent warming. This is impacting climate feedbacks and wildlife, yet the spatial distribution of plant biomass in tundra ecosystems is uncertain. In this study, we mapped plant and shrub above-ground biomass (AGB; kg m-2) and shrub dominance (%; shrub AGB/plant AGB) across the North Slope of Alaska by linking biomass harvests at 28 field sites with 30 m resolution Landsat satellite imagery. We first developed regression models (p plant AGB (r 2 = 0.79) and shrub AGB (r 2 = 0.82) based on the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) derived from imagery acquired by Landsat 5 and 7. We then predicted regional plant and shrub AGB by combining these regression models with a regional Landsat NDVI mosaic built from 1721 summer scenes acquired between 2007 and 2016. Our approach employed a Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis that propagated sampling and sensor calibration errors. We estimated that plant AGB averaged 0.74 (0.60, 0.88) kg m-2 (95% CI) and totaled 112 (91, 135) Tg across the region, with shrub AGB accounting for ~43% of regional plant AGB. The new maps capture landscape variation in plant AGB visible in high resolution satellite and aerial imagery, notably shrubby riparian corridors. Modeled shrub AGB was strongly correlated with field measurements of shrub canopy height at 25 sites (rs  = 0.88) and with a regional map of shrub cover (rs  = 0.76). Modeled plant AGB and shrub dominance were higher in shrub tundra than graminoid tundra and increased between areas with the coldest and warmest summer air temperatures, underscoring the fact that future warming has the potential to greatly increase plant AGB and shrub dominance in this region. These new biomass maps provide a unique source of ecological information for a region undergoing rapid environmental change.

  5. The need for a tundra treatment protocol

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Filler, D.M.

    2000-01-01

    Support services formed an integral part of the oil and natural gas industry in the Arctic. These services include the road transportation of petroleum fuels to supply pipeline pump station generators, work camps, fleet vehicles and others. At times, spill response in the tundra proves to be harmful to the environment. An incident occurred in November 1997. A tanker truck was hauling arctic-grade diesel fuel on Alaska's North Slope when it rolled over at a river crossing, spilling 20,800 liters on the frozen tundra. The in situ burning that followed polluted the subsurface soil-water matrix within the river basin. It was difficult to distinguish between petroleum pollutant and biogenic hydrocarbon contributions in the tundra. A tundra treatment manual was then developed for the proper management of land-based fuel and oil spills in the Arctic. This manual takes into account the sensitive environment of the region. 14 refs., 4 figs

  6. Dynamics of the recovery of damaged tundra vegetation. Annual progress report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amundsen, C.C.

    1976-01-01

    A study, begun in 1971, continues to document the environmental factors which affect the recovery of damaged tundra landscapes. A measurement technique was developed on Amchitka Island to allow the rapid acquisition of data on species presence and frequency across areas disturbed at various times and in various ways. Samples across all examples of aspect, slope steepness and exposure are taken. Studies now include Adak Island and the Point Barrow area. We have concluded that there was no directional secondary succession on the Aleutian tundra, although there was vigorous recovery on organic soils. Our study led to recommendations which resulted in less intensive reclamation management at a considerable financial saving and without further biological perturbation. Because of the increasing activity on tundra landscapes, for energy extraction, transportation or production, military or other reasons, we have expanded our sampling to other tundra areas where landscape disruption is occurring or is predicted.

  7. Dynamics of the recovery of damaged tundra vegetation. Annual progress report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amundsen, C.C.

    1975-01-01

    A study, begun in 1971, has been undertaken to determine the environmental factors which affect the recovery of damaged tundra vegetation. A sampling technique was developed on Amchitka Island to allow the rapid acquisition of data on species presence and frequency across areas disturbed at various times and in various ways. Attempts were made to sample across all examples of aspect, slope steepness and exposure. The data were analyzed and we concluded that there was no directional secondary succession on the Amchitka tundra, although there was vigorous recovery on organic soils. The study led to recommendations which resulted in a smaller effort than planned to reclaim damaged areas by seeding and fertilizing at a considerable financial saving and without further biological perturbation. Because of the increasing activity on tundra landscape, whether for energy production, or military or other reasons, we are expanding our sampling to other tundra areas. Immediate plans include sampling at Adak Island and Barrow, Alaska. (U.S.)

  8. Alaskan North Slope Oil & Gas Transportation Support

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lilly, Michael Russell [Geo-Watersheds Scientific LLC, Fairbanks, AK (United States)

    2017-03-31

    North Slope oil and gas resources are a critical part of US energy supplies and their development is facing a period of new growth to meet increasing national energy needs. While this growth is taking place in areas active in development for more than 20 years, there are many increasing environmental challenges facing industry and management agencies. A majority of all exploration and development activities, pipeline maintenance and other field support activities take place in the middle of winter, when the fragile tundra surface is more stable. The window for the critical oil and gas winter operational season has been steadily decreasing over the last 25 years. The number of companies working on the North Slope is increasing. Many of these companies are smaller and working with fewer resources than the current major companies. The winter operations season starts with the tundra-travel opening, which requires 15 cm of snow on the land surface in the coastal management areas and 23 cm in the foothills management areas. All state managed areas require -5°C soil temperatures at a soil depth of 30 cm. Currently there are no methods to forecast this opening date, so field mobilization efforts are dependent on agency personnel visiting field sites to measure snow and soil temperature conditions. Weeks can be easily lost in the winter operating season due to delays in field verification of tundra conditions and the resulting mobilization. After the season is open, a significant percentage of exploration, construction, and maintenance do not proceed until ice roads and pads can be built. This effort is dependent on access to lake ice and under-ice water. Ice chipping is a common ice-road construction technique used to build faster and stronger ice roads. Seasonal variability in water availability and permitting approaches are a constant constraint to industry. At the end of the winter season, projects reliant on ice-road networks are often faced with ending operations

  9. Snowmelt runoff from northern alpine tundra hillslopes: major processes and methods of simulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W. L. Quinton

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available In northern alpine tundra, large slope gradients, late-lying snow drifts and shallow soils overlying impermeable substrates all contribute to large hillslope runoff volumes during the spring freshet. Understanding the processes and pathways of hillslope runoff in this environment is, therefore, critical to understanding the water cycle within northern alpine tundra ecosystems. This study: (a presents the results of a field study on runoff from a sub-alpine tundra hillslope with a large snow drift during the spring melt period; (b identifies the major runoff processes that must be represented in simulations of snowmelt runoff from sub-alpine tundra hillslopes; (c describes how these processes can be represented in a numerical simulation model; and d compares field measurements with modelled output to validate or refute the conceptual understanding of runoff generation embodied in the process simulations. The study was conducted at Granger Creek catchment, 15 km south of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada, on a north-facing slope below a late-lying snow drift. For the freshet period, the major processes to be represented in a runoff model include the rate of meltwater release from the late-lying snowdrift, the elevation and thickness of the saturated layer, the magnitude of the soil permeability and its variation with depth. The daily cycle of net all-wave radiation was observed to drive the diurnal pulses of melt water from the drift; this, in turn, was found to control the daily pulses of flow through the hillslope subsurface and in the stream channel. The computed rate of frost table lowering fell within the observed values; however, there was wide variation among the measured frost table depths. Spatial variability in frost table depth would result in spatial variabilities in saturated layer depth and thickness, which would, in turn, produce variations in subsurface flow rates over the slope, including preferential flowpaths. Keywords

  10. A Microwave Radiance Assimilation Study for a Tundra Snowpack

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Edward; Durand, Michael; Margulis, Steve; England, Anthony

    2010-01-01

    Recent studies have begun exploring the assimilation of microwave radiances for the modeling and retrieval of snow properties. At a point scale, and for short durations (i week), radiance assimilation (RA) results are encouraging. However, in order to determine how practical RA might be for snow retrievals when applied over longer durations, larger spatial scales, and/or different snow types, we must expand the scope of the tests. In this paper we use coincident microwave radiance measurements and station data from a tundra site on the North Slope of Alaska. The field data are from the 3rd Radio-brightness Energy Balance Experiment (REBEX-3) carried out in 1994-95 by the University of Michigan. This dataset will provide a test of RA over months instead of one week, and for a very different type of snow than previous snow RA studies. We will address the following questions: flow well can a snowpack physical model (SM), forced with local weather, match measured conditions for a tundra snowpack?; How well can a microwave emission model, driven by the snowpack model, match measured microwave brightnesses for a tundra snowpack?; How well does RA increase or decrease the fidelity of estimates of snow depth and temperatures for a tundra snowpack?

  11. The effect of nutrient deposition on bacterial communities in Arctic tundra soil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbara J. Campbell; Shawn W. Polson; Thomas E. Hanson; Michelle C. Mack; Edward A.G. Schuur

    2010-01-01

    The microbial communities of high-latitude ecosystems are expected to experience rapid changes over the next century due to climate warming and increased deposition of reactive nitrogen, changes that will likely affect microbial community structure and function. In moist acidic tundra (MAT) soils on the North Slope of the Brooks Range, Alaska, substantial losses of C...

  12. The footprint of Alaskan tundra fires during the past half-century: implications for surface properties and radiative forcing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rocha, Adrian V; Loranty, Michael M; Higuera, Phil E; Mack, Michelle C; Hu Fengsheng; Jones, Benjamin M; Breen, Amy L; Rastetter, Edward B; Shaver, Gus R; Goetz, Scott J

    2012-01-01

    Recent large and frequent fires above the Alaskan arctic circle have forced a reassessment of the ecological and climatological importance of fire in arctic tundra ecosystems. Here we provide a general overview of the occurrence, distribution, and ecological and climate implications of Alaskan tundra fires over the past half-century using spatially explicit climate, fire, vegetation and remote sensing datasets for Alaska. Our analyses highlight the importance of vegetation biomass and environmental conditions in regulating tundra burning, and demonstrate that most tundra ecosystems are susceptible to burn, providing the environmental conditions are right. Over the past two decades, fire perimeters above the arctic circle have increased in size and importance, especially on the North Slope, indicating that future wildfire projections should account for fire regime changes in these regions. Remote sensing data and a literature review of thaw depths indicate that tundra fires have both positive and negative implications for climatic feedbacks including a decadal increase in albedo radiative forcing immediately after a fire, a stimulation of surface greenness and a persistent long-term (>10 year) increase in thaw depth. In order to address the future impact of tundra fires on climate, a better understanding of the control of tundra fire occurrence as well as the long-term impacts on ecosystem carbon cycling will be required. (letter)

  13. Hybrid image classification technique for land-cover mapping in the Arctic tundra, North Slope, Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaudhuri, Debasish

    Remotely sensed image classification techniques are very useful to understand vegetation patterns and species combination in the vast and mostly inaccessible arctic region. Previous researches that were done for mapping of land cover and vegetation in the remote areas of northern Alaska have considerably low accuracies compared to other biomes. The unique arctic tundra environment with short growing season length, cloud cover, low sun angles, snow and ice cover hinders the effectiveness of remote sensing studies. The majority of image classification research done in this area as reported in the literature used traditional unsupervised clustering technique with Landsat MSS data. It was also emphasized by previous researchers that SPOT/HRV-XS data lacked the spectral resolution to identify the small arctic tundra vegetation parcels. Thus, there is a motivation and research need to apply a new classification technique to develop an updated, detailed and accurate vegetation map at a higher spatial resolution i.e. SPOT-5 data. Traditional classification techniques in remotely sensed image interpretation are based on spectral reflectance values with an assumption of the training data being normally distributed. Hence it is difficult to add ancillary data in classification procedures to improve accuracy. The purpose of this dissertation was to develop a hybrid image classification approach that effectively integrates ancillary information into the classification process and combines ISODATA clustering, rule-based classifier and the Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) classifier which uses artificial neural network (ANN). The main goal was to find out the best possible combination or sequence of classifiers for typically classifying tundra type vegetation that yields higher accuracy than the existing classified vegetation map from SPOT data. Unsupervised ISODATA clustering and rule-based classification techniques were combined to produce an intermediate classified map which was

  14. [Nitrogen bio-cycle in the alpine tundra ecosystem of Changbai Mountain and its comparison with arctic tundra].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Jing; Zhao, Jing-zhu; Deng, Hong-bing; Wu, Gang; Hao, Ying-jie; Shang, Wen-yan

    2005-03-01

    The nitrogen bio-cycle was discussed in the alpine tundra ecosystem of Changbai Mountain through compartment model. The alpine tundra of Changbai Mountain was compared with Arctic tundra by the common ratio of genus and species in this paper. It was found that the 89.3% of genus and 58.6% of species was the common between Changbai alpine tundra and Arctic tundra while 95.5% of lichen genus and 58.7% lichen species, 82.1% of moss genus and 76.3% of moss species, 93.1% of vascular bundle genus and 40.5% of vascular bundle species were the common, respectively, which made vegetation type or community to be similar between Changbai alpine tundra and Arctic tundra. The total storage of nitrogen was 65220.6 t in the vegetation-plant system of Changbai Mountain, of which soil pool amounted to 99.3%. The nitrogen storage of each compartment was as follows: the vegetation pool, litterfall pool and soil pool were 237.4 t, 145.3 t and 64837.9 t respectively. The transferable amounts of nitrogen were 131.7 t x a(-1), 58 t/a and 73.7 t x a(-1) in the aboveground plant, belowground root system and litterfall of alpine tundra ecosystem of Changbai Mountain.

  15. Tundra vegetation effects on pan-Arctic albedo

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loranty, Michael M; Goetz, Scott J; Beck, Pieter S A

    2011-01-01

    Recent field experiments in tundra ecosystems describe how increased shrub cover reduces winter albedo, and how subsequent changes in surface net radiation lead to altered rates of snowmelt. These findings imply that tundra vegetation change will alter regional energy budgets, but to date the effects have not been documented at regional or greater scales. Using satellite observations and a pan-Arctic vegetation map, we examined the effects of shrub vegetation on albedo across the terrestrial Arctic. We included vegetation classes dominated by low shrubs, dwarf shrubs, tussock-dominated graminoid tundra, and non-tussock graminoid tundra. Each class was further stratified by bioclimate subzones. Low-shrub tundra had higher normalized difference vegetation index values and earlier albedo decline in spring than dwarf-shrub tundra, but for tussock tundra, spring albedo declined earlier than for low-shrub tundra. Our results illustrate how relatively small changes in vegetation properties result in differences in albedo dynamics, regardless of shrub growth, that may lead to differences in net radiation upwards of 50 W m -2 at weekly time scales. Further, our findings imply that changes to the terrestrial Arctic energy budget during this important seasonal transition are under way regardless of whether recent satellite observed productivity trends are the result of shrub expansion. We conclude that a better understanding of changes in vegetation productivity and distribution in Arctic tundra is essential for accurately quantifying and predicting carbon and energy fluxes and associated climate feedbacks.

  16. InSAR detects increase in surface subsidence caused by an Arctic tundra fire

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Lin; Jafarov, Elchin E.; Schaefer, Kevin M.; Jones, Benjamin M.; Zebker, Howard A.; Williams, Christopher A.; Rogan, John; Zhang, Tingjun

    2014-01-01

    Wildfire is a major disturbance in the Arctic tundra and boreal forests, having a significant impact on soil hydrology, carbon cycling, and permafrost dynamics. This study explores the use of the microwave Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) technique to map and quantify ground surface subsidence caused by the Anaktuvuk River fire on the North Slope of Alaska. We detected an increase of up to 8 cm of thaw-season ground subsidence after the fire, which is due to a combination of thickened active layer and permafrost thaw subsidence. Our results illustrate the effectiveness and potential of using InSAR to quantify fire impacts on the Arctic tundra, especially in regions underlain by ice-rich permafrost. Our study also suggests that surface subsidence is a more comprehensive indicator of fire impacts on ice-rich permafrost terrain than changes in active layer thickness alone.

  17. Where do the treeless tundra areas of northern highlands fit in the global biome system: toward an ecologically natural subdivision of the tundra biome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Virtanen, Risto; Oksanen, Lauri; Oksanen, Tarja; Cohen, Juval; Forbes, Bruce C; Johansen, Bernt; Käyhkö, Jukka; Olofsson, Johan; Pulliainen, Jouni; Tømmervik, Hans

    2016-01-01

    According to some treatises, arctic and alpine sub-biomes are ecologically similar, whereas others find them highly dissimilar. Most peculiarly, large areas of northern tundra highlands fall outside of the two recent subdivisions of the tundra biome. We seek an ecologically natural resolution to this long-standing and far-reaching problem. We studied broad-scale patterns in climate and vegetation along the gradient from Siberian tundra via northernmost Fennoscandia to the alpine habitats of European middle-latitude mountains, as well as explored those patterns within Fennoscandian tundra based on climate-vegetation patterns obtained from a fine-scale vegetation map. Our analyses reveal that ecologically meaningful January-February snow and thermal conditions differ between different types of tundra. High precipitation and mild winter temperatures prevail on middle-latitude mountains, low precipitation and usually cold winters prevail on high-latitude tundra, and Scandinavian mountains show intermediate conditions. Similarly, heath-like plant communities differ clearly between middle latitude mountains (alpine) and high-latitude tundra vegetation, including its altitudinal extension on Scandinavian mountains. Conversely, high abundance of snowbeds and large differences in the composition of dwarf shrub heaths distinguish the Scandinavian mountain tundra from its counterparts in Russia and the north Fennoscandian inland. The European tundra areas fall into three ecologically rather homogeneous categories: the arctic tundra, the oroarctic tundra of northern heights and mountains, and the genuinely alpine tundra of middle-latitude mountains. Attempts to divide the tundra into two sub-biomes have resulted in major discrepancies and confusions, as the oroarctic areas are included in the arctic tundra in some biogeographic maps and in the alpine tundra in others. Our analyses based on climate and vegetation criteria thus seem to resolve the long-standing biome

  18. Methylocella tundrae sp. nov., a novel methanotrophic bacterium from acidic tundra peatlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dedysh, Svetlana N; Berestovskaya, Yulia Y; Vasylieva, Lina V; Belova, Svetlana E; Khmelenina, Valentina N; Suzina, Natalia E; Trotsenko, Yuri A; Liesack, Werner; Zavarzin, George A

    2004-01-01

    A novel species, Methylocella tundrae, is proposed for three methanotrophic strains (T4T, TCh1 and TY1) isolated from acidic Sphagnum tundra peatlands. These strains are aerobic, Gram-negative, non-motile, dinitrogen-fixing rods that possess a soluble methane monooxygenase and utilize the serine pathway for carbon assimilation. Strains T4T, TCh1 and TY1 are moderately acidophilic organisms capable of growth between pH 4.2 and 7.5 (optimum 5.5-6.0) and between 5 and 30 degrees C (optimum 15 degrees C). The major phospholipid fatty acid is 18:1omega7c. The DNA G+C content of strain T4T is 63.3 mol%. The three strains possess almost identical 16S rRNA gene sequences and are most closely related to two previously identified species of Methylocella, Methylocella palustris (97% similarity) and Methylocella silvestris (97.5% similarity). DNA-DNA hybridization values of strain T4T with Methylocella palustris KT and Methylocella silvestris BL2T were respectively 27 and 36%. Thus, the tundra strains represent a novel species, for which the name Methylocella tundrae sp. nov. is proposed. Strain T4T (=DSM 15673T=NCIMB 13949T) is the type strain.

  19. Landsat-based Analysis of Mountain Forest-tundra Ecotone Response to Climate Trends in Sayan Mountains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kharuk, Viatcheslav I.; Im, Sergey T.; Ranson, K. Jon

    2007-01-01

    observations of temperatures Siberia has shown a several degree warming over the past 30 years. It is expected that forest will respond to warming at high latitudes through increased tree growth and northward or upward slope migration. migration. Tree response to climate trends is most likely observable in the forest-tundra ecotone, where temperature mainly limits tree growth. Making repeated satellite observations over several decades provides an opportunity to track vegetation response to climate change. Based on Landsat data of the Sayan Mountains, Siberia, there was an increase in forest stand crown closure and an upward tree-line shift in the of the forest-tundra ecotone during the last quarter of the 2oth century,. On-ground observations, supporting these results, also showed regeneration of Siberian pine in the alpine tundra, and the transformation of prostrate Siberian pine and fir into arboreal (upright) forms. During this time period sparse stands transformed into closed stands, with existing closed stands increasing in area at a rate of approx. 1 %/yr, and advancing their upper border at a vertical rate of approx. 1.0 m/yr. In addition, the vertical rate of regeneration propagation is approx. 5 m/yr. It was also found that these changes correlated positively with temperature trends

  20. Blood lead concentrations in Alaskan tundra swans: linking breeding and wintering areas with satellite telemetry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ely, Craig R; Franson, J Christian

    2014-04-01

    Tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus) like many waterfowl species are susceptible to lead (Pb) poisoning, and Pb-induced mortality has been reported from many areas of their wintering range. Little is known however about Pb levels throughout the annual cycle of tundra swans, especially during summer when birds are on remote northern breeding areas where they are less likely to be exposed to anthropogenic sources of Pb. Our objective was to document summer Pb levels in tundra swans throughout their breeding range in Alaska to determine if there were population-specific differences in blood Pb concentrations that might pose a threat to swans and to humans that may consume them. We measured blood Pb concentrations in tundra swans at five locations in Alaska, representing birds that winter in both the Pacific Flyway and Atlantic Flyway. We also marked swans at each location with satellite transmitters and coded neck bands, to identify staging and wintering sites and determine if winter site use correlated with summer Pb concentrations. Blood Pb levels were generally low (<0.2 μg/ml) in swans across all breeding areas. Pb levels were lower in cygnets than adults, suggesting that swans were likely exposed to Pb on wintering areas or on return migration to Alaska, rather than on the summer breeding grounds. Blood Pb levels varied significantly across the five breeding areas, with highest concentrations in birds on the North Slope of Alaska (wintering in the Atlantic Flyway), and lowest in birds from the lower Alaska Peninsula that rarely migrate south for winter.

  1. Migration of Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) Wintering in Japan Using Satellite Tracking: Identification of the Eastern Palearctic Flyway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Wenbo; Doko, Tomoko; Fujita, Go; Hijikata, Naoya; Tokita, Ken-Ichi; Uchida, Kiyoshi; Konishi, Kan; Hiraoka, Emiko; Higuchi, Hiroyoshi

    2016-02-01

    Migration through the Eastern Palearctic (EP) flyway by tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus) has not been thoroughly documented. We satellite-tracked the migration of 16 tundra swans that winter in Japan. The objectives of this study were 1) to show the migration pattern of the EP flyway of tundra swans; 2) to compare this pattern with the migration pattern of whooper swans; and 3) to identify stopover sites that are important for these swans' conservation. Tundra swans were captured at Kutcharo Lake, Hokkaido, in 2009-2012 and satellite-tracked. A new method called the "MATCHED (Migratory Analytical Time Change Easy Detection) method" was developed. Based on median, the spring migration began on 18 April and ended on 27 May. Autumn migration began on 9 September and ended on 2 November. The median duration of the spring and autumn migrations were 48 and 50 days, respectively. The mean duration at one stopover site was 5.5 days and 6.8 days for the spring and autumn migrations, respectively. The number of stopover sites was 3.0 and 2.5 for the spring and autumn migrations, respectively. The mean travel distances for the spring and autumn migrations were 6471 and 6331 km, respectively. Seven migration routes passing Sakhalin, the Amur River, and/or Kamchatka were identified. There were 15, 32, and eight wintering, stopover, and breeding sites, respectively. The migration routes and staging areas of tundra swans partially overlap with those of whooper swans, whose migration patterns have been previously documented. The migration patterns of these two swan species that winter in Japan confirm the importance of the Amur River, Udyl' Lake, Shchastya Bay, Aniva Bay, zaliv Chayvo Lake, zal Piltun Lake, zaliv Baykal Lake, Kolyma River, Buyunda River, Sen-kyuyel' Lake, and northern coastal areas of the Sea of Okhotsk.

  2. 30 CFR 56.3130 - Wall, bank, and slope stability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Wall, bank, and slope stability. 56.3130... Mining Methods § 56.3130 Wall, bank, and slope stability. Mining methods shall be used that will maintain wall, bank, and slope stability in places where persons work or travel in performing their assigned...

  3. Diversification of Nitrogen Sources in Various Tundra Vegetation Types in the High Arctic.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grzegorz Skrzypek

    Full Text Available Low nitrogen availability in the high Arctic represents a major constraint for plant growth, which limits the tundra capacity for carbon retention and determines tundra vegetation types. The limited terrestrial nitrogen (N pool in the tundra is augmented significantly by nesting seabirds, such as the planktivorous Little Auk (Alle alle. Therefore, N delivered by these birds may significantly influence the N cycling in the tundra locally and the carbon budget more globally. Moreover, should these birds experience substantial negative environmental pressure associated with climate change, this will adversely influence the tundra N-budget. Hence, assessment of bird-originated N-input to the tundra is important for understanding biological cycles in polar regions. This study analyzed the stable nitrogen composition of the three main N-sources in the High Arctic and in numerous plants that access different N-pools in ten tundra vegetation types in an experimental catchment in Hornsund (Svalbard. The percentage of the total tundra N-pool provided by birds, ranged from 0-21% in Patterned-ground tundra to 100% in Ornithocoprophilous tundra. The total N-pool utilized by tundra plants in the studied catchment was built in 36% by birds, 38% by atmospheric deposition, and 26% by atmospheric N2-fixation. The stable nitrogen isotope mixing mass balance, in contrast to direct methods that measure actual deposition, indicates the ratio between the actual N-loads acquired by plants from different N-sources. Our results enhance our understanding of the importance of different N-sources in the Arctic tundra and the used methodological approach can be applied elsewhere.

  4. Modeling the Observed Microwave Emission from Shallow Multi-Layer Tundra Snow Using DMRT-ML

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nastaran Saberi

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The observed brightness temperatures (Tb at 37 GHz from typical moderate density dry snow in mid-latitudes decreases with increasing snow water equivalent (SWE due to volume scattering of the ground emissions by the overlying snow. At a certain point, however, as SWE increases, the emission from the snowpack offsets the scattering of the sub-nivean emission. In tundra snow, the Tb slope reversal occurs at shallower snow thicknesses. While it has been postulated that the inflection point in the seasonal time series of observed Tb V 37 GHz of tundra snow is controlled by the formation of a thick wind slab layer, the simulation of this effect has yet to be confirmed. Therefore, the Dense Media Radiative Transfer Theory for Multi Layered (DMRT-ML snowpack is used to predict the passive microwave response from airborne observations over shallow, dense, slab-layered tundra snow. Airborne radiometer observations coordinated with ground-based in situ snow measurements were acquired in the Canadian high Arctic near Eureka, NT, in April 2011. The DMRT-ML was parameterized with the in situ snow measurements using a two-layer snowpack and run in two configurations: a depth hoar and a wind slab dominated pack. With these two configurations, the calibrated DMRT-ML successfully predicted the Tb V 37 GHz response (R correlation of 0.83 when compared with the observed airborne Tb footprints containing snow pits measurements. Using this calibrated model, the DMRT-ML was applied to the whole study region. At the satellite observation scale, observations from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System (AMSR-E over the study area reflected seasonal differences between Tb V 37 GHz and Tb V 19 GHz that supports the hypothesis of the development of an early season volume scattering depth hoar layer, followed by the growth of the late season emission-dominated wind slab layer. This research highlights the necessity to consider the two

  5. Arctic Tundra Greening and Browning at Circumpolar and Regional Scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Epstein, H. E.; Bhatt, U. S.; Walker, D. A.; Raynolds, M. K.; Yang, X.

    2017-12-01

    Remote sensing data have historically been used to assess the dynamics of arctic tundra vegetation. Until recently the scientific literature has largely described the "greening" of the Arctic; from a remote sensing perspective, an increase in the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), or a similar satellite-based vegetation index. Vegetation increases have been heterogeneous throughout the Arctic, and were reported to be up to 25% in certain areas over a 30-year timespan. However, more recently, arctic tundra vegetation dynamics have gotten more complex, with observations of more widespread tundra "browning" being reported. We used a combination of remote sensing data, including the Global Inventory Monitoring and Modeling System (GIMMS), as well as higher spatial resolution Landsat data, to evaluate the spatio-temporal patterns of arctic tundra vegetation dynamics (greening and browning) at circumpolar and regional scales over the past 3-4 decades. At the circumpolar scale, we focus on the spatial heterogeneity (by tundra subzone and continent) of tundra browning over the past 5-15 years, followed by a more recent recovery (greening since 2015). Landsat time series allow us to evaluate the landscape-scale heterogeneity of tundra greening and browning for northern Alaska and the Yamal Peninsula in northwestern Siberia, Russia. Multi-dataset analyses reveal that tundra greening and browning (i.e. increases or decreases in the NDVI respectively) are generated by different sets of processes. Tundra greening is largely a result of either climate warming, lengthening of the growing season, or responses to disturbances, such as fires, landslides, and freeze-thaw processes. Browning on the other hand tends to be more event-driven, such as the shorter-term decline in vegetation due to fire, insect defoliation, consumption by larger herbivores, or extreme weather events (e.g. winter warming or early summer frost damage). Browning can also be caused by local or

  6. Isoprene emissions from a tundra ecosystem

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. J. Potosnak

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Whole-system fluxes of isoprene from a moist acidic tundra ecosystem and leaf-level emission rates of isoprene from a common species (Salix pulchra in that same ecosystem were measured during three separate field campaigns. The field campaigns were conducted during the summers of 2005, 2010 and 2011 and took place at the Toolik Field Station (68.6° N, 149.6° W on the north slope of the Brooks Range in Alaska, USA. The maximum rate of whole-system isoprene flux measured was over 1.2 mg C m−2 h−1 with an air temperature of 22 °C and a PAR level over 1500 μmol m−2 s−1. Leaf-level isoprene emission rates for S. pulchra averaged 12.4 nmol m−2 s−1 (27.4 μg C gdw−1 h−1 extrapolated to standard conditions (PAR = 1000 μmol m−2 s−1 and leaf temperature = 30 °C. Leaf-level isoprene emission rates were well characterized by the Guenther algorithm for temperature with published coefficients, but less so for light. Chamber measurements from a nearby moist acidic tundra ecosystem with little S. pulchra emitted significant amounts of isoprene, but at lower rates (0.45 mg C m−2 h−1 suggesting other significant isoprene emitters. Comparison of our results to predictions from a global model found broad agreement, but a detailed analysis revealed some significant discrepancies. An atmospheric chemistry box model predicts that the observed isoprene emissions have a significant impact on Arctic atmospheric chemistry, including a reduction of hydroxyl radical (OH concentrations. Our results support the prediction that isoprene emissions from Arctic ecosystems will increase with global climate change.

  7. Invertebrate communities of Arctic tundra ponds as related to proximity to drill site reserve pits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Byron, E.; Williams, N.; Hoffman, R.; Elder, B.

    1994-01-01

    Aquatic invertebrate communities were assessed for diversity and abundance in North Slope tundra ponds of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska during the summer of 1992 as part of an evaluation of potential effects of exposure to petroleum drill site reserve pits (previously used for storing drill site wastes). The invertebrate communities of these shallow, tundra ponds provide abundant food for migratory, aquatic birds that use this area during the summer breeding season. The study was designed to compare abundance and diversity estimates of invertebrates in ponds surrounding the drill sites that differed in distance (and presumed exposure) to drill site reserve pits. The pits, themselves, were not sampled as part of this study. Invertebrate abundance and diversity estimates, assessed as standard biological criteria, were evaluated relative to water chemistry of the ponds, distance to the gravel pads or reserve pits, and pond morphometry. The results indicated the importance of pond morphometry in determining the structure of the invertebrate community. Shallow, exposed ponds tended to be dominated by different invertebrate communities than deeper, narrow ponds at the margins of frost polygons. In contrast, pond chemistry and relative exposure to drill sites were not predictive of invertebrate abundance or diversity

  8. Nesting ecology of tundra swans on the coastal Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babcock, C.A.; Fowler, A.C.; Ely, Craig R.

    2002-01-01

    Nesting ecology of Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus columbianus) was studies the Kashunuk River near Old Chevak (61A?26a??N, 165A?27a??W), on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta of western Alaska from 1988-2000. Annual variation in snow-melt chronology, nesting phenology, nesting density, clutch size and nest success was examined. The same area (approximately 23 kmA?) was searched each year and nests were found as early as possible in the laying period. Laying initiation dates ranged from 1-27 May and hatch dates from 12 June a?? 4 July among pairs and years of study. The peak arrival of Tundra Swans and the phenology of nest initiation and hatch were highly correlated with the progression of ice and snow melt in spring. Nest density averaged 0.71 kmA? and 89% of nesting pairs hatched at least one egg. Incubation period ranged from 26 to 33 days with a median of 30 days. Clutch size varied significantly among years, driven by a low mean value of 3.4 eggs in 1999. Clutch sizes were generally larger than found in previous investigations on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, and nearly one egg larger than reported for clutches from Alaskaa??s North Slope (=70A?N). There was no indication of reduced clutch size in years of late spring snow melt, although nesting density tended to be lower.

  9. Polygonal tundra geomorphological change in response to warming alters future CO2 and CH4 flux on the Barrow Peninsula.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lara, Mark J; McGuire, A David; Euskirchen, Eugenie S; Tweedie, Craig E; Hinkel, Kenneth M; Skurikhin, Alexei N; Romanovsky, Vladimir E; Grosse, Guido; Bolton, W Robert; Genet, Helene

    2015-04-01

    The landscape of the Barrow Peninsula in northern Alaska is thought to have formed over centuries to millennia, and is now dominated by ice-wedge polygonal tundra that spans drained thaw-lake basins and interstitial tundra. In nearby tundra regions, studies have identified a rapid increase in thermokarst formation (i.e., pits) over recent decades in response to climate warming, facilitating changes in polygonal tundra geomorphology. We assessed the future impact of 100 years of tundra geomorphic change on peak growing season carbon exchange in response to: (i) landscape succession associated with the thaw-lake cycle; and (ii) low, moderate, and extreme scenarios of thermokarst pit formation (10%, 30%, and 50%) reported for Alaskan arctic tundra sites. We developed a 30 × 30 m resolution tundra geomorphology map (overall accuracy:75%; Kappa:0.69) for our ~1800 km² study area composed of ten classes; drained slope, high center polygon, flat-center polygon, low center polygon, coalescent low center polygon, polygon trough, meadow, ponds, rivers, and lakes, to determine their spatial distribution across the Barrow Peninsula. Land-atmosphere CO2 and CH4 flux data were collected for the summers of 2006-2010 at eighty-two sites near Barrow, across the mapped classes. The developed geomorphic map was used for the regional assessment of carbon flux. Results indicate (i) at present during peak growing season on the Barrow Peninsula, CO2 uptake occurs at -902.3 10(6) gC-CO2 day(-1) (uncertainty using 95% CI is between -438.3 and -1366 10(6) gC-CO2 day(-1)) and CH4 flux at 28.9 10(6) gC-CH4 day(-1) (uncertainty using 95% CI is between 12.9 and 44.9 10(6) gC-CH4 day(-1)), (ii) one century of future landscape change associated with the thaw-lake cycle only slightly alter CO2 and CH4 exchange, while (iii) moderate increases in thermokarst pits would strengthen both CO2 uptake (-166.9 10(6) gC-CO2 day(-1)) and CH4 flux (2.8 10(6) gC-CH4 day(-1)) with geomorphic change from low

  10. Polygonal tundra geomorphological change in response to warming alters future CO2 and CH4 flux on the Barrow Peninsula

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lara, Mark J.; McGuire, A. David; Euskirchen, Eugénie S.; Tweedie, Craig E.; Hinkel, Kenneth M.; Skurikhin, Alexei N.; Romanovsky, Vladimir E.; Grosse, Guido; Bolton, W. Robert; Genet, Helene

    2015-01-01

    The landscape of the Barrow Peninsula in northern Alaska is thought to have formed over centuries to millennia, and is now dominated by ice-wedge polygonal tundra that spans drained thaw-lake basins and interstitial tundra. In nearby tundra regions, studies have identified a rapid increase in thermokarst formation (i.e., pits) over recent decades in response to climate warming, facilitating changes in polygonal tundra geomorphology. We assessed the future impact of 100 years of tundra geomorphic change on peak growing season carbon exchange in response to: (i) landscape succession associated with the thaw-lake cycle; and (ii) low, moderate, and extreme scenarios of thermokarst pit formation (10%, 30%, and 50%) reported for Alaskan arctic tundra sites. We developed a 30 × 30 m resolution tundra geomorphology map (overall accuracy:75%; Kappa:0.69) for our ~1800 km² study area composed of ten classes; drained slope, high center polygon, flat-center polygon, low center polygon, coalescent low center polygon, polygon trough, meadow, ponds, rivers, and lakes, to determine their spatial distribution across the Barrow Peninsula. Land-atmosphere CO2 and CH4 flux data were collected for the summers of 2006–2010 at eighty-two sites near Barrow, across the mapped classes. The developed geomorphic map was used for the regional assessment of carbon flux. Results indicate (i) at present during peak growing season on the Barrow Peninsula, CO2 uptake occurs at -902.3 106gC-CO2 day−1(uncertainty using 95% CI is between −438.3 and −1366 106gC-CO2 day−1) and CH4 flux at 28.9 106gC-CH4 day−1(uncertainty using 95% CI is between 12.9 and 44.9 106gC-CH4 day−1), (ii) one century of future landscape change associated with the thaw-lake cycle only slightly alter CO2 and CH4 exchange, while (iii) moderate increases in thermokarst pits would strengthen both CO2uptake (−166.9 106gC-CO2 day−1) and CH4 flux (2.8 106gC-CH4 day−1) with geomorphic change from

  11. Tundra Rehabilitation in Alaska's Arctic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lynn, L. A.

    2012-12-01

    Oil exploration in Alaska's Arctic has been conducted for more than 40 years, resulting in over 3,640 ha of gravel fill placed for roads, pads, and airstrips to support the industry. Likewise, tundra disturbance from burying power lines and by tundra vehicle travel are also common. Rehabilitation of disturbed sites began around 2002, with well over 150 ha that has been previously treated or is currently being rehabilitated. Two primary goals of rehabilitation efforts have been 1) revegetation by indigenous species, and 2) limiting thermokarst. Early efforts were concerned that removing gravel and having exposed bare ground would lead to extensive subsidence and eolian erosion. Native grass cultivars (e.g. Poa glauca, Arctagrostis latifolia, and Festuca rubra) were seeded to create vegetation cover quickly with the expectation that these grasses would survive only temporarily. The root masses and leaf litter were also expected to trap indigenous seed to enhance natural recolonization by indigenous plants. Due to the remote location of these sites, many of which are only accessible by helicopter, most are visited only two to three times following cultivation treatments, providing a limited data pool. At many sites, the total live seeded grass cover declined about 15% over the first 5¬-6 years (from around 30% to 15% cover), while total live indigenous vascular cover increased from no or trace cover to an average of 10% cover in that time. Cover of indigenous vascular plants at sites that were not seeded with native grass cultivars averaged just less than 10% after 10 years, showing no appreciable difference between the two approaches. Final surface elevations at the sites affect local hydrology and soil moisture. Other factors that influence the success of vegetation cover are proximity to the Arctic coast (salt effects), depth of remaining gravel, and changes in characteristics of the near-surface soil. Further development of rehabilitation techniques and the

  12. Physical and Chemical Implications of Mid-Winter Pumping of Trunda Lakes - North Slope, Alaska

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hinzman, Larry D. (University of Alaska Fairbanks, Water and Environmental Research Center); Lilly, Michael R. (Geo-Watersheds Scientific); Kane, Douglas L. (University of Alaska Fairbanks, Water and Environmental Research Center); Miller, D. Dan (University of Alaska Fairbanks, Water and Environmental Research Center); Galloway, Braden K. (University of Alaska Fairbanks, Water and Environmental Research Center); Hilton, Kristie M. (Geo-Watersheds Scientific); White, Daniel M. (University of Alaska Fairbanks, Water and Environmental Research Center)

    2005-09-30

    Tundra lakes on the North Slope, Alaska, are an important resource for energy development and petroleum field operations. A majority of exploration activities, pipeline maintenance, and restoration activities take place on winter ice roads that depend on water availability at key times of the winter operating season. These same lakes provide important fisheries and ecosystem functions. In particular, overwintering habitat for fish is one important management concern. This study focused on the evaluation of winter water use in the current field operating areas to provide a better understanding of the current water use practices. It found that under the current water use practices, there were no measurable negative effects of winter pumping on the lakes studied and current water use management practices were appropriately conservative. The study did find many areas where improvements in the understanding of tundra lake hydrology and water usage would benefit industry, management agencies, and the protection of fisheries and ecosystems.

  13. Succession Stages of Tundra Plant Communities Following Wildfire Disturbance in Arctic Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breen, A. L.; Hollingsworth, T. N.; Mack, M. C.; Jones, B. M.

    2015-12-01

    Rapid climate change is affecting climate-sensitive disturbance regimes throughout the world. In particular, the impacts of climate change on Arctic disturbance regimes are poorly understood because landscape-scale disturbances are infrequent or occur in remote localities. Wildfire in Arctic Alaska is presently limited by ignition source and favorable burn weather. With rapid climate change, a lengthening growing season, and subsequent increase in plant biomass and productivity, wildfire frequency and annual area burned in tundra ecosystems is expected to increase over the next century. Yet, post-fire tundra vegetation succession is inadequately characterized except at a few point locations. We identify succession stages of tussock tundra communities following wildfire using a chronosequence of 65 relevés in 10 tundra fire scars (1971-2011) and nearby unburned tundra from sites on the Seward Peninsula and northern foothills of the Brooks Range. We used the Braun-Blanquét approach to classify plant communities, and applied nonmetric multidimentional scaling (NMDS) to identify ecological gradients underlying community differentiation. The ordination revealed a clear differentiation between unburned and burned tundra communities. Ecological gradients, reflected by ordination axes, correspond to fire history (e.g., time since last fire, number of times burned, burn severity) and a complex productivity gradient. Post-fire species richness is less than unburned tundra; primarily reflected as a decrease in lichen species and turnover of bryophyte species immediately post-fire. Species richness of grasses increases post-fire and is greatest in communities that burned more than once in the past 30 years. Shrub cover and total aboveground biomass are greatest in repeat burn sites. We review and discuss our results focusing on the implications of a changing tundra fire regime, its effect on vegetation succession trajectories, and subsequent rates of carbon sequestration and

  14. Tundra in the rain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Keuper, Frida; Parmentier, Frans Jan W; Blok, Daan

    2012-01-01

    Precipitation amounts and patterns at high latitude sites have been predicted to change as a result of global climatic changes. We addressed vegetation responses to three years of experimentally increased summer precipitation in two previously unaddressed tundra types: Betula nana-dominated shrub...

  15. How Will the Tundra-Taiga Interface Respond to Climate Change?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Skre, Oddvar [Norwegian Forest Research Inst., Fana (Norway); Baxter, Bob [Univ. of Durham (United Kingdom). School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences; Crawford, Robert M.M. [Univ. of St. Andrews (United Kingdom); Callaghan, Terry V. [Univ. of Sheffield (United Kingdom). Sheffield Centre for Arctic Ecology; Fedorkov, Aleksey [Russian Academy of Sciences, Syktyvkar (Russian Federation). Inst. of Biology

    2002-08-01

    The intuitive and logical answer to the question of how the tundra-taiga interface will react to global warming is that it should move north and this is mirrored by many models of potential treeline migration. Northward movement may be the eventual outcome if climatic warming persists over centuries or millennia. However, closer examination of the tundra-taiga interface across its circumpolar extent reveals a more complex situation. The regional climatic history of the tundra-taiga interface is highly varied, and consequently it is to be expected that the forest tundra boundary zone will respond differently to climate change depending on local variations in climate, evolutionary history, soil development, and hydrology. Investigations reveal considerable stability at present in the position of the treeline and while there may be a long-term advance northwards there are oceanic regions where climatic warming may result in a retreat southwards due to increased bog development. Reinforcing this trend is an increasing human impact, particularly in the forest tundra of Russia, which forces the limit of the forested areas southwards. Local variations will therefore require continued observation and research, as they will be of considerable importance economically as well as for ecology and conservation.

  16. Airborne Spectral Measurements of Surface-Atmosphere Anisotropy for Arctic Sea Ice and Tundra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, G. Thomas; Tsay, Si-Chee; King, Michael D.; Li, Jason Y.; Soulen, Peter F.

    1999-01-01

    Angular distributions of spectral reflectance for four common arctic surfaces: snow-covered sea ice, melt-season sea ice, snow-covered tundra, and tundra shortly after snowmelt were measured using an aircraft based, high angular resolution (1-degree) multispectral radiometer. Results indicate bidirectional reflectance is higher for snow-covered sea ice than melt-season sea ice at all wavelengths between 0.47 and 2.3 pm, with the difference increasing with wavelength. Bidirectional reflectance of snow-covered tundra is higher than for snow-free tundra for measurements less than 1.64 pm, with the difference decreasing with wavelength. Bidirectional reflectance patterns of all measured surfaces show maximum reflectance in the forward scattering direction of the principal plane, with identifiable specular reflection for the melt-season sea ice and snow-free tundra cases. The snow-free tundra had the most significant backscatter, and the melt-season sea ice the least. For sea ice, bidirectional reflectance changes due to snowmelt were more significant than differences among the different types of melt-season sea ice. Also the spectral-hemispherical (plane) albedo of each measured arctic surface was computed. Comparing measured nadir reflectance to albedo for sea ice and snow-covered tundra shows albedo underestimated 5-40%, with the largest bias at wavelengths beyond 1 pm. For snow-free tundra, nadir reflectance underestimates plane albedo by about 30-50%.

  17. TUNDRA IN A CHANGING CLIMATE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Terry Callaghan

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Both palaeogeographical reconstructions and general circulation models indicate that global warming is especially strongly manifested in high latitudes. Under a 2°C increase in mean global temperature, almost the entire modern tundra zone would become potentially suitable for tree growth. Nevertheless, palaeobotanic data cannot be applied directly to estimating vegetation response to the global warming expected in the 21st century, as they characterize a quasi-equilibrium state of ecosystems, which takes several centuries to be achieved. Low migration rates of trees, damage caused by fires and insects, processes of soil drying or paludification, and influence of herbivorous animals and human activities may slow down considerably forest spread in tundra. Climate warming will probably cause a decline in the populations of Arctic species and expansion of ranges of some southern animal species into the Arctic.

  18. Can antibrowsing defense regulate the spread of woody vegetation in arctic tundra?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bryant, John P.; Joly, Kyle; Chapin, F. Stuart; DeAngelis, Donald L.; Kielland, Knut

    2014-01-01

    Global climate warming is projected to promote the increase of woody plants, especially shrubs, in arctic tundra. Many factors may affect the extent of this increase, including browsing by mammals. We hypothesize that across the Arctic the effect of browsing will vary because of regional variation in antibrowsing chemical defense. Using birch (Betula) as a case study, we propose that browsing is unlikely to retard birch expansion in the region extending eastward from the Lena River in central Siberia across Beringia and the continental tundra of central and eastern Canada where the more effectively defended resin birches predominate. Browsing is more likely to retard birch expansion in tundra west of the Lena to Fennoscandia, Iceland, Greenland and South Baffin Island where the less effectively defended non-resin birches predominate. Evidence from the literature supports this hypothesis. We further suggest that the effect of warming on the supply of plant-available nitrogen will not significantly change either this pan-Arctic pattern of variation in antibrowsing defense or the resultant effect that browsing has on birch expansion in tundra. However, within central and east Beringia warming-caused increases in plant-available nitrogen combined with wildfire could initiate amplifying feedback loops that could accelerate shrubification of tundra by the more effectively defended resin birches. This accelerated shrubification of tundra by resin birch, if extensive, could reduce the food supply of caribou causing population declines. We conclude with a brief discussion of modeling methods that show promise in projecting invasion of tundra by woody plants.

  19. Energy partitioning at treeline forest and tundra sites and its sensitivity to climate change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lafleur, P.M. [Trent Univ., Peterborough, ON (Canada); Rouse, W.R. [McMaster Univ., Hamilton, ON (Canada)

    1995-12-31

    A study was conducted to examine the inter-annual variability in energy fluxes of treeline tundra and forest and to investigate the sensitivity of forest and tundra energy balances to climatic changes. A five year record of energy balance data from contiguous wetland tundra and subarctic forest sites near Churchill, Manitoba was analyzed. The data included snow free periods only. Wind direction was used as an analogue for changing climatic conditions where onshore winds are cooler and moister than offshore winds. Sensible and latent heat fluxes at both sites varied significantly between onshore and offshore wind regimes. The differences between onshore and offshore fluxes at the tundra site were larger than for the forest. The tundra-to-forest Bowen ratios decreased with increasing vapour pressure deficit and increasing air temperature. Results suggest that energy partitioning in the wetland tundra is more sensitive to climate change than in the treeline forests. 22 refs., 1 tab., 6 figs.

  20. A study of three-dimensional gravity currents on a uniform slope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Andrew N.; Linden, P. F.; Dalziel, Stuart B.

    2002-02-01

    In many geophysical, environmental and industrial situations, a finite volume of fluid with a density different to the ambient is released on a sloping boundary. This leads to the formation of a gravity current travelling up, down and across the slope. We present novel laboratory experiments in which the dense fluid spreads both down-slope (and initially up-slope) and laterally across the slope. The position, shape and dilution of the current are determined through video and conductivity measurements for moderate slopes (5° to 20°). The entrainment coefficient for different slopes is calculated from the experimental results and is found to depend very little on the slope. The value agrees well with previously published values for entrainment into gravity currents on a horizontal surface. The experimental measurements are compared with previous shallow-water models and with a new wedge integral model developed and presented here. It is concluded that these simplified models do not capture all the significant features of the flow. In the models, the current takes the form of a wedge which travels down the slope, but the experiments show the formation of a more complicated current. It is found that the wedge integral model over-predicts the length and width of the gravity current but gives fair agreement with the measured densities in the head. The initial stages of the flow, during which time the wedge shape develops, are studied. It is found that although the influence of the slope is seen relatively quickly for moderate slopes, the time taken for the wedge to develop is much longer. The implications of these findings for safety analysis are briefly discussed.

  1. Detection of tundra trail damage near Barrow, Alaska using remote imagery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinkel, K. M.; Eisner, W. R.; Kim, C. J.

    2017-09-01

    In the past several decades, the use of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) has proliferated in many Arctic communities in North America. One example is the village of Barrow, Alaska. This coastal community has only local roads, so all access to the interior utilizes off-road machines. These 4-wheel vehicles are the primary means of tundra traverse and transport in summer by hunters and berry-pickers, and by village residents accessing summer camps. Traveling cross-country is difficult due to the large number of thermokarst lakes, wetlands, and streams, and tundra trails tend to follow dryer higher ground while avoiding areas of high microrelief such as high-centered ice-wedge polygons. Thus, modern ATV trails tend to follow the margins of drained or partially drained thermokarst lake basins where it is flat and relatively dry, and these trails are heavily used. The deeply-ribbed tires of the heavy and powerful ATVs cause damage by destroying the vegetation and disturbing the underlying organic soil. Exposure of the dark soil enhances summer thaw and leads to local thermokarst of the ice-rich upper permafrost. The damage increases over time as vehicles continue to follow the same track, and sections eventually become unusable; this is especially true where the trail crosses ice-wedge troughs. Deep subsidence in the ponded troughs results in ATV users veering to avoid the wettest area, which leads to a widening of the damaged area. Helicopter surveys, site visits, and collection of ground penetrating radar data were combined with time series analysis of high-resolution aerial and satellite imagery for the period 1955-2014. The analysis reveals that there are 507 km of off-road trails on the Barrow Peninsula. About 50% of the total trail length was developed before 1955 in association with resource extraction, and an additional 40% were formed between 1979 and 2005 by ATVs. Segments of the more modern trail are up to 100 m wide. Damage to the tundra is especially pronounced

  2. Permafrost collapse after shrub removal shifts tundra ecosystem into methane source

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nauta, A.L.; Heijmans, M.M.P.D.; Blok, D.; Limpens, J.; Elberling, B.; Gallagher, A.; Li, B.; Petrov, R.E.; Maximov, T.C.; van Huissteden, J.; Berendse, F.

    2015-01-01

    Arctic tundra ecosystems are warming almost twice as fast as the global average. Permafrost thaw and the resulting release of greenhouse gases from decomposing soil organic carbon have the potential to accelerate climate warming. In recent decades, Arctic tundra ecosystems have changed rapidly,

  3. Dynamics of aboveground phytomass of the circumpolar Arctic tundra during the past three decades

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Epstein, Howard E; Raynolds, Martha K; Walker, Donald A; Bhatt, Uma S; Tucker, Compton J; Pinzon, Jorge E

    2012-01-01

    Numerous studies have evaluated the dynamics of Arctic tundra vegetation throughout the past few decades, using remotely sensed proxies of vegetation, such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). While extremely useful, these coarse-scale satellite-derived measurements give us minimal information with regard to how these changes are being expressed on the ground, in terms of tundra structure and function. In this analysis, we used a strong regression model between NDVI and aboveground tundra phytomass, developed from extensive field-harvested measurements of vegetation biomass, to estimate the biomass dynamics of the circumpolar Arctic tundra over the period of continuous satellite records (1982–2010). We found that the southernmost tundra subzones (C–E) dominate the increases in biomass, ranging from 20 to 26%, although there was a high degree of heterogeneity across regions, floristic provinces, and vegetation types. The estimated increase in carbon of the aboveground live vegetation of 0.40 Pg C over the past three decades is substantial, although quite small relative to anthropogenic C emissions. However, a 19.8% average increase in aboveground biomass has major implications for nearly all aspects of tundra ecosystems including hydrology, active layer depths, permafrost regimes, wildlife and human use of Arctic landscapes. While spatially extensive on-the-ground measurements of tundra biomass were conducted in the development of this analysis, validation is still impossible without more repeated, long-term monitoring of Arctic tundra biomass in the field. (letter)

  4. Dynamics of Aboveground Phytomass of the Circumpolar Arctic Tundra During the Past Three Decades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Epstein, Howard E.; Raynolds, Martha K.; Walker, Donald A.; Bhatt, Uma S.; Tucker, Compton J.; Pinzon, Jorge E.

    2012-01-01

    Numerous studies have evaluated the dynamics of Arctic tundra vegetation throughout the past few decades, using remotely sensed proxies of vegetation, such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). While extremely useful, these coarse-scale satellite-derived measurements give us minimal information with regard to how these changes are being expressed on the ground, in terms of tundra structure and function. In this analysis, we used a strong regression model between NDVI and aboveground tundra phytomass, developed from extensive field-harvested measurements of vegetation biomass, to estimate the biomass dynamics of the circumpolar Arctic tundra over the period of continuous satellite records (1982-2010). We found that the southernmost tundra subzones (C-E) dominate the increases in biomass, ranging from 20 to 26%, although there was a high degree of heterogeneity across regions, floristic provinces, and vegetation types. The estimated increase in carbon of the aboveground live vegetation of 0.40 Pg C over the past three decades is substantial, although quite small relative to anthropogenic C emissions. However, a 19.8% average increase in aboveground biomass has major implications for nearly all aspects of tundra ecosystems including hydrology, active layer depths, permafrost regimes, wildlife and human use of Arctic landscapes. While spatially extensive on-the-ground measurements of tundra biomass were conducted in the development of this analysis, validation is still impossible without more repeated, long-term monitoring of Arctic tundra biomass in the field.

  5. Traveling waves in a spring-block chain sliding down a slope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morales, J. E.; James, G.; Tonnelier, A.

    2017-07-01

    Traveling waves are studied in a spring slider-block model. We explicitly construct front waves (kinks) for a piecewise-linear spinodal friction force. Pulse waves are obtained as the matching of two traveling fronts with identical speeds. Explicit formulas are obtained for the wavespeed and the wave form in the anticontinuum limit. The link with localized waves in a Burridge-Knopoff model of an earthquake fault is briefly discussed.

  6. The tundra - a threat to global climate?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roejle Christensen, T.

    1997-01-01

    The tundra biome has an important direct influence on the global climate through its exchange of radiatively active 'greenhouse gases', carbon dioxide and methane. A number of suggestions have been raised as to how a changing climate may alter the natural state of this exchange causing significant feedback effects in a changing climate. This paper provides a brief discussion of three different issues relating to the interaction between tundra and climate. It is concluded that release of methane hydrates, permafrost degradation and major biome changes are processes which in the long term may have important effects on further development of the global climate. (au) 32 refs

  7. A method to assess collision hazard of falling rock due to slope collapse application of DEM on modeling of earthquake triggered slope failure for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakase, Hitoshi; Cao, Guoqiang; Tabei, Kazuto; Tochigi, Hitoshi; Matsushima, Takashi

    2015-01-01

    Risk evaluation of slope failure against nuclear power plants, which is induced by unexpectedly large earthquakes, has been urgent need for disaster prevention measures. Specially, for risk evaluation of slope failure, understanding of information such as traveling distances, collision velocities, and collision energies is very important. Discrete Element Method (DEM) such as particle simulation method contributes important role on predicting the detailed behavior of slope failure physics. In this study, instead of accurately predicting the complicated behavior of sliding and falling for each rock, we introduce the DEM modeling to evaluate the average traveling distance of collapsed rocks and its statistical variability. First, we conduct the validation test of the proposed DEM model on the basis of reconstruction of experiment results. Next, we conducted the parametric studies to examine sensitivities of important parameters. Finally, validity of the proposed method is evaluated and its applicability and technical assignments are also discussed. (author)

  8. Forest dynamics in a forest-tundra ecotone, Medicine Bow Mountains, Wyoming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christopher J. Earle

    1993-01-01

    The alpine timberline in much of western North America is characterized by a structurally complex transition from subalpine forest to alpine tundra, the forest-tundra ecotone. Trees within the ecotone are typically arrayed across the landscape within clumps or "ribbon forests," elongated strips oriented perpendicular to the prevailing winds. This study...

  9. Tundra a boreální lesy Kanady. 3. Sukcese na pingu a rozhraní les-tundra

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Rusek, Josef

    2007-01-01

    Roč. 55, č. 3 (2007), s. 121-123 ISSN 0044-4812 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60660521 Keywords : Canadian tundra * boreal forests * succession on a pingo Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour

  10. Emissions of biogenic sulfur gases from Alaskan tundra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hines, Mark E.; Morrison, Michael C.

    1992-01-01

    Results of sulfur emission measurements made in freshwater and marine wetlands in Alaskan tundra during the Arctic Boundary Layer Expedition 2A (ABLE 3A) in July 1988 are presented. The data indicate that this type of tundra emits very small amounts of gaseous sulfur and, when extrapolated globally, accounts for a very small percentage of the global flux of biogenic sulfur to the atmosphere. Sulfur emissions from marine sites are up to 20-fold greater than fluxes from freshwater habitats and are dominated by dimethyl sulfide (DMS). Highest emissions, with a mean of 6.0 nmol/sq m/h, occurred in water-saturated wet meadow areas. In drier upland tundra sites, highest fluxes occurred in areas inhabited by mixed vegetation and labrador tea at 3.0 nmol/sq m/h and lowest fluxes were from lichen-dominated areas at 0.9 nmol/sq m/h. DMS was the dominant gas emitted from all these sites. Emissions of DMS were highest from intertidal soils inhabited by Carex subspathacea.

  11. Tundra biome research in Alaska: the structure and function of cold-dominated ecosystems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brown, J.; West, G.C.

    1970-11-01

    The objective of the Tundra Biome Program is to acquire a basic understanding of tundra, both alpine and arctic, and taiga. Collectively these are referred to as the cold-dominated ecosystems. The program's broad objectives are threefold: To develop a predictive understanding of how the wet arctic tundra ecosystem operates, particularly as exemplified in the Barrow, Alaska, area; to obtain the necessary data base from the variety of cold-dominated ecosystem types represented in the United States, so that their behavior can be modeled and simulated, and the results compared with similar studies underway in other circumpolar countries; to bring basic environmental knowledge to bear on problems of degradation, maintenance, and restoration of the temperature-sensitive and cold-dominated tundra/taiga ecosystems. (GRA)

  12. Carbon dioxide and methane dynamics in Russian tundra

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johansson, Paul Torbjörn; Kiepe, Isabell; Herbst, Mathias

    Russia. The area is situated at 67°N in the European part of northeast Russia within the Pechora basin. The Russian tundra region is an area which has recently been subject to many speculations in relation to climatic change effects and greenhouse gas (GHG) exchange but still little scientific......, and discuss possible implications of climatic change on this lowland tundra ecosystem. This study have been conducted as a part of the CARBO-North project (2006-2010), a project within the EU 6th framework programme, aiming at quantifying the carbon budget in Northern Russia across temporal and spatial scales....

  13. Seasonal changes in the radiation balance of subarctic forest and tundra

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lafleur, P.M.; Renzetti, A.V.; Bello, R.

    1993-01-01

    This paper examines the seasonal behavior of the components of the radiation budget of subarctic tundra and open forest near Churchill, Manitoba. Data were collected between late February and August 1990. The presence of the winter snowpack is the most important factor which affects the difference in radiation balances of tundra and forest. Overall, net radiation was about four to five times larger over the forest when snow covered the ground. Albedo differences were primarily responsible for this difference in net radiation; however, somewhat smaller net longwave losses were experienced at the tundra site. The step decrease in albedo from winter to summer (i.e. snow-covered to snow-free conditions) was significant at both sites. The forest albedo decreased by about three-fold while the tundra experienced a seven-fold decrease. Net radiation at both sites increased in direct response to the albedo change. Transmissivity of the atmosphere near Churchill also appeared to change at about the same time as the loss of the snow cover and may be related to changing air masses which bring about the final snow melt

  14. Alpine forest-tundra ecotone response to temperature change,Sayan Mountains, Siberia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ranson, K Jon; Kharuk, Vyetcheslav I.

    2007-01-01

    Models of climate change predict shifts of vegetation zones. Tree response to climate trends is most likely observable in the forest-tundra ecotone, where temperature mainly limits tree growth. There is evidence of vegetation change on the northern treeline However, observations on alpine tree line response are controversial. In this NEESPI related study we show that during the past three decades in the forest-tundra ecotone of the Sayan Mountains, Siberia, there was an increase in forest stand crown closure, regeneration propagation into the alpine tundra, and transformation of prostrate Siberian pine and fir into arboreal forms. We found that these changes occurred since the mid 1980s, and strongly correlates with positive temperature (and to a lesser extent, precipitation) trends. Improving climate for forest growth( i.e., warmer temperatures and increased precipitation) provides competitive advantages to Siberian pine in the alpine forest-tundra ecotone, as well as in areas typically dominated by larch, where it has been found to be forming a secondary canopy layer. Substitution of deciduous conifer, larch, for evergreen conifers, decreases albedo and provides positive feedback for temperature increase.

  15. Relationship of cyanobacterial and algal assemblages with vegetation in the high Arctic tundra (West Spitsbergen, Svalbard Archipelago

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richter Dorota

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents the results of a study of cyanobacteria and green algae assemblages occurring in various tundra types determined on the basis of mosses and vascular plants and habitat conditions. The research was carried out during summer in the years 2009-2013 on the north sea-coast of Hornsund fjord (West Spitsbergen, Svalbard Archipelago. 58 sites were studied in various tundra types differing in composition of vascular plants, mosses and in trophy and humidity. 141 cyanobacteria and green algae were noted in the research area in total. Cyanobacteria and green algae flora is a significant element of many tundra types and sometimes even dominate there. Despite its importance, it has not been hitherto taken into account in the description and classification of tundra. The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the legitimacy of using phycoflora in supplementing the descriptions of hitherto described tundra and distinguishing new tundra types. Numeric hierarchical-accumulative classification (MVSP 3.1 software methods were used to analyze the cyanobacterial and algal assemblages and their co-relations with particular tundra types. The analysis determined dominant and distinctive species in the communities in concordance with ecologically diverse types of tundra. The results show the importance of these organisms in the composition of the vegetation of tundra types and their role in the ecosystems of this part of the Arctic.

  16. Permafrost collapse after shrub removal shifts tundra ecosystem to a methane source

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nauta, A.L.; Heijmans, M.M.P.D.; Blok, D.; Limpens, J.; Elberling, B.; Gallagher, A.; Li, B.; Petrov, R.E.; Maximov, T.C.; Huissteden, van J.; Berendse, F.

    2015-01-01

    Arctic tundra ecosystems are warming almost twice as fast as the global average1. Permafrost thaw and the resulting release of greenhouse gases from decomposing soil organic carbon have the potential to accelerate climate warming2, 3. In recent decades, Arctic tundra ecosystems have changed

  17. The Bering Land Bridge: a moisture barrier to the dispersal of steppe-tundra biota?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elias, Scott A.; Crocker, Barnaby

    2008-12-01

    The Bering Land Bridge (BLB) connected the two principal arctic biological refugia, Western and Eastern Beringia, during intervals of lowered sea level in the Pleistocene. Fossil evidence from lowland BLB organic deposits dating to the Last Glaciation indicates that this broad region was dominated by shrub tundra vegetation, and had a mesic climate. The dominant ecosystem in Western Beringia and the interior regions of Eastern Beringia was steppe-tundra, with herbaceous plant communities and arid climate. Although Western and Eastern Beringia shared many species in common during the Late Pleistocene, there were a number of species that were restricted to only one side of the BLB. Among the vertebrate fauna, the woolly rhinoceros was found only to the west of the BLB, North American camels, bonnet-horned musk-oxen and some horse species were found only to the east of the land bridge. These were all steppe-tundra inhabitants, adapted to grazing. The same phenomenon can be seen in the insect faunas of the Western and Eastern Beringia. The steppe-tundra beetle fauna of Western Beringia was dominated by weevils of the genus Stephanocleonus, a group that was virtually absent from Eastern Beringia. The dry-adapted weevils, Lepidophorus lineaticollis and Vitavitus thulius were important members of steppe-tundra communities in Eastern Beringia, but were either absent or rare in Western Beringia. The leaf beetles Chrysolina arctica, C. brunnicornis bermani, and Galeruca interrupta circumdata were typical members of the Pleistocene steppe-tundra communities of Western Beringia, but absent from Eastern Beringia. On the other hand, some steppe tundra-adapted leaf beetles managed to occupy both sides of the BLB, such as Phaedon armoraciae. Much of the BLB remains unstudied, but on biogeographic grounds, it appears that there was some kind of biological filter that blocked the movements of some steppe-tundra plants and animals across the BLB.

  18. Inter-annual variability of NDVI in response to long-term warming and fertilization in wet sedge and tussock tundra.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boelman, Natalie T; Stieglitz, Marc; Griffin, Kevin L; Shaver, Gaius R

    2005-05-01

    This study explores the relationship between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and aboveground plant biomass for tussock tundra vegetation and compares it to a previously established NDVI-biomass relationship for wet sedge tundra vegetation. In addition, we explore inter-annual variation in NDVI in both these contrasting vegetation communities. All measurements were taken across long-term experimental treatments in wet sedge and tussock tundra communities at the Toolik Lake Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site, in northern Alaska. Over 15 years (for wet sedge tundra) and 14 years (for tussock tundra), N and P were applied in factorial experiments (N, P and N+P), air temperature was increased using greenhouses with and without N+P fertilizer, and light intensity was reduced by 50% using shade cloth. during the peak growing seasons of 2001, 2002, and 2003, NDVI measurements were made in both the wet sedge and tussock tundra experimental treatment plots, creating a 3-year time series of inter-annual variation in NDVI. We found that: (1) across all tussock experimental tundra treatments, NDVI is correlated with aboveground plant biomass (r2 = 0.59); (2) NDVI-biomass relationships for tussock and wet sedge tundra communities are community specific, and; (3) NDVI values for tussock tundra communities are typically, but not always, greater than for wet sedge tundra communities across all experimental treatments. We suggest that differences between the response of wet sedge and tussock tundra communities in the same experimental treatments result from the contrasting degree of heterogeneity in species and functional types that characterize each of these Arctic tundra vegetation communities.

