Służby ratunkowe w Tatrach = Emergency services in the High Tatras

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Joanna Siminska

2017-02-01

        Streszczenie               Co roku polskie Tatry odwiedza około 3 milionów osób. Tak duża liczba turystów wiąże się z nieuniknionym ryzykiem powstania wypadków. Na straży bezpieczeństwa gości Tatrzańskiego Parku Narodowego stają górscy ratownicy, zrzeszeni w Tatrzańskim Ochotniczym Pogotowiu Ratunkowym, a po stronie Słowacji Horskej Záchrannej Službie. Organizacje stanowią integralne części Państwowych Systemów Ratownictwa. Co roku ratownicy muszą interweniować kilka tysięcy razy, używając do tego specjalistycznego sprzętu oraz profesjonalnych pojazdów. System pogotowia górskiego w Polsce w dużej mierze opiera się na funduszach pochodzących z Ministerstwa Spraw Wewnętrznych, a także wpływów pozyskiwanych z biletów wstępu do Tatrzańskiego Parku Narodowego (15 procent. Dodatkowe pieniądze organizacja pozyskuje od sponsorów zewnętrznych. Horska Záchranna Služba jest w pełni finansowana z budżetu państwa, a zarządza nią Ministerstwo Spraw Wewnętrznych Republiki Słowackiej. Odpłatności za akcje ratownicze na Słowacji (poza śmigłowcem funkcjonującym tam na innych zasadach w ramach Pogotowia lotniczego nigdy nie przekroczyły 8 procent budżetu.   Słowa kluczowe: służby ratunkowe, Tatry       Abstract               Every year, the Polish Tatras is visiting about 3 million people. So a large number of tourists involves the inevitable risk of the emergence of accidents. The security guard of the Tatras National Park are the mountain rescuers, members of the Tatras Rescue Alert Volunteer, and on the side of the Slovakia Mountain Rescue Service. Organizations constitute integral parts of the State Rescue Systems. Every year, the rescuers have to intervene a few thousand times, using special equipment and professional vehicles. The system of the mountain rescue service in Poland, largely based on the funds from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as the proceeds derived

Quaternary faulting in the Tatra Mountains, evidence from cave morphology and fault-slip analysis

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Szczygieł Jacek

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Tectonically deformed cave passages in the Tatra Mts (Central Western Carpathians indicate some fault activity during the Quaternary. Displacements occur in the youngest passages of the caves indicating (based on previous U-series dating of speleothems an Eemian or younger age for those faults, and so one tectonic stage. On the basis of stress analysis and geomorphological observations, two different mechanisms are proposed as responsible for the development of these displacements. The first mechanism concerns faults that are located above the valley bottom and at a short distance from the surface, with fault planes oriented sub-parallel to the slopes. The radial, horizontal extension and vertical σ1 which is identical with gravity, indicate that these faults are the result of gravity sliding probably caused by relaxation after incision of valleys, and not directly from tectonic activity. The second mechanism is tilting of the Tatra Mts. The faults operated under WNW-ESE oriented extension with σ1 plunging steeply toward the west. Such a stress field led to normal dip-slip or oblique-slip displacements. The faults are located under the valley bottom and/or opposite or oblique to the slopes. The process involved the pre-existing weakest planes in the rock complex: (i in massive limestone mostly faults and fractures, (ii in thin-bedded limestone mostly inter-bedding planes. Thin-bedded limestones dipping steeply to the south are of particular interest. Tilting toward the N caused the hanging walls to move under the massif and not toward the valley, proving that the cause of these movements was tectonic activity and not gravity.

Microfungi of the Tatra Mts. 6. Fungus-like organisms: Albuginales, Peronosporales and Pythiales

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Wiesław Mułenko

2014-06-01

Full Text Available A list and the distribution of Oomycota species in the Tatra Mts (Western Carpathian Mts are presented. Revised herbarium vouchers and literature data were used for analysis. Thirty two species of oomycetes on fifty seven plant species were noted in the area, including two species of the order Albuginales (genera: Albugo and Pustula, on nine plant species, 29 species of the order Peronosporales (genera: Bremia, Hyaloperonospora, Peronospora and Plasmopara, on 49 plant species, and one species of the order Pythiales (genus: Myzocytium, on one species of algae. Twenty nine species were collected on the Polish side of the Tatra Mts and ten species were collected on the Slovak side. The oomycetes were collected at 185 localities.

Restrukturalizace podniku Tatra a.s.

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Havlík, Ondřej

2011-01-01

The bachelor thesis focuses on crisis development and implementation of crisis management in Tatra a.s. company, which is traditional producer of heavy utility trucks. The author analyses the causes of problems in this company and points out critical areas in company, which are necessary to be improved in order to save the company. In the end, the author suggests own crisis plan for Tatra, which should be implemented in this company.

The water retention of a granite rock fragments in High Tatras stony soils

OpenAIRE

Novák, Viliam; Šurda, Peter

2010-01-01

The water retention capacity of coarse rock fragments is usually considered negligible. But the presence of rock fragments in a soil can play an important role in both water holding capacity and in hydraulic conductivity as well. This paper presents results of maximum water holding capacity measured in coarse rock fragments in the soil classified as cobbly sandy loam sampled at High Tatra mountains. It is shown, that those coarse rock (granite) fragments have the maximum retention capacity up...

Tatra's forests will recover from catastrophe for decades

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haluza, I.

2004-01-01

Windy tornado in Tatra's national park (TANAP, High Tatras, Slovakia) at the end of 2004 caused extensive ecological catastrophe and economic losses. Wind has totally damaged the trees in more than one fourth of forest area, which is administrated by state forests of TANAP. Next fourth of forest area has impaired structure. Mostly coniferous forests have fallen down not only in High Tatras, but also in Horehronie, Kysuce, Orava and Spis. According to estimates around 2.5 million cubic meters of wood have lain on the ground in High Tatras. This wood must be precipitately processed. In another regions totally from 800 to 900 thousands cubic meters are overcame by wind. Ecological catastrophe has come in High Tatras. Totally damaged large forests areas need to be recovered for long decades. 90 per cent of annual Slovakian wood cutting represents totally 2.5 million cubic meters. The state will invest in forest recovery from sale of calamity stuff. Reforestation of one hectare of forest costs from 80 to 90 thousands Slovak crowns (∼2666-3000 USD). Another remedies at the age to five years represent from 40 to 50 thousands Slovak crowns (1333-16666 USD). Around 1.6 billion Slovak crown (∼53.333 million USD) will be needed for reforestation of 12 thousands hectares of TANAP

The genus Crataegus L. in the western part of the buffer zone of the Low Tatras National Park (Slovakia, in accordance with recent morphological and systematic recognition

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Ingrid Turisová

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The work contains results of investigation on the genus Crataegus L., conducted in 2011 ‑ 2012 on the area of the western part of the buffer zone of the Low Tatras National Park. Analysing various features, including the morphometric ones, occurrence of six native species, among them three species of hybrid origin, were confirmed in the investigated area. Comparative analysis of leaves morphology of the hybrid hawthorns and their original parental forms was carried out.

The effects of disturbance events on the submerged bryophyte vegetation in the streams of the tatra mountains Slovakia

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Rudolf, S.; Dana, C.; Ondrej, G.; Anna, C.

2012-01-01

Submerged bryophytes are often important constituents of stream vegetation. Almost the whole area of the Tatra mountains (The West Carpathians, 28 streams) has been surveyed by a large number of sampling sites (78) at altitudes between 639 - 2002 m a.s.l. The lower parts of the streams are mostly the areas with disturbance events - roads, clearings, built up areas, avalanche sites, bark beetles infection, wind-thrown trees and ski resorts. Conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen, redox potential, chemical oxygen demand, calcium carbonate, nitrates, ammonia and chlorides were plotted as ordination axes, for their ecological interpretation, disturbance events were plotted onto CCA ordination diagram. Only bryophytes recorded = 3 times in the streams have been submitted to ordination analyses: Scapania undulata (L.) Dumort., Brachythecium rivulare B. S. G., Fontinalis antipyretica Hedw., Hygrohypnum luridum (Hedw.) Jenn., Hygrohypnum ochraceum (Wilson) Loeske, Palustriella commutata (Hedw.) Ochyra and Platyhypnidium riparioides (Hedw.) Bruch and Schimp. Correlation between disturbance events and bryophytes was seen, shown by Canonical Correspondence Analysis CCA. In the term of heavy metal accumulation, the aquatic bryoflora is relatively well investigated, this is not true in terms of nutrient preferences or tolerances. This is why we have decided to fill this knowledge gap. We have found, that natural and anthropogenic disturbance events result in extra input of nutrients. (author)

Zooplankton community composition of high mountain lakes in the Tatra Mts., the Alps in North Tyrol, and Scotland: relationship to pH, depth, organic carbon, and chlorophyll-a concentration

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Skála Ivan

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The European EMERGE (European Mountain lake Ecosystems: Regionalisation, diaGnostic & socio-economic Evaluation project was a survey of high mountain lakes (above treeline across Europe using unified methods of sampling and analysis. The sampling was carried out in summer or autumn 2000, and comprised biological samples, and samples for chemical analysis. Data from three lake districts are used in this paper: the Tatra Mts. in Slovakia and Poland (45 lakes, the Alps in Tyrol in Austria (22 lakes, and Scotland (30 lakes. As it is shown by multiple regression analysis, DTOC (dissolved or total organic carbon is the key variable for most groups of zooplankton. With increasing DTOC and mostly with chlorophyll-a decreasing, pH increasing and depth decreasing, macrofitrators with coarse filter meshes are replaced by microfiltrators with fine filter meshes. Higher DTOC may increase bacterioplankton production and advantage species able to consume bacteria (microfiltrators. Other zooplankton species also differ in their preference for DTOC, chlorophyll-a, pH and depth, but DTOC being positively correlated with chlorophyll-a and pH positively correlated with depth. It may be caused by their different preference for food quality in terms of C:P ratio.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of spring and stream water chemistry in a high-mountain area

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Zelazny, Miroslaw; Astel, Aleksander; Wolanin, Anna; Malek, Stanislaw

2011-01-01

The present study deals with the application of the self-organizing map (SOM) technique in the exploration of spatiotemporal dynamics of spring and stream water samples collected in the Chocholowski Stream Basin located in the Tatra Mountains (Poland). The SOM-based classification helped to uncover relationships between physical and chemical parameters of water samples and factors determining the quality of water in the studied high-mountain area. In the upper part of the Chocholowski Stream Basin, located on the top of the crystalline core of the Tatras, concentrations of the majority of ionic substances were the lowest due to limited leaching. Significantly higher concentration of ionic substances was detected in spring and stream samples draining sedimentary rocks. The influence of karst-type springs on the quality of stream water was also demonstrated. - Highlights: → We use SOM approach to explore physiochemical data for mountain waters. → Geologic structure and hydrological events impact water chemistry. → Limited leaching, typical of crystalline core, reflects in low water mineralization. → Sedimentary rocks are susceptible for leaching. → Eutrophication has not been shown to be a threat in the Chocholowska Valley. - Spatiotemporal dynamics of spring and stream water chemistry in unique high-mountain area was evaluated by the self-organizing map technique.

Last Glacial Maximum and Lateglacial in the Polish High Tatra Mountains - Revised deglaciation chronology based on the 10Be exposure age dating

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Makos, Michał; Rinterknecht, Vincent; Braucher, Régis; Tołoczko-Pasek, Anna; Arnold, Maurice; Aumaître, Georges; Bourlès, Didier; Keddadouche, Karim; Aster Team

2018-05-01

Deglaciation chronology of the Polish High Tatra Mountains has been reconstructed based on 10Be exposure age dating. Fifty-seven rock samples were collected from boulders located on the terminal and lateral moraines that limit the horizontal extent of the LGM and the Lateglacial glaciers in the Biała Woda and Sucha Woda catchments. The uncertainty-weighted mean age of 21.5 ± 2.5 ka obtained for the maximum terminal moraine in the Sucha Woda Valley indicates that the oldest preserved moraines were formed during the global LGM. The age population ranges between 15.1 ± 1.0 and 28.3 ± 2.0 ka, and suggests that glaciers reached their maximum position (LGM I) as early as 28-25 ka and the final stabilization of the form occurred much later possibly after melting of buried dead ice. The younger glacial oscillation (LGM II) occurred no later than 20.5 ka and is represented by well-preserved termino-lateral moraine systems in the Pańszczyca Valley. The first Lateglacial stage (LG1) in the study area is documented in the Rybi Potok Valley at the RP1 moraine (1300 m a.s.l.), which was stable at around 16.6 ± 0.3 ka. The younger LG2 stage has no defined absolute age, however, it is constrained between 16.5 and 15.5 ka by the timing of the LG3 stage. This cold event is represented by well-formed moraines in the Roztoka/Pięć Stawów Polskich, Rybi Potok and Pańszczyca valleys of which exposure age indicates their deposition between 15.0 ± 0.5 and 15.6 ± 0.1 ka. The LG1, LG2 and LG3 stages likely occurred during the Oldest Dryas cold stage (Greenland Stadial 2.1a) related to the North Atlantic cooling Heinrich Event 1. The youngest glacial oscillation is evidenced by moraines in the Pusta and Pańszczyca valleys. These moraines are composed of very large granitic blocks of which exposure ages often exhibit isotope inheritance. This is reflected by the youngest P3 moraine in the Pańszczyca Valley with a mean age of deposition close to the LGM. The R4 moraine system in

Climate change, tourism and historical grazing influence the distribution of Carex lachenalii Schkuhr - A rare arctic-alpine species in the Tatra Mts.

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Czortek, Patryk; Delimat, Anna; Dyderski, Marcin K; Zięba, Antoni; Jagodziński, Andrzej M; Jaroszewicz, Bogdan

2018-03-15

Mountain vegetation is highly specialized to harsh climatic conditions and therefore is sensitive to any change in environment. The rarest and most vulnerable plants occurring in alpine regions are expected to respond rapidly to environmental changes. An example of such a species is Carex lachenalii subsp. lachenalii Schkuhr, which occurs in Poland on only a few isolated sites in the Tatra Mts. The aim of this study was to assess changes in distribution of C. lachenalii in the Tatra Mts over the past 50-150years and the effects of climate change, tourism and historical grazing on the ecological niche of C. lachenalii. We focused on changes in the importance of functional diversity components in shaping plant species composition. Over the past 50-150years, the elevation of the average distribution of C. lachenalii shifted about 178m upward alongside a significant prolongation of the vegetative season by approximately 20days in the last 50-60years. Species composition of plots without C. lachenalii was characterized by competition between plants, whereas on plots with C. lachenalii habitat filtering was the most important component. Our results suggest that climate change was the main factor driving upward shift of C. lachenalii. Moderate trampling enhanced horizontal spread of this plant, whereas cessation of grazing grazing caused decline of C. lachenalii. The three environmental factors studied that determined shifts in distribution of C. lachenalii may also contribute to changes in distribution of other rare mountain plant species causing changes in ecosystem functioning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

FLORA LICHEN WESTERN MOUNTAINS VRANJE PLACE

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Gordana Bogdanović

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Lichen is a symbiotic plant built by the cells of algae and fungi hyphae. Algae are usually presented - green (Chlorophyta or blue green (Cyanophyta, a mushroom commonly found is ascomycetae and sometimes basidiomycetae. Mushrooms receive oxygen and carbohydrates from algae, and they in turn provide water, CO2 and mineral salts. Lichens are often found on trees and rocks in unpolluted environments and can be used as a bioindicator species. In during 2015-2016. was realized a survey of epiphytic lichen flora of the western mountains in environment of Vranje. Sampling was carried out at 4 locations: Borino brdo, Krstilovica, Markovo Kale and Pljačkovica. Based on the collected and determined samples can be concluded that the study implemented of the area of 25 species of lichens of which: 8 as crust, leafy 12 and 5 shrub. The research results indicate that the lichen flora of the western mountains environments Vranje of a rich and diverse as a result of favorable geographic position, geological and soil composition, climate and plant cover that provide opportunities for the development and survival of lichens.

Arbuscular mycorrhiza of plants from the Mountain Botanical Garden in Zakopane

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Szymon Zubek

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The mycorrhizal status of 77 plant species collected from the Mountain Botanical Garden of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Zakopane (southern Poland was surveyed. These plants include rare, endemic and threatened species in the Tatra Mts. (the Western Carpathians and are maintained in the botanical garden in order to develop effective methods of protection and cultivation. Plants belonging to Brassicaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Dryopteridaceae, Juncaceae, Polygonaceae, Rubiaceae and Woodsiaceae families were nonmycorrhizal. 41 species formed AM symbiosis. Spores of nine AMF spccies (Glomeromycota, including Archaeospora trappei, Glomus aggregatum, G. claroideum, G. constrictum, G. deserticola, G. geosponrum, G. microcarpum, G. mosseae and G.rubiforme were isolated for the first time from this region of Poland. In addition, the occurrence of the fine endophyte, G. tenue was detected in roots of 18 species from the study area, although formation of arbuscules by this fungus was observed rarely. AM fungi were sporadically accompanied by dark septate endophytes (DSE. 70% of nonmycorrhizal plant sepcies were devoid of DSE.

NEW ASPECTS OF THE ALPINE VEGETATION OF PARÂNG MOUNTAINS (SOUTH CARPATHIANS

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SIMON TIBOR

2012-12-01

Full Text Available 4 plant communities unknown in the the European syntaxonomy are described from the alpine and subalpine belts of Parâng Mountains, based on vegetation studies of the authors during 1955–1960. These are: Arabis alpina-Saxifraga aizoides, Arabis alpina-Delphinium elatum, Dianthus tenuifolius-Festuca dalmatica and the Primula minima-Dryas octopetala communities. These communities could be described later as new associations in the possession of more relevés from different localities. The East and South Carpathian Doronico carpatici-Festucetum pictae association is distinguished under this new name from the Festucetum pictae Krajina described from the Tatra Mountains. 7 further associations are found as new to the Parâng Mountains.

Typical land use pattern in high-mountain landscape - part of the Vysoke Tatry Mts. and the Podtatranska kotlina Basin; map fragment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hrnciarova, T.; Kubicek, F.; Ruzickova, H.; Berkova, A.; Simonovic, V.

2002-01-01

The territory of the Vysoke Tatry (High Tatras) Mts. and the Podtatranska kotlina Basin documents the human impact even in the highest situated parts of Slovakia. The human impact was obvious the same in the past (lowering of the upper timberline and the dwarf pine scrub by grazing) as in the present time (recreation, tourism, and sport). The most frequent wood species of the Tatras forests is the spruce tree. Fir occurs up to the altitude of 1,250 m above sea level. The wood species accompanying the spruce in higher positions are larch, cembra pine, and mountain ash where they form the upper timberline. The mountain dwarf pine scrub creates an independent tier above the upper timber line in the altitude oscillating between 1,550 m and 1,850 m and gradually transits into alpine meadows with rare flora and fauna. The foothill landscape is intensively agriculturally used. The present species composition of the meadows and pastures, as well as their landscape scenery was decisively determined by intensification of farming (adjustments of the terrain, draining of waterlogged areas and spring areas, removal of woody vegetation, creation of disproportionately large fields, sowing of introduced grass species, and the like). It has not only caused the change of the original nature of meadows and pastures, but it has also changed the whole sub-Tatras landscape. (authors)

The medicinal plants of Chepan Mountain (Western Bulgaria)

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Zahariev, Dimcho

2015-12-01

Bulgaria is one of the European countries with the greatest biodiversity, including biodiversity of medicinal plants. The object of this study is Chepan Mountain. It is located in Western Bulgaria and it is part of Balkan Mountain. On the territory of the Chepan Mountain (only 80 km2) we found 344 species of medicinal plants from 237 genera and 83 families. The floristic analysis indicates, that the most of the families and the genera are represented by a small number of inferior taxa. The hemicryptophytes dominate among the life forms with 49.71%. The biological types are represented mainly by perennial herbaceous plants (60.47%). There are 7 types of floristic elements divided in 27 groups. The largest percentage of species are of the European type (58.43%). Among the medicinal plants, there are two Balkan endemic species and 18 relic species. We described 23 species with protection statute. The anthropophytes among the medicinal plants are 220 species (63.95%).