  19. NDVI as a predictor of canopy arthropod biomass in the Alaskan arctic tundra.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sweet, Shannan K; Asmus, Ashley; Rich, Matthew E; Wingfield, John; Gough, Laura; Boelman, Natalie T

    2015-04-01

    The physical and biological responses to rapid arctic warming are proving acute, and as such, there is a need to monitor, understand, and predict ecological responses over large spatial and temporal scales. The use of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) acquired from airborne and satellite sensors addresses this need, as it is widely used as a tool for detecting and quantifying spatial and temporal dynamics of tundra vegetation cover, productivity, and phenology. Such extensive use of the NDVI to quantify vegetation characteristics suggests that it may be similarly applied to characterizing primary and secondary consumer communities. Here, we develop empirical models to predict canopy arthropod biomass with canopy-level measurements of the NDVI both across and within distinct tundra vegetation communities over four growing seasons in the Arctic Foothills region of the Brooks Range, Alaska, USA. When canopy arthropod biomass is predicted with the NDVI across all four growing seasons, our overall model that includes all four vegetation communities explains 63% of the variance in canopy arthropod biomass, whereas our models specific to each of the four vegetation communities explain 74% (moist tussock tundra), 82% (erect shrub tundra), 84% (riparian shrub tundra), and 87% (dwarf shrub tundra) of the observed variation in canopy arthropod biomass. Our field-based study suggests that measurements of the NDVI made from air- and spaceborne sensors may be able to quantify spatial and temporal variation in canopy arthropod biomass at landscape to regional scales.

  20. The Influence of Slope Breaks on Lava Flow Surface Disruption

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glaze, Lori S.; Baloga, Stephen M.; Fagents, Sarah A.; Wright, Robert

    2014-01-01

    Changes in the underlying slope of a lava flow impart a significant fraction of rotational energy beyond the slope break. The eddies, circulation and vortices caused by this rotational energy can disrupt the flow surface, having a significant impact on heat loss and thus the distance the flow can travel. A basic mechanics model is used to compute the rotational energy caused by a slope change. The gain in rotational energy is deposited into an eddy of radius R whose energy is dissipated as it travels downstream. A model of eddy friction with the ambient lava is used to compute the time-rate of energy dissipation. The key parameter of the dissipation rate is shown to be rho R(sup 2/)mu, where ? is the lava density and mu is the viscosity, which can vary by orders of magnitude for different flows. The potential spatial disruption of the lava flow surface is investigated by introducing steady-state models for the main flow beyond the steepening slope break. One model applies to slow-moving flows with both gravity and pressure as the driving forces. The other model applies to fast-moving, low-viscosity, turbulent flows. These models provide the flow velocity that establishes the downstream transport distance of disrupting eddies before they dissipate. The potential influence of slope breaks is discussed in connection with field studies of lava flows from the 1801 Hualalai and 1823 Keaiwa Kilauea, Hawaii, and 2004 Etna eruptions.

  1. Tundra uptake of atmospheric elemental mercury drives Arctic mercury pollution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Obrist, Daniel; Agnan, Yannick; Jiskra, Martin; Olson, Christine L; Colegrove, Dominique P; Hueber, Jacques; Moore, Christopher W; Sonke, Jeroen E; Helmig, Detlev

    2017-07-12

    Anthropogenic activities have led to large-scale mercury (Hg) pollution in the Arctic. It has been suggested that sea-salt-induced chemical cycling of Hg (through 'atmospheric mercury depletion events', or AMDEs) and wet deposition via precipitation are sources of Hg to the Arctic in its oxidized form (Hg(ii)). However, there is little evidence for the occurrence of AMDEs outside of coastal regions, and their importance to net Hg deposition has been questioned. Furthermore, wet-deposition measurements in the Arctic showed some of the lowest levels of Hg deposition via precipitation worldwide, raising questions as to the sources of high Arctic Hg loading. Here we present a comprehensive Hg-deposition mass-balance study, and show that most of the Hg (about 70%) in the interior Arctic tundra is derived from gaseous elemental Hg (Hg(0)) deposition, with only minor contributions from the deposition of Hg(ii) via precipitation or AMDEs. We find that deposition of Hg(0)-the form ubiquitously present in the global atmosphere-occurs throughout the year, and that it is enhanced in summer through the uptake of Hg(0) by vegetation. Tundra uptake of gaseous Hg(0) leads to high soil Hg concentrations, with Hg masses greatly exceeding the levels found in temperate soils. Our concurrent Hg stable isotope measurements in the atmosphere, snowpack, vegetation and soils support our finding that Hg(0) dominates as a source to the tundra. Hg concentration and stable isotope data from an inland-to-coastal transect show high soil Hg concentrations consistently derived from Hg(0), suggesting that the Arctic tundra might be a globally important Hg sink. We suggest that the high tundra soil Hg concentrations might also explain why Arctic rivers annually transport large amounts of Hg to the Arctic Ocean.

  2. Metagenomics reveals pervasive bacterial populations and reduced community diversity across the Alaska tundra ecosystem

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric Robert Johnston

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available How soil microbial communities contrast with respect to taxonomic and functional composition within and between ecosystems remains an unresolved question that is central to predicting how global anthropogenic change will affect soil functioning and services. In particular, it remains unclear how small-scale observations of soil communities based on the typical volume sampled (1-2 grams are generalizable to ecosystem-scale responses and processes. This is especially relevant for remote, northern latitude soils, which are challenging to sample and are also thought to be more vulnerable to climate change compared to temperate soils. Here, we employed well-replicated shotgun metagenome and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to characterize community composition and metabolic potential in Alaskan tundra soils, combining our own datasets with those publically available from distant tundra and temperate grassland and agriculture habitats. We found that the abundance of many taxa and metabolic functions differed substantially between tundra soil metagenomes relative to those from temperate soils, and that a high degree of OTU-sharing exists between tundra locations. Tundra soils were an order of magnitude less complex than their temperate counterparts, allowing for near-complete coverage of microbial community richness (~92% breadth by sequencing, and the recovery of twenty-seven high-quality, almost complete (>80% completeness population bins. These population bins, collectively, made up to ~10% of the metagenomic datasets, and represented diverse taxonomic groups and metabolic lifestyles tuned toward sulfur cycling, hydrogen metabolism, methanotrophy, and organic matter oxidation. Several population bins, including members of Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Proteobacteria, were also present in geographically distant (~100-530 km apart tundra habitats (full genome representation and up to 99.6% genome-derived average nucleotide identity. Collectively

  3. Internal waves and temperature fronts on slopes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. A. Thorpe

    Full Text Available Time series measurements from an array of temperature miniloggers in a line at constant depth along the sloping boundary of a lake are used to describe the `internal surf zone' where internal waves interact with the sloping boundary. More small positive temperature time derivatives are recorded than negative, but there are more large negative values than positive, giving the overall distribution of temperature time derivatives a small negative skewness. This is consistent with the internal wave dynamics; fronts form during the up-slope phase of the motion, bringing cold water up the slope, and the return flow may become unstable, leading to small advecting billows and weak warm fronts. The data are analysed to detect `events', periods in which the temperature derivatives exceed a set threshold. The speed and distance travelled by `events' are described. The motion along the slope may be a consequence of (a instabilities advected by the flow (b internal waves propagating along-slope or (c internal waves approaching the slope from oblique directions. The propagation of several of the observed 'events' can only be explained by (c, evidence that the internal surf zone has some, but possibly not all, the characteristics of the conventional 'surface wave' surf zone, with waves steepening as they approach the slope at oblique angles.

    Key words. Oceanography: general (benthic boundary layers; limnology, Oceanography: physical (internal and inertial waves

  4. Methanogenesis at low temperatures by microflora of tundra wetland soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kotsyurbenko, O R; Nozhevnikova, A N; Soloviova, T I; Zavarzin, G A

    1996-01-01

    Active methanogenesis from organic matter contained in soil samples from tundra wetland occurred even at 6 degrees C. Methane was the only end product in balanced microbial community with H2/CO2 as a substrate, besides acetate was produced as an intermediate at temperatures below 10 degrees C. The activity of different microbial groups of methanogenic community in the temperature range of 6-28 degrees C was investigated using 5% of tundra soil as inoculum. Anaerobic microflora of tundra wetland fermented different organic compounds with formation of hydrogen, volatile fatty acids (VFA) and alcohols. Methane was produced at the second step. Homoacetogenic and methanogenic bacteria competed for such substrates as hydrogen, formate, carbon monoxide and methanol. Acetogens out competed methanogens in an excess of substrate and low density of microbial population. Kinetic analysis of the results confirmed the prevalence of hydrogen acetogenesis on methanogenesis. Pure culture of acetogenic bacteria was isolated at 6 degrees C. Dilution of tundra soil and supply with the excess of substrate disbalanced the methanoigenic microbial community. It resulted in accumulation of acetate and other VFA. In balanced microbial community obviously autotrophic methanogens keep hydrogen concentration below a threshold for syntrophic degradation of VFA. Accumulation of acetate- and H2/CO2-utilising methanogens should be very important in methanogenic microbial community operating at low temperatures.

  5. Shrubs in the cold : interactions between vegetation, permafrost and climate in Siberian tundra

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Blok, D.

    2011-01-01

    The Arctic is experiencing strong increases in air temperature during the last decades. High-latitude tundra regions are very responsive to changes in temperature and may cause a shift in tundra vegetation composition towards greater dominance of deciduous shrubs. With increasing deciduous shrub

  6. Spatiotemporal variability in surface energy balance across tundra, snow and ice in Greenland

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lund, Magnus; Stiegler, Christian; Abermann, Jakob

    2017-01-01

    The surface energy balance (SEB) is essential for understanding the coupled cryosphere–atmosphere system in the Arctic. In this study, we investigate the spatiotemporal variability in SEB across tundra, snow and ice. During the snow-free period, the main energy sink for ice sites is surface melt....... For tundra, energy is used for sensible and latent heat flux and soil heat flux leading to permafrost thaw. Longer snow-free period increases melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet and glaciers and may promote tundra permafrost thaw. During winter, clouds have a warming effect across surface types whereas during...

  7. Cold season emissions dominate the Arctic tundra methane budget

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zona, Donatella; Gioli, Beniamino; Commane, Róisín; Lindaas, Jakob; Wofsy, Steven C.; Miller, Charles E.; Dinardo, Steven J.; Dengel, Sigrid; Sweeney, Colm; Karion, Anna; Chang, Rachel Y.-W.; Henderson, John M.; Murphy, Patrick C.; Goodrich, Jordan P.; Moreaux, Virginie; Liljedahl, Anna; Watts, Jennifer D.; Kimball, John S.; Lipson, David A.; Oechel, Walter C.

    2016-01-01

    Arctic terrestrial ecosystems are major global sources of methane (CH4); hence, it is important to understand the seasonal and climatic controls on CH4 emissions from these systems. Here, we report year-round CH4 emissions from Alaskan Arctic tundra eddy flux sites and regional fluxes derived from aircraft data. We find that emissions during the cold season (September to May) account for ≥50% of the annual CH4 flux, with the highest emissions from noninundated upland tundra. A major fraction of cold season emissions occur during the "zero curtain" period, when subsurface soil temperatures are poised near 0 °C. The zero curtain may persist longer than the growing season, and CH4 emissions are enhanced when the duration is extended by a deep thawed layer as can occur with thick snow cover. Regional scale fluxes of CH4 derived from aircraft data demonstrate the large spatial extent of late season CH4 emissions. Scaled to the circumpolar Arctic, cold season fluxes from tundra total 12 ± 5 (95% confidence interval) Tg CH4 y-1, ∼25% of global emissions from extratropical wetlands, or ∼6% of total global wetland methane emissions. The dominance of late-season emissions, sensitivity to soil environmental conditions, and importance of dry tundra are not currently simulated in most global climate models. Because Arctic warming disproportionally impacts the cold season, our results suggest that higher cold-season CH4 emissions will result from observed and predicted increases in snow thickness, active layer depth, and soil temperature, representing important positive feedbacks on climate warming.

  8. Shrub Abundance Mapping in Arctic Tundra with Misr

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duchesne, R.; Chopping, M. J.; Wang, Z.; Schaaf, C.; Tape, K. D.

    2013-12-01

    Over the last 60 years an increase in shrub abundance has been observed in the Arctic tundra in connection with a rapid surface warming trend. Rapid shrub expansion may have consequences in terms of ecosystem structure and function, albedo, and feedbacks to climate; however, its rate is not yet known. The goal of this research effort is thus to map large scale changes in Arctic tundra vegetation by exploiting the structural signal in moderate resolution satellite remote sensing images from NASA's Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), mapped onto a 250m Albers Conic Equal Area grid. We present here large area shrub mapping supported by reference data collated using extensive field inventory data and high resolution panchromatic imagery. MISR Level 1B2 Terrain radiance scenes from the Terra satellite from 15 June-31 July, 2000 - 2010 were converted to surface bidirectional reflectance factors (BRF) using MISR Toolkit routines and the MISR 1 km LAND product BRFs. The red band data in all available cameras were used to invert the RossThick-LiSparse-Reciprocal BRDF model to retrieve kernel weights, model-fitting RMSE, and Weights of Determination. The reference database was constructed using aerial survey, three field campaigns (field inventory for shrub count, cover, mean radius and height), and high resolution imagery. Tall shrub number, mean crown radius, cover, and mean height estimates were obtained from QuickBird and GeoEye panchromatic image chips using the CANAPI algorithm, and calibrated using field-based estimates, thus extending the database to over eight hundred locations. Tall shrub fractional cover maps for the North Slope of Alaska were constructed using the bootstrap forest machine learning algorithm that exploits the surface information provided by MISR. The reference database was divided into two datasets for training and validation. The model derived used a set of 19 independent variables(the three kernel weights, ratios and interaction terms

  9. Hg Storage and Mobility in Tundra Soils of Northern Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olson, C.; Obrist, D.

    2017-12-01

    Atmospheric mercury (Hg) can be transported over long distances to remote regions such as the Arctic where it can then deposit and temporarily be stored in soils. This research aims to improve the understanding of terrestrial Hg storage and mobility in the arctic tundra, a large receptor area for atmospheric deposition and a major source of Hg to the Arctic Ocean. We aim to characterize spatial Hg pool sizes across various tundra sites and to quantify the mobility of Hg from thawing tundra soils using laboratory mobility experiments. Active layer and permafrost soil samples were collected in the summer of 2014 and 2015 at the Toolik Field Station in northern Alaska (68° 38' N) and along a 200 km transect extending from Toolik to the Arctic Ocean. Soil samples were analyzed for total Hg concentration, bulk density, and major and trace elements. Hg pool sizes were estimated by scaling up Hg soil concentrations using soil bulk density measurements. Mobility of Hg in tundra soils was quantified by shaking soil samples with ultrapure Milli-Q® water as an extracting solution for 24 and 72 hours. Additionally, meltwater samples were collected for analysis when present. The extracted supernatant was analyzed for total Hg, dissolved organic carbon, cations and anions, redox, and ph. Mobility of Hg from soil was calculated using Hg concentrations determined in solid soil samples and in supernatant of soil solution samples. Results of this study show Hg levels in tundra mineral soils that are 2-5 times higher than those observed at temperate sites closer to pollution sources. Most of the soil Hg was located in mineral horizons where Hg mass accounted for 72% of the total soil pool. Soil Hg pool sizes across the tundra sites were highly variable (166 - 1,365 g ha-1; avg. 419 g ha-1) due to the heterogeneity in soil type, bulk density, depth to frozen layer, and soil Hg concentration. Preliminary results from the laboratory experiment show higher mobility of Hg in mineral

  10. Competition for tracer 15N in tussock tundra ecosystems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marion, G.M.; Miller, P.C.; Black, C.H.

    1987-01-01

    The objectives of this study were to assess the roles of plant species, time, and site on competition for tracer 15 N (without carrier) in tussock tundra ecosystems. Six experimental sites were located in northern Alaska. After one year across the experimental sites, the recovery of 15 N by litter (11.3-16.3%) and mosses (5.4-16.4%) was significantly greater than for aboveground vascular plants (2.6-5.0%). 15 N recoveries by tundra vascular plants (2.6-5.0%) were low when compared to forest trees (9-25%) which suggst that competition for nitrogen is particularly severe in these colddominated tundra ecosystems. There were no significant differences among sites in 15 N recoveries by vascular plants, by mosses, or by litter. There was a statistically significant decline in 15 N recovery with time for Vaccinium vitis-idaea and Eriophoum vaginatum between the second and third year. The shallow rooted Vaccinium vitis-ideae was more highly labeled than the deep rooted Eriophorum vaginatum. Nearness to the source of the applied 15 N played a critical role in competition for surface applied nitrogen. (author)

  11. Trends in NDVI and tundra community composition in the Arctic of NE Alaska between 1984 and 2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robert R. Pattison; Janet C. Jorgenson; Martha K. Raynolds; Jeffery M. Welker

    2015-01-01

    As Arctic ecosystems experience increases in surface air temperatures, plot-level analyses of tundra vegetation composition suggest that there are important changes occurring in tundra communities that are typified by increases in shrubs and declines in non-vascular species. At the same time analyses of NDVI indicate that the Arctic tundra is greening. Few studies have...

  12. Investigation of influence of falling rock size and shape on traveling distance due to earthquake

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tochigi, Hitoshi

    2010-01-01

    In evaluation of seismic stability of surrounding slope in a nuclear power plant, as a part of residual risk evaluation, it is essential to confirm the effects of surrounding slope failure on a important structure, when slope failure probability is not sufficiently small for extremely large earthquake. So evaluation of slope failure potential based on a falling rocks analyses considering slope failure using discontinuous model such as distinct element method(DEM) will be employed in near future. But, these slope collapse analysis by discontinuous model needs determination of input data of falling rock size and shape, and some problems about determination method of these size and shape condition and analysis accuracy are remained. In this study, the results of slope collapse experiment by shaking table and numerical simulation of this experiment by DEM is conducted to clarify the influence of falling rock size and shape on traveling distance. As a results, it is indicated that more massive and larger rock model gives safety side evaluation for traveling distance. (author)

  13. Resistance and resilience of tundra plant communities to disturbance by winter seismic vehicles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Felix, N.A.; Raynolds, M.K.; Jorgenson, J.C.; DuBois, K.E.

    1992-01-01

    Effects of winter seismic exploration on arctic tundra were evaluated on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, four to five growing seasons after disturbance. Plant cover, active layer depths, and track depression were measured at plots representing major tundra plant communities and different levels of initial disturbance. Results are compared with the initial effects reported earlier. Little resilience was seen in any vegetation type, with no clearly decreasing trends in community dissimilarity. Active layer depths remained greater on plots in all nonriparian vegetation types, and most plots still had visible trails. Decreases in plant cover persisted on most plots, although a few species showed recovery or increases in cover above predisturbance level. Moist sedge-shrub tundra and dryas terraces had the largest community dissimilarities initially, showing the least resistance to high levels of winter vehicle disturbance. Community dissimilarity continued to increase for five seasons in moist sedge-shrub tundra, with species composition changing to higher sedge cover and lower shrub cover. The resilience amplitude may have been exceeded on four plots which had significant track depression

  14. Plot-scale evidence of tundra vegetation change and links to recent summer warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarah C. Elmendorf; Gregory H.R. Henry; Robert D. Hollister; Robert G. Bjork; Noemie Boulanger-Lapointe; Elisabeth J. Cooper; Johannes H.C. Cornelissen; Thomas A. Day; Ellen Dorrepaal; Tatiana G. Elumeeva; Mike Gill; William A. Gould; John Harte; David S. Hik; Annika Hofgaard; David R. Johnson; Jill F. Johnstone; Ingijorg Svala Jonsdottir; Janet C. Jorgenson; Kari Klanderud; Julia A. Klein; Saewan Koh; Gaku Kudo; Mark Lara; Esther Levesque; Borgthor Magnusson; Jeremy L. May; Joel A. Mercado; Anders Michelsen; Ulf Molau; Isla H. Myers-Smith; Steven F. Oberbauer; Vladimir G. Onipchenko; Christian Rixen; Niels Martin Schmidt; Gaius R. Shaver; Marko J. Spasojevic; Pora Ellen Porhallsdottir; Anne Tolvanen; Tiffany Troxler; Craig E. Tweedie; Sandra Villareal; Carl-Henrik Wahren; Xanthe Walker; Patrick J. Webber; Jeffrey M. Welker; Sonja Wipf

    2012-01-01

    Temperature is increasing at unprecedented rates across most of the tundra biome1. Remote-sensing data indicate that contemporary climate warming has already resulted in increased productivity over much of the Arctic2,3, but plot-based evidence for vegetation transformation is not widespread. We analysed change in tundra vegetation surveyed between 1980 and 2010 in 158...

  15. Response of a tundra ecosytem to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide and CO2-induced climate change. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oechel, W.C.

    1996-11-01

    The overall objective of this research was to document current patterns of CO 2 flux in selected locations of the circumpolar arctic, and to develop the information necessary to predict how these fluxes may be affected by climate change. In fulfillment of these objectives, net CO 2 flux was measured at several sites on the North Slope of Alaska during the 1990-94 growing season (June-August) to determine the local and regional patterns, of seasonal CO 2 exchange. In addition, net CO 2 flux was measured in the Russian and Icelandic Arctic to determine if the patterns of CO 2 exchange observed in Arctic Alaska were representative of the circumpolar arctic, while cold-season CO 2 flux measurements were carried out during the 1993-94 winter season to determine the magnitude of CO 2 efflux not accounted for by the growing season measurements. Manipulations of soil water table depth and surface temperature, which were identified from the extensive measurements as being the most important variables in determining the magnitude and direction of net CO 2 exchange, were carried out during the 1993-94 growing seasons in tussock and wet sedge tundra ecosystems. Finally, measurements of CH 4 flux were also measured at several of the North Slope study sites during the 1990-91 growing seasons. Measurements were made on small (e.g. 0.5 m 2 ) plots using a portable gas-exchange system and cuvette. The sample design allowed frequent measurements of net CO 2 exchange and respiration over diurnal and seasonal cycles, and a large spatial extent that incorporated both locally and regionally diverse tundra surface types. Measurements both within and between ecosystem types typically extended over soil water table depth and temperature gradients, allowing for the indirect analysis of the effects of anticipated climate change scenarios on net CO 2 exchange. In situ experiments provided a direct means for testing hypotheses

  16. Vectors and transmission dynamics for Setaria tundra (Filarioidea; Onchocercidae, a parasite of reindeer in Finland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuusela Jussi

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent studies have revealed expansion by an array of Filarioid nematodes' into the northern boreal region of Finland. The vector-borne nematode, Setaria tundra, caused a serious disease outbreak in the Finnish reindeer population in 2003–05. The main aim of this study was to understand the outbreak dynamics and the rapid expansion of S. tundra in the sub arctic. We describe the vectors of S. tundra, and its development in vectors, for the first time. Finally we discuss the results in the context of the host-parasite ecology of S. tundra in Finland Results Development of S. tundra to the infective stage occurs in mosquitoes, (genera Aedes and Anopheles. We consider Aedes spp. the most important vectors. The prevalence of S. tundra naturally infected mosquitoes from Finland varied from 0.5 to 2.5%. The rate of development in mosquitoes was temperature-dependent. Infective larvae were present approximately 14 days after a blood meal in mosquitoes maintained at room temperature (mean 21 C, but did not develop in mosquitoes maintained outside for 22 days at a mean temperature of 14.1 C. The third-stage (infective larvae were elongated (mean length 1411 μm (SD 207, and width 28 μm (SD 2. The anterior end was blunt, and bore two liplike structures, the posterior end slight tapering with a prominent terminal papilla. Infective larvae were distributed anteriorly in the insect's body, the highest abundance being 70 larvae in one mosquito. A questionnaire survey revealed that the peak activity of Culicidae in the reindeer herding areas of Finland was from the middle of June to the end of July and that warm summer weather was associated with reindeer flocking behaviour on mosquito-rich wetlands. Conclusion In the present work, S. tundra vectors and larval development were identified and described for the first time. Aedes spp. mosquitoes likely serve as the most important and competent vectors for S. tundra in Finland. Warm summers

  17. Microbial Iron Oxidation in the Arctic Tundra and Its Implications for Biogeochemical Cycling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Jarrod J.; Benes, Joshua; Bowden, William B.

    2015-01-01

    The role that neutrophilic iron-oxidizing bacteria play in the Arctic tundra is unknown. This study surveyed chemosynthetic iron-oxidizing communities at the North Slope of Alaska near Toolik Field Station (TFS) at Toolik Lake (lat 68.63, long −149.60). Microbial iron mats were common in submerged habitats with stationary or slowly flowing water, and their greatest areal extent is in coating plant stems and sediments in wet sedge meadows. Some Fe-oxidizing bacteria (FeOB) produce easily recognized sheath or stalk morphotypes that were present and dominant in all the mats we observed. The cool water temperatures (9 to 11°C) and reduced pH (5.0 to 6.6) at all sites kinetically favor microbial iron oxidation. A microbial survey of five sites based on 16S rRNA genes found a predominance of Proteobacteria, with Betaproteobacteria and members of the family Comamonadaceae being the most prevalent operational taxonomic units (OTUs). In relative abundance, clades of lithotrophic FeOB composed 5 to 10% of the communities. OTUs related to cyanobacteria and chloroplasts accounted for 3 to 25% of the communities. Oxygen profiles showed evidence for oxygenic photosynthesis at the surface of some mats, indicating the coexistence of photosynthetic and FeOB populations. The relative abundance of OTUs belonging to putative Fe-reducing bacteria (FeRB) averaged around 11% in the sampled iron mats. Mats incubated anaerobically with 10 mM acetate rapidly initiated Fe reduction, indicating that active iron cycling is likely. The prevalence of iron mats on the tundra might impact the carbon cycle through lithoautotrophic chemosynthesis, anaerobic respiration of organic carbon coupled to iron reduction, and the suppression of methanogenesis, and it potentially influences phosphorus dynamics through the adsorption of phosphorus to iron oxides. PMID:26386054

  18. Predicting Changes in Arctic Tundra Vegetation: Towards an Understanding of Plant Trait Uncertainty

    Science.gov (United States)

    Euskirchen, E. S.; Serbin, S.; Carman, T.; Iversen, C. M.; Salmon, V.; Helene, G.; McGuire, A. D.

    2017-12-01

    Arctic tundra plant communities are currently undergoing unprecedented changes in both composition and distribution under a warming climate. Predicting how these dynamics may play out in the future is important since these vegetation shifts impact both biogeochemical and biogeophysical processes. More precise estimates of these future vegetation shifts is a key challenge due to both a scarcity of data with which to parameterize vegetation models, particularly in the Arctic, as well as a limited understanding of the importance of each of the model parameters and how they may vary over space and time. Here, we incorporate newly available field data from arctic Alaska into a dynamic vegetation model specifically developed to take into account a particularly wide array of plant species as well as the permafrost soils of the arctic tundra (the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model with Dynamic Vegetation and Dynamic Organic Soil, Terrestrial Ecosystem Model; DVM-DOS-TEM). We integrate the model within the Predicative Ecosystem Analyzer (PEcAn), an open-source integrated ecological bioinformatics toolbox that facilitates the flows of information into and out of process models and model-data integration. We use PEcAn to evaluate the plant functional traits that contribute most to model variability based on a sensitivity analysis. We perform this analysis for the dominant types of tundra in arctic Alaska, including heath, shrub, tussock and wet sedge tundra. The results from this analysis will help inform future data collection in arctic tundra and reduce model uncertainty, thereby improving our ability to simulate Arctic vegetation structure and function in response to global change.

  19. Response of a tundra ecosytem to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide and CO{sub 2}-induced climate change. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oechel, W.C.

    1996-11-01

    The overall objective of this research was to document current patterns of CO{sub 2} flux in selected locations of the circumpolar arctic, and to develop the information necessary to predict how these fluxes may be affected by climate change. In fulfillment of these objectives, net CO{sub 2} flux was measured at several sites on the North Slope of Alaska during the 1990-94 growing season (June-August) to determine the local and regional patterns, of seasonal CO{sub 2} exchange. In addition, net CO{sub 2} flux was measured in the Russian and Icelandic Arctic to determine if the patterns of CO{sub 2} exchange observed in Arctic Alaska were representative of the circumpolar arctic, while cold-season CO{sub 2} flux measurements were carried out during the 1993-94 winter season to determine the magnitude of CO{sub 2} efflux not accounted for by the growing season measurements. Manipulations of soil water table depth and surface temperature, which were identified from the extensive measurements as being the most important variables in determining the magnitude and direction of net CO{sub 2} exchange, were carried out during the 1993-94 growing seasons in tussock and wet sedge tundra ecosystems. Finally, measurements of CH{sub 4} flux were also measured at several of the North Slope study sites during the 1990-91 growing seasons. Measurements were made on small (e.g. 0.5 m{sup 2}) plots using a portable gas-exchange system and cuvette. The sample design allowed frequent measurements of net CO{sub 2} exchange and respiration over diurnal and seasonal cycles, and a large spatial extent that incorporated both locally and regionally diverse tundra surface types. Measurements both within and between ecosystem types typically extended over soil water table depth and temperature gradients, allowing for the indirect analysis of the effects of anticipated climate change scenarios on net CO{sub 2} exchange. In situ experiments provided a direct means for testing hypotheses.

  20. The impact of climate change on ecosystem carbon dynamics at the Scandinavian mountain birch forest-tundra heath ecotone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sjögersten, Sofie; Wookey, Philip A

    2009-02-01

    Changes in temperature and moisture resulting from climate change are likely to strongly modify the ecosystem carbon sequestration capacity in high-latitude areas, both through vegetation shifts and via direct warming effects on photosynthesis and decomposition. This paper offers a synthesis of research addressing the potential impacts of climate warming on soil processes and carbon fluxes at the forest-tundra ecotone in Scandinavia. Our results demonstrated higher rates of organic matter decomposition in mountain birch forest than in tundra heath soils, with markedly shallower organic matter horizons in the forest. Field and laboratory experiments suggest that increased temperatures are likely to increase CO2 efflux from both tundra and forest soil providing moisture availability does not become limiting for the decomposition process. Furthermore, colonization of tundra heath by mountain birch forest would increase rates of decomposition, and thus CO2 emissions, from the tundra heath soils, which currently store substantial amounts of potentially labile carbon. Mesic soils underlying both forest and tundra heath are currently weak sinks of atmospheric methane, but the strength of this sink could be increased with climate warming and/or drying.

  1. Non-dispersive traveling waves in inclined shallow water channels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Didenkulova, Ira; Pelinovsky, Efim

    2009-01-01

    Existence of traveling waves propagating without internal reflection in inclined water channels of arbitrary slope is demonstrated. It is shown that traveling non-monochromatic waves exist in both linear and nonlinear shallow water theories in the case of a uniformly inclined channel with a parabolic cross-section. The properties of these waves are studied. It is shown that linear traveling waves should have a sign-variable shape. The amplitude of linear traveling waves in a channel satisfies the same Green's law, which is usually derived from the energy flux conservation for smoothly inhomogeneous media. Amplitudes of nonlinear traveling waves deviate from the linear Green's law, and the behavior of positive and negative amplitudes are different. Negative amplitude grows faster than positive amplitude in shallow water. The phase of nonlinear waves (travel time) is described well by the linear WKB approach. It is shown that nonlinear traveling waves of any amplitude always break near the shoreline if the boundary condition of the full absorption is applied.

  2. Water track distribution and effects on carbon dioxide flux in an eastern Siberian upland tundra landscape

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Curasi, Salvatore R; Loranty, Michael M; Natali, Susan M

    2016-01-01

    Shrub expansion in tundra ecosystems may act as a positive feedback to climate warming, the strength of which depends on its spatial extent. Recent studies have shown that shrub expansion is more likely to occur in areas with high soil moisture and nutrient availability, conditions typically found in sub-surface water channels known as water tracks. Water tracks are 5–15 m wide channels of subsurface water drainage in permafrost landscapes and are characterized by deeper seasonal thaw depth, warmer soil temperatures, and higher soil moisture and nutrient content relative to adjacent tundra. Consequently, enhanced vegetation productivity, and dominance by tall deciduous shrubs, are typical in water tracks. Quantifying the distribution of water tracks may inform investigations of the extent of shrub expansion and associated impacts on tundra ecosystem carbon cycling. Here, we quantify the distribution of water tracks and their contribution to growing season CO 2 dynamics for a Siberian tundra landscape using satellite observations, meteorological data, and field measurements. We find that water tracks occupy 7.4% of the 448 km 2 study area, and account for a slightly larger proportion of growing season carbon uptake relative to surrounding tundra. For areas inside water tracks dominated by shrubs, field observations revealed higher shrub biomass and higher ecosystem respiration and gross primary productivity relative to adjacent upland tundra. Conversely, a comparison of graminoid-dominated areas in water tracks and inter-track tundra revealed that water track locations dominated by graminoids had lower shrub biomass yet increased net uptake of CO 2 . Our results show water tracks are an important component of this landscape. Their distribution will influence ecosystem structural and functional responses to climate, and is therefore of importance for modeling. (letter)

  3. Global assessment of experimental climate warming on tundra vegetation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Elmendorf, Sarah C.; Henry, Gregory H.R.; Hollister, Robert D.

    2012-01-01

    Understanding the sensitivity of tundra vegetation to climate warming is critical to forecasting future biodiversity and vegetation feedbacks to climate. In situ warming experiments accelerate climate change on a small scale to forecast responses of local plant communities. Limitations...... of this approach include the apparent site-specificity of results and uncertainty about the power of short-term studies to anticipate longer term change. We address these issues with a synthesis of 61 experimental warming studies, of up to 20 years duration, in tundra sites worldwide. The response of plant groups...... to warming often differed with ambient summer temperature, soil moisture and experimental duration. Shrubs increased with warming only where ambient temperature was high, whereas graminoids increased primarily in the coldest study sites. Linear increases in effect size over time were frequently observed...

  4. Identifying the tundra-forest border in the stomate record: an analysis of lake surface samples from the Yellowknife area, Northwest Territories, Canada

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hansen, B.C.S. [Minnesota Univ., Minneapolis, MN (United States). Limnological Research Center; MacDonald, G.M. [California Univ., Los Angeles, CA (United States). Dept. of Botanical Sciences; Moser, K.A. [McMaster Univ., Hamilton, ON (Canada)

    1996-05-01

    The relationship between conifer stomata and existing vegetation across tundra, forest-tundra, and closed zones in the Yellowknife area of the Northwest Territories was studied. Conifer stomata were identified in surface samples from lakes in the treeline zone, but were absent in samples from tundra lakes. Stomate analysis was recorded and the results were presented in a concentration diagram plotting stomate concentrations according to vegetation zone. Conifer stomate analysis was not able to resolve differences between forest-tundra and closed forest. Nevertheless, it was suggested that stomate analysis will become an important technique supplementing pollen analysis for reconstructing past tree-line changes since the presence of stomata in lakes make it possible to separate the tundra from forest-tundra and closed forest. The limited dispersal of conifer stomata permitted a better resolution of tree-line boundaries than did pollen. 13 refs., 3 figs.

  5. Glaciers bring more precipitation over south slope of the Himalayas and less moisture to the Tibetan Plateau

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, K.; Lin, C.; Chen, D.

    2017-12-01

    Due to the warming climate, significant retreat of glaciers in the Himalayan region is observed. Thus, it is crucial to understand whether and how the glaciers impact (feedback to) regional climate. Due to lack of observational data, most processes with glaciers are however not well documented. For instance, convergence takes place when summertime upslope flows of warm and moist air masses meet cool and dry katabatic winds over a glacier slope, which may induce local convections and precipitations. This work intends to test this hypothesis according to an experiment conducted with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model focusing on the Himalayan region. Three cases are designed for the experiment: a) a normal run as the control case; b) a sensitive run with land use ice/snow replaced by bare ground tundra and the maximum snow albedo set to 0.25; and c) a sensitive run with land use ice/snow replaced by bare ground tundra and no new snowing. According to differences between the control case and both the two sensitive cases, here we found that glaciers overall leads to less precipitation over glacier-covered areas and north of the Himalayas, which can be attributed to the suppressing of cooling glacier surfaces to upslope moist flows. By contrast, a zone of extra more precipitation (that can be up to 200 mm for JJA) is clearly found over the south slope of the Himalayas at elevation of 4-5 km where it meets the glacier terminus, accompanied with the convergence of upslope air masses and katabatic winds. Case b) reflects a smaller such effect when compared to case c), possibly because it takes a portion of energy for ice/snow melting. When it comes to impacts on water vapor transport, glaciers will result approximately 2% less moisture flowing into the Tibetan Plateau.

  6. Surface energy exchanges along a tundra-forest transition and feedbacks to climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beringer, J.; Chapin, F. S.; Thompson, Catharine Copass; McGuire, A.D.

    2005-01-01

    Surface energy exchanges were measured in a sequence of five sites representing the major vegetation types in the transition from arctic tundra to forest. This is the major transition in vegetation structure in northern high latitudes. We examined the influence of vegetation structure on the rates of sensible heating and evapotranspiration to assess the potential feedbacks to climate if high-latitude warming were to change the distribution of these vegetation types. Measurements were made at Council on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, at representative tundra, low shrub, tall shrub, woodland (treeline), and boreal forest sites. Structural differences across the transition from tundra to forest included an increase in the leaf area index (LAI) from 0.52 to 2.76, an increase in canopy height from 0.1 to 6.1 m, and a general increase in canopy complexity. These changes in vegetation structure resulted in a decrease in albedo from 0.19 to 0.10 as well as changes to the partitioning of energy at the surface. Bulk surface resistance to water vapor flux remained virtually constant across sites, apparently because the combined soil and moss evaporation decreased while transpiration increased along the transect from tundra to forest. In general, sites became relatively warmer and drier along the transect with the convective fluxes being increasingly dominated by sensible heating, as evident by an increasing Bowen ratio from 0.94 to 1.22. The difference in growing season average daily sensible heating between tundra and forest was 21 W m-2. Fluxes changed non-linearly along the transition, with both shrubs and trees substantially enhancing heat transfer to the atmosphere. These changes in vegetation structure that increase sensible heating could feed back to enhance warming at local to regional scales. The magnitude of these vegetation effects on potential high-latitude warming is two to three times greater than suggested by previous modeling studies. ?? 2005 Elsevier B.V. All

  7. Quantifying Fire Impact on Alaskan Tundra from Satellite Observations and Field Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loboda, T. V.; Chen, D.; He, J.; Jenkins, L. K.

    2017-12-01

    Wildfire is a major disturbance agent in Alaskan tundra. The frequency and extent of fire events obtained from paleo, management, and satellite records may yet underestimate the scope of tundra fire impact. Field measurements, collected within the NASA's ABoVE campaign, revealed unexpectedly shallow organic soils ( 15 cm) across all sampled sites of the Noatak valley with no significant difference between recently burned and unburned sites. In typical small and medium-sized tundra burns vegetation recovers rapidly and scars are not discernable in 30 m optical satellite imagery by the end of the first post-fire season. However, field observations indicate that vegetation and subsurface characteristics within fire scars of different ages vary across the landscape. In this study we develop linkages between fire-induced changes to tundra and satellite-based observations from optical, thermal, and microwave imagers to enable extrapolation of in-situ observations to cover the full extent of Alaskan tundra. Our results show that recent ( 30 years) fire history can be reconstructed from optical observations (R2 0.65, pfire history can be determined for 4 years post fire primarily due to increased soil moisture at burned sites. Field measurements suggest that the relatively quick SAR signal dissipation results from more even distribution of surface moisture through the soil column with increases in Active Layer Thickness (ALT). Similar to previous long-term field studies we find an increase in shrub fraction and shrub height within burns over time at the landscape scale; however, the strength and significance of the relationship between shrub fraction and time since fire is governed by burn severity with more severe burns predictably (p post-fire shrub cover. Although reasonably well-correlated to each other when adjusted for topography (R2 0.35, p < 0.001), neither ALT nor soil temperature can be directly linked to optical or thermal brightness observations with acceptable

  8. [The processes of methane formation and oxidation in the soils of the Russian arctic tundra].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berestovskaia, Iu Iu; Rusanov, I I; Vasil'eva, L V; Pimenov, N V

    2005-01-01

    Methane emission from the following types of tundra soils was studied: coarse humic gleyey loamy cryo soil, peaty gley soil, and peaty gleyey midloamy cryo soil of the arctic tundra. All the soils studied were found to be potential sources of atmospheric methane. The highest values of methane emission were recorded in August at a soil temperature of 8-10 degrees C. Flooded parcels were the sources of atmospheric methane throughout the observation period. The rates of methane production and oxidation in tundra soils of various types at 5 and 15 degrees C were studied by the radioisotope method. Methane oxidation was found to occur in bog water, in the green part of peat moss, and in all the soil horizons studied. Methane formation was recorded in the horizons of peat, in clay with plant roots, and in peaty moss dust of the bogey parcels. At both temperatures, the methane oxidation rate exceeded the rate of methane formation in all the horizons of the mossy-lichen tundra and of the bumpy sinkhole complex. Methanogenesis prevailed only in a sedge-peat moss bog at 15 degrees C. Enrichment bacterial cultures oxidizing methane at 5 and 15 degrees C were obtained. Different types of methanotrophic bacteria were shown to be responsible for methane oxidation under these conditions. A representative of type I methylotrophs oxidized methane at 5 degrees C, and Methylocella tundrae, a psychroactive representative of an acidophilic methanotrophic genus Methylocella, at 15 degrees C.

  9. Global assessment of experimental climate warming on tundra vegetation: heterogeneity over space and time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elmendorf, Sarah C; Henry, Gregory H R; Hollister, Robert D; Björk, Robert G; Bjorkman, Anne D; Callaghan, Terry V; Collier, Laura Siegwart; Cooper, Elisabeth J; Cornelissen, Johannes H C; Day, Thomas A; Fosaa, Anna Maria; Gould, William A; Grétarsdóttir, Járngerður; Harte, John; Hermanutz, Luise; Hik, David S; Hofgaard, Annika; Jarrad, Frith; Jónsdóttir, Ingibjörg Svala; Keuper, Frida; Klanderud, Kari; Klein, Julia A; Koh, Saewan; Kudo, Gaku; Lang, Simone I; Loewen, Val; May, Jeremy L; Mercado, Joel; Michelsen, Anders; Molau, Ulf; Myers-Smith, Isla H; Oberbauer, Steven F; Pieper, Sara; Post, Eric; Rixen, Christian; Robinson, Clare H; Schmidt, Niels Martin; Shaver, Gaius R; Stenström, Anna; Tolvanen, Anne; Totland, Orjan; Troxler, Tiffany; Wahren, Carl-Henrik; Webber, Patrick J; Welker, Jeffery M; Wookey, Philip A

    2012-02-01

    Understanding the sensitivity of tundra vegetation to climate warming is critical to forecasting future biodiversity and vegetation feedbacks to climate. In situ warming experiments accelerate climate change on a small scale to forecast responses of local plant communities. Limitations of this approach include the apparent site-specificity of results and uncertainty about the power of short-term studies to anticipate longer term change. We address these issues with a synthesis of 61 experimental warming studies, of up to 20 years duration, in tundra sites worldwide. The response of plant groups to warming often differed with ambient summer temperature, soil moisture and experimental duration. Shrubs increased with warming only where ambient temperature was high, whereas graminoids increased primarily in the coldest study sites. Linear increases in effect size over time were frequently observed. There was little indication of saturating or accelerating effects, as would be predicted if negative or positive vegetation feedbacks were common. These results indicate that tundra vegetation exhibits strong regional variation in response to warming, and that in vulnerable regions, cumulative effects of long-term warming on tundra vegetation - and associated ecosystem consequences - have the potential to be much greater than we have observed to date. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.

  10. Hematology, plasma chemistry, and bacteriology of wild Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) in Alaska.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milani, Juliana F; Wilson, Heather; Ziccardi, Michael; LeFebvre, Rance; Scott, Cheryl

    2012-01-01

    Blood and cloacal swabs were collected from 100 (66 female, 34 male) wild Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) molting in northwestern Alaska, USA, 25-28 July 2008, to establish hematologic and serum chemistry reference values and to isolate enteric Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli O157:H7. Plasma biochemistry and hematology values did not vary significantly by sex or age. Tundra swans had high levels of creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, amylase, and alkaline phosphatase compared with some other avian species (values were up to 7 times greater), possibly indicating capture myopathy. However, concentrations were much lower (up to 8 times lower) than in other waterfowl exposed to similar or more intensive capture methods. White blood cell count and hematocrit values were similar to other waterfowl species, and enteric Salmonella spp. and E. coli O157:H7 were not present among birds sampled. Our data provide the first biochemical, hematologic, and bacteriologic reference values for wild Tundra Swans.

  11. Tsunamis caused by submarine slope failures along western Great Bahama Bank.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnyder, Jara S D; Eberli, Gregor P; Kirby, James T; Shi, Fengyan; Tehranirad, Babak; Mulder, Thierry; Ducassou, Emmanuelle; Hebbeln, Dierk; Wintersteller, Paul

    2016-11-04

    Submarine slope failures are a likely cause for tsunami generation along the East Coast of the United States. Among potential source areas for such tsunamis are submarine landslides and margin collapses of Bahamian platforms. Numerical models of past events, which have been identified using high-resolution multibeam bathymetric data, reveal possible tsunami impact on Bimini, the Florida Keys, and northern Cuba. Tsunamis caused by slope failures with terminal landslide velocity of 20 ms -1 will either dissipate while traveling through the Straits of Florida, or generate a maximum wave of 1.5 m at the Florida coast. Modeling a worst-case scenario with a calculated terminal landslide velocity generates a wave of 4.5 m height. The modeled margin collapse in southwestern Great Bahama Bank potentially has a high impact on northern Cuba, with wave heights between 3.3 to 9.5 m depending on the collapse velocity. The short distance and travel time from the source areas to densely populated coastal areas would make the Florida Keys and Miami vulnerable to such low-probability but high-impact events.

  12. Soils of Sub-Antarctic tundras: diversity and basic chemical characteristics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abakumov, Evgeny; Vlasov, Dmitry; Mukhametova, Nadezhda

    2014-05-01

    Antarctic peninsula is known as specific part of Antarctica, which is characterizes by humid and relatively warm climate of so-called sub Antarctic (maritime) zone. Annual precipitation and long above zero period provides the possibility of sustainable tundra's ecosystem formation. Therefore, the soil diversity of these tundra landscapes is maximal in the whole Antarctic. Moreover, the thickness of parent material debris's is also highest and achieves a 1 or 2 meters as highest. The presence of higher vascular plants Deshampsia antarctica which is considered as one of the main edificators provides the development of humus accumulation in upper solum. Penguins activity provides an intensive soil fertilization and development of plant communities with increased density. All these factors leads to formation of specific and quite diverse soil cover in sub Antarctic tundra's. These ecosystems are presented by following permafrost affected soils: Leptosols, Lithoosols, Crysols, Gleysols, Peats and Ornhitosols. Also the post Ornhitosols are widely spreaded in subantarcic ecosystems, they forms on the penguin rockeries during the plant succession development, leaching of nutrients and organic matter mineralization. "Amphibious" soils are specific for seasonal lakes, which evaporates in the end if Australian summer. These soils have specific features of bio sediments and soils as well. Soil chemical characteristic as well as organic matter features discussed in comparison with Antacrtic continental soil in presentation.

  13. Anurans in a Subarctic Tundra Landscape Near Cape Churchill, Manitoba

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reiter, M.E.; Boal, C.W.; Andersen, D.E.

    2008-01-01

    Distribution, abundance, and habitat relationships of anurans inhabiting subarctic regions are poorly understood, and anuran monitoring protocols developed for temperate regions may not be applicable across large roadless areas of northern landscapes. In addition, arctic and subarctic regions of North America are predicted to experience changes in climate and, in some areas, are experiencing habitat alteration due to high rates of herbivory by breeding and migrating waterfowl. To better understand subarctic anuran abundance, distribution, and habitat associations, we conducted anuran calling surveys in the Cape Churchill region of Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada, in 2004 and 2005. We conducted surveys along ~l-km transects distributed across three landscape types (coastal tundra, interior sedge meadow-tundra, and boreal forest-tundra interface) to estimate densities and probabilities of detection of Boreal Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris maculata) and Wood Frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus). We detected a Wood Frog or Boreal Chorus Frog on 22 (87%) of 26 transects surveyed, but probability of detection varied between years and species and among landscape types. Estimated densities of both species increased from the coastal zone inland toward the boreal forest edge. Our results suggest anurans occur across all three landscape types in our study area, but that species-specific spatial patterns exist in their abundances. Considerations for both spatial and temporal variation in abundance and detection probability need to be incorporated into surveys and monitoring programs for subarctic anurans.

  14. Tundra landform and vegetation productivity trend maps for the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lara, Mark J.; Nitze, Ingmar; Grosse, Guido; McGuire, A. David

    2018-01-01

    Arctic tundra landscapes are composed of a complex mosaic of patterned ground features, varying in soil moisture, vegetation composition, and surface hydrology over small spatial scales (10–100 m). The importance of microtopography and associated geomorphic landforms in influencing ecosystem structure and function is well founded, however, spatial data products describing local to regional scale distribution of patterned ground or polygonal tundra geomorphology are largely unavailable. Thus, our understanding of local impacts on regional scale processes (e.g., carbon dynamics) may be limited. We produced two key spatiotemporal datasets spanning the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska (~60,000 km2) to evaluate climate-geomorphological controls on arctic tundra productivity change, using (1) a novel 30 m classification of polygonal tundra geomorphology and (2) decadal-trends in surface greenness using the Landsat archive (1999–2014). These datasets can be easily integrated and adapted in an array of local to regional applications such as (1) upscaling plot-level measurements (e.g., carbon/energy fluxes), (2) mapping of soils, vegetation, or permafrost, and/or (3) initializing ecosystem biogeochemistry, hydrology, and/or habitat modeling.

  15. Rhododendron aureum Georgi formed a special soil microbial community and competed with above-ground plants on the tundra of the Changbai Mountain, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiaolong; Li, Lin; Zhao, Wei; Zhao, Jiaxin; Chen, Xia

    2017-09-01

    Rhododendron aureum Georgi is a perennial evergreen dwarf shrub that grows at all elevations within the alpine tundra of northern China. Previous research has investigated the plant communities of R. aureum ; however, little information is available regarding interspecific competition and underground soil microbial community composition. The objective of our study was to determine whether the presence of R. aureum creates a unique soil microbiome and to investigate the relationship between R. aureum and other plant species. Our study site ranged from 1,800 to 2,600 m above sea level on the northern slope of the Changbai Mountain. The results show that the soil from sites with an R. aureum community had a higher abundance of nitrogen-fixing bacteria and a higher resistance to pathogens than soils from sites without R. aureum . We emphasize that R. aureum promotes a unique soil microbial community structure that is distinct from those associated with other plants. Elevation and microbial biomass were the main influencing factors for plant community structure. Analysis of interspecific relationships reveals that R. aureum is negatively associated with most other dominant shrubs and herbs, suggesting interspecific competition. It is necessary to focus on other dominant species if protection and restoration of the R. aureum competition is to occur. In the future, more is needed to prove whether R. aureum decreases species diversity in the tundra ecosystems of Changbai Mountain.

  16. Increased plant productivity in Alaskan tundra as a result of experimental warming of soil and permafrost

    Science.gov (United States)

    S.M. Natali; E.A.G. Schuur; R.L. Rubin

    2012-01-01

    The response of northern tundra plant communities to warming temperatures is of critical concern because permafrost ecosystems play a key role in global carbon (C) storage, and climate-induced ecological shifts in the plant community will affect the transfer of carbon-dioxide between biological and atmospheric pools. This study, which focuses on the response of tundra...

  17. Modeling dynamics of tundra plant communities on the Yamal Peninsula, Russia, in response to climate change and grazing pressure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, Q; Epstein, H E; Frost, G V; Walker, D A; Forbes, B C

    2011-01-01

    Understanding the responses of the arctic tundra biome to a changing climate requires knowledge of the complex interactions among the climate, soils and biological system. This study investigates the individual and interaction effects of climate change and reindeer grazing across a variety of climate zones and soil texture types on tundra vegetation community dynamics using an arctic vegetation model that incorporates the reindeer diet, where grazing is a function of both foliar nitrogen concentration and reindeer forage preference. We found that grazing is important, in addition to the latitudinal climate gradient, in controlling tundra plant community composition, explaining about 13% of the total variance in model simulations for all arctic tundra subzones. The decrease in biomass of lichen, deciduous shrub and graminoid plant functional types caused by grazing is potentially dampened by climate warming. Moss biomass had a nonlinear response to increased grazing intensity, and such responses were stronger when warming was present. Our results suggest that evergreen shrubs may benefit from increased grazing intensity due to their low palatability, yet a growth rate sensitivity analysis suggests that changes in nutrient uptake rates may result in different shrub responses to grazing pressure. Heavy grazing caused plant communities to shift from shrub tundra toward moss, graminoid-dominated tundra in subzones C and D when evergreen shrub growth rates were decreased in the model. The response of moss, lichen and forbs to warming varied across the different subzones. Initial vegetation responses to climate change during transient warming are different from the long term equilibrium responses due to shifts in the controlling mechanisms (nutrient limitation versus competition) within tundra plant communities.

  18. Potential effects of ultraviolet radiation reduction on tundra nitrous oxide and methane fluxes in maritime Antarctica.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bao, Tao; Zhu, Renbin; Wang, Pei; Ye, Wenjuan; Ma, Dawei; Xu, Hua

    2018-02-27

    Stratospheric ozone has begun to recover in Antarctica since the implementation of the Montreal Protocol. However, the effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on tundra greenhouse gas fluxes are rarely reported for Polar Regions. In the present study, tundra N 2 O and CH 4 fluxes were measured under the simulated reduction of UV radiation in maritime Antarctica over the last three-year summers. Significantly enhanced N 2 O and CH 4 emissions occurred at tundra sites under the simulated reduction of UV radiation. Compared with the ambient normal UV level, a 20% reduction in UV radiation increased tundra emissions by an average of 8 μg N 2 O m -2 h -1 and 93 μg CH 4 m -2 h -1 , whereas a 50% reduction in UV radiation increased their emissions by an average of 17 μg N 2 O m -2 h -1 and 128 μg CH 4 m -2 h -1 . No statistically significant correlation (P > 0.05) was found between N 2 O and CH 4 fluxes and soil temperature, soil moisture, total carbon, total nitrogen, NO 3 - -N and NH 4 + -N contents. Our results confirmed that UV radiation intensity is an important factor affecting tundra N 2 O and CH 4 fluxes in maritime Antarctica. Exclusion of the effects of reduced UV radiation might underestimate their budgets in Polar Regions with the recovery of stratospheric ozone.

  19. Influence of iron redox cycling on organo-mineral associations in Arctic tundra soil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herndon, Elizabeth; AlBashaireh, Amineh; Singer, David; Roy Chowdhury, Taniya; Gu, Baohua; Graham, David

    2017-06-01

    Arctic tundra stores large quantities of soil organic matter under varying redox conditions. As the climate warms, these carbon reservoirs are susceptible to increased rates of decomposition and release to the atmosphere as the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). Geochemical interactions between soil organic matter and minerals influence decomposition in many environments but remain poorly understood in Arctic tundra systems and are not considered in decomposition models. The accumulation of iron (Fe) oxyhydroxides and organo-iron precipitates at redox interfaces may be particularly important for carbon cycling given that ferric iron [Fe(III)] species can enhance decomposition by serving as terminal electron acceptors in anoxic soils or inhibit microbial decomposition by binding organic molecules. Here, we examine chemical properties of solid-phase Fe and organic matter in organic and mineral horizons within the seasonally thawed active layer of Arctic tundra on the North Slope of Alaska. Spectroscopic techniques, including micro-X-ray fluorescence (μXRF) mapping, micro-X-ray absorption near-edge structure (μXANES) spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), were coupled with chemical sequential extractions and physical density fractionations to evaluate the spatial distribution and speciation of Fe-bearing phases and associated organic matter in soils. Organic horizons were enriched in poorly crystalline and crystalline iron oxides, and approximately 60% of total Fe stored in organic horizons was calculated to derive from upward translocation from anoxic mineral horizons. Ferrihydrite and goethite were present as coatings on mineral grains and plant debris, and in aggregates with clays and particulate organic matter. Minor amounts of ferrous iron [Fe(II)] were present in iron sulfides (i.e., pyrite and greigite) in mineral horizon soils and iron phosphates (vivianite) in organic horizons. Concentrations of organic

  20. Testing the slope model of scheduling preferences on stated preference data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Abegaz, Dereje Fentie; Hjorth, Katrine; Rich, Jeppe

    2017-01-01

    are expected to yield similar results. We use stated preference data to compare the valuation of travel time variability under a structural model where trip-timing preferences are defined in terms of time-dependent utility rates, the “slope model”, against its reduced-form model. Two choice experiments...... are used that are identical except one has a fixed departure time while the other allows respondents to choose departure time freely. The empirical results in this paper do not support the theoretical equivalence of the two models as the implied value of travel time variability under the reduced-form model......The valuation of travel time variability is derived either from a structural model, given information on departure time, or directly from a reduced-form model where departure time is assumed to be optimally chosen. The two models are theoretically equivalent under certain assumptions, hence...

  1. Investigating Unsaturated Zone Travel Times with Tritium and Stable Isotopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Visser, A.; Thaw, M.; Van der Velde, Y.

    2017-12-01

    Travel times in the unsaturated zone are notoriously difficult to assess. Travel time tracers relying on the conservative transport of dissolved (noble) gases (tritium-helium, CFCs or SF6) are not applicable. Large water volume requirements of other cosmogenic radioactive isotopes (sulfur-35, sodium-22) preclude application in the unsaturated zone. Prior investigations have relied on models, introduced tracers, profiles of stable isotopes or tritium, or a combination of these techniques. Significant unsaturated zone travel times (UZTT) complicate the interpretation of stream water travel time tracers by ranked StorAge Selection (rSAS) functions. Close examination of rSAS functions in a sloping soil lysimeter[1] show the effect of the UZTT on the shape of the rSAS cumulative distribution function. We studied the UZTT at the Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory (SS-CZO) using profiles of tritium and stable isotopes (18O and 2H) in the unsaturated zone, supported by soil water content data. Tritium analyses require 100-500 mL of soil water and therefore large soil samples (1-5L), and elaborate laboratory procedures (oven drying, degassing and noble gas mass spectrometry). The high seasonal and interannual variability in precipitation of the Mediterranean climate, variable snow pack and high annual ET/P ratios lead to a dynamic hydrology in the deep unsaturated soils and regolith and highly variable travel time distributions. Variability of the tritium concentration in precipitation further complicates direct age estimates. Observed tritium profiles (>3 m deep) are interpreted in terms of advective and dispersive vertical transport of the input variability and radioactive decay of tritium. Significant unsaturated zone travel times corroborate previously observed low activities of short-lived cosmogenic radioactive nuclides in stream water. Under these conditions, incorporating the UZTT is critical to adequately reconstruct stream water travel time distributions. 1

  2. Carbon loss from an unprecedented Arctic tundra wildfire

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michelle C. Mack; M. Syndonia Bret-Harte; Teresa N. Hollingsworth; Randi R. Jandt; Edward A.G. Schuur; Gaius R. Shaver; David L. Verbyla

    2011-01-01

    Arctic tundra soils store large amounts of carbon (C) in organic soil layers hundreds to thousands of years old that insulate, and in some cases maintain, permafrost soils. Fire has been largely absent from most of this biome since the early Holocene epoch, but its frequency and extent are increasing, probably in response to climate warming. The effect of fires on the...

  3. Calibration and Validation of Tundra Plant Functional Type Fractional Cover Mapping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macander, M. J.; Nelson, P.; Frost, G. V., Jr.

    2017-12-01

    Fractional cover maps are being developed for selected tundra plant functional types (PFTs) across >500,000 sq. km of arctic Alaska and adjacent Canada at 30 m resolution. Training and validation data include a field-based training dataset based on point-intercept sampling method at hundreds of plots spanning bioclimatic and geomorphic gradients. We also compiled 50 blocks of 1-5 cm resolution RGB image mosaics in Alaska (White Mountains, North Slope, and Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta) and the Yukon Territory. The mosaics and associated surface and canopy height models were developed using a consumer drone and structure from motion processing. We summarized both the in situ measurements and drone imagery to determine cover of two PFTs: Low and Tall Deciduous Shrub, and Light Fruticose/Foliose Lichen. We applied these data to train 2 m (limited extent) and 30 m (wall to wall) maps of PFT fractional cover for shrubs and lichen. Predictors for 2 m models were commercial satellite imagery such as WorldView-2 and Worldview-3, analyzed on the ABoVE Science Cloud. Predictors for 30 m models were primarily reflectance composites and spectral metrics developed from Landsat imagery, using Google Earth Engine. We compared the performance of models developed from the in situ and drone-derived training data and identify best practices to improve the performance and efficiency of arctic PFT fractional cover mapping.

  4. Geomorphic determinants of species composition of alpine tundra, Glacier National Park, U.S.A.

    Science.gov (United States)

    George P. Malanson,; Bengtson, Lindsey E.; Fagre, Daniel B.

    2012-01-01

    Because the distribution of alpine tundra is associated with spatially limited cold climates, global warming may threaten its local extent or existence. This notion has been challenged, however, based on observations of the diversity of alpine tundra in small areas primarily due to topographic variation. The importance of diversity in temperature or moisture conditions caused by topographic variation is an open question, and we extend this to geomorphology more generally. The extent to which geomorphic variation per se, based on relatively easily assessed indicators, can account for the variation in alpine tundra community composition is analyzed versus the inclusion of broad indicators of regional climate variation. Visual assessments of topography are quantified and reduced using principal components analysis (PCA). Observations of species cover are reduced using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA). A “best subsets” regression approach using the Akaike Information Criterion for selection of variables is compared to a simple stepwise regression with DCA scores as the dependent variable and scores on significant PCA axes plus more direct measures of topography as independent variables. Models with geographic coordinates (representing regional climate gradients) excluded explain almost as much variation in community composition as models with them included, although they are important contributors to the latter. The geomorphic variables in the model are those associated with local moisture differences such as snowbeds. The potential local variability of alpine tundra can be a buffer against climate change, but change in precipitation may be as important as change in temperature.

  5. Interannual Variability of Carbon Dioxide, Methane and Nitrous Oxide Fluxes in Subarctic European Russian Tundra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marushchak, M. E.; Voigt, C.; Gil, J.; Lamprecht, R. E.; Trubnikova, T.; Virtanen, T.; Kaverin, D.; Martikainen, P. J.; Biasi, C.

    2017-12-01

    Southern tundra landscapes are particularly vulnerable to climate warming, permafrost thaw and associated landscape rearrangement due to near-zero permafrost temperatures. The large soil C and N stocks of subarctic tundra may create a positive feedback for warming if released to the atmosphere at increased rates. Subarctic tundra in European Russia is a mosaic of land cover types, which all play different roles in the regional greenhouse gas budget. Peat plateaus - massive upheaved permafrost peatlands - are large storehouses of soil carbon and nitrogen, but include also bare peat surfaces that act as hot-spots for both carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions. Tundra wetlands are important for the regional greenhouse gas balance since they show high rates of methane emissions and carbon uptake. The most dominant land-form is upland tundra vegetated by shrubs, lichens and mosses, which displays a close-to-neutral balance with respect to all three greenhouse gases. The study site Seida (67°03'N, 62°56'E), located in the discontinuous permafrost zone of Northeast European Russia, incorporates all these land forms and has been an object for greenhouse gas investigations since 2007. Here, we summarize the growing season fluxes of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide measured by chamber techniques over the study years. We analyzed the flux time-series together with the local environmental data in order to understand the drivers of interannual variability. Detailed soil profile measurements of greenhouse gas concentrations, soil moisture and temperature provide insights into soil processes underlying the net emissions to the atmosphere. The multiannual time-series allows us to assess the importance of the different greenhouse gases and landforms to the overall climate forcing of the study region.

  6. Decadal changes in CH4 and CO2 emissions on the Alaskan North Slope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sweeney, C.; Commane, R.; Wofsy, S.; Dlugokencky, E. J.; Karion, A.; Stone, R. S.; Chang, R.; Tans, P. P.; Wolter, S.

    2016-12-01

    Large changes in surface air temperature, sea ice cover and permafrost in the Arctic Boreal Ecosystems (ABE) are significantly impacting the critical ecosystem services and human societies that are dependent on the ABE. In order to predict the outcome of continued change in the climate system of the ABE, it is necessary to look at how past changes in climate have affected the ABE. We look at 30 years of CH4 and 42 years of CO2 observations from the NOAA Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network site in Barrow, Alaska. By eliminating background trends and only looking at data collected when winds are blowing off the North Slope we find very little change in CH4 enhancements, but significant changes in the CO2 enhancements coming off the tundra. The bulk of both CO2 and CH4 emissions appear to be emitted well after the first snow fall on the North Slope. CO2 emissions are a strongly correlation with summer surface temperatures, while CH4 emissions appear insensitive to the large temperature changes that occurred over the measurement period. These results suggest that CO2, and not CH4 emissions, are a likely pathway for the degradation of permafrost carbon.

  7. Tundra shrub effects on growing season energy and carbon dioxide exchange

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lafleur, Peter M.; Humphreys, Elyn R.

    2018-05-01

    Increased shrub cover on the Arctic tundra is expected to impact ecosystem-atmosphere exchanges of carbon and energy resulting in feedbacks to the climate system, yet few direct measurements of shrub tundra-atmosphere exchanges are available to corroborate expectations. Here we present energy and carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes measured using the eddy covariance technique over six growing seasons at three closely located tundra sites in Canada’s Low Arctic. The sites are dominated by the tundra shrub Betula glandulosa, but percent cover varies from 17%–60% and average shrub height ranges from 18–59 cm among sites. The site with greatest percent cover and height had greater snow accumulation, but contrary to some expectations, it had similar late-winter albedo and snow melt dates compared to the other two sites. Immediately after snowmelt latent heat fluxes increased more slowly at this site compared to the others. Yet by the end of the growing season there was little difference in cumulative latent heat flux among the sites, suggesting evapotranspiration was not increased with greater shrub cover. In contrast, lower albedo and less soil thaw contributed to greater summer sensible heat flux at the site with greatest shrub cover, resulting in greater total atmospheric heating. Net ecosystem exchange of CO2 revealed the potential for enhanced carbon cycling rates under greater shrub cover. Spring CO2 emissions were greatest at the site with greatest percent cover of shrubs, as was summer net uptake of CO2. The seasonal net sink for CO2 was ~2 times larger at the site with the greatest shrub cover compared to the site with the least shrub cover. These results largely agree with expectations that the growing season feedback to the atmosphere arising from shrub expansion in the Arctic has the potential to be negative for CO2 fluxes but positive for turbulent energy fluxes.

  8. Permafrost collapse after shrub removal shifts tundra ecosystem to a methane source

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nauta, Ake L.; Heijmans, Monique P.D.; Blok, Daan

    2015-01-01

    , including expansion of woody vegetation5,6, in response to changing climate conditions. How such vegetation changes contribute to stabilization or destabilization of the permafrost is unknown. Here we present six years of field observations in a shrub removal experiment at a Siberian tundra site. Removing...... the shrub part of the vegetation initiated thawing of ice-rich permafrost, resulting in collapse of the originally elevated shrub patches into waterlogged depressions within five years. This thaw pond development shifted the plots from a methane sink into a methane source. The results of our field......-emitting wet depressions could become more abundant in the lowland tundra landscape, at the cost of permafrost-stabilizing low shrub vegetation....

  9. Molecular detection of hematozoa infections in tundra swans relative to migration patterns and ecological conditions at breeding grounds.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew M Ramey

    Full Text Available Tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus are broadly distributed in North America, use a wide variety of habitats, and exhibit diverse migration strategies. We investigated patterns of hematozoa infection in three populations of tundra swans that breed in Alaska using satellite tracking to infer host movement and molecular techniques to assess the prevalence and genetic diversity of parasites. We evaluated whether migratory patterns and environmental conditions at breeding areas explain the prevalence of blood parasites in migratory birds by contrasting the fit of competing models formulated in an occupancy modeling framework and calculating the detection probability of the top model using Akaike Information Criterion (AIC. We described genetic diversity of blood parasites in each population of swans by calculating the number of unique parasite haplotypes observed. Blood parasite infection was significantly different between populations of Alaska tundra swans, with the highest estimated prevalence occurring among birds occupying breeding areas with lower mean daily wind speeds and higher daily summer temperatures. Models including covariates of wind speed and temperature during summer months at breeding grounds better predicted hematozoa prevalence than those that included annual migration distance or duration. Genetic diversity of blood parasites in populations of tundra swans appeared to be relative to hematozoa prevalence. Our results suggest ecological conditions at breeding grounds may explain differences of hematozoa infection among populations of tundra swans that breed in Alaska.

  10. Molecular detection of hematozoa infections in tundra swans relative to migration patterns and ecological conditions at breeding grounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramey, Andrew M; Ely, Craig R; Schmutz, Joel A; Pearce, John M; Heard, Darryl J

    2012-01-01

    Tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus) are broadly distributed in North America, use a wide variety of habitats, and exhibit diverse migration strategies. We investigated patterns of hematozoa infection in three populations of tundra swans that breed in Alaska using satellite tracking to infer host movement and molecular techniques to assess the prevalence and genetic diversity of parasites. We evaluated whether migratory patterns and environmental conditions at breeding areas explain the prevalence of blood parasites in migratory birds by contrasting the fit of competing models formulated in an occupancy modeling framework and calculating the detection probability of the top model using Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). We described genetic diversity of blood parasites in each population of swans by calculating the number of unique parasite haplotypes observed. Blood parasite infection was significantly different between populations of Alaska tundra swans, with the highest estimated prevalence occurring among birds occupying breeding areas with lower mean daily wind speeds and higher daily summer temperatures. Models including covariates of wind speed and temperature during summer months at breeding grounds better predicted hematozoa prevalence than those that included annual migration distance or duration. Genetic diversity of blood parasites in populations of tundra swans appeared to be relative to hematozoa prevalence. Our results suggest ecological conditions at breeding grounds may explain differences of hematozoa infection among populations of tundra swans that breed in Alaska.

  11. Molecular detection of hematozoa infections in tundra swans relative to migration patterns and ecological conditions at breeding grounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramey, Andrew M.; Ely, Craig R.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Pearce, John M.; Heard, Darryl J.

    2012-01-01

    Tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus) are broadly distributed in North America, use a wide variety of habitats, and exhibit diverse migration strategies. We investigated patterns of hematozoa infection in three populations of tundra swans that breed in Alaska using satellite tracking to infer host movement and molecular techniques to assess the prevalence and genetic diversity of parasites. We evaluated whether migratory patterns and environmental conditions at breeding areas explain the prevalence of blood parasites in migratory birds by contrasting the fit of competing models formulated in an occupancy modeling framework and calculating the detection probability of the top model using Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). We described genetic diversity of blood parasites in each population of swans by calculating the number of unique parasite haplotypes observed. Blood parasite infection was significantly different between populations of Alaska tundra swans, with the highest estimated prevalence occurring among birds occupying breeding areas with lower mean daily wind speeds and higher daily summer temperatures. Models including covariates of wind speed and temperature during summer months at breeding grounds better predicted hematozoa prevalence than those that included annual migration distance or duration. Genetic diversity of blood parasites in populations of tundra swans appeared to be relative to hematozoa prevalence. Our results suggest ecological conditions at breeding grounds may explain differences of hematozoa infection among populations of tundra swans that breed in Alaska.

  12. Increasing Carbon Loss from Snow-Scoured Alpine Tundra in the Colorado Rocky Mountains: An Indicator of Climate Change?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knowles, J. F.; Blanken, P.; Williams, M. W.; Lawrence, C. R.

    2015-12-01

    We used the eddy covariance method to continuously measure the net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide for seven years from a snow-scoured alpine tundra meadow on Niwot Ridge in Colorado, USA that may be underlain by sporadic permafrost. On average, the alpine tundra was a net annual source of 232 g C m-2 to the atmosphere, and the source strength of this ecosystem increased over the length of the seven year period due to both reduced carbon uptake during the growing season and increased respiration throughout the winter. To constrain the contribution of permafrost degradation to observed carbon emissions, we also measured the radiocarbon content of actively cycling, occluded, and mineral soil carbon pools across a meso-scale soil moisture and (possible) permafrost gradient within this meadow, as well as the seasonal radiocarbon content of soil respiration. These data suggest that wintertime soil respiration is limited to patches of wet meadow tundra that may be associated with permafrost. Furthermore, soil respiration from one of these locations indicates preferential turnover of a relatively slow cycling carbon pool during the winter. Given that summer air temperatures and positive degree days have been increasing on Niwot Ridge since the middle of the 20th century, this research suggests that an alpine tundra permafrost-respiration feedback to climate change, similar to that observed in arctic tundra ecosystems, may be currently underway.

  13. First report of Setaria tundra in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) from the Iberian Peninsula inferred from molecular data: epidemiological implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angelone-Alasaad, Samer; Jowers, Michael J; Panadero, Rosario; Pérez-Creo, Ana; Pajares, Gerardo; Díez-Baños, Pablo; Soriguer, Ramón C; Morrondo, Patrocinio

    2016-09-29

    Filarioid nematode parasites are major health hazards with important medical, veterinary and economic implications. Recently, they have been considered as indicators of climate change. In this paper, we report the first record of Setaria tundra in roe deer from the Iberian Peninsula. Adult S. tundra were collected from the peritoneal cavity during the post-mortem examination of a 2 year-old male roe deer, which belonged to a private fenced estate in La Alcarria (Guadalajara, Spain). Since 2012, the area has suffered a high roe deer decline rate (75 %), for unknown reasons. Aiming to support the morphological identification and to determine the phylogenetic position of S. tundra recovered from the roe deer, a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene from the two morphologically identified parasites was amplified, sequenced and compared with corresponding sequences of other filarioid nematode species. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the isolate of S. tundra recovered was basal to all other formely reported Setaria tundra sequences. The presence of all other haplotypes in Northern Europe may be indicative of a South to North outbreak in Europe. This is the first report of S. tundra in roe deer from the Iberian Peninsula, with interesting phylogenetic results, which may have further implications in the epidemiological and genetic studies of these filarioid parasites. More studies are needed to explore the reasons and dynamics behind the rapid host/geographic expansion of the filarioid parasites in Europe.

  14. Response of a tundra ecosystem to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide and CO{sub 2}-induced climate change. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oechel, W.C.

    1996-11-01

    The overall objective of this research was to document current patterns of CO{sub 2} flux in selected locations of the circumpolar arctic, and to develop the information necessary to predict how these fluxes may be affected by climate change. In fulfillment of these objectives, net CO{sub 2} flux was measured at several sites on the North Slope of Alaska during the 1990--94 growing season (June--August) to determine the local and regional patterns of seasonal CO{sub 2} exchange. In addition, net CO{sub 2} flux was measured in the Russian and Icelandic Arctic to determine if the patterns of CO{sub 2} exchange observed in Arctic Alaska were representative of the circumpolar Arctic, while cold-season CO{sub 2} flux measurements were carried out during the 1993--94 winter season to determine the magnitude of CO{sub 2} efflux not accounted for by the growing season measurements. Manipulations of soil water table depth and surface temperature, which were identified from the extensive measurements as being the most important variables in determining the magnitude and direction of net CO{sub 2} exchange, were carried out during the 1993--94 growing seasons in tussock and wet sedge tundra ecosystems. Finally, measurements of CH{sub 4} flux were also measured at several of the North Slope study sites during the 1990--91 growing seasons.

  15. The Q-Slope Method for Rock Slope Engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bar, Neil; Barton, Nick

    2017-12-01

    Q-slope is an empirical rock slope engineering method for assessing the stability of excavated rock slopes in the field. Intended for use in reinforcement-free road or railway cuttings or in opencast mines, Q-slope allows geotechnical engineers to make potential adjustments to slope angles as rock mass conditions become apparent during construction. Through case studies across Asia, Australia, Central America, and Europe, a simple correlation between Q-slope and long-term stable slopes was established. Q-slope is designed such that it suggests stable, maintenance-free bench-face slope angles of, for instance, 40°-45°, 60°-65°, and 80°-85° with respective Q-slope values of approximately 0.1, 1.0, and 10. Q-slope was developed by supplementing the Q-system which has been extensively used for characterizing rock exposures, drill-core, and tunnels under construction for the last 40 years. The Q' parameters (RQD, J n, J a, and J r) remain unchanged in Q-slope. However, a new method for applying J r/ J a ratios to both sides of potential wedges is used, with relative orientation weightings for each side. The term J w, which is now termed J wice, takes into account long-term exposure to various climatic and environmental conditions such as intense erosive rainfall and ice-wedging effects. Slope-relevant SRF categories for slope surface conditions, stress-strength ratios, and major discontinuities such as faults, weakness zones, or joint swarms have also been incorporated. This paper discusses the applicability of the Q-slope method to slopes ranging from less than 5 m to more than 250 m in height in both civil and mining engineering projects.

  16. Bird communities of the arctic shrub tundra of Yamal: habitat specialists and generalists.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vasiliy Sokolov

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The ratio of habitat generalists to specialists in birds has been suggested as a good indicator of ecosystem changes due to e.g. climate change and other anthropogenic perturbations. Most studies focusing on this functional component of biodiversity originate, however, from temperate regions. The Eurasian Arctic tundra is currently experiencing an unprecedented combination of climate change, change in grazing pressure by domestic reindeer and growing human activity. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we monitored bird communities in a tundra landscape harbouring shrub and open habitats in order to analyse bird habitat relationships and quantify habitat specialization. We used ordination methods to analyse habitat associations and estimated the proportions of specialists in each of the main habitats. Correspondence Analysis identified three main bird communities, inhabiting upland, lowland and dense willow shrubs. We documented a stable structure of communities despite large multiannual variations of bird density (from 90 to 175 pairs/km(2. Willow shrub thickets were a hotspot for bird density, but not for species richness. The thickets hosted many specialized species whose main distribution area was south of the tundra. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: If current arctic changes result in a shrubification of the landscape as many studies suggested, we would expect an increase in the overall bird abundance together with an increase of local specialists, since they are associated with willow thickets. The majority of these species have a southern origin and their increase in abundance would represent a strengthening of the boreal component in the southern tundra, perhaps at the expense of species typical of the subarctic zone, which appear to be generalists within this zone.

  17. Structural complexity and land-surface energy exchange along a gradient from arctic tundra to boreal forest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, C.; Beringer, J.; Chapin, F. S.; McGuire, A.D.

    2004-01-01

    Question: Current climate changes in the Alaskan Arctic, which are characterized by increases in temperature and length of growing season, could alter vegetation structure, especially through increases in shrub cover or the movement of treeline. These changes in vegetation structure have consequences for the climate system. What is the relationship between structural complexity and partitioning of surface energy along a gradient from tundra through shrub tundra to closed canopy forest? Location: Arctic tundra-boreal forest transition in the Alaskan Arctic. Methods: Along this gradient of increasing canopy complexity, we measured key vegetation characteristics, including community composition, biomass, cover, height, leaf area index and stem area index. We relate these vegetation characteristics to albedo and the partitioning of net radiation into ground, latent, and sensible heating fluxes. Results: Canopy complexity increased along the sequence from tundra to forest due to the addition of new plant functional types. This led to non-linear changes in biomass, cover, and height in the understory. The increased canopy complexity resulted in reduced ground heat fluxes, relatively conserved latent heat fluxes and increased sensible heat fluxes. The localized warming associated with increased sensible heating over more complex canopies may amplify regional warming, causing further vegetation change in the Alaskan Arctic.

  18. Management of turbidity current venting in reservoirs under different bed slopes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chamoun, Sabine; De Cesare, Giovanni; Schleiss, Anton J

    2017-12-15

    The lifetime and efficiency of dams is endangered by the process of sedimentation. To ensure the sustainable use of reservoirs, many sediment management techniques exist, among which venting of turbidity currents. Nevertheless, a number of practical questions remain unanswered due to a lack of systematic investigations. The present research introduces venting and evaluates its performance using an experimental model. In the latter, turbidity currents travel on a smooth bed towards the dam and venting is applied through a rectangular bottom outlet. The combined effect of outflow discharge and bed slopes on the sediment release efficiency of venting is studied based on different criteria. Several outflow discharges are tested using three different bed slopes (i.e., 0%, 2.4% and 5.0%). Steeper slopes yield higher venting efficiency. Additionally, the optimal outflow discharge leading to the largest venting efficiency with the lowest water loss increases when moving from the horizontal bed to the inclined positions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Tundra swan habitat preferences during migration in North Dakota

    Science.gov (United States)

    Earnst, Susan L.

    1994-01-01

    I studied tundra swan (Cygnus columbianus columbianus) habitat preference in North Dakota during autumn migration, 1988-89. Many thousand tundra swans stop in the Prairie Pothole region during autumn migration, but swan resource use has not been quantified. I examined habitat preference in relation to an index of sago pondweed (Potamogeton pectinatus) presence, extent of open water, and wetland size. I compared habitat preference derived from counts of all swans to those derived from foraging swans only and cygnets only. Foraging swans preferred wetlands with sago pondweed (P = 0.03); the number of foraging swans per wetland was >4 times higher on wetlands with sago pondweed than on wetlands without sago. In contrast, nonforaging swans did not prefer wetlands with sago pondweed (P = 0.85) but preferred large wetlands (P = 0.02) and those with a high proportion of contiguous open water (P feeding than adults (P = 0.03) and occurred proportionately more often in smaller flocks (P = 0.04), but cygnets and adults had similar habitat preferences.

  20. Regional and landscape-scale variability of Landsat-observed vegetation dynamics in northwest Siberian tundra

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frost, Gerald V; Epstein, Howard E; Walker, Donald A

    2014-01-01

    Widespread increases in Arctic tundra productivity have been documented for decades using coarse-scale satellite observations, but finer-scale observations indicate that changes have been very uneven, with a high degree of landscape- and regional-scale heterogeneity. Here we analyze time-series of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) observed by Landsat (1984–2012), to assess landscape- and regional-scale variability of tundra vegetation dynamics in the northwest Siberian Low Arctic, a little-studied region with varied soils, landscape histories, and permafrost attributes. We also estimate spatio-temporal rates of land-cover change associated with expansion of tall alder (Alnus) shrublands, by integrating Landsat time-series with very-high-resolution imagery dating to the mid-1960s. We compiled Landsat time-series for eleven widely-distributed landscapes, and performed linear regression of NDVI values on a per-pixel basis. We found positive net NDVI trends (‘greening’) in nine of eleven landscapes. Net greening occurred in alder shrublands in all landscapes, and strong greening tended to correspond to shrublands that developed since the 1960s. Much of the spatial variability of greening within landscapes was linked to landscape physiography and permafrost attributes, while between-landscape variability largely corresponded to differences in surficial geology. We conclude that continued increases in tundra productivity in the region are likely in upland tundra landscapes with fine-textured, cryoturbated soils; these areas currently tend to support discontinuous vegetation cover, but are highly susceptible to rapid increases in vegetation cover, as well as land-cover changes associated with the development of tall shrublands. (paper)

  1. Uniform shrub growth response to June temperature across the North Slope of Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ackerman, Daniel E.; Griffin, Daniel; Hobbie, Sarah E.; Popham, Kelly; Jones, Erin; Finlay, Jacques C.

    2018-04-01

    The expansion of woody shrubs in arctic tundra alters many aspects of high-latitude ecosystems, including carbon cycling and wildlife habitat. Dendroecology, the study of annual growth increments in woody plants, has shown promise in revealing how climate and environmental conditions interact with shrub growth to affect these key ecosystem properties. However, a predictive understanding of how shrub growth response to climate varies across the heterogeneous landscape remains elusive. Here we use individual-based mixed effects modeling to analyze 19 624 annual growth ring measurements in the stems of Salix pulchra (Cham.), a rapidly expanding deciduous shrub. Stem samples were collected at six sites throughout the North Slope of Alaska. Sites spanned four landscapes that varied in time since glaciation and hence in soil properties, such as nutrient availability, that we expected would modulate shrub growth response to climate. Ring growth was remarkably coherent among sites and responded positively to mean June temperature. The strength of this climate response varied slightly among glacial landscapes, but in contrast to expectations, this variability was not systematically correlated with landscape age. Additionally, shrubs at all sites exhibited diminishing marginal growth gains in response to increasing temperatures, indicative of alternative growth limiting mechanisms in particularly warm years, such as temperature-induced moisture limitation. Our results reveal a regionally-coherent and robust shrub growth response to early season growing temperature, with local soil properties contributing only a minor influence on shrub growth. Our conclusions strengthen predictions of changes to wildlife habitat and improve the representation of tundra vegetation dynamics in earth systems models in response to future arctic warming.

  2. Stem secondary growth of tundra shrubs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Campioli, Matteo; Leblans, Niki; Michelsen, Anders

    2012-01-01

    Our knowledge of stem secondary growth of arctic shrubs (a key component of tundra net primary production, NPP) is very limited. Here, we investigated the impact of the physical elements of the environment on shrub secondary growth by comparing annual growth rates of model species from similar...... growth (stem apical growth, stem length, and apical growth of stem plus leaves), in some cases even with opposite responses. Thus caution should be taken when estimating the impact of the environment on shrub growth from apical growth only. Integration of our data set with the (very limited) previously...

  3. Analysis of nitrogen saturation potential in Rocky Mountain tundra and forest: implications for aquatic systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baron, Jill S.; Ojima, Dennis S.; Holland, Elisabeth A.; Parton, William J.

    1994-01-01

    We employed grass and forest versions of the CENTURY model under a range of N deposition values (0.02–1.60 g N m−2 y−1) to explore the possibility that high observed lake and stream N was due to terrestrial N saturation of alpine tundra and subalpine forest in Loch Vale Watershed, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Model results suggest that N is limiting to subalpine forest productivity, but that excess leachate from alpine tundra is sufficient to account for the current observed stream N. Tundra leachate, combined with N leached from exposed rock surfaces, produce high N loads in aquatic ecosystems above treeline in the Colorado Front Range. A combination of terrestrial leaching, large N inputs from snowmelt, high watershed gradients, rapid hydrologic flushing and lake turnover times, and possibly other nutrient limitations of aquatic organisms constrain high elevation lakes and streams from assimilating even small increases in atmospheric N. CENTURY model simulations further suggest that, while increased N deposition will worsen the situation, nitrogen saturation is an ongoing phenomenon.

  4. Fractionation of Nitrogen Isotopes by Plants with Different Types of Mycorrhiza in Mountain Tundra Ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buzin, Igor; Makarov, Mikhail; Maslov, Mikhail; Tiunov, Alexei

    2017-04-01

    We studied nitrogen concentration and nitrogen isotope composition in plants from four mountain tundra ecosystems in the Khibiny Mountains. The ecosystems consisted of a toposequence beginning with the shrub-lichen heath (SLH) on the ridge and upper slope, followed by the Betula nana dominated shrub heath (SH) on the middle slope, the cereal meadow (CM) on the lower slope and the sedge meadow (SM) at the bottom of the slope. The inorganic nitrogen concentration of the soils from the studied ecosystems were significantly different; the SLH soil was found to contain the minimum concentration of N-NH4+ and N-NO3- , while in the soils of the meadow ecosystems these concentrations were much higher. The concentration of nitrogen in leaves of the dominant plant species in all of the ecosystems is directly connected with the concentration of inorganic nitrogen in the soils, regardless of the plant's mycorrhizal symbiosis type. However, such a correlation is not apparent in the case of plant roots, especially for plant roots with ectomycorrhiza and ericoid mycorrhiza. The majority of plant species with these types of mycorrhiza in the SH and particularly in the CM were enriched in 15N in comparison with the SLH (such plants were not found within the SM). This could be due to several reasons: 1) the decreasing role of mycorrhiza in nitrogen consumption and therefore in the fractionation of isotopes in the relatively-N-enriched ecosystems; 2) the use of relatively-15N-enriched forms of nitrogen for plant nutrition in meadow ecosystems. This heavier nitrogen isotope composition in plant roots with ectomycorrhiza and ericoid mycorrhiza in ecosystems with available nitrogen enriched soils doesn't correspond to the classical idea of mycorrhiza decreasing participation in nitrogen plant nutrition. The analysis of the isotope composition of separate labile forms of nitrogen makes it possible to explain the phenomenon. Not all arbuscular mycorrhizal species within the sedge meadow

  5. Dip-slope and Dip-slope Failures in Taiwan - a Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, C.

    2011-12-01

    Taiwan is famous for dip-slope and dip-slope slides. Dip-slopes exist at many places in the fold-and-thrust belt of Taiwan. Under active cutting of stream channels and man-made excavations, a dip-slope may become unstable and susceptible for mass sliding. Daylight of a bedding parallel clay seam is the most dangerous type for dip-slope sliding. Buckling or shear-off features may also happen at toe of a long dip-slope. Besides, a dip-slope is also dangerous for shallow debris slides, if the slope angle is between 25 to 45 degrees and the debris (colluvium or slope wash) is thick (>1m). These unstable slopes may slide during a triggering event, earthquake or typhoon storm; or even slide without a triggering event, like the 2010 Tapu case. Initial buckling feature had been found in the dip-slope of the Feitsui arch dam abutment after detailed explorations. Shear-off feature have also been found in dip-slope located in right bank of the Nahua reservoir after field investigation and drilling. The Chiufengerhshan slide may also be shear-off type. On the other hand, the Tapu, the Tsaoling slides and others are of direct slide type. The Neihoo Bishan slide is a shallow debris slide on dip-slope. All these cases demonstrate the four different types of dip-slope slide. The hazard of a dip-slope should be investigated to cover these possible types of failure. The existence of bedding parallel clay seams is critical for the stability of a dip-slope, either for direct slide or buckling or shear-off type of failure, and is a hot point during investigation. Because, the stability of a dip-slope is changing with time, therefore, detailed explorations to including weathering and erosion rates are also very necessary to ensure the long-term stability of a dip-slope.

  6. Mountain permafrost, glacier thinning, and slope stability - a perspective from British Columbia (and Alaska)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geertsema, Marten

    2016-04-01

    The association of landslides with thinning glaciers and mapped, or measured, mountain permafrost is increasing. Glacier thinning debuttresses slopes and promotes joint expansion. It is relatively easy to map. Permafrost, a thermal condition, is generally not visually detectible, and is difficult to map. Much mountain permafrost may have been overlooked in hazard analysis. Identifying, and characterizing mountain permafrost, and its influence on slope instability is crucial for hazard and risk analysis in mountainous terrain. Rock falls in mountains can be the initial event in process chains. They can transform into rock avalanches, debris flows or dam burst floods, travelling many kilometres, placing infrastructure and settlements at risk.

  7. Plant functional type affects nitrogen use efficiency in high-Arctic tundra

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Oulehle, F.; Rowe, E. C.; Myška, Oldřich; Chuman, T.; Evans, C.D.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 94, mar (2016), s. 19-28 ISSN 0038-0717 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) ED1.1.00/02.0073 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : Arctic * Nitrogen * Isotope * Mineralization * Nitrification * Tundra Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 4.857, year: 2016

  8. An application of plot-scale NDVI in predicting carbon dioxide exchange and leaf area index in heterogeneous subarctic tundra

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dagg, J.; Lafleur, P.

    2010-07-01

    This paper reported on a study that examined the flow of carbon into and out of tundra ecosystems. It is necessary to accurately predict carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) exchange in the Tundra because of the impacts of climate change on carbon stored in permafrost. Understanding the relationships between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and vegetation and CO{sub 2} exchange may explain how small-scale variation in vegetation community extends to remotely sensed estimates of landscape characteristics. In this study, CO{sub 2} fluxes were measured with a portable chamber in a range of Tundra vegetation communities. Biomass and leaf area were measured with destructive harvest, and NDVI was obtained using a hand-held infrared camera. There was a weak correlation between NDVI and leaf area index in some vegetation communities, but a significant correlation between NDVI and biomass, including mosses. NDVI was found to be strongly related to photosynthetic activity and net CO{sub 2} uptake in all vegetation groups. However, NDVI related to ecosystem respiration only in wet sedge. It was concluded that at plot scale, the ability of NDVI to predict ecosystem properties and CO{sub 2} exchange in heterogeneous Tundra vegetation is variable.

  9. An application of plot-scale NDVI in predicting carbon dioxide exchange and leaf area index in heterogeneous subarctic tundra

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dagg, J.; Lafleur, P.

    2010-01-01

    This paper reported on a study that examined the flow of carbon into and out of tundra ecosystems. It is necessary to accurately predict carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) exchange in the Tundra because of the impacts of climate change on carbon stored in permafrost. Understanding the relationships between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and vegetation and CO 2 exchange may explain how small-scale variation in vegetation community extends to remotely sensed estimates of landscape characteristics. In this study, CO 2 fluxes were measured with a portable chamber in a range of Tundra vegetation communities. Biomass and leaf area were measured with destructive harvest, and NDVI was obtained using a hand-held infrared camera. There was a weak correlation between NDVI and leaf area index in some vegetation communities, but a significant correlation between NDVI and biomass, including mosses. NDVI was found to be strongly related to photosynthetic activity and net CO 2 uptake in all vegetation groups. However, NDVI related to ecosystem respiration only in wet sedge. It was concluded that at plot scale, the ability of NDVI to predict ecosystem properties and CO 2 exchange in heterogeneous Tundra vegetation is variable.

  10. Detection and molecular characterization of the mosquito-borne filarial nematode Setaria tundra in Danish roe deer (Capreolus capreolus)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Enemark, Heidi Larsen; Oksanen, Antti; Chriél, Mariann

    2017-01-01

    Setaria tundra is a mosquito-borne filarial nematode of cervids in Europe. It has recently been associated with an emerging epidemic disease causing severe morbidity and mortality in reindeer and moose in Finland. Here, we present the first report of S. tundra in six roe deer (Capreolus capreolus...... Europe. Roe deer are generally considered as asymptomatic carriers and their numbers in Denmark have increased significantly in recent decades. In light of climatic changes which result in warmer, more humid weather in Scandinavia greater numbers of mosquitoes and, especially, improved conditions...... for development of parasite larvae in the mosquito vectors are expected, which may lead to increasing prevalence of S. tundra. Monitoring of this vector-borne parasite may thus be needed in order to enhance the knowledge of factors promoting its expansion and prevalence as well as predicting disease outbreaks. (C...

  11. Herbivore Impact on Tundra Plant Community Dynamics Using Long-term Remote Sensing Observation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Q.; Engstrom, R.; Shiklomanov, N. I.

    2014-12-01

    Arctic tundra biome is now experiencing dramatic environmental changes accentuated by summer sea-ice decline, permafrost thaw, and shrub expansion. Multi-decadal time-series of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI, a spectral metric of vegetation productivity) shows an overall "greening" trend across the Arctic tundra biome. Regional trends in climate plausibly explain large-scale patterns of increasing plant productivity, as diminished summer sea-ice extent warms the adjacent land causing tundra vegetation to respond positively (increased photosynthetic aboveground biomass). However, at more local scales, there is a great deal of spatial variability in NDVI trends that likely reflects differences in hydrology and soil conditions, disturbance history, and use by wildlife and humans. Particularly, habitat use by large herbivores, such as reindeer and caribou, has large impacts on vegetation dynamics at local and regional scales, but the role of herbivores in modulating the response of vegetation to warming climate has received little attention. This study investigates regional tundra plant community dynamics within inhabits of different sizes of wild caribou/reindeer herds across the Arctic using GIMMS NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) 3g data product. The Taimyr herd in Russia is one of the largest herds in the world with a population increase from 450,000 in 1975 to about 1 million animals in 2000. The population of the porcupine caribou herd has fluctuated in the past three decades between 100,000 and 180,000. Time-series of the maximum NDVI within the inhabit area of the Taimyr herd has increased about 2% per decade over the past three decades, while within the inhabit area of the Porcupine herd the maximum NDVI has increased about 5% per decade. Our results indicate that the impact of large herbivores can be detected from space and further analyses on seasonal dynamics of vegetation indices and herbivore behavior may provide more

  12. Arctic Tundra Vegetation Functional Types Based on Photosynthetic Physiology and Optical Properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huemmrich, Karl Fred; Gamon, John A.; Tweedie, Craig E.; Campbell, Petya K. Entcheva; Landis, David R.; Middleton, Elizabeth M.

    2013-01-01

    Non-vascular plants (lichens and mosses) are significant components of tundra landscapes and may respond to climate change differently from vascular plants affecting ecosystem carbon balance. Remote sensing provides critical tools for monitoring plant cover types, as optical signals provide a way to scale from plot measurements to regional estimates of biophysical properties, for which spatial-temporal patterns may be analyzed. Gas exchange measurements were collected for pure patches of key vegetation functional types (lichens, mosses, and vascular plants) in sedge tundra at Barrow, AK. These functional types were found to have three significantly different values of light use efficiency (LUE) with values of 0.013 plus or minus 0.0002, 0.0018 plus or minus 0.0002, and 0.0012 plus or minus 0.0001 mol C mol (exp -1) absorbed quanta for vascular plants, mosses and lichens, respectively. Discriminant analysis of the spectra reflectance of these patches identified five spectral bands that separated each of these vegetation functional types as well as nongreen material (bare soil, standing water, and dead leaves). These results were tested along a 100 m transect where midsummer spectral reflectance and vegetation coverage were measured at one meter intervals. Along the transect, area-averaged canopy LUE estimated from coverage fractions of the three functional types varied widely, even over short distances. The patch-level statistical discriminant functions applied to in situ hyperspectral reflectance data collected along the transect successfully unmixed cover fractions of the vegetation functional types. The unmixing functions, developed from the transect data, were applied to 30 m spatial resolution Earth Observing-1 Hyperion imaging spectrometer data to examine variability in distribution of the vegetation functional types for an area near Barrow, AK. Spatial variability of LUE was derived from the observed functional type distributions. Across this landscape, a

  13. Catchment power and the joint distribution of elevation and travel distance to the outlet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. S. Sklar

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The delivery of water, sediment, and solutes by catchments is influenced by the distribution of source elevations and their travel distances to the outlet. For example, elevation affects the magnitude and phase of precipitation, as well as the climatic factors that govern rock weathering, which influence the production rate and initial particle size of sediments. Travel distance, in turn, affects the timing of flood peaks at the outlet and the degree of sediment size reduction by wear, which affects particle size distributions at the outlet. The distributions of elevation and travel distance have been studied extensively but separately, as the hypsometric curve and width function. Yet a catchment can be considered as a collection of points, each with paired values of elevation and travel distance. For every point, the ratio of elevation to travel distance defines the mean slope for transport of mass to the outlet. Recognizing that mean slope is proportional to the average rate of loss of potential energy by water and sediment during transport to the outlet, we use the joint distribution of elevation and travel distance to define two new metrics for catchment geometry: "source-area power", and the corresponding catchment-wide integral "catchment power". We explore patterns in source-area and catchment power across three study catchments spanning a range of relief and drainage area. We then develop an empirical algorithm for generating synthetic source-area power distributions, which can be parameterized with data from natural catchments. This new way of quantifying the three-dimensional geometry of catchments can be used to explore the effects of topography on the distribution on fluxes of water, sediment, isotopes, and other landscape products passing through catchment outlets, and may provide a fresh perspective on problems of both practical and theoretical interest.

  14. Slope movements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wagner, P.

    2009-01-01

    On this poster some reasons of slope movements on the territory of the Slovak Republic are presented. Slope movements induced deterioration of land and forests, endangering of towns villages, and communications as well as hydro-engineering structures. Methods of preventing and stabilisation of slope movements are presented.

  15. Towards lidar-based mapping of tree age at the Arctic forest tundra ecotone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen, J.; Maguire, A.; Oelkers, R.; Andreu-Hayles, L.; Boelman, N.; D'Arrigo, R.; Griffin, K. L.; Jennewein, J. S.; Hiers, E.; Meddens, A. J.; Russell, M.; Vierling, L. A.; Eitel, J.

    2017-12-01

    Climate change may cause spatial shifts in the forest-tundra ecotone (FTE). To improve our ability to study these spatial shifts, information on tree demography along the FTE is needed. The objective of this study was to assess the suitability of lidar derived tree heights as a surrogate for tree age. We calculated individual tree age from 48 tree cores collected at basal height from white spruce (Picea glauca) within the FTE in northern Alaska. Tree height was obtained from terrestrial lidar scans (= 3 m), yielding strong predictive relationships between height and age (R2 = 0.86, RMSE 12.21 years, and R2 = 0.93, RMSE = 25.16 years, respectively). The slope coefficient for small and large tree models (16.83 and 12.98 years/m, respectively) indicate that small trees grow 1.3 times faster than large trees at these FTE study sites. Although a strong, predictive relationship between age and height is uncommon in light-limited forest environments, our findings suggest that the sparseness of trees within the FTE may explain the strong tree height-age relationships found herein. Further analysis of 36 additional tree cores recently collected within the FTE near Inuvik, Canada will be performed. Our preliminary analysis suggests that lidar derived tree height could be a reliable proxy for tree age at the FTE, thereby establishing a new technique for scaling tree structure and demographics across larger portions of this sensitive ecotone.

  16. Environmental and vegetation controls on the spatial variability of CH4 emission from wet-sedge and tussock tundra ecosystems in the Arctic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McEwing, Katherine Rose; Fisher, James Paul; Zona, Donatella

    Despite multiple studies investigating the environmental controls on CH 4 fluxes from arctic tundra ecosystems, the high spatial variability of CH 4 emissions is not fully understood. This makes the upscaling of CH 4 fluxes from plot to regional scale, particularly challenging. The goal of this study is to refine our knowledge of the spatial variability and controls on CH 4 emission from tundra ecosystems. CH 4 fluxes were measured in four sites across a variety of wet-sedge and tussock tundra ecosystems in Alaska using chambers and a Los Gatos CO 2 and CH 4 gas analyser. All sites were found to be sources of CH 4 , with northern sites (in Barrow) showing similar CH 4 emission rates to the southernmost site (ca. 300 km south, Ivotuk). Gross primary productivity (GPP), water level and soil temperature were the most important environmental controls on CH 4 emission. Greater vascular plant cover was linked with higher CH 4 emission, but this increased emission with increased vascular plant cover was much higher (86 %) in the drier sites, than the wettest sites (30 %), suggesting that transport and/or substrate availability were crucial limiting factors for CH 4 emission in these tundra ecosystems. Overall, this study provides an increased understanding of the fine scale spatial controls on CH 4 flux, in particular the key role that plant cover and GPP play in enhancing CH 4 emissions from tundra soils.

  17. Relating structural growth environment to white spruce sapling establishment at the Forest-Tundra Ecotone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maguire, A.; Boelman, N.; Griffin, K. L.; Jensen, J.; Hiers, E.; Johnson, D. M.; Vierling, L. A.; Eitel, J.

    2017-12-01

    The effect of climate change on treeline position at the latitudinal Forest-Tundra ecotone (FTE) is poorly understood. While the FTE is expansive (stretching 13,000 km acros the panarctic), understanding relationships between climate and tree function may depend on very fine scale processes. High resolution tools are therefore needed to appropriately characterize the leading (northernmost) edge of the FTE. We hypothesized that microstructural metrics obtainable from lidar remote sensing may explain variation in the physical growth environment that governs sapling establishment. To test our hypothesis, we used terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) to collect highly spatially resolved 3-D structural information of white spruce (Picea glauca) saplings and their aboveground growth environment at the leading edge of a FTE in northern Alaska and Northwest Territories, Canada. Coordinates of sapling locations were extracted from the 3-D TLS data. Within each sampling plot, 20 sets of coordinates were randomly selected from regions where no saplings were present. Ground roughness, canopy roughness, average aspect, average slope, average curvature, wind shelter index, and wetness indexwere extracted from point clouds within a variable radius from all coordinates. Generalized linear models (GLM) were fit to determine which microstructural metrics were most strongly associated with sapling establishment. Preliminary analyses of three plots suggest that vegetation roughness, wetness index, ground roughness, and slope were the most important terrain metrics governing sapling presence (Figure 1). Comprehensive analyses will include eight plots and GLMs optimized for scale at which structural parameters affect sapling establishment. Spatial autocorrelation of sample locations will be accounted for in models. Because these analyses address how the physical growth environment affects sapling establishment, model outputs will provide information for improving understanding of the

  18. Movement of foraging Tundra Swans explained by spatial pattern in cryptic food densities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klaassen, R.H.G.; Nolet, B.A.; Bankert, D.

    2006-01-01

    We tested whether Tundra Swans use information on the spatial distribution of cryptic food items (belowground Sago pondweed tubers) to shape their movement paths. In a continuous environment, swans create their own food patches by digging craters, which they exploit in several feeding bouts. Series

  19. 50 CFR 20.107 - Seasons, limits, and shooting hours for tundra swans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Seasons, limits, and shooting hours for tundra swans. 20.107 Section 20.107 Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (CONTINUED) TAKING, POSSESSION, TRANSPORTATION, SALE, PURCHASE, BARTER, EXPORTATION, AND IMPORTATION OF WILDLIFE AND PLANTS ...

  20. Regional Quantitative Cover Mapping of Tundra Plant Functional Types in Arctic Alaska

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew J. Macander

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Ecosystem maps are foundational tools that support multi-disciplinary study design and applications including wildlife habitat assessment, monitoring and Earth-system modeling. Here, we present continuous-field cover maps for tundra plant functional types (PFTs across ~125,000 km2 of Alaska’s North Slope at 30-m resolution. To develop maps, we collected a field-based training dataset using a point-intercept sampling method at 225 plots spanning bioclimatic and geomorphic gradients. We stratified vegetation by nine PFTs (e.g., low deciduous shrub, dwarf evergreen shrub, sedge, lichen and summarized measurements of the PFTs, open water, bare ground and litter using the cover metrics total cover (areal cover including the understory and top cover (uppermost canopy or ground cover. We then developed 73 spectral predictors derived from Landsat satellite observations (surface reflectance composites for ~15-day periods from May–August and five gridded environmental predictors (e.g., summer temperature, climatological snow-free date to model cover of PFTs using the random forest data-mining algorithm. Model performance tended to be best for canopy-forming PFTs, particularly deciduous shrubs. Our assessment of predictor importance indicated that models for low-statured PFTs were improved through the use of seasonal composites from early and late in the growing season, particularly when similar PFTs were aggregated together (e.g., total deciduous shrub, herbaceous. Continuous-field maps have many advantages over traditional thematic maps, and the methods described here are well-suited to support periodic map updates in tandem with future field and Landsat observations.

  1. How spatial variation in areal extent and configuration of labile vegetation states affect the riparian bird community in Arctic tundra.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John-André Henden

    Full Text Available The Arctic tundra is currently experiencing an unprecedented combination of climate change, change in grazing pressure by large herbivores and growing human activity. Thickets of tall shrubs represent a conspicuous vegetation state in northern and temperate ecosystems, where it serves important ecological functions, including habitat for wildlife. Thickets are however labile, as tall shrubs respond rapidly to both abiotic and biotic environmental drivers. Our aim was to assess how large-scale spatial variation in willow thicket areal extent, configuration and habitat structure affected bird abundance, occupancy rates and species richness so as to provide an empirical basis for predicting the outcome of environmental change for riparian tundra bird communities. Based on a 4-year count data series, obtained through a large-scale study design in low arctic tundra in northern Norway, statistical hierarchical community models were deployed to assess relations between habitat configuration and bird species occupancy and community richness. We found that species abundance, occupancy and richness were greatly affected by willow areal extent and configuration, habitat features likely to be affected by intense ungulate browsing as well as climate warming. In sum, total species richness was maximized in large and tall willow patches of small to intermediate degree of fragmentation. These community effects were mainly driven by responses in the occupancy rates of species depending on tall willows for foraging and breeding, while species favouring other vegetation states were not affected. In light of the predicted climate driven willow shrub encroachment in riparian tundra habitats, our study predicts that many bird species would increase in abundance, and that the bird community as a whole could become enriched. Conversely, in tundra regions where overabundance of large herbivores leads to decreased areal extent, reduced height and increased fragmentation

  2. Cesium-137 inventories in Alaskan Tundra, lake and marine sediments: An indicator of recent organic material transport?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grebmeier, J.M.; Cooper, L.W.; Larsen, I.L.; Solis, C.; Olsen, C.R.

    1993-01-01

    Tundra sampling was accomplished in 1989--1990 at Imnavait Creek, Alaska (68 degree 37' N, 149 degree 17' W). Inventories of 137 Cs (102--162 mBq/cm 2 ) are close to expectations, based upon measured atmospheric deposition for this latitude. Accumulated inventories of 137 Cs in tundra decrease by up to 50% along a transect to Prudhoe Bay (70 degree 13' N, 148 degree 30' W). Atmospheric deposition of 137 Cs decreased with latitude in the Arctic, but declines in deposition would have been relatively small over this distance (200 km). This suggests a recent loss of 137 Cs and possibly associated organic matter from tundra over the northern portions of the transect between Imnavait Creek and Prudhoe Bay. Sediments from Toolik Lake (68 degree 38' N, 149 degree 38' W) showed widely varying 137 Cs inventories, from a low of 22 mBq/cm 2 away from the lake inlet, to a high between 140 to >200 mBq/cm 2 near the main stream inflow. This was indicative of recent accumulation of cesium and possibly organic material associated with it in arctic lakes, although additional sampling is needed

  3. The origin of lead in the organic horizon of tundra soils: Atmospheric deposition, plant translocation from the mineral soil or soil mineral mixing?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klaminder, Jonatan; Farmer, John G.; MacKenzie, Angus B.

    2011-01-01

    Knowledge of the anthropogenic contribution to lead (Pb) concentrations in surface soils in high latitude ecosystems is central to our understanding of the extent of atmospheric Pb contamination. In this study, we reconstructed fallout of Pb at a remote sub-arctic region by using two ombrotrophic peat cores and assessed the extent to which this airborne Pb is able to explain the isotopic composition ( 206 Pb/ 207 Pb ratio) in the O-horizon of tundra soils. In the peat cores, long-range atmospheric fallout appeared to be the main source of Pb as indicated by temporal trends that followed the known European pollution history, i.e. accelerated fallout at the onset of industrialization and peak fallout around the 1960s-70s. The Pb isotopic composition of the O-horizon of podzolic tundra soil ( 206 Pb/ 207 Pb = 1.170 ± 0.002; mean ± SD) overlapped with that of the peat ( 206 Pb/ 207 Pb = 1.16 ± 0.01) representing a proxy for atmospheric aerosols, but was clearly different from that of the parent soil material ( 206 Pb/ 207 Pb = 1.22-1.30). This finding indicated that long-range fallout of atmospheric Pb is the main driver of Pb accumulation in podzolic tundra soil. In O-horizons of tundra soil weakly affected by cryoturbation (cryosols) however, the input of Pb from the underlying mineral soil increased as indicated by 206 Pb/ 207 Pb ratios of up to 1.20, a value closer to that of local soil minerals. Nevertheless, atmospheric Pb appeared to be the dominant source in this soil compartment. We conclude that Pb concentrations in the O-horizon of studied tundra soils - despite being much lower than in boreal soils and representative for one of the least exposed sites to atmospheric Pb contaminants in Europe - are mainly controlled by atmospheric inputs from distant anthropogenic sources. - Highlights: → We used Pb isotopic composition to aid interpretation of Pb profiles in tundra soils. → Ombrotrophic peat cores were used as records of atmospheric inputs of Pb.

  4. Nitrogen accumulation and partitioning in a High Arctic tundra ecosystem from extreme atmospheric N deposition events

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choudhary, Sonal; Blaud, Aimeric; Osborn, A. Mark; Press, Malcolm C.; Phoenix, Gareth K.

    2016-01-01

    Arctic ecosystems are threatened by pollution from recently detected extreme atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition events in which up to 90% of the annual N deposition can occur in just a few days. We undertook the first assessment of the fate of N from extreme deposition in High Arctic tundra and are presenting the results from the whole ecosystem "1"5N labelling experiment. In 2010, we simulated N depositions at rates of 0, 0.04, 0.4 and 1.2 g N m"−"2 yr"−"1, applied as "1"5NH_4"1"5NO_3 in Svalbard (79"°N), during the summer. Separate applications of "1"5NO_3"− and "1"5NH_4"+ were also made to determine the importance of N form in their retention. More than 95% of the total "1"5N applied was recovered after one growing season (~ 90% after two), demonstrating a considerable capacity of Arctic tundra to retain N from these deposition events. Important sinks for the deposited N, regardless of its application rate or form, were non-vascular plants > vascular plants > organic soil > litter > mineral soil, suggesting that non-vascular plants could be the primary component of this ecosystem to undergo measurable changes due to N enrichment from extreme deposition events. Substantial retention of N by soil microbial biomass (70% and 39% of "1"5N in organic and mineral horizon, respectively) during the initial partitioning demonstrated their capacity to act as effective buffers for N leaching. Between the two N forms, vascular plants (Salix polaris) in particular showed difference in their N recovery, incorporating four times greater "1"5NO_3"− than "1"5NH_4"+, suggesting deposition rich in nitrate will impact them more. Overall, these findings show that despite the deposition rates being extreme in statistical terms, biologically they do not exceed the capacity of tundra to sequester pollutant N during the growing season. Therefore, current and future extreme events may represent a major source of eutrophication. - Highlights: • High Arctic tundra demonstrated a

  5. Influence of iron redox cycling on organo-mineral associations in arctic tundra soils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herndon, E.; AlBashaireh, A.; Duroe, K.; Singer, D. M.

    2016-12-01

    Geochemical interactions between soil organic matter and minerals influence decomposition in many environments but remain poorly understood in arctic tundra systems. In tundra soils that are periodically to persistently saturated, the accumulation of iron oxyhydroxides and organo-iron precipitates at redox interfaces may inhibit decomposition by binding organic molecules and protecting them from microbial degradation. Here, we couple synchrotron-source spectroscopic techniques with chemical sequential extractions and physical density fractionations to evaluate the spatial distribution and speciation of Fe-bearing phases and associated organic matter in organic and mineral horizons of the seasonally thawed active layer in tundra soils from northern Alaska. Mineral-associated organic matter comprised 63 ± 9% of soil organic carbon stored in the active layer of ice wedge polygons. Ferrous iron produced in anoxic mineral horizons diffused upwards and precipitated as poorly-crystalline oxyhydroxides and organic-bound Fe(III) in the organic horizons. Ferrihydrite and goethite were present as coatings on mineral grains and plant debris and in aggregates with clays and particulate organic matter. Organic matter released through acid-dissolution of iron oxides may represent a small pool of readily-degradable organic molecules temporarily stabilized by sorption to iron oxyhydroxide surfaces, while larger quantities of particulate organic carbon and humic-like substances may be physically protected from decomposition by Fe-oxide coatings and aggregation. We conclude that formation of poorly-crystalline and crystalline iron oxides at redox interfaces contributes to mineral protection of organic matter through sorption, aggregation, and co-precipitation reactions. Further study of organo-mineral associations is necessary to determine the net impact of mineral-stabilization on carbon storage in rapidly warming arctic ecosystems.

  6. Spatial variation and linkages of soil and vegetation in the Siberian Arctic tundra - coupling field observations with remote sensing data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mikola, Juha; Virtanen, Tarmo; Linkosalmi, Maiju; Vähä, Emmi; Nyman, Johanna; Postanogova, Olga; Räsänen, Aleksi; Kotze, D. Johan; Laurila, Tuomas; Juutinen, Sari; Kondratyev, Vladimir; Aurela, Mika

    2018-05-01

    Arctic tundra ecosystems will play a key role in future climate change due to intensifying permafrost thawing, plant growth and ecosystem carbon exchange, but monitoring these changes may be challenging due to the heterogeneity of Arctic landscapes. We examined spatial variation and linkages of soil and plant attributes in a site of Siberian Arctic tundra in Tiksi, northeast Russia, and evaluated possibilities to capture this variation by remote sensing for the benefit of carbon exchange measurements and landscape extrapolation. We distinguished nine land cover types (LCTs) and to characterize them, sampled 92 study plots for plant and soil attributes in 2014. Moreover, to test if variation in plant and soil attributes can be detected using remote sensing, we produced a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and topographical parameters for each study plot using three very high spatial resolution multispectral satellite images. We found that soils ranged from mineral soils in bare soil and lichen tundra LCTs to soils of high percentage of organic matter (OM) in graminoid tundra, bog, dry fen and wet fen. OM content of the top soil was on average 14 g dm-3 in bare soil and lichen tundra and 89 g dm-3 in other LCTs. Total moss biomass varied from 0 to 820 g m-2, total vascular shoot mass from 7 to 112 g m-2 and vascular leaf area index (LAI) from 0.04 to 0.95 among LCTs. In late summer, soil temperatures at 15 cm depth were on average 14 °C in bare soil and lichen tundra, and varied from 5 to 9 °C in other LCTs. On average, depth of the biologically active, unfrozen soil layer doubled from early July to mid-August. When contrasted across study plots, moss biomass was positively associated with soil OM % and OM content and negatively associated with soil temperature, explaining 14-34 % of variation. Vascular shoot mass and LAI were also positively associated with soil OM content, and LAI with active layer depth, but only explained 6-15 % of variation. NDVI

  7. Travel Health Advisory Group: a joint travel industry and travel health Special Interest Group promoting healthy travel in Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leggat, Peter A; Zwar, Nicholas; Hudson, Bernie

    2012-09-01

    The Travel Health Advisory Group (THAG), established in 1997, is a joint initiative between the travel industry and travel health professionals in Australia that aims to promote healthy travel. THAG seeks to promote cooperation in improving the health of travellers between the travel industry and travel medicine professionals and to raise public awareness of the importance of travel health. From 2011, THAG has been a Special Interest Group of The Australasian College of Tropical Medicine and its membership has been active in several areas, including web-based travel health information, travel health promotion, media releases, research and education in Australia. Information is given on the objectives, membership and an overview of the various activities of the group. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Linkages Among Climate, Fire, and Thermoerosion in Alaskan Tundra Over the Past Three Millennia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chipman, M. L.; Hu, F. S.

    2017-12-01

    Amplified Arctic warming may facilitate novel tundra disturbance regimes, as suggested by recent increases in the rate and extent of thermoerosion and fires in some tundra areas. Thermoerosion and wildfire can exacerbate warming by releasing large permafrost carbon stocks, and interactions between disturbance regimes can lead to complex ecosystem feedbacks. We conducted geochemical and charcoal analyses of lake sediments from an Alaskan lake to identify thermoerosion and fire events over the past 3,000 years. Thermoerosion was inferred from lake sediments in the context of modern soil data from retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS). Magnetic susceptibility (MS), Ca:K, and Ca:Sr increased with depth in modern RTS soils and were higher on recently exposed than older slump surfaces. Peaks in bulk density, % CaCO3, Ca:K, Ca:Sr, and MS values in the sediments suggest at least 18 thermoerosion events in the Loon Lake watershed over the past 3,000 years. Charcoal analysis identifies 22 fires over the same period at this site. Temporal variability in these records suggests climate-driven responses of both thermoerosion and fire disturbance regimes, with fewer RTS episodes and fire events during the Little Ice Age than the Medieval Climate Anomaly. Moreover, RTS activity lagged behind catchment fires by 20-30 years (>90% confidence interval), implying that fires facilitated thermoerosion on decadal time scales, possibly because of prolonged active-layer deepening following fire and postfire proliferation of insulative shrub cover. These results highlight the potential for complex interactions between climate, vegetation, and tundra disturbance in response to ongoing warming.

  9. Potential Arctic tundra vegetation shifts in response to changing temperature, precipitation and permafrost thaw

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kolk, van der Henk-Jan; Heijmans, M.M.P.D.; Huissteden, van J.; Pullens, J.W.M.; Berendse, F.

    2016-01-01

    Over the past decades, vegetation and climate have changed significantly in the Arctic. Deciduous shrub cover is often assumed to expand in tundra landscapes, but more frequent abrupt permafrost thaw resulting in formation of thaw ponds could lead to vegetation shifts towards graminoid-dominated

  10. Fire Effects at the Tundra-Boreal Ecotone in Interior Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, B. K.; Mack, M. C.; Johnstone, J. F.; Walker, X. J.; Roland, C.

    2016-12-01

    Climate warming in northern latitudes has led to an intensification of disturbance by wildfire. Little is known about the effects of fire on tundra vegetation. Changes in vegetation composition could have important implications for carbon cycling , and may feedback positively or negatively to future climate change (Randerson et al., 2006). Our study utilizes extensive pre-fire ecological data collected by the National Park Service (NPS) Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) program to assess the prefire conditions important in driving successional pathways within Denali National Park and Preserve. In 2013, the East Toklat fire burned 30,000 acres of tussock tundra and mixed white and black spruce forest at a high severity, which encompassed 50 NPS plots that were originally monitored in 2003. Our sampling occurred the summer of 2016 following the same NPS protocols to assess post-fire vegetation composition. In addition, we conducted a seeding experiment using locally collected white and black spruce seed to assess natural and potential tree regeneration in unburned and post fire environments. Seed traps were established along our transects to assess seed rain. A multivariate approach will be used to assess post-fire community dynamics and future field seasons will address tree germination and survival rates. These data will then be coupled with pre and post-fire ecological data to parse out important factors driving secondary succession.

  11. Travel-related health problems in Japanese travelers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mizuno, Yasutaka; Kudo, Koichiro

    2009-09-01

    Although the number of Japanese individuals traveling abroad has increased steadily, reaching approximately 17.3 million in 2007, the incidence of various travel-related health problems in Japan remains unknown. The travel-related health problems of Japanese travelers returning to Japan from abroad are analyzed by assessing the records. Data were collected retrospectively on returning travelers who visited the authors' travel clinic during the period from January 2005 through to December 2006 with any health problem acquired overseas. A total of 345 patients were included in this study (200 male, 145 female; average age, 34+/-12.3 years). Reasons for travel included leisure (45.8%); business (39.1%); visiting friends and relatives or accompanying other travelers (8.7%); volunteering (3.8%); and long stays in order to study or live (2.6%). The most visited destination was Asia (n=260), followed by Africa (n=105). The most commonly reported health problems were gastro-intestinal infections (39.1%), followed by respiratory tract infections (16.2%), animal bites (8.1%), and skin problems (5.8%). Together, malaria and dengue accounted for 10% of diagnoses in 125 febrile patients (36.2%). Although the profile of travel-related health problems in Japanese travelers is similar to that of Western travelers, the characteristics of travel were quite different. Therefore Japanese travel advice should be tailored to suit the Japanese traveler.

  12. Humic substances elemental composition of selected taiga and tundra soils from Russian European North-East

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lodygin Evgeny

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Soils of Russian European North were investigated in terms of stability and quality of organic matter as well as in terms of soils organic matter elemental composi­tion. Therefore, soil humic acids (HAs, extracted from soils of different natural zones of Russian North-East were studied to characterize the degree of soil organic matter stabilization along a zonal gradient. HAs were extracted from soil of different zonal environments of the Komi Republic: south, middle and north taiga as well as south tundra. Data on elemental composition of humic acids and fulvic acids (FAs extracted from different soil types were obtained to assess humus formation mechanisms in the soils of taiga and tundra of the European North-East of Russia. The specificity of HAs elemental composition are discussed in relation to environmental conditions. The higher moisture degree of taiga soils results in the higher H/C ratio in humic substances. This reflects the reduced microbiologic activity in Albeluvisols sods and subsequent conser­vation of carbohydrate and amino acid fragments in HAs. HAs of tundra soils, shows the H/C values decreasing within the depth of the soils, which reflects increasing of aromatic compounds in HA structure of mineral soil horizons. FAs were more oxidized and contains less carbon while compared with the HAs. Humic acids, extracted from soil of different polar and boreal environments differ in terms of elemental composition winch reflects the climatic and hydrological regimes of humification.

  13. A Subpixel Classification of Multispectral Satellite Imagery for Interpetation of Tundra-Taiga Ecotone Vegetation (Case Study on Tuliok River Valley, Khibiny, Russia)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mikheeva, A. I.; Tutubalina, O. V.; Zimin, M. V.; Golubeva, E. I.

    2017-12-01

    The tundra-taiga ecotone plays significant role in northern ecosystems. Due to global climatic changes, the vegetation of the ecotone is the key object of many remote-sensing studies. The interpretation of vegetation and nonvegetation objects of the tundra-taiga ecotone on satellite imageries of a moderate resolution is complicated by the difficulty of extracting these objects from the spectral and spatial mixtures within a pixel. This article describes a method for the subpixel classification of Terra ASTER satellite image for vegetation mapping of the tundra-taiga ecotone in the Tuliok River, Khibiny Mountains, Russia. It was demonstrated that this method allows to determine the position of the boundaries of ecotone objects and their abundance on the basis of quantitative criteria, which provides a more accurate characteristic of ecotone vegetation when compared to the per-pixel approach of automatic imagery interpretation.

  14. The origin of lead in the organic horizon of tundra soils: Atmospheric deposition, plant translocation from the mineral soil or soil mineral mixing?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Klaminder, Jonatan, E-mail: jonatan.klaminder@emg.umu.se [Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umea University, 90187 Umea (Sweden); Farmer, John G. [School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JN, Scotland (United Kingdom); MacKenzie, Angus B. [Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, East Kilbride, G75 0QF, Scotland (United Kingdom)

    2011-09-15

    Knowledge of the anthropogenic contribution to lead (Pb) concentrations in surface soils in high latitude ecosystems is central to our understanding of the extent of atmospheric Pb contamination. In this study, we reconstructed fallout of Pb at a remote sub-arctic region by using two ombrotrophic peat cores and assessed the extent to which this airborne Pb is able to explain the isotopic composition ({sup 206}Pb/{sup 207}Pb ratio) in the O-horizon of tundra soils. In the peat cores, long-range atmospheric fallout appeared to be the main source of Pb as indicated by temporal trends that followed the known European pollution history, i.e. accelerated fallout at the onset of industrialization and peak fallout around the 1960s-70s. The Pb isotopic composition of the O-horizon of podzolic tundra soil ({sup 206}Pb/{sup 207}Pb = 1.170 {+-} 0.002; mean {+-} SD) overlapped with that of the peat ({sup 206}Pb/{sup 207}Pb = 1.16 {+-} 0.01) representing a proxy for atmospheric aerosols, but was clearly different from that of the parent soil material ({sup 206}Pb/{sup 207}Pb = 1.22-1.30). This finding indicated that long-range fallout of atmospheric Pb is the main driver of Pb accumulation in podzolic tundra soil. In O-horizons of tundra soil weakly affected by cryoturbation (cryosols) however, the input of Pb from the underlying mineral soil increased as indicated by {sup 206}Pb/{sup 207}Pb ratios of up to 1.20, a value closer to that of local soil minerals. Nevertheless, atmospheric Pb appeared to be the dominant source in this soil compartment. We conclude that Pb concentrations in the O-horizon of studied tundra soils - despite being much lower than in boreal soils and representative for one of the least exposed sites to atmospheric Pb contaminants in Europe - are mainly controlled by atmospheric inputs from distant anthropogenic sources. - Highlights: {yields} We used Pb isotopic composition to aid interpretation of Pb profiles in tundra soils. {yields} Ombrotrophic peat

  15. Physicochemical and Microbiological Characteristics of Tundra Soils on the Rybachii Peninsula

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evdokimova, G. A.; Mozgova, N. P.; Myazin, V. A.

    2018-01-01

    The Rybachii Peninsula is composed of Proterozoic sedimentary rocks and differs sharply from the rest of the Kola Peninsula in its geological structure, topographic forms, and parent rocks. It is dominated by Al-Fe-humus soils formed on moraines with an admixture of local rock fragments, including slates. Organic horizons of tundra soils in the peninsula are less acid than those on granitoids of adjacent mainland of the Kola Peninsula. The content of exchangeable calcium in the organic horizons varies from 17.4 to 68.0 cmolc/kg, and the content of water-soluble carbon reaches 400 mg/100 g amounting to 1-2% of the total soil organic matter content. The total number of bacteria in the organic horizons of tundra soils varies from 3.5 × 109 to 4.8 × 109 cells/g; and bacterial biomass varies from 0.14 to 0.19 mg/g. The length of fungal mycelium and its biomass in the organic horizons are significant (>1000 m/g soil). The biomass of fungal mycelium in the organic horizons exceeds the bacterial biomass by seven times in podzols (Albic Podzols) and by ten times in podbur (Entic Podzol), dry-peat soil (Folic Histosol), and low-moor peat soil (Sapric Histosol).

  16. Reduced arctic tundra productivity linked with landform and climate change interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lara, Mark J.; Nitze, Ingmar; Grosse, Guido; Martin, Philip; McGuire, A. David

    2018-01-01

    Arctic tundra ecosystems have experienced unprecedented change associated with climate warming over recent decades. Across the Pan-Arctic, vegetation productivity and surface greenness have trended positively over the period of satellite observation. However, since 2011 these trends have slowed considerably, showing signs of browning in many regions. It is unclear what factors are driving this change and which regions/landforms will be most sensitive to future browning. Here we provide evidence linking decadal patterns in arctic greening and browning with regional climate change and local permafrost-driven landscape heterogeneity. We analyzed the spatial variability of decadal-scale trends in surface greenness across the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska (~60,000 km²) using the Landsat archive (1999–2014), in combination with novel 30 m classifications of polygonal tundra and regional watersheds, finding landscape heterogeneity and regional climate change to be the most important factors controlling historical greenness trends. Browning was linked to increased temperature and precipitation, with the exception of young landforms (developed following lake drainage), which will likely continue to green. Spatiotemporal model forecasting suggests carbon uptake potential to be reduced in response to warmer and/or wetter climatic conditions, potentially increasing the net loss of carbon to the atmosphere, at a greater degree than previously expected.

  17. Seasonal variability of leaf area index and foliar nitrogen in contrasting dry-mesic tundras

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Campioli, Matteo; Michelsen, Anders; Lemeur, Raoul

    2009-01-01

    Assimilation and exchange of carbon for arctic ecosystems depend strongly on leaf area index (LAI) and total foliar nitrogen (TFN). For dry-mesic tundras, the seasonality of these characteristics is unexplored. We addressed this knowledge gap by measuring variations of LAI and TFN at five contras...

  18. Assessment of Slope Stability of Various Cut Slopes with Effects of Weathering by Using Slope Stability Probability Classification (SSPC)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ersöz, Timur; Topal, Tamer

    2017-04-01

    Rocks containing pore spaces, fractures, joints, bedding planes and faults are prone to weathering due to temperature differences, wetting-drying, chemistry of solutions absorbed, and other physical and chemical agents. Especially cut slopes are very sensitive to weathering activities because of disturbed rock mass and topographical condition by excavation. During and right after an excavation process of a cut slope, weathering and erosion may act on this newly exposed rock material. These acting on the material may degrade and change its properties and the stability of the cut slope in its engineering lifetime. In this study, the effect of physical and chemical weathering agents on shear strength parameters of the rocks are investigated in order to observe the differences between weathered and unweathered rocks. Also, slope stability assessment of cut slopes affected by these weathering agents which may disturb the parameters like strength, cohesion, internal friction angle, unit weight, water absorption and porosity are studied. In order to compare the condition of the rock materials and analyze the slope stability, the parameters of weathered and fresh rock materials are found with in-situ tests such as Schmidt hammer and laboratory tests like uniaxial compressive strength, point load and direct shear. Moreover, slake durability and methylene blue tests are applied to investigate the response of the rock to weathering and presence of clays in rock materials, respectively. In addition to these studies, both rock strength parameters and any kind of failure mechanism are determined by probabilistic approach with the help of SSPC system. With these observations, the performances of the weathered and fresh zones of the cut slopes are evaluated and 2-D slope stability analysis are modeled with further recommendations for the cut slopes. Keywords: 2-D Modeling, Rock Strength, Slope Stability, SSPC, Weathering

  19. Tracing the source of emerging seepage water at failure slope downstream, Kampung Bharu Bukit Tinggi, Bentong, Pahang

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lakam Mejus; Wan Zakaria Wan Mohd Tahir; Md Shahid Ayub; Jeremy Andy; Johari Latif

    2006-01-01

    This paper discusses method and monitoring result of the source of seepage water emerging (mud flow) at downstream toe of the failure slope at Kampung Bharu Bukit Tinggi, Bentong Pahang. In this investigation, a saline-tracer experiment was conducted by injecting its solution into a drain at an upstream section (old road to Janda Baik town) where a pipeline was found leaking in the vicinity of the roadside and flowing towards hill slopes. Some parts of flowing water was left undetected and seeped through the soil on its way to downstream area. Seepage water downstream was monitored by using a conductivity sensor hooked up to a CR10X data logger and optical back scattering conductivity probes. From the result, it is believed that the source of seepage water is related to the water from the leaking pipeline upstream. The travelling time for the leaking water to reach downstream slope failure was within 16-17 hours. Based on this preliminary investigation, one can conclude that seepage water is one of the main contributing factors that cause slope failure in the vicinity of the investigated hill slopes. Further investigation to understand the failure mechanism at this place by conducting multi-experimental approaches in different seasons, particularly during continuous rain storms. (Author)

  20. Nitrogen accumulation and partitioning in a High Arctic tundra ecosystem from extreme atmospheric N deposition events

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choudhary, Sonal, E-mail: S.Choudhary@sheffield.ac.uk [Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN (United Kingdom); Management School, University of Sheffield, Conduit Road, Sheffield S10 1FL (United Kingdom); Blaud, Aimeric [Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN (United Kingdom); Osborn, A. Mark [Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN (United Kingdom); School of Applied Sciences, RMIT University, PO Box 71, Bundoora, VIC 3083 (Australia); Press, Malcolm C. [School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT (United Kingdom); Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, M15 6BH (United Kingdom); Phoenix, Gareth K. [Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN (United Kingdom)

    2016-06-01

    Arctic ecosystems are threatened by pollution from recently detected extreme atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition events in which up to 90% of the annual N deposition can occur in just a few days. We undertook the first assessment of the fate of N from extreme deposition in High Arctic tundra and are presenting the results from the whole ecosystem {sup 15}N labelling experiment. In 2010, we simulated N depositions at rates of 0, 0.04, 0.4 and 1.2 g N m{sup −2} yr{sup −1}, applied as {sup 15}NH{sub 4}{sup 15}NO{sub 3} in Svalbard (79{sup °}N), during the summer. Separate applications of {sup 15}NO{sub 3}{sup −} and {sup 15}NH{sub 4}{sup +} were also made to determine the importance of N form in their retention. More than 95% of the total {sup 15}N applied was recovered after one growing season (~ 90% after two), demonstrating a considerable capacity of Arctic tundra to retain N from these deposition events. Important sinks for the deposited N, regardless of its application rate or form, were non-vascular plants > vascular plants > organic soil > litter > mineral soil, suggesting that non-vascular plants could be the primary component of this ecosystem to undergo measurable changes due to N enrichment from extreme deposition events. Substantial retention of N by soil microbial biomass (70% and 39% of {sup 15}N in organic and mineral horizon, respectively) during the initial partitioning demonstrated their capacity to act as effective buffers for N leaching. Between the two N forms, vascular plants (Salix polaris) in particular showed difference in their N recovery, incorporating four times greater {sup 15}NO{sub 3}{sup −} than {sup 15}NH{sub 4}{sup +}, suggesting deposition rich in nitrate will impact them more. Overall, these findings show that despite the deposition rates being extreme in statistical terms, biologically they do not exceed the capacity of tundra to sequester pollutant N during the growing season. Therefore, current and future extreme events

  1. Changes in tundra pond limnology: re-sampling Alaskan ponds after 40 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lougheed, Vanessa L; Butler, Malcolm G; McEwen, Daniel C; Hobbie, John E

    2011-09-01

    The arctic tundra ponds at the International Biological Program (IBP) site in Barrow, AK, were studied extensively in the 1970s; however, very little aquatic research has been conducted there for over three decades. Due to the rapid climate changes already occurring in northern Alaska, identifying any changes in the ponds' structure and function over the past 30-40 years can help identify any potential climate-related impacts. Current research on the IBP ponds has revealed significant changes in the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of these ponds over time. These changes include increased water temperatures, increased water column nutrient concentrations, the presence of at least one new chironomid species, and increased macrophyte cover. However, we have also observed significant annual variation in many measured variables and caution that this variation must be taken into account when attempting to make statements about longer-term change. The Barrow IBP tundra ponds represent one of the very few locations in the Arctic where long-term data are available on freshwater ecosystem structure and function. Continued monitoring and protection of these invaluable sites is required to help understand the implications of climate change on freshwater ecosystems in the Arctic.