Changes in the surface ozone after the windstorm in 2004, in the High Tatras

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Bičárová Svetlana

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Extreme wind event in November 2004 caused spacious destruction of slope forests in the Tatra National Park, Slovakia. Relevant changes of land cover motivated researchers to investigate damaged forest ecosystem and its response to different environmental conditions. Surface ozone (O3 is a minor but not negligible compound of the ambient air. Control strategies for the reduction of O3 precursor emissions have been applied in Europe during the last two decades. In spite of these reductions, air quality indices for O3 suggest that highland sites are more vulnerable to health and environmental risk than lowlands where mostly emissions from road transport and industry are produced. Both anthropogenic sources and biogenic precursors (BVOC from forest vegetation play a relevant role in the tropospheric photochemistry, especially at mountainous and rural locations. The parameters of air quality are measured at background station Stará Lesná in the High Tatras region since 1992 in frame of an European project EMEP. Long-term data series (1992-2013 of O3 concentrations obtained for site Stará Lesná provide specific opportunity to investigate the response of BVOC reduction on O3 variability after windstorm 2004. Evaluation of these data indicates moderate increase of annual, monthly and hourly O3 means for the period from 2005 to 2013 in comparison with the previous period 1992-2004. Temporal interpolation shows evident changes of O3 concentrations, especially ~30% increase for night hours in spring season and on the contrary ~15% decrease for daylight afternoon hours in summer season. Statistically significant changes were identified for spring months (April and May, 0-6 hours and summer months (July, 12-20 hours. Increasing O3 values in the night may be associated with the absence of BVOC for ozonolysis reaction that is one of the mechanism for O3 depletion. On the other hand, the decline of daylight O3 values in summer suggests lower O3 production

Altitudinal distribution of the common longeared bat Plecotus auritus (Linnaeus, 1758 and grey long-eared bat Plecotus austriacus (J. B. Fischer, 1829 (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae in the Tatra mountains (southern Poland

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Krzysztof Piksa

2006-03-01

Full Text Available Riassunto Distribuzione altitudinale di Orecchione bruno (Plecotus auritus e Orecchione meridionale (Plecotus austriacus nei Monti Tatra (Polonia meridionale. Vengono riportati nuovi dati relativi alla distribuzione altitudinale nei Monti Tatra (Polonia meridionale di Plecotus auritus e P. austriacus. Tali segnalazioni incrementano le conoscenze relative alla presenza di questi chirotteri a quote elevate, in particolare per la Polonia. In inverno P. auritus è stato rinvenuto a 1921 m s.l.m. mentre in estate è stato rinvenuto a 2250 m s.l.m.; in aggiunta, sono stati ritrovati resti ossei a 1929 m s.l.m. P. austriacus è stato segnalato in ibernazione a 1294 m s.l.m.

Contingency & Agency in the Holocene Anthropization of Mountain Landscapes of the Western Pyrenees

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Gragson, Theodore; Coughlan, Michael; Leigh, David

2017-04-01

Mounting evidence indicates that mixed forests of the humid-temperate western Pyrenees mountains were converted by human agency to managed grasslands by at least the late Neolithic. We first realized major ramifications of the conversation process from pronounced differences we observed between soil profiles of ancient pastures and old-growth forests in otherwise similar landscape positions. Subsequently through radiocarbon dating of colluvial deposits we established a chronology for anthropic manipulation of the biotic factor of pedogenesis resulting in the creation of new soil materials, processes and functions. Regional- and biome-scale paleoecological analyses and archaeological syntheses suggest that it was Neolithic agropastoral land use that initiated anthropization of mountain landscapes of the western Pyrenees. However, such macroscopic views of human behavior cannot reveal the contingency and agency on which human causality rests. We have thus followed a complementary place-based investigative strategy that couples geoarchaeological, biophysical and socio-ecological factors spatially and temporally to arrive at the coevolutionary processes of human-environment interactions and landscape history. The results often contrast sharply with conventional narratives about human landscape degradation in agropastoral systems. For the last 2000 years, the western Pyrenees mountains were spatially removed from regional centers such as Pamplona and Bordeaux, and economically and politically peripheral to continental social and governmental processes. This marginality favored a macroscopic and time-invariant interpretation of agropastoral production in the western Pyrenees as the result of unambiguously enforced social norms exacted by intense solidarities of kin and neighbors. However, anthropization of the western Pyrenees was a spatially and temporally heterogeneous process in which land transitions appear to precede intensification. Radiocarbon dating shows three

Integrating Climate and Ecosystem-Response Sciences in Temperate Western North American Mountains: The CIRMOUNT Initiative

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Millar, C. I.; Fagre, D. B.

2004-12-01

Mountain regions are uniquely sensitive to changes in climate, vulnerable to climate effects on biotic and physical factors of intense social concern, and serve as critical early-warning systems of climate impacts. Escalating demands on western North American (WNA) mountain ecosystems increasingly stress both natural resources and rural community capacities; changes in mountain systems cascade to issues of national concern. Although WNA has long been a focus for climate- and climate-related environmental research, these efforts remain disciplinary and poorly integrated, hindering interpretation into policy and management. Knowledge is further hampered by lack of standardized climate monitoring stations at high-elevations in WNA. An initiative is emerging as the Consortium for Integrated Climate Research in Western Mountains (CIRMOUNT) whose primary goal is to improve knowledge of high-elevation climate systems and to better integrate physical, ecological, and social sciences relevant to climate change, ecosystem response, and natural-resource policy in WNA. CIRMOUNT seeks to focus research on climate variability and ecosystem response (progress in understanding synoptic scale processes) that improves interpretation of linkages between ecosystem functions and human processing (progress in understanding human-environment integration), which in turn would yield applicable information and understanding on key societal issues such as mountains as water towers, biodiversity, carbon forest sinks, and wildland hazards such as fire and forest dieback (progress in understanding ecosystem services and key thresholds). Achieving such integration depends first on implementing a network of high-elevation climate-monitoring stations, and linking these with integrated ecosystem-response studies. Achievements since 2003 include convening the 2004 Mountain Climate Sciences Symposium (1, 2) and several special sessions at technical conferences; initiating a biennial mountain climate

Stratigraphy and structural setting of Upper Cretaceous Frontier Formation, western Centennial Mountains, southwestern Montana and southeastern Idaho

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Dyman, T.S.; Tysdal, R.G.; Perry, W.J.; Nichols, D.J.; Obradovich, J.D.

2008-01-01

Stratigraphic, sedimentologic, and palynologic data were used to correlate the Frontier Formation of the western Centennial Mountains with time-equivalent rocks in the Lima Peaks area and other nearby areas in southwestern Montana. The stratigraphic interval studied is in the middle and upper parts (but not uppermost) of the formation based on a comparison of sandstone petrography, palynologic age data, and our interpretation of the structure using a seismic line along the frontal zone of the Centennial Mountains and the adjacent Centennial Valley. The Frontier Formation is comprised of sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, limestone, and silty shale in fluvial and coastal depositional settings. A distinctive characteristic of these strata in the western Centennial Mountains is the absence of conglomerate and conglomeratic sandstone beds. Absence of conglomerate beds may be due to lateral facies changes associated with fluvial systems, a distal fining of grain size, and the absence of both uppermost and lower Frontier rocks in the study area. Palynostratigraphic data indicate a Coniacian age for the Frontier Formation in the western Centennial Mountains. These data are supported by a geochronologic age from the middle part of the Frontier at Lima Peaks indicating a possible late Coniacian-early Santonian age (86.25 ?? 0.38 Ma) for the middle Frontier there. The Frontier Formation in the western Centennial Mountains is comparable in age and thickness to part of the Frontier at Lima Peaks. These rocks represent one of the thickest known sequences of Frontier strata in the Rocky Mountain region. Deposition was from about 95 to 86 Ma (middle Cenomanian to at least early Santonian), during which time, shoreface sandstone of the Telegraph Creek Formation and marine shale of the Cody Shale were deposited to the east in the area now occupied by the Madison Range in southwestern Montana. Frontier strata in the western Centennial Mountains are structurally isolated from other

Seasonal nutrient chemistry in mountainous river systems of tropical Western Peninsular India

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Pradhan, U.K.; Wu, Y.; Shirodkar, P.V.; Zhang, J.

Nutrient chemistry was studied in three mountainous rivers (Mandovi, Zuari and Netravati), across western peninsular India (WPI) during south-west monsoon (SWM), post-monsoon and pre-monsoon seasons of year 2011-2012. Nutrients in rainwater were...

Modeling Urban Spatial Growth in Mountainous Regions of Western China

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Guoping Huang

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The scale and speed of urbanization in the mountainous regions of western China have received little attention from researchers. These cities are facing rapid population growth and severe environmental degradation. This study analyzed historical urban growth trends in this mountainous region to better understand the interaction between the spatial growth pattern and the mountainous topography. Three major factors—slope, accessibility, and land use type—were studied in light of their relationships with urban spatial growth. With the analysis of historical data as the basis, a conceptual urban spatial growth model was devised. In this model, slope, accessibility, and land use type together create resistance to urban growth, while accessibility controls the sequence of urban development. The model was tested and evaluated using historical data. It serves as a potential tool for planners to envision and assess future urban growth scenarios and their potential environmental impacts to make informed decisions.

Analysis of relation between geomorphologic processes and alpine vegetation in the high mountain landscape (Tatry Mts.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boltiziar, M.

2003-01-01

The aim was to present some information about starting of high mountains ecological monitoring and its first partial results. The research is focused on a long-term observation of vegetation changes (species composition, species spatial distribution) in relation to geomorphic processes and geo-relief attributes at meso- and micro-scale of landscape. We established in 2002 for this purpose six permanent plots (4 x 4 m) in the selected localities of High and Belianske Tatras Mts. (Author)

Transformation of tourist landscapes in mountain areas: Case studies from Slovakia

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Branislav Chrenka

2011-11-01

Full Text Available After two decades of deregulated free market economy the post-socialist rural mountain areas are being unprecedently commodified. Landscapes of tourist consumption with specific behaviour patterns are produced and reproduced. The paper explores how landscapes are transformed due to massive investments into tourist infrastructure with questionable impacts on quality of life and environmental sustainability. Power relations and related production of space are analysed in three case studies in the selected mountain areas in Slovakia. First, the Oščadnica case study reflects on rural landscape rapidly transformed by massive ski resort development and deforestation. Second, the Tále golf course development case study describes commodification and gentrification processes in Central Slovakia. Third, the High Tatras case study explores how power structures push on the transformation of the oldest and most visited National Park in Slovakia.

A Middle Triassic pachypleurosaur (Diapsida: Eosauropterygia) from a restricted carbonate ramp in the Western Carpathians (Gutenstein Formation, Fatric Unit): paleogeographic implications

Science.gov (United States)

Čerňanský, Andrej; Klein, Nicole; Soták, Ján; Olšavský, Mário; Šurka, Juraj; Herich, Pavel

2018-02-01

An eosauropterygian skeleton found in the Middle Triassic (upper Anisian) Gutenstein Formation of the Fatric Unit (Demänovská dolina Valley, Low Tatra Mountains, Slovakia) represents the earliest known occurrence of marine tetrapods in the Western Carpathians. The specimen represents a partly articulated portion of the postcranial skeleton (nine dorsal vertebrae, coracoid, ribs, gastral ribs, pelvic girdle, femur and one zeugopodial element). It is assigned to the Pachypleurosauria, more precisely to the Serpianosaurus-Neusticosaurus clade based on the following combination of features: (1) small body size; (2) morphology of vertebrae, ribs and femur; (3) tripartite gastral ribs; and (4) microanatomy of the femur as revealed by μCT. Members of this clade were described from the epicontinental Germanic Basin and the Alpine Triassic (now southern Germany, Switzerland, Italy), and possibly from Spain. This finding shows that pachypleurosaur reptiles attained a broader geographical distribution during the Middle Triassic, with their geographical range reaching to the Central Western Carpathians. Pachypleurosaurs are often found in sediments formed in shallow, hypersaline carbonate-platform environments. The specimen found here occurs in a succession with vermicular limestones in a shallow subtidal zone and stromatolitic limestones in a peritidal zone, indicating that pachypleurosaurs inhabited hypersaline, restricted carbonate ramps in the Western Carpathians.

A Middle Triassic pachypleurosaur (Diapsida: Eosauropterygia from a restricted carbonate ramp in the Western Carpathians (Gutenstein Formation, Fatric Unit: paleogeographic implications

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Čerňanský Andrej

2018-02-01

Full Text Available An eosauropterygian skeleton found in the Middle Triassic (upper Anisian Gutenstein Formation of the Fatric Unit (Demänovská dolina Valley, Low Tatra Mountains, Slovakia represents the earliest known occurrence of marine tetrapods in the Western Carpathians. The specimen represents a partly articulated portion of the postcranial skeleton (nine dorsal vertebrae, coracoid, ribs, gastral ribs, pelvic girdle, femur and one zeugopodial element. It is assigned to the Pachypleurosauria, more precisely to the Serpianosaurus–Neusticosaurus clade based on the following combination of features: (1 small body size; (2 morphology of vertebrae, ribs and femur; (3 tripartite gastral ribs; and (4 microanatomy of the femur as revealed by μCT. Members of this clade were described from the epicontinental Germanic Basin and the Alpine Triassic (now southern Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and possibly from Spain. This finding shows that pachypleurosaur reptiles attained a broader geographical distribution during the Middle Triassic, with their geographical range reaching to the Central Western Carpathians. Pachypleurosaurs are often found in sediments formed in shallow, hypersaline carbonate-platform environments. The specimen found here occurs in a succession with vermicular limestones in a shallow subtidal zone and stromatolitic limestones in a peritidal zone, indicating that pachypleurosaurs inhabited hypersaline, restricted carbonate ramps in the Western Carpathians.

Sociální vztahy a postoje v ženském ragbyovém týmu RC Tatra Smíchov

OpenAIRE

Kadavá, Tereza

2014-01-01

Title: Social Relationships and Attitudes in Women's RC Tatra Smichov Rugby Team Objectives: The main objective of this thesis is to analyze social relations and attitudes in the women's RC Tatra Smichov rugby team and to create the profiles of the players. The analysis should help the new coach to get to know the players well, focusing mainly on their career, ambition, motivation, and feelings during trainings and matches. At the same time, it should shed light on how they perceive themselve...

Karl Kolbenheyer (1841–1901 – teacher, naturalist, tourist

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Stefan Witold Alexandrowicz

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Karl Kolbenheyer was born on May 28, 1841 in Bielsko. After attending a lower secondary school in Cieszyn, he began studies in classical languages (Greek and Latin at universities in Vienna and Jena, then he worked as a teacher in lower secondary schools in Lewocza, Cieszyn, and Bielsko. The research he undertook included botanical studies, measurements of absolute elevation, and meteorological observations in the Western Beskids as well as in the Tatra Mountains. The results of the studies were printed in German, Austrian, Polish, and Hungarian publications. He found species of plants not known earlier to exist in the area of Cieszyn and Bielsko. The measurements of elevations he made of characteristic points of landscape (more than 500 were used for cartographic purposes. From 1866 on, he was a member of Physiographic Commission of Kraków Scientific Society, and later of the Academy of Arts and Sciences, which financially supported his field work. Karl Kolbenheyer was one of the founders of the Beskidenverein – a German tourist organisation – and managed its branch in Bielsko. He prepared two tourist guides: the guide to Tatra Mountains – Die hohe Tatra (ten editions, and to the Beskids – Führer durch die Beskiden… (two editions. These guides contributed to the remarkable propagation of tourism. Karl Kolbenheyer died on February 1, 1901, and was buried at the Old Evangelical Cemetery in Bielsko.

Investigation of uranium 238 level in phosphate rock samples from kurun mountain Eastern Nuba Mountains in the State of Kordfan (western Sudan)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yagoub, N. H. M.

2014-06-01

The natural radionuclide content of 20 samples collected from Kurun Mountain, western Sudan, has been determined using gamma spectrometry. The data showed that ''2''3 8 U and its decay products were the principal contributors of radioactivity in phosphate deposits. The range of the activity concentration was measured in apatite phosphate rock samples was 378.03-1332.58 Bq/Kg with a mean value of 815.46 Bq/Kg and the data showed that most of samples concentrated in medial comparable with top and bottom of mountain. The distribution of samples indicated that the weathering effect and the rainfall may be the main reasons to enhance the mobility and solubility of uranium from top to bottom of mountain.(Author)

Experimental measurement and modeling of snow accumulation and snowmelt in a mountain microcatchment

Science.gov (United States)

Danko, Michal; Krajčí, Pavel; Hlavčo, Jozef; Kostka, Zdeněk; Holko, Ladislav

2016-04-01

Fieldwork is a very useful source of data in all geosciences. This naturally applies also to the snow hydrology. Snow accumulation and snowmelt are spatially very heterogeneous especially in non-forested, mountain environments. Direct field measurements provide the most accurate information about it. Quantification and understanding of processes, that cause these spatial differences are crucial in prediction and modelling of runoff volumes in spring snowmelt period. This study presents possibilities of detailed measurement and modeling of snow cover characteristics in a mountain experimental microcatchment located in northern part of Slovakia in Western Tatra mountains. Catchment area is 0.059 km2 and mean altitude is 1500 m a.s.l. Measurement network consists of 27 snow poles, 3 small snow lysimeters, discharge measurement device and standard automatic weather station. Snow depth and snow water equivalent (SWE) were measured twice a month near the snow poles. These measurements were used to estimate spatial differences in accumulation of SWE. Snowmelt outflow was measured by small snow lysimeters. Measurements were performed in winter 2014/2015. Snow water equivalent variability was very high in such a small area. Differences between particular measuring points reached 600 mm in time of maximum SWE. The results indicated good performance of a snow lysimeter in case of snowmelt timing identification. Increase of snowmelt measured by the snow lysimeter had the same timing as increase in discharge at catchment's outlet and the same timing as the increase in air temperature above the freezing point. Measured data were afterwards used in distributed rainfall-runoff model MIKE-SHE. Several methods were used for spatial distribution of precipitation and snow water equivalent. The model was able to simulate snow water equivalent and snowmelt timing in daily step reasonably well. Simulated discharges were slightly overestimated in later spring.

How do we know how much groundwater is stored in south-western Cape mountains?

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Midgley, JJ

2001-07-01

Full Text Available Isotopes of water (D, O-18) in rain and streams were used to obtain an estimate of the amount of ground water in the south-western Cape Mountains. It was assumed that the groundwater reservoir is well-mixed and that the water isotope signals...

WESTERN CHARPATHIAN RURAL MOUNTAIN TOURISM MAPPING THROUGH CLUSTER METHODOLOGY

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Elena TOMA

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Rural tourism from Western Carpathian Mountain was characterized in the last years by a low occupancy rate and a decline in tourist arrivals, due, beside of the direct effects of economic crises, to the remote location of mountain villages and to the low quality of infrastructure. For this reason we consider that the implementation of complex and integrated products based on tour thematic circuits represents a real opportunity to develop local rural tourism industry. The aim of this paper is to identify which is the best networking solution, based on clustering analysis. The Multidimensional Scaling Method and Hierarchical Cluster Method permitted us to demonstrate and identify the best way of clustering, and, in this way, the best route for a potential tour touristic circuit. Reported to the counties from which the villages take part, the identified cluster concentrate 57.7% of rural touristic accommodations and 65.0% of tourist arrivals, but it has an occupancy rate of only 5.9%. By implementing new complex touristic products we consider that can be assured a rise of this touristic dimension of the cluster and we propose more in depth studies regarding the profile of the potential customers.

Mountains

Science.gov (United States)

Regina M. Rochefort; Laurie L. Kurth; Tara W. Carolin; Robert R. Mierendorf; Kimberly Frappier; David L. Steenson

2006-01-01

This chapter concentrates on subalpine parklands and alpine meadows of southern British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and western Montana. These areas lie on the flanks of several mountain ranges including the Olympics, the Cascades of Oregon and Washington, and the Coast Mountains in British Columbia.