  2. Travel characteristics and health practices among travellers at the travellers' health and vaccination clinic in Singapore.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Vernon J; Wilder-Smith, Annelies

    2006-10-01

    Singapore has a fast-growing travel industry, but few studies have been done on travel characteristics and travel health practices. This study describes the profile and healthseeking behaviour of travellers attending a travel health clinic in Singapore. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on travellers attending the Traveller's Health and Vaccination Centre (THVC) between September and November 2002 using a standardised questionnaire. Information obtained included individual demographic and medical information, travel patterns, vaccination status and travel health practices. Four hundred and ninetyfive (74%) eligible travellers seen at THVC responded to the questionnaire. Their mean age was 36 years; 77% were professionals, managers, executives, and businessmen, students, and white collar workers. Asia was the main travel destination, and most travelled for leisure and resided in hotels or hostels. The median duration of travel was 16 days. Although >90% had previously travelled overseas, only 20% had previously sought pre-travel advice. Malays were significantly underrepresented (P travel advice compared with Chinese, Indians and Malays. Factors associated with seeking pre-travel advice included travel outside of Asia, especially Africa and South America. Singaporean travellers travel more often to cities rather than rural areas, compared with non-Asian travellers. Asia is the preferred destination, and travel outside of Asia is perceived as more risky and is associated with seeking pre-travel advice and vaccinations. Travel patterns and behaviours need to be taken into account when developing evidence-based travel medicine in Asia.

  3. A Legendre-pseudospectral method for computing travelling waves with corners (slope discontinuities) in one space dimension with application to Whitham's equation family

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boyd, John P.

    2003-01-01

    If the dispersion in a nonlinear hyperbolic wave equation is weak in the sense that the frequency ω(k) of cos(kx) is bounded as k→∞, it is common that (i) travelling waves exist up to a limiting amplitude with wave-breaking for higher amplitudes, and (ii) the limiting wave has a corner, that is, a discontinuity in slope. Because 'corner' waves are not smooth, standard numerical methods converge poorly as the number of grid points is increased. However, the corner wave is important because, at least in some systems, it is the attractor for all large amplitude initial conditions. Here we devise a Legendre-pseudospectral method which is uncorrupted by the singularity. The symmetric (u(X)=u(-X)) wave can be computed on an interval spanning only half the spatial period; since u is smooth on this domain which does not include the corner except as an endpoint, all numerical difficulties are avoided. A key step is to derive an extra boundary condition which uniquely identifies the corner wave. With both the grid point values of u(x) and phase speed c as unknowns, the discretized equations, imposing three boundary conditions on a second order differential equation, are solved by a Newton-Raphson iteration. Although our method is illustrated by the so-called 'Whitham's equation', u t +uu x =∫Du dx ' where D is a very general linear operator, the ideas are widely applicable

  4. North Slope (Wahluke Slope) expedited response action cleanup plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1994-02-01

    The purpose of this action is to mitigate any threat to public health and the environment from hazards on the North Slope and meet the expedited response action (ERA) objective of cleanup to a degree requiring no further action. The ERA may be the final remediation of the 100-I-3 Operable Unit. A No Action record of decision (ROD) may be issued after remediation completion. The US Department of Energy (DOE) currently owns or administers approximately 140 mi{sup 2} (about 90,000 acres) of land north and east of the Columbia River (referred to as the North Slope) that is part of the Hanford Site. The North Slope, also commonly known as the Wahluke Slope, was not used for plutonium production or support facilities; it was used for military air defense of the Hanford Site and vicinity. The North Slope contained seven antiaircraft gun emplacements and three Nike-Ajax missile positions. These military positions were vacated in 1960--1961 as the defense requirements at Hanford changed. They were demolished in 1974. Prior to government control in 1943, the North Slope was homesteaded. Since the initiation of this ERA in the summer of 1992, DOE signed the modified Hanford Federal Agreement and Consent Order (Tri-Party Agreement) with the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in which a milestone was set to complete remediation activities and a draft closeout report by October 1994. Remediation activities will make the North Slope area available for future non-DOE uses. Thirty-nine sites have undergone limited characterization to determine if significant environmental hazards exist. This plan documents the results of that characterization and evaluates the potential remediation alternatives.

  5. North Slope (Wahluke Slope) expedited response action cleanup plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-02-01

    The purpose of this action is to mitigate any threat to public health and the environment from hazards on the North Slope and meet the expedited response action (ERA) objective of cleanup to a degree requiring no further action. The ERA may be the final remediation of the 100-I-3 Operable Unit. A No Action record of decision (ROD) may be issued after remediation completion. The US Department of Energy (DOE) currently owns or administers approximately 140 mi 2 (about 90,000 acres) of land north and east of the Columbia River (referred to as the North Slope) that is part of the Hanford Site. The North Slope, also commonly known as the Wahluke Slope, was not used for plutonium production or support facilities; it was used for military air defense of the Hanford Site and vicinity. The North Slope contained seven antiaircraft gun emplacements and three Nike-Ajax missile positions. These military positions were vacated in 1960--1961 as the defense requirements at Hanford changed. They were demolished in 1974. Prior to government control in 1943, the North Slope was homesteaded. Since the initiation of this ERA in the summer of 1992, DOE signed the modified Hanford Federal Agreement and Consent Order (Tri-Party Agreement) with the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in which a milestone was set to complete remediation activities and a draft closeout report by October 1994. Remediation activities will make the North Slope area available for future non-DOE uses. Thirty-nine sites have undergone limited characterization to determine if significant environmental hazards exist. This plan documents the results of that characterization and evaluates the potential remediation alternatives

  6. Delineation of Tundra Swan Cygnus c. columbianus populations in North America: geographic boundaries and interchange

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ely, Craig R.; Sladen, William J. L.; Wilson, Heather M.; Savage, Susan E.; Sowl, Kristine M.; Henry, Bill; Schwitters, Mike; Snowden, James

    2014-01-01

    North American Tundra Swans Cygnus c. columbianus are composed of two wellrecognised populations: an Eastern Population (EP) that breeds across northern Canada and north of the Brooks Range in Alaska, which migrates to the eastern seaboard of the United States, and a Western Population (WP) that breeds in coastal regions of Alaska south of the Brooks Range and migrates to western North America. We present results of a recent major ringing effort from across the breeding range in Alaska to provide a better definition of the geographic extent of the migratory divide in Alaska. We also reassess the staging and winter distributions of these populations based on locations of birds tracked using satellite transmitters, and recent recoveries and sightings of neck-collared birds. Summer sympatry of EP and WP Tundra Swans is very limited, and largely confined to a small area in northwest Alaska. Autumn migration pathways of EP and WP Tundra swans abut in southwest Saskatchewan, a region where migrating WP birds turn west, and EP birds deviate abruptly eastward. Overall, from 1989 to 2013 inclusive, 2.6% of recoveries or resightings reported to the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory were of birds that moved from the domain of the population in which they were initially captured to within the range of the other population; a proportion roughly comparable to the results of Limpert et al. (1991) for years before 1990. Of the 70 cross-boundary movements reported since 1989, 39% were of birds marked on breeding areas and 61% were of birds marked on wintering areas. Dispersing swans (i.e. those that made crossboundary movements) did not differ with respect to age or sex from those that did not move between populations. The Brooks Range in northern Alaska effectively separates the two populations within Alaska, but climate-induced changes in tundra breeding habitats and losses of wetlands on staging areas may alter the distribution for both of these populations.

  7. Lead toxicosis in tundra swans near a mining and smelting complex in northern Idaho

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blus, L.J.; Henny, C.J.; Hoffman, D.J.; Grove, R.A.

    1991-01-01

    Die-offs of waterfowl have occurred in the Coeur d`Alene River system in northern Idaho since at least the early 1900`s. We investigated causes of mortality and lead and cadmium contamination of 46 tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus) from 1987 to 1989; an additional 22 swans found dead in 1990 were not examined. We necropsied 43 of the 46 birds found from 1987 to 1989; 38 of these were from the Coeur d`Alene River system, which has been contaminated with mining and smelting wastes for a century, and the other 5 were from a nearby, relatively uncontaminated area. Of the 36 livers of swans from the contaminated area that were analyzed, 32 contained lethal levels of lead (6 to 40 micrograms/g, wet weight) and all birds exhibited several symptoms of lead poisoning, notably enlarged gall bladders containing viscous, darkgreen bile. Only 13% of the lead-poisoned birds (10% when data were included from other studies of swans in the area) contained shot, compared to 95% of lead-poisoning swans in studies outside northern Idaho. Lead concentrations in blood samples from 16 apparently healthy swans (0.5 to 2.3 micrograms/g, and 4 leadpoisoned birds found moribund (1.3 to 9.6 micrograms/g) indicating that tundra swans accumulated high levels of lead from ingestion of sediment that contained up to 8,700 micrograms/g of lead and plants that contained up to 400 micrograms/g. The swans spend only a few weeks in the area staging during the spring migration. The five tundra swans from the uncontaminated area had low levels of lead and essentially no symptoms of lead poisoning.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

  8. Pre-travel advice seeking from GPs by travellers with chronic illness seen at a travel clinic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gagneux-Brunon, Amandine; Andrillat, Carole; Fouilloux, Pascale; Daoud, Fatiha; Defontaine, Christiane; Charles, Rodolphe; Lucht, Frédéric; Botelho-Nevers, Elisabeth

    2016-03-01

    Travellers are ageing and frequently report chronic illness. Pre-travel health advice is crucial, particularly in this subgroup, and general practitioners (GPs) are first in line for treatment adjustment before departure. Our aim is to evaluate pre-travel health advice seeking from GPs by travellers with chronic illness seen at a travel clinic. A cross-sectional observational survey using a questionnaire was conducted between August 2013 and July 2014 in travellers attending the travel medicine clinic of a tertiary university hospital in France. During the study, 2019 travellers were included. Mean age was 39.4 years (±18.8). Three hundred and ninety-one (19.4%) travellers reported a history of a chronic illness. Arterial hypertension and diabetes mellitus were the most frequently reported illnesses, affecting, respectively, 168 (8.3%) travellers and 102 (5.1%). Hajj pilgrims were more likely to report a history of chronic illness than other travellers. Only 810 (40.1%) travellers sought pre-travel advice from their GP. Six hundred and fifty-two (40.1%) healthy travellers and 158 (40.5%) travellers reporting chronic illness sought pre-travel advice from their GP (P = 0.96). Travellers with a history of chronic illness do not seek pre-travel health advice from their GP more frequently than healthy travellers. Travel health specialists are generally not the best practitioners to manage the care of underlying medical conditions presenting risks during travel. However, GPs offer continuity and disease management expertise to improve the specificity of pre-travel planning. Thus, ongoing collaboration between the traveller, GP and travel health specialist is likely to yield the best outcomes. © International Society of Travel Medicine, 2016. All rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. Decadal changes in tundra land cover on Yamal Peninsula, Northwest Siberia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forbes, B. C.; Kumpula, T.; Macias-Fauria, M.

    2017-12-01

    The Yamal-Nenets Okrug in Russia has experienced significant changes in land use and climate in recent decades. Average year-round air temperatures have increased ca. 2°C since the 1970's, with much - but not all - of the warming taking place in winter. In association with ongoing summer warming, the annual growth of erect deciduous shrubs has been accelerating while growing season seasonality has diminished, characterized by shifts in the spatial patterns of key phenological parameters. We prepared LANDSAT-derived land cover classifications for 1988 and 2014 using change detection analysis, supported by extensive ground truthing bolstered with data from Very High-Resolution (VHR) imagery (e.g. Quickbird-2, Worldview-2/3). Research was conducted within summer reindeer pastures utilized by the Yarsalinksi sovhoz, whose animals are collectively owned, as well as many privately-owned herds. The area represents bioclimatic Subzone D of the Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map and covers about 8500 km2. This is a key subzone for several reasons: (1) it includes Bovanenkovo, the first and largest gas deposit on Yamal to be developed; (2) it is a zone of extremely active periglacial processes (e.g. active layer detachment slides, lake drainage and recent methane-mediated craters); and (3) it is characterized by steadily increasing growth of tall willow shrubs (Salix spp.), which comprise an important source of fodder by reindeer migrating through the area in summer. These results are unique as our dataset: (1) covers sizable inland regions lying entirely within the Russian tundra zone; (2) derives from extensive ground truthing; and (3) treats all plant taxonomic groups (vascular, bryophytes, lichens) at the plot scale. Here we present the first such classifications, based on LANDSAT images from 1988 and 2014. We identify 16 classes ranging from bare ground and drained lakes, anthropogenic disturbances, through several wetland types, to various dwarf and erect tundra shrub

  10. Global assessment of experimental climate warming on tundra vegetation: heterogeneity over space and time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarah C. Elmendorf; Gregory H.R. Henry; Robert D. Hollister; Robert G. Björk; Anne D. Bjorkman; Terry V. Callaghan; [and others] NO-VALUE; William Gould; Joel Mercado

    2012-01-01

    Understanding the sensitivity of tundra vegetation to climate warming is critical to forecasting future biodiversity and vegetation feedbacks to climate. In situ warming experiments accelerate climate change on a small scale to forecast responses of local plant communities. Limitations of this approach include the apparent site-specificity of results and uncertainty...

  11. Award Letter: Tundra nesting bird data rescue for the Canning River Delta long-term ecological monitoring site

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of the Interior — Award letter in response to Alaska Region Inventory and Monitoring 2017 request for proposals. Issued to Arctic NWR for project “Tundra nesting bird data rescue for...

  12. Pre-Travel Medical Preparation of Business and Occupational Travelers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Nomana M.; Jentes, Emily S.; Brown, Clive; Han, Pauline; Rao, Sowmya R.; Kozarsky, Phyllis; Hagmann, Stefan H.F.; LaRocque, Regina C.; Ryan, Edward T.

    2016-01-01

    Objectives: The aim of the study was to understand more about pre-travel preparations and itineraries of business and occupational travelers. Methods: De-identified data from 18 Global TravEpiNet clinics from January 2009 to December 2012 were analyzed. Results: Of 23,534 travelers, 61% were non-occupational and 39% occupational. Business travelers were more likely to be men, had short times to departure and shorter trip durations, and commonly refused influenza, meningococcal, and hepatitis B vaccines. Most business travelers indicated that employers suggested the pre-travel health consultation, whereas non-occupational travelers sought consultations because of travel health concerns. Conclusions: Sub-groups of occupational travelers have characteristic profiles, with business travelers being particularly distinct. Employers play a role in encouraging business travelers to seek pre-travel consultations. Such consultations, even if scheduled immediately before travel, can identify vaccination gaps and increase coverage. PMID:26479857

  13. The Contribution of Mosses to the Complex Pattern of Diurnal and Seasonal Metabolism the wet Coastal Tundra Ecosystems Near Barrow Alaska.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zona, D.; Oechel, W.; Hastings, S.; Oberbauer, S.; Kopetz, I.; Ikawa, H.

    2006-12-01

    Despite the abundance and importance bryophytes in the Alaskan Arctic tundra there is relatively little information on the role of these plants in determining the CO2 fluxes of Arctic tundra and, in particular, the environmental controls and climate change sensitivities of current and future photosynthesis in Arctic mosses. Studies in the tundra biome during the IBP program implicated high light together with high temperature as causes of decreases in photosynthesis in arctic mosses. Several authors have reported midday depression of moss photosynthesis due to high irradiance, even under optimum temperature and fully hydrated conditions. The focus of this study is to understand the role of Sphagnum ssp. mosses of various species, the dominant moss in the Alaska coastal wet Tundra on the total ecosystem carbon exchange throughout the season and in particular soon after snowmelt when the ecosystem is a carbon source. Our hypothesis is that the ecosystem carbon source activity during this critical period may be a result of sensitivity of mosses to light and photoinhibition in the absence of the protective canopy layer of vascular plants. In this study we measured daily courses of photosynthesis and fluorescence in the moss layer and we compare it to the total ecosystem carbon fluxes determined by the eddy covariance technique. The measurements were conducted in wet coastal tundra from June 2006, right after the snow melt, to August 2006 in the Biological Experimental Observatory (BEO) in Barrow, Alaska. The photosynthesis in the moss layer was found to be strongly inhibited when the radiation exceeded 800 ìmol m-2 s-1. Mosses remained fully hydrated throughout the season, precluding drying as a cause of decreased photosynthesis. Dark-adapted fluorescence measurements (Fv/Fm) showed a relatively low value (0.6) right after the snow melt, and remained fairly stable throughout the season. This low value was previously reported as characteristic of photoinhibited

  14. Spatial variation and linkages of soil and vegetation in the Siberian Arctic tundra – coupling field observations with remote sensing data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Mikola

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Arctic tundra ecosystems will play a key role in future climate change due to intensifying permafrost thawing, plant growth and ecosystem carbon exchange, but monitoring these changes may be challenging due to the heterogeneity of Arctic landscapes. We examined spatial variation and linkages of soil and plant attributes in a site of Siberian Arctic tundra in Tiksi, northeast Russia, and evaluated possibilities to capture this variation by remote sensing for the benefit of carbon exchange measurements and landscape extrapolation. We distinguished nine land cover types (LCTs and to characterize them, sampled 92 study plots for plant and soil attributes in 2014. Moreover, to test if variation in plant and soil attributes can be detected using remote sensing, we produced a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI and topographical parameters for each study plot using three very high spatial resolution multispectral satellite images. We found that soils ranged from mineral soils in bare soil and lichen tundra LCTs to soils of high percentage of organic matter (OM in graminoid tundra, bog, dry fen and wet fen. OM content of the top soil was on average 14 g dm−3 in bare soil and lichen tundra and 89 g dm−3 in other LCTs. Total moss biomass varied from 0 to 820 g m−2, total vascular shoot mass from 7 to 112 g m−2 and vascular leaf area index (LAI from 0.04 to 0.95 among LCTs. In late summer, soil temperatures at 15 cm depth were on average 14 °C in bare soil and lichen tundra, and varied from 5 to 9 °C in other LCTs. On average, depth of the biologically active, unfrozen soil layer doubled from early July to mid-August. When contrasted across study plots, moss biomass was positively associated with soil OM % and OM content and negatively associated with soil temperature, explaining 14–34 % of variation. Vascular shoot mass and LAI were also positively associated with soil OM content, and LAI with active layer

  15. The growing season greenhouse gas balance of a continental tundra site in the Indigirka lowlands, NE Siberia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. K. van der Molen

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available Carbon dioxide and methane fluxes were measured at a tundra site near Chokurdakh, in the lowlands of the Indigirka river in north-east Siberia. This site is one of the few stations on Russian tundra and it is different from most other tundra flux stations in its continentality. A suite of methods was applied to determine the fluxes of NEE, GPP, Reco and methane, including eddy covariance, chambers and leaf cuvettes. Net carbon dioxide fluxes were high compared with other tundra sites, with NEE=−92 g C m−2 yr−1, which is composed of an Reco=+141 g C m−2 yr−1 and GPP=−232 g C m−2 yr−1. This large carbon dioxide sink may be explained by the continental climate, that is reflected in low winter soil temperatures (−14°C, reducing the respiration rates, and short, relatively warm summers, stimulating high photosynthesis rates. Interannual variability in GPP was dominated by the frequency of light limitation (Rg<200 W m−2, whereas Reco depends most directly on soil temperature and time in the growing season, which serves as a proxy of the combined effects of active layer depth, leaf area index, soil moisture and substrate availability. The methane flux, in units of global warming potential, was +28 g C-CO2e m−2 yr−1, so that the greenhouse gas balance was −64 g C-CO2e m−2 yr−1. Methane fluxes depended only slightly on soil temperature and were highly sensitive to hydrological conditions and vegetation composition.

  16. Spring feeding by pink-footed geese reduces carbon stocks and sink strength in tundra ecosystems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Wal, Rene; Sjogersten, Sofie; Woodin, Sarah J.; Cooper, Elisabeth J.; Jonsdottir, Ingibjorg S.; Kuijper, Dries; Fox, Tony A. D.; Huiskes, A. D.

    Tundra ecosystems are widely recognized as precious areas and globally important carbon (C) sinks, yet our understanding of potential threats to these habitats and their large soil C store is limited. Land-use changes and conservation measures in temperate regions have led to a dramatic expansion of

  17. Spring feeding by pink-footed geese reduces carbon stocks and sink strength in tundra ecosystems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van der Wal, R.; Sjögersten, S.; Woodin, S.J.; Cooper, E.J.; Jónsdóttir, I.S.; Kuijper, D.; Fox, A.D.; Huiskes, A.H.L.

    2007-01-01

    Tundra ecosystems are widely recognized as precious areas and globally important carbon (C) sinks, yet our understanding of potential threats to these habitats and their large soil C store is limited. Land-use changes and conservation measures in temperate regions have led to a dramatic expansion of

  18. Travel medicine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aw, Brian; Boraston, Suni; Botten, David; Cherniwchan, Darin; Fazal, Hyder; Kelton, Timothy; Libman, Michael; Saldanha, Colin; Scappatura, Philip; Stowe, Brian

    2014-01-01

    Abstract Objective To define the practice of travel medicine, provide the basics of a comprehensive pretravel consultation for international travelers, and assist in identifying patients who might require referral to travel medicine professionals. Sources of information Guidelines and recommendations on travel medicine and travel-related illnesses by national and international travel health authorities were reviewed. MEDLINE and EMBASE searches for related literature were also performed. Main message Travel medicine is a highly dynamic specialty that focuses on pretravel preventive care. A comprehensive risk assessment for each individual traveler is essential in order to accurately evaluate traveler-, itinerary-, and destination-specific risks, and to advise on the most appropriate risk management interventions to promote health and prevent adverse health outcomes during travel. Vaccinations might also be required and should be personalized according to the individual traveler’s immunization history, travel itinerary, and the amount of time available before departure. Conclusion A traveler’s health and safety depends on a practitioner’s level of expertise in providing pretravel counseling and vaccinations, if required. Those who advise travelers are encouraged to be aware of the extent of this responsibility and to refer all high-risk travelers to travel medicine professionals whenever possible. PMID:25500599

  19. First Record of Setaria Tundra in Danish Roe Deer (Capreolus Capreolus)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Enemark, Heidi L.; Harslund, Jakob le Fèvre; Oksanen, A.

    2011-01-01

    No previous finds of the mosquito-borne filarioid nematode Setaria tundra have been reported from Denmark, although it was described decades ago in Swedish and Norwegian reindeer as well as in roe deer from Germany, Bulgaria and more recently also from Italy and Finland. Setaria spp. are usually...... and thereby larger numbers of mosquitoes, it is important to monitor this vector-borne parasite. This will not only increase the understanding of factors promoting its expansion but also help to predict disease outbreaks....

  20. International business travel: impact on families and travellers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espino, C M; Sundstrom, S M; Frick, H L; Jacobs, M; Peters, M

    2002-05-01

    Spouses and staff of the World Bank Group (WBG) were questioned about the impact of international business travel on families and travellers. Dependent variables were self reported stress, concern about the health of the traveller, and negative impact on the family. We hypothesised that several travel factors (independent variables) would be associated with these impacts. These travel factors had to do with the frequency, duration, and predictability of travel and its interference with family activities. Survey forms were developed and distributed to all spouses of travelling staff as well as a small sample of operational staff. Kendall's tau b correlation coefficients of response frequencies were computed with the data from scaled items. Written responses to open ended questions were categorised. Response rates for spouses and staff were 24% and 36%, respectively. Half the spouse sample (n=533) and almost 75% of the staff sample (n=102) reported high or very high stress due to business travel. Self reported spouse stress was associated with six out of eight travel factors. Female spouses, those with children, and younger spouses reported greater stress. Self reported staff stress was significantly associated with four out of nine travel factors. Further insight into how business travel affects families and staff (including children's behavioural changes) and how families cope was gained through responses to written questions. The findings support the notion that lengthy and frequent travel and frequent changes in travel dates which affect family plans, all characteristic of WBG missions, negatively affects many spouses and children (particularly young children) and that the strain on families contributes significantly to the stress staff feel about their travel. Policies or management practices that take into consideration family activities and give staff greater leeway in controlling and refusing travel may help relieve stress.

  1. Simulating the effects of soil organic nitrogen and grazing on arctic tundra vegetation dynamics on the Yamal Peninsula, Russia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu Qin; Epstein, Howard; Walker, Donald

    2009-01-01

    Sustainability of tundra vegetation under changing climate on the Yamal Peninsula, northwestern Siberia, home to the world's largest area of reindeer husbandry, is of crucial importance to the local native community. An integrated investigation is needed for better understanding of the effects of soils, climate change and grazing on tundra vegetation in the Yamal region. In this study we applied a nutrient-based plant community model-ArcVeg-to evaluate how two factors (soil organic nitrogen (SON) levels and grazing) interact to affect tundra responses to climate warming across a latitudinal climatic gradient on the Yamal Peninsula. Model simulations were driven by field-collected soil data and expected grazing patterns along the Yamal Arctic Transect (YAT), within bioclimate subzones C (high arctic), D (northern low arctic) and E (southern low arctic). Plant biomass and NPP (net primary productivity) were significantly increased with warmer bioclimate subzones, greater soil nutrient levels and temporal climate warming, while they declined with higher grazing frequency. Temporal climate warming of 2 deg. C caused an increase of 665 g m -2 in total biomass at the high SON site in subzone E, but only 298 g m -2 at the low SON site. When grazing frequency was also increased, total biomass increased by only 369 g m -2 at the high SON site in contrast to 184 g m -2 at the low SON site in subzone E. Our results suggest that high SON can support greater plant biomass and plant responses to climate warming, while low SON and grazing may limit plant response to climate change. In addition to the first order factors (SON, bioclimate subzones, grazing and temporal climate warming), interactions among these significantly affect plant biomass and productivity in the arctic tundra and should not be ignored in regional scale studies.

  2. Simulating the effects of soil organic nitrogen and grazing on arctic tundra vegetation dynamics on the Yamal Peninsula, Russia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu Qin; Epstein, Howard [Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States); Walker, Donald [Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775 (United States)

    2009-10-15

    Sustainability of tundra vegetation under changing climate on the Yamal Peninsula, northwestern Siberia, home to the world's largest area of reindeer husbandry, is of crucial importance to the local native community. An integrated investigation is needed for better understanding of the effects of soils, climate change and grazing on tundra vegetation in the Yamal region. In this study we applied a nutrient-based plant community model-ArcVeg-to evaluate how two factors (soil organic nitrogen (SON) levels and grazing) interact to affect tundra responses to climate warming across a latitudinal climatic gradient on the Yamal Peninsula. Model simulations were driven by field-collected soil data and expected grazing patterns along the Yamal Arctic Transect (YAT), within bioclimate subzones C (high arctic), D (northern low arctic) and E (southern low arctic). Plant biomass and NPP (net primary productivity) were significantly increased with warmer bioclimate subzones, greater soil nutrient levels and temporal climate warming, while they declined with higher grazing frequency. Temporal climate warming of 2 deg. C caused an increase of 665 g m{sup -2} in total biomass at the high SON site in subzone E, but only 298 g m{sup -2} at the low SON site. When grazing frequency was also increased, total biomass increased by only 369 g m{sup -2} at the high SON site in contrast to 184 g m{sup -2} at the low SON site in subzone E. Our results suggest that high SON can support greater plant biomass and plant responses to climate warming, while low SON and grazing may limit plant response to climate change. In addition to the first order factors (SON, bioclimate subzones, grazing and temporal climate warming), interactions among these significantly affect plant biomass and productivity in the arctic tundra and should not be ignored in regional scale studies.

  3. 16 determination of posterior tibia slope and slope deterioration

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    normal slope and mechanical axis of the knee (7). The slope is reported to deepen in osteoarthritis; meaning increased articular surface contact and increased tibial translation (8). Total knee replacement aims to restore the mechanical axis of the natural knee joint. This axis will be changed by an altered PTS; yet after.

  4. [Pre-travel advice and patient education of Hungarian travellers].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lengyel, Ingrid; Felkai, Péter

    2018-03-01

    According to international surveys, over half of the travellers face some kind of health issue when travelling. The overwhelming majority of travel-related illnesses can be prevented with pre-travel medical consultations, but the syllabus and content of the consultation have to match the travel habits and culture of the given society. This publication explores the specificities and travel habits of Hungarian travellers. One hundred participants of a travel exhibition completed a survey about their international travel. As the survey was not representative, the data could only be processed through simple statistical methods. However, since the exhibition was presumably attended by those wishing to travel, the conclusions drawn from the results are worth publishing, since no similar survey in Hungary has been published before. Based on the suitable classification of age groups in travel medicine, 11% of the participants were adolescents / young adults (aged 15-24), 81% adults (25-59) and 8% elderly (60-74). Twenty-eight percent of the participants travel multiple times a year, 40% yearly and 32% of them less frequently; 16% of the adults, 8% of the adolescents and 4% of the elderly age group travel multiple times a year. The travel destinations of Hungarian travellers have remained practically unchanged since a study was conducted 13 years ago: the vast majority (95%) travelled within Europe, 2% to the United States, and 11% of them elsewhere. Since Hungarians do not travel to endemic areas, only 5% consulted their general practitioners (GPs) prior to travelling, and 29% did when they had to be vaccinated. Forty-two percent of those wishing to travel never consult their GPs, even though 29% of them are aware of some chronic illness. Instead, 51% gather their health information from the internet and only 6% from their doctors. By the contradiction between the poor health status of the majority of Hungarian travellers and the negligence of seeking pre-travel advice

  5. Depth-based differentiation in nitrogen uptake between graminoids and shrubs in an Arctic tundra plant community

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wang, Peng; Limpens, Juul; Nauta, Ake; Huissteden, van Corine; Rijssel, van Sophie Quirina; Mommer, Liesje; Kroon, de Hans; Maximov, Trofim C.; Heijmans, Monique M.P.D.

    2018-01-01

    Questions: The rapid climate warming in tundra ecosystems can increase nutrient availability in the soil, which may initiate shifts in vegetation composition. The direction in which the vegetation shifts will co-determine whether Arctic warming is mitigated or accelerated, making the understanding

  6. Slope Estimation from ICESat/GLAS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Craig Mahoney

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available We present a novel technique to infer ground slope angle from waveform LiDAR, known as the independent slope method (ISM. The technique is applied to large footprint waveforms (\\(\\sim\\ mean diameter from the Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS to produce a slope dataset of near-global coverage at \\(0.5^{\\circ} \\times 0.5^{\\circ}\\ resolution. ISM slope estimates are compared against high resolution airborne LiDAR slope measurements for nine sites across three continents. ISM slope estimates compare better with the aircraft data (R\\(^{2}=0.87\\ and RMSE\\(=5.16^{\\circ}\\ than the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission Digital Elevation Model (SRTM DEM inferred slopes (R\\(^{2}=0.71\\ and RMSE\\(=8.69^{\\circ}\\ ISM slope estimates are concurrent with GLAS waveforms and can be used to correct biophysical parameters, such as tree height and biomass. They can also be fused with other DEMs, such as SRTM, to improve slope estimates.

  7. Indicators of reproduction of the tundra vole (microtus oeconomus pallas, 1776) in Palesse state radiation-ecological reserve

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuchmel', S.V.

    2010-01-01

    In 2003-2007 reproductive indicators of the tundra vole in territory of Palesse state radiation-ecological reserve have been caused by factors of an inhabitancy and are peculiar to this kind on other sites of dwelling. (authors)

  8. Comparative Analysis of the Number and Structure of the Complexes of Microscopic Fungi in Tundra and Taiga Soils in the North of the Kola Peninsula

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korneikova, M. V.

    2018-01-01

    The number, biomass, length of fungal mycelium, and species diversity of microscopic fungi have been studied in soils of the tundra and taiga zones in the northern part of the Kola Peninsula: Al-Fe-humus podzols (Albic Podzols), podburs (Entic Podzols), dry peaty soils (Folic Histosols), low-moor peat soils (Sapric Histosols), and soils of frost bare spots (Cryosols). The number of cultivated microscopic fungi in tundra soils varied from 8 to 328 thousand CFU/g, their biomass averaged 1.81 ± 0.19 mg/g, and the length of fungal mycelium averaged 245 ± 25 m/g. The number of micromycetes in taiga soils varied from 80 to 350 thousand CFU/g, the number of fungal propagules in some years reached 600 thousand CFU/g; the fungal biomass varied from 0.23 to 6.2 mg/g, and the length of fungal mycelium varied from 32 to 3900 m/g. Overall, 36 species of fungi belonging to 16 genera, 13 families, and 8 orders were isolated from tundra soils. The species diversity of microscopic fungi in taiga soils was significantly higher: 87 species belonging to 31 genera, 21 families, and 11 orders. Fungi from the Penicillium genus predominated in both natural zones and constituted 38-50% of the total number of isolated species. The soils of tundra and taiga zones were characterized by their own complexes of micromycetes; the similarity of their species composition was about 40%. In soils of the tundra zone, Mortierella longicollis, Penicillium melinii, P. raistrickii, and P. simplicissimum predominated; dominant fungal species in soils of the taiga zone were represented by M. longicollis, P. decumbens, P. implicatum, and Umbelopsis isabellina.

  9. Development of evaluation methods for impact of earthquake-induced slope failure on nearby critical structures. Analysis of behavior of collapsed rock masses using 3-D distinct element method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishimaru, Makoto; Tochigi, Hitoshi; Nakajima, Masato; Shirai, Koji

    2012-01-01

    Recently, importance of evaluation for impact of earthquake-induced slope failure on nearby critical structures is increasing in order to evaluate seismic stability of the slope, in addition to evaluating the possibilities of slope failure. In this study, we presented an examination flow chart to evaluate the impact on structures after slope failure. In the examination flow chart, we assumed the following four considerations; (1) evaluation of the collapse region of the slope, (2) evaluation of behavior of the collapsed rock masses, (3) evaluation of the impact on the structures, (4) examination of the countermeasures. And, for the purpose of using three dimensional distinct element method (DEM) for evaluation of behavior of the collapsed rock masses, we firstly confirmed applicability of DEM to behavior of a mass hurtling down the slope by means of comparing with the model test results. Moreover, we clarified influence of initial position or restitution coefficient of rock masses on final traveling distance of collapsed rock masses. (author)

  10. Preliminary Slope Stability Study Using Slope/ W

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nazran Harun; Mohd Abd Wahab Yusof; Kamarudin Samuding; Mohd Muzamil Mohd Hashim; Nurul Fairuz Diyana Bahrudin

    2014-01-01

    Analyzing the stability of earth structures is the oldest type of numerical analysis in geotechnical engineering. Limit equilibrium types of analyses for assessing the stability of earth slopes have been in use in geotechnical engineering for many decades. Modern limit equilibrium software is making it possible to handle ever-increasing complexity within an analysis. It is being considered as the potential method in dealing with complex stratigraphy, highly irregular pore-water pressure conditions, various linear and nonlinear shear strength models and almost any kind of slip surface shape. It allows rapid decision making by providing an early indication of the potential suitability of sites based on slope stability analysis. Hence, a preliminary slope stability study has been developed to improve the capacity of Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Nuclear Malaysia) in assessing potential sites for Borehole Disposal for Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources. The results showed that geometry of cross section A-A ' , B-B ' , C-C ' and D-D ' achieved the factor of safety not less than 1.4 and these are deemed acceptable. (author)

  11. Effects of Unsaturated Microtopography on Nitrate Concentrations in Tundra Ecosystems: Examples from Polygonal Terrain and Degraded Peat Plateaus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heikoop, J. M.; Arendt, C. A.; Newman, B. D.; Charsley-Groffman, L.; Perkins, G.; Wilson, C. J.; Wullschleger, S.

    2017-12-01

    Under the auspices of the Next Generation Ecosystem Experiment - Arctic, we have been studying hydrogeochemical signals in Alaskan tundra ecosystems underlain by continuous permafrost (Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO)) and discontinuous permafrost (Seward Peninsula). The Barrow site comprises largely saturated tundra associated with the low gradient Arctic Coastal Plain. Polygonal microtopography, however, can result in slightly raised areas that are unsaturated. In these areas we have previously demonstrated production and accumulation of nitrate, which, based on nitrate isotopic analysis, derives from microbial degradation. Our Seward Peninsula site is located in a much steeper and generally well-drained watershed. In lower-gradient areas at the top and bottom of the watershed, however, the tundra is generally saturated, likely because of the presence of underlying discontinuous permafrost inhibiting infiltration. These settings also contain microtopographic features, though in the form of degraded peat plateaus surrounded by wet graminoid sag ponds. Despite being very different microtopographic features in a very different setting with distinct vegetation, qualitatively similar nitrate accumulation patterns as seen in polygonal terrain were observed. The highest nitrate pore water concentration observed in an unsaturated peat plateau was approximately 5 mg/L, whereas subsurface pore water concentrations in surrounding sag ponds were generally below the limit of detection. Nitrate isotopes indicate this nitrate results from microbial mineralization and nitrification based on comparison to the nitrate isotopic composition of reduced nitrogen sources in the environment and the oxygen isotope composition of site pore water. Nitrate concentrations were most similar to those found in low-center polygon rims and flat-centered polygon centers at the BEO, but were significantly lower than the maximum concentrations seen in the highest and driest polygonal features

  12. Warming of subarctic tundra increases emissions of all three important greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voigt, Carolina; Lamprecht, Richard E; Marushchak, Maija E; Lind, Saara E; Novakovskiy, Alexander; Aurela, Mika; Martikainen, Pertti J; Biasi, Christina

    2017-08-01

    Rapidly rising temperatures in the Arctic might cause a greater release of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to the atmosphere. To study the effect of warming on GHG dynamics, we deployed open-top chambers in a subarctic tundra site in Northeast European Russia. We determined carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ), and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) fluxes as well as the concentration of those gases, inorganic nitrogen (N) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) along the soil profile. Studied tundra surfaces ranged from mineral to organic soils and from vegetated to unvegetated areas. As a result of air warming, the seasonal GHG budget of the vegetated tundra surfaces shifted from a GHG sink of -300 to -198 g CO 2 -eq m -2 to a source of 105 to 144 g CO 2 -eq m -2 . At bare peat surfaces, we observed increased release of all three GHGs. While the positive warming response was dominated by CO 2 , we provide here the first in situ evidence of increasing N 2 O emissions from tundra soils with warming. Warming promoted N 2 O release not only from bare peat, previously identified as a strong N 2 O source, but also from the abundant, vegetated peat surfaces that do not emit N 2 O under present climate. At these surfaces, elevated temperatures had an adverse effect on plant growth, resulting in lower plant N uptake and, consequently, better N availability for soil microbes. Although the warming was limited to the soil surface and did not alter thaw depth, it increased concentrations of DOC, CO 2, and CH 4 in the soil down to the permafrost table. This can be attributed to downward DOC leaching, fueling microbial activity at depth. Taken together, our results emphasize the tight linkages between plant and soil processes, and different soil layers, which need to be taken into account when predicting the climate change feedback of the Arctic. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Assessment and mapping of slope stability based on slope units: A ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Shallow landslide; infinite slope stability equation; return period precipitation; assessment; slope unit. ... 2010), logistic regression ... model to assess the hazard of shallow landslides ..... grating a fuzzy k-means classification and a Bayesian.

  14. NADIM-Travel: A Multiagent Platform for Travel Services Aggregation

    OpenAIRE

    Ben Ameur, Houssein; Bédard, François; Vaucher, Stéphane; Kropf, Peter; Chaib-draaa, Brahim; Gérin-Lajoie, Robert

    2010-01-01

    With the Internet as a growing channel for travel services distribution, sophisticated travel services aggregators are increasingly in demand. A travel services aggregation platform should be able to manage the heterogeneous characteristics of the many existing travel services. It should also be as scalable, robust, and flexible as possible. Using multiagent technology, we designed and implemented a multiagent platform for travel services aggregation called NADIM-Travel. In this platform, a p...

  15. Infiltration on sloping terrain and its role on runoff generation and slope stability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loáiciga, Hugo A.; Johnson, J. Michael

    2018-06-01

    A modified Green-and-Ampt model is formulated to quantify infiltration on sloping terrain underlain by homogeneous soil wetted by surficial water application. This paper's theory for quantifying infiltration relies on the mathematical statement of the coupled partial differential equations (pdes) governing infiltration and runoff. These pdes are solved by employing an explicit finite-difference numerical method that yields the infiltration, the infiltration rate, the depth to the wetting front, the rate of runoff, and the depth of runoff everywhere on the slope during external wetting. Data inputs consist of a water application rate or the rainfall hyetograph of a storm of arbitrary duration, soil hydraulic characteristics and antecedent moisture, and the slope's hydraulic and geometric characteristics. The presented theory predicts the effect an advancing wetting front has on slope stability with respect to translational sliding. This paper's theory also develops the 1D pde governing suspended sediment transport and slope degradation caused by runoff influenced by infiltration. Three examples illustrate the application of the developed theory to calculate infiltration and runoff on a slope and their role on the stability of cohesive and cohesionless soils forming sloping terrain.

  16. Net Primary Production and Carbon Stocks for Subarctic Mesic-Dry Tundras with Contrasting Microtopography, Altitude, and Dominant Species

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Campioli, Matteo; Michelsen, Anders; Demey, A

    2009-01-01

    Mesic-dry tundras are widespread in the Arctic but detailed assessments of net primary production (NPP) and ecosystem carbon (C) stocks are lacking. We addressed this lack of knowledge by determining the seasonal dynamics of aboveground vascular NPP, annual NPP, and whole-ecosystem C stocks in five...... mesic-dry tundras in Northern Sweden with contrasting microtopography, altitude, and dominant species. Those measurements were paralleled by the stock assessments of nitrogen (N), the limiting nutrient. The vascular production was determined by harvest or in situ growing units, whereas the nonvascular...... hermaphroditum is more productive than Cassiope tetragona vegetation. Although the large majority of the apical NPP occurred in early-mid season (85%), production of stems and evergreen leaves proceeded until about 2 weeks before senescence. Most of the vascular vegetation was belowground (80%), whereas most...

  17. Age-specific survival of tundra swans on the lower Alaska Peninsula

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meixell, Brandt W.; Lindberg, Mark S.; Conn, Paul B.; Dau, Christian P.; Sarvis, John E.; Sowl, Kristine M.

    2013-01-01

    The population of Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus columbianus) breeding on the lower Alaska Peninsula represents the southern extremity of the species' range and is uniquely nonmigratory. We used data on recaptures, resightings, and recoveries of neck-collared Tundra Swans on the lower Alaska Peninsula to estimate collar loss, annual apparent survival, and other demographic parameters for the years 1978–1989. Annual collar loss was greater for adult males fitted with either the thinner collar type (0.34) or the thicker collar type (0.15) than for other age/sex classes (thinner: 0.10, thicker: 0.04). The apparent mean probability of survival of adults (0.61) was higher than that of immatures (0.41) and for both age classes varied considerably by year (adult range: 0.44–0.95, immature range: 0.25–0.90). To assess effects of permanent emigration by age and breeding class, we analyzed post hoc the encounter histories of swans known to breed in our study area. The apparent mean survival of known breeders (0.65) was generally higher than that of the entire marked sample but still varied considerably by year (range 0.26–1.00) and indicated that permanent emigration of breeding swans was likely. We suggest that reductions in apparent survival probability were influenced primarily by high and variable rates of permanent emigration and that immigration by swans from elsewhere may be important in sustaining a breeding population at and near Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.

  18. The Russian-Swedish tundra radioecology expedition 1994

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Persson, B.R.; Holm, E.; Carlsson, K.Aa.; Josefsson, D.; Roos, P.

    1995-01-01

    The expedition investigated the ecology of the anthropogenic radio nuclides 137 Cs, 90 Sr, and 239,240 Pu in the Northern Sea to explain the origin from different sources. It had been shown from an earlier expedition that the levels of 137 Cs are higher in the central Arctic Ocean than further south in Barents Sea. The question was if this was due to inflow from the Atlantic or is due to other origin. The expedition also examined the outflow of 90 Sr from the rivers along the Siberian coast in order to investigate if the permafrost enhances the run-off of radionuclides from tundra. Study of anthropogenic radionuclides in the mixing zone between fresh and salt water at the different river systems along the Siberian coast was of particular interest. Some of the results from the expedition are presented in the present paper. 3 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs

  19. Contrasting above- and belowground organic matter decomposition and carbon and nitrogen dynamics in response to warming in High Arctic tundra.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blok, Daan; Faucherre, Samuel; Banyasz, Imre; Rinnan, Riikka; Michelsen, Anders; Elberling, Bo

    2017-12-13

    Tundra regions are projected to warm rapidly during the coming decades. The tundra biome holds the largest terrestrial carbon pool, largely contained in frozen permafrost soils. With warming, these permafrost soils may thaw and become available for microbial decomposition, potentially providing a positive feedback to global warming. Warming may directly stimulate microbial metabolism but may also indirectly stimulate organic matter turnover through increased plant productivity by soil priming from root exudates and accelerated litter turnover rates. Here, we assess the impacts of experimental warming on turnover rates of leaf litter, active layer soil and thawed permafrost sediment in two high-arctic tundra heath sites in NE-Greenland, either dominated by evergreen or deciduous shrubs. We incubated shrub leaf litter on the surface of control and warmed plots for 1 and 2 years. Active layer soil was collected from the plots to assess the effects of 8 years of field warming on soil carbon stocks. Finally, we incubated open cores filled with newly thawed permafrost soil for 2 years in the active layer of the same plots. After field incubation, we measured basal respiration rates of recovered thawed permafrost cores in the lab. Warming significantly reduced litter mass loss by 26% after 1 year incubation, but differences in litter mass loss among treatments disappeared after 2 years incubation. Warming also reduced litter nitrogen mineralization and decreased the litter carbon to nitrogen ratio. Active layer soil carbon stocks were reduced 15% by warming, while soil dissolved nitrogen was reduced by half in warmed plots. Warming had a positive legacy effect on carbon turnover rates in thawed permafrost cores, with 10% higher respiration rates measured in cores from warmed plots. These results demonstrate that warming may have contrasting effects on above- and belowground tundra carbon turnover, possibly governed by microbial resource availability. © 2017 John

  20. Travel health attitudes among Turkish business travellers to African countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Selcuk, Engin Burak; Kayabas, Uner; Binbasioglu, Hulisi; Otlu, Baris; Bayindir, Yasar; Bozdogan, Bulent; Karatas, Mehmet

    The number of international travellers is increasing worldwide. Although health risks related to international travel are important and generally well-understood, the perception of these risks was unclear among Turkish travellers. We aimed to evaluate the attitudes and health risk awareness of Turkish travellers travelling to African countries. A survey was performed of Turkish travellers bound for Africa from Istanbul International Ataturk Airport in July 2013. A total of 124 travellers were enrolled in the study. Among them, 62.9% had information about their destination but only 11.3% had looked for information on health problems related to travel and their destination. Of all travellers, 53.2% had at least one vaccination before travelling. The most commonly administered vaccine was for typhoid. Among the travellers, 69.3% and 80.6% had "no idea" about yellow fever vaccination and malaria prophylaxis, respectively. A positive correlation was found between a higher level of travellers' education and receiving the recommended vaccination for the destination. Our study revealed significant gaps in the vaccination and chemoprophylaxis uptake of Turkish travellers departing to Africa. An awareness and training program should be developed for travellers, as well as public health workers, to address health risks related to travel. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Characteristics and pre-travel preparation of travelers at a Canadian pediatric tertiary care travel clinic: A retrospective analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Xiao Wei; Pell, Lisa G; Akseer, Nadia; Khan, Sarah; Lam, Ray E; Louch, Debra; Science, Michelle; Morris, Shaun K

    2016-01-01

    International travelers are susceptible to a wide spectrum of travel related morbidities. Despite rising number of international travelers in Canada, the demographics, risk profiles, and preventative strategies of high-risk traveler groups, including pediatric travelers visiting friends and relatives (VFRs) are not well described. A descriptive analysis was conducted on pre-travel consultations completed between January 2013 and August 2014 at a large pediatric tertiary care center in Toronto, Canada. Data on demographics, travel characteristics, and pre-travel interventions were extracted from 370 pre-travel consultations. Results were compared between all VFR and non-VFR travelers, as well as between children traveling to visit friends and relatives, for vacation, and for education and/or volunteer purposes. Forty-eight percent of consultations were for children travel to visit friends and/or relatives than for other purposes (29% vs 9%, p travel for >28 days than children traveling for vacation (43% vs 1%, p traveling for education/volunteer purposes (43% vs 21%, p = 0.03). Around half of cVFRs traveled to destinations in Asia (51%). The majority stayed with locals, friends and/or relatives (85%), and nearly all traveled to urban destinations (98%). The most prescribed interventions for children were azithromycin (84%), Dukoral (66%), and the hepatitis A vaccine (60%). Atovaquone/proguanil was the most commonly prescribed antimalarial for children. Children that travel to visit friends and relatives represent a unique travel group and may require specific considerations during pre-travel preparations. Our findings can help develop targeted pre-travel strategies for children VFRs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Travellers' profile, travel patterns and vaccine practices--a 10-year prospective study in a Swiss Travel Clinic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boubaker, Rim; Meige, Pierrette; Mialet, Catherine; Buffat, Chantal Ngarambe; Uwanyiligira, Mediatrice; Widmer, Francine; Rochat, Jacynthe; Fossati, Annie Hérard; Souvannaraj-Blanchant, Manisinh; Payot, Sylvie; Rochat, Laurence; de Vallière, Serge; Genton, Blaise; D'Acremont, Valérie

    2016-01-01

    The travel clinic in Lausanne serves a catchment area of 700 000 of inhabitants and provides pre- and post-travel consultations. This study describes the profile of attendees before departure, their travel patterns and the travel clinic practices in terms of vaccination over time. We included all pre-travel first consultation data recorded between November 2002 and December 2012 by a custom-made program DIAMM/G. We analysed client profiles, travel characteristics and vaccinations prescribed over time. Sixty-five thousand and forty-six client-trips were recorded. Fifty-one percent clients were female. Mean age was 32 years. In total, 0.1% were aged travellers had pre-existing medical conditions. Forty-six percent were travelling to Africa, 35% to Asia, 20% to Latin America and 1% (each) to Oceania and Europe; 19% visited more than one country. India was the most common destination (9.6% of travellers) followed by Thailand (8.6%) and Kenya (6.4%). Seventy-three percent of travellers were planning to travel for ≤ 4 weeks. The main reasons for travel were tourism (75%) and visiting friends and relatives (18%). Sixteen percent were backpackers. Pre-travel advice were sought a median of 29 days before departure. Ninety-nine percent received vaccine(s). The most frequently administered vaccines were hepatitis A (53%), tetanus-diphtheria (46%), yellow fever (39%), poliomyelitis (38%) and typhoid fever (30%). The profile of travel clinic attendees was younger than the general Swiss population. A significant proportion of travellers received vaccinations that are recommended in the routine national programme. These findings highlight the important role of travel clinics to (i) take care of an age group that has little contact with general practitioners and (ii) update vaccination status. The most commonly prescribed travel-related vaccines were for hepatitis A and yellow fever. The question remains to know whether clients do attend travel clinics because of compulsory

  3. A breeze-driven current on sloped littoral waters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tohidi, A.; Jamali, M.

    2017-12-01

    Various natural phenomena, e. g. uniform/non-uniform solar radiation and diurnal cycles, affect water circulation patterns through aquatic canopies, that is (usually shallow) shorelines of the rivers, lakes, and lagoons. Amongst these factors is vegetation that, plays a crucial role in conserving and dispersing the nutrients, oxygen, temperature, and generally regulating the life and interactions of organisms with each other (ecology) in aquatic canopies. So far, however, very little attention has been paid to the effects of very low, breeze-like, winds over the water surface in these vegetated regions. In this exploratory study, the evolution of a breeze-driven gravity current traveling up the slope towards the shorelines is shown, experimentally. The flow is characterized using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique. In addition, a detailed dimensional analysis of the parameter space of the phenomenon is conducted. The results strongly corroborate the experimental observations.

  4. Danish long distance travel A study of Danish travel behaviour and the role of infrequent travel activities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knudsen, Mette Aagaard

    2014-01-01

    , this is problematic. The average travel distance has steadily increased during the latest decades together with the increasing motorisation of daily travel and international aviation. Previously most focus has been on domestic daily travel activities, but globalisation has, together with changes in price structures......), the TU overnight survey, and the Danish Tourism Statistics from the Business and Holiday Survey (HBS). This has enabled focus on infrequent travel activities segmented relative to travel purpose, distance threshold, or travelling with overnight stays. At an overall level the thesis has three main.......g. socio-economic variables. The analysis of Danish travel activities described in the three different travel surveys has outlined detailed information on Danish travel behaviour at an aggregated level during the past two decades. It has above all revealed the significant role of leisure travel. Private...

  5. Large-Scale Traveling Weather Systems in Mars’ Southern Extratropics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollingsworth, Jeffery L.; Kahre, Melinda A.

    2017-10-01

    Between late fall and early spring, Mars’ middle- and high-latitude atmosphere supports strong mean equator-to-pole temperature contrasts and an accompanying mean westerly polar vortex. Observations from both the MGS Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) and the MRO Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) indicate that a mean baroclinicity-barotropicity supports intense, large-scale eastward traveling weather systems (i.e., transient synoptic-period waves). Such extratropical weather disturbances are critical components of the global circulation as they serve as agents in the transport of heat and momentum, and generalized scalar/tracer quantities (e.g., atmospheric dust, water-vapor and ice clouds). The character of such traveling extratropical synoptic disturbances in Mars' southern hemisphere during late winter through early spring is investigated using a moderately high-resolution Mars global climate model (Mars GCM). This Mars GCM imposes interactively-lifted and radiatively-active dust based on a threshold value of the surface stress. The model exhibits a reasonable "dust cycle" (i.e., globally averaged, a dustier atmosphere during southern spring and summer occurs). Compared to the northern-hemisphere counterparts, the southern synoptic-period weather disturbances and accompanying frontal waves have smaller meridional and zonal scales, and are far less intense. Influences of the zonally asymmetric (i.e., east-west varying) topography on southern large-scale weather are investigated, in addition to large-scale up-slope/down-slope flows and the diurnal cycle. A southern storm zone in late winter and early spring presents in the western hemisphere via orographic influences from the Tharsis highlands, and the Argyre and Hellas impact basins. Geographically localized transient-wave activity diagnostics are constructed that illuminate dynamical differences amongst the simulations and these are presented.

  6. Large-Scale Traveling Weather Systems in Mars Southern Extratropics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollingsworth, Jeffery L.; Kahre, Melinda A.

    2017-01-01

    Between late fall and early spring, Mars' middle- and high-latitude atmosphere supports strong mean equator-to-pole temperature contrasts and an accompanying mean westerly polar vortex. Observations from both the MGS Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) and the MRO Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) indicate that a mean baroclinicity-barotropicity supports intense, large-scale eastward traveling weather systems (i.e., transient synoptic-period waves). Such extratropical weather disturbances are critical components of the global circulation as they serve as agents in the transport of heat and momentum, and generalized scalar/tracer quantities (e.g., atmospheric dust, water-vapor and ice clouds). The character of such traveling extratropical synoptic disturbances in Mars' southern hemisphere during late winter through early spring is investigated using a moderately high-resolution Mars global climate model (Mars GCM). This Mars GCM imposes interactively-lifted and radiatively-active dust based on a threshold value of the surface stress. The model exhibits a reasonable "dust cycle" (i.e., globally averaged, a dustier atmosphere during southern spring and summer occurs). Compared to the northern-hemisphere counterparts, the southern synoptic-period weather disturbances and accompanying frontal waves have smaller meridional and zonal scales, and are far less intense. Influences of the zonally asymmetric (i.e., east-west varying) topography on southern large-scale weather are investigated, in addition to large-scale up-slope/down-slope flows and the diurnal cycle. A southern storm zone in late winter and early spring presents in the western hemisphere via orographic influences from the Tharsis highlands, and the Argyre and Hellas impact basins. Geographically localized transient-wave activity diagnostics are constructed that illuminate dynamical differences amongst the simulations and these are presented.

  7. Demographics, health and travel characteristics of international travellers at a pre-travel clinic in Marseille, France.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aubry, Camille; Gaudart, Jean; Gaillard, Catherine; Delmont, Jean; Parola, Philippe; Brouqui, Philippe; Gautret, Philippe

    2012-09-01

    With the aim to identify at-risk individuals among a cohort of international travellers, 3442 individuals who sought advice at Marseille travel health centre in 2009 were prospectively included. Demographics, travel characteristics, chronic medical conditions, vaccinations and antimalarial chemoprophylaxis were documented. Chronic medical conditions were reported by 11% of individuals, including hypertension (39%), asthma (20%), thyroid disease (15%) and depression (13%). 4% reported taking a daily medication, and psychotropic and cardiovascular medications were the most commonly used. Older travellers (≥60 years) accounted for 10% of the travellers and the prevalence of chronic medical conditions was 27% in this group. Individuals aged 15 years or less accounted for 13% of the travellers. Age, last minute travel (17%) and neurological and psychiatric diseases were the most frequent factors that influenced Yellow fever vaccination and malaria chemoprophylaxis, with more than one tenth of the travellers reporting at least one risk factor for which adjusted advice may be necessary. Migrants visiting their relatives in their origin country accounted for 14% of travellers and 73% of this group travelled with their family including young children. We demonstrate that a significant proportion of travellers are at-risk (43%) because of their travel conditions (VFR), their age, or their health status, and should be targeted for risk reduction strategies. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Thaw pond development and initial vegetation succession in experimental plots at a Siberian lowland tundra site

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Li, Bingxi; Heijmans, Monique M.P.D.; Blok, Daan; Wang, Peng; Karsanaev, Sergey V.; Maximov, Trofim C.; Huissteden, van Jacobus; Berendse, Frank

    2017-01-01

    Background and aims: Permafrost degradation has the potential to change the Arctic tundra landscape. We observed rapid local thawing of ice-rich permafrost resulting in thaw pond formation, which was triggered by removal of the shrub cover in a field experiment. This study aimed to examine the

  9. Thaw pond development and initial vegetation succession in experimental plots at a Siberian lowland tundra site

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Li, Bingxi; Heijmans, Monique M.P.D.; Blok, Daan; Wang, Guang-Peng; Karsanaev, Sergey V.; Maximov, Trofim C.; van Huissteden, Jacobus; Berendse, Frank

    2017-01-01

    Background and aims: Permafrost degradation has the potential to change the Arctic tundra landscape. We observed rapid local thawing of ice-rich permafrost resulting in thaw pond formation, which was triggered by removal of the shrub cover in a field experiment. This study aimed to examine the rate

  10. IMPROVED LARGE-SCALE SLOPE ANALYSIS ON MARS BASED ON CORRELATION OF SLOPES DERIVED WITH DIFFERENT BASELINES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Wang

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The surface slopes of planetary bodies are important factors for exploration missions, such as landing site selection and rover manoeuvre. Generally, high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs such as those generated from the HiRISE images on Mars are preferred to generate detailed slopes with a better fidelity of terrain features. Unfortunately, high-resolution datasets normally only cover small area and are not always available. While lower resolution datasets, such as MOLA, provide global coverage of the Martian surface. Slopes generated from the low-resolution DEM will be based on a large baseline and be smoothed from the real situation. In order to carry out slope analysis at large scale on Martian surface based low-resolution data such as MOLA data, while alleviating the smoothness problem of slopes due to its low resolution, this paper presents an amplifying function of slopes derived from low-resolution DEMs based on the relationships between DEM resolutions and slopes. First, slope maps are derived from the HiRISE DEM (meter-level resolution DEM generated from HiRISE images and a series of down-sampled HiRISE DEMs. The latter are used to simulate low-resolution DEMs. Then the high-resolution slope map is down- sampled to the same resolution with the slope map from the lower-resolution DEMs. Thus, a comparison can be conducted pixel-wise. For each pixel on the slope map derived from the lower-resolution DEM, it can reach the same value with the down-sampled HiRISE slope by multiplying an amplifying factor. Seven sets of HiRISE images with representative terrain types are used for correlation analysis. It shows that the relationship between the amplifying factors and the original MOLA slopes can be described by the exponential function. Verifications using other datasets show that after applying the proposed amplifying function, the updated slope maps give better representations of slopes on Martian surface compared with the original

  11. Individual traveller health priorities and the pre-travel health consultation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flaherty, Gerard T; Chen, Bingling; Avalos, Gloria

    2017-09-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the principal travel health priorities of travellers. The most frequently selected travel health concerns were accessing medical care abroad, dying abroad, insect bites, malaria, personal safety and travel security threats. The travel health risks of least concern were culture shock, fear of flying, jet lag and sexually transmitted infections. This study is the first to develop a hierarchy of self-declared travel health risk priorities among travellers. © International Society of Travel Medicine, 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  12. Human-animal agency in reindeer management: Sami herders' perspectives on Fennoscandian tundra vegetation dynamics under climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forbes, B. C.; Horstkotte, T.; Utsi, T. A.; Larsson-Blind, Å.; Burgess, P.; Käyhkö, J.; Oksanen, L.; Johansen, B.

    2016-12-01

    Many primary livelihoods in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions are increasingly faced with accelerating effects of climate change and resource exploitation. The often close connection between indigenous populations and the dynamics of their respective territories allows them to make detailed observations of how these changes transform the landscapes where they practice their daily activities. Here, we report Sami reindeer herders' observations based on their long-term occupancy and use of contrasting pastoral landscapes in northern Fennoscandia. In particular, we focus on the capacity for various herd management regimes to prevent a potential transformation of open tundra vegetation to shrubland or woodland. Fennoscandian Sami herders did not confirm a substantial, rapid or large-scale transformation of treeless arctic-alpine areas into shrub- and/or woodlands as a consequence of climate change. However, where encroachment of open tundra landscapes has been observed, a range of drivers were deemed responsible. These included abiotic conditions, anthropogenic influences and the direct and indirect effects of reindeer. Mountain birch tree line advances were in some cases associated with reduced or discontinued grazing, depending on the seasonal significance of these particular areas. In the many places where tree line has risen, herding practices have by necessity adapted to these changes. Exploiting the capacity of reindeer grazing/browsing as a conservation tool offers new adaptive strategies of ecosystem management to counteract a potential encroachment of the tundra by woody plants. However, such novel solutions in environmental governance are confronted with difficult trade-offs involved in ecosystem management for ecologically reasonable, economically viable and socially desirable management strategies.

  13. Connected Traveler

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2016-06-01

    The Connected Traveler framework seeks to boost the energy efficiency of personal travel and the overall transportation system by maximizing the accuracy of predicted traveler behavior in response to real-time feedback and incentives. It is anticipated that this approach will establish a feedback loop that 'learns' traveler preferences and customizes incentives to meet or exceed energy efficiency targets by empowering individual travelers with information needed to make energy-efficient choices and reducing the complexity required to validate transportation system energy savings. This handout provides an overview of NREL's Connected Traveler project, including graphics, milestones, and contact information.

  14. Digital Necrobacillosis in Norwegian Wild Tundra Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Handeland, K.; Boye, Mette; Bergsjø, B.

    2010-01-01

    Outbreaks of digital necrobacillosis in Norwegian wild tundra reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) are described. The outbreaks occurred in late summer and autumn 2007 and 2008, subsequent to periods with an unusually high number of days with precipitation and high air temperature. Lesions were....... necrophorum was cultured from the foot lesions of six animals. Five of these isolates were examined by 16S rRNA sequencing. The sequences were identical and differed from all other strains listed in GenBank. These results are consistent with circulation of a reindeer-adapted pathogenic strain of F....... necrophorum in the wild reindeer population, causing outbreaks of digital necrobacillosis following warm and humid summers....

  15. Exchange of CO2 in Arctic tundra: impacts of meteorological variations and biological disturbance

    Science.gov (United States)

    López-Blanco, Efrén; Lund, Magnus; Williams, Mathew; Tamstorf, Mikkel P.; Westergaard-Nielsen, Andreas; Exbrayat, Jean-François; Hansen, Birger U.; Christensen, Torben R.

    2017-10-01

    An improvement in our process-based understanding of carbon (C) exchange in the Arctic and its climate sensitivity is critically needed for understanding the response of tundra ecosystems to a changing climate. In this context, we analysed the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2 in West Greenland tundra (64° N) across eight snow-free periods in 8 consecutive years, and characterized the key processes of net ecosystem exchange and its two main modulating components: gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (Reco). Overall, the ecosystem acted as a consistent sink of CO2, accumulating -30 g C m-2 on average (range of -17 to -41 g C m-2) during the years 2008-2015, except 2011 (source of 41 g C m-2), which was associated with a major pest outbreak. The results do not reveal a marked meteorological effect on the net CO2 uptake despite the high interannual variability in the timing of snowmelt and the start and duration of the growing season. The ranges in annual GPP (-182 to -316 g C m-2) and Reco (144 to 279 g C m-2) were > 5 fold larger than the range in NEE. Gross fluxes were also more variable (coefficients of variation are 3.6 and 4.1 % respectively) than for NEE (0.7 %). GPP and Reco were sensitive to insolation and temperature, and there was a tendency towards larger GPP and Reco during warmer and wetter years. The relative lack of sensitivity of NEE to meteorology was a result of the correlated response of GPP and Reco. During the snow-free season of the anomalous year of 2011, a biological disturbance related to a larvae outbreak reduced GPP more strongly than Reco. With continued warming temperatures and longer growing seasons, tundra systems will increase rates of C cycling. However, shifts in sink strength will likely be triggered by factors such as biological disturbances, events that will challenge our forecasting of C states.

  16. Risk factors and pre-travel healthcare of international travellers attending a Dutch travel clinic: a cross-sectional analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wieten, Rosanne W; van der Schalie, Maurice; Visser, Benjamin J; Grobusch, Martin P; van Vugt, Michèle

    2014-01-01

    The number of international travellers is currently estimated to exceed one billion annually. To address travel related health risks and facilitate risk reduction strategies, detailed knowledge of travellers' characteristics is important. In this cross-sectional study, data of a 20% sample of travellers visiting the Academic Medical Center (AMC) travel clinic Amsterdam from July 2011 to July 2012 was collected. Itineraries and protection versus exposure rates of preventable infectious diseases were mapped and reported according to STROBE guidelines. 1749 travellers were included. South-Eastern Asia, South-America and West-Africa were most frequently visited. 26.2% of the population had pre-existing medical conditions (often cardiovascular). Young and VFR travellers had a longer median travel time (28 and 30 days) compared to the overall population (21 days). Young adult travellers were relatively often vaccinated against hepatitis B (43.9% vs. 20.5%, p travellers. Pre-travel guidelines were well adhered to. Young adult travellers had high-risk itineraries but were adequately protected. Improvement of hepatitis B and rabies protection would be desirable, specifically for VFRs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Slippery Slope Arguments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Burg, W.; Chadwick, R.F.

    1998-01-01

    Slippery slope arguments hold that one should not take some action (which in itself may be innocuous or even laudable) in order to prevent one from being dragged down a slope towards some clearly undesirable situation. Their typical purpose is to prevent changes in the status quo and, therefore,

  18. Virtual Travel Agencies - Tourist Value through Travel Information Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Anckar, Bill

    1999-01-01

    Anckar, B. (1999), ?Virtual Travel Agencies - Tourist Value through Travel Information Systems?. IAMSR Research Report 5/99. Institute for Advanced Management Systems Research, ?bo Akademi University. As electronic commerce enables the tourist service providers to sell their products directly to the consumer, travel agencies are faced with the imminent threat of being by-passed in the travel industry chain in the information age. This paper suggests that virtual travel agencies can compete su...

  19. CAR LEADEX Level 1C Artic Sea Ice and Tundra Radiation Measurements (CAR_LEADEX_L1C) at GES DISC

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — CAR LEADEX mission measured bidirectional reflectance functions for four common arctic surfaces: snow covered sea ice, melt season sea ice, snow covered tundra, and...

  20. Travel expenses

    OpenAIRE

    Pištěková, Petra

    2014-01-01

    The thesis "Travel expenses" is dedicated to the travel expenses according to Czech legislation. The aim is to describe the travel reimbursement and to analyze the providing of compensation travel expenses on example of the elementary art school Zruč nad Sázavou. The purpose of this analysis is primarily to find an optimal solution to the problem of determining the place of regular workplace for the travel expenses. The theoretical part focuses on the identification and definition of all prin...

  1. Travelers' Health: Rubella

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Stamaril clinics Disease Directory Resources Resources for Travelers Adventure Travel Animal Safety Blood Clots Bug Bites Evite ... Minute Travel Long-Term Travel Mass Gatherings Medical Tourism Mental Health Motion Sickness Natural Disasters Pregnant Travelers ...

  2. Demographic outcomes of diverse migration strategies assessed in a metapopulation of tundra swans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ely, Craig R; Meixell, Brandt W

    2016-01-01

    Migration is a prominent aspect of the life history of many avian species, but the demographic consequences of variable migration strategies have only infrequently been investigated, and rarely when using modern technological and analytical methods for assessing survival, movement patterns, and long-term productivity in the context of life history theory. We monitored the fates of 50 satellite-implanted tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus) over 4 years from five disparate breeding areas in Alaska, and used known-fate analyses to estimate monthly survival probability relative to migration distance, breeding area, migratory flyway, breeding status, and age. We specifically tested whether migratory birds face a trade-off, whereby long-distance migrants realize higher survival rates at the cost of lower productivity because of reduced time on breeding areas relative to birds that migrate shorter distances and spend more time on breeding areas. Annual migration distances varied significantly among breeding areas (1020 to 12720 km), and were strongly negatively correlated with time spent on breeding areas (r = -0.986). Estimates of annual survival probability varied by wintering area (Pacific coast, Alaska Peninsula, and Eastern seaboard) and ranged from 0.79 (95%CI: 0.70-0.88) to 1.0, depending on criteria used to discern mortalities from radio failures. We did not find evidence for a linear relationship between migration distance and survival as swans from the breeding areas with the shortest and longest migration distances had the highest survival probabilities. Survival was lower in the first year post-marking than in subsequent years, but there was not support for seasonal differences in survival. Productivity varied among breeding populations and was generally inversely correlated to survival, but not migration distance or time spent on breeding areas. Tundra swans conformed to a major tenet of life history theory, as populations with the highest survival

  3. CO2 dynamics of tundra ponds in the low-Arctic, Northwest Territories, Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buell, Mary-Claire

    Extensive research has gone into measuring changes to the carbon storage capacity of Arctic terrestrial environments as well as large water bodies in order to determine a carbon budget for many regions across the Arctic. Inland Arctic waters such as small lakes and ponds are often excluded from these carbon budgets, however a handful of studies have demonstrated that they can often be significant sources of carbon to the atmosphere. This study investigated the CO2 cycling of tundra ponds in the Daring Lake area, Northwest Territories, Canada (64°52'N, 111°35'W), to determine the role ponds have in the local carbon cycle. Floating chambers, nondispersive infrared (NDIR) sensors and headspace samples were used to estimate carbon fluxes from four selected local ponds. Multiple environmental, chemical and meteorological parameters were also monitored for the duration of the study, which took place during the snow free season of 2013. Average CO2 emissions for the two-month growing season ranged from approximately -0.0035 g CO2-C m-2 d -1 to 0.12 g CO2-C m-2 d-1. The losses of CO2 from the water bodies in the Daring Lake area were approximately 2-7% of the CO2 uptake over vegetated terrestrial tundra during the same two-month period. Results from this study indicated that the production of CO2 in tundra ponds was positively influenced by both increases in air temperature, and the delivery of carbon from their catchments. The relationship found between temperature and carbon emissions suggests that warming Arctic temperatures have the potential to increase carbon emissions from ponds in the future. The findings in this study did not include ebullition gas emissions nor plant mediated transport, therefore these findings are likely underestimates of the total carbon emissions from water bodies in the Daring Lake area. This study emphasizes the need for more research on inland waters in order to improve our understanding of the total impact these waters may have on the

  4. Effects of grapevine root density and reinforcement on slopes prone to shallow slope instability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meisina, Claudia; Bordoni, Massimiliano; Bischetti, Gianbattista; Vercesi, Alberto; Chiaradia, Enrico; Cislaghi, Alessio; Valentino, Roberto; Bittelli, Marco; Vergani, Chiara; Chersich, Silvia; Giuseppina Persichillo, Maria; Comolli, Roberto

    2016-04-01

    Slope erosion and shallow slope instabilities are the major factors of soil losses in cultivated steep terrains. These phenomena also cause loss of organic matter and plants nutrients, together with the partial or total destruction of the structures, such as the row tillage pattern of the vineyards, which allow for the plants cultivation. Vegetation has long been used as an effective tool to decrease the susceptibility of a slope to erosion and to shallow landslides. In particular, the scientific research focused on the role played by the plant roots, because the belowground biomass has the major control on the potential development of soil erosion and of shallow failures. Instead, a comprehensive study that analyzes the effects of the roots of agricultural plants on both soil erosion and slope instability has not been carried out yet. This aspect should be fundamental where sloped terrains are cultivated with plants of great economical relevance, as grapevine. To contribute to fill this gap, in this study the features of root density in the soil profile have been analyzed in slopes cultivated with vineyards, located on a sample hilly area of Oltrepò Pavese (northern Italy). In this area, the viticulture is the most important branch of the local economy. Moreover, several events of rainfall-induced slope erosion and shallow landslides have occurred in this area in the last 6 years, causing several economical damages linked to the destruction of the vineyards and the loss of high productivity soils. Grapevine root distribution have been measured in different test-site slopes, representative of the main geological, geomorphological, pedological, landslides distribution, agricultural features, in order to identify particular patterns on root density that can influence the development of slope instabilities. Roots have been sampled in each test-site for characterizing their strength, in terms of the relation between root diameter and root force at rupture. Root

  5. 77 FR 5252 - Federal Travel Regulation; GSA E-Gov Travel Service (ETS) Transition to E-Gov Travel Service 2...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-02

    ... Travel Regulation; GSA E-Gov Travel Service (ETS) Transition to E-Gov Travel Service 2 (ETS2) AGENCY..., ETS Program Manager Center for Travel Management (QMCD), Office of Travel and Transportation Services (QMC), at [email protected] or (703) 605-2151. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Federal Travel...

  6. Analysis of Journey to Work Travel Behavior by Car and Bus in the Sydney Metropolitan Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suthanaya P.A.

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Car dependence is a fundamental problem in the sustainability of cities with low-density suburban sprawl. Increasing the use of public transport is one of the policy objectives commonly adopted to overcome this problem. It is essential to study journey to work travel behavior by car and bus. This paper applied preference function to analyze travel behavior and Moran’s I spatial statistic to evaluate the spatial association. The results indicated that the commuting preferences of residents have moved towards distance maximization. In general, bus was preferred for shorter distance trips whilst car was preferred for longer distance trips. Unlike car, by increasing distances from the Central Business District, residents tended to use bus for shorter distance trip. A significant positive spatial association was identified for both the slope preferences by car and bus where zones with a preference towards longer or shorter trips tended to travel to zones with similar preferences.

  7. Vaccination knowledge, attitude and practice among Chinese travelers who visit travel clinics in Preparation for international travel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Min; Zhang, Jianming; Hao, Yutong; Fan, ZhengXing; Li, Lei; Li, Yiguang; Ju, Wendong; Zhang, Hong; Liu, Wei; Zhang, Mengzhang; Wu, Di; He, Hongtao

    2016-06-01

    Although international travel has become increasingly more common in main land China, few data are available on vaccination knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) among Chinese travelers. In each of 14 International Travel Healthcare Centers (ITHCs) situated in mainland China 200 volunteers were recruited for a cross-sectional investigation by questionnaire on KAP related to travel vaccinations. For the evaluation the study subjects were grouped by demographic data, past travel experience, travel destination, duration of stay abroad, purpose of travel. Among the 2,800 Chinese travelers who participated in the study, 67.1% were aware of national and travel vaccination recommendations. The knowledge about vaccine preventable diseases was low. The most common sources (73.4%) of information were requirements by destination countries obtained in connection with the visa application, Chinese companies employing workers/laborers for assignments overseas, and foreign schools. The overall acceptance rate of recommended vaccines was 68.7%, but yellow fever was accepted by 99.8% of the participants when recommended. Among 81.1% respondents who recalled to have received vaccinations in the past, only 25.9% of them brought the old vaccination records with them to their ITHC consultations. The results indicate that increased awareness of the importance of pre-travel vaccination is needed among the travellers in order to improve their KAP. © International Society of Travel Medicine, 2016. All rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. Investigations of slope stability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nonveiller, E.

    1979-01-01

    The dynamics of slope slides and parameters for calculating slope stability is discussed. Two types of slides are outlined: rotation slide and translation slide. Slide dynamics are analyzed according to A. Heim. A calculation example of a slide which occurred at Vajont, Yugoslavia is presented. Calculation results differ from those presented by Ciabatti. For investigation of slope stability the calculation methods of A.W. Bishop (1955), N. Morgenstern and M. Maksimovic are discussed. 12 references

  9. Understanding Pan-Arctic Tundra Vegetation Change Through Long-term Remotely Sensed Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhatt, U.; Walker, D. A.; Bieniek, P.; Raynolds, M. K.; Epstein, H. E.; Comiso, J. C.; Pinzon, J. E.; Tucker, C. J.

    2012-12-01

    The goal of this paper is to present an analysis of the seasonality of tundra vegetation variability and change using long-term remotely sensed data as well as ground based measurements and reanalyses. An increase of Pan-Arctic tundra vegetation greenness has been documented using the remotely sensed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Coherent variability between NDVI, springtime coastal sea ice (passive microwave) and land surface temperatures (AVHRR) has also been established. Satellite based snow and cloud cover data sets are being incorporated into this analysis. The Arctic tundra is divided into domains based on Treshnikov divisions that are modified based on floristic provinces. There is notable heterogeneity in Pan-Arctic vegetation and climate trends, which necessitates a regional analysis. This study uses remotely sensed weekly 25-km sea ice concentration, weekly surface temperature, and bi-weekly NDVI from 1982 to 2010. The GIMMS NDVI3g data has been corrected for biases during the spring and fall, with special focus on the Arctic. Trends of Maximum NDVI (MaxNDVI), Time Integrated NDVI (TI-NDVI), Summer Warmth Index (SWI, sum of degree months above freezing during May-August), and open water area are calculated for the Pan Arctic. Remotely sensed snow data trends suggest varying patterns throughout the Arctic and may in part explain the heterogeneous MaxNDVI trends. Standard climate data (station, reanalysis, and model data) and ground observations are used in the analysis to provide additional support for hypothesized mechanisms. Overall, we find that trends over the 30-year record are changing as evidenced by the following examples from recent years. The sea ice decline has increased in Eurasia and slowed in North America. The weekly AVHRR landsurface temperatures reveal that there has been summer cooling over Eurasia and that the warming over North America has slowed. The MaxNDVI rates of change have diverged between N. America and Eurasia

  10. Molecular detection of Setaria tundra (Nematoda: Filarioidea and an unidentified filarial species in mosquitoes in Germany

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Czajka Christina

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Knowledge of the potential vector role of Culicidae mosquitoes in Germany is very scanty, and until recently it was generally assumed that they are not involved in the transmission of anthroponotic or zoonotic pathogens in this country. However, anticipated changes in the course of global warming and globalization may alter their status. Methods We conducted a molecular mass screening of mosquitoes for filarial parasites using mitochondrial 12S rRNA-based real-time PCR. Results No parasites causing disease in humans such as Dirofilaria spp. were detected in about 83,000 mosquitoes tested, which had been collected in 2009 and 2010 in 16 locations throughout Germany. However, minimum infection rates of up to 24 per 1000 mosquitoes were revealed, which could be attributed to mosquito infection with Setaria tundra and a yet unidentified second parasite. Setaria tundra was found to be widespread in southern Germany in various mosquito species, except Culex spp. In contrast, the unidentified filarial species was exclusively found in Culex spp. in northern Baden-Württemberg, and is likely to be a bird parasite. Conclusions Although dirofilariasis appears to be emerging and spreading in Europe, the absence of Dirofilaria spp. or other zoonotic filariae in our sample allows the conclusion that the risk of autochthonous infection in Germany is still very low. Potential vectors of S. tundra in Germany are Ochlerotatus sticticus, Oc. cantans, Aedes vexans and Anopheles claviger. Technically, the synergism between entomologists, virologists and parasitologists, combined with state-of-the-art methods allows a very efficient near-real-time monitoring of a wide spectrum of both human and veterinary pathogens, including new distribution records of parasite species and the incrimination of their potential vectors.

  11. Response of CO2 exchange in a tussock tundra ecosystem to permafrost thaw and thermokarst development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jason Vogel; Edward A.G. Schuur; Christian Trucco; Hanna. Lee

    2009-01-01

    Climate change in high latitudes can lead to permafrost thaw, which in ice-rich soils can result in ground subsidence, or thermokarst. In interior Alaska, we examined seasonal and annual ecosystem CO2 exchange using static and automatic chamber measurements in three areas of a moist acidic tundra ecosystem undergoing varying degrees of permafrost...

  12. Valuation of Travel Time and TravelIer Information

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rietveld, Piet

    2003-01-01

    The value of travel time plays an important role in cost benefit analysis of infrastructureprojects. However, the issue of uncertainty on travel times and the implications this has forestimations of travel time values has received much less attention in the literature. In thispaper we compare

  13. Distinct soil bacterial communities along a small-scale elevational gradient in alpine tundra

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Congcong eShen

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The elevational diversity pattern for microorganisms has received great attention recently but is still understudied, and phylogenetic relatedness is rarely studied for microbial elevational distributions. Using a bar-coded pyrosequencing technique, we examined the biodiversity patterns for soil bacterial communities of tundra ecosystem along 2000–2500 m elevations on Changbai Mountain in China. Bacterial taxonomic richness displayed a linear decreasing trend with increasing elevation. Phylogenetic diversity and mean nearest taxon distance (MNTD exhibited a unimodal pattern with elevation. Bacterial communities were more phylogenetically clustered than expected by chance at all elevations based on the standardized effect size of MNTD metric. The bacterial communities differed dramatically among elevations, and the community composition was significantly correlated with soil total carbon, total nitrogen, C:N ratio, and dissolved organic carbon. Multiple ordinary least squares regression analysis showed that the observed biodiversity patterns strongly correlated with soil total carbon and C:N ratio. Taken together, this is the first time that a significant bacterial diversity pattern has been observed across a small-scale elevational gradient. Our results indicated that soil carbon and nitrogen contents were the critical environmental factors affecting bacterial elevational distribution in Changbai Mountain tundra. This suggested that ecological niche-based environmental filtering processes related to soil carbon and nitrogen contents could play a dominant role in structuring bacterial communities along the elevational gradient.

  14. Size and mass of grit in gizzards of sandhill cranes, tundra swans, and mute swans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franson, J. Christian; Hansen, Scott P.; Duerr, Adam E.; DeStefano, Stephen

    2001-01-01

    Because it has been suggested that waterbirds may ingest lost or discarded lead fishing weights as grit, we examined grit in the gizzards of Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis), Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus), and Mute Swans (Cygnus olor), three species where individuals have been poisoned by the ingestion of lead fishing weights. The greatest proportion (by mass) of grit in gizzards of Sandhill Cranes consisted of particles with a minimum dimension of 2.36-4.75 mm. Grit particles in swans were much smaller, with the most prevalent (by mass) being 0.6-1.18 mm. The greatest dimension of the largest grit particle found in cranes and swans was 17.4 mm and 14.0 mm, respectively. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a ban on lead fishing weights of ≤25.4 mm in any dimension. Based on the size of grit particles that we found in gizzards of Sandhill Cranes, Mute Swans, and Tundra Swans, we believe it is unlikely that individuals of those species would ingest, as grit, lead fishing weights larger than 25.4 mm in any dimension.

  15. International travel patterns and travel risks for stem cell transplant recipients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mikati, Tarek; Griffin, Kenneth; Lane, Dakotah; Matasar, Matthew; Shah, Monika K

    2015-01-01

    Stem cell transplantation (SCT) is being increasingly utilized for multiple medical illnesses. However, there is limited knowledge about international travel patterns and travel-related illnesses of stem cell transplant recipients (SCTRs). An observational cross-sectional study was conducted among 979 SCTRs at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center using a previously standardized and validated questionnaire. International travel post SCT, pre-travel health advice, exposure risks, and travel-related illnesses were queried. A total of 516 SCTRs completed the survey (55% response rate); of these, 40% were allogeneic SCTRs. A total of 229 (44.3%) respondents reported international travel outside the United States and Canada post SCT. The international travel incidence was 32% [95% confidence interval CI 28-36] within 2 years after SCT. Using multivariable Cox regression analysis, variables significantly associated with international travel within first 2 years after SCT were history of international travel prior to SCT [hazard ratio (HR) = 5.3, 95% CI 2.3-12.0], autologous SCT (HR = 2.6, 95% CI 1.6-2.8), foreign birth (HR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.5-3.3), and high income (HR = 2.0, 95% CI 1.8-3.7). During their first trip, 64 travelers (28%) had traveled to destinations that may have required vaccination or malaria chemoprophylaxis. Only 56% reported seeking pre-travel health advice. Of those who traveled, 16 travelers (7%) became ill enough to require medical attention during their first trip after SCT. Ill travelers were more likely to have visited high-risk areas (60 vs 26%, p = 0.005), to have had a longer mean trip duration (24 vs 12 days, p = 0.0002), and to have visited friends and relatives (69 vs 21%, p travel was common among SCTRs within 2 years after SCT and was mainly to low-risk destinations. Although the overall incidence of travel-related illnesses was low, certain subgroups of travelers were at a significantly higher risk. Pre-travel

  16. Herbivores rescue diversity in warming tundra by modulating trait-dependent species losses and gains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaarlejärvi, Elina; Eskelinen, Anu; Olofsson, Johan

    2017-09-04

    Climate warming is altering the diversity of plant communities but it remains unknown which species will be lost or gained under warming, especially considering interactions with other factors such as herbivory and nutrient availability. Here, we experimentally test effects of warming, mammalian herbivory and fertilization on tundra species richness and investigate how plant functional traits affect losses and gains. We show that herbivory reverses the impact of warming on diversity: in the presence of herbivores warming increases species richness through higher species gains and lower losses, while in the absence of herbivores warming causes higher species losses and thus decreases species richness. Herbivores promote gains of short-statured species under warming, while herbivore removal and fertilization increase losses of short-statured and resource-conservative species through light limitation. Our results demonstrate that both rarity and traits forecast species losses and gains, and mammalian herbivores are essential for preventing trait-dependent extinctions and mitigate diversity loss under warming and eutrophication.Warming can reduce plant diversity but it is unclear which species will be lost or gained under interacting global changes. Kaarlejärvi et al. manipulate temperature, herbivory and nutrients in a tundra system and find that herbivory maintains diversity under warming by reducing species losses and promoting gains.

  17. Prevalence, transmission, and genetic diversity of blood parasites infecting tundra-nesting geese in Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramey, Andy M.; Reed, John A.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Fondell, Tom F.; Meixell, Brandt W.; Hupp, Jerry W.; Ward, David H.; Terenzi, John; Ely, Craig R.

    2014-01-01

    A total of 842 blood samples collected from five species of tundra-nesting geese in Alaska was screened for haemosporidian parasites using molecular techniques. Parasites of the generaLeucocytozoon Danilewsky, 1890, Haemoproteus Kruse, 1890, and Plasmodium Marchiafava and Celli, 1885 were detected in 169 (20%), 3 (parasites and assess variation relative to species, age, sex, geographic area, year, and decade. Species, age, and decade were identified as important in explaining differences in prevalence of Leucocytozoonparasites. Leucocytozoon parasites were detected in goslings sampled along the Arctic Coastal Plain using both historic and contemporary samples, which provided support for transmission in the North American Arctic. In contrast, lack of detection of Haemoproteus and Plasmodiumparasites in goslings (n = 238) provided evidence to suggest that the transmission of parasites of these genera may not occur among waterfowl using tundra habitats in Alaska, or alternatively, may only occur at low levels. Five haemosporidian genetic lineages shared among different species of geese sampled from two geographic areas were indicative of interspecies parasite transmission and supported broad parasite or vector distributions. However, identicalLeucocytozoon and Haemoproteus lineages on public databases were limited to waterfowl hosts suggesting constraints in the range of parasite hosts.

  18. Danish long distance travel A study of Danish travel behaviour and the role of infrequent travel activities

    OpenAIRE

    Knudsen, Mette Aagaard; Rich, Jeppe; Nielsen, Otto Anker

    2014-01-01

    Historically there has been a lack of knowledge with respect to long distance travel. Due to the considerable contribution of long distance travel to total travelled kilometres and the related energy consumption from the transport sector and derived impacts on greenhouse emissions, this is problematic. The average travel distance has steadily increased during the latest decades together with the increasing motorisation of daily travel and international aviation. Previously most focus has been...

  19. Soil nutrients, landscape age, and Sphagno-Eriophoretum vaginati plant communities in Arctic moist-acidic Tundra landscapes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joel Mercado-Diaz; William Gould; Grizelle Gonzalez

    2014-01-01

    Most research exploring the relationship between soil chemistry and vegetation in Alaskan Arctic tundra landscapes has focused on describing differences in soil elemental concentrations (e.g. C, N and P) of areas with contrasting vegetation types or landscape age. In this work we assess the effect of landscape age on physico-chemical parameters in organic and mineral...

  20. Travel personae of American pleasure travelers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Park, S.; Tussyadiah, Iis; Mazanec, J.A.

    2010-01-01

    Travel style has been shown to be a useful concept for understanding travelers. In this study it is argued that the portfolio of trips (specifically, the portfolio of various trip styles) one takes can be used to describe his/her overall travel persona. Network analysis was used to examine...... personae which, in turn, are related to their choices of places visited and their response to advertising materials. It was concluded that the framework provided by these findings along with new tools on the Internet offer the potential to develop highly personalized communications with existing...

  1. The exchange of energy, water and carbon dioxide between wet arctic tundra and the atmosphere at the Lena River Delta, Northern Siberia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kutzbach, L.

    2006-07-01

    The ecosystem-scale exchange fluxes of energy, water and carbon dioxide between wet arctic tundra and the atmosphere were investigated by the micrometeorological eddy covariance method. The investigation site was the centre of the Lena River Delta in Northern Siberia characterised by a polar and distinctly continental climate, very cold and ice-rich permafrost and its position at the interface between the Eurasian continent and the Arctic Ocean. The measurements were performed on the surface of a Holocene river terrace characterised by wet polygonal tundra. The soils at the site are characterised by high organic matter content, low nutrient availability and pronounced water logging. The vegetation is dominated by sedges and mosses. The fluctuations of the H{sub 2}O and CO{sub 2} concentrations were measured with a closed-path infrared gas analyser. The fast-response eddy covariance measurements were supplemented by a set of slow-response meteorological and soil-meteorological measurements. The combined datasets of the two campaigns 2003 and 2004 were used to characterise the seasonal course of the energy, water and CO{sub 2} fluxes and the underlying processes for the synthetic measurement period May 28..October 21 2004/2003 including the period of snow and soil thawing as well as the beginning of refreezing. The synthetic measurement period 2004/2003 was characterised by a long snow ablation period and a late start of the growing season. On the other hand, the growing season ended also late due to high temperatures and snow-free conditions in September. The cumulative summer energy partitioning was characterised by low net radiation, large ground heat flux, low latent heat flux and very low sensible heat flux compared to other tundra sites. These findings point out the major importance of the very cold permafrost for the summer energy budget of the tundra in Northern Siberia. (orig./SR)

  2. Travel itinerary uncertainty and the pre-travel consultation--a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flaherty, Gerard; Md Nor, Muhammad Najmi

    2016-01-01

    Risk assessment relies on the accuracy of the information provided by the traveller. A questionnaire was administered to 83 consecutive travellers attending a travel medicine clinic. The majority of travellers was uncertain about destinations within countries, transportation or type of accommodation. Most travellers were uncertain if they would be visiting malaria regions. The degree of uncertainty about itinerary potentially impacts on the ability of the travel medicine specialist to perform an adequate risk assessment, select appropriate vaccinations and prescribe malaria prophylaxis. This study reveals high levels of traveller uncertainty about their itinerary which may potentially reduce the effectiveness of their pre-travel consultation. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of International society of travel medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  3. Increasing referral of at-risk travelers to travel health clinics: evaluation of a health promotion intervention targeted to travel agents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacDougall, L A; Gyorkos, T W; Leffondré, K; Abrahamowicz, M; Tessier, D; Ward, B J; MacLean, J D

    2001-01-01

    Increases in travel-related illness require new partnerships to ensure travelers are prepared for health risks abroad. The travel agent is one such partner and efforts to encourage travel agents to refer at-risk travelers to travel health clinics may help in reducing travel-attributable morbidity. A health promotion intervention encouraging travel agents to refer at-risk travelers to travel health clinics was evaluated. Information on the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of travel agents before and after the intervention was compared using two self-administered questionnaires. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare the mean difference in overall scores to evaluate the overall impact of the intervention and also subscores for each of the behavioral construct groupings (attitudes, barriers, intent, and subjective norms). Multiple regression techniques were used to evaluate which travel agent characteristics were independently associated with a stronger effect of the intervention. A small improvement in travel agents overall attitudes and beliefs (p =.03) was found, in particular their intention to refer (p =.01). Sixty-five percent of travel agents self-reported an increase in referral behavior; owners or managers of the agency were significantly more likely to do so than other travel agents (OR = 7.25; 95% CI: 1.64 32.06). Older travel agents, those that worked longer hours and those with some past referral experience, had significantly higher post-intervention scores. Travel agents can be willing partners in referral, and agencies should be encouraged to develop specific referral policies. Future research may be directed toward investigating the role of health education in certification curricula, the effectiveness of different types of health promotion interventions, including Internet-facilitated interventions, and the direct impact that such interventions would have on travelers attending travel health clinics.

  4. Human travel and traveling bedbugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delaunay, Pascal

    2012-12-01

    A dramatic increase of reported bedbug (Cimex lectularius and Cimex hemipterus) infestations has been observed worldwide over the past decade. Bedbug infestations have also been detected across a wide range of travel accommodations, regardless of their comfort and hygiene levels. Travelers are increasingly exposed to the risks of bedbug bites, infestation of personal belongings, and subsequent contamination of newly visited accommodations and their homes. We searched Medline publications via the PubMed database. National bedbug recommendations, textbooks, newspapers, and Centers for Disease Control websites were also searched manually. To detect infested sites, avoid or limit bedbug bites, and reduce the risk of contaminating one's belongings and home, bedbug biology and ecology must be understood. A detailed search of their most classic hiding niches is a key to finding adult bedbugs, nymphs, eggs, and feces or traces of blood from crushed bedbugs. Locally, bedbugs move by active displacement to feed (bite) during the night. Bed, mattress, sofa, and/or curtains are the most frequently infested places. If you find bedbugs, change your room or, even better, the hotel. Otherwise, travelers should follow recommendations for avoiding bedbugs and their bites during the night and apply certain simple rules to avoid infesting other sites or their home. Travelers exposed to bedbugs can minimize the risks of bites and infestation of their belongings, and must also do their civic duty to avoid contributing to the subsequent contamination of other hotels and, finally, home. © 2012 International Society of Travel Medicine.

  5. Changes in Nutrients and Primary Production in Barrow Tundra Ponds Over the Past 40 Years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lougheed, V.; Andresen, C.; Hernandez, C.; Miller, N.; Reyes, F.

    2012-12-01

    The Arctic tundra ponds at the International Biological Program (IBP) site in Barrow, Alaska were studied extensively in the 1970's; however, very little research has occurred there since that time. Due to the sensitivity of this region to climate warming, understanding any changes in the ponds' structure and function over the past 40 years can help identify any potential climate-related impacts. The goal of this study was to determine if the structure and function of primary producers had changed through time, and the association between these changes, urban encroachment and nutrient limitation. Nutrient levels, as well as the biomass of aquatic graminoids (Carex aquatilis and Arctophila fulva), phytoplankton and periphyton were determined in the IBP tundra ponds in both 1971-3 and 2010-12, and in 2010-11 from nearby ponds along an anthropogenic disturbance gradient. Uptake of 14C was also used to measure algal primary production in both time periods and nutrient addition experiments were performed to identify the nutrients limiting algal growth. Similar methods were utilized in the past and present studies. Overall, biomass of graminoids, phytoplankton and periphyton was greater in 2010-12 than that observed in the 1970s. This increased biomass was coincident with warmer water temperatures, increased water column nutrients and deeper active layer depth. Biomass of plants and algae was highest in the ponds closest to the village of Barrow, but no effect of urban encroachment was observed at the IBP ponds. Laboratory incubations indicated that nutrient release from thawing permafrost can explain part of these increases in nutrients and has likely contributed to changes in the primary limiting nutrient. Further studies are necessary to better understand the implications of these trends in primary production to nutrient budgets in the Arctic. The Barrow IBP tundra ponds represent one of the very few locations in the Arctic where long-term data are available on

  6. Seasonal changes and vertical distribution of root standing biomass of graminoids and shrubs at a Siberian tundra site

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wang, Peng; Mommer, L.; Ruijven, van J.; Berendse, F.; Maximov, T.; Heijmans, M.M.P.D.

    2016-01-01

    Aims

    Shrub expansion is common in the tundra biome and has been linked to climate warming. However, the underlying mechanisms are still not fully understood. This study aimed to investigate the seasonal and vertical rooting patterns of different plant functional types, which is important

  7. HIV and travel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuhwerk, M A; Richens, J; Zuckerman, Jane N

    2006-01-01

    There is a high demand for travel among HIV-positive individual. This demand arises partly from those who have benefited from advances in antiretroviral therapy as well as those with disease progression. The key to a successful and uneventful holiday lies in careful pre-trip planning, yet many patients fail to obtain advice before travelling. Travel advice for HIV patients is becoming increasingly specialized. In addition to advice on common travel-related infectious diseases, HIV-positive travellers are strongly advised to carry information with them and they need specific advice regarding country entry restrictions, HIV inclusive travel insurance, safety of travel vaccinations and highly active antiretroviral therapy-related issues. A wide range of relevant issues for the HIV-positive traveller are discussed in this review and useful websites can be found at the end.

  8. Essential travel medicine

    CERN Document Server

    Zuckerman, Jane N; Leggat, Peter

    2015-01-01

    This 1st edition of Essential Travel Medicine provides an excellent concise introduction to the specialty of Travel Medicine. This core text will enable health care practitioners particularly those new to the clinical practice of Travel Medicine, to gain a fundamental understanding of the diverse and complex issues which can potentially affect the health of the many millions of people who undertake international travel. Jane N Zuckerman is joined by Gary W Brunette from CDC and Peter A Leggat from Australia as Editors. Leading international specialists in their fields have contributed authoritative chapters reflecting current knowledge to facilitate best clinical practice in the different aspects of travel medicine. The aim of Essential Travel Medicine is to provide a comprehensive guide to Travel Medicine as well as a fundamental knowledge base to support international undergraduate and postgraduate specialty training programmes in the discipline of Travel Medicine. The 1st edition of Essential Travel ...

  9. A profile of travelers--an analysis from a large swiss travel clinic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bühler, Silja; Rüegg, Rolanda; Steffen, Robert; Hatz, Christoph; Jaeger, Veronika K

    2014-01-01

    Globally, the Swiss have one of the highest proportions of the population traveling to tropical and subtropical countries. Large travel clinics serve an increasing number of customers with specific pre-travel needs including uncommon destinations and preexisting medical conditions. This study aims to identify health characteristics and travel patterns of travelers seeking advice in the largest Swiss travel clinic so that tailored advice can be delivered. A descriptive analysis was performed on pre-travel visits between July 2010 and August 2012 at the Travel Clinic of the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland. A total of 22,584 travelers sought pre-travel advice. Tourism was the main reason for travel (17,875, 81.5%), followed by visiting friends and relatives (VFRs; 1,715, 7.8%), traveling for business (1,223, 5.6%), and "other reasons" (ie, volunteer work, pilgrimage, study abroad, and emigration; 1,112, 5.1%). The main travel destination was Thailand. In the VFR group, the highest proportions of traveling children (258, 15.1%) and of pregnant or breastfeeding women (23, 3.9%) were observed. Mental disorders were more prominent in VFRs (93, 5.4%) and in travel for "other reasons" (63, 5.7%). The latter stayed for the longest periods abroad; 272 (24.9%) stayed longer than 6 months. VFR travelers received the highest percentage of yellow fever vaccinations (523, 30.5%); in contrast, rabies (269, 24.2%) and typhoid vaccinations (279, 25.1%) were given more often to the "other travel reasons" group. New insights into the characteristics of a selected and large population of Swiss international travelers results in improved understanding of the special needs of an increasingly diverse population and, thus, in targeted preventive advice and interventions. © 2014 International Society of Travel Medicine.

  10. Monitoring changes in soil water content on adjustable soil slopes of a soil column using time domain reflectometry (TDR) techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wan Zakaria Wan Muhd Tahir; Lakam Anak Mejus; Johari Abdul Latif

    2004-01-01

    Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) is one of non-destructive methods and widely used in hydrology and soil science for accurate and flexible measurement of soil water content The TDR technique is based on measuring the dielectric constant of soil from the propagation of an electromagnetic pulse traveling along installed probe rods (parallel wire transmission line). An adjustable soil column i.e., 80 cm (L) x 35 cm (H) x 44 cm (W) instrumented with six pairs of vertically installed CS615 reflectometer probes (TDR rods) was developed and wetted under a laboratory simulated rainfall and their sub-surface moisture variations as the slope changes were monitored using TDR method Soil samples for gravimetric determination of water content, converted to a volume basis were taken at selected times and locations after the final TDR reading for every slope change made of the soil column Comparisons of water contents by TDR with those from grawmetric samples at different slopes of soil column were examined. The accuracy was found to be comparable and to some extent dependent upon the variability of the soil. This study also suggests that the response of slope (above 20 degrees) to the gradual increase in water content profile may cause soil saturation faster and increased overland flow (runoff especially on weak soil conditions

  11. Slope of the Slope Derivative Surface used to characterize the complexity of the seafloor around St. John, USVI

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Slope of slope was calculated from the bathymetry surface for each raster cell by applying the ArcGIS Spatial Analyst 'Slope' Tool to a previously created slope...

  12. Enhanced biological degradation of crude oil in a Spitsbergen tundra site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sveum, P.; Faksness, L.-G.

    1993-01-01

    A series of oil-contaminated tundra plots on Spitsbergen was treated with combinations of five different fertilizer additives. Both organic and mineral nutrient sources were used, alone or in combination. Biological degradation of oil was recorded in all of the plots. The extent of degradation depended on the type of fertilizer added. The local conditions influence oil degradation significantly, as well as the effect of the fertilizer. Urea, SkogAN (a slow releasing fertilizer), and a blend of fish meals all give high degrees of oil degradation. Both the microbial parameters and the total heterotrophic respiration are influenced by the addition of fertilizers. 6 refs., 13 figs., 3 tabs

  13. Travelling with HIV

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Ulla S; Jensen-Fangel, Søren; Pedersen, Gitte

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND: We aimed to describe travel patterns, extent of professional pre-travel advice and health problems encountered during travel among HIV-infected individuals. METHODS: During a six-month period a questionnaire was handed out to 2821 adult HIV-infected individuals attending any...... of the eight Danish medical HIV care centers. RESULTS: A total of 763 individuals responded. During the previous two years 49% had travelled outside Europe; 18% had travelled less and 30% were more cautious when choosing travel destination than before the HIV diagnosis. Pre-travel advice was sought by only 38......%, and travel insurance was taken out by 86%. However, 29%/74% did not inform the advisor/the insurance company about their HIV status. Nearly all patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) were adherent, but 58% worried about carrying HIV-medicine and 19% tried to hide it. Only 19% experienced...

  14. The Response of Tundra to Biophysical Changes Ten Years Following the Anaktuvuk River Fire, Arctic Foothills, Alaska.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, B. M.; Miller, E. A.; Jandt, R.; Baughman, C. A.

    2017-12-01

    Ten years following a large and severe wildfire in the arctic foothills of the Brooks Range, Alaska, tundra is experiencing rapid biophysical changes. Plant communities are responding to primary disturbance by fire but also to ground-ice melt, terrain subsidence, and apparent increase in soil drainage or evapotranspiration.The Anaktuvuk River Fire burned about 104,000 ha in 2007, spreading over broad ranges in soils, topography, hydrography, and permafrost features. Fourteen marked transects were measured between 2008-2011 and again in 2017 for cover of ground-layer vegetation, tall shrub abundance, thaw depth, and soil properties. A complementary set of 11 reference transects surrounding the burn was also sampled.We observed much higher rates of thermokarst inside the burn than out. Even low severity burn areas experienced noticeable thaw subsidence. Mean annual ground temperature at 1 m depth has warmed 1.5°C relative to unburned tundra. In cases ice wedge troughs have deepened by more than 1 m in areas underlain by yedoma soils. Troughs were characterized by cracking soil and slumping tussocks, often into ponded water. Troughs and degraded ice features appear to be draining adjacent polygon centers leading to a general drying of the tundra. Tussockgrasses inside the burn continue to grow and flower vigorously, suggesting a continued flush of soil nutrients. Post-fire accumulation of organic material is generally fire greatly accelerates this succession. Records and observations suggest that lightning and ignitions are becoming more frequent north of the Brooks Range.Our monitoring of this burn over the last ten years reveals a story much more complicated than our team can tell, inviting involvement of other disciplines, particularly hydrology, soil and landform science, remote sensing, and wildlife and subsistence resource management.

  15. Simulation of Runoff Hydrograph on Soil Surfaces with Different Microtopography Using a Travel Time Method at the Plot Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Longshan; Wu, Faqi

    2015-01-01

    In this study, a simple travel time-based runoff model was proposed to simulate a runoff hydrograph on soil surfaces with different microtopographies. Three main parameters, i.e., rainfall intensity (I), mean flow velocity (vm) and ponding time of depression (tp), were inputted into this model. The soil surface was divided into numerous grid cells, and the flow length of each grid cell (li) was then calculated from a digital elevation model (DEM). The flow velocity in each grid cell (vi) was derived from the upstream flow accumulation area using vm. The total flow travel time through each grid cell to the surface outlet was the sum of the sum of flow travel times along the flow path (i.e., the sum of li/vi) and tp. The runoff rate at the slope outlet for each respective travel time was estimated by finding the sum of the rain rate from all contributing cells for all time intervals. The results show positive agreement between the measured and predicted runoff hydrographs.

  16. Simulation of Runoff Hydrograph on Soil Surfaces with Different Microtopography Using a Travel Time Method at the Plot Scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Longshan; Wu, Faqi

    2015-01-01

    In this study, a simple travel time-based runoff model was proposed to simulate a runoff hydrograph on soil surfaces with different microtopographies. Three main parameters, i.e., rainfall intensity (I), mean flow velocity (v m) and ponding time of depression (t p), were inputted into this model. The soil surface was divided into numerous grid cells, and the flow length of each grid cell (l i) was then calculated from a digital elevation model (DEM). The flow velocity in each grid cell (v i) was derived from the upstream flow accumulation area using v m. The total flow travel time through each grid cell to the surface outlet was the sum of the sum of flow travel times along the flow path (i.e., the sum of l i/v i) and t p. The runoff rate at the slope outlet for each respective travel time was estimated by finding the sum of the rain rate from all contributing cells for all time intervals. The results show positive agreement between the measured and predicted runoff hydrographs. PMID:26103635

  17. The New England travel market: changes in generational travel patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodney B. Warnick

    1995-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine and explore the New England domestic travel market trends, from 1979 through 1991 within the context of generations. The existing travel markets, who travel to New England, are changing by age cohorts and specifically within different generations. The New England changes in generational travel patterns do not reflect national...

  18. Wave run-up on sandbag slopes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thamnoon Rasmeemasmuang

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available On occasions, sandbag revetments are temporarily applied to armour sandy beaches from erosion. Nevertheless, an empirical formula to determine the wave run -up height on sandbag slopes has not been available heretofore. In this study a wave run-up formula which considers the roughness of slope surfaces is proposed for the case of sandbag slopes. A series of laboratory experiments on the wave run -up on smooth slopes and sandbag slopes were conducted in a regular-wave flume, leading to the finding of empirical parameters for the formula. The proposed empirical formula is applicable to wave steepness ranging from 0.01 to 0.14 and to the thickness of placed sandbags relative to the wave height ranging from 0.17 to 3.0. The study shows that the wave run-up height computed by the formula for the sandbag slopes is 26-40% lower than that computed by the formula for the smooth slopes.

  19. Effect of cement injection on sandy soil slope stability, case study: slope in Petang district, Badung regency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arya, I. W.; Wiraga, I. W.; GAG Suryanegara, I.

    2018-01-01

    Slope is a part of soil topography formed due to elevation difference from two soil surface. Landslides is frequently occur in natural slope, it is because shear force is greater than shear strength in the soil. There are some factor that influence slope stability such as: rain dissipation, vibration from earthquake, construction and crack in the soil. Slope instability can cause risk in human activity or even threaten human lives. Every years in rainy season, landslides always occur in Indonesia. In 2016, there was some landslide occurred in Bali. One of the most damaging is landslide in Petang district, Badung regency. This landslide caused main road closed entirely. In order to overcome and prevent landslide, a lot of method have been practiced and still looking for more sophisticated method for forecasting slope stability. One of the method to strengthen soil stability is filling the soil pores with some certain material. Cement is one of the material that can be used to fill the soil pores because when it is in liquid form, it can infiltrate into soil pores and fill the gap between soil particles. And after it dry, it can formed a bond with soil particle so that soil become stronger and the slope as well. In this study, it will use experimental method, slope model in laboratory to simulate a real slope behavior in the field. The first model is the slope without any addition of cement. This model will be become a benchmark for the other models. The second model is a slope with improved soil that injects the slope with cement. Injection of cement is done with varying interval distance of injection point is 5 cm and 10 cm. Each slope model will be given a load until the slope collapses. The slope model will also be analyzed with slope stability program. The test results on the improved slope models will be compared with unimproved slope. In the initial test will consist of 3 model. First model is soil without improvement or cement injection, second model is soil

  20. On the relationship between travel time and travel distance of commuters

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rietveld, P.; Zwart, A.P.; Wee, van G.P.; Hoorn, van der T.

    1999-01-01

    This paper gives a detailed empirical analysis of the relationships between different indicators of costs of commuting trips by car: difference as the crow flies, shortest travel time according to route planner, corresponding travel distance, and reported travel time. Reported travel times are

  1. Climate sensitivity of shrub growth across the tundra biome

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Myers-Smith, Isla H.; Elmendorf, Sarah C.; Beck, Pieter S.A.

    2015-01-01

    Rapid climate warming in the tundra biome has been linked to increasing shrub dominance1–4. Shrub expansion can modify climate by altering surface albedo, energy and water balance, and permafrost2,5–8, yet the drivers of shrub growth remain poorly understood. Dendroecological data consisting...... of multi-decadal time series of annual shrub growth provide an underused resource to explore climate–growth relationships. Here, we analyse circumpolar data from 37 Arctic and alpine sites in 9 countries, including 25 species, and 42,000 annual growth records from 1,821 individuals. Our analyses...... demonstrate that the sensitivity of shrub growth to climate was: (1) heterogeneous, with European sites showing greater summer temperature sensitivity than North American sites, and (2) higher at sites with greater soil moisture and for taller shrubs (for example, alders and willows) growing at their northern...

  2. The impact of injection anxiety on education of travelers about common travel risks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noble, Lorraine M; Farquharson, Lorna; O'Dwyer, Niamh A; Behrens, Ron H

    2014-01-01

    Despite many travelers receiving at least one vaccination during the pre-travel consultation, little is known about travelers' fear of injections and the impact this may have on educating travelers about health risks associated with their trip. This study aimed to investigate: (1) the prevalence of injection anxiety in travelers attending a pre-travel consultation, (2) whether anxiety due to anticipating a vaccination adversely affects recall of information and advice, and (3) whether clinicians can recognize travelers' anxiety, and how they respond to anxious travelers. Consecutive adult travelers (N = 105) attending one of two inner-city travel clinics completed self-report measures of state anxiety, injection anxiety, and symptoms of needle phobia immediately before and after their pre-travel consultation. Clinicians were also asked to rate travelers' anxiety and report any anxiety management strategies. Standardized information was presented during the consultation and recall of information and advice was assessed immediately post-consultation. Delayed recall (24 hours) was assessed for a subsample (20%) of participants. More than one third of travelers reported feeling nervous or afraid when having an injection (39%). Travelers' state anxiety was related to their psychological and physiological reactions to needles, and reduced significantly post-consultation. Recall of information and advice varied, with failure of recall ranging from 2 to 70% across 15 items, and delayed recall being significantly lower. No relationship was found between recall and anxiety. Clinician-rated anxiety moderately correlated with travelers' self-reported anxiety. A significant proportion of travelers experienced injection anxiety when attending the pre-travel consultation, with some travelers reporting symptoms consistent with criteria for Blood Injection Injury phobia. There were important gaps in recall of information and advice about common travel risks. Although no

  3. [The profile of Israeli travelers to developing countries: perspectives of a travel clinic].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stienlauf, Shmuel; Meltzer, Eyal; Leshem, Eyal; Rendi-Wagner, Pamela; Schwartz, Eli

    2010-09-01

    The number of Israeli travelers is increasing, including the number of travelers to developing countries. This study aimed to characterize the profile of Israeli travelers to developing countries. Data regarding demographics, travel destinations, trip duration and the purpose of travel were collected on travelers attending the pre-travel clinic at the Sheba Medical Center during a period of 9 years. Between the dates 1/1/1999 and 31/12/2007, 42,771 travelers presented for consultation at the Sheba Medical Center pre-travel clinic. The average age was 30.8 +/- 13.4 years and 54% of the travelers were males. The female proportion increased from 42% in 1999 to 49% in 2006. There was a steady increase in the number of travelers attending our clinic, except in 2003 (coinciding with the SARS epidemic). Post-army backpackers (20-25 year-old age group) were only 43% of the travelers. Children (60 years) comprised 4.4% and 4.6% of the travelers, respectively. The favorite destinations were Asia (55%), followed by Latin America (27%) and Africa (13%). The distribution of travel destinations varied significantly during the study period. Of note is the sharp decline in travel to Africa following the terrorist attack in Mombassa, Kenya (November 2002). The median trip duration changed during the study period, from 30 to 45 days, between 1999-2004 and 2005-2007 respectively. The majority (87%) of voyagers traveled for pleasure, 6% went for business, and 7% were representatives of governmental organizations. This study found an increasing diversity in the traveler population (more women, more children and older travelers) and more diversity in travel destinations. Disease outbreaks and terrorist attacks had transient negative impacts on the number of travelers.

  4. Contact Frequency, Travel Time, and Travel Costs for Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

    OpenAIRE

    Sørensen, Jan; Linde, Louise; Hetland, Merete Lund

    2014-01-01

    Objectives. To investigate travel time, and travel cost related to contacts with health care providers for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) during a three-month period. Methods. Patient-reported travel time and travel cost were obtained from 2847 patients with RA. Eleven outpatient clinics across Denmark recruited patients to the study. Data collected included frequency, travel time and travel costs for contacts at rheumatology outpatient clinics, other outpatient clinics, general prac...

  5. Challenges to providing pre-travel care for travellers visiting friends and relatives: an audit of a specialist travel medicine clinic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowe, Kate; Chaves, Nadia; Leder, Karin

    2017-09-01

    Travellers visiting friends and relatives (VFRs) often have complex pre-travel needs. We identified the characteristics, destinations, vaccinations and pre-travel advice provided to VFRs and compared these with non-VFR travellers. The significant differences we found suggest that future research should focus on improving the uptake of recommended interventions in VFR travellers. © International Society of Travel Medicine, 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  6. Travel characteristics and risk-taking attitudes in youths traveling to nonindustrialized countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Pauline; Balaban, Victor; Marano, Cinzia

    2010-01-01

    International travel to developing countries is increasing with rising levels of disposable income; this trend is seen in both adults and children. Risk-taking attitude is fundamental to research on the prevention of risky health behaviors, which can be an indicator of the likelihood of experiencing illness or injury during travel. The aim of this study is to investigate whether risk-taking attitudes of youths are associated with travel characteristics and likelihood of experiencing illness or injury while traveling to nonindustrialized countries. Data were analyzed from the 2008 YouthStyles survey, an annual mail survey gathering demographics and health knowledge, attitudes, and practices of individuals from 9 through 18 years of age. Travelers were defined as respondents who reported traveling in the last 12 months to a destination other than the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia, or New Zealand. Risk-taking attitude was measured by using a four-item Brief Sensation-Seeking Scale. All p values ≤ 0.05 were considered significant. Of 1,704 respondents, 131 (7.7%) traveled in the last 12 months. Females and those with higher household income were more likely to travel (odds ratio = 1.6,1.1). Of those who traveled, 16.7% reported seeking pretravel medical care, with most visiting a family doctor for that care (84.0%). However, one-fifth of respondents reported illness and injury during travel; of these, 83.3% traveled with their parents. Males and older youths had higher mean sensation-seeking scores. Further, travelers had a higher mean sensation-seeking score than nontravelers. Those who did not seek pretravel medical care also had higher mean sensation-seeking scores (p = 0.1, not significant). Our results show an association between risk-taking attitudes and youth travel behavior. However, adult supervision during travel and parental directives prior to travel should be taken into consideration. Communication messages should emphasize the

  7. Snow depth manipulation experiments in a dry and a moist tundra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwon, M. J.; Czimczik, C. I.; Jung, J. Y.; Kim, M.; Lee, Y. K.; Nam, S.; Wagner, I.

    2017-12-01

    As a result of global warming, precipitation in the Arctic is expected to increase by 25-50% by the end of this century, mostly in the form of snow. However, precipitation patterns vary considerable in space and time, and future precipitation patterns are highly uncertain at local and regional scales. The amount of snowfall (or snow depth) influences a number of ecosystem properties in Arctic ecosystems, such as soil temperature over winter and soil moisture in the following growing season. These modifications then affect rates of carbon-related soil processes and photosynthesis, thus CO2 exchange rates between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. In this study, we investigate the effects of snow depth on the magnitude, sources and temporal dynamics of CO2 fluxes. We installed snow fences in a dry dwarf-shrub (Cambridge Bay, Canada; 69° N, 105° W) and a moist low-shrub (Council, Alaska, USA; 64° N, 165° W) tundra in summer 2017, and established control, and increased and reduced snow depth plots at each snow fence. Summertime CO2 flux rates (net ecosystem exchange, ecosystem respiration, gross primary production) and the fractions of autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration to ecosystem respiration were measured using manual chambers and radiocarbon signatures. Wintertime CO2 flux rates will be measured using soda lime adsorption technique and forced diffusion chambers. Soil temperature and moisture at multiple depths, as well as changes in soil properties and microbial communities will be also observed, to research whether these changes affect CO2 flux rates or patterns. Our study will elucidate how future snow depth and its impact on soil physical and biogeochemical properties influence the magnitude and sources of tundra-atmosphere CO2 exchange in the rapidly warming Arctic.

  8. Does NDVI reflect variation in the structural attributes associated with increasing shrub dominance in arctic tundra?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boelman, Natalie T [Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964 (United States); Gough, Laura; McLaren, Jennie R [Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019 (United States); Greaves, Heather, E-mail: nboelman@ldeo.columbia.edu [Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, 321 Richardson Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331 (United States)

    2011-07-15

    This study explores relationships between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and structural characteristics associated with deciduous shrub dominance in arctic tundra. Our structural measures of shrub dominance are stature, branch abundance, aerial per cent woody stem cover (deciduous and evergreen species), and per cent deciduous shrub canopy cover. All measurements were taken across a suite of transects that together represent a gradient of deciduous shrub height. The transects include tussock tundra shrub and riparian shrub tundra communities located in the northern foothills of the Brooks Range, in northern Alaska. Plot-level NDVI measurements were made in 2010 during the snow-free period prior to deciduous shrub leaf-out (early June, NDVI{sub pre-leaf}), at the point in the growing season when canopy NDVI has reached half of its maximum growing season value (mid-June, NDVI{sub demi-leaf}) and during the period of maximum leaf-out (late July, NDVI{sub peak-leaf}). We found that: (1) NDVI{sub pre-leaf} is best suited to capturing variation in the per cent woody stem cover, maximum shrub height, and branch abundance, particularly between 10 and 50 cm height in the canopy; (2) NDVI{sub peak-leaf} is best suited to capturing variation in deciduous canopy cover; and (3) NDVI{sub demi-leaf} does not capture variability in any of our measures of shrub dominance. These findings suggest that in situ NDVI measurements made prior to deciduous canopy leaf-out could be used to identify small differences in maximum shrub height, woody stem cover, and branch abundance (particularly between 10 and 50 cm height in the canopy). Because shrubs are increasing in size and regional extent in several regions of the Arctic, investigation into spectrally based tools for monitoring these changes are worthwhile as they provide a first step towards development of remotely sensed techniques for quantifying associated changes in regional carbon cycling, albedo, radiative

  9. Does NDVI reflect variation in the structural attributes associated with increasing shrub dominance in arctic tundra?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boelman, Natalie T; Gough, Laura; McLaren, Jennie R; Greaves, Heather

    2011-01-01

    This study explores relationships between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and structural characteristics associated with deciduous shrub dominance in arctic tundra. Our structural measures of shrub dominance are stature, branch abundance, aerial per cent woody stem cover (deciduous and evergreen species), and per cent deciduous shrub canopy cover. All measurements were taken across a suite of transects that together represent a gradient of deciduous shrub height. The transects include tussock tundra shrub and riparian shrub tundra communities located in the northern foothills of the Brooks Range, in northern Alaska. Plot-level NDVI measurements were made in 2010 during the snow-free period prior to deciduous shrub leaf-out (early June, NDVI pre-leaf ), at the point in the growing season when canopy NDVI has reached half of its maximum growing season value (mid-June, NDVI demi-leaf ) and during the period of maximum leaf-out (late July, NDVI peak-leaf ). We found that: (1) NDVI pre-leaf is best suited to capturing variation in the per cent woody stem cover, maximum shrub height, and branch abundance, particularly between 10 and 50 cm height in the canopy; (2) NDVI peak-leaf is best suited to capturing variation in deciduous canopy cover; and (3) NDVI demi-leaf does not capture variability in any of our measures of shrub dominance. These findings suggest that in situ NDVI measurements made prior to deciduous canopy leaf-out could be used to identify small differences in maximum shrub height, woody stem cover, and branch abundance (particularly between 10 and 50 cm height in the canopy). Because shrubs are increasing in size and regional extent in several regions of the Arctic, investigation into spectrally based tools for monitoring these changes are worthwhile as they provide a first step towards development of remotely sensed techniques for quantifying associated changes in regional carbon cycling, albedo, radiative energy balance, and wildlife

  10. Apparent Contradiction: Psychrotolerant Bacteria from Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Arctic Tundra Soils That Degrade Diterpenoids Synthesized by Trees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Zhongtang; Stewart, Gordon R.; Mohn, William W.

    2000-01-01

    Resin acids are tricyclic terpenoids occurring naturally in trees. We investigated the occurrence of resin acid-degrading bacteria on the Arctic tundra near the northern coast of Ellesmere Island (82°N, 62°W). According to most-probable-number assays, resin acid degraders were abundant (103 to 104 propagules/g of soil) in hydrocarbon-contaminated soils, but they were undetectable (soil) in pristine soils from the nearby tundra. Plate counts indicated that the contaminated and the pristine soils had similar populations of heterotrophs (106 to 107 propagules/g of soil). Eleven resin acid-degrading bacteria belonging to four phylogenetically distinct groups were enriched and isolated from the contaminated soils, and representative isolates of each group were further characterized. Strains DhA-91, IpA-92, and IpA-93 are members of the genus Pseudomonas. Strain DhA-95 is a member of the genus Sphingomonas. All four strains are psychrotolerant, with growth temperature ranges of 4°C to 30°C (DhA-91 and DhA-95) or 4°C to 22°C (IpA-92 and IpA-93) and with optimum temperatures of 15 to 22°C. Strains DhA-91 and DhA-95 grew on the abietanes, dehydroabietic and abietic acids, but not on the pimaranes, isopimaric and pimaric acids. Strains IpA-92 and IpA-93 grew on the pimaranes but not the abietanes. All four strains grew on either aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbons, which is unusual for described resin acid degraders. Eleven mesophilic resin acid degraders did not use hydrocarbons, with the exception of two Mycobacterium sp. strains that used aliphatic hydrocarbons. We conclude that hydrocarbon contamination in Arctic tundra soil indirectly selected for resin acid degraders, selecting for hydrocarbon degraders that coincidentally use resin acids. Psychrotolerant resin acid degraders are likely important in the global carbon cycle and may have applications in biotreatment of pulp and paper mill effluents. PMID:11097882

  11. Fellow travellers: Working memory and mental time travel in rodents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dere, Ekrem; Dere, Dorothea; de Souza Silva, Maria Angelica; Huston, Joseph P; Zlomuzica, Armin

    2017-03-19

    The impairment of mental time travel is a severe cognitive symptom in patients with brain lesions and a number of neuropsychiatric disorders. Whether animals are also able to mentally travel in time both forward and backward is still a matter of debate. In this regard, we have proposed a continuum of mental time travel abilities across different animal species, with humans being the species with the ability to perform most sophisticated forms of mental time travel. In this review and perspective article, we delineate a novel approach to understand the evolution, characteristics and function of human and animal mental time travel. Furthermore, we propose a novel approach to measure mental time travel in rodents in a comprehensive manner using a test battery composed of well-validated and easy applicable tests. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  12. Fire-severity effects on plant-fungal interactions after a novel tundra wildfire disturbance: implications for arctic shrub and tree migration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rebecca E. Hewitt; Teresa N. Hollingsworth; F. Stuart Chapin III; D. Lee Taylor

    2016-01-01

    Background: Vegetation change in high latitude tundra ecosystems is expected to accelerate due to increased wildfire activity. High-severity fires increase the availability of mineral soil seedbeds, which facilitates recruitment, yet fire also alters soil microbial composition, which could significantly impact seedling establishment.

  13. Slope-scale dynamic states of rockfalls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agliardi, F.; Crosta, G. B.

    2009-04-01

    Rockfalls are common earth surface phenomena characterised by complex dynamics at the slope scale, depending on local block kinematics and slope geometry. We investigated the nature of this slope-scale dynamics by parametric 3D numerical modelling of rockfalls over synthetic slopes with different inclination, roughness and spatial resolution. Simulations were performed through an original code specifically designed for rockfall modeling, incorporating kinematic and hybrid algorithms with different damping functions available to model local energy loss by impact and pure rolling. Modelling results in terms of average velocity profiles suggest that three dynamic regimes (i.e. decelerating, steady-state and accelerating), previously recognized in the literature through laboratory experiments on granular flows, can set up at the slope scale depending on slope average inclination and roughness. Sharp changes in rock fall kinematics, including motion type and lateral dispersion of trajectories, are associated to the transition among different regimes. Associated threshold conditions, portrayed in "phase diagrams" as slope-roughness critical lines, were analysed depending on block size, impact/rebound angles, velocity and energy, and model spatial resolution. Motion in regime B (i.e. steady state) is governed by a slope-scale "viscous friction" with average velocity linearly related to the sine of slope inclination. This suggest an analogy between rockfall motion in regime B and newtonian flow, whereas in regime C (i.e. accelerating) an analogy with a dilatant flow was observed. Thus, although local behavior of single falling blocks is well described by rigid body dynamics, the slope scale dynamics of rockfalls seem to statistically approach that of granular media. Possible outcomes of these findings include a discussion of the transition from rockfall to granular flow, the evaluation of the reliability of predictive models, and the implementation of criteria for a

  14. The Concept of Travel Medicine and the Actual Situation of Travel-Related Illnesses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tunalı, Varol; Turgay, Nevin

    2017-06-01

    Travel medicine defines all diseases and medical situations that are related to travel. Travel medicine comprises infectious diseases, traumas, altitude sickness, sun burns, embolisms, jet lag, and many more travel-related situations. With the increasing possibility and ease of travel, the number of people who have travelled internationally has exceeded 1.13 billion in 2014, and the revenues of international travel have exceeded 1.25 trillion dollars. With every passing day, international travels are shifting toward the developing countries and to more exotic regions of the world, and travelers tend to be more adventurous and daring, thereby increasing risky behaviors during travels. Traveling plays an important role in transmitting infections such as Zika virus infection, Ebola, avian flu, severe acute respiratory syndrome, Chikungunya, and dengue fever and is the principal reason for the epidemics of these types of infections on a global scale. With this background, we suggest that travel medicine is an important but "neglected" medical discipline as the discipline of Parasitology itself like most parasitic diseases.

  15. Contact frequency, travel time, and travel costs for patients with rheumatoid arthritis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Jan; Linde, Louise; Hetland, Merete Lund

    2014-01-01

    Objectives. To investigate travel time, and travel cost related to contacts with health care providers for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) during a three-month period. Methods. Patient-reported travel time and travel cost were obtained from 2847 patients with RA. Eleven outpatient clinics...... across Denmark recruited patients to the study. Data collected included frequency, travel time and travel costs for contacts at rheumatology outpatient clinics, other outpatient clinics, general practitioners, privately practicing medical specialists, inpatient hospitals and accident and emergency...... and 13 € on travelling per contact, corresponding to a total of 4.6 hours and 56 € during the 3-month period. There was great variation in patient travel time and costs, but no statistically significant associations were found with clinical and sociodemographic characteristics. Conclusion. The results...

  16. EFFECTS OF SLOPE SHAPES ON SOIL EROSION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hüseyin ŞENSOY, Şahin PALTA

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Water is one of the most important erosive forces. A great number of factors also play a role in erosion process and slope characteristic is also one of them. The steepness and length of the slope are important factors for runoff and soil erosion. Another slope factor that has an effect on erosion is the shape of the slope. Generally, different erosion and runoff characteristics exist in different slopes which can be classified as uniform, concave, convex and complex shape. In this study, the effects of slope shape on erosion are stated and emphasized by taking similar researches into consideration.

  17. Rock slopes and reservoirs - lessons learned

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moore, D.P.

    1999-01-01

    Lessons learned about slope stability in the course of four decades of monitoring, and in some cases stabilizing, slopes along British Columbia's hydroelectric reservoirs are discussed. The lessons are illustrated by short case histories of some of the more important slopes such as Little Chief Slide, Dutchman's Ridge, Downie Slide, Checkerboard Creek and Wahleach. Information derived from the monitoring and other investigations are compared with early interpretations of geology and slope performance. The comparison serves as an indicator of progress in slope stability determination and as a measure of the value of accumulated experience in terms of the potential consequences to safety and cost savings over the long life-span of hydroelectric projects.14 refs., 2 tabs., 15 figs

  18. Contact frequency, travel time, and travel costs for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sørensen, Jan; Linde, Louise; Hetland, Merete Lund

    2014-01-01

    Objectives. To investigate travel time, and travel cost related to contacts with health care providers for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) during a three-month period. Methods. Patient-reported travel time and travel cost were obtained from 2847 patients with RA. Eleven outpatient clinics across Denmark recruited patients to the study. Data collected included frequency, travel time and travel costs for contacts at rheumatology outpatient clinics, other outpatient clinics, general practitioners, privately practicing medical specialists, inpatient hospitals and accident and emergency departments. Results. Over a 3-month period, patients with RA had on average 4.4 (sd 5.7) contacts with health care providers, of which 2.8 (sd 4.0) contacts were with rheumatology outpatient clinics. Private car and public travel were the most frequent modes of travel. The average patient spent 63 minutes and 13 € on travelling per contact, corresponding to a total of 4.6 hours and 56 € during the 3-month period. There was great variation in patient travel time and costs, but no statistically significant associations were found with clinical and sociodemographic characteristics. Conclusion. The results show that patients with RA spend private time and costs on travelling when they seek treatment. These findings are particularly important when analyzing social costs associated with RA.

  19. Two Component Decomposition of Dual Polarimetric HH/VV SAR Data: Case Study for the Tundra Environment of the Mackenzie Delta Region, Canada

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tobias Ullmann

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This study investigates a two component decomposition technique for HH/VV-polarized PolSAR (Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar data. The approach is a straight forward adaption of the Yamaguchi decomposition and decomposes the data into two scattering contributions: surface and double bounce under the assumption of a negligible vegetation scattering component in Tundra environments. The dependencies between the features of this two and the classical three component Yamaguchi decomposition were investigated for Radarsat-2 (quad and TerraSAR-X (HH/VV data for the Mackenzie Delta Region, Canada. In situ data on land cover were used to derive the scattering characteristics and to analyze the correlation among the PolSAR features. The double bounce and surface scattering features of the two and three component scattering model (derived from pseudo-HH/VV- and quad-polarized data showed similar scattering characteristics and positively correlated-R2 values of 0.60 (double bounce and 0.88 (surface scattering were observed. The presence of volume scattering led to differences between the features and these were minimized for land cover classes of low vegetation height that showed little volume scattering contribution. In terms of separability, the quad-polarized Radarsat-2 data offered the best separation of the examined tundra land cover types and will be best suited for the classification. This is anticipated as it represents the largest feature space of all tested ones. However; the classes “wetland” and “bare ground” showed clear positions in the feature spaces of the C- and X-Band HH/VV-polarized data and an accurate classification of these land cover types is promising. Among the possible dual-polarization modes of Radarsat-2 the HH/VV was found to be the favorable mode for the characterization of the aforementioned tundra land cover classes due to the coherent acquisition and the preserved co-pol. phase. Contrary, HH/HV-polarized and VV

  20. Validation of a multimodal travel simulator with travel information provision

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chorus, C.G.; Molin, E.J.E.; Arentze, T.A.; Hoogendoorn, S.P.; Timmermans, H.J.P.; Wee, van G.P.

    2007-01-01

    This paper presents a computer based travel simulator for collecting data concerning the use of next-generation ATIS and their effects on traveler decision making in a multimodal travel environment. The tool distinguishes itself by presenting a completely abstract multimodal transport network, where

  1. Do British travel agents provide adequate health advice for travellers?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawlor, D A; Burke, J; Bouskill, E; Conn, G; Edwards, P; Gillespie, D

    2000-01-01

    Travel-related illness is a burden for primary care, with more than two million travellers consulting a general practitioner each year. The annual cost of travel-related illness in the United Kingdom is 11 million Pounds. Travel agents are in a unique position to influence this burden as the most common and most serious problems are preventable with simple advice and/or immunisation. This study, using covert researchers, suggests this potential is not being fully utilised. PMID:10954940

  2. The role of summer precipitation and summer temperature in establishment and growth of dwarf shrub Betula nana in northeast Siberian tundra

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Bingxi; Heijmans, Monique M P D; Berendse, Frank

    2016-01-01

    It is widely believed that deciduous tundra-shrub dominance is increasing in the pan-Arctic region, mainly due to rising temperature. We sampled dwarf birch (Betula nana L.) at a northeastern Siberian tundra site and used dendrochronological methods to explore the relationship between climatic...... variables and local shrub dominance. We found that establishment of shrub ramets was positively related to summer precipitation, which implies that the current high dominance of B. nana at our study site could be related to high summer precipitation in the period from 1960 to 1990. The results confirmed...... that early summer temperature is most influential to annual growth rates of B. nana. In addition, summer precipitation stimulated shrub growth in years with warm summers, suggesting that B. nana growth may be co-limited by summer moisture supply. The dual controlling role of temperature and summer...