Predicting Potential Risk Areas of Human Plague for the Western Usambara Mountains, Lushoto District, Tanzania

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Neerinckx, Simon; Peterson, A Townsend; Gulinck, Hubert

2010-01-01

A natural focus of plague exists in the Western Usambara Mountains of Tanzania. Despite intense research, questions remain as to why and how plague emerges repeatedly in the same suite of villages. We used human plague incidence data for 1986-2003 in an ecological-niche modeling framework to expl...

Developing a postglacial rockfall chronology in the mountainous fjord landscape of western Norway

Science.gov (United States)

Laute, Katja; Beylich, Achim A.; Winkler, Stefan

2015-04-01

Large areas of glacially sculpted mountain landscapes worldwide exhibit a high spatial density of postglacial rockfalls and rock-slope failures. However, the temporal patterns of rock-slope failure frequencies after Deglaciation are still fairly unknown. The mountainous fjord landscape in western Norway represents a suitable study area as it exhibits a high number of rockfalls and rock-slope failures within a region with a well known Deglaciation history. Two steep, parabolic-shaped and glacier-connected neighbouring drainage basins, Erdalen (79.5 km2) and Bødalen (60.1 km2), located on the western side of the Jostedalsbreen ice cap in western Norway are selected as study areas. The focus of this study is on (i) the temporal reconstruction of rockfalls and rock-slope failures within the two defined and nearly lithologically homogenous study areas and (ii) the identification and explanation of possible triggering and controlling factors of the investigated rock-slope failures. First investigations have started by applying Schmidt-hammer exposure-age dating (SHD) at seven larger rockfall deposits as well as at five moraines of known age within both study areas. During the sampling 50 to 100 impacts using a mechanical Proceq N-type instrument were taken from the surface of 5 to 50 single rockfall boulders located at the outer margin of the rockfall deposits. In order to avoid sampling of more recent rockfalls or redistributed debris material the sampling strategy selected preferred a larger number of individual boulders sampled with few impacts over sampling just a small number of boulders with a high number of multiple impacts. First results show that the mean rebound (R-) values measured at the seven rockfall deposits fall into recognizably different age categories. Based on the SHD measurements obtained from the moraines of known age, the determined rockfall age categories are situated between the Preboral and Little Ice Age period. The chronology and possible

Paleomagnetic and magnetic fabric studies of Lower Triassic red sandstones from the autochthonous cover of the Central Western Carpathians: new insights into paleogeographic setting and tectonic evolution of the area

Science.gov (United States)

Szaniawski, R.; Jankowski, L.; Ludwiniak, M.; Mazzoli, S.; Szczygieł, J.

2017-12-01

The Carpathian Mountains were formed through progressive collision and amalgamation of the Alcapa and Tisza-Dacia microplates with the European Platform. The Central Western Carpathians (CWC) tectonic unit analyzed in this study constitutes a fragment of the Alcapa microplate - research in this area is therefore of great importance in the context of the geotectonic evolution of the Carpathian orogen. Our paleomagnetic and magnetic fabric studies were focused on Lower Triassic red sandstones from the autochthonous cover of the crystalline basement. We present new results from three mountain massifs: Low Tatra, Velka Fatra and Strazovske Vrchy, comparing them with our earlier works performed in the Tatra Mts. Rockmagnetic studies reveal similar results in all four studied regions - the dominant ferromagnetic carrier in red sandstones is hematite, while the magnetic fabric is mostly controlled by paramagnetic minerals. AMS results outline a bedding parallel foliation and a tectonic lineation. This lineation lies in the bedding plane but is somewhat oblique to the present horizontal plane. The fact that the lineation is not exactly parallel to the strike of the beds is most likely due to multistage deformation: the lineation is related to bedding parallel shortening associated with the folding and thrusting stage, while present-day bedding attitude results at least partially from rotations associated with subsequent uplift and/or faulting. Paleomagnetic analysis indicate that hematite carrier records characteristic remanent component of high unblocking temperatures (680°C) and both normal (dominant) and reversed polarity. Paleomagnetic inclinations are similar to those expected from reference paleomagnetic data from the European Platform. Declination values are rather similar in all four studied areas and imply moderate counterclockwise rotations of the CWC. These results are incompatible with some of the previous paleomagnetic studies of younger rocks from the CWC

Variability of Cloud Cover and Its Relation to Snowmelt and Runoff in the Mountainous Western United States

Science.gov (United States)

Sumargo, E.; Cayan, D. R.; Iacobellis, S.

2014-12-01

Obtaining accurate solar radiation input to snowmelt runoff models remains a fundamental challenge for water supply forecasters in the mountainous western U.S. The variability of cloud cover is a primary source of uncertainty in estimating surface radiation, especially given that ground-based radiometer networks in mountain terrains are sparse. Thus, remote sensed cloud properties provide a way to extend in situ observations and more importantly, to understand cloud variability in montane environment. We utilize 17 years of NASA/NOAA GOES visible albedo product with 4 km spatial and half-hour temporal resolutions to investigate daytime cloud variability in the western U.S. at elevations above 800 m. REOF/PC analysis finds that the 5 leading modes account for about two-thirds of the total daily cloud albedo variability during the whole year (ALL) and snowmelt season (AMJJ). The AMJJ PCs are significantly correlated with de-seasonalized snowmelt derived from CDWR CDEC and NRCS SNOTEL SWE data and USGS stream discharge across the western conterminous states. The sum of R2 from 7 days prior to the day of snowmelt/discharge amounts to as much as ~52% on snowmelt and ~44% on discharge variation. Spatially, the correlation patterns take on broad footprints, with strongest signals in regions of highest REOF weightings. That the response of snowmelt and streamflow to cloud variation is spread across several days indicates the cumulative effect of cloud variation on the energy budget in mountain catchments.

FIELD ACTIVITIES AND PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM THE INVESTIGATION OF WESTERN AIRBORNE CONTAMINANTS IN TWO HIGH ELEVATION WATERSHEDS OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

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The National Park Service initiated the Western Airborne Contaminants Assessment Project (WACAP) in 2002 to determine if airborne contaminants from long-range transport and/or regional sources are having an impact on remote western ecosystems, including AK. Rocky Mountain Nation...

Robert Klopstock and Franz Kafka--the friends from Tatranské Matliare (the High Tatras).

Science.gov (United States)

Mydlík, M; Derzsiová, K

2007-01-01

The paper summarises the accessible literature on the life and work of well-known American lung surgeon, Professor Dr. Med. Robert Klopstock, who was in the years 1920-1924 a friend Franz Kafka. Professor Klopstock was of Hungarian origin and he got acquainted with Franz Kafka at the end of the year 1920 in Tatranské Matliare (The High Tatras). They were both patients treated for lung tuberculosis. They became close friends and their mutual correspondence shows their real friendship. Robert Klopstock was present at Franz Kafka's death-bed on June 3, 1924 in Kierling, near Klosterneuburg, not far from Vienna. Robert Klopstock studied at Medical Faculties of the Universities in Budapest, Prague, Kiel and Berlin. After his graduation in 1933 in Berlin, he worked as a lung surgeon at various surgical clinics and departments in Budapest and Berlin. In 1936 Robert Klopstock together with his wife visited the High Tatras and Tatranské Matliare. In 1937 Robert Klopstock with his wife Gizela, a writer and a translator, who translated the first chapters of Franz Kafka's novel "Trial" into Hungarian language, went to United States of America. During his stay in U.S.A. Dr. Med. Robert Klopstock was very active as a lung surgeon and a scientist. He published 64 specialized scientific papers, mostly in American medical journals. He became Professor of Lung Surgery at Downstate Medical Centre in New York-Brooklyn. He died on June 15, 1972 in New York.

Chrysophycean stomatocysts from Morskie Oko and Żabie Oko lakes in the Tatra National Park, Poland

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Jolanta Cabała

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Sixteen chrysophycean stomatocysts are reported from the lakes Morskie Oko and Żabie Oko in the Tatra National Park, Poland. Of these, six morphotypes are new to Poland, and two morphotypes plus one forma are new to science. These stomatocysts are illustrated with SEM micrographs and described according to International Statospore Working Group (ISWG guidelines. The comparison of stomatocyst community between Morskie Oko and Żabie Oko lakes is given.

Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis of fecal bacterial communities of marmot (Marmota marmota latirostris latirostris) in High Tatras (Slovakia) and their population fragmentation

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kopečný, Jan; Novotný, M.; Kmeť, V.

2004-01-01

Roč. 13, - (2004), s. 35-36 ISSN 1210-3209 Grant - others:Science and Technology Assistance Agency(SK) APVT-20-026102 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5045916 Keywords : marmot * DGGE * Tatras Subject RIV: EE - Microbiology, Virology

Transect survey of artificial 137Cs and natural 40K in moss and bilberry leaf samples from two main valleys from Tatra National Park

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kubica, B.; Mietelski, J.W.; Stobinski, M.; Tuteja-Krysa, M.; Tomankiewicz, E.; Gaca, P.; Skiba, S.; Kubica, M.; Golas, J.; Krzan, Z.

2004-01-01

This paper presents the results of determination of artificial 137 Cs and natural 40 K activity concentrations in plants (bilberry (Vaccinum myrtillus) and moss (Polytrichum commune) and in soil samples from two main Tatra Valleys; Koscieliska and Rybi Potok Valley. The data were obtained during two years (2001-02). These plants are known a as good bio-monitors for radiocaesium. It is known that 137 Cs and 40 K isotopes play important roles in the environment, due to their good assimilation by plants. The transfer of these elements from soil to plant depends of many factors: type of soil, organic matter contents, pH, type of plants. In this paper some results concerning the transfer of 137 Cs and 40 K isotopes from various types of Tatra soil to moss or bilberry are shown. (author)

Restoration of mountain big sagebrush steppe following prescribed burning to control western juniper.

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, K W; Bates, J D; Madsen, M D; Nafus, A M

2014-05-01

Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis ssp. occidentalis Hook) encroachment into mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata spp. vaseyana (Rydb.) Beetle) steppe has reduced livestock forage production, increased erosion risk, and degraded sagebrush-associated wildlife habitat. Western juniper has been successfully controlled with partial cutting followed by prescribed burning the next fall, but the herbaceous understory and sagebrush may be slow to recover. We evaluated the effectiveness of seeding perennial herbaceous vegetation and sagebrush at five sites where juniper was controlled by partially cutting and prescribed burning. Treatments tested at each site included an unseeded control, herbaceous seed mix (aerially seeded), and the herbaceous seed mix plus sagebrush seed. In the third year post-treatment, perennial grass cover and density were twice as high in plots receiving the herbaceous seed mix compared to the control plots. Sagebrush cover and density in the sagebrush seeded plots were between 74- and 290-fold and 62- and 155-fold greater than the other treatments. By the third year after treatment, sagebrush cover was as high as 12 % in the sagebrush seeded plots and between 0 % and 0.4 % where it was not seeded. These results indicate that aerial seeding perennial herbaceous vegetation can accelerate the recovery of perennial grasses which likely stabilize the site. Our results also suggest that seeding mountain big sagebrush after prescribed burning encroaching juniper can rapidly recover sagebrush cover and density. In areas where sagebrush habitat is limited, seeding sagebrush after juniper control may increase sagebrush habitat and decrease the risks to sagebrush-associated species.

Perceptions of natural disturbance in Tatra National Park, Poland

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Švajda Juraj

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Since the last decades, natural disturbances in forests including protected areas have intensified. They have the potential to impact visual quality and safety of visitors as well as spread beyond protected area boundaries. While economic and ecological impacts are well studied, there is still a lack of work focused on human dimensions and social aspects. This study examines visitor perceptions towards bark beetle infestation in Tatra National Park, Poland. The findings, based on visitor surveys collected during the summer of 2014, indicate the significance of different factors influencing visitor attitudes towards the bark beetle. Age of visitors and importance of the bark beetle issue for them (based on subjective ratings of importance of bark beetle issue for respondents are the most prominent variables. Also place of origin and environmental worldview were recognized as significantly important variables in accordance with similar studies. Results suggest management implications for park authorities including public relations and environmental education in order to increase knowledge and support for natural disturbance and ecological integrity policies in the national park.

Spatial heavy metals Zn and Cr distribution in soil samples taken from Tatra Mountains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stobinski, M.; Misiak, R.; Kubica, B.

2008-03-01

The basic issue of presented report is showing the spatial heavy metals (Zn and Cr) distribution in soil samples taken from High Mts area. The expertise was done using two analytical techniques: AAS (atomic absorption spectroscopy) and micro-PIXIE (proton induced X-ray emission).Given heavy metals concentration were originated either from soil surface (10 cm depth) or from the whole soil profile. Our evaluation indicates that the Zn and Cr levels measured for mountains region were comparable to the data presented by other authors. Furthermore, the amount of heavy metals is strongly correlated with its natural concentration in parental rock.We also observed that zinc was prone to accumulate in surface, rich in organic matter, soil levels. (author)

Mineral mapping in the western Kunlun Mountains using Tiangong-1 hyperspectral imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, W.; Cheng, Q.; Jing, L.; Chen, Y.; Guo, X.; Ding, H.; Liu, Q.

2016-04-01

The unmanned Chinese space module Tiangong-1 was launched in September 2011 with a hyperspectral sensor on board. The sensor combines high spatial and spectral resolution suitable for mineral mapping. In this study, Tiangong-1 hyperspectral data were employed for mineral mapping in the western Kunlun Mountains, an important metallogenic belt in China. A Spectral Hourglass Wizard method was applied to detect common minerals from the Tiangong- 1 shortwave infrared data with reference to a set of spectral libraries. Spectral information on minerals, such as zoisite, mica, quartz, sodalite, dolomite, and actinolite, was extracted from the data. The resulting mineral interpretation maps were highly correlated with the reference geological maps and information from ASTER satellite imagery, suggesting that the hyperspectral data are suitable for mineral mapping.

[Dendroclimatic potentials for the tree rings of Huangshan pine (Pinus taiwanensis ) at Xiaolinhai in the western Dabie Mountains, China].

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Jian-Feng; Li, Guo-Dong; Li, Ling-Ling

2014-07-01

By using the dendrochronology research methods, this paper developed the 1915-2011 tree ring-width standard chronology of the Huangshan pine (Pinus taiwanesis) at the north slope of western Dabie Mountains in the junction of Hubei, Henan and Anhui provinces. High mean sensitivity (MS) indicated that there was conspicuous high-frequency climate signals and high first-order autocorrelation (AC) showed there were significant lag-effects of tree previous growth. The higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and expressed population signal (EPS) indicated that the trees had high levels of common climate signals. Correlations between the tree ring-width standard chronology and climatic factors (1959-2011) revealed the significant influences of temperature, precipitation and relative humidity on the tree width growth of Huangshan pine by the end of growing season (September and October). Significant positive correlations were found between the tree-ring indices and the Palmer drought severity index (PDSI) of current September and October. In conclusion, the combination of water and heat of September and October is the major effect factor for the growth of Huangshan pine in western Dabie Mountains.

Spatial distribution and temporal development of high-mountain lakes in western Austria

Science.gov (United States)

Merkl, Sarah; Emmer, Adam; Mergili, Martin

2015-04-01

Glacierized high-mountain environments are characterized by active morphodynamics, favouring the rapid appearance and disappearance of lakes. On the one hand, such lakes indicate high-mountain environmental changes such as the retreat of glaciers. On the other hand, they are sometimes susceptible to sudden drainage, leading to glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) putting the downstream population at risk. Whilst high-mountain lakes have been intensively studied in the Himalayas, the Pamir, the Andes or the Western Alps, this is not the case for the Eastern Alps. A particular research gap, which is attacked with the present work, concerns the western part of Austria. We consider a study area of approx. 6,140 km², covering the central Alps over most of the province of Tyrol and part of the province of Salzburg. All lakes ≥250 m² located higher than 2000 m asl are mapped from high-resolution Google Earth imagery and orthophotos. The lakes are organized into seven classes: (i) ice-dammed; near-glacial (ii) moraine-dammed and (iii) bedrock-dammed; (iv) moraine-dammed and (v) bedrock-dammed distant to the recent glaciers; (vi) landslide-dammed; (vii) anthropogenic. The temporal development of selected lakes is investigated in detail, using aerial photographs dating back to the 1950s. 1045 lakes are identified in the study area. Only eight lakes are ice-dammed (i). One third of all lakes is located in the immediate vicinity of recent glacier tongues, half of them impounded by moraine (ii), half of them by bedrock (iii). Two thirds of all lakes are impounded by features (either moraines or bedrock) shaped by LIA or Pleistocenic glaciers at some distance to the present glacier tongues (iv and v). Only one landslide-dammed lake (vi) is identified in the study area, whilst 21 lakes are of anthropogenic origin (vii). 72% of all lakes are found at 2250-2750 m asl whilst less than 2% are found above 3000 m asl. The ratio of rock-dammed lakes increases with increasing

Long-range Transport of Aerosol at a Mountain Site in the Western Mediterranean Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Greg; Corrigan, Craig; Ritchie, John; Pont, Véronique; Claeys, Marine; Sciare, Jean; Dulac, François

2016-04-01

The Mediterranean Region has been identified as sensitive to changes in the hydrological cycle, which could affect the water resources for millions of people by the turn of the century. However, prior to recent observations, most climate models have not accounted for the impacts of aerosol in this region. Past airborne studies have shown that aerosol sources from Europe and Africa are often transported throughout the lower troposphere; yet, because of their complex vertical distribution, it is a challenge to capture the variability and quantify the contribution of these sources to the radiative budget and precipitation processes. The PAEROS ChArMEx Mountain Experiment (PACMEx) complemented the regional activities by collecting aerosol data from atop a mountain on the island of Corsica, France in order to assess boundary layer / free troposphere atmospheric processes. In June/July 2013, PACMEx instruments were deployed at 2000 m.asl near the center of Corsica, France to complement ground-based aerosol observations at 550 m.asl on the northern peninsula, as well as airborne measurements. Comparisons between the peninsula site and the mountain site show similar general trends in aerosol properties; yet, differences in aerosol properties reveal the myriad transport mechanisms over the Mediterranean Basin. Using aerosol physicochemical data coupled with back trajectory analysis, different sources have been identified including Saharan dust transport, residual dust mixed with sea salt, anthropogenic emissions from Western Europe, and a period of biomass burning from Eastern Europe. Each period exhibits distinct signatures in the aerosol related to transport processes above and below the boundary layer. In addition, the total aerosol concentrations at the mountain site revealed a strong diurnal cycling the between the atmospheric boundary layer and the free troposphere, which is typical of mountain-top observations. PACMEx was funded by the National Science Foundation

Wasatch and Uinta Mountains Ecoregion: Chapter 9 in Status and trends of land change in the Western United States--1973 to 2000

Science.gov (United States)

Brooks, Mark S.

2012-01-01

The Wasatch and Uinta Mountains Ecoregion covers approximately 44,176 km2 (17, 057 mi2) (fig. 1) (Omernik, 1987; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1997). With the exception of a small part of the ecoregion extending into southern Wyoming and southern Idaho, the vast majority of the ecoregion is located along the eastern mountain ranges of Utah. The ecoregion is situated between the Wyoming Basin and Colorado Plateaus Ecoregions to the east and south and the Central Basin and Range Ecoregion to the west; in addition, the Middle Rockies, Snake River Basin, and Northern Basin and Range Ecoregions are nearby to the north. Considered the western front of the Rocky Mountains, the two major mountain ranges that define the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains Ecoregion include the north-south-trending Wasatch Range and east-west- trending Uinta Mountains. Both mountain ranges have been altered by multiple mountain building and burial cycles since the Precambrian era 2.6 billion years ago, and they have been shaped by glacial processes as early as 1.6 million years ago. The terrain is defined by sharp ridgelines, glacial lakes, and narrow canyons, with elevations ranging from 1,829 m in the lower canyons to 4,123 m at Kings Peak, the highest point in Utah (Milligan, 2010).