  3. Centrifuge model test of rock slope failure caused by seismic excitation. Plane failure of dip slope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishimaru, Makoto; Kawai, Tadashi

    2008-01-01

    Recently, it is necessary to assess quantitatively seismic safety of critical facilities against the earthquake induced rock slope failure from the viewpoint of seismic PSA. Under these circumstances, it is essential to evaluate more accurately the possibilities of rock slope failure and the potential failure boundary, which are triggered by earthquake ground motions. The purpose of this study is to analyze dynamic failure characteristics of rock slopes by centrifuge model tests for verification and improvement of the analytical methods. We conducted a centrifuge model test using a dip slope model with discontinuities limitated by Teflon sheets. The centrifugal acceleration was 50G, and the acceleration amplitude of input sin waves increased gradually at every step. The test results were compared with safety factors of the stability analysis based on the limit equilibrium concept. Resultant conclusions are mainly as follows: (1) The slope model collapsed when it was excited by the sine wave of 400gal, which was converted to real field scale, (2) Artificial discontinuities were considerably concerned in the collapse, and the type of collapse was plane failure, (3) From response acceleration records observed at the slope model, we can say that tension cracks were generated near the top of the slope model during excitation, and that might be cause of the collapse, (4) By considering generation of the tension cracks in the stability analysis, correspondence of the analytical results and the experimental results improved. From the obtained results, we need to consider progressive failure in evaluating earthquake induced rock slope failure. (author)

  4. International Travelers' Sociodemographic, Health, and Travel Characteristics: An Italian Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Troiano, Gianmarco; Mercone, Astrid; Bagnoli, Alessandra; Nante, Nicola

    Approximately the 8% of travelers requires medical care, with the diagnosis of a vaccine-preventable disease. The aim of our study was to analyze the socio-demographic, health and travel characteristics of the Italian international travelers. We conducted a cross sectional study from January 2015 to June 2016, at the Travel Medicine Clinic of Siena, asking the doctor to interview patients who attended the Clinic, recording socio-demographic and travel information, malaria prophylaxis, vaccinations. The data were organized in a database and processed by software Stata®. We collected 419 questionnaires. Patients chose 71 countries for their travels; the favorite destinations were: India (6.31%), Thailand (6.31%), and Brazil (5.10%). The mean length of stay was 36.17 days. Italians, students, and freelancers tended to stay abroad for a longer time (mean: 36.4 days, 59.87 days and 64.16 days respectively). 33.17% of our sample used drugs for malaria chemoprophylaxis: 71.9% of them used Atovaquone/Proguanil (Malarone®), 26.6% used Mefloquine (Lariam®), 1.5% other drugs. The vaccinations that travelers mostly got in our study were to prevent hepatitis A (n = 264), the typhoid fever (n = 187), the Tetanus + Diphtheria + Pertussis (n = 165), the Yellow fever (n = 118) and the cholera (n = 78). Twenty-eight (6.68%) refused some recommended vaccinations. The vaccines mostly refused were for Typhoid fever (n = 20), hepatitis a (n = 9), and cholera (n = 9). Our results demonstrated that Italian international travelers are at-risk because of their poor vaccinations adherence. This implies that pre-travel counseling is fundamental to increase the knowledge of the risks and the compliance of future travelers. Copyright © 2016 Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Travellers' diarrhoea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ericsson, Charles D

    2003-02-01

    Risk of travellers' diarrhoea is about 7% in developed countries and 20-50% in the developing world. Options for prevention include education and chemoprophylaxis. Vaccination is a promising but incomplete option. Achieving behaviour modification of food and water choices among tourists is difficult. Bismuth subsalicylate (BSS)-containing compounds are about 62% effective in the prevention of travellers' diarrhoea. Antibiotics are about 84% effective in preventing travellers' diarrhoea. Routine prophylaxis of travellers' diarrhoea, especially with antibiotics, should be discouraged. Oral rehydration is generally important in the treatment of diarrhoea, but travellers' diarrhoea is only infrequently dehydrating in adults. The addition of oral rehydration solutions confers no additional benefit to loperamide in the treatment of travellers' diarrhoea in adults. Presently, the most active of the antibiotics routinely available for treatment are members of the fluoroquinolone group. Antibiotics that are not absorbed such as aztreonam and a rifampicin-like agent, rifaximin, are both effective. The latter might become a therapy of choice once it is routinely available, due to predictably less adverse reactions with a non-absorbed antibiotic. Preliminary results with azithromycin look very promising. Less severe disease can be treated with a variety of non-antibiotic agents (e.g. BSS-containing compounds, loperamide and a calmodulin inhibitor, zaldaride). The combination of an antibiotic and loperamide is superior to treatment with either agent alone in a several studies and is arguably the treatment of choice for distressing travellers' diarrhoea.

  6. THE DECISION MAKING OF BUSINESS TRAVELLERS IN SELECTING ONLINE TRAVEL PORTALS FOR TRAVEL BOOKING: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF DELHI NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION, INDIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bivek DATTA

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to understand the decision making pattern of the Business Travellers in Delhi National Capital Region in India while booking their trips through Online Travel Portals. The study revolves around purchase decision pattern of Business Travellers by investigating their travel decision making style in selecting online travel portals for their trip booking. The authors have adopted the quantitative methodology to achieve the objective of the study. The study is confined purely to the Business Travellers who book their travel through online travel portals. The data was collected through a structured questionnaire. 300 Business Travellers were interviewed at the departure lounge of Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, India out of which 150 questionnaires were incomplete in many respects and could not be used and only 150 questionnaires were usable resulting in the response rate of 50%. The Analytical Hierarchy process method was adopted to analyze the relative weights assigned by Business Travellers. The present study identifies through literature review the nine fundamental values of internet purchase i.e. product quality, cost, time to receive the product, convenience, time spent, confidentiality, shopping enjoyment, security and environmental impact. The research findings indicate that business travellers value confidentiality, security and product quality the most while choosing the Online Travel Portal to book their trip. The study is primarily centered on the consumer typology approach to study the decision making patterns of business travellers whereas there are other variables such as lifestyle, personality, attitude which can also be investigated. The study is only restricted to Business Travellers decision making pattern pertaining to their travel booking whereas a study can also be undertaken on leisure travellers decision making pattern. The study is restricted to only Delhi National Capital Region

  7. The Tourist Itinerary Travel Loop: historical and contemporary travel characteristics

    OpenAIRE

    Lundgren, Jan O.

    2012-01-01

    In today’s tourist travel, the travel loop represents a very popular itinerary design, although the circumstances under which it is applied, as well as its geographic scale, often differ from the grandiose loop designs of centuries past. During the past couple of decades, a popular kind of new travel has emerged, the cruise-ship travel phenomenon, which often is arranged as quite an extensive itinerary loop. . However, the cruises can also be transoceanic, even global, with the tourist flying...

  8. Contact Frequency, Travel Time, and Travel Costs for Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan Sørensen

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Objectives. To investigate travel time, and travel cost related to contacts with health care providers for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA during a three-month period. Methods. Patient-reported travel time and travel cost were obtained from 2847 patients with RA. Eleven outpatient clinics across Denmark recruited patients to the study. Data collected included frequency, travel time and travel costs for contacts at rheumatology outpatient clinics, other outpatient clinics, general practitioners, privately practicing medical specialists, inpatient hospitals and accident and emergency departments. Results. Over a 3-month period, patients with RA had on average 4.4 (sd 5.7 contacts with health care providers, of which 2.8 (sd 4.0 contacts were with rheumatology outpatient clinics. Private car and public travel were the most frequent modes of travel. The average patient spent 63 minutes and 13 € on travelling per contact, corresponding to a total of 4.6 hours and 56 € during the 3-month period. There was great variation in patient travel time and costs, but no statistically significant associations were found with clinical and sociodemographic characteristics. Conclusion. The results show that patients with RA spend private time and costs on travelling when they seek treatment. These findings are particularly important when analyzing social costs associated with RA.

  9. Carbon dioxide exchange in three tundra sites show a dissimilar response to environmental variables

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mbufong, Herbert Njuabe; Lund, Magnus; Christensen, Torben Røjle

    2015-01-01

    variability. An improved understanding of the control of ancillary variables on net ecosystem exchange (NEE), gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (Re) will improve the accuracy with which CO2 exchange seasonality in Arctic tundra ecosystems is modelled. Fluxes were measured with the eddy...... Lake. Growing season NEE correlated mainly to cumulative radiation and temperature-related variables at Zackenberg, while at Daring Lake the same variables showed significant correlations with the partitioned fluxes (GPP and Re). Stordalen was temperature dependent during the growing season. This study...

  10. On the relationship between travel time and travel distance in the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rietveld, P.; Zwart, B.; van Wee, B.; van der Hoorn, A.I.J.M.

    1999-01-01

    This paper gives a detailed empirical analysis of the relationships between different indicators of costs of commuting trips by car: difference as the crow flies, shortest travel time according to route planner, corresponding travel distance, and reported travel time. Reported travel times are

  11. Trends and characteristics among HIV-infected and diabetic travelers seeking pre-travel advice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elfrink, Floor; van den Hoek, Anneke; Sonder, Gerard J B

    2014-01-01

    The number of individuals with a chronic disease increases. Better treatment options have improved chronic patients' quality of life, likely increasing their motivation for travel. This may have resulted in a change in the number of HIV-infected travelers and/or travelers with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) visiting our travel clinic. We retrospectively analyzed the database of the travel clinic of the Public Health Service Amsterdam, between January 2001 and December 2011 and examined the records for patients with these conditions. Of the 25,000 travelers who consult our clinic annually, the proportion of travelers with HIV or DM has increased significantly. A total of 564 HIV-infected travelers visited our clinic. The mean age was 41 years, 86% were male, 43% visited a yellow fever endemic country and 46.5% had a CD4 count Travelers with low CD4 counts traveled significantly more often to visit friends or relatives. A total of 3704 diabetics visited our clinic. The mean age was 55 years, 52% were male, 27% visited a yellow fever endemic country and 36% were insulin-dependent. Insulin-dependent diabetics traveled more often for work than non-insulin-dependent diabetics. Adequately trained and qualified travel health professionals and up-to-date guidelines for travelers with chronic diseases are of increasing importance. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Travelers' health problems and behavior: prospective study with post-travel follow-up.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vilkman, Katri; Pakkanen, Sari H; Lääveri, Tinja; Siikamäki, Heli; Kantele, Anu

    2016-07-13

    The annual number of international tourist arrivals has recently exceeded one billion, yet surprisingly few studies have characterized travelers' behavior, illness, and risk factors in a prospective setting. Particularly scarce are surveys of data spanning travel, return, and follow-up of the same cohort. This study examines behavior and illness among travelers while abroad, after return home, and at follow-up. Patterns of behavior connected to type of travel and illness are characterized so as to identify risk factors and provide background data for pre-travel advice. Volunteers to this prospective cohort study were recruited at visits to a travel clinic prior to departure. Data on the subjects' health and behavior were collected by questionnaires before and after journeys and over a three-week follow-up. In addition, the subjects were asked to fill in health diaries while traveling. The final study population consisted of 460 subjects, 79 % of whom reported illness during travel or on arrival: 69 % had travelers' diarrhea (TD), 17 % skin problems, 17 % fever, 12 % vomiting, 8 % respiratory tract infection, 4 % urinary tract infection, 2 % ear infection, 4 % gastrointestinal complaints other than TD or vomiting, and 4 % other symptoms. Of all subjects, 10 % consulted a doctor and 0.7 % were hospitalized; 18 % took antimicrobials, with TD as the most common indication (64 %). Ongoing symptoms were reported by 25 % of all travelers upon return home. During the three-week follow-up (return rate 51 %), 32 % of respondents developed new-onset symptoms, 20 % visited a doctor and 1.7 % were hospitalized. Factors predisposing to health problems were identified by multivariable analysis: certain regions (Southern Asia, South-Eastern Asia, and Eastern Africa), female gender, young age, and long travel duration. Despite proper preventive measures like vaccinations, malaria prophylaxis, and travel advice, the majority of our subjects fell ill during or

  13. Tiltmeter Indicates Sense of Slope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lonborg, J. O.

    1985-01-01

    Tiltmeter indicates sense and magnitude of slope used in locations where incline not visible to operator. Use of direct rather than alternating current greatly simplifies design of instrument capable of indicating sense of slope.

  14. Carbon storage in permafrost and soils of the mammoth tundra-steppe biome: role in the global carbon budget

    Science.gov (United States)

    N.S. Zimov; S.A. Zimov; A.E. Zimova; G.M. Zimova; V.I. Chuprynin; F.S. Chapin

    2009-01-01

    During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), atmospheric CO2 concentration was 80-100 ppmv lower than in preindustrial times. At that time steppe-tundra was the most extensive biome on Earth. Some authors assume that C storage in that biome was very small, similar to today's deserts, and that the terrestrial carbon (C) reservoir increased at the...

  15. 78 FR 73702 - Federal Travel Regulation (FTR); Telework Travel Expenses Test Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-09

    ...; Docket Number 2013-0012, Sequence 1] RIN 3090-AJ23 Federal Travel Regulation (FTR); Telework Travel...). ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: GSA is amending the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) to incorporate the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, which establishes and authorizes telework travel expenses test programs...

  16. International travel and vaccinations.

    OpenAIRE

    Rizvon, M K; Qazi, S; Ward, L A

    1999-01-01

    With the increase in global travel, no disease is beyond the reach of any population. Traveling patients should be advised to follow food and water precautions and encouraged to receive the recommended immunizations. Travel medicine plays a vital role not only in limiting the morbidity of travel-related illnesses but also in limiting the spread of diseases. This article addresses the common issues related to travel, reviews the care of the immunocompromised traveler, and updates the available...

  17. Risk factors and pre-travel healthcare of international travellers attending a Dutch travel clinic: a cross-sectional analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wieten, Rosanne W.; van der Schalie, Maurice; Visser, Benjamin J.; Grobusch, Martin P.; van Vugt, Michèle

    2014-01-01

    The number of international travellers is currently estimated to exceed one billion annually. To address travel related health risks and facilitate risk reduction strategies, detailed knowledge of travellers' characteristics is important. In this cross-sectional study, data of a 20% sample of

  18. Danish travel activities: do we travel more and longer – and to what extent?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knudsen, Mette Aagaard

    Two separate Danish National travel surveys are analysed to outline the amount and extent of national and international travelling during the latest 15-20 years; the national travel survey (TU) describes mainly national daily travel activities, whereas the holiday and business travel survey...... describes national and international travel activities including overnight stay(s). When sampling only respondents with trips above 100 kilometres, they only accounts for around 2% of all daily travel activities, however, this share appears to increase and suggest in general that we do travel longer....... But due to this limited share of trips, the overall impacts of longer distance travelling vanish when considering all daily travel activities. Especially as about 95% of all daily travel destinations range less than 50 kilometres away and in total induce an average trip length of 20 kilometres. If focus...

  19. Travel agents and the prevention of health problems among travelers in Québec.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Provost, Sylvie; Gaulin, Colette; Piquet-Gauthier, Blandine; Emmanuelli, Julien; Venne, Sylvie; Dion, Réjean; Grenier, Jean-Luc; Dessau, Jean-Claude; Dubuc, Martine

    2002-01-01

    Among the factors influencing travelers to seek preventive health advice before departure, the travel agent's recommendation plays an important role. The objective of our study was to document the practices and needs of travel agents in Québec (Canada) in relation to the prevention of health problems among travelers. In June 2000, a cross-sectional descriptive survey was carried out among travel agents from all travel agencies in Québec. One agent per agency was asked to answer our questions. Data were collected using a 32-item telephone questionnaire. Altogether, 708 travel agents from the 948 agencies contacted answered our questionnaire (participation rate: 75%). Most respondents (81%) believed that the travel agent has a role to play in the prevention of health problems among travelers, especially to recommend that travelers consult a travel clinic before departure. Although over 80% of the agents interviewed mentioned recommending a visit to a travel clinic before an organized tour to Thailand or a backpacking trip in Mexico, less than half said they make the same recommendation for a stay in a seaside resort in Mexico. The majority of respondents were acquainted with the services offered in travel health clinics, and these clinics were the source of travel health information most often mentioned by travel agents. However, nearly 60% of the agents questioned had never personally consulted a travel clinic. When asked about the best way to receive information about travelers' health, more than 40% of respondents favoured receiving information newsletters from public health departments regularly whereas 28% preferred the Internet. Despite the limits of this study, our results should help the public health network better target its interventions aimed to inform travel agents on prevention of health problems among travelers.

  20. German travelers' preferences for travel vaccines assessed by a discrete choice experiment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poulos, Christine; Curran, Desmond; Anastassopoulou, Anastassia; De Moerlooze, Laurence

    2018-02-08

    Many travelers to regions with endemic infectious diseases do not follow health authorities' recommendations regarding vaccination against vaccine-preventable infectious diseases, before traveling. The determinants of individual travelers' decisions to vaccinate before traveling are largely unknown. This study aimed to provide this information using a discrete choice experiment (DCE) administered to four types of German travelers: (1) business travelers; (2) travelers visiting friends and relatives (VFR); (3) leisure travelers; and (4) backpackers. A DCE survey was developed, pretested and administered online. It included a series of choice questions in which respondents chose between two hypothetical vaccines, each characterized by four disease attributes with varying levels describing the of risk, health impact, curability and transmissibility of the disease they would prevent (described with four disease attributes with varying levels of risk, health impact, curability and transmissibility), and varying levels of four vaccine attributes (duration of protection, number of doses required, time required for vaccination, and vaccine cost). A random-parameters logit model was used to estimate the importance weights each traveler type placed on the various attribute levels. These weights were used to calculate mean monetary equivalents (MMEs) of changes in each attribute (holding all others constant) and of hypothetical disease-vaccine combinations. All traveler types' choices indicated that they attached the greatest importance to the risk and health impact of disease and to the vaccine cost whereas the other disease and vaccine attributes were less important for their decisions about travel vaccines. An option of not choosing any of the vaccine-pairs presented was rarely selected indicating that travelers' generally prefer to be vaccinated rather than not. The MMEs of changes in vaccine attributes indicated a very high variability between the individual travelers

  1. Slope mass rating and kinematic analysis of slopes along the national highway-58 near Jonk, Rishikesh, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tariq Siddique

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The road network in the Himalayan terrain, connecting remote areas either in the valleys or on the hill slopes, plays a pivotal role in socio-economic development of India. The planning, development and even maintenance of road and rail networks in such precarious terrains are always a challenging task because of complexities posed by topography, geological structures, varied lithology and neotectonics. Increasing population and construction of roads have led to destabilisation of slopes, thus leading to mass wasting and movement, further aggravation due to recent events of cloud bursts and unprecedented flash floods. Vulnerability analysis of slopes is an important component for the “Landslide Hazard Assessment” and “Slope Mass Characterisation” guide planners to predict and choose suitable ways for construction of roads and other engineering structures. The problem of landslides along the national highway-58 (NH-58 from Rishikesh to Devprayag is a common scene. The slopes along the NH-58 between Jonk and Rishikesh were investigated, which experienced very heavy traffic especially from March to August due to pilgrimage to Kedarnath shrine. On the basis of slope mass rating (SMR investigation, the area falls in stable class, and landslide susceptibility score (LSS values also indicate that the slopes under investigation fall in low to moderate vulnerability to landslide. More attentions should be paid to the slopes to achieve greater safe and economic benefits along the highway.

  2. Numerical computation of homogeneous slope stability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Shuangshuang; Li, Kemin; Ding, Xiaohua; Liu, Tong

    2015-01-01

    To simplify the computational process of homogeneous slope stability, improve computational accuracy, and find multiple potential slip surfaces of a complex geometric slope, this study utilized the limit equilibrium method to derive expression equations of overall and partial factors of safety. This study transformed the solution of the minimum factor of safety (FOS) to solving of a constrained nonlinear programming problem and applied an exhaustive method (EM) and particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO) to this problem. In simple slope examples, the computational results using an EM and PSO were close to those obtained using other methods. Compared to the EM, the PSO had a small computation error and a significantly shorter computation time. As a result, the PSO could precisely calculate the slope FOS with high efficiency. The example of the multistage slope analysis indicated that this slope had two potential slip surfaces. The factors of safety were 1.1182 and 1.1560, respectively. The differences between these and the minimum FOS (1.0759) were small, but the positions of the slip surfaces were completely different than the critical slip surface (CSS).

  3. Bacterial community structure and soil properties of a subarctic tundra soil in Council, Alaska.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hye Min; Jung, Ji Young; Yergeau, Etienne; Hwang, Chung Yeon; Hinzman, Larry; Nam, Sungjin; Hong, Soon Gyu; Kim, Ok-Sun; Chun, Jongsik; Lee, Yoo Kyung

    2014-08-01

    The subarctic region is highly responsive and vulnerable to climate change. Understanding the structure of subarctic soil microbial communities is essential for predicting the response of the subarctic soil environment to climate change. To determine the composition of the bacterial community and its relationship with soil properties, we investigated the bacterial community structure and properties of surface soil from the moist acidic tussock tundra in Council, Alaska. We collected 70 soil samples with 25-m intervals between sampling points from 0-10 cm to 10-20 cm depths. The bacterial community was analyzed by pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes, and the following soil properties were analyzed: soil moisture content (MC), pH, total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), and inorganic nitrogen (NH4+ and NO3-). The community compositions of the two different depths showed that Alphaproteobacteria decreased with soil depth. Among the soil properties measured, soil pH was the most significant factor correlating with bacterial community in both upper and lower-layer soils. Bacterial community similarity based on jackknifed unweighted unifrac distance showed greater similarity across horizontal layers than through the vertical depth. This study showed that soil depth and pH were the most important soil properties determining bacterial community structure of the subarctic tundra soil in Council, Alaska. © 2014 The Authors. FEMS Microbiology Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies.

  4. Microbial Community and Functional Gene Changes in Arctic Tundra Soils in a Microcosm Warming Experiment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ziming Yang

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Microbial decomposition of soil organic carbon (SOC in thawing Arctic permafrost is important in determining greenhouse gas feedbacks of tundra ecosystems to climate. However, the changes in microbial community structure during SOC decomposition are poorly known. Here we examine these changes using frozen soils from Barrow, Alaska, USA, in anoxic microcosm incubation at −2 and 8°C for 122 days. The functional gene array GeoChip was used to determine microbial community structure and the functional genes associated with SOC degradation, methanogenesis, and Fe(III reduction. Results show that soil incubation after 122 days at 8°C significantly decreased functional gene abundance (P < 0.05 associated with SOC degradation, fermentation, methanogenesis, and iron cycling, particularly in organic-rich soil. These observations correspond well with decreases in labile SOC content (e.g., reducing sugar and ethanol, methane and CO2 production, and Fe(III reduction. In contrast, the community functional structure was largely unchanged in the −2°C incubation. Soil type (i.e., organic vs. mineral and the availability of labile SOC were among the most significant factors impacting microbial community structure. These results demonstrate the important roles of microbial community in SOC degradation and support previous findings that SOC in organic-rich Arctic tundra is highly vulnerable to microbial degradation under warming.

  5. What proportion of international travellers acquire a travel-related illness? A review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angelo, Kristina M; Kozarsky, Phyllis E; Ryan, Edward T; Chen, Lin H; Sotir, Mark J

    2017-09-01

    As international travel increases, travellers may be at increased risk of acquiring infectious diseases not endemic in their home countries. Many journal articles and reference books related to travel medicine cite that between 22-64% of international travellers become ill during or after travel; however, this information is minimal, outdated and limited by poor generalizability. We aim to provide a current and more accurate estimate of the proportion of international travellers who acquire a travel-related illness. We identified studies via PubMed or travel medicine experts, published between January 1, 1976-December 31, 2016 that included the number of international travellers acquiring a travel-related illness. We excluded studies that focused on a single disease or did not determine a rate based on the total number of travellers. We abstracted information on traveller demographics, trip specifics, study enrollment and follow-up and number of ill travellers and their illnesses. Of 743 studies, nine met the inclusion criteria. The data sources were from North America (four studies) and Europe (five studies). Most travellers were tourists, the most frequent destination regions were Asia and Africa, and the median trip duration ranged from 8-21 days. Six studies enrolled participants at the travellers' pre-travel consultation. All studies collected data through either extraction from the medical record, weekly diaries, or pre- and post-travel questionnaires. Data collection timeframes varied by study. Between 6-87% of travellers became ill across all studies. Four studies provided the best estimate: between 43-79% of travellers who frequently visited developing nations (e.g. India, Tanzania, and Kenya) became ill; travellers most frequently reported diarrhoea. This is the most comprehensive assessment available on the proportion of international travellers that develop a travel-related illness. Additional cohort studies would provide needed data to more precisely

  6. Linear chirped slope profile for spatial calibration in slope measuring deflectometry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Siewert, F., E-mail: frank.siewert@helmholtz-berlin.de; Zeschke, T. [Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Institut für Nanometer Optik und Technologie, Albert-Einstein-Str. 15, 12489 Berlin (Germany); Arnold, T.; Paetzelt, H. [Leibnitz Institut für Oberflächen Modifizierung Leipzig e.V., IOM, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig (Germany); Yashchuk, V. V. [Lawerence Berkeley National Laboratory, Advanced Light Source, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)

    2016-05-15

    Slope measuring deflectometry is commonly used by the X-ray optics community to measure the long-spatial-wavelength surface figure error of optical components dedicated to guide and focus X-rays under grazing incidence condition at synchrotron and free electron laser beamlines. The best performing instruments of this kind are capable of absolute accuracy on the level of 30-50 nrad. However, the exact bandwidth of the measurements, determined at the higher spatial frequencies by the instrument’s spatial resolution, or more generally by the instrument’s modulation transfer function (MTF) is hard to determine. An MTF calibration method based on application of a test surface with a one-dimensional (1D) chirped height profile of constant amplitude was suggested in the past. In this work, we propose a new approach to designing the test surfaces with a 2D-chirped topography, specially optimized for MTF characterization of slope measuring instruments. The design of the developed MTF test samples based on the proposed linear chirped slope profiles (LCSPs) is free of the major drawback of the 1D chirped height profiles, where in the slope domain, the amplitude strongly increases with the local spatial frequency of the profile. We provide the details of fabrication of the LCSP samples. The results of first application of the developed test samples to measure the spatial resolution of the BESSY-NOM at different experimental arrangements are also presented and discussed.

  7. Inter-temporal variation in the travel time and travel cost parameters of transport models

    OpenAIRE

    Börjesson, Maria

    2012-01-01

    The parameters for travel time and travel cost are central in travel demand forecasting models. Since valuation of infrastructure investments requires prediction of travel demand for future evaluation years, inter-temporal variation of the travel time and travel cost parameters is a key issue in forecasting. Using two identical stated choice experiments conducted among Swedish drivers with an interval of 13 years, 1994 and 2007, this paper estimates the inter-temporal variation in travel time...

  8. Thaw pond dynamics and carbon emissions in a Siberian lowland tundra landscape

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Huissteden, Ko; Heijmans, Monique; Dean, Josh; Meisel, Ove; Goovaerts, Arne; Parmentier, Frans-Jan; Schaepman-Strub, Gabriela; Belelli Marchesini, Luca; Kononov, Alexander; Maximov, Trofim; Borges, Alberto; Bouillon, Steven

    2017-04-01

    Arctic climate change induces drastic changes in permafrost surface wetness. As a result of thawing ground ice bodies, ice wedge troughs and thaw ponds are formed. Alternatively, ongoing thaw may enhance drainage as a result of increased interconnectedness of thawing ice wedge troughs, as inferred from a model study (Liljedahl et al., 2016, Nature Geoscience, DOI: 10.1038/NGEO2674). However, a recent review highlighted the limited predictability of consequences of thawing permafrost on hydrology (Walvoord and Kurylyk, 2016, Vadose Zone J., DOI:10.2136/vzj2016.01.0010). Overall, these changes in tundra wetness modify carbon cycling in the Arctic and in particular the emissions of CO2 and CH4 to the atmosphere, providing a possibly positive feedback on climate change. Here we present the results of a combined remote sensing, geomorphological, vegetation and biogechemical study of thaw ponds in Arctic Siberian tundra, at Kytalyk research station near Chokurdakh, Indigirka lowlands. The station is located in an area dominated by Pleistocene ice-rich 'yedoma' sediments and drained thaw lake bottoms of Holocene age. The development of three types of ponds in the Kytalyk area (polygon centre ponds, ice wedge troughs and thaw ponds) has been traced with high resolution satellite and aerial imagery. The remote sensing data show net areal expansion of all types of ponds. Next to formation of new ponds, local vegetation change from dry vegetation types to wet, sedge-dominated vegetation is common. Thawing ice wedges and thaw ponds show an increase in area and number at most studied locations. In particular the area of polygon centre ponds increased strongly between 2010 and 2015, but this is highly sensitive to antecedent precipitation conditions. Despite a nearly 60% increase of the area of thawing ice wedge troughs, there is no evidence of decreasing water surfaces by increasing drainage through connected ice wedge troughs. The number of thaw ponds shows an equilibrium

  9. Seasonal patterns in soil N availability in the arctic tundra in response to accelerated snowmelt and warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darrouzet-Nardi, A.; Wallenstein, M. D.; Steltzer, H.; Sullivan, P.; Melle, C.; Segal, A.; Weintraub, M. N.

    2010-12-01

    Arctic soils contain large stocks of carbon (C) and may act as a significant CO2 source in response to climate warming. However, nitrogen (N) availability limits both plant growth and decomposition in many Arctic sites, and may thus be a key constraint on climate-carbon feedbacks. While current models of tundra ecosystems and their responses to climate change assume that N limits plant growth and C limits decomposition, there is strong evidence to the contrary showing that N can also limit decomposition. For example, the production of both new microbial biomass and enzymes that degrade organic matter appear to be limited by N during the summer. N availability is strongly seasonal: we have previously observed relatively high availability early in the growing season followed by a pronounced crash in tussock tundra soils. To investigate the drivers of N availability throughout the season, we used a field manipulation of tussock tundra growing season length (~4 days acceleration of snowmelt) and air temperature (open top chambers) and a laboratory soil N addition in both early and late season. Nutrient availability throughout the field season was measured at high temporal resolution (25 measurements from soil thaw through early plant senescence). Results from a laboratory experiment in which N was added to early season and late season soils suggests that soil respiration is in fact N limited at both times of the season, though this limitation is temperature dependent with effects most pronounced at 10°C. High-resolution measurements of nutrients in the soil solution and extractable N throughout the season showed that although a nutrient crash in N can be observed mid-season, N availability can still fluctuate later in the season. Finally, effects of the extended growing season and increased air temperature have so far had few effects on soil nutrient N dynamics throughout the summer growing season, suggesting either an insensitivity of N availability to these

  10. The quantified self during travel: mapping health in a prospective cohort of travellers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farnham, Andrea; Furrer, Reinhard; Blanke, Ulf; Stone, Emily; Hatz, Christoph; Puhan, Milo A

    2017-09-01

    Travel medicine research has remained relatively unchanged in the face of rapid expansion of international travel and is unlikely to meet health challenges beyond infectious diseases. Our aim was to identify the range of health outcomes during travel using real-time monitoring and daily reporting of health behaviours and outcomes and identify traveller subgroups who may benefit from more targeted advice before and during travel. We recruited a prospective cohort of travellers ≥ 18 years and planning travel to Thailand for travel clinics in Zurich and Basel (Switzerland). Participants answered demographic, clinical and risk behaviour questionnaires pre-travel and a daily health questionnaire each day during travel using a smartphone application. Environmental and location data were collected passively by GPS. Classification trees were used to identify predictors of health behaviour and outcomes during travel. Non-infectious disease events were relatively common, with 22.7% (17 out of 75 travellers) experiencing an accident, 40.0% ( n  = 30) a wound or cut and 14.7% ( n  = 11) a bite or lick from an animal. Mental health associated events were widely reported, with 80.0% ( n  = 60) reporting lethargy, 34.7% ( n  = 26) anxiety and 34.7% ( n  = 26) feeling tense or irritable. Classification trees identified age, trip length, previous travel experience and having experienced a sports injury in the past year as the most important discriminatory variables for health threats. Our study offers a revolutionary look at an almost real-time timeline of health events and behaviours during travel using mHealth technology. Non-infectious disease related health issues were common in this cohort, despite being largely unaddressed in traditional travel medicine research and suggest a substantial potential for improving evidence-based travel medicine advice. © International Society of Travel Medicine, 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights

  11. Permafrost collapse alters soil carbon stocks, respiration, CH4 , and N2O in upland tundra.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbott, Benjamin W; Jones, Jeremy B

    2015-12-01

    Release of greenhouse gases from thawing permafrost is potentially the largest terrestrial feedback to climate change and one of the most likely to occur; however, estimates of its strength vary by a factor of thirty. Some of this uncertainty stems from abrupt thaw processes known as thermokarst (permafrost collapse due to ground ice melt), which alter controls on carbon and nitrogen cycling and expose organic matter from meters below the surface. Thermokarst may affect 20-50% of tundra uplands by the end of the century; however, little is known about the effect of different thermokarst morphologies on carbon and nitrogen release. We measured soil organic matter displacement, ecosystem respiration, and soil gas concentrations at 26 upland thermokarst features on the North Slope of Alaska. Features included the three most common upland thermokarst morphologies: active-layer detachment slides, thermo-erosion gullies, and retrogressive thaw slumps. We found that thermokarst morphology interacted with landscape parameters to determine both the initial displacement of organic matter and subsequent carbon and nitrogen cycling. The large proportion of ecosystem carbon exported off-site by slumps and slides resulted in decreased ecosystem respiration postfailure, while gullies removed a smaller portion of ecosystem carbon but strongly increased respiration and N2 O concentration. Elevated N2 O in gully soils persisted through most of the growing season, indicating sustained nitrification and denitrification in disturbed soils, representing a potential noncarbon permafrost climate feedback. While upland thermokarst formation did not substantially alter redox conditions within features, it redistributed organic matter into both oxic and anoxic environments. Across morphologies, residual organic matter cover, and predisturbance respiration explained 83% of the variation in respiration response. Consistent differences between upland thermokarst types may contribute to the

  12. Travel health prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korzeniewski, Krzysztof

    All around the world there has been a rapid growth in the number of international travels. According to the World Tourism Organisation the number of international tourist arrivals reached 1,235 billion in 2016 and continues to grow at a high rate. This has been much due to the development of air transport (including low-cost airlines), increasingly common economic migration, a growing number of travellers visiting friends and relatives, and an increase in medical tourism. With tropical destinations becoming increasingly popular among travellers, doctors have seen a rising number of patients who seek medical advice on health risks prevalent in hot countries and health prevention measures to be taken in tropical destinations, especially where sanitation is poor. The risk for developing a medical condition while staying abroad depends on a variety of factors, including the traveller's general health condition, health prevention measures taken before or during travel (vaccinations, antimalarial chemoprophylaxis, health precautions during air, road and sea travel, proper acclimatisation, prevention of heat injuries, protection against local flora and fauna, personal hygiene, water, food and feeding hygiene), as well as the prevalence of health risk factors in a given location. Health prevention is a precondition for safe travel and maintaining good physical health; in the era of a rapid growth in international tourism it has become of key importance for all travellers.

  13. Towards More Responsible Business Travel : Green Travel Guide for Business Travellers

    OpenAIRE

    Aila, Anu

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this research type thesis is to find ways how to develop sustainability in business travel. The target is increase the level of understanding and knowledge to respect natural environment and local cultures and find the right channels and ways to raise the knowledge. The study has been done to raise the awareness how business travel can be more sustainable. This thesis analyzes sustainable tourism based on the economic, environmental, and socio-cultural considerations. Green...

  14. Study on the response of unsaturated soil slope based on the effects of rainfall intensity and slope angle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ismail, Mohd Ashraf Mohamad; Hamzah, Nur Hasliza

    2017-07-01

    Rainfall has been considered as the major cause of the slope failure. The mechanism leading to slope failures included the infiltration process, surface runoff, volumetric water content and pore-water pressure of the soil. This paper describes a study in which simulated rainfall events were used with 2-dimensional soil column to study the response of unsaturated soil behavior based on different slope angle. The 2-dimensional soil column is used in order to demonstrate the mechanism of the slope failure. These unsaturated soil were tested with four different slope (15°, 25°, 35° and 45°) and subjected to three different rainfall intensities (maximum, mean and minimum). The following key results were obtained: (1) the stability of unsaturated soil decrease as the rainwater infiltrates into the soil. Soil that initially in unsaturated state will start to reach saturated state when rainwater seeps into the soil. Infiltration of rainwater will reduce the matric suction in the soil. Matric suction acts in controlling soil shear strength. Reduction in matric suction affects the decrease in effective normal stress, which in turn diminishes the available shear strength to a point where equilibrium can no longer be sustained in the slope. (2) The infiltration rate of rainwater decreases while surface runoff increase when the soil nearly achieve saturated state. These situations cause the soil erosion and lead to slope failure. (3) The steepness of the soil is not a major factor but also contribute to slope failures. For steep slopes, rainwater that fall on the soil surface will become surface runoff within a short time compare to the water that infiltrate into the soil. While for gentle slopes, water that becomes surface runoff will move slowly and these increase the water that infiltrate into the soil.

  15. Travel risk behaviors as a determinants of receiving pre-travel health consultation and prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shady, Ibrahim; Gaafer, Mohammed; Bassiony, Lamiaa

    2015-01-01

    An estimated 30-60 % of travelers experience an illness while traveling. The incidence of travel-related illness can be reduced by preventive measures such as those provided by the Traveler Health Clinic (THC) in Kuwait. The present study is an analytical comparative study between groups of travelers visiting the THC during the study period (May 2009 - December 2010) and an age- and gender-matched control group of non-visitors (800 people). Both groups completed a modified pre-departure questionnaire. Bivariate analysis revealed that Kuwaitis (68.2 %), those traveling for work (25.3 %) or leisure (59.5 %), those living in camps (20.4 %) or hotels (64.0 %), and those with knowledge of the THC from the media (28.1 %) or other sources (57.3 %), were more likely to be associated with a high frequency of visits to the THC ( p  travelers heading to Africa (47 %) and South America (10 %) visited the THC more than did others ( P  travel, duration of stay, and choice of travel destination are independent predictors of receiving pre-travel consultation from the THC. Nationality, purpose of travel, length of stay, and travel destination are predictors for receiving a pre-travel consultation from the THC.

  16. A modified risk evaluation method of slope failure in a heavy rain. For application to slopes in widespread area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suenaga, Hiroshi; Tanaka, Shiro; Kobayakawa, Hiroaki

    2015-01-01

    A risk evaluation method of slope failure has developed to combine gas-liquid two phase flow analysis as a rainfall infiltration analysis and elastic-plastic finite element analysis as a slope stability analysis and has applied to a slope field. This method, however, had a difficulty to apply to many slopes since it needed many parameters to calculate the risk of the slope failure. The method was simplified to lessen input parameters which included an inclination and length of a slope, a depth of bedrock and a rainfall pattern assuming that hydraulic properties and mechanical properties were similar for the same geological unit. The method was also modified to represent a water collection structure, a surface runoff, an existence of a forest road and a water level variation of a downward river / pond which could affect infiltration phenomena. Results of the simplification and the modification made it possible to enhance a prediction precision of the method and create a hazard map of slopes in widespread area. (author)

  17. Pre-travel care for immunocompromised and chronically ill travellers: A retrospective study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Aalst, Mariëlle; Verhoeven, Roos; Omar, Freshta; Stijnis, Cornelis; van Vugt, Michèle; de Bree, Godelieve J; Goorhuis, Abraham; Grobusch, Martin P

    2017-09-01

    Immunocompromised and chronically ill travellers (ICCITs) are susceptible to travel related diseases. In ICCITs, pre-travel care regarding vaccinations and prophylactics is complex. We evaluated the protection level by preventive measures in ICCITs by analysing rates of vaccination protection, antibody titres, and the prescription of standby antibiotics. We analysed, and reported according to STROBE guidelines, pre-travel care data for ICCITs visiting the medical pre-travel clinic at the Academic Medical Centre, The Netherlands from 2011 to 2016. We analysed 2104 visits of 1826 ICCITs. Mean age was 46.6 years and mean travel duration 34.5 days. ICCITs on immunosuppressive treatment (29.7%), HIV (17.2%) or diabetes mellitus (10.2%) comprised the largest groups. Most frequently visited countries were Suriname, Indonesia, and Ghana. Most vaccination rates were >90%. Of travellers in high need of hepatitis A and B protection, 56.6 and 75.7%, underwent titre assessments, respectively. Of ICCITs with a respective indication, 50.6% received a prescription for standby antibiotics. Vaccination rates in our study population were overall comparable to those of healthy travellers studied previously in our centre. However, regarding antibody titre assessments and prescription of standby antibiotics, this study demonstrates that uniform pre-travel guidelines for ICCITs are highly needed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. 25 CFR 700.533 - Restrictions affecting travel and travel expense reimbursement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... having or seeking business with the Commission. (d) Commission employees traveling on official business, as well as employees traveling on personal business, may not accept the use of private airplanes... official business, provided administrative procedures have been followed in making the travel arrangements. ...

  19. Numerical Computation of Homogeneous Slope Stability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shuangshuang Xiao

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available To simplify the computational process of homogeneous slope stability, improve computational accuracy, and find multiple potential slip surfaces of a complex geometric slope, this study utilized the limit equilibrium method to derive expression equations of overall and partial factors of safety. This study transformed the solution of the minimum factor of safety (FOS to solving of a constrained nonlinear programming problem and applied an exhaustive method (EM and particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO to this problem. In simple slope examples, the computational results using an EM and PSO were close to those obtained using other methods. Compared to the EM, the PSO had a small computation error and a significantly shorter computation time. As a result, the PSO could precisely calculate the slope FOS with high efficiency. The example of the multistage slope analysis indicated that this slope had two potential slip surfaces. The factors of safety were 1.1182 and 1.1560, respectively. The differences between these and the minimum FOS (1.0759 were small, but the positions of the slip surfaces were completely different than the critical slip surface (CSS.

  20. Monitoring the numbers and productivity of Tundra Swans in relation to potential natural gas development in the Mackenzie River Delta, western Canadian Arctic, 2001-2003

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Swystun, H.A. [Northern British Columbia Univ., Prince George, BC (Canada); Hines, J.E. [Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa, ON (Canada); Dawson, R.D. [Northern British Columbia Univ., Prince George, BC (Canada)

    2005-03-01

    A study was conducted in which tundra swans were used as an indicator species to monitor the environmental change and effects of oil and gas development in the Mackenzie Delta. The objectives were to monitor consistent study plots for tundra swans at development and non development sites and to document nesting success and brood survival. Environmental protection and maintenance of harvestable populations of wildlife are part of land claim agreement for two Aboriginal groups with settled land claims in the Mackenzie Delta. This study also evaluated the possible factors such as habitat and climate, which limit the reproductive success of tundra swans. Their nesting biology was examined along with how they use their habitat. Researchers established 48 plots near exploratory well sites, existing camps, sites of recent seismic exploration and gas fields of known importance. Air surveillance was used to count and observe the swans on a yearly basis, along with their nests and offspring. Plots were located both where development is proposed and where development is not likely to occur. The important spring staging, summer moulting and fall staging areas were identified along with spring migration patterns, behaviour and feeding areas. The 3 proposed drilling sites include Niglingtak (Kendall Island Bird Sanctuary), Taglu, and Parsons Lake. The concerns regarding future development in tundra swan habitat include: (1) areas where drilling and pipeline structures are built may prompt swans to move away from their traditional nesting and feeding areas, (2) human activity will increase due to gas drilling and pipeline construction, which may reduce nesting success, (3) wastes associated with construction sites may attract predators and increase predation on nesting birds, (4) increased air traffic would disturb geese and swan hunting areas, and (5) waterfowl habitat could be lost if spring staging, summer moulting and fall staging areas are not considered when planning

  1. Travelling or not?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Helles, Rasmus; Lai, Signe Sophus

    2017-01-01

    -12) travelling to multiple countries on several continents. The article shows that there are systematic differences in terms of formal characteristics, themes, and characters’ communicative style between the series that travel and the series that do not. Especially, the analysis finds that the presence of strong...... female lead characters is systematically linked to the positive travel patterns of the series, and that this cuts across different genres of series. The analysis also finds that series, which have explicitly low production values and simple narrative structure, systematically travels poorer....

  2. Health risks, travel preparation, and illness among public health professionals during international travel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balaban, Victor; Warnock, Eli; Ramana Dhara, V; Jean-Louis, Lee Ann; Sotir, Mark J; Kozarsky, Phyllis

    2014-01-01

    Few data currently exist on health risks faced by public health professionals (PHP) during international travel. We conducted pre- and post-travel health surveys to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP), and illnesses among PHP international travelers. Anonymous surveys were completed by PHP from a large American public health agency who sought a pre-travel medical consult from September 1, 2009, to September 30, 2010. Surveys were completed by 122 participants; travelers went to 163 countries. Of the 122 respondents, 97 (80%) reported at least one planned health risk activity (visiting rural areas, handling animals, contact with blood or body fluids, visiting malarious areas), and 50 (41%) reported exposure to unanticipated health risks. Of the 62 travelers who visited malarious areas, 14 (23%) reported inconsistent or no use of malaria prophylaxis. Illness during travel was reported by 33 (27%) respondents. Most of the PHP travelers in our study reported at least one planned health risk activity, and almost half reported exposure to unanticipated health risks, and one-quarter of travelers to malarious areas reported inconsistent or no use of malaria chemoprophylaxis. Our findings highlight that communication and education outreach for PHP to prevent travel-associated illnesses can be improved. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  3. Effect of Rainfall on Travel Time and Accuracy of Travel Time prediction with rainfall

    OpenAIRE

    CHUNG, E; EL-FAOUZI, NE; KUWAHARA, M

    2007-01-01

    Travel time is an important parameter to report to travelers. From the user's perspective, accurate predictions and an estimate of their precision are more beneficial than the current travel time since conditions may change significantly before a traveler completes the journey. Past researches have developed travel time prediction models without considering accidents and rain. Normally accident and Rain may cause to increase travel time. Therefore, it may be interesting to consider Rain and a...

  4. Business Model Development for travel agency : Case company - Goh Travel Korea

    OpenAIRE

    Manuilova, Mariia

    2016-01-01

    Millions of tourists visit South Korea every year to experience the culture and a different life style. Moreover, due to economic development, the country has become popular as a study and work destination. As the tourism market is growing, there are many opportunities for travel agencies to find niches in the market. The purpose of this study is to develop a business model for Goh travel Korea – a travel agency for foreign low budget travelers around Korea, to make it more efficient and incr...

  5. Topic Map for Authentic Travel

    OpenAIRE

    Wandsvik, Atle; Zare, Mehdi

    2007-01-01

    E-business is a new trend in Internet use. Authentic travel is an approach to travel and travel business which helps the traveler experience what is authentic in the travel destination. But how can the traveler find those small authentic spots and organize them together to compose a vacation? E-business techniques, combined withTopic Maps, can help.

  6. Long distance travel ‘today’

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Linda

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents an overview of the Dane’s long distance travel. It is a part of the Drivers and Limits project about long distance travel. Long distance travel is in the project defined as infrequent travel with overnight stay. Danes 15-85 years-old travel in average 5.5 long distance travel...... per year og which a third is for international destinations, a third is for domestic second homes and a third are other domestic trips. However, 87% of the kilometres are for international destinations and only 4% are for domestic second homes. Travel activity is very uneven distributed with only half...... of the population having had a journey during the last three month. At the other hand 60% have travelled internationally during the last year and only 2% have never travelled abroad. The paper presents among other things how the travel activity is distributed on travel purpose and mode and how the mode choice...

  7. High slope waste dumps – a proven possibility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igor Svrkota

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper is an overview of dumping operations on High Slope Waste Dump at Veliki Krivelj open pit copper mine, RTB Bor, Serbia. The High Slope Waste Dump in Bor is the highest single slope waste dump in the world with the slope height of 405 m. The paper gives the basics and limitations of the designed dumping technology, the redesigned technology, gives an overview of the 13 year long operation and gathered experiences and addresses the main issues of dumping operations in high slope conditions as well as the present condition of the High Slope Waste Dump.

  8. Pre-Travel Health Preparation of Pediatric International Travelers: Analysis From the Global TravEpiNet Consortium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagmann, Stefan; LaRocque, Regina C; Rao, Sowmya R; Jentes, Emily S; Sotir, Mark J; Brunette, Gary; Ryan, Edward T

    2013-12-01

    Children frequently travel internationally. Health-related data on such children are limited. We sought to investigate the demographics, health characteristics, and preventive interventions of outbound US international pediatric travelers. We analyzed data from 32 099 travelers presenting for pre-travel healthcare at the Global TravEpiNet (GTEN), a national consortium of 19 travel clinics, from January 1, 2009 to June 6, 2012. A total of 3332 (10%) of all GTEN travelers were children (traveled mostly for leisure (36%) or to visit friends or relatives (VFR) (36%). Most popular destination regions were Africa (41%), Southeast Asia (16%), Central America (16%), and the Caribbean (16%). Compared with children traveling for leisure, VFR children were more likely to present travel consultation (44% vs 28%), intended to travel for 28 days or longer (70% vs 22%), and to travel to Africa (62% vs 32%). Nearly half of the pediatric travelers (46%) received at least 1 routine vaccine, and most (83%) received at least 1 travel-related vaccine. Parents or guardians of one third of the children (30%) refused at least 1 recommended travel-related vaccine. Most pediatric travelers visiting a malaria-endemic country (72%) received a prescription for malaria chemoprophylaxis. Ten percent of travelers seeking pre-travel healthcare at GTEN sites are children. VFR-travel, pre-travel consultation close to time of departure, and refusal of recommended vaccines may place children at risk for travel-associated illness. Strategies to engage pediatric travelers in timely, pre-travel care and improve acceptance of pre-travel healthcare interventions are needed. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. Arctic Submarine Slope Stability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winkelmann, D.; Geissler, W.

    2010-12-01

    Submarine landsliding represents aside submarine earthquakes major natural hazard to coastal and sea-floor infrastructure as well as to coastal communities due to their ability to generate large-scale tsunamis with their socio-economic consequences. The investigation of submarine landslides, their conditions and trigger mechanisms, recurrence rates and potential impact remains an important task for the evaluation of risks in coastal management and offshore industrial activities. In the light of a changing globe with warming oceans and rising sea-level accompanied by increasing human population along coasts and enhanced near- and offshore activities, slope stability issues gain more importance than ever before. The Arctic exhibits the most rapid and drastic changes and is predicted to change even faster. Aside rising air temperatures, enhanced inflow of less cooled Atlantic water into the Arctic Ocean reduces sea-ice cover and warms the surroundings. Slope stability is challenged considering large areas of permafrost and hydrates. The Hinlopen/Yermak Megaslide (HYM) north of Svalbard is the first and so far only reported large-scale submarine landslide in the Arctic Ocean. The HYM exhibits the highest headwalls that have been found on siliciclastic margins. With more than 10.000 square kilometer areal extent and app. 2.400 cubic kilometer of involved sedimentary material, it is one of the largest exposed submarine slides worldwide. Geometry and age put this slide in a special position in discussing submarine slope stability on glaciated continental margins. The HYM occurred 30 ka ago, when the global sea-level dropped by app. 50 m within less than one millennium due to rapid onset of global glaciation. It probably caused a tsunami with circum-Arctic impact and wave heights exceeding 130 meters. The HYM affected the slope stability field in its neighbourhood by removal of support. Post-megaslide slope instability as expressed in creeping and smaller-scaled slides are

  10. Rock slope instabilities in Norway: First systematic hazard and risk classification of 22 unstable rock slopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Böhme, Martina; Hermanns, Reginald L.; Oppikofer, Thierry; Penna, Ivanna

    2016-04-01

    Unstable rock slopes that can cause large failures of the rock-avalanche type have been mapped in Norway for almost two decades. Four sites have earlier been characterized as high-risk objects based on expertise of few researchers. This resulted in installing continuous monitoring systems and set-up of an early-warning system for those four sites. Other unstable rock slopes have not been ranked related to their hazard or risk. There are ca. 300 other sites known of which 70 sites were installed for periodic deformation measurements using multiple techniques (Global Navigation Satellite Systems, extensometers, measurement bolts, and others). In 2012 a systematic hazard and risk classification system for unstable rock slopes was established in Norway and the mapping approach adapted to that in 2013. Now, the first 22 sites were classified for hazard, consequences and risk using this classification system. The selection of the first group of sites to be classified was based on an assumed high hazard or risk and importance given to the sites by Norwegian media and the public. Nine of the classified 22 unstable rock slopes are large sites that deform inhomogeneously or are strongly broken up in individual blocks. This suggests that different failure scenarios are possible that need to be analyzed individually. A total of 35 failure scenarios for those nine unstable rock slopes were considered. The hazard analyses were based on 9 geological parameters defined in the classification system. The classification system will be presented based on the Gamanjunni unstable rock slope. This slope has a well developed back scarp that exposes 150 m preceding displacement. The lateral limits of the unstable slope are clearly visible in the morphology and InSAR displacement data. There have been no single structures observed that allow sliding kinematically. The lower extend of the displacing rock mass is clearly defined in InSAR data and by a zone of higher rock fall activity. Yearly

  11. Travel Overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Search the Division of Finance site DOF State of Alaska Finance Home Content Area Accounting Charge Cards Top Department of Administration logo Alaska Department of Administration Division of Finance Search You are here Administration / Finance / Travel Travel The Department of Administration administers the

  12. Pre-travel care for immunocompromised and chronically ill travellers: A retrospective study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Aalst, Mariëlle; Verhoeven, Roos; Omar, Freshta; Stijnis, Cornelis; van Vugt, Michèle; de Bree, Godelieve J.; Goorhuis, Abraham; Grobusch, Martin P.

    2017-01-01

    Background: Immunocompromised and chronically ill travellers (ICCITs) are susceptible to travel related diseases. In ICCITs, pre-travel care regarding vaccinations and prophylactics is complex. We evaluated the protection level by preventive measures in ICCITs by analysing rates of vaccination

  13. The Hydromechanics of Vegetation for Slope Stabilization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulyono, A.; Subardja, A.; Ekasari, I.; Lailati, M.; Sudirja, R.; Ningrum, W.

    2018-02-01

    Vegetation is one of the alternative technologies in the prevention of shallow landslide prevention that occurs mostly during the rainy season. The application of plant for slope stabilization is known as bioengineering. Knowledge of the vegetative contribution that can be considered in bioengineering was the hydrological and mechanical aspects (hydromechanical). Hydrological effect of the plant on slope stability is to reduce soil water content through transpiration, interception, and evapotranspiration. The mechanical impact of vegetation on slope stability is to stabilize the slope with mechanical reinforcement of soils through roots. Vegetation water consumption varies depending on the age and density, rainfall factors and soil types. Vegetation with high ability to absorb water from the soil and release into the atmosphere through a transpiration process will reduce the pore water stress and increase slope stability, and vegetation with deep root anchoring and strong root binding was potentially more significant to maintain the stability of the slope.

  14. Travel-associated disease among US residents visiting US GeoSentinel clinics after return from international travel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagmann, Stefan H F; Han, Pauline V; Stauffer, William M; Miller, Andy O; Connor, Bradley A; Hale, DeVon C; Coyle, Christina M; Cahill, John D; Marano, Cinzia; Esposito, Douglas H; Kozarsky, Phyllis E

    2014-12-01

    US residents make 60 million international trips annually. Family practice providers need to be aware of travel-associated diseases affecting this growing mobile population. To describe demographics, travel characteristics and clinical diagnoses of US residents who present ill after international travel. Descriptive analysis of travel-associated morbidity and mortality among US travellers seeking care at 1 of the 22 US practices and clinics participating in the GeoSentinel Global Surveillance Network from January 2000 to December 2012. Of the 9624 ill US travellers included in the analysis, 3656 (38%) were tourist travellers, 2379 (25%) missionary/volunteer/research/aid workers (MVRA), 1580 (16%) travellers visiting friends and relatives (VFRs), 1394 (15%) business travellers and 593 (6%) student travellers. Median (interquartile range) travel duration was 20 days (10-60 days). Pre-travel advice was sought by 45%. Hospitalization was required by 7%. Compared with other groups of travellers, ill MVRA travellers returned from longer trips (median duration 61 days), while VFR travellers disproportionately required higher rates of inpatient care (24%) and less frequently had received pre-travel medical advice (20%). Illnesses of the gastrointestinal tract were the most common (58%), followed by systemic febrile illnesses (18%) and dermatologic disorders (17%). Three deaths were reported. Diagnoses varied according to the purpose of travel and region of exposure. Returning ill US international travellers present with a broad spectrum of travel-associated diseases. Destination and reason for travel may help primary health care providers to generate an accurate differential diagnosis for the most common disorders and for those that may be life-threatening. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. The sign, magnitude and potential drivers of change in surface water extent in Canadian tundra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carroll, Mark L.; Loboda, Tatiana V.

    2018-04-01

    The accelerated rate of warming in the Arctic has considerable implications for all components of ecosystem functioning in the High Northern Latitudes. Changes to hydrological cycle in the Arctic are particularly complex as the observed and projected warming directly impacts permafrost and leads to variable responses in surface water extent which is currently poorly characterized at the regional scale. In this study we take advantage of the 30 plus years of medium resolution (30 m) Landsat data to quantify the spatial patterns of change in the extent of water bodies in the Arctic tundra in Nunavut, Canada. Our results show a divergent pattern of change—growing surface water extent in the north-west and shrinking in the south-east—which is not a function of the overall distribution of surface water in the region. The observed changes cannot be explained by latitudinal stratification, nor is it explained by available temperature and precipitation records. However, the sign of change appears to be consistent within the boundaries of individual watersheds defined by the Canada National Hydro Network based on the random forest analysis. Using land cover maps as a proxy for ecological function we were able to link shrinking tundra water bodies to substrates with shallow soil layers (i.e. bedrock and barren landscapes) with a moderate correlation (R 2 = 0.46, p evaporation as an important driver of surface water decrease in these cases.

  16. The New England travel market: generational travel patterns, 1979 to 1996

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rod Warnick

    2002-01-01

    Generations of travelers who select New England as a primary destination are examined over time from the years of 1979 through 1996 and the analysis serves to update an earlier review of generational travel patterns of the region (Warnick, 1994). Changes in travel patterns are noted by overall adjusted annual change rates by demographic and geographic regions of...

  17. Travel Daily China Travel Innovation Summit to Be Held in Beijing

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2009-01-01

    Guangzhou,China,April 7th- TravelDaily (www.traveldaily.cn), China’s leading online publisher and event organizer with emphasis on trends in the distribution,marketing and technology of the travel and tourism industries,today announced it will partner with PhoCusWright to host the 2009 China Travel Innovation Summit in Beijing from May 12 to 13,2009.

  18. Travel Behavior Change in Older Travelers: Understanding Critical Reactions to Incidents Encountered in Public Transport.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sundling, Catherine

    2015-11-18

    Accessibility of travel may be better understood if psychological factors underlying change in travel behavior are known. This paper examines older (65+) travelers' motives for changing their travel behavior. These changes are grounded in critical incidents earlier encountered in public-transport travel. A scientific framework is developed based on cognitive and behavioral theory. In 29 individual interviews, travelers' critical reactions (i.e., cognitive, emotional, and/or behavioral) to 77 critical incidents were examined. By applying critical incident technique (CIT), five reaction themes were identified that had generated travel-behavior change: firm restrictions, unpredictability, unfair treatment, complicated trips, and earlier adverse experiences. To improve older travelers' access to public transport, key findings were: (a) service must be designed so as to strengthen the feeling of being in control throughout the journey; (b) extended personal service would increase predictability in the travel chain and decrease travel complexity; consequently, (c) when designing new services and making effective accessibility interventions, policy makers should consider and utilize underlying psychological factors that could direct traveler behavior.

  19. The effects of climate changes on soil methane oxidation in a dry Arctic tundra

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Imperio, Ludovica

    2014-05-01

    The effects of climate changes on soil methane oxidation in a dry Arctic tundra. Ludovica D'Imperio1, Anders Michelsen1, Christian J. Jørgensen1, Bo Elberling1 1Center for Permafrost (CENPERM), Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Denmark At Northern latitudes climatic changes are predicted to be most pronounced resulting in increasing active layer depth and changes in growing season length, vegetation cover and nutrient cycling. As a consequence of increased temperature, large stocks of carbon stored in the permafrost-affected soils could become available for microbial transformations and under anoxic conditions result in increasing methane production affecting net methane (CH4) budget. Arctic tundra soils also serves as an important sink of atmospheric CH4 by microbial oxidation under aerobic conditions. While several process studies have documented the mechanisms behind both production and emissions of CH4 in arctic ecosystems, an important knowledge gap exists with respect to the in situ dynamics of microbial-driven uptake of CH4 in arctic dry lands which may be enhanced as a consequence of global warming and thereby counterbalancing CH4 emissions from Arctic wetlands. In-situ methane measurements were made in a dry Arctic tundra in Disko Island, Western Greenland, during the summer 2013 to assess the role of seasonal and inter-annual variations in temperatures and snow cover. The experimental set-up included snow fences installed in 2012, allowed investigations of the emissions of GHGs from soil under increased winter snow deposition and ambient field conditions. The soil fluxes of CH4 and CO2 were measured using closed chambers in manipulated plots with increased summer temperatures and shrub removal with or without increased winter precipitation. At the control plots, the averaged seasonal CH4 oxidation rates ranged between -0.05 mg CH4 m-2 hr-1 (end of August) and -0.32 mg CH4 m-2 hr-1 (end of June). In the

  20. THE DECISION MAKING OF BUSINESS TRAVELLERS IN SELECTING ONLINE TRAVEL PORTALS FOR TRAVEL BOOKING: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF DELHI NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION, INDIA

    OpenAIRE

    Bivek DATTA; Manohar SAJNANI; Joby THOMAS

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to understand the decision making pattern of the Business Travellers in Delhi National Capital Region in India while booking their trips through Online Travel Portals. The study revolves around purchase decision pattern of Business Travellers by investigating their travel decision making style in selecting online travel portals for their trip booking. The authors have adopted the quantitative methodology to achieve the objective of the study. The study is confi...

  1. Travel Behavior Change in Older Travelers: Understanding Critical Reactions to Incidents Encountered in Public Transport

    OpenAIRE

    Sundling, Catherine

    2015-01-01

    Accessibility of travel may be better understood if psychological factors underlying change in travel behavior are known. This paper examines older (65+) travelers? motives for changing their travel behavior. These changes are grounded in critical incidents earlier encountered in public-transport travel. A scientific framework is developed based on cognitive and behavioral theory. In 29 individual interviews, travelers? critical reactions (i.e., cognitive, emotional, and/or behavioral) to 77 ...

  2. You, too, can be an international medical traveler: Reading medical travel guidebooks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ormond, M.E.; Sothern, M.

    2012-01-01

    Drawing on literature on self-help and travel guide writing, this paper interrogates five international medical travel guidebooks aimed at encouraging American and British audiences to travel abroad to purchase medical care. These guidebooks articulate a three-step self-help “program” to produce a

  3. Valuing travel time variability: Characteristics of the travel time distribution on an urban road

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fosgerau, Mogens; Fukuda, Daisuke

    2012-01-01

    This paper provides a detailed empirical investigation of the distribution of travel times on an urban road for valuation of travel time variability. Our investigation is premised on the use of a theoretical model with a number of desirable properties. The definition of the value of travel time...... variability depends on certain properties of the distribution of random travel times that require empirical verification. Applying a range of nonparametric statistical techniques to data giving minute-by-minute travel times for a congested urban road over a period of five months, we show that the standardized...... travel time is roughly independent of the time of day as required by the theory. Except for the extreme right tail, a stable distribution seems to fit the data well. The travel time distributions on consecutive links seem to share a common stability parameter such that the travel time distribution...

  4. Is pollen morphology of Salix polaris affected by enhanced UV-B irradiation? Results from a field experiment in high Arctic tundra

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yeloff, Dan; Blokker, Peter; Boelen, Peter; Rozema, Jelte

    2008-01-01

    This study tested the hypothesis that the thickness of the pollen wall will increase in response to enhanced UV-B irradiation, by examining, the effect of enhanced UV-B irradiance on the pollen morphology of Sali-v polaris Wahlem. grown in a Field experiment on the Arctic tundra of Svalbard.

  5. Runoff from armored slopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Codell, R.B.

    1986-01-01

    Models exist for calculating overland flow on hillsides but no models have been found which explicitly deal with runoff from armored slopes. Flow on armored slopes differs from overland flow, because substantial flow occurs beneath the surface of the rock layer at low runnoff, and both above and below the surface for high runoff. In addition to the lack of a suitable model, no estimates of the PMP exist for such small areas and for very short durations. This paper develops a model for calculating runoff from armored embankments. The model considers the effect of slope, drainage area and ''flow concentration'' caused by irregular grading or slumping. A rainfall-duration curve based on the PMP is presented which is suitable for very small drainage areas. The development of the runoff model and rainfall-duration curve is presented below, along with a demonstration of the model on the design of a hypothetical tailings embankment

  6. Travel intermediaries and responsibility for compliance with EU travel law : A scattered legal picture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Vries, Anne

    Travel intermediaries, commonly known as travel agencies, are important and well-known actors in the travel sector and online travel agencies such as Expedia, Booking.com and AirBnB are booming. Although intermediaries obviously bring clear benefits for contracting parties, they also complicate the

  7. Representation of Central Asia and Traveling Self in Vambery’s Travels in Central Asia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Gholi

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available In the course of the nineteenth century Arminius Vambery, an anglophile travel writer, in the guise of a mendicant dervish with a group of Tartar pilgrims departs to secluded and sealed Central Asia. After six months travel in the Khanates of Central Asia, he undertakes a journey to England where he offers his observations to the Royal Geographical Society and publishes his travelogue, Travel in Central Asia. Despite its literary merits and connection with British imperialism, the travelogue has not been scrutinized separately by the scholars of travel writing. To fill the gap, this article by drawing on the theories of post-structuralism: Orientalism and Postcolonialism, endeavors to unveil the political agenda behind the travel writer’s representation of his travelees, destination, and his own traveling self. Additionally, it argues that the travel writer in dialogue with other Western travel writers to deterritorialize his traversed region or justify the prospective presence of Britain in Central Asia, represents his journey destination as the locus of barbarity, a region under the grip of despotic rulers, as well as an area with frozen time, while to exhibit his Eurocentrism, he portrays his traveling subject as the a suffering hero and a benign traveler.

  8. Radiological monitoring of northern slopes of Mogoltau

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murtazaev, Kh.; Boboev, B.D.; Bolibekov, Sh.; Akhmedov, M.Z.

    2010-01-01

    Present article is devoted to radiological monitoring of northern slopes of Mogoltau. The physicochemical properties of water of northern slopes of Mogoltau were studied. The radiation monitoring of northern slopes of Mogoltau was carried out during several years under various weather conditions. The exposure rate of human settlements of northern part of Mogoltau was defined.

  9. Travelers' Health: HIV Infection

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Last-Minute Travel Long-Term Travel Mass Gatherings Medical Tourism Mental Health Motion Sickness Natural Disasters Pregnant Travelers ... for purposes of medical treatment (see Chapter 2, Medical Tourism ), the blood and blood products used in the ...

  10. Stability of Slopes Reinforced with Truncated Piles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shu-Wei Sun

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Piles are extensively used as a means of slope stabilization. A novel engineering technique of truncated piles that are unlike traditional piles is introduced in this paper. A simplified numerical method is proposed to analyze the stability of slopes stabilized with truncated piles based on the shear strength reduction method. The influential factors, which include pile diameter, pile spacing, depth of truncation, and existence of a weak layer, are systematically investigated from a practical point of view. The results show that an optimum ratio exists between the depth of truncation and the pile length above a slip surface, below which truncating behavior has no influence on the piled slope stability. This optimum ratio is bigger for slopes stabilized with more flexible piles and piles with larger spacing. Besides, truncated piles are more suitable for slopes with a thin weak layer than homogenous slopes. In practical engineering, the piles could be truncated reasonably while ensuring the reinforcement effect. The truncated part of piles can be filled with the surrounding soil and compacted to reduce costs by using fewer materials.

  11. Slope stability radar for monitoring mine walls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reeves, Bryan; Noon, David A.; Stickley, Glen F.; Longstaff, Dennis

    2001-11-01

    Determining slope stability in a mining operation is an important task. This is especially true when the mine workings are close to a potentially unstable slope. A common technique to determine slope stability is to monitor the small precursory movements, which occur prior to collapse. The slope stability radar has been developed to remotely scan a rock slope to continuously monitor the spatial deformation of the face. Using differential radar interferometry, the system can detect deformation movements of a rough wall with sub-millimeter accuracy, and with high spatial and temporal resolution. The effects of atmospheric variations and spurious signals can be reduced via signal processing means. The advantage of radar over other monitoring techniques is that it provides full area coverage without the need for mounted reflectors or equipment on the wall. In addition, the radar waves adequately penetrate through rain, dust and smoke to give reliable measurements, twenty-four hours a day. The system has been trialed at three open-cut coal mines in Australia, which demonstrated the potential for real-time monitoring of slope stability during active mining operations.

  12. Intercity Travel Demand Analysis Model

    OpenAIRE

    Ming Lu; Hai Zhu; Xia Luo; Lei Lei

    2014-01-01

    It is well known that intercity travel is an important component of travel demand which belongs to short distance corridor travel. The conventional four-step method is no longer suitable for short distance corridor travel demand analysis for the time spent on urban traffic has a great impact on traveler's main mode choice. To solve this problem, the author studied the existing intercity travel demand analysis model, then improved it based on the study, and finally established a combined model...

  13. Travel opinion leaders and seekers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yoo, Kyung-Hyan; Gretzel, Ulrike; Zach, Florian

    2011-01-01

    While opinion leadership has been recognized as important in tourism, there has been very little empirical research investigating the phenomenon. Given new developments in social media technologies, it is especially important to understand whether travel opinion leadership and seeking are drivers...... of specific social media perceptions and behaviours. Based on an online survey of US online travellers, this paper seeks to identify travel opinion leaders and seekers and their characteristics. Further, the research conducted investigated linkages between travel opinion leadership/seeking and travel social...... media use. The findings suggest that travel opinion leadership and seeking are distinct but connected. Both opinion leaders and seekers are technology savvy, young, educated, involved in travel planning and engaged in social media use for travel. What distinguishes opinion leaders is their greater...