Simultaneous use of several monitoring techniques to measure visitor load, spatio-temporal distribution and social characteristics of tourists - a case study of a cable car area in the Carpathian Mountains, Tatra National Park

Science.gov (United States)

Taczanowska, Karolina; Zięba, Antoni; Brandenburg, Christiane; Muhar, Andreas; Preisel, Hemma; Hibner, Joanna; Latosinska, Barbara; Benítez, Rafael; Bolós, Vicente; Toca-Herrera, José L.; Ziobrowski, Szymon

2017-04-01

Visitor monitoring is an integrate part of the effective management of recreational and protected areas. Comprehensive information concerning volume of tourist traffic, spatial-temporal distribution of visitors in a leisure setting as well as visitor socio-demographic characteristics may support understanding human behaviour and the ongoing natural processes (trail deterioration, erosion, impact on flora and fauna). Especially, vulnerable areas that in the same time serve as tourist attractions need to be carefully investigated. One of such areas is Kasprowy Wierch (1987 m.a.s.l.) - a popular cable car destination located in the Carpathian Mountains, Tatra National Park, Poland / Slovakia. The aim of this study was to define the overall visitor load and to understand visitor behaviour in the proximity of the upper cable car station at Kasprowy Wierch. The main focus of this presentation is the comparison of the used monitoring techniques and exposing the benefit of their simultaneous application. Visitor monitoring campaign was carried out in the study area in the summer season 2014. The following data collection techniques were simultaneously applied: 1) automatic counting (Eco-Counter pyroelectric sensors), 2) manual counting; 3) on-site interviews combined with trip diaries and visitor observation 4) GPS-tracking 5) registry of cable car tickets 6) registry of entries to the national park (TPN). Between 26.06.2014 and 30.09.2014 at 7 locations a continuous automatic counting of visitors was done using pyroelectric sensors (Eco-Counter). Additionally, on 18 sampling days at 12 locations direct observations (manual counting) of visitor flows was carried out. During the sampling days tourists were interviewed in the field using structured questionnaires (PAPI survey technique, N = 2639). Survey was combined with a documentation of visitors' trip itineraries via GPS-loggers and map sketches. Totally 1250 GPS-tracks of visitors and 1351 map sketches have been

Turonian Radiolarians in the Section of Ak Mountain, Crimea

Science.gov (United States)

Bragina, L. G.

2018-01-01

In the sections from the western and eastern peaks of Ak Mountain, the Patellula selbukhraensis Zone (upper part of the lower Turonian), which is established for the first time in the southwestern Mountainous Crimea, is traced. The first data on the radiolarian distribution in the section of the eastern peak of Ak Mountain, which is stratotypical of the Phaseliforma turovi (middle Turonian, without the upper part) and Actinomma (?) belbekense (upper part of the middle Turonian-upper Turonian) zones, are presented. These zones are also traced in the parallel section of the western peak of Ak Mountain.

Western Mountain Initiative - Background

Science.gov (United States)

unprecendented severity in the western United States, extensive tree mortality from outbreaks of bark beetles climatic stressors (Goals 1.1, 1.3) and identification of critical areas (Goal 1.2). Causal mechanisms

Trichoderma species occurring on wood with decay symptoms in mountain forests in Central Europe: genetic and enzymatic characterization.

Science.gov (United States)

Błaszczyk, Lidia; Strakowska, Judyta; Chełkowski, Jerzy; Gąbka-Buszek, Agnieszka; Kaczmarek, Joanna

2016-08-01

The aim of this study was to explore the species diversity of Trichoderma obtained from samples of wood collected in the forests of the Gorce Mountains (location A), Karkonosze Mountains (location B) and Tatra Mountains (location C) in Central Europe and to examine the cellulolytic and xylanolytic activity of these species as an expression of their probable role in wood decay processes. The present study has led to the identification of the following species and species complex: Trichoderma atroviride P. Karst., Trichoderma citrinoviride Bissett, Trichoderma cremeum P. Chaverri & Samuels, Trichoderma gamsii Samuels & Druzhin., Trichoderma harzianum complex, Trichoderma koningii Oudem., Trichoderma koningiopsis Samuels, C. Suárez & H.C. Evans, Trichoderma longibrachiatum Rifai, Trichoderma longipile Bissett, Trichoderma sp. (Hypocrea parapilulifera B.S. Lu, Druzhin. & Samuels), Trichoderma viride Schumach. and Trichoderma viridescens complex. Among them, T. viride was observed as the most abundant species (53 % of all isolates) in all the investigated locations. The Shannon's biodiversity index (H), evenness (E), and the Simpson's biodiversity index (D) calculations for each location showed that the highest species diversity and evenness were recorded for location A-Gorce Mountains (H' = 1.71, E = 0.82, D = 0.79). The preliminary screening of 119 Trichoderma strains for cellulolytic and xylanolytic activity showed the real potential of all Trichoderma species originating from wood with decay symptoms to produce cellulases and xylanases-the key enzymes in plant cell wall degradation.

Kinematics of active deformation across the Western Kunlun mountain range (Xinjiang, China), and potential seismic hazards within the southern Tarim Basin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guilbaud, Christelle; Simoes, Martine; Barrier, Laurie

2017-01-01

remains seismic. To quantify the rate of active deformation and the potential for major earthquakes in this region, we combine a structural and quantitative morphological analysis of the Yecheng-Pishan fold, along the topographic mountain front in the epicentral area. Using a seismic profile, we derive......The Western Kunlun mountain range is a slowly converging intra-continental orogen where deformation rates are too low to be properly quantified from geodetic techniques. This region has recorded little seismicity, but the recent July 2015 (Mw 6.4) Pishan earthquake shows that this mountain range...... a structural cross-section in which we identify the fault that broke during the Pishan earthquake, an 8-12 km deep blind ramp beneath the Yecheng-Pishan fold. Combining satellite images and DEMs, we achieve a detailed morphological analysis of the Yecheng-Pishan fold, where we find nine levels of incised...

Growth trends and climate responses of Norway spruce along elevational gradients in East-Central Europe

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Ponočná, T.; Spyt, B.; Kaczka, R. J.; Büntgen, Ulf; Treml, V.

2016-01-01

Roč. 30, č. 5 (2016), s. 1633-1646 ISSN 0931-1890 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) EE2.3.20.0248 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : abies l. karst. * tree-ring chronologies * basal area increment * radial growth * forest growth * altitudinal gradient * sudetes mountains * northern europe * tatra mountains * alps * climate change * mountain forests * picea abies * radial growth * rree rings * trend preservation Subject RIV: GK - Forestry Impact factor: 1.842, year: 2016

Altitudinal and thermal gradients of hepatic Cyp1A gene expression in natural populations of Salmo trutta from high mountain lakes and their correlation with organohalogen loads

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jarque, Sergio; Gallego, Eva [Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Jordi Girona 18, 08034-Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain); Bartrons, Mireia; Catalan, Jordi [Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Acces Cala St. Francesc 14, 17300-Blanes, Catalonia (Spain); Grimalt, Joan O. [Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Jordi Girona 18, 08034-Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain); Pina, Benjamin, E-mail: bpcbmc@cid.csic.e [Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Jordi Girona 18, 08034-Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain)

2010-05-15

The biomarker of xenobiotic exposure cytochrome p450A1 (Cyp1A) was used to analyze the biological response to chemical pollution in Salmo trutta (brown trout) from nine high mountain European lakes in Norway, Tatras, Tyrol, and central Pyrenees. Hepatic Cyp1A mRNA levels correlated both with the reciprocal of absolute annual average air temperatures of the sampled lakes and with muscle concentrations of several hydrophobic organohalogen compounds (OC), including chlorinated polychlorobiphenyls (PCB), DDE, and DDT. The correlation between Cyp1A expression and OC content was observed across the whole temperature range (between -0.7 deg. C and +6.2 deg. C), but also in the absence of any thermal gradient. We concluded that airborne pollutants accumulate in high mountain lake fish at concentrations high enough to increase Cyp1A expression, among other possible effects. As geographical distribution of semi-volatile OC is strongly influenced by air temperatures, future climate modifications will potentially enhance their physiological effects in lake ecosystems. - Altitudinal gradients of hepatic Cyp1A gene expression in mountain trout correlate with geographic and individual organohalogen distribution.

An Analysis of Rural Household Livelihood Change and the Regional Effect in a Western Impoverished Mountainous Area of China

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Chuansheng Wang

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Taking Longnan, in the western Qinling Mountains region of Gansu province, China, as our study area, and using the Sixth National Population Census alongside household survey data, we analyze changes in household livelihoods, and consequent regional effects, following the instigation of the “Grain for Green” program in 1999. Our results show rural livelihood changes with respect to natural assets (e.g., reduction of arable land, planting structure changes, human assets (e.g., labor quality improvement, fluidity of population, financial assets (e.g., income channels widening, income increasing, physical assets (e.g., optimized production tools, and social assets (e.g., information network development, increased outreach opportunities. We suggest that increased household livelihoods play an important role in improving land space utilization efficiency, resource conservation and use, and the ecological environment. However, owing to the natural environment, there are also some problems, such as “hollows” in rural production and living spaces, as well as local environmental degradation. To address these issues, regions such as the western, mountainous, impoverished area of our study should establish a policy of using ecosystems, as well as agriculture, for development in order to improve household livelihoods, build an efficient spatial structure, and providing support for the creation of a resource-saving societal system.

Bankfull Curves for the Temperate Rainforests in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of Western North Carolina

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MICKEY B. HENSON

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Bankfull hydraulic geometry relationships, also called regional curves, relate bankfull stream channel dimensions and discharge to watershed drainage area. This paper describes results of bankfull curve relationships developed for the temperate rainforests of the Southern Appalachian Mountains primarily on Western North Carolina Mountain streams in the Southeastern United States. Gauge stations for small and larger catchments were selected with a range of 10 to 50 years of continuous or peak discharge measurements, no major impoundments, no significant change in land use over the past 10 years, and impervious cover ranges of <20%. Cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys were measured at each study reach to determine channel dimension, pattern, and profile information. Log-Pearson Type III distributions were used to analyze annual peak discharge data for nine small watersheds sites gauged by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA, Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory and for eleven larger watersheds gauged by the United States Geological Survey (USGS. Power function relationships were developed using regression analyses for bankfull discharge, channel cross-sectional area, mean depth, and width as functions of watershed drainage area.

Thirty year change in lodgepole and lodgepole/mixed conifer forest structure following 1980s mountain pine beetle outbreak in western Colorado, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Kristen A. Pelz; Frederick W. Smith

2012-01-01

Current mortality in lodgepole pine caused by mountain pine beetle (MPB) throughout much of western North America has resulted in concern about future forest structure. To better understand the long-term effects of the current mortality, and how it might differ depending on forest species composition, we measured forest vegetation and woody fuel accumulations...

An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants in western part of central Taurus Mountains: Aladaglar (Nigde - Turkey).

Science.gov (United States)

Özdemir, Ebru; Alpınar, Kerim

2015-05-26

With this study, we aimed to document traditional uses of medicinal plants in the western part of Aladaglar/Nigde. This study was conducted between 2003 and 2005. The research area was in the western part of the Aladaglar mountains. The settlements in Aladaglar (5 towns and 10 villages) were visited during the field work. The plants collected by the help of medicinal plant users. The plants were identified and voucher specimens prepared. These voucher specimens were kept at the Herbarium of Istanbul University Faculty of Pharmacy (ISTE). We collected the information by means of semi-structured interviews with 170 informants (90 men and 80 women). In addition, the relative importance value of the species was determined and the informant consensus factor (FIC) was calculated for the medicinal plants researched in the study. According to the results of the identification, among 126 plants were used by the inhabitants and 110 species belonging to 40 families were used for medicinal purposes. Most of the medicinal plants used in Aladaglar/Nigde belong to the families Lamiaceae (25 species), Asteraceae (16 species), Apiaceae (7 species), Fabaceae (6 species) and Brassicaceae (5 species). The most commonly used plant species were Hypericum perforatumThymus sipyleus var. sipyleus, Rosa canina, Urtica dioica, Malva neglecta, Thymus leucotrichus, Salix alba, Mentha longifolia, Berberis crataegina, Juniperus oxycedrus, Viscum album subsp. abietis, Allium rotundum and Taraxacum stevenii. The most common preparations were infusion and decoction. The traditional medicinal plants have been mostly used for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases (86%), hemorrhoids (79%), urinary diseases (69%), diabetes (68%) and respiratory diseases (61%). The use of traditional medicine was still widespread among the inhabitants of Aladaglar mountains/Nigde region. Due to the lack of medical facilities in the villages of Aladaglar mountains, local people prefer herbal treatment rather than

Corrigendum to "Decadal to millennial variations in water column parameters in pelagic marine environments of the Western Tethys (Carpathian realm) during Middle-Late Jurassic - Evidence from the radiolarian record" [Glob. Planet. Chang. 162 (2018) 148-162

Science.gov (United States)

Bąk, Marta; Bąk, Krzysztof; Michalik, Mariola

2018-04-01

The authors regret (Abstract. The causal link between changes in Middle-Late Jurassic radiolarian habitat group abundances, microfacies and water column conditions in the Western Tethys was studied based on the examination of siliceous limestones and cherts from the Tatra Mountains, Central Western Carpathians. Deposition occurred on a morphological high with incised pelagic sedimentation within a tropical zone. High-resolution quantitative analyses of millimetre-thick microlaminae show changes in microfacies constituents that most likely record the fluxes of nutrients and biological activity in superficial waters. Variability of radiolarian assemblages that are classified to represent (i) upwelling and (ii) stratified water taxa suggest successive changes in water conditions that fluctuated between periods of upwelling and periods of formation of a thick, stratified, warm superficial layer above a deep thermocline during middle Bajocian-late Oxfordian time. Such variations would be strongly influenced by ocean-atmosphere global circulation patterns, which are caused by pressure gradients and are the result of Walker circulation along the equatorial part of the Tethys and the Panthalassa Ocean, including the duration of El Niño-like and La Niña-like cycles, which affect sea surface temperature trends on decadal scales. The fluctuations in radiolarian assemblages in the sediments indicate that long-term palaeoceanographic changes occurred on multi-decadal to centennial-scales during the Bajocian, but lengthened in duration to millennial-scale during the Bathonian through the Oxfordian.)

Astronomical Site Survey for Mountain Wumingshan Area in Western Sichuan Based on GIS

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, N.; Liu, Y.; Zhao, H. M.

2016-11-01

In the Western-China Astronomical Site Survey project, we utilize the Geographic Information System (GIS) for the collection of long-term data, in order to investigate and study the Wumingshan (WMS) mountain and its surrounding areas for their geography, geology, climate, meteorology, social and demographic trends. Data analysis results show that the WMS mountain is located in the eastern fold belt of the Tibet Plateau--the typical region of the Hengduan Mountains, which leads to its large elevation, gently trended ridge, and stable geological structure. The highest altitude above the sea level at the WMS is more than 5000 m, but there are population settlements nearby with the low altitude of only 2000-3000 m, which are important for realizing low-level cost logistics conditions for the future headquarter or logistic base. Earthquake landslides and other geological disasters were rarely recorded. The other facts are such as the dry and clean atmosphere, the sparse vegetation, the semi-dry-state land, the perennial prevailing southwest wind, the rain-less winter, and the relatively short rainy-season summer, the location in the heartland of the large Shangri-La, no records of dust storms and the other inclement weather, low cloud coverage, the stability of wind direction, the small wind speed, the high possibility of clear sky, the far distance away from the developed areas in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, and Tibet Autonomous Region, the sparsely populated people, the slowly developed economy, the peaceful and stable social environment, etc. Specially, in recent years, with the development of the local tourist resources, the traffic conditions in Daocheng have been significantly improved. With high quality highway maintenance and daily air transport capacity, the transportation of land and aviation is rarely interrupted due to snowing, which often happens in high plateau regions. Therefore, the WMS area possesses the potential conditions to establish the future

Recent population trends of mountain goats in the Olympic Mountains, Washington

Science.gov (United States)

Jenkins, Kurt J.; Happe, Patricia J.; Beirne, Katherine F.; Hoffman, Roger A.; Griffin, Paul C.; Baccus, William T.; Fieberg, John

2012-01-01

Mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) were introduced in Washington's Olympic Mountains during the 1920s. The population subsequently increased in numbers and expanded in range, leading to concerns by the 1970s over the potential effects of non-native mountain goats on high-elevation plant communities in Olympic National Park. The National Park Service (NPS) transplanted mountain goats from the Olympic Mountains to other ranges between 1981 and 1989 as a means to manage overabundant populations, and began monitoring population trends of mountain goats in 1983. We estimated population abundance of mountain goats during 18–25 July 2011, the sixth survey of the time series, to assess current population status and responses of the population to past management. We surveyed 39 sample units, comprising 39% of the 59,615-ha survey area. We estimated a population of 344 ± 72 (90% confidence interval [CI]) mountain goats in the survey area. Retrospective analysis of the 2004 survey, accounting for differences in survey area boundaries and methods of estimating aerial detection biases, indicated that the population increased at an average annual rate of 4.9% since the last survey. That is the first population growth observed since the cessation of population control measures in 1990. We postulate that differences in population trends observed in western, eastern, and southern sections of the survey zone reflected, in part, a variable influence of climate change across the precipitation gradient in the Olympic Mountains.

Assessing recovery from acidification of European surface waters in the year 2010: Evaluation of projections made with the MAGIC model in 1995

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Helliwell, R. C.; Wright, R. F.; Jackson-Blake, L.A.; Ferrier, R. C.; Aherne, J.; Cosby, B. J.; Evans, C. D.; Forsius, M.; Hruška, J.; Jenkins, A.; Krám, P.; Kopáček, Jiří; Majer, V.; Moldan, F.; Posch, M.; Potts, J. M.; Rogora, M.; Schöpp, W.

2014-01-01

Roč. 48, č. 22 (2014), s. 13280-13288 ISSN 0013-936X Grant - others:EC(XE) RECOVER:2010 EVK1-CT-1999-00018 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : atmospheric acidification * sulphur * nitrogen * Tatra Mountains Subject RIV: DJ - Water Pollution ; Quality Impact factor: 5.330, year : 2014

Discussing the Future of U. S. Western Mountains, Climate Change, and Ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Henry F. Diaz; Constance I. Millar

2004-01-01

Mountain regions are uniquely sensitive to changes in climate, and are especially vulnerable to climate effects acting on many biotic systems and the physical settings. Because mountain regions serve as sources of needed natural resources (e.g.,water, forests) and as foundations for desired human activities (e.g., tourism, places to live),changes in mountain systems...

Investigation of the potential of fogwater harvesting in the Western Mountainous parts of the Yemen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noman, A.A.; Al-Jailani, J.

2007-01-01

The Republic of Yemen is located in an arid to semi-arid region. Rainfall rates range from none at certain parts of the country to about 400 mm/yr in its mountainous parts. Rainfall has been harvested and collected in cisterns existed in the mountainous region for generations. In the dry season (October-February) and after the stored water is consumed, people mainly women and children have to travel long distances down wadis to fetch water from the nearest water source which is often not suitable for human consumption. This is the case in the western mountainous region, namely Hajja Governorate, which heavily depends on rain water for drinking, animal watering, domestic uses and irrigation. However, during the dry season this region experiences foggy conditions. This has prompted conducting a fog collection field study in this region to investigate the potential of providing an alternative source for water supply during the dry season. The study consisted of installing 26 standard fog collectors (SFC) of one m2 of polypropylene mesh at 19 sites in Hajja and measuring the daily fog water amounts collected during the period from 1 January to 31 March, 2003. The results indicated that fog collectors located closest to the red sea with an elevation ranged between 2000-2200 meters above sea level and winds from the west direction have produced the highest water output, reaching a maximum of about 4.5 liters per square meter of mesh per day over the three winter months period. The conclusion drawn is that though this technique is cheap, simple and promising, more investigations are still needed on the various parameters contributing to fog collection, such as, relative humidity, temperature and SFCs technologies. (author)

The Rocky Mountain population of the western Canada goose: its distribution, habitats, and management

Science.gov (United States)

Krohn, William B.; Bizeau, Elwood G.