  14. Travel experience ecosystem model : building travel agencies’ business resilience in Portugal

    OpenAIRE

    Salvado, Josefina

    2011-01-01

    The Portuguese tourism distribution recognizes in the digital economy drivers - based on e-business, collaborative networks and information exchange - an incentive to productivity and rendibility, leading to sustainable competitive advantages. Travel agencies live currently in a Darwinian business-oriented environment, where only resilient entrepreneurs are able to survive. This framing allows the genesis of a new theoretical archetype of travel agencies, the “TEEM - Travel Exp...

  15. The Connected Traveler

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Young, Stanley

    2017-04-24

    The Connected Traveler project is a multi-disciplinary undertaking that seeks to validate potential for transformative transportation system energy savings by incentivizing energy efficient travel behavior.

  16. Traveling-wave photodetector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hietala, V.M.; Vawter, G.A.

    1993-12-14

    The traveling-wave photodetector of the present invention combines an absorptive optical waveguide and an electrical transmission line, in which optical absorption in the waveguide results in a photocurrent at the electrodes of the electrical transmission line. The optical waveguide and electrical transmission line of the electrically distributed traveling-wave photodetector are designed to achieve matched velocities between the light in the optical waveguide and electrical signal generated on the transmission line. This velocity synchronization provides the traveling-wave photodetector with a large electrical bandwidth and a high quantum efficiency, because of the effective extended volume for optical absorption. The traveling-wave photodetector also provides large power dissipation, because of its large physical size. 4 figures.

  17. A cross-sectional study of pre-travel health-seeking practices among travelers departing Sydney and Bangkok airports.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heywood, Anita E; Watkins, Rochelle E; Iamsirithaworn, Sopon; Nilvarangkul, Kessarawan; MacIntyre, C Raina

    2012-05-02

    Pre-travel health assessments aim to promote risk reduction through preventive measures and safe behavior, including ensuring travelers are up-to-date with their immunizations. However, studies assessing pre-travel health-seeking practices from a variety of medical and non-medical sources and vaccine uptake prior to travel to both developing and developed countries within the Asia-Pacific region are scarce. Cross-sectional surveys were conducted between July and December 2007 to assess pre-travel health seeking practices, including advice from health professionals, health information from other sources and vaccine uptake, in a sample of travelers departing Sydney and Bangkok airports. A two-stage cluster sampling technique was used to ensure representativeness of travelers and travel destinations. Pre-travel health seeking practices were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire distributed at the check-in queues of departing flights. Logistic regression models were used to identify significant factors associated with seeking pre-travel health advice from a health professional, reported separately for Australian residents, residents of other Western countries and residents of countries in Asia. A total of 843 surveys were included in the final sample (Sydney 729, response rate 56%; Bangkok 114, response rate 60%). Overall, pre-travel health information from any source was sought by 415 (49%) respondents with 298 (35%) seeking pre-travel advice from a health professional, the majority through general practice. Receipt of a pre-travel vaccine was reported by 100 (12%) respondents. Significant factors associated with seeking pre-travel health advice from a health professional differed by region of residence. Asian travelers were less likely to report seeking pre-travel health advice and uptake of pre-travel vaccines than Australian or other Western travelers. Migrant Australians were less likely to report seeking pre-travel health advice than Australian

  18. A cross-sectional study of pre-travel health-seeking practices among travelers departing Sydney and Bangkok airports

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Pre-travel health assessments aim to promote risk reduction through preventive measures and safe behavior, including ensuring travelers are up-to-date with their immunizations. However, studies assessing pre-travel health-seeking practices from a variety of medical and non-medical sources and vaccine uptake prior to travel to both developing and developed countries within the Asia-Pacific region are scarce. Methods Cross-sectional surveys were conducted between July and December 2007 to assess pre-travel health seeking practices, including advice from health professionals, health information from other sources and vaccine uptake, in a sample of travelers departing Sydney and Bangkok airports. A two-stage cluster sampling technique was used to ensure representativeness of travelers and travel destinations. Pre-travel health seeking practices were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire distributed at the check-in queues of departing flights. Logistic regression models were used to identify significant factors associated with seeking pre-travel health advice from a health professional, reported separately for Australian residents, residents of other Western countries and residents of countries in Asia. Results A total of 843 surveys were included in the final sample (Sydney 729, response rate 56%; Bangkok 114, response rate 60%). Overall, pre-travel health information from any source was sought by 415 (49%) respondents with 298 (35%) seeking pre-travel advice from a health professional, the majority through general practice. Receipt of a pre-travel vaccine was reported by 100 (12%) respondents. Significant factors associated with seeking pre-travel health advice from a health professional differed by region of residence. Asian travelers were less likely to report seeking pre-travel health advice and uptake of pre-travel vaccines than Australian or other Western travelers. Migrant Australians were less likely to report seeking pre-travel health

  19. Traveling wave laser system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gregg, D.W.; Kidder, R.E.; Biehl, A.T.

    1975-01-01

    The invention broadly involves a method and means for generating a traveling wave laser pulse and is basically analogous to a single pass light amplifier system. However, the invention provides a traveling wave laser pulse of almost unlimited energy content, wherein a gain medium is pumped in a traveling wave mode, the traveling wave moving at essentially the velocity of light to generate an amplifying region or zone which moves through the medium at the velocity of light in the presence of directed stimulating radiation, thereby generating a traveling coherent, directed radiation pulse moving with the amplification zone through the gain medium. (U.S.)

  20. Object-Based Mapping of the Circumpolar Taiga-Tundra Ecotone with MODIS Tree Cover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ranson, K. J.; Montesano, P. M.; Nelson, R.

    2011-01-01

    The circumpolar taiga tundra ecotone was delineated using an image-segmentation-based mapping approach with multi-annual MODIS Vegetation Continuous Fields (VCF) tree cover data. Circumpolar tree canopy cover (TCC) throughout the ecotone was derived by averaging MODIS VCF data from 2000 to 2005 and adjusting the averaged values using linear equations relating MODIS TCC to Quickbird-derived tree cover estimates. The adjustment helped mitigate VCF's overestimation of tree cover in lightly forested regions. An image segmentation procedure was used to group pixels representing similar tree cover into polygonal features (segmentation objects) that form the map of the transition zone. Each polygon represents an area much larger than the 500 m MODIS pixel and characterizes the patterns of sparse forest patches on a regional scale. Those polygons near the boreal/tundra interface with either (1) mean adjusted TCC values from5 to 20%, or (2) mean adjusted TCC values greater than 5% but with a standard deviation less than 5% were used to identify the ecotone. Comparisons of the adjusted average tree cover data were made with (1) two existing tree line definitions aggregated for each 1 degree longitudinal interval in North America and Eurasia, (2) Landsat-derived Canadian proportion of forest cover for Canada, and (3) with canopy cover estimates extracted from airborne profiling lidar data that transected 1238 of the TCC polygons. The adjusted TCC from MODIS VCF shows, on average, less than 12% TCC for all but one regional zone at the intersection with independently delineated tree lines. Adjusted values track closely with Canadian proportion of forest cover data in areas of low tree cover. A comparison of the 1238 TCC polygons with profiling lidar measurements yielded an overall accuracy of 67.7%.

  1. Implications of a lightning-rich tundra biome for permafrost carbon and vegetation dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Y.; Veraverbeke, S.; Randerson, J. T.

    2017-12-01

    Lightning is a major ignition source of wildfires in circumpolar boreal forests but rarely occurs in arctic tundra. While theoretical and empirical work suggests that climate change will increase lightning strikes in temperate regions, much less is known about future changes in lightning across terrestrial ecosystems at high northern latitudes. Here we analyzed the spatial and temporal patterns of lightning flash rate (FR) from the satellite observations and surface detection networks. Regression models between the observed FR from the Optical Transient Detector on the MicroLab-1 satellite (later renamed OV-1) and meteorological parameters, including surface temperature (T), convective available potential energy (CAPE), and convective precipitation (CP) from ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) ERA-interim reanalysis, were established and assessed. We found that FR had significant linear correlations with CAPE and CP, and a strong non-linear relationship with T. The statistical model based on T and CP can reproduce most of the spatial and temporal variability in FR in the circumpolar region. By using the regression model and meteorological predictions from 24 earth system models in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5), we estimated the spatial distribution of FR by the end of the 21st century. Due to increases in surface temperature and convection, modeled FR shows substantial increase in northern biomes, including a 338% change in arctic tundra and a 185% change in regions with permafrost soil carbon reservoirs. These changes highlight a new mechanism by which permafrost carbon is vulnerable to the sustained impacts of climate warming. Increased fire in a warmer and lightning-rich future near the treeline has the potential to accelerate the northward migration of trees, which may further enhance warming and the abundance of lightning strikes.

  2. Mind your travel ! Motivation, time use, and intent : Three factors of travel to be investigated

    OpenAIRE

    PAPON , Francis; Meissonnier , Joël

    2013-01-01

    The objective is to investigate the drivers of travel demand beyond the need to travel to destination; travellers may engage a trip for the sake of it, at least to some extent: travel includes a share of 'primary utility'. The paper focuses on two types of data and analysis: the primary utility of travel questions passed in the last French national travel survey, and eight dimensions of a trip proposed from a sociological analysis. The paper mixes these approaches and correlate survey answ...

  3. A travel clinic in your office: grow your practice and protect international travelers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirsch, Michael

    2009-01-01

    Medical practices today face economic challenges from declining reimbursements and rising overhead costs. Physicians need to develop new income sources to invigorate their practices and remain viable. Travel medicine-advising and immunizing international travelers-is a rapidly growing specialty in the United States that generates substantial cash reimbursements and professional satisfaction. Travel Clinics of America, a physician-operated company, specializes in helping physicians to incorporate travel medicine into their existing practices.

  4. Health hazards of international travel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cossar, J H; Reid, D

    1989-01-01

    The growth of travel and the increasing numbers of those affected by travel-related illnesses, some of a serious nature, will cause this subject to demand the attention of the medical profession, the travel trade, travellers themselves and the health authorities of countries receiving tourists. Provision of appropriate advice for the traveller is a shared responsibility, best channelled mainly through travel agencies; it can moreover be shown to be cost-beneficial. Continued monitoring of illness in travellers and provision of information systems geared to this problem and its prevention are fully justified. They should be based on traditional channels of communication and currently-available modern technology, and be readily accessible to medical and related workers. Increased collaboration between medical workers, health educators and those involved in the travel trade would be a positive and useful contribution towards the reduction of illness and discomfort among travellers and the associated expense incurred by the various national health services concerned. There are clearly economic benefits from the development of international tourism, but these have to be balanced in countries accepting tourists by attention to the prevention of illnesses associated with travel.

  5. Travel medicine and mHealth technology: a study using smartphones to collect health data during travel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farnham, Andrea; Blanke, Ulf; Stone, Emily; Puhan, Milo A; Hatz, Christoph

    2016-06-01

    mHealth methodology such as smartphone applications offers new opportunities to capture the full range of health risks during travel in real time. Our study aims to widen the scope of travel health research in tropical and subtropical destinations by using a smartphone application to collect detailed information on health behaviours, clinical symptoms, accidents and environmental factors during travel. We enrolled travel clinic clients in Zurich and Basel ≥18 years of age travelling to Thailand for travel. Participants were equipped with a smartphone and an application that (1) actively administers a daily self-report questionnaire on the health risks, behaviours and symptoms the traveller encountered, and (2) passively collects information on the traveller's location and environmental conditions by transformation of raw GPS data. A prospective cohort of 101 travellers planning travel to Thailand between January and June 2015 was recruited. Of the 101 enrolled travellers, 75 (74.3%) answered at least one questionnaire during travel, 10 (9.9%) had technical difficulties and 16 (15.8%) dropped out. Those who completed questionnaires were a median of 27.0 years old (range 18-57). Travellers filled out a median of 12.0 questionnaires during their trip (range 1-30), corresponding to a median completion rate of 85.0% days of travel. The typical example of a healthy female traveller shows that many and diverse health issues arise during a trip that clusters on certain days. The rich data on behaviour and local environment may be used to explain the occurrence and clustering of health issues. Use of a smartphone app to collect health information is technically feasible and acceptable amongst a traveller population, minimizes recall bias and greatly increases the quality and quantity of data collected during travel. mHealth technology shows great potential for innovation in travel medicine. © International Society of Travel Medicine, 2016. All rights reserved

  6. Knowledge Representation in Travelling Texts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mousten, Birthe; Locmele, Gunta

    2014-01-01

    Today, information travels fast. Texts travel, too. In a corporate context, the question is how to manage which knowledge elements should travel to a new language area or market and in which form? The decision to let knowledge elements travel or not travel highly depends on the limitation...... and the purpose of the text in a new context as well as on predefined parameters for text travel. For texts used in marketing and in technology, the question is whether culture-bound knowledge representation should be domesticated or kept as foreign elements, or should be mirrored or moulded—or should not travel...... at all! When should semantic and pragmatic elements in a text be replaced and by which other elements? The empirical basis of our work is marketing and technical texts in English, which travel into the Latvian and Danish markets, respectively....

  7. Decision Guide for Roof Slope Selection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sharp, T.R.

    1988-01-01

    This decision guide has been written for personnel who are responsible for the design, construction, and replacement of Air Force roofs. It provides the necessary information and analytical tools for making prudent and cost-effective decisions regarding the amount of slope to provide in various roofing situations. Because the expertise and experience of the decision makers will vary, the guide contains both basic slope-related concepts as well as more sophisticated technical data. This breadth of information enables the less experienced user to develop an understanding of roof slope issues before applying the more sophisticated analytical tools, while the experienced user can proceed directly to the technical sections. Although much of this guide is devoted to the analysis of costs, it is not a cost-estimating document. It does, however, provide the reader with the relative costs of a variety of roof slope options; and it shows how to determine the relative cost-effectiveness of different options. The selection of the proper roof slope coupled with good roof design, a quality installation, periodic inspection, and appropriate maintenance and repair will achieve the Air Force's objective of obtaining the best possible roofing value for its buildings.

  8. The great slippery-slope argument.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burgess, J A

    1993-09-01

    Whenever some form of beneficent killing--for example, voluntary euthanasia--is advocated, the proposal is greeted with a flood of slippery-slope arguments warning of the dangers of a Nazi-style slide into genocide. This paper is an attempt systematically to evaluate arguments of this kind. Although there are slippery-slope arguments that are sound and convincing, typical formulations of the Nazi-invoking argument are found to be seriously deficient both in logical rigour and in the social history and psychology required as a scholarly underpinning. As an antidote, an attempt is made both to identify some of the likely causes of genocide and to isolate some of the more modest but legitimate fears that lie behind slippery-slope arguments of this kind.

  9. Slope activity in Gale crater, Mars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dundas, Colin M.; McEwen, Alfred S.

    2015-01-01

    High-resolution repeat imaging of Aeolis Mons, the central mound in Gale crater, reveals active slope processes within tens of kilometers of the Curiosity rover. At one location near the base of northeastern Aeolis Mons, dozens of transient narrow lineae were observed, resembling features (Recurring Slope Lineae) that are potentially due to liquid water. However, the lineae faded and have not recurred in subsequent Mars years. Other small-scale slope activity is common, but has different spatial and temporal characteristics. We have not identified confirmed RSL, which Rummel et al. (Rummel, J.D. et al. [2014]. Astrobiology 14, 887–968) recommended be treated as potential special regions for planetary protection. Repeat images acquired as Curiosity approaches the base of Aeolis Mons could detect changes due to active slope processes, which could enable the rover to examine recently exposed material.

  10. 76 FR 43236 - Federal Travel Regulation (FTR): Temporary Duty (TDY) Travel Allowances: Notice of Public Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-20

    ...; Sequence 5] Federal Travel Regulation (FTR): Temporary Duty (TDY) Travel Allowances: Notice of Public... public meeting. SUMMARY: The General Services Administration (GSA) is revising the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) in an effort to streamline travel policies, increase travel efficiency and effectiveness...

  11. Travel, infection and immunity

    OpenAIRE

    Soonawala, Darius

    2016-01-01

    Preface: The content of this thesis is based on research that was conducted at the travel and vaccination clinic at Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC). This clinic provides pre-travel care to the general population, and to special groups of travellers, such as patients who use immunosuppressants or who have chronic diseases. The clinic is closely connected to the department of Infectious Diseases at LUMC. The setting of a travel clinic within an academic medical hospital, provides unique...

  12. On the influence of the tundra on the EnEV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Genath, B.

    2004-01-01

    This extensive article discusses the European General Energy-Efficiency Guidelines for Buildings that are to be implemented in national legislation by 2006. This extensive article looks at questions concerning the implementation of these guidelines, which not only limit the amount of primary energy used for heating, but also that used for air-conditioning and lighting. The new regulations are compared with the existing German EnEV energy-efficiency regulations. The advantages and the weak points of the latter are discussed. Several special cases are quoted and improvements are suggested, including the adoption of the best part-implementations from existing national regulations. The interdisciplinary approach necessary is discussed. Also the effects of the EU-EnEV on emissions trading is looked at. The situation concerning CO 2 and global warming in Russia is examined in the light of emissions-trading efforts - and even the climatic pros and cons of letting the permafrost of the tundra melt are discussed

  13. What Does Matter?: Idols and Icons in the Nenets Tundra

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laur Vallikivi

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines a mission encounter in the Nenets reindeer herders’ tundra. In post-Soviet Arctic Russia, Pentecostal and Baptist missionaries of Russian and Ukrainian origin have been fighting against idolatry and trying to persuade the Nenets to burn their sacred images or khekhe’’. They claim that among the indigenous Siberians idolatry exists in its quintessential or prototypical form, as it is described in the Bible. I shall suggest that this encounter takes place in a gap, in which the Nenets and Protestant have different understandings of language and materiality. Missionaries rely simultaneously on the ‘modern’ ideology of signification and the ‘non-modern’ magic of the material. They argue that idols, which are ‘nothing’ according to the scriptures, dangerously bind the ‘pagans’’ minds. For reindeer herders, for whom sacred items occupy an important place in the family wellbeing, the main issue is how to sever the link with the spirits without doing any damage.

  14. Storm-Induced Slope Failure Susceptibility Mapping

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-01-01

    A pilot study was conducted to characterize and map the areas susceptible to slope failure using state-wide available data. The objective was to determine whether it would be possible to provide slope-failure susceptibility mapping that could be used...

  15. Exploring disagreement prevention and resolution in travel decision-making of young Chinese travellers

    OpenAIRE

    Song, Hanqun; Sparks, Beverley; Wang, Ying

    2017-01-01

    The young Chinese travel market is becoming increasingly significant in domestic and international tourism. However, there is limited research on the market. This study examines the decision-making processes of young Chinese travellers, with a particular interest in disagreement prevention and resolution. On the basis of interviews with 25 young Chinese travellers, this study found that while a small number of travellers did not perceive any disagreement, or did not voice their disagreement, ...

  16. Tundra shrubification and tree-line advance amplify arctic climate warming: results from an individual-based dynamic vegetation model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wenxin; Miller, Paul A.; Smith, Benjamin; Wania, Rita; Koenigk, Torben; Döscher, Ralf

    2013-09-01

    One major challenge to the improvement of regional climate scenarios for the northern high latitudes is to understand land surface feedbacks associated with vegetation shifts and ecosystem biogeochemical cycling. We employed a customized, Arctic version of the individual-based dynamic vegetation model LPJ-GUESS to simulate the dynamics of upland and wetland ecosystems under a regional climate model-downscaled future climate projection for the Arctic and Subarctic. The simulated vegetation distribution (1961-1990) agreed well with a composite map of actual arctic vegetation. In the future (2051-2080), a poleward advance of the forest-tundra boundary, an expansion of tall shrub tundra, and a dominance shift from deciduous to evergreen boreal conifer forest over northern Eurasia were simulated. Ecosystems continued to sink carbon for the next few decades, although the size of these sinks diminished by the late 21st century. Hot spots of increased CH4 emission were identified in the peatlands near Hudson Bay and western Siberia. In terms of their net impact on regional climate forcing, positive feedbacks associated with the negative effects of tree-line, shrub cover and forest phenology changes on snow-season albedo, as well as the larger sources of CH4, may potentially dominate over negative feedbacks due to increased carbon sequestration and increased latent heat flux.

  17. Travel advice for the immunocompromised traveler: prophylaxis, vaccination, and other preventive measures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patel RR

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Rupa R Patel,1 Stephen Y Liang,1 Pooja Koolwal,2 Frederick Matthew Kuhlmann1 1Division of Infectious Diseases, 2Division of Medical Education, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA Abstract: Immunocompromised patients are traveling at increasing rates. Physicians caring for these complex patients must be knowledgeable in pretravel consultation and recognize when referral to an infectious disease specialist is warranted. This article outlines disease prevention associated with international travel for adults with human immunodeficiency virus, asplenia, solid organ and hematopoietic transplantation, and other immunosuppressed states. While rates of infection may not differ significantly between healthy and immunocompromised travelers, the latter are at greater risk for severe disease. A thorough assessment of these risks can ensure safe and healthy travel. The travel practitioners’ goal should be to provide comprehensive risk information and recommend appropriate vaccinations or prevention measures tailored to each patient’s condition. In some instances, live vaccines and prophylactic medications may be contraindicated. Keywords: immunocompromised, vaccines, travel, malaria, diarrhea

  18. Travel Characteristics and Pretravel Health Care Among Pregnant or Breastfeeding U.S. Women Preparing for International Travel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagmann, Stefan H F; Rao, Sowmya R; LaRocque, Regina C; Erskine, Stefanie; Jentes, Emily S; Walker, Allison T; Barnett, Elizabeth D; Chen, Lin H; Hamer, Davidson H; Ryan, Edward T

    2017-12-01

    To study characteristics and preventive interventions of adult pregnant and breastfeeding travelers seeking pretravel health care in the United States. This cross-sectional study analyzed data (2009-2014) of pregnant and breastfeeding travelers seen at U.S. travel clinics participating in Global TravEpiNet. Nonpregnant, nonbreastfeeding adult female travelers of childbearing age were used for comparison. We evaluated the prescription of malaria chemoprophylaxis and antibiotics for this population as well as the administration of three travel-related vaccines: hepatitis A, typhoid, and yellow fever. We also evaluated use of tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis and influenza vaccines, because these are widely recommended in pregnancy. Of 21,138 female travelers of childbearing age in Global TravEpiNet, 170 (0.8%) were pregnant and 139 (0.7%) were breastfeeding. Many traveled to destinations endemic for mosquito-borne illnesses, including malaria (pregnant: 95%; breastfeeding: 94%), dengue (pregnant: 87%; breastfeeding: 81%), or yellow fever (pregnant: 35%; breastfeeding: 50%). Compared with nonpregnant, nonbreastfeeding adult female travelers, eligible pregnant travelers were less likely to be vaccinated against hepatitis A (28% compared with 51%, Ptravelers did not receive influenza vaccination. Yellow fever vaccine was occasionally provided to pregnant and breastfeeding travelers traveling to countries entirely endemic for yellow fever (6 [20%] of 30 pregnant travelers and 18 [46%] of 39 breastfeeding travelers). Half of pregnant travelers and two thirds of breastfeeding travelers preparing to travel to malaria-holoendemic countries received a prescription for malaria prophylaxis. Most pregnant and breastfeeding travelers seen for pretravel health consultations traveled to destinations with high risk for vector-borne or other travel-related diseases. Destination-specific preventive interventions were frequently underused.

  19. The value of travel time variance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fosgerau, Mogens; Engelson, Leonid

    2011-01-01

    This paper considers the value of travel time variability under scheduling preferences that are defined in terms of linearly time varying utility rates associated with being at the origin and at the destination. The main result is a simple expression for the value of travel time variability...... that does not depend on the shape of the travel time distribution. The related measure of travel time variability is the variance of travel time. These conclusions apply equally to travellers who can freely choose departure time and to travellers who use a scheduled service with fixed headway. Depending...... on parameters, travellers may be risk averse or risk seeking and the value of travel time may increase or decrease in the mean travel time....

  20. 76 FR 46216 - Federal Travel Regulation (FTR): Temporary Duty (TDY) Travel Allowances: Notice of Public Meeting...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-02

    ...; Sequence 5] Federal Travel Regulation (FTR): Temporary Duty (TDY) Travel Allowances: Notice of Public... and the general public in an effort to streamline travel policies, incorporated travel efficiency and.... Flynn, Deputy Director, Office of Travel, Transportation & Asset Management. [FR Doc. 2011-19482 Filed 8...

  1. Costs of travel time uncertainty and benefits of travel time information: Conceptual model and numerical examples

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ettema, D.F.; Timmermans, H.J.P.

    2006-01-01

    A negative effect of congestion that tends to be overlooked is travel time uncertainty. Travel time uncertainty causes scheduling costs due to early or late arrival. The negative effects of travel time uncertainty can be reduced by providing travellers with travel time information, which improves

  2. Slope Estimation in Noisy Piecewise Linear Functions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ingle, Atul; Bucklew, James; Sethares, William; Varghese, Tomy

    2015-03-01

    This paper discusses the development of a slope estimation algorithm called MAPSlope for piecewise linear data that is corrupted by Gaussian noise. The number and locations of slope change points (also known as breakpoints) are assumed to be unknown a priori though it is assumed that the possible range of slope values lies within known bounds. A stochastic hidden Markov model that is general enough to encompass real world sources of piecewise linear data is used to model the transitions between slope values and the problem of slope estimation is addressed using a Bayesian maximum a posteriori approach. The set of possible slope values is discretized, enabling the design of a dynamic programming algorithm for posterior density maximization. Numerical simulations are used to justify choice of a reasonable number of quantization levels and also to analyze mean squared error performance of the proposed algorithm. An alternating maximization algorithm is proposed for estimation of unknown model parameters and a convergence result for the method is provided. Finally, results using data from political science, finance and medical imaging applications are presented to demonstrate the practical utility of this procedure.

  3. Hydrology of two slopes in subarctic Yukon, Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carey, Sean K.; Woo, Ming-Ko

    1999-11-01

    Two subarctic forested slopes in central Wolf Creek basin, Yukon, were studied in 1996-1997 to determine the seasonal pattern of the hydrologic processes. A south-facing slope has a dense aspen forest on silty soils with seasonal frost only and a north-facing slope has open stands of black spruce and an organic layer on top of clay sediments with permafrost. Snowmelt is advanced by approximately one month on the south-facing slope due to greater radiation receipt. Meltwater infiltrates its seasonally frozen soil with low ice content, recharging the soil moisture reservoir but yielding no lateral surface or subsurface flow. Summer evaporation depletes this recharged moisture and any additional rainfall input, at the expense of surface or subsurface flow. The north-facing slope with an ice rich substrate hinders deep percolation. Snow meltwater is impounded within the organic layer to produce surface runoff in rills and gullies, and subsurface flow along pipes and within the matrix of the organic soil. During the summer, most subsurface flows are confined to the organic layer which has hydraulic conductivities orders of magnitudes larger than the underlying boulder-clay. Evaporation on the north-facing slope declines as both the frost table and the water table descend in the summer. A water balance of the two slopes demonstrates that vertical processes of infiltration and evaporation dominate moisture exchanges on the south-facing slope, whereas the retardation of deep drainage by frost and by clayey soil on the permafrost slope promotes a strong lateral flow component, principally within the organic layer. These results have the important implication that permafrost slopes and organic horizons are the principal controls on streamflow generation in subarctic catchments.

  4. Research on the stability evaluation of slope

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2013-08-15

    In order to create the guideline corresponding to a new regulatory standard, such as criteria in the ground-slope stability evaluation method, we have conducted an analysis and discussion of the shaking table test results using a large slope model. As a result, it was found that in that phase of the vertical motion and the horizontal motion affects the amplification characteristics of the ground motion, need to be considered in assessing the safety of the slope and the influence of the phase difference amplification or local. We also conduct a study on countermeasure construction slope by shaking table test, the effect of the countermeasure construction of pile and anchors deterrence could be confirmed. Focusing on the new method can reproduce the behavior of large deformation and discontinuity, with respect to the advancement of slope analysis, we identify issues on the maintenance and code applicability of each analysis method. (author)

  5. A Hybrid FEM-ANN Approach for Slope Instability Prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verma, A. K.; Singh, T. N.; Chauhan, Nikhil Kumar; Sarkar, K.

    2016-09-01

    Assessment of slope stability is one of the most critical aspects for the life of a slope. In any slope vulnerability appraisal, Factor Of Safety (FOS) is the widely accepted index to understand, how close or far a slope from the failure. In this work, an attempt has been made to simulate a road cut slope in a landslide prone area in Rudrapryag, Uttarakhand, India which lies near Himalayan geodynamic mountain belt. A combination of Finite Element Method (FEM) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) has been adopted to predict FOS of the slope. In ANN, a three layer, feed- forward back-propagation neural network with one input layer and one hidden layer with three neurons and one output layer has been considered and trained using datasets generated from numerical analysis of the slope and validated with new set of field slope data. Mean absolute percentage error estimated as 1.04 with coefficient of correlation between the FOS of FEM and ANN as 0.973, which indicates that the system is very vigorous and fast to predict FOS for any slope.

  6. Lead poisoning in whooper and tundra swans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakade, Tetsuya; Tomura, Yoshihiro; Jin, Kazuo; Taniyama, Hiroyuki; Yamamoto, Mutsuki; Kikkawa, Aya; Miyagi, Kunitaro; Uchida, Eiji; Asakawa, Mitsuhiko; Mukai, Takeshi; Shirasawa, Masahiko; Yamaguchi, Mamoru

    2005-01-01

    Six weak whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus) and two weak tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus) were found at Swamp Miyajima (Hokkaido, Japan) in May 1998. Anorexia, depression, green watery feces, pale conjunctiva, and anemia were observed. Radiographs showed from six to 38 suspected lead pellets in the gizzard. Blood lead concentrations were 2.5-6.7 microg/g (mean+/-SD=4.6+/-1.14 microg/g) on day 1. After blood collection, the birds were treated with calcium disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate (CaEDTA) given intravenously and force fed. Despite treatment, seven birds died the next day. Green, bile-stained livers and pale or green kidneys were observed on necropsy. Microscopically, bile pigment was widespread in the liver and acid-fast intranuclear inclusion bodies were observed in renal tubular epithelium. Lead concentrations in livers and kidneys were 14.0-30.4 microg/g and 30.2-122 microg/g wet weight, respectively. Only one bird survived and this whooper swan continued to be treated with CaEDTA and activated charcoal. No lead shot was observed in the proventriculus and gizzard by radiography on day 64 and the blood lead concentration decreased from 2.9 microg/g to 0.09 microg/g during that same period. After 4 mo of rehabilitation, the whooper swan was returned to the wild. Lead intoxication continues to be a problem at Swamp Miyajima.

  7. Traveling wave laser system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gregg, D.W.; Kidder, R.E.; Biehl, A.T.

    1975-01-01

    A method is described for generating a traveling wave laser pulse of almost unlimited energy content wherein a gain medium is pumped into a traveling wave mode, the traveling wave moving at essentially the velocity of light to generate an amplifying region or zone which moves through the medium at the velocity of light in the presence of directed stimulating radiation, thereby generating a traveling coherent, directed radiation pulse moving with the amplification zone through the gain medium. (U.S.)

  8. Travel, infection and immunity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Soonawala, Darius

    2016-01-01

    Preface: The content of this thesis is based on research that was conducted at the travel and vaccination clinic at Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC). This clinic provides pre-travel care to the general population, and to special groups of travellers, such as patients who use

  9. Modelling urban travel times

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zheng, F.

    2011-01-01

    Urban travel times are intrinsically uncertain due to a lot of stochastic characteristics of traffic, especially at signalized intersections. A single travel time does not have much meaning and is not informative to drivers or traffic managers. The range of travel times is large such that certain

  10. Travelers' Health: Trypanosomiasis, American (Chagas Disease)

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Stamaril clinics Disease Directory Resources Resources for Travelers Adventure Travel Animal Safety Blood Clots Bug Bites Evite ... Minute Travel Long-Term Travel Mass Gatherings Medical Tourism Mental Health Motion Sickness Natural Disasters Pregnant Travelers ...

  11. TRAVEL AND HOME LEAVE

    CERN Multimedia

    Human Resources Division

    2002-01-01

    Administrative procedures for : Travel to the home station and home leave (hl) Additional travel to the home station (at) Travel to the home station and home leave for family reasons (hlf) As part of the process of simplifying administrative procedures, HR and AS Divisions have devised a new, virtually automatic procedure for payment of travel expenses to the home station. The changes are aimed at rationalising administrative procedures and not at reducing benefits. The conditions of eligibility are unchanged. The new procedure, which will be operational with effect from 1st June 2002, will greatly simplify the administrative processing of claims for travel expenses and the recording of home leaves. Currently, requests for payment are introduced manually into the Advances and Claims system (AVCL) by divisional secretariats. All travel to the home station starting prior to 1st June 2002 will be processed according to the existing system whereas that starting on 1st June and after will be processed accordi...

  12. Residential self-selection and travel : The relationship between travel-related attitudes, built environment characteristics and travel behaviour

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bohte, W.

    2010-01-01

    Most Western national governments aim to influence individual travel patterns – at least to some degree – through spatial planning in residential areas. Nevertheless, the extent to which the characteristics of the built environment influence travel behaviour remains the subject of some debate among

  13. An alternative soil nailing system for slope stabilization: Akarpiles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Chun-Lan; Chan, Chee-Ming

    2017-11-01

    This research proposes an innovative solution for slope stabilization with less environmental footprint: AKARPILES. In Malaysia, landslide has become common civil and environmental problems that cause impacts to the economy, safety and environment. Therefore, effective slope stabilization method helps to improve the safety of public and protect the environment. This study focused on stabilizing surfacial slope failure. The idea of AKARPILES was generated from the tree roots system in slope stabilization. After the piles are installed in the slope and intercepting the slip plane, grout was pumped in and discharged through holes on the piles. The grout then filled the pores in the soil with random flow within the slip zone. SKW mixture was used to simulate the soil slope. There were two designs being proposed in this study and the prototypes were produced by a 3D printer. Trial mix of the grout was carried out to obtain the optimum mixing ratio of bentonite: cement: water. A series of tests were conducted on the single-pile-reinforced slope under vertical slope crest loading condition considering different slope gradients and nail designs. Parameters such as ultimate load, failure time and failure strain were recorded and compared. As comparison with the unreinforced slope, both designs of AKARPILES showed better but different performances in the model tests.

  14. Writing Travel in the Anthropocene

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Graulund, Rune

    2016-01-01

    the Anthropocene - which is to say an age in which nowhere, not the furthest reachest of the stratosphere nor the lowest point in the marine abyss, are untouched by the activities and detritus of humankind. The essay will give a short overview of the manner in which the notion of 'travel' has been contested......Travel writing critics have proclaimed the end of travel since at least the beginning of the 20th Century. Yet the global age of the 21st century presents us with a range a problems that challenge the notion of travel in manners that neither travellers, travel writers, nor travel writing critics...... could have imagined just a century ago. Globalisation and increased mobility, whether it is that of the privileged few who can travel on holiday on jet airplanes, or that of the immigrant labourer seeking employment by crossing borders on foot, have meant millions (if not indeed billions) are constantly...

  15. Factors affecting seismic response of submarine slopes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Biscontin

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available The response of submerged slopes on the continental shelf to seismic or storm loading has become an important element in the risk assessment for offshore structures and 'local' tsunami hazards worldwide. The geological profile of these slopes typically includes normally consolidated to lightly overconsolidated soft cohesive soils with layer thickness ranging from a few meters to hundreds of meters. The factor of safety obtained from pseudo-static analyses is not always a useful measure for evaluating the slope response, since values less than one do not necessarily imply slope failure with large movements of the soil mass. This paper addresses the relative importance of different factors affecting the response of submerged slopes during seismic loading. The analyses use a dynamic finite element code which includes a constitutive law describing the anisotropic stress-strain-strength behavior of normally consolidated to lightly overconsolidated clays. The model also incorporates anisotropic hardening to describe the effect of different shear strain and stress histories as well as bounding surface principles to provide realistic descriptions of the accumulation of the plastic strains and excess pore pressure during successive loading cycles. The paper presents results from parametric site response analyses on slope geometry and layering, soil material parameters, and input ground motion characteristics. The predicted maximum shear strains, permanent deformations, displacement time histories and maximum excess pore pressure development provide insight of slope performance during a seismic event.

  16. Study on Site Conditions Based on Topographic Slope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, X.; Wang, X.; Yuan, X.; Chen, M.; Dou, A.

    2018-04-01

    The travel-time averaged shear-wave velocity to a depth of 30m (Vs30) below the Earth's surface is widely used to classify sites in many building codes. Vs30 is also used to estimate site classification in recent ground-motion prediction equations (GMPEs), and the distribution of Vs30 has been mapped in a region or country. An alternative method has recently been proposed for evaluating global seismic site conditions or Vs30, from the SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) DEMs (digital elevation models). The basic premise of the method is that the topographic slope can be used as a reliable proxy for Vs30 in the absence of geologically and geotechnically based site-condition maps through correlations between Vs30 measurements and topographic gradient. Here, we use different resolutions (3 arcsec, 30 arcsec) DEM data to get Vs30 data separately, analyze and compare the difference of Vs30 data and site conditions obtained from different resolution DEM data. Shandong Province in eastern China and Sichuan Province in Western China are studied respectively. It is found that the higher resolution data is better at defining spatial topographic features than the 30c data, but less improvement in its correlation with Vs30.

  17. STUDY ON SITE CONDITIONS BASED ON TOPOGRAPHIC SLOPE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    X. Wu

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The travel-time averaged shear-wave velocity to a depth of 30m (Vs30 below the Earth’s surface is widely used to classify sites in many building codes. Vs30 is also used to estimate site classification in recent ground-motion prediction equations (GMPEs, and the distribution of Vs30 has been mapped in a region or country. An alternative method has recently been proposed for evaluating global seismic site conditions or Vs30, from the SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission DEMs (digital elevation models. The basic premise of the method is that the topographic slope can be used as a reliable proxy for Vs30 in the absence of geologically and geotechnically based site-condition maps through correlations between Vs30 measurements and topographic gradient. Here, we use different resolutions (3 arcsec, 30 arcsec DEM data to get Vs30 data separately, analyze and compare the difference of Vs30 data and site conditions obtained from different resolution DEM data. Shandong Province in eastern China and Sichuan Province in Western China are studied respectively. It is found that the higher resolution data is better at defining spatial topographic features than the 30c data, but less improvement in its correlation with Vs30.

  18. Analysis of Rainfall Infiltration Law in Unsaturated Soil Slope

    OpenAIRE

    Zhang, Gui-rong; Qian, Ya-jun; Wang, Zhang-chun; Zhao, Bo

    2014-01-01

    In the study of unsaturated soil slope stability under rainfall infiltration, it is worth continuing to explore how much rainfall infiltrates into the slope in a rain process, and the amount of rainfall infiltrating into slope is the important factor influencing the stability. Therefore, rainfall infiltration capacity is an important issue of unsaturated seepage analysis for slope. On the basis of previous studies, rainfall infiltration law of unsaturated soil slope is analyzed. Considering t...

  19. Shifting the Arctic Carbon Balance: Effects of a Long-Term Fertilization Experiment and Anomalously Warm Temperatures on Net Ecosystem Exchange in the Alaskan Tundra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ludwig, S.; Natali, S.; Rastetter, E. B.; Shaver, G. R.; Graham, L. M.; Jastrow, J. D.

    2017-12-01

    The arctic is warming at an accelerated rate relative to the globe. Among the predicted consequences of warming temperatures in the arctic are increased gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (ER), and nutrient availability. The net effect of these changes on the carbon (C) cycle and resulting C balance and feedback to climate change remain unclear. Historically the Arctic has been a C sink, but evidence from recent years suggests some regions in the Arctic are becoming C sources. To predict the role of the Arctic in global C cycling, the mechanisms affecting arctic C balances need to be better resolved. We measured net ecosystem exchange (NEE) in a long-term, multi-level, fertilization experiment at Toolik Lake, AK during an anomalously warm summer. We modeled NEE, ER, and GPP using a Bayesian network model. The best-fit model included Q10 temperature functions and linear fertilization functions for both ER and GPP. ER was more strongly affected by temperature and GPP was driven more by fertilization level. As a result, fertilization increased the C sink capacity, but only at moderate and low temperatures. At high temperatures (>28 °C) the NEE modeled for the highest level of fertilization was not significantly different from zero. In contrast, at ambient nutrient levels modeled NEE was significantly below zero (net uptake) until 35 °C, when it becomes neutral. Regardless of the level of fertilization, NEE never decreased with warming. Temperature in low ranges (5-15°C) had no net effect on NEE, whereas NEE began to increase exponentially with temperature after a threshold of 15°C until becoming a net source to the atmosphere at 37°C. Our results indicate that the C sink strength of tundra ecosystems can be increased with small increases in nutrient availability, but that large increase in nutrient availability can switch tundra ecosystems into C sources under warm conditions. Warming temperatures in tundra ecosystems will only decrease C

  20. Information impact on quality of travel choices: analysis of data from a multimodal travel simulator

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chorus, C.G.; Arentze, T.A.; Timmermans, H.J.P.; Silva, da A.N.R.; Souza, de L.C.L.

    2007-01-01

    This paper investigates the impact of travel information on the quality of travel choices. It distinguishes itself from earlier studies on this topic by empirically investigating the impact of a variety of travel information types on the quality of observed multimodal travel choices. Choice quality

  1. Drug use, travel and HIV risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, D; Bell, D C; Hinojosa, M

    2002-08-01

    A study was conducted to examine the travel experiences of a community sample of 160 drug users and 44 non-users recruited as part of a study of HIV risk. Of the sample, 47% (96/204) reported intercity travel in the previous ten years. Results showed that men were more likely to travel than women, Anglos more than minorities, and young persons more than old. When travellers testing HIV-seropositive (n = 13) were compared with seronegative travellers, HIV-positive travellers reported more sex while travelling than HIV-negative persons, but virtually all of the difference reported involved sex with condoms. There were no significant differences in sex risk behaviours while travelling between drug users and non-drug users, or in sex risk behaviors between drug injectors and non-injectors. Travellers had fewer injection partners while travelling than they had while at home. There was also a significant difference in number of sex partners with whom a condom was not used, with fewer sex partners while travelling.

  2. Carlson Wagonlit Travel

    CERN Multimedia

    Carlson Wagonlit Travel

    2005-01-01

    Dear customers, On 3 January we informed you that the airlines had decided to cease paying commission to travel agencies in Switzerland. This measure has since been progressively introduced, with rare exceptions. Consequently, in agreement with CERN, we are obliged to apply new transaction fees for private travel, with immediate effect. Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) offers: A personalized, professional and competent consultancy service To seek the most economical and best solution adapted to your needs Neutrality in comparing prices and benefits Additional information concerning e.g. visa regulations, insurance, vaccinations, etc. Support in the event of problems We draw your attention to the fact that, in spite of the increase, these prices remain very competitive on today's market. Thank you for your trust and understanding. Yours truly, Carlson Wagonlit Travel CERN agency

  3. Hepatitis B vaccination in travelers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sonder, Gerard J. B.

    2008-01-01

    An increasing number of travelers travel to hepatitis B-endemic countries. In travel medicine, vaccinations should be advised according to risks. The actual incidence of hepatitis B infection in short-term tourists is very low and probably not higher than it is for people who do not travel. There is

  4. Aspect-Driven Changes in Slope Stability Due to Ecohydrologic Feedbacks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poulos, M. J.; Pierce, J. L.; Flores, A. N.; Benner, S. G.; Smith, T. J.; McNamara, J. P.

    2009-12-01

    Seasonally integrated variation in insolation drives feedbacks among evapotranspiration, soil moisture, weathering, and erosion that lead to pronounced contrasts in slope angles and vegetation on north and south-facing hillslopes. Spatial variations in insolation associated with north-south contrasts in topographic aspect leads to corresponding variation in local microclimates and ecohydrologic regimes that, in turn, impact spatial patterns of weathering and erosion, ultimately impacting slope angles on north and south-facing slopes. Aspect-sensitive environments appear to be poised on a balance point between ecohydrologic systems, and may be especially susceptible to climate change. In the semi-arid Colorado Plateau of northeastern Arizona, cliffs often form on south-facing slopes where soil moisture is insufficient for weathering of clay-cemented sandstone that is susceptible to hydration. In contrast, cliffs are rare on northerly slopes, which are dominated by mantles of weathered sandstone and colluvium (Burnett et al., 2008, doi:10.1029/2007JF000789). However, in semi-arid regions of the Idaho Batholith, preliminary results indicate some north-facing slopes are significantly steeper than south-facing slopes. We hypothesize that in semi-arid areas with observable increases in vegetation on north vs. south-facing slopes, north-facing slopes will be steeper due to increased soil cohesion, increased capture of wind-borne loess due to vegetative wind-baffling, and differences in the type and magnitude of erosive processes. In moister areas where aspect does not visibly control vegetation type and density, differences in slope angles with aspect should not be observed. We investigate tectonically quiescent regions of the mostly-homogenous granodioritic Idaho Batholith to locate areas sensitive to aspect-induced variations in insolation and compare slope characteristics on north and south-facing slopes. Hillslopes within the Dry Creek Experimental Watershed, in the

  5. Trends and characteristics among HIV-infected and diabetic travelers seeking pre-travel advice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Elfrink, Floor; van den Hoek, Anneke; Sonder, Gerard J. B.

    2014-01-01

    The number of individuals with a chronic disease increases. Better treatment options have improved chronic patients' quality of life, likely increasing their motivation for travel. This may have resulted in a change in the number of HIV-infected travelers and/or travelers with Diabetes Mellitus (DM)

  6. Large CO 2 and CH 4 emissions from polygonal tundra during spring thaw in northern Alaska: Spring Pulse Emission

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Raz-Yaseef, Naama [Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley California USA; Torn, Margaret S. [Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley California USA; Energy and Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley California USA; Wu, Yuxin [Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley California USA; Billesbach, Dave P. [Biological Systems Engineering Department, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln Nebraska USA; Liljedahl, Anna K. [Water and Environmental Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks Alaska USA; Kneafsey, Timothy J. [Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley California USA; Romanovsky, Vladimir E. [Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks Alaska USA; Cook, David R. [Environmental Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont Illinois USA; Wullschleger, Stan D. [Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Tennessee USA

    2017-01-10

    The few prethaw observations of tundra carbon fluxes suggest that there may be large spring releases, but little Is lmown about the scale and underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon. To address these questions, we combined ecosystem eddy flux measurements from two towers near Barrow, Alaska, with mechanistic soil-core thawing experiment During a 2week period prior to snowmelt In 2014, large fluxes were measured, reducing net summer uptake of CO2 by 46% and adding 6% to cumulative CH4 emissions. Emission pulses were linked to unique rain-on-snow events enhancing soli cracking. Controlled laboratory experiment revealed that as surface Ice thaws, an immediate, large pulse of trapped gases Is emitted. These results suggest that the Arctic C02 and CH4 spring pulse is a delayed release of biogenic gas production from the previous fall and that the pulse can be large enough to offset a significant fraction of the moderate Arctic tundra carbon sink.

  7. Effectiveness of pre-travel consultation in the prevention of travel-related diseases: a retrospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tafuri, Silvio; Guerra, Rocco; Gallone, Maria Serena; Cappelli, Maria Giovanna; Lanotte, Serafina; Quarto, Michele; Germinario, Cinzia

    2014-01-01

    This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of pre-travel counselling carried out in Travel Clinics. This is a retrospective cohort. Three hundred international travellers were enrolled; 150 people were from users of Bari Travel Clinic, 150 were users of a travel agency. Enrolled subjects were interviewed using a questionnaire. The average age of the enrolled subjects was 37.5 ± 13.9, without statistically significant differences between the two groups. 86% of cases and 19.3% of the controls reported the use of anti-malaria prophylaxis (p Travel Clinic users, 6% reported diarrhoea and these figures were 27% in the control group (p study demonstrated the effectiveness of pre-travel counselling; in the future, new studies must investigate the cost-effectiveness of pre-travel prevention measures.

  8. Analysis of rainfall infiltration law in unsaturated soil slope.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Gui-rong; Qian, Ya-jun; Wang, Zhang-chun; Zhao, Bo

    2014-01-01

    In the study of unsaturated soil slope stability under rainfall infiltration, it is worth continuing to explore how much rainfall infiltrates into the slope in a rain process, and the amount of rainfall infiltrating into slope is the important factor influencing the stability. Therefore, rainfall infiltration capacity is an important issue of unsaturated seepage analysis for slope. On the basis of previous studies, rainfall infiltration law of unsaturated soil slope is analyzed. Considering the characteristics of slope and rainfall, the key factors affecting rainfall infiltration of slope, including hydraulic properties, water storage capacity (θs - θr), soil types, rainfall intensities, and antecedent and subsequent infiltration rates on unsaturated soil slope, are discussed by using theory analysis and numerical simulation technology. Based on critical factors changing, this paper presents three calculation models of rainfall infiltrability for unsaturated slope, including (1) infiltration model considering rainfall intensity; (2) effective rainfall model considering antecedent rainfall; (3) infiltration model considering comprehensive factors. Based on the technology of system response, the relationship of rainfall and infiltration is described, and the prototype of regression model of rainfall infiltration is given, in order to determine the amount of rain penetration during a rain process.

  9. Risk factors for infections in international travelers: an analysis of travel-related notifiable communicable diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baer, Atar; Libassi, Lisa; Lloyd, Jennifer K; Benoliel, Eileen; Brucker, Rachel; Jones, Megan Q; Kwan-Gett, Tao Sheng; McKeirnan, Shelly; Pecha, Monica; Rietberg, Krista; Serafin, Lauri; Walkinshaw, Lina P; Duchin, Jeffrey S

    2014-01-01

    We sought to describe travel-related illness among our residents and gain insight into targeting pre-travel health advice to prevent travel-related illness. A supplemental travel questionnaire was developed and administered for cases with a legally notifiable communicable disease reported in 2011-2012, who spent at least part of their exposure period outside the United States. Among 451 cases meeting the eligibility criteria, 259 were interviewed. Forty four percent reported receiving pre-travel advice. Two-thirds adhered fully with risk behavior recommendations; 94% followed immunization recommendations partially or fully; and 84% adhered fully with malaria prophylaxis recommendations. The primary reasons for not obtaining pre-travel advice were being unaware of the need (47.5%), or believing they already knew what to do (34.5%). Adults (OR = 2.8, 95% CI = 1.4-5.5), males (OR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.1-3.0), those born outside the United States (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.1-3.7), and those with planning time under two weeks (OR = 4.8, 95% CI = 1.5-15.9) or travel duration less than 7 days (OR = 7.9, 95% CI = 3.0-20.9) were more likely to travel without seeking pre-travel advice. The majority of cases reported not receiving pre-travel advice. Understanding the predictors of failure to receive pre-travel advice may help target public health prevention efforts. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Health challenges of young travelers visiting friends and relatives compared with those traveling for other purposes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Pauline; Yanni, Emad; Jentes, Emily S; Hamer, Davidson H; Chen, Lin H; Wilson, Mary E; Macleod, William B; Ooi, Winnie W; Kogelman, Laura; Karchmer, Adolf W; Barnett, Elizabeth D

    2012-09-01

    The study objective was to assess differences in demographics and travel health challenges between youths ≤18 years old traveling internationally to visit friends and relatives (VFRs) compared with those traveling for other purposes (non-VFR). The Boston Area Travel Medicine Network consists of 5 clinics collecting anonymous data from international pretravel consultations. Data on all travelers ≤18 years of age seen between January 2008 and July 2010 were used. VFRs were compared with non-VFRs on demographics, primary language, trip characteristics, travel vaccinations administered, malaria prophylaxis and antidiarrheal medications prescribed. Thirty-five percent (610/1731) listed VFR as their purpose of travel. Almost half of VFRs were travel to countries that were yellow fever holoendemic, had malaria risk and were high-risk for typhoid (44% versus 20%, 39% versus 12%, 25% versus 15%, P travel-related morbidity, healthcare providers should be prepared to give travel advice to parents of VFR infants and children, particularly those US-born VFRs with foreign-born parents, regarding antimalarial and antidiarrheal medications and preventing yellow fever, malaria and typhoid.

  11. Travel Time Reliability in Indiana

    OpenAIRE

    Martchouk, Maria; Mannering, Fred L.; Singh, Lakhwinder

    2010-01-01

    Travel time and travel time reliability are important performance measures for assessing traffic condition and extent of congestion on a roadway. This study first uses a floating car technique to assess travel time and travel time reliability on a number of Indiana highways. Then the study goes on to describe the use of Bluetooth technology to collect real travel time data on a freeway and applies it to obtain two weeks of data on Interstate 69 in Indianapolis. An autoregressive model, estima...

  12. A method for determining average beach slope and beach slope variability for U.S. sandy coastlines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doran, Kara S.; Long, Joseph W.; Overbeck, Jacquelyn R.

    2015-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Assessment of Hurricane-Induced Coastal Erosion Hazards compares measurements of beach morphology with storm-induced total water levels to produce forecasts of coastal change for storms impacting the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coastlines of the United States. The wave-induced water level component (wave setup and swash) is estimated by using modeled offshore wave height and period and measured beach slope (from dune toe to shoreline) through the empirical parameterization of Stockdon and others (2006). Spatial and temporal variability in beach slope leads to corresponding variability in predicted wave setup and swash. For instance, seasonal and storm-induced changes in beach slope can lead to differences on the order of 1 meter (m) in wave-induced water level elevation, making accurate specification of this parameter and its associated uncertainty essential to skillful forecasts of coastal change. A method for calculating spatially and temporally averaged beach slopes is presented here along with a method for determining total uncertainty for each 200-m alongshore section of coastline.

  13. Travel risk behaviours and uptake of pre-travel health preventions by university students in Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heywood, Anita E; Zhang, Meng; MacIntyre, C Raina; Seale, Holly

    2012-02-17

    Forward planning and preventative measures before travelling can significantly reduce the risk of many vaccine preventable travel-related infectious diseases. Higher education students may be at an increased risk of importing infectious disease as many undertake multiple visits to regions with higher infectious disease endemicity. Little is known about the health behaviours of domestic or international university students, particularly students from low resource countries who travel to high-resource countries for education. This study aimed to assess travel-associated health risks and preventative behaviours in a sample of both domestic and international university students in Australia. In 2010, a 28 item self-administered online survey was distributed to students enrolled at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Multiple methods of distributing links to the online survey were utilised. The survey examined the international travel history, travel intentions, infection control behaviours and self-reported vaccination history. A total of 1663 respondents completed the online survey, 22.1% were international students and 83.9% were enrolled at an undergraduate level. Half had travelled internationally in the previous 12 months, with 69% of those travelling only once during that time with no difference in travel from Australia between domestic and international students (p = 0.8). Uptake of pre-travel health advice was low overall with 68% of respondents reporting they had not sought any advice from a health professional prior to their last international trip. Domestic students were more likely to report uptake of a range of preventative travel health measures compared to international students, including diarrhoeal medication, insect repellent, food avoidance and condoms (P students reported low risk perception of travel threats and a low corresponding concern for these threats. Our study highlights the need to educate students about the risk

  14. Automatic approach to deriving fuzzy slope positions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Liang-Jun; Zhu, A.-Xing; Qin, Cheng-Zhi; Liu, Jun-Zhi

    2018-03-01

    Fuzzy characterization of slope positions is important for geographic modeling. Most of the existing fuzzy classification-based methods for fuzzy characterization require extensive user intervention in data preparation and parameter setting, which is tedious and time-consuming. This paper presents an automatic approach to overcoming these limitations in the prototype-based inference method for deriving fuzzy membership value (or similarity) to slope positions. The key contribution is a procedure for finding the typical locations and setting the fuzzy inference parameters for each slope position type. Instead of being determined totally by users in the prototype-based inference method, in the proposed approach the typical locations and fuzzy inference parameters for each slope position type are automatically determined by a rule set based on prior domain knowledge and the frequency distributions of topographic attributes. Furthermore, the preparation of topographic attributes (e.g., slope gradient, curvature, and relative position index) is automated, so the proposed automatic approach has only one necessary input, i.e., the gridded digital elevation model of the study area. All compute-intensive algorithms in the proposed approach were speeded up by parallel computing. Two study cases were provided to demonstrate that this approach can properly, conveniently and quickly derive the fuzzy slope positions.

  15. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices evaluation about travel medicine in international travelers and medical students in Chile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guerrero-Lillo, Lisette; Medrano-Díaz, Jorge; Pérez, Carmen; Chacón, Rodrigo; Silva-Urra, Juan; Rodriguez-Morales, Alfonso J

    2009-01-01

    Because information about travel medicine in Chile is lacking, a knowledge, attitudes, and practices evaluation in international travelers and medical students was done. The travelers and medical students did not know the travel medicine and sanitary conditions of their destinations, although they perceived travel-associated health risks, but <10% had any vaccination and 5% got sick during international trips.

  16. Can lemmings control the expansion of woody plants on tundra?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oksanen, Lauri; Oksanen, Tarja; Olofsson, Johan; Virtanen, Risto; Hoset, Katrine; Tuomi, Maria; Kyrö, Kukka

    2013-04-01

    The ongoing expansion of woody vegetation in the arctic, due to global warming, creates a positive feed back loop. Increasing abundance of woody plants reduces surface albedo both directly and via speeding up snow melt. Thus a successively greater fraction of incoming solar radiation is absorbed and converted to heat. Browsing mammals - both big and small - can prevent this by consuming woody plants. However, the grazer/browser community of many tundra areas is dominated by brown/Norwegian lemmings (Lemmus spp.) which eat graminoids and mosses and cannot use woody plants as forage. It would seem a priori likely that in such areas, mammalian herbivores speed up the expansion of woody plants by improving the chances of their seedlings to get established. We studied the impact of lemmings on woody plants by constructing lemming proof exclosures within piece high-altitude tundra at Joatkanjávri, northernmost Norway. The exclosures were constructed in 1998, during a period of low lemming densities, in snow-beds, where Norwegian lemmings (L. lemmus) were the only ecologically significant herbivorous mammals. (Reindeer migrate through the area in May, when snow-beds are inaccessible for them; during the fall migration, the area represents a dead end and is therefore avoided.) We chose pairs of maximally similar vegetation patches of 0.5 by 0.5 m and randomly assigned one of each pair to become an exclosure while the other plot was left open. The initial state of the vegetation was documented by the point frequency method. In 2008, after the 2007 lemming outbreak, the same documentation was repeated; thereafter the plots were harvested, the vegetation was sorted to species, oven dried and weighed. Exclusion of lemmings resulted to pronounced increase in community level plant biomass. Evergreen woody plants were especially favored by the exclusion of lemming: their above-ground biomass in exclosures was 14 times as great as their biomass on open reference plots. The

  17. 30 CFR 77.1911 - Ventilation of slopes and shafts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... SAFETY AND HEALTH MANDATORY SAFETY STANDARDS, SURFACE COAL MINES AND SURFACE WORK AREAS OF UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Slope and Shaft Sinking § 77.1911 Ventilation of slopes and shafts. (a) All slopes and... connected to the slope or shaft opening with fireproof air ducts; (3) Designed to permit the reversal of the...

  18. Traveling and Asthma

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Videos for Educators Search English Español Traveling and Asthma KidsHealth / For Kids / Traveling and Asthma Print en ... pack it, too. How Can I Avoid My Asthma Triggers? Staying at a hotel Ask for a ...

  19. Change point analysis of travel routes reveals novel insights into foraging strategies and cognitive maps of wild baboons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noser, Rahel; Byrne, Richard W

    2014-05-01

    Efficient space use is a critical challenge for animals relying on stationary resources. It is often difficult with purely observational methods to gain unambiguous insight into any ability of primates to manage and process spatial information. Investigating the visible signs of the decision processes underlying space use often leaves open important issues. We applied the change point test [Byrne et al. (2009). Anim Behav 77: 619-631], a statistical tool to objectively determine change points (CPs) in animal travel paths, to investigate to what degree directional changes in our study group's (Papio ursinus) dry season ranging were associated with important resources and prominent landmarks. One-third of directional changes were associated with fruit feeding, 1/3 with traveling, and 1/3 with dry matter feeding, travel feeding and with drinking. When directional changes were associated with traveling, the subsequent directional changes were likely to result in fruit feeding. Fruit feeding mostly occurred at the apex of the day journeys, while drinking, dry matter feeding, and travel feeding often occurred along straight travel segments. The majority of directional changes did not occur in clusters at distinctive locations, but at distances of more than 120 m apart from each other, many of them along prominent landmarks. We conclude that the CPs do not represent nodes or route bends of a network map. Rather, they represent (1) locations where the decision to turn back to their sleeping site was taken, and (2) locations next to important landmarks (changes of slope, car tracks) where slight adjustment of a movement direction was possible. We found no evidence for a Euclidean map and discuss our findings in the light of a network map representation of space. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  20. Travelling Concepts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Simonsen, Karen-Margrethe

    2013-01-01

    Review of "Travelling Concepts, Metaphors, and Narratives: Literary and Cultural Studies in an Age of Interdisciplinary Research" ed. by Sibylle Baumgarten, Beatrice Michaelis and Ansagar Nünning, Trier; Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 2012......Review of "Travelling Concepts, Metaphors, and Narratives: Literary and Cultural Studies in an Age of Interdisciplinary Research" ed. by Sibylle Baumgarten, Beatrice Michaelis and Ansagar Nünning, Trier; Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 2012...

  1. Intertidal beach slope predictions compared to field data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Madsen, A.J.; Plant, N.G.

    2001-01-01

    This paper presents a test of a very simple model for predicting beach slope changes. The model assumes that these changes are a function of both the incident wave conditions and the beach slope itself. Following other studies, we hypothesized that the beach slope evolves towards an equilibrium

  2. US North Slope gas and Asian LNG markets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attanasi, E.D.

    1994-01-01

    Prospects for export of liquified natural gas (LNG) from Alaska's North Slope are assessed. Projected market conditions to 2010 show that new LNG capacity beyond announced expansions will be needed to meet regional demand and that supplies will probably come from outside the region. The estimated delivered costs of likely suppliers show that Alaska North Slope gas will not be competitive. The alternative North Slope gas development strategies of transport and sale to the lower 48 states and use on the North Slope for either enhanced oil recovery or conversion to liquids are examined. The alternative options require delaying development until US gas prices increase, exhaustion of certain North Slope oil fields, or advances occur in gas to liquid fuels conversion technology. ?? 1995.

  3. Impact of advice given to travelers concerning the main infectious risks associated with traveling in the tropics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lestelle, C; Aymeric, S; Maakaroun-Vermesse, Z; Pouliquen, A; Bernard, L; Chandenier, J; Grammatico-Guillon, L

    2015-06-01

    The prevention of sanitary risks related to traveling in the tropics implies delivering a large amount of information to travelers. The objective of our study was to assess the knowledge acquired by travelers during a pre-travel consultation. A before and after study was conducted among 202 travelers having consulted at the Tours international vaccine center. We used self-administrated questionnaires (score out of 100 marks) concerning diet, hygiene, anti-vectorial prevention (AVP), and sexual-transmitted infections (STI). The scores obtained before and after consultation were compared globally and for each topic. The travelers' global knowledge had improved after consultation (66.1 vs. 75.5%; P traveling compared to humanitarian mission prepared ahead of departure time). The recommendations for diet were less well acquired in travelers > 50 years of age than in those travel consultation improves the travelers' knowledge for the main prevention measures but does not allow them to acquire all required knowledge. Taking into account the travelers' initial knowledge and their ability to learn could improve the impact of the pre-travel consultation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  4. 41 CFR 301-71.105 - Must we issue a written or electronic travel authorization in advance of travel?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... or electronic travel authorization in advance of travel? 301-71.105 Section 301-71.105 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Travel Regulation System TEMPORARY DUTY (TDY) TRAVEL ALLOWANCES AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES 71-AGENCY TRAVEL ACCOUNTABILITY REQUIREMENTS Travel Authorization § 301-71.105...

  5. Examining the Relationship between Online Travel Agency Information and Traveler Destination Transaction Decisions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yerby, Dennis

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the role that available Online Travel Agency (OTA) destination information may have on a traveler's perceptions and intent in transaction decisions with that respective OTA. Specifically, this research examined a pleasure traveler's transaction perceptions and intentions with an OTA…

  6. Travel Agent Course Outline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    British Columbia Dept. of Education, Victoria.

    Written for college entry-level travel agent training courses, this course outline can also be used for inservice training programs offered by travel agencies. The outline provides information on the work of a travel agent and gives clear statements on what learners must be able to do by the end of their training. Material is divided into eight…

  7. Travel time variability and rational inattention

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fosgerau, Mogens; Jiang, Gege

    2017-01-01

    This paper sets up a rational inattention model for the choice of departure time for a traveler facing random travel time. The traveler chooses how much information to acquire about the travel time out-come before choosing departure time. This reduces the cost of travel time variability compared...

  8. Monitoring Travel Time Reliability on Freeways

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tu, Huizhao

    2008-01-01

    Travel time and travel time reliability are important attributes of a trip. The current measures of reliability have in common that in general they all relate to the variability of travel times. However, travel time reliability does not only rely on variability but also on the stability of travel

  9. Enquiries to the United Kingdom National Travel Advice Line by healthcare professionals regarding immunocompromised travellers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Joanna E; Patel, Dipti

    2016-03-01

    People who travel while immunocompromised are more at risk of serious travel-related infection. Their condition, medications or treatments can contraindicate, decrease the effectiveness of or increase the toxicity of vaccinations or malaria chemoprophylaxis. Therefore, immunocompromised travellers require careful assessment and specialized pre-travel advice. The aims of this study were to investigate enquiries by healthcare professionals (HCPs) to the UK National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) advice line regarding travellers with immunocompromise and to identify their most common concerns. Documentation for all calls taken by advisers at the London office during 2013 was reviewed. Of the 4910 enquiries to the London NaTHNaC advice line, 397 calls concerned immunocompromised travellers (8.1%). The majority of immunocompromised travellers were planning to visit Sub-Saharan Africa (53%) for the purpose of tourism (43%). Sixty-seven percent of enquiries concerned vaccine use, 11% were about malaria chemoprophylaxis, 20% were about both and 2% were for other reasons. Causes of immunocompromise included inflammatory or autoimmune conditions (43%), cancer (18%), splenic dysfunction (13%), immunosuppressive drugs (12%), human immunodeficiency virus (11%), primary immunodeficiency (1%), neutropenia (0.5%) and thymus abnormalities (0.5%). There were frequent enquires to the advice line by UK HCPs regarding immunocompromised travellers. The travellers in this study had a wide range of underlying medical conditions and varying levels of immunocompromise. These enquiries may reflect a lack of clarity in current national guidelines, difficulties in interpreting them or both. Establishing the reasons for these deficiencies as well as the reasons behind UK HCP concerns and lack of confidence requires further investigation. This research has highlighted potential knowledge gaps and will help inform future guidance and educational activities for UK HCPs advising

  10. Travel Behavior Change in Older Travelers: Understanding Critical Reactions to Incidents Encountered in Public Transport

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine Sundling

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Accessibility of travel may be better understood if psychological factors underlying change in travel behavior are known. This paper examines older (65+ travelers’ motives for changing their travel behavior. These changes are grounded in critical incidents earlier encountered in public-transport travel. A scientific framework is developed based on cognitive and behavioral theory. In 29 individual interviews, travelers’ critical reactions (i.e., cognitive, emotional, and/or behavioral to 77 critical incidents were examined. By applying critical incident technique (CIT, five reaction themes were identified that had generated travel-behavior change: firm restrictions, unpredictability, unfair treatment, complicated trips, and earlier adverse experiences. To improve older travelers’ access to public transport, key findings were: (a service must be designed so as to strengthen the feeling of being in control throughout the journey; (b extended personal service would increase predictability in the travel chain and decrease travel complexity; consequently, (c when designing new services and making effective accessibility interventions, policy makers should consider and utilize underlying psychological factors that could direct traveler behavior.