1980-01-01

The western Canada goose (Branta canadensis moffitti) was divided into a Rocky Mountain population (RMP) and a Pacific population (PP) on the basis of band recovery patterns examined in this study and recovery data from other investigators. Habitat information obtained from nine cooperating wildlife agencies within the RMP's range provided a base line for evaluating future changes in nesting, molting, and wintering areas. The habitat inventory indicated that none of the seasonal habitats were currently limiting the size of the RMP. The RMP's range is divided into 15 reference areas and these are briefly described. Past studies of Canada geese in the Intermountain Region are reviewed. Topics covered in the discussion of breeding biology are nesting chronology, spring population composition, breeding age, clutch size, nesting success. artificial nesting structures, and gosling survival. Much of the mortality of Canada geese occurs before the birds are fledged. Man-made nesting structures reduce losses during incubation. but research is needed on the relations between brooding sites and gosling survival. Some western Canada geese, mainly prebreeders and unsuccessful nesters, make molt migrations to and from molting areas during and after the brood-rearing season. More than half of these molt-migrants are yearlings too young to nest; there are indications that even some successful nesters leave nesting areas to molt before the fledging of their offspring. Geese 2 years old or older may serve as guides to traditional molting areas for the first-time migrants (i.e., yearlings). Lack of disturbance appears to influence selection of specific molting areas within the nesting range of moffitti, whereas movements of molters out of the Intermountain Region may be related to the evolution of this subspecies. Apparently. molters of both the PP and RMP that leave the Region go to the Northwest Territories of Canada. Although the taxonomic status of moffitti as related to the

The Evaluation of Disturbed Grassland After the Ecological Restoration and Phytoremediation in the Low Tatras National Park

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ján Novák

2016-01-01

Full Text Available At present the grasslands in the conservation areas are often degraded folowing the abandonment of the pasture and it is necessary to restore them. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the grasslands after the ecological restoration and phytoremediation by different methods. In 2004 the experiment was established on degraded sites at locality Low Tatras National Park (1 126 m a.s.l. with three treatments (U – unmanaged control, C – managed by cutting, CS – managed by seeding and cutting. In 2013 on C treatment we noticed the increase of the number of species (threefold, the increase of the coverage of plants (twofold and also the significant increase of the species diversity in comparison with the year 2004. On CS treatment the species diversity has decreased slightly but the forage value has increased more than twofold since 2004. U treatment has remained without changes. The results show the method of seeding the autochthonous species is highly appropriate to increase the forage value of grassland. Spearman correlations between environmental factors (p ≤ 0.05 prove the effect of treatment on the amount of P-soil, P-fyt, K-soil and K-fyt, which show strong negative correlation with the time. On the other hand number of species and EGQ (The evaluation of the grassland qualitycorrelate with time positively (p ≤ 0.05. The restoration by the mowing is recommended on sites, where the increase of diversity is important. Legumes, C, grasses, K-soil, EGQ, number of species, P-soil, time, dry matter hit the variability of the species significantly (to 96.80% of the total variability. The strongest effect on the overall variability of species had legumes, which is 61% of the total variability. Cutting explain 26% of the variability. The soil in the Low Tatras National Park was recovered to the original state through the reduction of soil nutrient – phytoremediation.

Multiscale perspectives of fire, climate and humans in western North America and the Jemez Mountains, USA.

Science.gov (United States)

Swetnam, Thomas W; Farella, Joshua; Roos, Christopher I; Liebmann, Matthew J; Falk, Donald A; Allen, Craig D

2016-06-05

Interannual climate variations have been important drivers of wildfire occurrence in ponderosa pine forests across western North America for at least 400 years, but at finer scales of mountain ranges and landscapes human land uses sometimes over-rode climate influences. We reconstruct and analyse effects of high human population densities in forests of the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico from ca 1300 CE to Present. Prior to the 1680 Pueblo Revolt, human land uses reduced the occurrence of widespread fires while simultaneously adding more ignitions resulting in many small-extent fires. During the 18th and 19th centuries, wet/dry oscillations and their effects on fuels dynamics controlled widespread fire occurrence. In the late 19th century, intensive livestock grazing disrupted fuels continuity and fire spread and then active fire suppression maintained the absence of widespread surface fires during most of the 20th century. The abundance and continuity of fuels is the most important controlling variable in fire regimes of these semi-arid forests. Reduction of widespread fires owing to reduction of fuel continuity emerges as a hallmark of extensive human impacts on past forests and fire regimes.This article is part of the themed issue 'The interaction of fire and mankind'. © 2016 The Authors.

Annosus Root disease of Western Conifers (FIDL)

Science.gov (United States)

Craig L. Schmitt; John R. Parmeter; John T. Kliejunas

2000-01-01

Annosus root disease is found on all western conifer species but is of most concern on true firs, hemlocks, and pines. Incense cedar, coast redwood and sequoia are sometimes infected in California. Western juniper is infected throughout its range. Annosus is common and causes extensive decay in old-growth western and mountain hemlock stands. Many mixed conifer stands...

Stratigraphic and structural framework of Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spengler, R.W.; Fox, K.F. Jr.

1988-01-01

Yucca Mountain is located within the southwestern Nevada volcanic field, ∼140 km northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 50 km northeast of Death Valley, California. The mountain consist of a series of long, linear, north-trending volcanic ridges that approach an 1800-m maximum elevation near The Prow. The broad intermontane alluviated valleys of Crater Flat, the Amargosa Desert, and Jackass Flats, averaging 800 to 1100 m in elevation, form the western, southern, and eastern margins of Yucca Mountain, respectively. North of The Prow, Yucca Mountain merges with other volcanic highlands that flank the southern rim of the Timber Mountain-Oasis Valley caldera complex. The stratigraphy and structure of the area are discussed. Future geologic studies will attempt to determine if faults extend beneath Yucca Mountain, and, if present, their potential effects on the hydrologic and tectonic regimes

Impact of ecological and social factors on ranging in western gorillas.

Science.gov (United States)

Doran-Sheehy, Diane M; Greer, David; Mongo, Patrice; Schwindt, Dylan

2004-10-01

We examined the influence of ecological (diet, swamp use, and rainfall) and social (intergroup interaction rate) factors on ranging behavior in one group of western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) during a 16-month study. Relative to mountain gorillas, western gorillas live in habitats with reduced herb densities, more readily available fruit (from seasonal and rare fruit trees), and, at some sites, localized large open clearings (swamps and "bais"). Ranging behavior reflects these ecological differences. The daily path length (DPL) of western gorillas was longer (mean=2,014 m) than that of mountain gorillas, and was largely related to fruit acquisition. Swamp use occurred frequently (27% of days) and incurred a 50% increase in DPL, and 77% of the variation in monthly frequency of swamp use was explained by ripe fruit availability within the swamp, and not by the absence of resources outside the swamp. The annual home-range size was 15.4 km2. The western gorilla group foraged in larger areas each month, and reused them more frequently and consistently through time compared to mountain gorillas. In contrast to mountain gorillas, intergroup encounters occurred at least four times more frequently, were usually calm rather than aggressive, and had no consistent effect on DPL or monthly range size for one group of western gorillas. High genetic relatedness among at least some neighboring males [Bradley et al., Current Biology, in press] may help to explain these results, and raises intriguing questions about western gorilla social relationships.

Dendrochronology as a source of data for landslide activity maps – an example from Beskid Żywiecki Mountains (Western Carpathians, Poland

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Łuszczyńska Katarzyna

2017-09-01

Full Text Available We applied dendrochronological methods for dating landslide activity in the study area (3.75 km2, on the slopes of Sucha Mountain (1040 m a.s.l., in the Beskid Żywiecki Mountains, in the Western Carpathians. 46 sampling sites were distributed throughout the study area. At each site we sampled 1-3 coniferous trees: Norway spruces (Picea abies Karst. and/or silver firs (Abies alba Mill.. From each tree 2 cores were sampled: one from the upslope and the other from the downslope side of the stem. Based on tree-ring widths measured for opposite sides of stems we have calculated eccentricity index values and dated past landslide events. Mean frequency of landslides was obtained for each sampling site. Finally, the data was interpolated into a map of landslide activity. Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW interpolation has been applied. For most of the study area we found medium (19 sites and low (23 sites levels of landslide activity. The highest level of activity was recorded for the largest landslide slope and for the one small landslide. The study conducted on Sucha Mountain has shown that dendrochronology can be an effective method for analysing landslide activity and may be useful in further studies, including those for landslide hazard and risk assessments.

Concentrations of mineral aerosol from desert to plains across the central Rocky Mountains, western United States

Science.gov (United States)

Reynolds, Richard L.; Munson, Seth M.; Fernandez, Daniel; Goldstein, Harland L.; Neff, Jason C.

2016-01-01

Mineral dusts can have profound effects on climate, clouds, ecosystem processes, and human health. Because regional dust emission and deposition in western North America are not well understood, measurements of total suspended particulate (TSP) from 2011 to 2013 were made along a 500-km transect of five remote sites in Utah and Colorado, USA. The TSP concentrations in μg m−3 adjusted to a 24-h period were relatively high at the two westernmost, dryland sites at Canyonlands National Park (mean = 135) and at Mesa Verde National Park (mean = 99), as well as at the easternmost site on the Great Plains (mean = 143). The TSP concentrations at the two intervening montane sites were less, with more loading on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains (Telluride, mean = 68) closest to the desert sites compared with the site on the eastern slope (Niwot Ridge, mean = 58). Dust concentrations were commonly highest during late winter-late spring, when Pacific frontal storms are the dominant causes of regional wind. Low concentrations (10), as revealed by relatively low average daily concentrations of fine (<5 μg m−3; PM2.5) and coarse (<10 μg m−3; PM2.5–10) fractions monitored at or near four sites. Standard air-quality measurements for PM2.5 and PM10 apparently do not capture the large majority of mineral-particulate pollution in the remote western interior U.S.

A vegetation description and floristic analyses of the springs on the Kammanassie Mountain, Western Cape

OpenAIRE

G. Cleaver; L.R. Brown; G.J. Bredenkamp

2004-01-01

The Kammanassie Mountain is a declared mountain catchment area and a Cape mountain zebra Equus zebra zebra population is preserved on the mountain. The high number of springs on the mountain not only provides water for the animal species but also contributes to overall ecosystem functioning. Long-term conservation of viable ecosystems requires a broader understanding of the ecological processes involved. It was therefore decided that a classification, description and mapping of the spring veg...

Mountain building in the central Andes

Science.gov (United States)

Kono, Masaru; Fukao, Yoshio; Yamamoto, Akihiko

1989-04-01

The Central Andes is the middle part of the Andean chain between about 13°S and 27°S, characterized by the parallel running high mountain chains (the Western and Eastern Cordilleras) at the edges of high plateaus with a height of about 4000 m and a width of 200 to 450 km (the Altiplano-Puna). From the examination of geophysical and geological data in this area, including earthquakes, deformation, gravity anomaly, volcanism, uplift history, and plate motion, we conclude that the continued plate subduction with domination of compressive stress over the entire arc system is the main cause of the tectonic style of the Central Andes. We propose that the present cycle of mountain building has continued in the Cenozoic with the most active phase since the Miocene, and that the present subduction angle (30°) is not typical in that period but that subduction with more shallowly dipping oceanic lithosphere has prevailed at least since the Miocene, because of the young and buoyant slab involved. This situation is responsible for the production of a broad zone of partial melt in the mantle above the descending slab. Addition of volcanic materials was not restricted to the western edge (where active volcanoes of the Western Cordillera exist) but extended to the western and central portion of the Altiplano-Puna. The western half of the Central Andes is essentially isostatic because the heat transferred with the volcanic activities softened the crust there. In the eastern edge, the thermal effect is small, and the crust is strongly pushed by the westward moving South American plate. This caused the shortening of crustal blocks due to reverse faulting and folding in the Eastern Cordillera and Amazonian foreland. The magmatism and crustal accretion are dominant at the western end of the mountain system and decrease eastward, while the compression and consequent crustal shortening are strongest at the eastern end and wane toward west. These two processes are superposed between

Ensemble estimates reveal a complex hydroclimatic sensitivity of pine growth at Carpathian cliff sites

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Büntgen, U.; Kaczka, R. J.; Trnka, Miroslav; Rigling, A.

2012-01-01

Roč. 160, July 2012 (2012), s. 100-109 ISSN 0168-1923 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) ED1.1.00/02.0073; GA MŠk(CZ) EE2.4.31.0056 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : climate variability * dendroclimatology * dendroecology * drought * Tatra Mountains * Tree rings Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 3.421, year: 2012

Climate change increasing calcium and magnesium leaching from granitic alpine catchments

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kopáček, Jiří; Kaňa, Jiří; Bičárová, S.; Fernandez, I.J.; Hejzlar, Josef; Kahounová, M.; Norton, S. A.; Stuchlík, Evžen

2017-01-01

Roč. 51, č. 1 (2017), s. 159-166 ISSN 0013-936X R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-09231S Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : chemical-weathering rates * tatra mountain lakes * water chemistry * acid deposition * surface-water Subject RIV: DJ - Water Pollution ; Quality OBOR OECD: Water resources Impact factor: 6.198, year: 2016

Potentials for development of spa tourism in region of Cer Mountain: Western Serbia

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Grčić Mirko

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Because of their particularities, thermal and mineral springs at the foothill of Cer Mountain deserve special analysis. This is the reason we wrote this article, aiming to take reader's attention to the touristic potentials of the spa zone of Cer Mountain and possibilities for its perspective development. From the medical and excursion-recreational tourism point of view, there is a possibility for combining the spa tourism with the complementary values of Cer Mountain.

Gridded rainfall estimation for distributed modeling in western mountainous areas

Science.gov (United States)

Moreda, F.; Cong, S.; Schaake, J.; Smith, M.

2006-05-01

Estimation of precipitation in mountainous areas continues to be problematic. It is well known that radar-based methods are limited due to beam blockage. In these areas, in order to run a distributed model that accounts for spatially variable precipitation, we have generated hourly gridded rainfall estimates from gauge observations. These estimates will be used as basic data sets to support the second phase of the NWS-sponsored Distributed Hydrologic Model Intercomparison Project (DMIP 2). One of the major foci of DMIP 2 is to better understand the modeling and data issues in western mountainous areas in order to provide better water resources products and services to the Nation. We derive precipitation estimates using three data sources for the period of 1987-2002: 1) hourly cooperative observer (coop) gauges, 2) daily total coop gauges and 3) SNOw pack TELemetry (SNOTEL) daily gauges. The daily values are disaggregated using the hourly gauge values and then interpolated to approximately 4km grids using an inverse-distance method. Following this, the estimates are adjusted to match monthly mean values from the Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM). Several analyses are performed to evaluate the gridded estimates for DMIP 2 experiments. These gridded inputs are used to generate mean areal precipitation (MAPX) time series for comparison to the traditional mean areal precipitation (MAP) time series derived by the NWS' California-Nevada River Forecast Center for model calibration. We use two of the DMIP 2 basins in California and Nevada: the North Fork of the American River (catchment area 885 sq. km) and the East Fork of the Carson River (catchment area 922 sq. km) as test areas. The basins are sub-divided into elevation zones. The North Fork American basin is divided into two zones above and below an elevation threshold. Likewise, the Carson River basin is subdivided in to four zones. For each zone, the analyses include: a) overall

Small fishes crossed a large mountain range: Quaternary stream capture events and freshwater fishes on both sides of the Taebaek Mountains.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Daemin; Hirt, M Vincent; Won, Yong-Jin; Simons, Andrew M

2017-07-01

The Taebaek Mountains in Korea serve as the most apparent biogeographic barrier for Korean freshwater fishes, resulting in 2 distinct ichthyofaunal assemblages on the eastern (East/Japan Sea slope) and western (Yellow Sea and Korea Strait slopes) sides of the mountain range. Of nearly 100 species of native primary freshwater fishes in Korea, only 18 species occur naturally on both sides of the mountain range. Interestingly, there are 5 rheophilic species (Phoxinus phoxinus, Coreoleuciscus splendidus, Ladislavia taczanowskii, Iksookimia koreensis and Koreocobitis rotundicaudata) found on both sides of the Taebaek Mountains that are geographically restricted to the Osip River (and several neighboring rivers, for L. taczanowskii and I. koreensis) on the eastern side of the mountain range. The Osip River and its neighboring rivers also shared a rheophilic freshwater fish, Liobagrus mediadiposalis, with the Nakdong River on the western side of the mountain range. We assessed historical biogeographic hypotheses on the presence of these rheophilic fishes, utilizing DNA sequence data from the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Results of our divergence time estimation indicate that ichthyofaunal transfers into the Osip River (and several neighboring rivers in East Sea slope) have occurred from the Han (Yellow Sea slope) and Nakdong (Korea Strait slope) Rivers since the Late Pleistocene. The inferred divergence times for the ichthyofaunal transfer across the Taebaek Mountains were consistent with the timing of hypothesized multiple reactivations of the Osip River Fault (Late Pleistocene), suggesting that the Osip River Fault reactivations may have caused stream capture events, followed by ichthyofaunal transfer, not only between the Osip and Nakdong Rivers, but also between the Osip and Han Rivers. © 2016 International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Analysis of hepatic deiodinase 2 mRNA levels in natural fish lake populations exposed to different levels of putative thyroid disrupters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jarque, Sergio; Bosch, Carme; Casado, Marta; Grimalt, Joan O.; Raldúa, Demetrio; Piña, Benjamin

2014-01-01

Hepatic mRNA levels of the dio2 gene (deiodinase 2), implicated in thyroid hormone homeostasis, were analyzed in trout from six remote lakes in the Pyrenees (Spain) and the Tatra Mountains (Slovakia). Highest levels corresponded to fish from the two coldest lakes in Pyrenees, whereas relatively low levels were found in the Tatra lakes. These values correlated with the presence of highly-brominated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) congeners in the muscle of the same animals, reflecting the distribution of these compounds across European mountain ranges. In contrast, cyp1a expression levels, diagnostic for the presence of dioxin-like pollutants, mirrored the distribution of semi-volatile organochlorine compounds, indicating the specificity of the two types of biological responses. Exposure to PDBEs is known to increase transcription of dio2 and other thyroid-related genes in laboratory experiments; we propose that our data reflects the same phenomenon in natural populations, driven by anthropogenic pollutants at the environmental concentrations. - Highlights: • Hepatic deiodinase 2 (dio2) mRNA levels vary among mountain lake trout populations. • High dio2 expression correlated with elevated levels of PBDE 153 and 154 in muscle. • Expression patterns of dio2 and cyp1a diverge among the same fish populations. • Elevated biological responses associated to high loads of specific pollutants. • These data indicate that thyroid disruption may occur in remote ecosystems. - Deionidase dio2 expression as a marker for exposure to putative thyroid disruptors in mountain lake trout

Fog water collection and reforestation at mountain locations in a western Mediterranean basin region

Science.gov (United States)

Valiente, Ja; Estrela, Mj; Corell, D.; Fuentes, D.; Valdecantos, A.

2010-07-01

Previous studies carried out by the authors have shown the potential of fog water collection at several mountain locations in the Valencia region (western Mediterranean basin). This coastal region features typical conditions for a dry Mediterranean climate characterized by a pluviometric regime ranging from 400 to 600 mm with a strong annual dependence. Dry conditions together with land degradation that frequently results after recurrent fires occurred in the past make a difficult self-recovery for native forest vegetation so that some kind of human intervention is always recommended. In plots reforested with Mediterranean woody species, periods of more than 120 days without significant precipitation (>5 mm) result in mortality rates above 80% during the first summer in the field. The good potential of fog-water collection at certain mountain locations is considered in this study as an easily available water resource for the reforestation of remote areas where native vegetation cannot be reestablished by itself. A large flat panel made of UV-resistant HD-polyethylene monofilament mesh was deployed at a mountain location for bulk fog water harvesting. Water was stored in high-capacity tanks for the whole length of the experimental campaign and small timely water pulses localized deep in the planting holes were conducted during the summer dry periods. Survival rates and seedling performance of two forest tree species, Pinus pinaster and Quercus ilex, were quantified and correlated to irrigation pulses in a reforestation plot that took an area of about 2500 m2 and contained 620 1-year-old plants. Before and concurrently to the flat panel deployment, a passive omnidirectional fog-water collector of cylindrical shape was set in the area in combination to other environmental instruments such as a rain gauge, a wind direction and velocity sensor and a temperature and humidity probe. Proper orientation of the large flat panel was possible once the direction of local winds

Potential field studies of the central San Luis Basin and San Juan Mountains, Colorado and New Mexico, and southern and western Afghanistan

Science.gov (United States)

Drenth, Benjamin John

This dissertation includes three separate chapters, each demonstrating the interpretive utility of potential field (gravity and magnetic) geophysical datasets at various scales and in various geologic environments. The locations of these studies are the central San Luis Basin of Colorado and New Mexico, the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado, and southern and western Afghanistan. The San Luis Basin is the northernmost of the major basins that make up the Rio Grande rift, and interpretation of gravity and aeromagnetic data reveals patterns of rifting, rift-sediment thicknesses, distribution of pre-rift volcanic and sedimentary rocks, and distribution of syn-rift volcanic rocks. Syn-rift Santa Fe Group sediments have a maximum thickness of ˜2 km in the Sanchez graben near the eastern margin of the basin along the central Sangre de Cristo fault zone. Under the Costilla Plains, thickness of these sediments is estimated to reach ˜1.3 km. The Santa Fe Group sediments also reach a thickness of nearly 1 km within the Monte Vista graben near the western basin margin along the San Juan Mountains. A narrow, north-south-trending structural high beneath San Pedro Mesa separates the graben from the structural depression beneath the Costilla Plains. Aeromagnetic anomalies are interpreted to mainly reflect variations of remanent magnetic polarity and burial depth of the 5.3-3.7 Ma Servilleta basalt of the Taos Plateau volcanic field. Magnetic-source depth estimates indicate patterns of subsidence following eruption of the basalt and show that the Sanchez graben has been the site of maximum subsidence. One of the largest and most pronounced gravity lows in North America lies over the rugged San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado. A buried, low-density silicic batholith related to an Oligocene volcanic field coincident with the San Juan Mountains has been the accepted interpretation of the source of the gravity low since the 1970s. However, this interpretation was

Preliminary report on the geology and gold mineralization of the South Pass granite-greenstone terrain, Wind River Mountains, western Wyoming (US)

Science.gov (United States)

Hausel, W. D.

1986-01-01

The South Pass granite-greenstone terrain lies near the southern tip of the Wind River Mountains of western Wyoming. This Archean supracrustal pile has been Wyoming's most prolific source of gold and iron ore. From 1962 to 1983, more than 90 million tons of iron ore were recovered from oxide-facies banded iron formation, and an estimated 325,000 ounces of gold were mined from metagreywacke-hosted shears and associated placers. Precambrian rocks at South Pass are unconformably overlain by Paleozoic sediments along the northeast flank, and a Tertiary pediment buries Archean supracrustals on the west and south. To the northwest, the supracrustals terminate against granodiorite of the Louis Lake batholith; to the east, the supracrustals terminate against granite of the Granite Mountains batholith. The Louis Lake granodiorite is approximately 2,630 + or - 20 m.y. old, and the Granite Mountains granite averages 2,600 m.y. old. The geometry of the greenstone belt is best expressed as a synform that has been modified by complex faulting and folding. Metamorphism is amphibolite grade surrounding a small island of greenschist facies rocks. The younger of the Archean supracrustal successions is the Miners Delight Formation. This unit yielded a Rb-Sr isochron of 2,800 m.y. A sample of galena from the Snowbird Mine within the Miners Delight Formation yielded a model age averaging 2,750 m.y. The Snowbird mineralization appears to be syngenetic and is hosted by metavolcanics of calc-alkaline affinity. Discussion follows.

Composition and biogeography of forest patches on the inland mountains of the southern Cape

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Geldenhuys, CJ

1997-05-01

Full Text Available Patterns in species richness of 23 small, isolated forests on the inland mountains of the southern Cape were studied. Species richness of woody plants and vines of the Kouga-Baviaanskloof Forests was higher than in the western mountain complexes...

Reconnaissance geologic map of the Dubakella Mountain 15 quadrangle, Trinity, Shasta, and Tehama Counties, California

Science.gov (United States)

Irwin, William P.; Yule, J. Douglas; Court, Bradford L.; Snoke, Arthur W.; Stern, Laura A.; Copeland, William B.

2011-01-01

The Dubakella Mountain 15' quadrangle is located just south of the Hayfork quadrangle and just east of the Pickett Peak quadrangle. It spans a sequence of four northwest-trending tectonostratigraphic terranes of the Klamath Mountains geologic province that includes, from east to west, the Eastern Hayfork, Western Hayfork, Rattlesnake Creek, and Western Jurassic terranes, as well as, in the southwest corner of the quadrangle, part of a fifth terrane, the Pickett Peak terrane of the Coast Ranges geologic province. The Eastern Hayfork terrane is a broken formation and melange of volcanic and sedimentary rocks that include blocks of limestone and chert. The limestone contains late Permian microfossils of Tethyan faunal affinity. The chert contains radiolarians of Mesozoic age, mostly Triassic, but none clearly Jurassic. The Western Hayfork terrane is an andesitic volcanic arc that consists mainly of agglomerate, tuff, argillite, and chert, and includes the Wildwood pluton. That pluton is related to the Middle Jurassic (about 170 Ma) Ironside Mountain batholith that is widely exposed farther north beyond the Dubakella Mountain quadrangle. The Rattlesnake Creek terrane is a highly disrupted ophiolitic melange of probable Late Triassic or Early Jurassic age. Although mainly ophiolitic, the melange includes blocks of plutonic rocks (about 200 Ma) of uncertain genetic relation. Some scattered areas of well-bedded mildly slaty detrital rocks of the melange appear similar to Galice Formation (unit Jg) and may be inliers of the nearby Western Jurassic terrane. The Western Jurassic terrane consists mainly of slaty to phyllitic argillite, graywacke, and stretched-pebble conglomerate and is correlative with the Late Jurassic Galice Formation of southwestern Oregon. The Pickett Peak terrane, the most westerly of the succession of terranes of the Dubakella Mountain quadrangle, is mostly fine-grained schist that includes the blueschist facies mineral lawsonite and is of Early

Contrasting development of declining and living larch-spruce stands after a disturbance event: A case study from the High Tatra Mts.

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Šebeň Vladimír

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The decline of spruce stands caused by bark beetle outbreaks is a serious economic and ecological problem of forestry in Slovakia. In the preceding period, the decline affected mainly secondary spruce forests. Over the last decade, due to large bark-beetle outbreaks this problem has been observed also in natural spruce forests, even at high elevations. We dealt with this issue in a case study of short-term development of larch-spruce stands in the High Tatras (at a site called Štart. We compared the situation in the stand infested by bark beetles several years after the wind-throw in 2004 with the stand unaffected by bark beetles. We separately analysed the development of the mature (parent stands and the regeneration. The results indicated that forest decline caused by bark beetles significantly depended on the stand structure (mainly tree species composition, which affected the period of stand disintegration. Mortality of spruce trees slowed down biomass accumulation (and thus carbon sequestration in the forest ecosystem. In the new stand, pioneer tree species dominated (in the conditions of the High Tatras it is primarily rowan, although their share in the parent stand was negligible. The results showed different trends in the accumulation of below-ground and above-ground biomass in the declined and living stands. In the first years after the stand decline, rowan accumulated significantly more biomass than the main tree species, i.e. spruce. The reverse situation was under the surviving stand, where spruce trees accumulated more biomass than rowan. The different share of spruce and pioneer tree species, mainly rowan, affected the ratio between fixed (in woody parts of trees and rotating (in foliage carbon in the undergrowth. Forest die-back is a big source of carbon emissions from dead individuals, and the compensation of these losses in the form of carbon sequestration by future stands is a matter of several decades.

Variability of morphological needle traits of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L. among populations from mountain and lowland regions of Poland

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Łabiszak Bartosz

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The main goal of this work was to examine interpopulational needle traits variability of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L. from four mountain, one foothill and three lowland, natural populations located in Poland. This choice of locations was motivated by the presumed different origins of mountainous populations and the necessity to demonstrate how closely they are related to lowland populations. Variation in the studied populations was determined using seven morphological traits of needles: 1 - needle length, 2 - number of stomatal rows on the flat side of a needle, 3 - number of stomata per 2 mm of needle length on the flat side, 4 - number of stomatal rows on the convex side of a needle, 5 - number of stomata per 2 mm of needle length on the convex side, 6 - number of serrations per 2 mm of the needle length on the left side and 7 - number of serrations per 2 mm of the needle length on the right side. Biometric data were analysed statistically, and it was found that (i needle traits differentiate studied populations; (ii the postulated division of the population into two groups is reflected in the obtained results; and (iii a particularly strong relationship was found between two relict pine populations from the Pieniny (Sokolica, Kazalnica, Czertezik and Tatra Mts. (Wielke Koryciska, which may be the result of the common origins and history of these two populations

DETERMINATION OF CHARACTERISTICS MAXIMAL RUNOFF MOUNTAIN RIVERS IN CRIMEA

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V. A. Ovcharuk

2016-05-01

Full Text Available This article has been examined maximum runoff of the rivers of theCrimeanMountains. The rivers flow through the western and eastern part of the northern slope Crimean Mountains, and on its southern coast. The largest of them: Belbek, Alma, Salgir, Su-Indol and others. To characterize the maximum runoff of rain floods (the layers of rain floods and maximum discharge of water on the rivers of the Crimean Mountains were used materials of observations for long-term period (from the beginning of observations to 2010 inclusive on 54 of streamflow station with using a the so-called «operator» model for maximum runoff formation.

A sightability model for mountain goats

Science.gov (United States)

Rice, C.G.; Jenkins, K.J.; Chang, W.-Y.

2009-01-01

Unbiased estimates of mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) populations are key to meeting diverse harvest management and conservation objectives. We developed logistic regression models of factors influencing sightability of mountain goat groups during helicopter surveys throughout the Cascades and Olympic Ranges in western Washington during summers, 20042007. We conducted 205 trials of the ability of aerial survey crews to detect groups of mountain goats whose presence was known based on simultaneous direct observation from the ground (n 84), Global Positioning System (GPS) telemetry (n 115), or both (n 6). Aerial survey crews detected 77 and 79 of all groups known to be present based on ground observers and GPS collars, respectively. The best models indicated that sightability of mountain goat groups was a function of the number of mountain goats in a group, presence of terrain obstruction, and extent of overstory vegetation. Aerial counts of mountain goats within groups did not differ greatly from known group sizes, indicating that under-counting bias within detected groups of mountain goats was small. We applied HorvitzThompson-like sightability adjustments to 1,139 groups of mountain goats observed in the Cascade and Olympic ranges, Washington, USA, from 2004 to 2007. Estimated mean sightability of individual animals was 85 but ranged 0.750.91 in areas with low and high sightability, respectively. Simulations of mountain goat surveys indicated that precision of population estimates adjusted for sightability biases increased with population size and number of replicate surveys, providing general guidance for the design of future surveys. Because survey conditions, group sizes, and habitat occupied by goats vary among surveys, we recommend using sightability correction methods to decrease bias in population estimates from aerial surveys of mountain goats.

A Chronologic Dual-Hemisphere Approach to the Last Glacial Termination from the Southern Alps of New Zealand and the Altai Mountains of Western Mongolia

Science.gov (United States)

Strand, P.; Putnam, A. E.; Schaefer, J. M.; Denton, G.; Barrell, D.; Putnam, D.; Schwartz, R.; Sambuu, O.; Radue, M. J.; Lindsay, B. J.; Stevens, J.

2017-12-01

Understanding the processes that drove the last glacial termination in the tropics and mid-latitudes is a major unresolved problem in paleoclimate. The most recent glacial to interglacial transition represents the last great global warming and the last time CO2 rose by a substantial amount before the industrial period. Determining the speed of this warming will help refine the global climate system sensitivity to CO2 and will place ongoing global warming into a paleoclimatic context. Here, we test possible drivers of the last glacial termination by comparing chronologies of mountain glaciers, which are highly sensitive to changes in atmospheric temperature, in the middle latitudes of both polar hemispheres. The dating of glacier landforms, such as moraine ridges constructed along glacier margins, affords quantitative insight into past climate conditions. We present 10Be surface-exposure chronologies and glacial geomorphologic maps of mountain glacier recession since the Last Glacial Maximum in the Southern Alps of New Zealand (44°S, 170°E) and in the Altai Mountains of western Mongolia (49°N, 88°E). On the basis of these chronologies from opposing hemispheres, we evaluate the relative roles of rising atmospheric CO2, local insolation forcing, and ocean-atmosphere reorganizations in driving the global warming that ended the last ice age.

Separating Trends in Whitebark Pine Radial Growth Related to Climate and Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreaks in the Northern Rocky Mountains, USA

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Saskia L. van de Gevel

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Drought and mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins outbreaks have affected millions of hectares of high-elevation conifer forests in the Northern Rocky Mountains during the past century. Little research has examined the distinction between mountain pine beetle outbreaks and climatic influence on radial growth in endangered whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis Engelm. ecosystems. We used a new method to explore divergent periods in whitebark pine radial growth after mountain pine beetle outbreaks across six sites in western Montana. We examined a 100-year history of mountain pine beetle outbreaks and climate relationships in whitebark pine radial growth to distinguish whether monthly climate variables or mountain pine outbreaks were the dominant influence on whitebark pine growth during the 20th century. High mortality of whitebark pines was caused by the overlapping effects of previous and current mountain pine beetle outbreaks and white pine blister rust infection. Wet conditions from precipitation and snowpack melt in the previous summer, current spring, and current summer benefit whitebark pine radial growth during the following growing season. Whitebark pine radial growth and climate relationships were strongest in sites less affected by the mountain pine beetle outbreaks or anthropogenic disturbances. Whitebark pine population resiliency should continue to be monitored as more common periods of drought will make whitebark pines more susceptible to mountain pine beetle attack and to white pine blister rust infection.

A vegetation description and floristic analyses of the springs on the Kammanassie Mountain, Western Cape

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G. Cleaver

2004-12-01

Full Text Available The Kammanassie Mountain is a declared mountain catchment area and a Cape mountain zebra Equus zebra zebra population is preserved on the mountain. The high number of springs on the mountain not only provides water for the animal species but also contributes to overall ecosystem functioning. Long-term conservation of viable ecosystems requires a broader understanding of the ecological processes involved. It was therefore decided that a classification, description and mapping of the spring vegetation of the Kammanassie Mountain be undertaken. A TWINSPAN classification, refined by Braun-Blanquet procedures, revealed 11 major plant communities that could be related to geological origin. Habitat factors associated with differences in vegetation include topography, soil type and grazing. Descriptions of the plant communities include diagnostic species as well as prominent and less conspicuous species of the tree, shrub and herbaceous layers. The results also indicate a high species richness compared to similar regions and the difference between plant communities of wet and dry springs. This data is important for long-term monitoring of the spring ecosystems as well as for the compilation of management plans.

Determination of characteristics maximal runoff Mountain Rivers

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ovcharuk V and Todorova O

Odessa State Environmental University, Ukraine. Received: 03 December 2015 / Accepted: 23 April 2016 / Published online: 01 May 2016. ABSTRACT. This article has been examined maximum runoff of the rivers of the Crimean Mountains. The rivers flow through the western and eastern part of the northern slope Crimean ...

Potential impacts of climate change on flow regime and fish habitat in mountain rivers of the south-western Balkans.

Science.gov (United States)

Papadaki, Christina; Soulis, Konstantinos; Muñoz-Mas, Rafael; Martinez-Capel, Francisco; Zogaris, Stamatis; Ntoanidis, Lazaros; Dimitriou, Elias

2016-01-01

The climate change in the Mediterranean area is expected to have significant impacts on the aquatic ecosystems and particular in the mountain rivers and streams that often host important species such as the Salmo farioides, Karaman 1938. These impacts will most possibly affect the habitat availability for various aquatic species resulting to an essential alteration of the water requirements, either for dams or other water abstractions, in order to maintain the essential levels of ecological flow for the rivers. The main scope of this study was to assess potential climate change impacts on the hydrological patterns and typical biota for a south-western Balkan mountain river, the Acheloos. The altered flow regimes under different emission scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were estimated using a hydrological model and based on regional climate simulations over the study area. The Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) methodology was then used to assess the potential streamflow alterations in the studied river due to predicted climate change conditions. A fish habitat simulation method integrating univariate habitat suitability curves and hydraulic modeling techniques were used to assess the impacts on the relationships between the aquatic biota and hydrological status utilizing a sentinel species, the West Balkan trout. The most prominent effects of the climate change scenarios depict severe flow reductions that are likely to occur especially during the summer flows, changing the duration and depressing the magnitude of the natural low flow conditions. Weighted Usable Area-flow curves indicated the limitation of suitable habitat for the native trout. Finally, this preliminary application highlighted the potential of science-based hydrological and habitat simulation approaches that are relevant to both biological quality elements (fish) and current EU Water policy to serve as efficient tools for the estimation of possible climate

Long-range atmospheric transport and the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Changbai Mountain.

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Zhao, Xiangai; Kim, Seung-Kyu; Zhu, Weihong; Kannan, Narayanan; Li, Donghao

2015-01-01

The Changbai (also known as "Baekdu") Mountain, on the border between China and North Korea, is the highest mountain (2750 m) in northeastern China. Recently, this mountain region has experienced a dramatic increase in air pollution, not only because of increasing volumes of tourism-derived traffic but also because of the long-range transport of polluted westerly winds passing through major industrial and urban cities in the eastern region of China. To assess the relative importance of the two sources of pollution, 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as model substances were determined in the mountain soil. A total of 32 soil samples were collected from different sides of the mountain at different latitudes between July and August of 2009. The ∑PAH concentrations were within the range 38.5-190.1 ng g(-1) on the northern side, 117.7-443.6 ng g(-1) on the southern side, and 75.3-437.3 ng g(-1) on the western side. A progressive increase in the level of ∑PAHs with latitude was observed on the southern and western sides that face the westerly wind with abundant precipitation. However, a similar concentration gradient was not observed on the northern side that receives less rain and is on the leeward direction of the wind. The high-molecular-weight PAH compounds were predominant in the soils on the southern and western sides, while low-molecular-weight PAHs dominated the northern side soils. These findings show that the distribution of PAHs in the mountain soil is strongly influenced by the atmospheric long-range transport and cold trapping. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

THE ANTHROPIC IMPACT IN THE NORTH-WESTERN SIDE OF LEAOTA MOUNTAINS

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Magdalin Leonard Dorobăţ

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Leaota Mountains are located between Bucegi Mountains and the Piatra Craiului Massive, being separated from the last ones through the Bran-Rucar-Dragoslavele Corridor. Their human intervention degree is much lower than in the case of the neighboring Massive, Bucegi, also due to the fact that they are less known by tourists and by the lower degree deforestation which had been made here. Though the tourism has reduced, being limited only to the Cheii Valley and rarely, during summer, to the Ghimbav Valley, can have a negative impact on the environment through the waste left at the camping places or edge of the road or in the waters. It is mandatory, for the area’s sustainable development, the urgent limitation of the negative human intervention.

Skywatch: The Western Weather Guide.

Science.gov (United States)

Keen, Richard A.

The western United States is a region of mountains and valleys with the world's largest ocean next door. Its weather is unique. This book discusses how water, wind, and environmental conditions combine to create the climatic conditions of the region. Included are sections describing: fronts; cyclones; precipitation; storms; tornadoes; hurricanes;…

The Influence of Wildfire on Long-Term Erosion: Insights from the Jemez Mountains, NM and the Western USA

Science.gov (United States)

Fitch, E. P.; Meyer, G. A.