  11. Travel Behavior Change in Older Travelers: Understanding Critical Reactions to Incidents Encountered in Public Transport

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sundling, Catherine

    2015-01-01

    Accessibility of travel may be better understood if psychological factors underlying change in travel behavior are known. This paper examines older (65+) travelers’ motives for changing their travel behavior. These changes are grounded in critical incidents earlier encountered in public-transport travel. A scientific framework is developed based on cognitive and behavioral theory. In 29 individual interviews, travelers’ critical reactions (i.e., cognitive, emotional, and/or behavioral) to 77 critical incidents were examined. By applying critical incident technique (CIT), five reaction themes were identified that had generated travel-behavior change: firm restrictions, unpredictability, unfair treatment, complicated trips, and earlier adverse experiences. To improve older travelers’ access to public transport, key findings were: (a) service must be designed so as to strengthen the feeling of being in control throughout the journey; (b) extended personal service would increase predictability in the travel chain and decrease travel complexity; consequently, (c) when designing new services and making effective accessibility interventions, policy makers should consider and utilize underlying psychological factors that could direct traveler behavior. PMID:26593935

  12. Time-use and well-being impacts of travel-to-work and travel-for-work

    OpenAIRE

    Wheatley, D; Bickerton, C

    2016-01-01

    This article contributes to understanding of the complex patterns of travel-to-work and travel-for-work which \\ud increasingly characterize highly skilled employment, using 2015 data from a UK Midlands study comprising an online survey and follow-up interviews. Travel-to-work essentially lengthens the working day, and is difficult to use productively, especially when commuting by car. Travel-for-work, by contrast, results in intense schedules \\ud especially when requiring overnight stays. Own...

  13. 49 CFR 229.55 - Piston travel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Piston travel. 229.55 Section 229.55... Piston travel. (a) Brake cylinder piston travel shall be sufficient to provide brake shoe clearance when... piston travel may not exceed 11/2 inches less than the total possible piston travel. The total possible...

  14. Travel risk behaviours and uptake of pre-travel health preventions by university students in Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heywood Anita E

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Forward planning and preventative measures before travelling can significantly reduce the risk of many vaccine preventable travel-related infectious diseases. Higher education students may be at an increased risk of importing infectious disease as many undertake multiple visits to regions with higher infectious disease endemicity. Little is known about the health behaviours of domestic or international university students, particularly students from low resource countries who travel to high-resource countries for education. This study aimed to assess travel-associated health risks and preventative behaviours in a sample of both domestic and international university students in Australia. Methods In 2010, a 28 item self-administered online survey was distributed to students enrolled at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Multiple methods of distributing links to the online survey were utilised. The survey examined the international travel history, travel intentions, infection control behaviours and self-reported vaccination history. Results A total of 1663 respondents completed the online survey, 22.1% were international students and 83.9% were enrolled at an undergraduate level. Half had travelled internationally in the previous 12 months, with 69% of those travelling only once during that time with no difference in travel from Australia between domestic and international students (p = 0.8. Uptake of pre-travel health advice was low overall with 68% of respondents reporting they had not sought any advice from a health professional prior to their last international trip. Domestic students were more likely to report uptake of a range of preventative travel health measures compared to international students, including diarrhoeal medication, insect repellent, food avoidance and condoms (P Conclusions Our study highlights the need to educate students about the risk associated with travel and improve preventative

  15. Nitrogen availability increases in a tundra ecosystem during five years of experimental permafrost thaw.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salmon, Verity G; Soucy, Patrick; Mauritz, Marguerite; Celis, Gerardo; Natali, Susan M; Mack, Michelle C; Schuur, Edward A G

    2016-05-01

    Perennially frozen soil in high latitude ecosystems (permafrost) currently stores 1330-1580 Pg of carbon (C). As these ecosystems warm, the thaw and decomposition of permafrost is expected to release large amounts of C to the atmosphere. Fortunately, losses from the permafrost C pool will be partially offset by increased plant productivity. The degree to which plants are able to sequester C, however, will be determined by changing nitrogen (N) availability in these thawing soil profiles. N availability currently limits plant productivity in tundra ecosystems but plant access to N is expected improve as decomposition increases in speed and extends to deeper soil horizons. To evaluate the relationship between permafrost thaw and N availability, we monitored N cycling during 5 years of experimentally induced permafrost thaw at the Carbon in Permafrost Experimental Heating Research (CiPEHR) project. Inorganic N availability increased significantly in response to deeper thaw and greater soil moisture induced by Soil warming. This treatment also prompted a 23% increase in aboveground biomass and a 49% increase in foliar N pools. The sedge Eriophorum vaginatum responded most strongly to warming: this species explained 91% of the change in aboveground biomass during the 5 year period. Air warming had little impact when applied alone, but when applied in combination with Soil warming, growing season soil inorganic N availability was significantly reduced. These results demonstrate that there is a strong positive relationship between the depth of permafrost thaw and N availability in tundra ecosystems but that this relationship can be diminished by interactions between increased thaw, warmer air temperatures, and higher levels of soil moisture. Within 5 years of permafrost thaw, plants actively incorporate newly available N into biomass but C storage in live vascular plant biomass is unlikely to be greater than losses from deep soil C pools. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. The great slippery-slope argument.

    OpenAIRE

    Burgess, J A

    1993-01-01

    Whenever some form of beneficent killing--for example, voluntary euthanasia--is advocated, the proposal is greeted with a flood of slippery-slope arguments warning of the dangers of a Nazi-style slide into genocide. This paper is an attempt systematically to evaluate arguments of this kind. Although there are slippery-slope arguments that are sound and convincing, typical formulations of the Nazi-invoking argument are found to be seriously deficient both in logical rigour and in the social hi...

  17. DOWNWARD SLOPING DEMAND CURVES FOR STOCK AND LEVERAGE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liem Pei Fun

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available This research attempts to investigate the effect of downward sloping demand curves for stock on firms' financing decisions. For the same size of equity issuance, firms with steeper slope of demand curves for their stocks experience a larger price drop in their share price compare to their counterparts. As a consequence, firms with a steeper slope of demand curves are less likely to issue equity and hence they have higher leverage ratios. This research finds that the steeper the slope of demand curve for firm's stock, the higher the actual leverage of the firm. Furthermore, firms with a steeper slope of demand curves have higher target leverage ratios, signifying that these firms prefer debt to equity financing in order to avoid the adverse price impact of equity issuance on their share price.

  18. Travel and biologic therapy: travel-related infection risk, vaccine response and recommendations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, Victoria; Johnson, Douglas; Torresi, Joseph

    2018-01-01

    Biologic therapy has revolutionized the management of refractory chronic autoimmune and auto-inflammatory disease, as well as several malignancies, providing rapid symptomatic relief and/or disease remission. Patients receiving biologic therapies have an improved quality of life, facilitating travel to exotic destinations and potentially placing them at risk of a range of infections. For each biologic agent, we review associated travel-related infection risk and expected travel vaccine response and effectiveness. A PUBMED search [vaccination OR vaccine] AND/OR ['specific vaccine'] AND/OR [immunology OR immune response OR response] AND [biologic OR biological OR biologic agent] was performed. A review of the literature was performed in order to develop recommendations on vaccination for patients in receipt of biologic therapy travelling to high-risk travel destinations. There is a paucity of literature in this area, however, it is apparent that travel-related infection risk is increased in patients on biologic therapy and when illness occurs they are at a higher risk of complication and hospitalization. Patients in receipt of biologic agents are deemed as having a high level of immunosuppression-live vaccines, including the yellow fever vaccine, are contraindicated. Inactivated vaccines are considered safe; however, vaccine response can be attenuated by the patient's biologic therapy, thereby resulting in reduced vaccine effectiveness and protection. Best practice requires a collaborative approach between the patient's primary healthcare physician, relevant specialist and travel medicine expert, who should all be familiar with the immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory effects resulting from the biologic therapies. Timing of vaccines should be carefully planned, and if possible, vaccination provided well before established immunosuppression.

  19. Conceptualizations of Slope: A Review of State Standards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanton, Michael; Moore-Russo, Deborah

    2012-01-01

    Since slope is a fundamental topic that is embedded throughout the U.S. secondary school curriculum, this study examined standards documents for all 50 states to determine how they address the concept of slope. The study used eleven conceptualizations of slope as categories to classify the material in the documents. The findings indicate that all…

  20. Performance of the APS optical slope measuring system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qian, Jun; Sullivan, Joe; Erdmann, Mark; Khounsary, Ali; Assoufid, Lahsen

    2013-01-01

    An optical slope measuring system (OSMS) was recently brought into operation at the Advanced Photon Source of the Argonne National Laboratory. This system is equipped with a precision autocollimator and a very accurate mirror-based pentaprism on a scanning stage and kept in an environment-controlled enclosure. This system has the capability to measure precision optics with sub-microradian rms slope errors as documented with a series of tests demonstrating accuracy, stability, reliability and repeatability. Measurements of a flat mirror with 0.2 μrad rms slope error are presented which show that the variation of the slope profile measurements with the mirror setting at different locations along the scanning direction is only 60 nrad and the corresponding height error profile has 2 nm rms. -- Highlights: ► This is the first time to present the APS OSMS in publication. ► The APS OSMS is capable to measure flat and near flat mirrors with slope error <100 nrad rms. ► The accuracy of the slope error measurements of a 350 mm long mirror is less than 60 nrad rms

  1. Recognition and characterization of networks of water bodies in the Arctic ice-wedge polygonal tundra using high-resolution satellite imagery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skurikhin, A. N.; Gangodagamage, C.; Rowland, J. C.; Wilson, C. J.

    2013-12-01

    Arctic lowland landscapes underlain by permafrost are often characterized by polygon-like patterns such as ice-wedge polygons outlined by networks of ice wedges and complemented with polygon rims, troughs, shallow ponds and thermokarst lakes. Polygonal patterns and corresponding features are relatively easy to recognize in high spatial resolution satellite imagery by a human, but their automated recognition is challenging due to the variability in their spectral appearance, the irregularity of individual trough spacing and orientation within the patterns, and a lack of unique spectral response attributable to troughs with widths commonly between 1 m and 2 m. Accurate identification of fine scale elements of ice-wedge polygonal tundra is important as their imprecise recognition may bias estimates of water, heat and carbon fluxes in large-scale climate models. Our focus is on the problem of identification of Arctic polygonal tundra fine-scale landscape elements (as small as 1 m - 2 m width). The challenge of the considered problem is that while large water bodies (e.g. lakes and rivers) can be recognized based on spectral response, reliable recognition of troughs is more difficult. Troughs do not have unique spectral signature, their appearance is noisy (edges are not strong), their width is small, and they often form connected networks with ponds and lakes, and thus they have overlapping spectral response with other water bodies and surrounding non-water bodies. We present a semi-automated approach to identify and classify Arctic polygonal tundra landscape components across the range of spatial scales, such as troughs, ponds, river- and lake-like objects, using high spatial resolution satellite imagery. The novelty of the approach lies in: (1) the combined use of segmentation and shape-based classification to identify a broad range of water bodies, including troughs, and (2) the use of high-resolution WorldView-2 satellite imagery (with resolution of 0.6 m) for this

  2. Travel time data collection handbook

    Science.gov (United States)

    1998-03-01

    This Travel Time Data Collection Handbook provides guidance to transportation : professionals and practitioners for the collection, reduction, and presentation : of travel time data. The handbook should be a useful reference for designing : travel ti...

  3. The value of travel time variance

    OpenAIRE

    Fosgerau, Mogens; Engelson, Leonid

    2010-01-01

    This paper considers the value of travel time variability under scheduling preferences that are de�fined in terms of linearly time-varying utility rates associated with being at the origin and at the destination. The main result is a simple expression for the value of travel time variability that does not depend on the shape of the travel time distribution. The related measure of travel time variability is the variance of travel time. These conclusions apply equally to travellers who can free...

  4. Approaches to groundwater travel time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaplan, P.; Klavetter, E.; Peters, R.

    1989-01-01

    One of the objectives of performance assessment for the Yucca Mountain Project is to estimate the groundwater travel time at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, to determine whether the site complies with the criteria specified in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 10 CFR 60.113 (a). The numerical standard for performance in these criteria is based on the groundwater travel time along the fastest path of likely radionuclide transport from the disturbed zone to the accessible environment. The concept of groundwater travel time as proposed in the regulations, does not have a unique mathematical statement. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the ambiguities associated with the regulatory specification of groundwater travel time, two different interpretations of groundwater travel time, and the effect of the two interpretations on estimates of the groundwater travel time

  5. Tundra shrubification and tree-line advance amplify arctic climate warming: results from an individual-based dynamic vegetation model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Wenxin; Miller, Paul A; Smith, Benjamin; Wania, Rita; Koenigk, Torben; Döscher, Ralf

    2013-01-01

    One major challenge to the improvement of regional climate scenarios for the northern high latitudes is to understand land surface feedbacks associated with vegetation shifts and ecosystem biogeochemical cycling. We employed a customized, Arctic version of the individual-based dynamic vegetation model LPJ-GUESS to simulate the dynamics of upland and wetland ecosystems under a regional climate model–downscaled future climate projection for the Arctic and Subarctic. The simulated vegetation distribution (1961–1990) agreed well with a composite map of actual arctic vegetation. In the future (2051–2080), a poleward advance of the forest–tundra boundary, an expansion of tall shrub tundra, and a dominance shift from deciduous to evergreen boreal conifer forest over northern Eurasia were simulated. Ecosystems continued to sink carbon for the next few decades, although the size of these sinks diminished by the late 21st century. Hot spots of increased CH 4 emission were identified in the peatlands near Hudson Bay and western Siberia. In terms of their net impact on regional climate forcing, positive feedbacks associated with the negative effects of tree-line, shrub cover and forest phenology changes on snow-season albedo, as well as the larger sources of CH 4 , may potentially dominate over negative feedbacks due to increased carbon sequestration and increased latent heat flux. (letter)

  6. The employment of weather satellite imagery in an effort to identify and locate the forest-tundra ecotone in Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aldrich, S. A.; Aldrich, F. T.; Rudd, R. D.

    1969-01-01

    Weather satellite imagery provides the only routinely available orbital imagery depicting the high latitudes. Although resolution is low on this imagery, it is believed that a major natural feature, notably linear in expression, should be mappable on it. The transition zone from forest to tundra, the ecotone, is such a feature. Locational correlation is herein established between a linear signature on the imagery and several ground truth positions of the ecotone in Canada.

  7. The logarithmic slope in diffractive DIS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gay Ducati, M.B.; Goncalves, V.P.; Machado, M.V.T.

    2002-01-01

    The logarithmic slope of diffractive structure function is a potential observable to separate the hard and soft contributions in diffraction, allowing to disentangle the QCD dynamics at small-x region. In this paper we extend our previous analyzes and calculate the diffractive logarithmic slope for three current approaches in the literature: (i) the Bartels-Wusthoff model, based on perturbative QCD, (ii) the CKMT model, based on Regge theory and (iii) the Golec-Biernat-Wusthoff model which assumes that the saturation phenomena is present in the HERA kinematic region. We analyze the transition region of small to large momentum transfer and verify that future experimental results on the diffractive logarithmic slope could discriminate between these approaches

  8. Circumpolar arctic tundra biomass and productivity dynamics in response to projected climate change and herbivory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Qin; Epstein, Howard; Engstrom, Ryan; Walker, Donald

    2017-09-01

    Satellite remote sensing data have indicated a general 'greening' trend in the arctic tundra biome. However, the observed changes based on remote sensing are the result of multiple environmental drivers, and the effects of individual controls such as warming, herbivory, and other disturbances on changes in vegetation biomass, community structure, and ecosystem function remain unclear. We apply ArcVeg, an arctic tundra vegetation dynamics model, to estimate potential changes in vegetation biomass and net primary production (NPP) at the plant community and functional type levels. ArcVeg is driven by soil nitrogen output from the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model, existing densities of Rangifer populations, and projected summer temperature changes by the NCAR CCSM4.0 general circulation model across the Arctic. We quantified the changes in aboveground biomass and NPP resulting from (i) observed herbivory only; (ii) projected climate change only; and (iii) coupled effects of projected climate change and herbivory. We evaluated model outputs of the absolute and relative differences in biomass and NPP by country, bioclimate subzone, and floristic province. Estimated potential biomass increases resulting from temperature increase only are approximately 5% greater than the biomass modeled due to coupled warming and herbivory. Such potential increases are greater in areas currently occupied by large or dense Rangifer herds such as the Nenets-occupied regions in Russia (27% greater vegetation increase without herbivores). In addition, herbivory modulates shifts in plant community structure caused by warming. Plant functional types such as shrubs and mosses were affected to a greater degree than other functional types by either warming or herbivory or coupled effects of the two. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Design of Rock Slope Reinforcement: An Himalayan Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tiwari, Gaurav; Latha, Gali Madhavi

    2016-06-01

    The stability analysis of the two abutment slopes of a railway bridge proposed at about 359 m above the ground level, crossing a river and connecting two hill faces in the Himalayas, India, is presented. The bridge is located in a zone of high seismic activity. The rock slopes are composed of a heavily jointed rock mass and the spacing, dip and dip direction of joint sets are varying at different locations. Geological mapping was carried out to characterize all discontinuities present along the slopes. Laboratory and field investigations were conducted to assess the geotechnical properties of the intact rock, rock mass and joint infill. Stability analyses of these rock slopes were carried out using numerical programmes. Loads from the foundations resting on the slopes and seismic accelerations estimated from site-specific ground response analysis were considered. The proposed slope profile with several berms between successive foundations was simulated in the numerical model. An equivalent continuum approach with Hoek and Brown failure criterion was initially used in a finite element model to assess the global stability of the slope abutments. In the second stage, finite element analysis of rock slopes with all joint sets with their orientations, spacing and properties explicitly incorporated into the numerical model was taken up using continuum with joints approach. It was observed that the continuum with joints approach was able to capture the local failures in some of the slope sections, which were verified using wedge failure analysis and stereographic projections. Based on the slope deformations and failure patterns observed from the numerical analyses, rock anchors were designed to achieve the target factors of safety against failure while keeping the deformations within the permissible limits. Detailed design of rock anchors and comparison of the stability of slopes with and without reinforcement are presented.

  10. Integrating concepts and skills: Slope and kinematics graphs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tonelli, Edward P., Jr.

    The concept of force is a foundational idea in physics. To predict the results of applying forces to objects, a student must be able to interpret data representing changes in distance, time, speed, and acceleration. Comprehension of kinematics concepts requires students to interpret motion graphs, where rates of change are represented as slopes of line segments. Studies have shown that majorities of students who show proficiency with mathematical concepts fail accurately to interpret motion graphs. The primary aim of this study was to examine how students apply their knowledge of slope when interpreting kinematics graphs. To answer the research questions a mixed methods research design, which included a survey and interviews, was adopted. Ninety eight (N=98) high school students completed surveys which were quantitatively analyzed along with qualitative information collected from interviews of students (N=15) and teachers ( N=2). The study showed that students who recalled methods for calculating slopes and speeds calculated slopes accurately, but calculated speeds inaccurately. When comparing the slopes and speeds, most students resorted to calculating instead of visual inspection. Most students recalled and applied memorized rules. Students who calculated slopes and speeds inaccurately failed to recall methods of calculating slopes and speeds, but when comparing speeds, these students connected the concepts of distance and time to the line segments and the rates of change they represented. This study's findings will likely help mathematics and science educators to better assist their students to apply their knowledge of the definition of slope and skills in kinematics concepts.

  11. Adolescent school travel: Is online mapping a practical alternative to GPS-assessed travel routes?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stewart, Tom; Schipperijn, Jasper; Snizek, Bernhard

    2017-01-01

    AbstractBackground Geographically accurate travel routes are necessary to estimate exposure to the environment and its potential influence on travel behaviour. Although assessing travel behaviours with Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers is increasingly common, these protocols place......-reporting error seems more pronounced for longer routes, and when multiple travel modes are used. Researchers should consider the advantages (e.g., ease of collection) and disadvantages (e.g., lack of temporal information) when deciding if the data obtainable are sufficient to answer their research questions....

  12. Differential Utilization of Carbon Substrates by Bacteria and Fungi in Tundra Soil

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rinnan, Riikka; Bååth, Erland

    2009-01-01

    Little is known about the contribution of bacteria and fungi to decomposition of different carbon compounds in arctic soils, which are an important carbon store and possibly vulnerable to climate warming. Soil samples from a subarctic tundra heath were incubated with 13C-labeled glucose, acetic...... at concentrations low enough not to affect the total amount of PLFA. The label of glucose and acetic acid was rapidly incorporated into the PLFA in a pattern largely corresponding to the fatty acid concentration profile, while glycine and especially starch were mainly taken up by bacteria and not fungi, showing......, the allocation decreased over time, indicating use of the storage products, whereas for vanillin incorporation into fungal NLFA increased during the incubation. In addition to providing information on functioning of the microbial communities in an arctic soil, our study showed that the combination of PLFA...

  13. Arctic tundra shrub invasion and soot deposition: Consequences for spring snowmelt and near-surface air temperatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strack, John E.; Pielke, Roger A.; Liston, Glen E.

    2007-12-01

    Invasive shrubs and soot pollution both have the potential to alter the surface energy balance and timing of snow melt in the Arctic. Shrubs reduce the amount of snow lost to sublimation on the tundra during the winter leading to a deeper end-of-winter snowpack. The shrubs also enhance the absorption of energy by the snowpack during the melt season by converting incoming solar radiation to longwave radiation and sensible heat. Soot deposition lowers the albedo of the snow, allowing it to more effectively absorb incoming solar radiation and thus melt faster. This study uses the Colorado State University Regional Atmospheric Modeling System version 4.4 (CSU-RAMS 4.4), equipped with an enhanced snow model, to investigate the effects of shrub encroachment and soot deposition on the atmosphere and snowpack in the Kuparuk Basin of Alaska during the May-June melt period. The results of the simulations suggest that a complete invasion of the tundra by shrubs leads to a 2.2°C warming of 3 m air temperatures and a 108 m increase in boundary layer depth during the melt period. The snow-free date also occurred 11 d earlier despite having a larger initial snowpack. The results also show that a decrease in the snow albedo of 0.1, owing to soot pollution, caused the snow-free date to occur 5 d earlier. The soot pollution caused a 1.0°C warming of 3 m air temperatures and a 25 m average deepening of the boundary layer.

  14. Sublimation From Snow in Northern Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pomeroy, J. W.

    2002-12-01

    Sublimation from snow is an often neglected component of water and energy balances. Research under the Mackenzie GEWEX Study has attempted to understand the snow and atmospheric processes controlling sublimation and to estimate the magnitude of sublimation in high latitude catchments. Eddy correlation units were used to measure vertical water vapour fluxes from a high latitude boreal forest, snow-covered tundra and shrub-covered tundra in Wolf Creek Research Basin, near Whitehorse Yukon, Territory Canada. Over Jan-Apr. water vapour fluxes from the forest canopy amounted to 18.3 mm, a significant loss from winter snowfall of 54 mm. Most of this loss occurred when the canopy was snow-covered. The weight of snow measured on a suspended, weighed tree indicates that this flux is dominated by sublimation of intercepted snow. In the melt period (April), water vapour fluxes were uniformly small ranging from 0.21 mm/day on the tundra slope, 0.23 mm/day for the forest and 0.27 mm/day for the shrub-tundra. During the melt period the forest and shrub canopies was snow-free and roots were frozen, so the primary source of water vapour from all sites was the surface snow.

  15. Business travel and sustainability. Part III. In: Handbook of Sustainable Travel: People, Society, and Transportation Systems

    OpenAIRE

    AGUILERA, Anne

    2013-01-01

    Business travel has been relatively neglected in strategies to promote sustainable travel. A two-stage approach is taken beginning by showing how sustainability of business travel is relevant not only environmentally, but also from an economic and social perspective. On the one hand, this form of travel helps to generate jobs in numerous business sectors, not only in transportation. On the other hand, the social dimension cannot be ignored either, since business travel is often a source of fa...

  16. Travellers and influenza: risks and prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goeijenbier, M; van Genderen, P; Ward, B J; Wilder-Smith, A; Steffen, R; Osterhaus, A D M E

    2017-01-01

    Influenza viruses are among the major causes of serious human respiratory tract infection worldwide. In line with the high disease burden attributable to influenza, these viruses play an important, but often neglected, role in travel medicine. Guidelines and recommendations regarding prevention and management of influenza in travellers are scarce. Of special interest for travel medicine are risk populations and also circumstances that facilitate influenza virus transmission and spread, like travel by airplane or cruise ship and mass gatherings. We conducted a PUBMED/MEDLINE search for a combination of the MeSH terms Influenza virus, travel, mass gathering, large scale events and cruise ship. In addition we gathered guidelines and recommendations from selected countries and regarding influenza prevention and management in travellers. By reviewing these search results in the light of published knowledge in the fields of influenza prevention and management, we present best practice advice for the prevention and management of influenza in travel medicine. Seasonal influenza is among the most prevalent infectious diseases in travellers. Known host-associated risk factors include extremes of age and being immune-compromised, while the most relevant environmental factors are associated with holiday cruises and mass gatherings. Pre-travel advice should address influenza and its prevention for travellers, whenever appropriate on the basis of the epidemiological situation concerned. Preventative measures should be strongly recommended for travellers at high-risk for developing complications. In addition, seasonal influenza vaccination should be considered for any traveller wishing to reduce the risk of incapacitation, particularly cruise ship crew and passengers, as well as those participating in mass gatherings. Besides advice concerning preventive measures and vaccination, advice on the use of antivirals may be considered for some travellers. © International Society of

  17. A stated adaptation approach to assess changes in individuals’ activity-travel behavior in presence of personalized travel information

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Parvaneh, Zahra; Arentze, Theo; Timmermans, Harry

    2014-01-01

    The rapid and inevitable growth of availability of travel information for travellers has increased expectations among policy makers about the benefits of travel information. It is increasingly expected that providing advanced travel information can trigger particular travel behaviors that would

  18. Post-travel screening of asymptomatic long-term travelers to the tropics for intestinal parasites using molecular diagnostics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soonawala, Darius; van Lieshout, Lisette; den Boer, Marion A M; Claas, Eric C J; Verweij, Jaco J; Godkewitsch, André; Ratering, Marchel; Visser, Leo G

    2014-05-01

    The incidence of asymptomatic travel-related parasitic infection is uncertain. Previous studies did not distinguish new incident infections, from past infections. Regardless of symptoms, we performed multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction on pre- and post-travel stool samples of Dutch long-term travelers to the (sub)tropics. Serological screening for Schistosoma spp. was only performed in travelers to sub-Saharan Africa. In total, 679 travelers were included in the study. The follow-up rate was 82% (556 of 679). Participants' median travel duration was 12 weeks. There was one incident infection with Strongyloides stercoralis; there were none with Entamoeba histolytica, 4 with Cryptosporidium spp. (1%), and 22 with Giardia lamblia (4%). Nine of 146 travelers (6%) seroconverted for Schistosoma spp. Routine screening of stool samples for parasitic infection is not indicated for asymptomatic people, who travel to the (sub)tropics for up to 3 months. Screening for Schistosoma spp. should be offered to travelers with fresh-water contact in endemic regions.

  19. Approaches to groundwater travel time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaplan, P.; Klavetter, E.; Peters, R.

    1989-01-01

    One of the objectives of performance assessment for the Yucca Mountain Project is to estimate the groundwater travel time at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, to determine whether the site complies with the criteria specified in the Code of Federal Regulations. The numerical standard for performance in these criteria is based on the groundwater travel time along the fastest path of likely radionuclide transport from the disturbed zone to the accessible environment. The concept of groundwater travel time, as proposed in the regulations, does not have a unique mathematical statement. The purpose of this paper is to discuss (1) the ambiguities associated with the regulatory specification of groundwater travel time, (2) two different interpretations of groundwater travel time, and (3) the effect of the two interpretations on estimates of the groundwater travel time. 3 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs

  20. Stability Analysis of Tunnel-Slope Coupling Based on Genetic Algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tao Luo

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Subjects in tunnels, being constrained by terrain and routes, entrances and exits to tunnels, usually stay in the terrain with slopes. Thus, it is necessary to carry out stability analysis by treating the tunnel slope as an entity. In this study, based on the Janbu slices method, a model for the calculation of the stability of the original slope-tunnel-bank slope is established. The genetic algorithm is used to implement calculation variables, safety coefficient expression and fitness function design. The stability of the original slope-tunnel-bank slope under different conditions is calculated, after utilizing the secondary development function of the mathematical tool MATLAB for programming. We found that the bearing capacity of the original slopes is reduced as the tunnels are excavated and the safety coefficient is gradually decreased as loads of the embankment construction increased. After the embankment was constructed, the safety coefficient was 1.38, which is larger than the 1.3 value specified by China’s standards. Thus, the original slope-tunnel-bank slope would remain in a stable state.

  1. assessment of slope stability around gilgel gibe-ii hydroelectric

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    preferred customer

    1 Gilgel-Gibe II Hydroelectric Project, Fofa Town, Ethiopia ... Key words/phrases: Factor of safety, plane failure, slope design, slope .... condition of potential unstable slopes along the road between Fofa town and Gilgel-Gibe Hydro- power II.

  2. Parental care in Tundra Swans during the pre-fledgling period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Earnst, Susan L.

    2002-01-01

    Among studies that have quantified the care of precocial young, few have investigated forms of parental care other than vigilance. During the pre-fledging period, Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus columbianus) parents provided simultaneous biparental care by foraging near each other and their cygnets, and cygnets spent more time foraging during bouts in which both parents were foraging nearby than when only one parent was foraging nearby. Parents spent nearly twice as much foraging time on land than did non-parents, a habitat in which cygnets foraged more intensely than parents (i.e., spent more time foraging during foraging bouts) and could graze on protein-rich sedges rather than use more difficult below-water foraging methods. Parents also spent more than twice as much time being vigilant and more than three times as much time defending their territory than non-parents, behaviors that presumably benefited cygents by decreasing predation risk and indirect foraging competition, respectively. Parents therefore incurred the costs of foraging less intensely during foraging bouts, spending more time interacting, more time in vigilance, and less time sleeping/preening than non-parents.

  3. Fecal-orally transmitted diseases among travelers are decreasing due to better hygienic standards at travel destination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baaten, Gijs G; Sonder, Gerard J B; Van Der Loeff, Maarten F Schim; Coutinho, Roel A; Van Den Hoek, Anneke

    2010-01-01

    To evaluate whether changes in attack rates of fecal-orally transmitted diseases among travelers are related to changes in pretravel vaccination practices or better hygienic standards at travel destination. National surveillance data on all laboratory-confirmed cases of travel-related hepatitis A, shigellosis, and typhoid fever diagnosed in the Netherlands from 1995 to 2006 were matched with the number of Dutch travelers to developing countries to calculate region-specific annual attack rates. Trends in attack rates of non-vaccine-preventable shigellosis were compared with those of vaccine-preventable hepatitis A and typhoid fever. Trends were also compared with three markers for hygienic standards of the local population at travel destinations, drawn from the United Nations Development Programme database: the human development index, the sanitation index, and the water source index. Attack rates among Dutch travelers to developing regions declined for hepatitis A, shigellosis, and typhoid fever. Region-specific trends in attack rates of shigellosis resembled trends of hepatitis A and typhoid fever. Declining attack rates of the three fecal-orally transmitted diseases correlated with improvements in socioeconomic, sanitary, and water supply conditions of the local population at travel destination. These findings suggest that improved hygienic standards at travel destination strongly contributed to the overall decline in attack rates of fecal-orally transmitted diseases among visiting travelers. © 2010 International Society of Travel Medicine.

  4. 41 CFR 301-75.204 - May we use Government contractor-issued travelers checks to pay for the interviewee's travel...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... contractor-issued travelers checks to pay for the interviewee's travel expenses? 301-75.204 Section 301-75.204 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Travel Regulation System TEMPORARY DUTY (TDY) TRAVEL ALLOWANCES AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES 75-PRE-EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW TRAVEL Obtaining Travel Services...

  5. Travel-related acquisition of diarrhoeagenic bacteria, enteral viruses and parasites in a prospective cohort of 98 Dutch travellers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Hattem, Jarne M; Arcilla, Maris S; Grobusch, Martin P; Bart, Aldert; Bootsma, Martin C; van Genderen, Perry J; van Gool, Tom; Goorhuis, Abraham; van Hellemond, Jaap J; Molenkamp, Richard; Molhoek, Nicky; Oude Lashof, Astrid M; Stobberingh, Ellen E; de Wever, Bob; Verbrugh, Henri A; Melles, Damian C; Penders, John; Schultsz, Constance; de Jong, Menno D

    2017-09-01

    Limited prospective data are available on the acquisition of viral, bacterial and parasitic diarrhoeagenic agents by healthy individuals during travel. To determine the frequency of travel associated acquisition of 19 pathogens in 98 intercontinental travellers, qPCR was used to detect 8 viral pathogens, 6 bacterial enteric pathogens and 5 parasite species in faecal samples collected immediately before and after travel. We found high pre-travel carriage rates of Blastocystis spp. and Dientamoeba fragilis of 32% and 19% respectively. Pre-travel prevalences of all other tested pathogens were below 3%. Blastocystis spp. (10%), Plesiomonas shigelloides (7%), D. fragilis (6%) and Shigella spp. (5%) were the most frequently acquired pathogens and acquisition of enteral viruses and hepatitis E virus in this relatively small group of travellers was rare or non-existent. Our findings suggest that the role of viruses as the cause of persisting traveller's diarrhoea is limited and bacterial pathogens are more likely as a cause of traveller's diarrhoea. The substantial proportion of travellers carrying Blastocystis spp. and D. fragilis before travel warrants cautious interpretation of positive samples in returning travellers with gastrointestinal complaints. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. The Development of Independent Travel in China in the Future and Travel Agents’ Coping Strategies

    OpenAIRE

    Pan, Yulu

    2010-01-01

    Abstract The purpose of this research is to understand the general trend of independent travel in China from tourists’ perspectives and what strategies travel agents should adopt to cope with the increased independent travel. This project is based on both primary research and secondary research. Quantitative and qualitative data are collected and analyzed for deeply exploration about independent travel in order to understand tourists’ attitudes, expectations and perspectives. By this w...

  7. Safe travels? HIV transmission among Britons travelling abroad.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rice, B; Gilbart, V L; Lawrence, J; Smith, R; Kall, M; Delpech, V

    2012-05-01

    The aim of the study was to identify and describe the characteristics of persons born in the UK who acquire HIV infection abroad. Analyses using case reports and follow-up data from the national HIV database held at the Health Protection Agency were performed. Fifteen per cent (2066 of 13 891) of UK-born adults diagnosed in England, Wales and Northern Ireland between 2002 and 2010 acquired HIV infection abroad. Thailand (534), the USA (117) and South Africa (108) were the countries most commonly reported. As compared with UK-born adults acquiring HIV infection in the UK, those acquiring HIV infection abroad were significantly (P sex with a commercial sex worker (5.6% vs. 1%, respectively). Among men infected in Thailand, 11% reported sex with a commercial sex worker. A substantial number of UK-born adults are acquiring HIV infection in countries with generalized HIV epidemics, and in common holiday destinations. Of particular concern is the high proportion of men infected reporting sex with a commercial sex worker. We recommend HIV prevention and testing efforts be extended to include travellers abroad, and that sexual health advice be provided routinely in travel health consultations and in occupational health travel advice packs, particularly to those travelling to high HIV prevalence areas and destinations for sex tourism. Safer sex messages should include an awareness of the potential detrimental health and social impacts of the sex industry. © 2012 British HIV Association.

  8. Pre-travel advice at a crossroad: Medical preparedness of travellers to South and Southeast-Asia - The Hamburg Airport Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rolling, Thierry; Mühlenpfordt, Melina; Addo, Marylyn M; Cramer, Jakob P; Vinnemeier, Christof D

    Specific travel-related recommendations exist for the prevention or self-treatment of infectious diseases contracted by travellers to the tropics. In the current study, we assessed the medical preparedness per these recommendations, focusing on whether travellers carried antidiarrheal and antimalarial medication with them stratified by type of pre-travel advice. We surveyed travellers departing from Hamburg International Airport to South or Southeast Asia, using a questionnaire on demographic, medical and travel characteristics. 975 travellers were analysed - the majority (817, 83%) being tourists. A large proportion packed any antidiarrheal medication (612, 63%) - most frequently loperamide (440, 72%). Only 176 of 928 (19%) travellers to destinations with low-to medium risk for malaria packed a recommended antimalarial medication. The majority (162, 17%) of them carried antimalarials as stand-by emergency treatment (SBET). 468 (48%) travellers had a pre-travel medical consultation. This lead to higher odds of carrying SBET- with the highest odds associated with a consultation at a travel medicine specialist (OR 7.83 compared to no consultation). Attending a travel medicine specialist was associated with better adherence to current recommendations concerning the carriage of stand-by emergency treatment of malaria. However, the proportion of travellers seeking pre-travel health advice was overall low in our population. Promoting pre-travel consultations may, therefore, lead to higher adherence to the current recommendations in travel medicine. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Common Health Risks, Required Precautions of Travelers and their Customs Towards the Use of Travel Medicine Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roupa, Zoe; Zikos, Dimitrios; Vasilopoulos, Aristides; Diomidous, Marianna

    2012-01-01

    There is an increasing number of people who travel around the world. Every traveler is exposed to nearly all infectious risks which may occur during his travel time. Some of the main risk factors can be water quality, temperature and high humidity and the exposure to multi-resistant microorganisms. To tackle the upcoming problem there is an imperative need to develop a new branch of medicine with the name of travel medicine. A consultation prior to departure for an upcoming trip is required, focusing to a personalized healthcare plan, based on international scientific protocols and epidemiological studies.Travelers must acquire essential information about the prevailing hygiene conditions and climatic differentiations that occur in the region. Additionally there are several health risks upon the arrival at destination. A scheduled visit to a health professional is necessary, especially in the case of travelers suffering from chronic diseases or those taking medication, while vaccination is considered essential for specific destination countries. Healthcare professionals should be able to inform travelers and evaluate their needs. According to research studies on notion and attitudes travelers' specific risks, only few of them are well-informed during a trip. While most studies indicate that travelers have some kind of pre travel medical consultation, not all of them proceed to the required vaccinations and medications. Travelling for business or leisure around the world may be unhealthy. The importance of proper preparation prior to the travel requires to be adequately informed by specialized healthcare professionals, and to receive appropriate vaccinations and medications, when required. The results of the review of notions and attitudes of travelers during the trip indicate not only the need for further development of the branch of travel medicine but especially the need for the expansion and the availability of health services.

  10. International travel in the immunocompromised patient: a cross-sectional survey of travel advice in 254 consecutive patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bialy, C; Horne, K; Dendle, C; Kanellis, J; Littlejohn, G; Ratnam, I; Woolley, I

    2015-06-01

    Our primary aim was to determine the rate of overseas travel in immunocompromised individuals attending appropriate clinics at an Australian tertiary care hospital. We also aimed to characterise health-seeking behaviour prior to travel and investigated sources of pre-travel advice, compared travel patterns and activities between three specific immunosuppressed groups, and examined pre-immunosuppression patient serology. We implemented a cross-sectional survey of patients between February and August 2012. This survey was implemented among three outpatient populations at Monash Medical Centre, an Australian tertiary care hospital. We recruited 254 immunosuppressed adults from three patient populations: human immunodeficiency virus-positive individuals, renal transplant patients and rheumatology patients requiring immunosuppressive therapy. No clinical intervention was performed. In the 10 years preceding the survey, 153 (60.2%) participants reported international travel. Of these, 105 (68.6%) were immunosuppressed at the time of travel. These patients were 47.6% male and 60% Australian born. Forty per cent were visiting friends and relatives as part of their travel. Fifty-four per cent of those immunocompromised at the time of travel were going to high-risk destinations. Pathology files indicated that serological screening was frequently not performed prior to immunosuppression in the renal transplant and rheumatology groups. Immunocompromised patients often travel to high-risk destinations with limited or inadequate pre-travel preparations. Doctors caring for the immunocompromised should be aware of travel risks, suitable vaccination protocols and when to refer to specialist travel clinics. © 2015 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

  11. The Contribution of Old Carbon to Respiration from Alaskan Tundra Following Permafrost Thaw

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuur, E. A.; Vogel, J. G.; Crummer, K. G.; Lee, H.; Sickman, J. O.; Dutta, K.

    2007-12-01

    More than 450 Pg of soil carbon (C) has accumulated in high latitude ecosystems after the retreat of the last major ice sheets. Recent studies suggest that, due to climate warming, these ecosystems may no longer be accumulating C, and in some cases may be losing stored C to the atmosphere. We used radiocarbon measurements of carbon dioxide to detect the age of C respired from tussock tundra near Denali National Park, Alaska. At this tundra site, permafrost has been observed to warm and thaw over the past several decades, causing the ground surface to subside as ice volume in the soil decreased. We established three sites within this area that differed in vegetation and surface topography; both characteristics varied in relation to the degree of permafrost thaw. We made radiocarbon measurements of ecosystem respiration, incubations of soil organic matter, and incubations of above and belowground plant biomass to determine the age and isotopic value of C respired from these sites. Over the study period from 2004 to 2006, ecosystem respiration radiocarbon values averaged from +35‰ to +95‰ in different months across sites. For soil incubations, surface soil radiocarbon was elevated relative both to ecosystem respiration and the current atmospheric radiocarbon value, demonstrating the significant contribution from C fixed over the past years to several decades. The deeper soil, in contrast, had respiration isotope values that averaged below zero, reflecting the significant effect of radioactive decay on the isotope content of deeper soil layers. The plant and soil incubations were combined in a multi- source mixing model to determine probable contributions from these different sources to ecosystem respiration. Deep soil respiration generally averaged between 5-15% of total ecosystem respiration, but reached as high as 40% in some months. When aggregated across the growing season, the two sites undergoing more disturbance from permafrost thaw had on average 2-3 times

  12. Season and weather effects on travel-related mood and travel satisfaction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ettema, Dick; Friman, Margareta; Olsson, Lars E.; Gärling, Tommy

    2017-01-01

    This study examines the effects of season and weather on mood (valence and activation) and travel satisfaction (measured by the Satisfaction with Travel Scale). Analyses are presented of 562 time-sampled morning commutes to work made by 363 randomly sampled people in three different Swedish cities

  13. Pre-travel advice concerning vector-borne diseases received by travelers prior to visiting Cuzco, Peru.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mejia, Christian R; Centeno, Emperatriz; Cruz, Briggitte; Cvetkovic-Vega, Aleksandar; Delgado, Edison; Rodriguez-Morales, Alfonso J

    2016-01-01

    Peru is an increasingly popular tourist destination that poses a risk to travelers due to endemic vector-borne diseases (VBDs). The objective of our study was to determine which factors are associated with receiving pre-travel advice (PTA) for VBDs among travelers visiting Cuzco, Peru. A cross-sectional secondary analysis based on data from a survey among travelers departing Cuzco at Alejandro Velazco Astete International Airport during the period January-March 2012 was conducted. From the 1819 travelers included in the original study, 1717 were included in secondary data analysis. Of these participants, 42.2% received PTA and 2.9% were informed about vector-borne diseases, including yellow fever (1.8%), malaria (1.6%) and dengue fever (0.1%). Receiving information on VBDs was associated with visiting areas endemic to yellow fever and dengue fever in Peru. The only disease travelers received specific recommendations for before visiting an endemic area for was yellow fever. Only 1 in 30 tourists received information on VBD prevention; few of those who traveled to an endemic area were warned about specific risks for infectious diseases prior to their trip. These important findings show that most tourists who travel to Peru do not receive PTA for the prevention of infectious and VBD, which can affect not only the travelers but their countries of origin as well. Copyright © 2015 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Model tests of geosynthetic reinforced slopes in a geotechnical centrifuge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aklik, P.

    2012-01-01

    Geosynthetic-reinforced slopes and walls became very popular in recent years because of their financial, technical, and ecological advantages. Centrifuge modelling is a powerful tool for physical modelling of reinforced slopes and offers the advantage to observe the failure mechanisms of the slopes. In order to replicate the gravity induced stresses of a prototype structure in a geometrically 1/N reduced model, it is necessary to test the model in a gravitational field N times larger than that of the prototype structure. In this dissertation, geotextile-reinforced slope models were tested in a geotechnical centrifuge to identify the possible failure mechanisms. Slope models were tested by varying slope inclination, tensile strengths of the geotextiles, and overlapping lengths. Photographs of the geotextile reinforced slope models in flight were taken with a digital camera and the soil deformations of geotextile reinforced slopes were evaluated with Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). The experimental results showed that failure of the centrifuge models initiated at midheight of the slope, and occurred due to geotextile breakage instead of pullout. The location of the shear surface is independent of the tensile strength of the geotextile; it is dependent on the shear strength of the soil. It is logical to see that the required acceleration of the centrifuge at slope failure was decreased with increasing slope inclination. An important contribution to the stability of the slope models was provided by the overlapping of the geotextile layers. It has a secondary reinforcement effect when it was prolonged and passed through the shear surface. Moreover, the location of the shear surface observed with PIV analysis exactly matches the tears of the retrieved geotextiles measured carefully after the centrifuge testing. It is concluded that PIV is an efficient tool to instrument the slope failures in a geotechnical centrifuge.(author) [de

  15. Immunocompromised Travelers: Demographic Characteristics, Travel Destinations, and Pretravel Health Care from the U.S. Global TravEpiNet Consortium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwartz, Brian S; Rosen, Jessica; Han, Pauline V; Hynes, Noreen A; Hagmann, Stefan H; Rao, Sowmya R; Jentes, Emily S; Ryan, Edward T; LaRocque, Regina C

    2015-11-01

    An increasing number of immunocompromised individuals are pursuing international travel, and a better understanding of their international travel patterns and pretravel health care is needed. We evaluated the clinical features, itineraries, and pretravel health care of 486 immunocompromised international travelers seen at Global TravEpiNet sites from January 2009 to June 2012. We used bivariate analyses and logistic regressions using random intercept models to compare demographic and travel characteristics, vaccines administered, and medications prescribed for immunocompromised travelers versus 30,702 immunocompetent travelers. Immunocompromised travelers pursued itineraries that were largely similar to those of immunocompetent travelers, with nearly one-third of such travelers visiting countries with low human development indices. Biological agents, including tumor necrosis factor blockers, were commonly used immunosuppressive medications among immunocompromised travelers. A strong collaboration between travel-medicine specialists, primary care doctors, and specialist physicians is needed to prepare immunocompromised people for international travel. Incorporating routine questioning and planning regarding travel into the primary care visits of immunocompromised people may be useful. © The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

  16. Network structure and travel time perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parthasarathi, Pavithra; Levinson, David; Hochmair, Hartwig

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this research is to test the systematic variation in the perception of travel time among travelers and relate the variation to the underlying street network structure. Travel survey data from the Twin Cities metropolitan area (which includes the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul) is used for the analysis. Travelers are classified into two groups based on the ratio of perceived and estimated commute travel time. The measures of network structure are estimated using the street network along the identified commute route. T-test comparisons are conducted to identify statistically significant differences in estimated network measures between the two traveler groups. The combined effect of these estimated network measures on travel time is then analyzed using regression models. The results from the t-test and regression analyses confirm the influence of the underlying network structure on the perception of travel time.

  17. Travels in Architectural History

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Davide Deriu

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Travel is a powerful force in shaping the perception of the modern world and plays an ever-growing role within architectural and urban cultures. Inextricably linked to political and ideological issues, travel redefines places and landscapes through new transport infrastructures and buildings. Architecture, in turn, is reconstructed through visual and textual narratives produced by scores of modern travellers — including writers and artists along with architects themselves. In the age of the camera, travel is bound up with new kinds of imaginaries; private records and recollections often mingle with official, stereotyped views, as the value of architectural heritage increasingly rests on the mechanical reproduction of its images. Whilst students often learn about architectural history through image collections, the place of the journey in the formation of the architect itself shifts. No longer a lone and passionate antiquarian or an itinerant designer, the modern architect eagerly hops on buses, trains, and planes in pursuit of personal as well as professional interests. Increasingly built on a presumption of mobility, architectural culture integrates travel into cultural debates and design experiments. By addressing such issues from a variety of perspectives, this collection, a special 'Architectural Histories' issue on travel, prompts us to rethink the mobile conditions in which architecture has historically been produced and received.

  18. Stability of the slopes around nuclear power plants in earthquake

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ito, Hiroshi

    1983-01-01

    The evaluation of the stability of the slopes around the buildings of nuclear power plants is important especially with respect to earthquakes. In this connection, the behavior of a slope up to its destruction and the phenomena of the destruction have been examined in the case of an earthquake by both experiment and numerical analysis. The purpose is to obtain the data for the establishment of a method for evaluating the seismic stability of a slope and of the slope design standards. The following results are described: the behavior of a slope and its destruction characteristics in the slope destruction experiment simulating the seismic coefficient method; the vibration of a slope and its destruction characteristics in vibration destruction experiment; the validity of the method of numerical simulation analysis and of stability evaluation for the slope destruction and the vibration destruction experiments, and quantitative destruction mechanism; the comparison of the various stability evaluation methods and the evaluation of seismic forces. (Mori, K.)

  19. Prevention of influenza among travellers attending at a UK travel clinic: beliefs and perceptions. A cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masuet-Aumatell, Cristina; Toovey, Stephen; Zuckerman, Jane N

    2013-07-01

    Travellers' compliance with measures to prevent influenza through the use of antivirals and influenza vaccine remains very poor despite influenza being one of the commonest travel and vaccine-preventable diseases. A study was undertaken to assess travellers' beliefs, perceptions and intentions to take antivirals for the treatment and prevention of influenza during the H1N1 pandemic. A cross-sectional survey (n = 96) of travellers who attended the Royal Free Travel Health Centre, London, UK was undertaken in September 2009. A self-administered questionnaire was completed by a traveller in advance of their pre-travel health consultation. Logistic regression identified variables independently associated with compliance. Influenza vaccination uptake for the 5 years preceding the study was found to be 20·8%. This was statistically significantly higher for older travellers and those with underlying health conditions (P study identifies some beliefs and perceptions travellers consider with regard to the therapeutic and preventive influenza use of antivirals during the H1N1 pandemic; it underscores the importance of travellers receiving hemisphere appropriate influenza vaccination. The external validity of these study findings requires further corroboration involving other travel clinics and different cohorts of travellers during seasonal activity or outbreaks of influenza. These findings could guide the development of future strategies for the prevention of influenza in travellers. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Morbidity among Israeli paediatric travellers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rabinowicz, Shira; Schwartz, Eli

    2017-09-01

    International travel, particularly to developing countries, is becoming increasingly common among the Israeli population, including an increase in the number of travelling children. Since children are a distinct travellers' population, data about their post-travel morbidity are needed. A retrospective study which examined all children (0-19 years old) who presented to our centre after international travel from 1999 to 2015. About 314 children were seen. The mean age was 10 years (SD ± 5.8). Most of the patients (80.6%) were tourists, and the rest were expatriates. The main destinations visited were South-Asia (46.5%), Sub-Saharan Africa (33.4%), Latin-America (7%) and Europe (6.4%). Overall, the most common diagnoses were gastrointestinal (GI) (mainly chronic) disorders (30.6%), followed by febrile diseases (26.4%), among which 18.1% of patients were diagnosed with dengue fever and 12% with malaria. Dermatologic conditions accounted for 25.2%. Additional diagnoses were schistosomiasis (6.4%) and neuropsychiatric symptoms (2.2%). A substantial part, 10.8%, had eosinophilia, either symptomatic or asymptomatic. Travellers to Asia, compared to travellers to Africa, presented more commonly with GI illness (OR 2.02, 95% confidence interval 1.13-3.61), and dermatologic conditions (OR 1.94, 95% confidence interval 1.05-3.61). Morbidity was associated with a variety of transmission modes, such as food-borne illnesses (30.9%), bite and sting wounds (10.2%), mosquito-borne infections (8%), freshwater contact (6.7%) and tick-borne infections (2.2%). The main conditions seen in paediatric returning travellers were GI, febrile and dermatologic illnesses, some may be rare in their country of origin. Targeting care for the suspected pathogens based on updated knowledge of epidemiology and thorough travel history is essential. © International Society of Travel Medicine, 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  1. Travel mode choice and travel satisfaction : bridging the gap between decision utility and experienced utility

    OpenAIRE

    De Vos, Jonas; Mokhtarian, Patricia L; Schwanen, Tim; Van Acker, Veronique; Witlox, Frank

    2016-01-01

    Over the past decades research on travel mode choice has evolved from work that is informed by utility theory, examining the effects of objective determinants, to studies incorporating more subjective variables such as habits and attitudes. Recently, the way people perceive their travel has been analyzed with transportation-oriented scales of subjective wellbeing, and particularly the satisfaction with travel scale. However, studies analyzing the link between travel mode choice (i.e., decisio...

  2. Are low altitude alpine tundra ecosystems under threat? A case study from the Parc National de la Gaspésie, Québec

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dumais, Catherine; Ropars, Pascale; Denis, Marie-Pier; Dufour-Tremblay, Geneviève; Boudreau, Stéphane

    2014-01-01

    According to the 2007 IPCC report, the alpine tundra ecosystems found on low mountains of the northern hemisphere are amongst the most threatened by climate change. A treeline advance or a significant erect shrub expansion could result in increased competition for the arctic-alpine species usually found on mountaintops and eventually lead to their local extinction. The objectives of our study were to identify recent changes in the cover and growth of erect woody vegetation in the alpine tundra of Mont de la Passe, in the Parc National de la Gaspésie (Québec, Canada). The comparison of two orthorectified aerial photos revealed no significant shift of the treeline between 1975 and 2004. During the same period however, shrub species cover increased from 20.2% to 30.4% in the lower alpine zone. Dendrochronological analyses conducted on Betula glandulosa Michx. sampled at three different positions along an altitudinal gradient (low, intermediate and high alpine zone) revealed that the climatic determinants of B. glandulosa radial growth become more complex with increasing altitude. In the lower alpine zone, B. glandulosa radial growth is only significantly associated positively to July temperature. In the intermediate alpine zone, radial growth is associated positively to July temperature but negatively to March temperature. In the high alpine zone, radial growth is positively associated to January, July and August temperature but negatively to March temperature. The positive association between summer temperatures and radial growth suggests that B. glandulosa could potentially benefit from warmer temperatures, a phenomenon that could lead to an increase in its cover over the next few decades. Although alpine tundra vegetation is not threatened in the short-term in the Parc National de la Gaspésie, erect shrub cover, especially B. glandulosa, could likely increase in the near future, threatening the local arctic-alpine flora. (letter)

  3. Reduction of travellers' diarrhoea by WC/rBS oral cholera vaccine in young, high-risk travellers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torrell, Josep Ma Ramon; Aumatell, Cristina Masuet; Ramos, Sergi Morchon; Mestre, Laura Gavaldà; Salas, Carme Micheo

    2009-06-19

    A bidirectional cohort study investigates whether pre-travel vaccination with whole cell/recombinant B subunit inactivated, killed oral cholera vaccine reduces the incidence of diarrhoea in young adult travellers to high-risk areas. Risk of travellers' diarrhoea was assessed according to destination and reason for travel in high-risk travellers of a travel clinic in Barcelona, Spain. Those at high-risk between January and December 2005 were advised on water/food safety and hygiene. High-risk travellers between January and December 2006 were additionally vaccinated with WC/rBS oral cholera vaccine. Data regarding diarrhoea were gathered by structured telephone interview or e-mailed questionnaire following the travellers' return. The incidence of diarrhoea in the group vaccinated with WC/rBS oral cholera vaccine (n=321) was 17.4%, compared with 39.7% in the non-vaccinated group (n=337) (adjusted risk ratio 0.40). The first episode was significantly shorter in the vaccinated group (mean 2.3 days) than in the non-vaccinated group (mean 3.8 days) (pyoung, high-risk travellers. Vaccination with the WC/rBS oral cholera vaccine as well as food safety and hygiene advice could offer effective means of reducing the risk of diarrhoea while abroad.

  4. Travel/Travelers and Parasitic Diseases

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... of the world and specific country. Many infectious diseases transmitted in food and water can also be acquired directly through the fecal-oral route. Parasitic Illnesses That Can Be Acquired During Travel* From Contaminated Food and Water More ... filariasis African sleeping sickness Onchoceriasis *This list ...

  5. Improving understanding of controls on spatial variability in methane fluxes in Arctic tundra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davidson, Scott J.; Sloan, Victoria; Phoenix, Gareth; Wagner, Robert; Oechel, Walter; Zona, Donatella

    2015-04-01

    The Arctic is experiencing rapid climate change relative to the rest of the globe, and this increase in temperature has feedback effects across hydrological and thermal regimes, plant community distribution and carbon stocks within tundra soils. Arctic wetlands account for a significant amount of methane emissions from natural ecosystems to the atmosphere and with further permafrost degradation under a warming climate, these emissions are expected to increase. Methane (CH4) is an extremely important component of the global carbon cycle with a global warming potential 28.5 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 100 year time scale (IPCC, 2013). In order to validate carbon cycle models, modelling methane at broader landscape scales is needed. To date direct measurements of methane have been sporadic in time and space which, while capturing some key controls on the spatial heterogeneity, make it difficult to accurately upscale methane emissions to the landscape and regional scales. This study investigates what is controlling the spatial heterogeneity of methane fluxes across Arctic tundra. We combined over 300 portable chamber observations from 13 micro-topographic positions (with multiple vegetation types) across three locations spanning a 300km latitudinal gradient in Northern Alaska from Barrow to Ivotuk with synchronous measurements of environmental (soil temperature, soil moisture, water table, active layer thaw depth, pH) and vegetation (plant community composition, height, sedge tiller counts) variables to evaluate key controls on methane fluxes. To assess the diurnal variation in CH4 fluxes, we also performed automated chamber measurements in one study site (Barrow) location. Multiple statistical approaches (regression tree and multiple linear regression) were used to identify key controlling variables and their interactions. Methane emissions across all sites ranged from -0.08 to 15.3 mg C-CH4 m-2 hr-1. As expected, soil moisture was the main control

  6. Calculation of groundwater travel time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arnett, R.C.; Sagar, B.; Baca, R.G.

    1984-12-01

    Pre-waste-emplacement groundwater travel time is one indicator of the isolation capability of the geologic system surrounding a repository. Two distinct modeling approaches exist for prediction of groundwater flow paths and travel times from the repository location to the designated accessible environment boundary. These two approaches are: (1) the deterministic approach which calculates a single value prediction of groundwater travel time based on average values for input parameters and (2) the stochastic approach which yields a distribution of possible groundwater travel times as a function of the nature and magnitude of uncertainties in the model inputs. The purposes of this report are to (1) document the theoretical (i.e., mathematical) basis used to calculate groundwater pathlines and travel times in a basalt system, (2) outline limitations and ranges of applicability of the deterministic modeling approach, and (3) explain the motivation for the use of the stochastic modeling approach currently being used to predict groundwater pathlines and travel times for the Hanford Site. Example calculations of groundwater travel times are presented to highlight and compare the differences between the deterministic and stochastic modeling approaches. 28 refs

  7. Future Trends in Business Travel Decision Making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mason, Keith J.

    2002-01-01

    This research surveys twenty large companies and their travellers to identify and evaluate the effects of pressures on the business travel market in the future. The influence of the following areas on the decision making process are addressed: (1) Corporate travel policies and increasing professionalism in corporate purchasing; (2) The development of global strategic airline alliances; (3) The emergence of low cost airlines on short haul markets; and (4) The development of internet based booking tools and travel agency IT. The survey shows differences in views between travel managers, and travellers with regard to corporate travel policies. While travel managers see policy rules, travellers interpret these as guidelines, indicating travel managers will need to take further actions to exercise true control of travel budgets. The data shows that companies are more likely to prescribe a class of airline ticket, than the choice of airline itself. Corporate hierarchical bias in travel policies is still common both for short and particularly long haul flying. Other findings show that while travel managers believe that their companies are likely to sign global deals with strategic airline groups within a five year period in a bid to consolidating spending, they also believe that nearly a third of short haul flying will be taken with low cost carriers, indicating further penetration in this business travel market by these carriers. The paper also provides other predictions about the business travel market, based on the survey findings.

  8. Travelers' Health: Water Disinfection for Travelers

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Safety Road Safety - 8 Steps MERS Health Advisory poster MERS Pictogram CDC Guide for Healthy Travel Website ... compressed carbon, or large-pore hollow-fiber filter elements are sufficient to remove bacteria and protozoan cysts ...

  9. 75 FR 24434 - Federal Travel Regulation (FTR); Transportation in Conjunction With Official Travel and Relocation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-05

    ...-0010, sequence 1] RIN 3090-AJ02 Federal Travel Regulation (FTR); Transportation in Conjunction With Official Travel and Relocation AGENCY: Office of Governmentwide Policy, General Services Administration (GSA). ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: This final rule amends the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR), by...

  10. A process model of voluntary travel behavior modification and effects of Travel Feedback Programs (TFPs)

    OpenAIRE

    Taniguchi, Ayako

    2007-01-01

    This study tested an integrated process model of travel behavior modification. We used a model that combined the theory of planned behavior (TPB), norm activation theory (NAT), a theory of implementation intention, and theories of habit. To test the integrated model, we used panel data (n = 208) obtained before and after travel feedback programs (TFPs); the TFP is a communication program aimed at voluntary travel behavior modification, from automobile use to non-auto means of travel such as p...

  11. End to End Travel

    Data.gov (United States)

    US Agency for International Development — E2 Solutions is a web based end-to-end travel management tool that includes paperless travel authorization and voucher document submissions, document approval...

  12. Assessing slope stability in unplanned settlements in developing countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Malcolm G; Holcombe, Liz; Renaud, Jean-Philippe

    2007-10-01

    Unplanned housing in developing countries is often located on steep slopes. Frequently no building code is enforced for such housing and mains water is provided with no drainage provision. Both of these factors can be particularly significant in terms of landslide risk if, as is so often the case, such slopes lack any planned drainage provision. There is thus a need to develop a model that facilitates the assessment of slope stability in an holistic context, incorporating a wide range of factors (including surface cover, soil water topographic convergence, slope loading and point source water leakage) in order that appropriate advice can be given as to the general controls on slope stability in such circumstances. This paper outlines a model configured for this specific purpose and describes an application to a site in St. Lucia, West Indies, where there is active slope movement in an unplanned housing development on relatively steep topography. The model findings are in accord with the nature of the current failure at the site, provide guidance as to the significance of slope drainage and correspond to inferences drawn from an application of resistance envelope methods to the site. In being able to scenario test a uniquely wide range of combinations of factors, the model structure is shown to be highly valuable in assessing dominant slope stability process controls in such complex environments.

  13. Valuation of travel time savings for intercity travel: The Madrid-Barcelona corridor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Roman, Concepcion; Carlos Martin, Juan; Espino, Raquel

    2014-01-01

    We derive values of travel time savings (VOT) for the Madrid-Barcelona corridor, linking the two largest cities in Spain, based on the estimation of discrete choice models among the main public transport services in the corridor: air transport, high speed rail (HSR) and bus. The new HSR alternative...... (which started to operate in February 2008) competes directly with one of the densest airline domestic markets in the world, and its introduction produced substantial improvements in level of service, achieving reductions in travel time of more than 50% over the conventional train. A specifically...... to provide useful information to quantify users' benefits during the lifespan of a given project. We found, as expected, that HSR and air transport users exhibit substantially higher values for saving travel time than bus travellers. Also as expected, savings of waiting time are more valued than savings...

  14. Intercity Travel Demand Analysis Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ming Lu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available It is well known that intercity travel is an important component of travel demand which belongs to short distance corridor travel. The conventional four-step method is no longer suitable for short distance corridor travel demand analysis for the time spent on urban traffic has a great impact on traveler's main mode choice. To solve this problem, the author studied the existing intercity travel demand analysis model, then improved it based on the study, and finally established a combined model of main mode choice and access mode choice. At last, an integrated multilevel nested logit model structure system was built. The model system includes trip generation, destination choice, and mode-route choice based on multinomial logit model, and it achieved linkage and feedback of each part through logsum variable. This model was applied in Shenzhen intercity railway passenger demand forecast in 2010 as a case study. As a result, the forecast results were consistent with the actuality. The model's correctness and feasibility were verified.

  15. Consequences of artic ground squirrels on soil carbon loss from Siberian tundra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golden, N. A.; Natali, S.; Zimov, N.

    2014-12-01

    A large pool of organic carbon (C) has been accumulating in the Arctic for thousands of years. Much of this C has been frozen in permafrost and unavailable for microbial decomposition. As the climate warms and permafrost thaws, the fate of this large C pool will be driven not only by climatic conditions, but also by ecosystem changes brought about by arctic animal populations. In this project we studied arctic ground squirrels (Spermophilus parryii), which are widely-distributed throughout the Arctic. These social mammals create subterranean burrows that mix soil layers, increase aeration, alter soil moisture and temperature, and redistribute soil nutrients, all of which may impact microbial decomposition. We examined the effects of arctic ground squirrel activity on soil C mineralization in dry heath tundra underlain by continuous permafrost in the Kolyma River watershed in northeast Siberia, Russia. Vegetation cover was greatly reduced on the ground squirrel burrows (80% of ground un-vegetated), compared to undisturbed sites (35% of ground un-vegetated). Soils from ground squirrel burrows were also significantly dryer and warmer. To examine effects of ground squirrel activity on microbial respiration, we conducted an 8-day incubation of soil fromburrows and from adjacent undisturbed tundra. In addition, we assessed the impact of nutrient addition by including treatments with low and high levels of nitrogen addition. Microbial respiration (per gram soil) was three-fold higher in incubated soils from the undisturbed sites compared to soils collected from the burrows. The lower rates of respiration from the disturbed soils may have been a result of lower carbon quality or low soil moisture. High nitrogen addition significantly increased respiration in the undisturbed soils, but not in the disturbed burrow soils, which suggests that microbial respiration in the burrow soils was not primarily limited by nitrogen. These results demonstrate the importance of wildlife

  16. FORMS OF YOUTH TRAVEL

    OpenAIRE

    Moisã Claudia Olimpia; Moisã Claudia Olimpia

    2011-01-01

    Taking into account the suite of motivation that youth has when practicing tourism, it can be said that the youth travel takes highly diverse forms. These forms are educational tourism, volunteer programs and “work and travel”, cultural exchanges or sports tourism and adventure travel. In this article, we identified and analyzed in detail the main forms of youth travel both internationally and in Romania. We also illustrated for each form of tourism the specific tourism products targeting you...

  17. Air pocket removal from downward sloping pipes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pothof, I.W.M.; Clemens, F.H.L.R.

    2012-01-01

    Air-water flow is an undesired condition in water pipelines and hydropower tunnels. Water pipelines and wastewater pressure mains in particular are subject to air pocket accumulation in downward sloping reaches, such as inverted siphons or terrain slopes. Air pockets cause energy losses and an

  18. Travel and transport

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bill, Jan; Roesdahl, Else

    2007-01-01

    On the interrelationship between travel, transport and society; on land transport, sea and river transport, and on winter transport;  on the related technologies and their developments......On the interrelationship between travel, transport and society; on land transport, sea and river transport, and on winter transport;  on the related technologies and their developments...

  19. 41 CFR 301-70.904 - Must travelers whom we carry on Government aircraft be authorized to travel?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... flight in which they are also traveling (i.e., being transported from point to point) are considered... carry on Government aircraft be authorized to travel? 301-70.904 Section 301-70.904 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Travel Regulation System TEMPORARY DUTY (TDY) TRAVEL ALLOWANCES AGENCY...

  20. Travelers' diarrhea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrett-Connor, E

    1973-03-01

    On the average, one-fourth of North Americans visiting developing countries experience a self-limited diarrheal illness that interferes with holiday or business activities. Recent work suggests that these episodes are caused by a small inoculum of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli which are common in the country visited and rare in the country of origin. Neither antimicrobial treatment nor anti-diarrheal agents have proven benefit once the illness has begun. Despite its frequent use, iodochlorhydroxyquin has not been shown in double blind studies to be effective as a preventive agent, and may be dangerous. The status of furazolidone for prevention of tourist diarrhea is questionable. Both neomycin sulfate and phythalylsulfathiazole have demonstrated efficacy as chemoprophylactics in Mexico. However, their use should be restricted to limited types of travel and travelers. General admonitions concerning avoidance of certain ingestibles are recommended; despite questionable value in preventing travelers' diarrhea such precautions may prevent more serious gastrointestinal illness.