2017-12-01

A major influence of wildfire on long-term erosion in the western USA is strongly suggested by extreme postfire debris flows and floods, where fire severity has increased in recent decades due to climate change and land use. Roughly 30% of the ponderosa-mixed conifer forests of the Jemez Mountains has burned in the last 20 yr, much at high severity, whereas tree-ring data indicate mostly lower-severity burns from 1600-1900 CE, before fire suppression and grazing. Fire-related alluvial deposits proximal to hillslopes reflect mostly small to moderate erosional events over the last 4000 yr, compared to thick, bouldery debris-flow deposits from recent severe fires; some modern postfire debris flows appear truly extreme in comparison to Holocene deposits. Recognizable fire-related deposits make up 77% of fans from moist north aspects, as relatively dense vegetation and thick soil yield minor surface runoff unless severely burned. Only 39% of fan sediments from drier south aspects are fire-related, however, as sparser vegetation and exposed bedrock can produce runoff and sediment when unburned. Peaks in fire-related sedimentation at 1800, 650, 410, and 300 cal yr BP coincide with severe droughts, often preceded by wetter decades that could suppress fire activity and promote denser stands. Although the Medieval Climatic Anomaly (MCA, 1050-700 cal yr BP) was marked by generally warmer temperatures and multidecadal episodes of widespread, severe drought in the western USA, fire-related sedimentation was relatively minor in the Jemez Mountains. In contrast, dense subalpine forests of Yellowstone and central Idaho burned less frequently and more severely in the late Holocene, and produced major debris flows in the MCA. Fire accounts for only 30-50% of Holocene fan deposition in these areas, as steep unburned basins also produce large debris flows in extreme storms. The relative importance of fire in erosion depends on topography, bedrock, soil cover, and forest composition

Hydrological processes in small catchments of mountain headwater lakes: The Tatra Mountains

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Křeček, J.; Turek, Jan; Ljungren, E.; Stuchlík, E.; Šporka, F.

2006-01-01

Roč. 61, Suppl. 18 (2006), S1-S10 ISSN 0006-3088 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA103/04/0214 Grant - others:MSM(CZ) 6840770002; EC(XE) GOCE-CT-2003-505540; EC(XE) EVK1-CT-1999-00032 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60170517 Keywords : alpine catchments * evapotranspiration * runoff genesis * precipitation Subject RIV: DA - Hydrology ; Limnology Impact factor: 0.213, year: 2006

Influence of human activity patterns on epidemiology of plague in Western Usambara Mountains, Tanzania.

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Hubeau, Marianne; Gulinck, Hubert; Kimaro, Didas N; Hieronimo, Proches; Meliyo, Joel

2014-07-01

Human plague has been a recurring public health threat in some villages in the Western Usambara Mountains, Tanzania, in the period between 1980 and 2004. Despite intensive past biological and medical research, the reasons for the plague outbreaks in the same set of villages remain unknown. Plague research needs to broaden its scope and formulate new hypotheses. This study was carried out to establish relationships between the nature and the spatial extent of selected human activities on one hand, and the reported plague cases on the other hand. Three outdoor activities namely, fetching water, collecting firewood and going to the market, were selected. Through enquiries the activity patterns related to these activities were mapped in 14 villages. Standard deviation ellipses represent the extent of action spaces. Over 130 activity types were identified and listed. Of these, fetching water, collecting firewood and going to the market were used for further analysis. The results indicate a significant correlation between the plague frequency and the size of these action spaces. Different characteristics of land use and related human activities were correlated with the plague frequency at village and hamlet levels. Significant relationships were found between plague frequency and specific sources of firewood and water, and specific market places.

Composition and structure of bird communities in vegetational gradients of Bodoquena Mountains, western Brazil

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MAURICIO N. GODOI

2016-03-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The informations of bird species distribution in different habitats and the structure of their communities are crucial for bird conservation. We tested the differences in composition, richness and abundance of birds in different phytophysiognomies at Bodoquena Mountains, western Brazil, and we demonstrated the variations in richness and abundance of birds between different trophic groups. Sampling was conducted between July 2011 and June 2012 in 200 point counts arranged in the study area. A total of 3350 contacts were obtained belonging to 156 bird species. Woodland savannas, seasonal forests and arboreal savannas had higher bird abundance and richness, while riparian forests, clean pastures and dirty pastures had smaller values of these parameters. The bird community was organized according to local vegetational gradient, with communities of forests, open areas and savannas, although many species occurred in more than one vegetation type. The insectivorous, omnivorous, frugivorous and gramnivorous birds composed most of the community. These data showed how important environmental heterogeneity is to bird communities. Furthermore, the presence of extensive patches of natural habitats, the small distance between these patches and the permeability of pastures, with high arboreal and shrubby cover, are indicated as important factors to maintain the bird diversity.

The status of Yucca Mountain site characterization activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gertz, Carl P.; Larkin, Erin L.; Hamner, Melissa

1992-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) is continuing its studies to determine if Yucca Mountain, Nevada, can safely isolate high-level nuclear waste for the next ten thousand years. As mandated by Congress in 1987, DOE is studying the rocks, the climate, and the water table at Yucca Mountain to ensure that the site is suitable before building a repository adopt 305 meters below the surface. Yucca Mountain, located 160.9 kilometers northwest of Las Vegas, lies on the western edge of the Nevada Test Site. Nevada and DOE have been in litigation over environmental permits needed to conduct studies, but recent court decisions have allowed limited new work to begin. This paper will examine progress made on the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP) during 1991 and continuing into 1992, discuss the complex legal issues and describe new site drilling work. Design work on the underground exploratory studies facility (ESF) will also be discussed. (author)

Report on geological fieldwork in the Sor Rondane Mountains, Eastern Dronning Maud Land, 2008-2009 (JARE-50

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Masaaki Owada

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The Sor Rondane Mountains field party, part of the summer party of the 50th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE-50, consisted of five geologists and one field assistant, and conducted geological fieldwork in the western Sr Rondane Mountains, Eastern Dronning Maud Land, as part of a research project of the National Institute of Polar Research (#P-5-1. The field party accessed the mountains using the Dronning Maud Land Air Network (DROMLAN from Cape Town to a runway close to the Belgian base, via the Novolazarevskaya runway. The field party made three campsites (Base Camp, Camp 1, and Camp 3 and stayed on the snowfield for 75 days. Here, we report the detailed operation plans and present a summary of the fieldwork, including information on logistics and weather reports for the western Sor Rondane Mountains.

Native Americans and Yucca Mountain: A revised and updated summary report on research undertaken between 1987 and 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fowler, C.S.

1991-01-01

This report consists of Yucca Mountain Project bibliographies. It is the appendix to a report that summarizes data collected between September 1986 and September 1988 relative to Native American concerns involving the potential siting of a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The data were collected from Western Shoshone and Southern Paiute people upon whose aboriginal lands the repository potentially is to be located. Western Shoshone people involved in the study were those resident or affiliated with reservation communities at Yomba and Duckwater, Nevada, and Death Valley, California. Southern Paiute people were at reservation communities at Moapa and Las Vegas. Additional persons of Western Shoshone and Southern Paiute descent were interviewed at Beatty, Tonopah, Caliente, Pahrump, and Las Vegas, Nevada. The work was part of a larger project of socioeconomic studies for the State of Nevada's Nuclear Waste Projects office, conducted by Mountain West of Phoenix, Arizona

The mountains influence on Turkey Climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sensoy, Serhat

2004-01-01

Since the Black sea mountains at the north of the country and the Taurus mountains in the south lay parallel to the seashore and rise very sharply rain clouds can not penetrate to the internal part of the country. Rain clouds drops most of their water on the slopes opposite the sea. As rain clouds pass over the mountains and reach Central Anatolia they have no significant capability of rain. For this reason, the Central Anatolia does not have very much precipitation. The difference between the rates of precipitation on the inner and outer slopes seems to be effective on the expansion of plants. For example, there is a subtropical climate prevailing on the Black sea shore between Sinop and Batum where precipitation is more than 1000-2000 mm yearly. Going from Sinop to the mouth of the Sakarya River the rate of precipitation goes down to 800-1250 mm in a year. Running from the Sakarya River to the western area covering Thrace the climate seems to be continental, and in the area dominant plant cover is of the Mediterranean type. Since the succession of the mountains in Western Anatolia lay perpendicular to the seashore, rain clouds penetrate towards the inner regions for about 400 km. The continental climate with long, dry and summer affects this area. In the Eastern region of Anatolia, since the elevation of the mountains exceeds 2500-3000 m, valleys are disorderly scattered and located at high elevations, and the northern Black sea mountains and Caucasian mountains hold the rain clouds, the area is effected by the continental climate with long and very cold winters. Consequently precipitation at the lgdir River goes down to 300 mm while it is 500-800 mm in most of areas and 1000-1500 mm in some regions towards northern Mu and Bingol provinces. As mentioned above, high mountains, which hold rain clouds, surround the Central Anatolia, which has caused drought in this region. In the central Anatolia covering Afyon, Eski hir, Ankara, Qankiri, Qorum, Amasya, Kayseri

Amphibians in the climate vise: loss and restoration of resilience of montane wetland ecosystems in the western US

Science.gov (United States)

Ryan, Maureen E.; Palen, Wendy J.; Adams, Michael J.; Rochefort, Regina M.

2014-01-01

Wetlands in the remote mountains of the western US have undergone two massive ecological “experiments” spanning the 20th century. Beginning in the late 1800s and expanding after World War II, fish and wildlife managers intentionally introduced millions of predatory trout (primarily Oncorhynchus spp) into fishless mountain ponds and lakes across the western states. These new top predators, which now occupy 95% of large mountain lakes, have limited the habitat distributions of native frogs, salamanders, and wetland invertebrates to smaller, more ephemeral ponds where trout do not survive. Now a second “experiment” – anthropogenic climate change – threatens to eliminate many of these ephemeral habitats and shorten wetland hydroperiods. Caught between climate-induced habitat loss and predation from introduced fish, native mountain lake fauna of the western US – especially amphibians – are at risk of extirpation. Targeted fish removals, guided by models of how wetlands will change under future climate scenarios, provide innovative strategies for restoring resilience of wetland ecosystems to climate change.

Variability in snowpack accumulation and ablation associated with mountain pine beetle infestation in western forests

Science.gov (United States)

Biederman, J. A.; Harpold, A. A.; Gochis, D. J.; Reed, D.; Brooks, P. D.

2010-12-01

Seasonal snowcover is a primary source of water to urban and agricultural regions in the western United States, where Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) has caused rapid and extensive changes to vegetation in montane forests. Levels of MPB infestation in these seasonally snow-covered systems are unprecedented, and it is unknown how this will affect water yield, especially in changing climate conditions. To address this unknown we ask: How does snow accumulation and ablation vary across forest with differing levels of impact? Our study areas in the Rocky Mountains of CO and WY are similar in latitude, elevation and forest structure before infestation, but they vary in the intensity and timing of beetle infestation and tree mortality. We present a record for winter 2010 that includes continuous snow depth as well as stand-scale snow surveys at maximum accumulation. Additional measurements include snowfall, net radiation, temperature and wind speed as well as characterization of forest structure by leaf area index. In a stand uninfested by MPB, maximum snow depth was fairly uniform under canopy (mean = 86 cm, coefficient of variation = 0.021), while canopy gaps showed greater and more variable depth (mean = 117 cm, CV = 0.111). This is consistent with several studies demonstrating that snowfall into canopy gaps depends upon gap size, orientation, wind speed and storm size. In a stand impacted in 2007, snow depth under canopy was less uniform, and there were smaller differences in both mean depth and variability between canopy (mean = 93 cm, CV = 0.072) and gaps (mean = 97 cm, CV = 0.070), consistent with decreased canopy density. In a more recently infested (2009) stand with an intermediate level of MPB impact, mean snow depths were similar between canopy (96 cm, CV = 0.016) and gaps (95 cm, CV = 0.185) but gaps showed much greater variability, suggesting controls similar to those in effect in the uninfested stand. We further use these data to model snow accumulation and

Reproduction and population dynamics of Mastomys natalensis Smith, 1834 in an agricultural landscape in the Western Usambara Mountains, Tanzania.

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Makundi, Rhodes H; Massawe, Apia W; Mulungu, Loth S

2007-12-01

The multimammate rat, Mastomys natalensis Smith 1834, is a dominant species in agro-ecosystems in Sub-Saharan Africa, but adapts quickly to changes in non-agricultural landscape, particularly woodlands and forests. In this study we report on reproduction and population dynamics of M. natalensis in deforested high elevation localities in the Usambara Mountains, north-east Tanzania. We conducted Capture-Mark-Recapture studies in 2002-2004, and established that reproduction of M. natalensis takes place in the extended wet season between February and June, and the population density peaks in June-August. Reproduction cease in July to January and population density drops from July onwards. Reproduction and population density fluctuations are linked to the duration and amount of rainfall. In years when rainfall was below average and the wet season was short, the population density was significantly lower (below 10 animals/ha and 60 animals/ha in 2003 and 2004 respectively, compared to >100 animals/ha in 2002 when rainfall was above the seasonal average) (F(df 2,13)= 9.092, p forestry areas showed higher population densities in the former, which have similarities to the preferred habitats in the lowland savannahs. The increasing abundance of M. natalensis in the Usambara could have some consequences: M. natalensis is major pest and is involved in the plague cycle in the western Usambara Mountains. Mastomys natalensis is also a strong competitor and the impact on endemic rodent species, e.g. Lophuromys flavopunctatus and Praomys delectorum is unknown.

Paleomagnetic contributions to the Klamath Mountains terrane puzzle-a new piece from the Ironside Mountain batholith, northern California

Science.gov (United States)

Mankinen, Edward A.; Gromme, C. Sherman; Irwin, W. Porter

2013-01-01

We obtained paleomagnetic samples from six sites within the Middle Jurassic Ironside Mountain batholith (~170 Ma), which constitutes the structurally lowest part of the Western Hayfork terrane, in the Klamath Mountains province of northern California and southern Oregon. Structural attitudes measured in the coeval Hayfork Bally Meta-andesite were used to correct paleomagnetic data from the batholith. Comparing the corrected paleomagnetic pole with a 170-Ma reference pole for North America indicates 73.5° ± 10.6° of clockwise rotation relative to the craton. Nearly one-half of this rotation may have occurred before the terrane accreted to the composite Klamath province at ~168 Ma. No latitudinal displacement of the batholith was detected.

Glacial erosion, rock, and peak uplift within the central Transantarctic Mountains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stern, T.A.; Baxter, A.K.

2002-01-01

About 1500 m of peak elevation can be ascribed to the isostatic response of valley incision within the central Transantarctic Mountains. This estimate, based on a 3D analysis of topography, and on rock uplift history, represents c. 33% of the maximum peak elevation within the Transantarctic Mountains. Input to the calculation includes a previoulsy published estimate for the variation of flexural rigidity across the western margin of East Antarctica, and a lithospheric free-edge at the Transantarctic Mountains Front. The rebound response is a complex function of lithospheric rigidity, wavelength or erosion, and lithospheric boundary conditions. We also calculate a maximum 4000 m of total rebound due to both valley incision and erosion of mountain tops. This represents 60% of the maximum rock uplift inferred for the mountain front on the bases of fission track data and flexure analysis. (author). 34 refs., 5 figs., 3 tabs

How do two giant panda populations adapt to their habitats in the Qinling and Qionglai Mountains, China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Liu, Xiaoji; Wang, Tiejun; Wang, Ting; Skidmore, A.K.; Songer, M.

2015-01-01

The spatial separation of the Qinling Mountains from the western mountains has caused morphological and genetic distinctions of giant pandas. Could this separation also cause the pandas’ behavior change? In this research, we focused on the pandas’ movement pattern and selected two wild panda groups

Applied chemical ecology of the mountain pine beetle

Science.gov (United States)

Robert A. Progar; Nancy Gillette; Christopher J. Fettig; Kathryn Hrinkevich

2014-01-01

Mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, is a primary agent of forest disturbance in western North America. Episodic outbreaks occur at the convergence of favorable forest age and size class structure and climate patterns. Recent outbreaks have exceeded the historic range of variability of D. ponderosae-caused tree mortality affecting ecosystem goods and...

Forest attributes and fuel loads of riparian vs. upland stands in mountain pine beetle infested watersheds, southern Rocky Mountains [Chapter 13

Science.gov (United States)

Kathleen A. Dwire; Roberto A. Bazan; Robert Hubbard

2015-01-01

Extensive outbreaks of mountain pine beetle (MPB), spruce beetle (SB), and other insects are altering forest stand structure throughout the Western United States, and thereby increasing the natural heterogeneity of fuel distribution. Riparian forests frequently occur as narrow linear features in the landscape mosaic and can contribute to the spatial complexity of...

Ground magnetic studies along a regional seismic-reflection profile across Bare Mountain, Crater Flat and Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Langenheim, V.E.; Ponce, D.A.

1995-01-01

Ground magnetic data were collected along a 26-km-long regional seismic-reflection profile in southwest Nevada that starts in the Amargosa Desert, crosses Bare Mountain, Crater Flat and Yucca Mountain, and ends in Midway Valley. Parallel ground magnetic profiles were also collected about 100 m to either side of the western half of the seismic-reflection line. The magnetic data indicate that the eastern half of Crater Flat is characterized by closely-spaced faulting (1--2 km) in contrast to the western half of Crater Flat. Modeling of the data indicates that the Topopah Spring Tuff is offset about 250 m on the Solitario Canyon fault and about 50 m on the Ghost Dance fault. These estimates of fault offset are consistent with seismic-reflection data and geologic mapping. A broad magnetic high of about 500--600 nT is centered over Crater Flat. Modeling of the magnetic data indicates that the source of this high is not thickening and doming of the Bullfrog Tuff, but more likely lies below the Bullfrog Tuff. Possible source lithologies for this magnetic high include altered argillite of the Eleana Formation, Cretaceous or Tertiary intrusions, and mafic sills

The genetic structure of the mountain forest butterfly Erebia euryale unravels the late Pleistocene and postglacial history of the mountain coniferous forest biome in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmitt, Thomas; Haubrich, Karola

2008-05-01

The distribution of the mountain coniferous forest biome in Europe throughout time is not sufficiently understood. One character species of this habitat type is the large ringlet, Erebia euryale well reflecting the extension of this biome today, and the genetic differentiation of this species among and within mountain systems may unravel the late Pleistocene history of this habitat type. We therefore analysed the allozyme pattern of 381 E. euryale individuals from 11 populations in four different European mountain systems (Pyrenees, Alps, Carpathians, Rila). All loci analysed were polymorphic. The mean F(ST) over all samples was high (20%). Furthermore, the mean genetic distance among samples was quite high (0.049). We found four different groups well supported by cluster analyses, bootstraps and hierarchical variance analyses: Pyrenees, western Alps, eastern Alps and southeastern Europe (Carpathians and Rila). The genetic diversity of the populations was highest in the southeastern European group and stepwise decreased westwards. Interestingly, the populations from Bulgaria and Romania were almost identical; therefore, we assume that they were not separated by the Danube Valley, at least during the last ice age. On the contrary, the differentiation among the three western Alps populations was considerable. For all these reasons, we assume that (i) the most important refugial area for the coniferous mountain forest biome in Europe has been located in southeastern Europe including at least parts of the Carpathians and the Bulgarian mountains; (ii) important refugial areas for this biome existed at the southeastern edge of the Alps; (iii) fragments of this habitat types survived along the southwestern Alps, but in a more scattered distribution; and (iv) relatively small relicts have persisted somewhere at the foothills of the Pyrenees.

Climate influences on whitebark pine mortality from mountain pine beetle in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Science.gov (United States)

Polly C. Buotte; Jeffrey A. Hicke; Haiganoush K. Preisler; John T. Abatzoglou; Kenneth F. Raffa; Jesse A. Logan

2016-01-01

Extensive mortality of whitebark pine, beginning in the early to mid-2000s, occurred in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) of the western USA, primarily from mountain pine beetle but also from other threats such as white pine blister rust. The climatic drivers of this recent mortality and the potential for future whitebark pine mortality from mountain pine beetle...

Geologic reconnaissance of the Hot Springs Mountains, Churchill County, Nevada

Science.gov (United States)

Voegtly, Nickolas E.

1981-01-01

A geologic reconnaissance of the Hot Springs Mountains and adjacent areas, which include parts of the Brady-Hazen and the Stillwater-Soda Lake Known Geothermal Resource Areas, during June-December 1975, resulted in a reinterpretation of the nature and location of some Basin and Range faults. In addition, the late Cenozoic stratigraphy has been modified, chiefly on the basis of radiometric dates of volcanic rocks by U.S. Geological Survey personnel and others. The Hot Springs Mountains are in the western part of the Basin and Range province, which is characterized by east-west crustal extension and associated normal faulting. In the surrounding Trinity, West Humboldt, Stillwater, and Desert Mountains, Cenozoic rocks overlie ' basement ' rocks of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic age. A similar relation is inferred in the Hot Springs Mountains. Folding and faulting have taken place from the late Tertiary to the present. (USGS)

Drivers Motivating Community Health Improvement Plan Completion by Local Public Health Agencies and Community Partners in the Rocky Mountain Region and Western Plains.

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Anne; Wolf, Holly J; Scallan, Elaine; Case, Jenny; Kellar-Guenther, Yvonne

There are numerous drivers that motivate completion of community health improvement plans (CHIPs). Some are more obvious and include voluntary public health accreditation, state requirements, federal and state funding, and nonprofit hospital requirements through IRS regulations. Less is known about other drivers, including involvement of diverse partners and belief in best practices, that may motivate CHIP completion. This research investigated the drivers that motivated CHIP completion based on experiences of 51 local public health agencies (LPHAs). An explanatory mixed-methods design, including closed- and open-ended survey questions and key informant interviews, was used to understand the drivers that motivated CHIP completion. Analysis of survey data involved descriptive statistics. Classical content analysis was used for qualitative data to clarify survey findings. The surveys and key informant interviews were conducted in the Rocky Mountain Region and Western Plains among 51 medium and large LPHAs in Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. More than 50% of respondents were public health directors; the balance of the respondents were division/program directors, accreditation coordinators, and public health planners. CHIP completion. Most LPHAs in the Rocky Mountains and Western Plains have embraced developing and publishing a CHIP, with 80% having completed their plan and another 13% working on it. CHIP completion is motivated by a belief in best practices, with LPHAs and partners seeing the benefit of quality improvement activities linked to the CHIP and the investment of nonprofit hospitals in the process. Completing a CHIP is strengthened through engagement of diverse partners and a well-functioning partnership. The future of CHIP creation depends on LPHAs and partners investing in the CHIP as a best practice, dedicating personnel to CHIP activities, and enhancing leadership skills to contribute to a synergistic

Assessment of diabetes care and the healthcare system in economically and transport underdeveloped rural mountain areas of western China: A cross-sectional survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Ke, Linqiu; Zhang, Yuwei; Wang, Xiaoqian; Li, Shengyong; Yang, Wei; Tong, Nanwei

2017-05-01

The aim of the present study was to assess the quality of diabetes care and characteristics of the healthcare system in underdeveloped rural mountain areas of western China. Questionnaires were used to collect data from 288 diabetic patients with a multistage cluster sampling method in Zhongjiang County (Sichuan Province) between October 2009 and April 2010. Sixty-two village clinics, 23 town health centers, and a county central hospital were included to assess the availability of diabetes-related medical resources, in addition to diabetes-related medical insurance, reimbursement policies, and manpower. Of 288 patients, 38.2 % monitored their blood glucose regularly. Targets for fasting blood glucose (≤7 mmol/L) and blood pressure (≤130/80 mmHg) were achieved by 7.6 % and 9.7 % of patients, respectively. On average, each patient paid US$120 out of pocket annually for out-patient diabetes care, with a maximum US$86 reimbursed. The county central hospital was the only healthcare facility in the county that could provide all essential diabetes-related drugs and process-of-care measures and tests, except measures of HbA1c and the urinary albumin: creatinine ratio. Insulin was not available at village clinics, and only 29 % of village clinics had glucometers. "Certified" doctors were not available to provide primary care in village clinics. The quality of diabetes care was quite poor in underdeveloped rural mountain areas of western China. Recommendations for further intervention research to improve diabetes healthcare include increasing investment in medical infrastructure, improving the availability of essential drugs and process measures, organizing regular diabetes patient education, and recruiting village doctors. © 2016 Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Native Americans and Yucca Mountain: A revised and updated summary report on research undertaken between 1987 and 1991; Volume 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fowler, C.S. [Cultural Resources Consultants Ltd., Reno, NV (United States)

1991-10-15

This report consists of Yucca Mountain Project bibliographies. It is the appendix to a report that summarizes data collected between September 1986 and September 1988 relative to Native American concerns involving the potential siting of a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The data were collected from Western Shoshone and Southern Paiute people upon whose aboriginal lands the repository potentially is to be located. Western Shoshone people involved in the study were those resident or affiliated with reservation communities at Yomba and Duckwater, Nevada, and Death Valley, California. Southern Paiute people were at reservation communities at Moapa and Las Vegas. Additional persons of Western Shoshone and Southern Paiute descent were interviewed at Beatty, Tonopah, Caliente, Pahrump, and Las Vegas, Nevada. The work was part of a larger project of socioeconomic studies for the State of Nevada`s Nuclear Waste Projects office, conducted by Mountain West of Phoenix, Arizona.

A New Bolide Station at the High Tatra Mountains

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Svoreň, J.; Spurný, Pavel; Porubčan, V.; Kanuchová, Z.

2008-01-01

Roč. 102, 1-4 (2008), s. 253-256 ISSN 0167-9295 Grant - others:EU(XE) MRTN-CT-2006-035519; VEGA(SK) 7009; VEGA(SK) 3067 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10030501 Keywords : photographic observations of meteors * all-sky bolide camera Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics Impact factor: 1.033, year: 2008

Cenozoic tectono-thermal history of the Tordrillo Mountains, Alaska: Paleocene-Eocene ridge subduction, decreasing relief, and late Neogene faulting

Science.gov (United States)

Benowitz, Jeff A.; Haeussler, Peter J.; Layer, Paul W.; O'Sullivan, Paul B.; Wallace, Wes K.; Gillis, Robert J.

2012-01-01

Topographic development inboard of the continental margin is a predicted response to ridge subduction. New thermochronology results from the western Alaska Range document ridge subduction related orogenesis. K-feldspar thermochronology (KFAT) of bedrock samples from the Tordrillo Mountains in the western Alaska Range complement existing U-Pb, 40Ar/39Ar and AFT (apatite fission track) data to provide constraints on Paleocene pluton emplacement, and cooling as well as Late Eocene to Miocene vertical movements and exhumation along fault-bounded blocks. Based on the KFAT analysis we infer rapid exhumation-related cooling during the Eocene in the Tordrillo Mountains. Our KFAT cooling ages are coeval with deposition of clastic sediments in the Cook Inlet, Matanuska Valley and Tanana basins, which reflect high-energy depositional environments. The Tordrillo Mountains KFAT cooling ages are also the same as cooling ages in the Iliamna Lake region, the Kichatna Mountains of the western Alaska Range, and Mt. Logan in the Wrangell-St. Elias Mountains, thus rapid cooling at this time encompasses a broad region inboard of, and parallel to, the continental margin extending for several hundred kilometers. We infer these cooling events and deposition of clastic rocks are related to thermal effects that track the eastward passage of a slab window in Paleocene-Eocene time related to the subduction of the proposed Resurrection-Kula spreading ridge. In addition, we conclude that the reconstructed KFATmax negative age-elevation relationship is likely related to a long period of decreasing relief in the Tordrillo Mountains.

Trace metal concentration in Great Tit (Parus major) and Greenfinch (Carduelis sinica) at the Western Mountains of Beijing, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deng Haili; Zhang Zhengwang; Chang Chongyan; Wang Yong

2007-01-01

We examined the concentrations of 11 trace metals in tissues from 10 body parts of Great Tits and Greenfinches collected at Badachu Park in the Western Mountains of Beijing, China to assess the metal accumulation level, distribution among body parts, and species and gender related variations. The highest concentrations of Hg, Ni, Zn, and Mn were found in the feather; Pb and Co in the bone; Cd, Cr, and Se in the kidney, and Cu in the liver and heart. Metal concentrations had substantial interspecific variation with Great Tits showing higher levels of Hg, Cr, Ni, and Mn than Greenfinches in tissues of most body parts. Gender related variations were body part and species specific. Meta-analyses using data from this study and other studies suggested that metal concentrations of Great Tits at our study site were relatively low and below the toxic levels. - Trace metal concentrations of Great Tits and Greenfinches from Beijing, China, varied by body part, gender, and species, and were below toxic levels

Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) change their activity patterns in response to frugivory.

Science.gov (United States)

Masi, Shelly; Cipolletta, Chloé; Robbins, Martha M

2009-02-01

The most important environmental factor explaining interspecies variation in ecology and sociality of the great apes is likely to be variation in resource availability. Relatively little is known about the activity patterns of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), which inhabit a dramatically different environment from the well-studied mountain gorillas (G. beringei beringei). This study aims to provide a detailed quantification of western lowland gorillas' activity budgets using direct observations on one habituated group in Bai Hokou, Central African Republic. We examined how activity patterns of both sexes are shaped by seasonal frugivory. Activity was recorded with 5-min instantaneous sampling between December 2004 and December 2005. During the high-frugivory period the gorillas spent less time feeding and more time traveling than during the low-frugivory period. The silverback spent less time feeding but more time resting than both females and immatures, which likely results from a combination of social and physiological factors. When compared with mountain gorillas, western lowland gorillas spend more time feeding (67 vs. 55%) and traveling (12 vs. 6.5%), but less time resting (21 vs. 34%) and engaging in social/other activities (0.5 vs. 3.6%). This disparity in activity budgets of western lowland gorillas and mountain gorillas may be explained by the more frugivorous diet and the greater dispersion of food resources experienced by western lowland gorillas. Like other apes, western lowland gorillas change their activity patterns in response to changes in the diet. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Lacustrine Records of Holocene Mountain Glacier Fluctuations from Western Greenland

Science.gov (United States)

Schweinsberg, A.; Briner, J. P.; Bennike, O.

2014-12-01

Recent studies have focused on documenting fluctuations of the Greenland Ice Sheet margin throughout the Holocene but few data exist that constrain past changes of local glaciers independent of the ice sheet. Our research combines proglacial lake sediment analysis with cosmogenic 10Be dating of Holocene moraines and radiocarbon dating of ice-cap-killed vegetation with an overall objective to use this multi-proxy approach to generate a detailed record of the coupled climate-glacier system through the Holocene. Here, we present lacustrine records of mountain glacier variability from continuous pro-glacial lake sediment sequences recovered from two glaciated catchments in northeastern Nuussuaq, western Greenland. We use radiocarbon-dated sediments from Sikuiui and Pauiaivik lakes to reconstruct the timing of advance and retreat of local glaciers. Sediments were characterized with magnetic susceptibility (MS), gamma density, Itrax XRF and visible reflectance spectroscopy at 0.2 cm intervals and sediment organic matter at 0.5 cm intervals. Basal radiocarbon ages provide minimum-age constraints on deglaciation from Sikuiui and Pauiaivik lakes of ~9.6 and 8.7 ka, respectively. Organic-rich gyttja from deglaciation until ~5.0 ka in Pauiaivik Lake suggests minimal glacial extent there while slightly elevated MS values from ~9.0 - 7.0 ka in Sikuiui Lake may reflect early Holocene glacial advances. Minerogenic sediment input gradually increases starting at ~5.0 ka in Pauiaivik Lake, which we interpret as the onset of Neoglaciation in the catchment. Furthermore, a distinct episode of enhanced glacial activity from ~4.0 - 2.2 ka in Sikuiui Lake may be correlative to a period of persistent snowline lowering evidenced by radiocarbon dates of ice-killed vegetation from nearby ice cap margins. Results from these lacustrine records and our ice-killed vegetation dataset suggest a middle Holocene onset of Neoglaciation ~5.0 - 4.0 ka in this region. We are supplementing these records

Spatiotemporal patterns of high-mountain lakes and related hazards in western Austria

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Emmer, Adam; Merkl, S.; Mergili, M.

2015-01-01

Roč. 246, oct (2015), s. 602-616 ISSN 0169-555X Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : lake development * geoenvironmental change * GLOF * high-mountain lakes * susceptibility analysis Subject RIV: DE - Earth Magnetism, Geodesy, Geography Impact factor: 2.813, year: 2015

Investigating the Adult Ixodid Tick Populations and Their Associated Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, and Rickettsia Bacteria at a Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Hotspot in Western Tennessee.

Science.gov (United States)

Trout Fryxell, Rebecca T; Hendricks, Brain M; Pompo, Kimberly; Mays, Sarah E; Paulsen, Dave J; Operario, Darwin J; Houston, Allan E

2017-08-01

Ehrlichiosis and rickettsiosis are two common bacterial tick-borne diseases in the southeastern United States. Ehrlichiosis is caused by ehrlichiae transmitted by Amblyomma americanum and rickettsiosis is caused by rickettsiae transmitted by Amblyomma maculatum and Dermacentor variabilis. These ticks are common and have overlapping distributions in the region. The objective of this study was to identify Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, and Rickettsia species associated with questing ticks in a Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) hotspot, and identify habitats, time periods, and collection methods for collecting questing-infected ticks. Using vegetation drags and CO 2 -baited traps, ticks were collected six times (May-September 2012) from 100 sites (upland deciduous, bottomland deciduous, grassland, and coniferous habitats) in western Tennessee. Adult collections were screened for Anaplasma and Ehrlichia (simultaneous polymerase chain reaction [PCR]) and Rickettsia using genus-specific PCRs, and resulting positive amplicons were sequenced. Anaplasma and Ehrlichia were only identified within A. americanum (Ehrlichia ewingii, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, Panola Mountain Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma odocoilei sp. nov.); more Ehrlichia-infected A. americanum were collected at the end of June regardless of habitat and collection method. Rickettsia was identified in three tick species; "Candidatus Rickettsia amblyommii" from A. americanum, R. parkeri and R. andeanae from A. maculatum, and R. montanensis ( = montana) from D. variabilis. Overall, significantly more Rickettsia-infected ticks were identified as A. americanum and A. maculatum compared to D. variabilis; more infected-ticks were collected from sites May-July and with dragging. In this study, we report in the Tennessee RMSF hotspot the following: (1) Anaplasma and Ehrlichia are only found in A. americanum, (2) each tick species has its own Rickettsia species, (3) a majority of questing-infected ticks are collected May-July, (4) A

Assessment of pesticide residues in vegetables from the Western Usambara and Uruguru Mountains in Tanzania.

Science.gov (United States)

Mtashobya, Lewis A

2017-09-25

Assessment of levels of pesticide residues in vegetables was carried out in some villages in the Western Usambara and Uluguru Mountains of Tanzania where varieties of vegetables are grown. Tomatoes and cabbages were the most popular enterprise grown all year round and therefore were selected as the model crops for this study. Analysis of the cleaned sample extracts on a gas chromatography with electron capture detector (GC-ECD) and confirmation on the Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed dominance of organochlorine pesticides. Organophosphorous pesticides (parathion and marathion) were only detected in some samples, however, in most cases with higher concentrations compared to organochlorine pesticides. Levels of pesticide residues detected in vegetables were up to: parathion 5.07 μg/Kg, marathion 3.73 μg/Kg, α-endosulfan 0.32 μg/Kg, β-endosulfan 0.53 μg/Kg, dieldrin 1.36 μg/Kg, γ-HCH 0.25 μg/Kg, α-HCH 0.09 μg/Kg, and p, p'-DDT 0.64 μg/Kg. These results clearly show that vegetables are contaminated with different pesticide residues. However, the total levels of pesticide residues in both tomatoes and cabbages are lower than their respective codex alimentarius maximum residue levels (MRLs). This means that the vegetables produced in the area are suitable for human consumption.

Mountain pine beetle infestation: GCxGCTOFMS and GC-MS of lodgepole pine (pinus contorta) acetone extractives

Science.gov (United States)

Roderquita K. Moore; Michael Leitch; Erick Arellano-ruiz; Jonathon Smaglick; Doreen Mann

2015-01-01

The Rocky Mountains and western U.S. forests are impacted by the infestation of mountain pine beetles (MPB). MPB outbreak is killing pine and spruce trees at an alarming rate. These trees present a fuel build-up in the forest, which can result in catastrophic wildland fires. MPB carry blue-stain fungi from the genus Ophiostoma and transmit infection by burrowing into...

Extreme ground motions and Yucca Mountain

Science.gov (United States)

Hanks, Thomas C.; Abrahamson, Norman A.; Baker, Jack W.; Boore, David M.; Board, Mark; Brune, James N.; Cornell, C. Allin; Whitney, John W.

2013-01-01

Yucca Mountain is the designated site of the underground repository for the United States' high-level radioactive waste (HLW), consisting of commercial and military spent nuclear fuel, HLW derived from reprocessing of uranium and plutonium, surplus plutonium, and other nuclear-weapons materials. Yucca Mountain straddles the western boundary of the Nevada Test Site, where the United States has tested nuclear devices since the 1950s, and is situated in an arid, remote, and thinly populated region of Nevada, ~100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Yucca Mountain was originally considered as a potential underground repository of HLW because of its thick units of unsaturated rocks, with the repository horizon being not only ~300 m above the water table but also ~300 m below the Yucca Mountain crest. The fundamental rationale for a geologic (underground) repository for HLW is to securely isolate these materials from the environment and its inhabitants to the greatest extent possible and for very long periods of time. Given the present climate conditions and what is known about the current hydrologic system and conditions around and in the mountain itself, one would anticipate that the rates of infiltration, corrosion, and transport would be very low—except for the possibility that repository integrity might be compromised by low-probability disruptive events, which include earthquakes, strong ground motion, and (or) a repository-piercing volcanic intrusion/eruption. Extreme ground motions (ExGM), as we use the phrase in this report, refer to the extremely large amplitudes of earthquake ground motion that arise at extremely low probabilities of exceedance (hazard). They first came to our attention when the 1998 probabilistic seismic hazard analysis for Yucca Mountain was extended to a hazard level of 10-8/yr (a 10-4/yr probability for a 104-year repository “lifetime”). The primary purpose of this report is to summarize the principal results of the ExGM research program

Gravity and magnetic investigations of the Ghost Dance and Solitario Canyon faults, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ponce, D.A.; Langenheim, V.E.

1995-01-01

Ground magnetic and gravity data collected along traverses across the Ghost Dance and Solitario Canyon faults on the eastern and western flanks, respectively, of Yucca Mountain in southwest Nevada are interpreted. These data were collected as part of an effort to evaluate faulting in the vicinity of a potential nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. Gravity and magnetic data and models along traverses across the Ghost Dance and Solitario Canyon faults show prominent anomalies associated with known faults and reveal a number of possible concealed faults beneath the eastern flank of Yucca Mountain. The central part of the eastern flank of Yucca Mountain is characterized by several small amplitude anomalies that probably reflect small scale faulting

[i]Toxoplasma gondii[/i] in protected wildlife in the Tatra National Park (TANAP, Slovakia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ludmila Turčeková

2014-06-01

Full Text Available [i]Toxoplasma gondii[/i] is an obligatory intracellular protozoan parasite that infects a broad spectrum of warm-blooded vertebrate species. As a part of the food chain, farm animals play a significant role in transmission of [i]T. gondii [/i]to humans, while rats and mice serve as a main source of infection for free-living animals. The spread of toxoplasmosis in the human population is due to the interchange of the domestic and sylvatic cycles. During 2009–2011, a survey on toxoplasmosis distribution was conducted in wildlife of the Tatra National Park (TANAP in Slovakia. A total of 60 animals were examined. The presence of [i]T. gondii[/i] was detected by means of molecular methods based on TGR1E gene analyses. The highest prevalence was recorded in birds (40.0%, followed by carnivores (30.8% and rodents (18.2%. RFLP analyses of SAG2 locus confirmed in birds the genotype II and III, belonging to the avirulent strain; rodents exclusively had genotype I, characterised as a virulent train, and in carnivores all three genotypes were detected. These results present the first survey on the parasite’s occurrence in several species of free-living animals in the TANAP area. An epidemiological study confirmed the prevalence of 30.0%, implicitly referring to the level of environmental contamination with [i]T. gondii [/i]oocysts.

Discovery and description of a new trichostrongyloid species (Nematoda: Ostertagiinae), abomasal parasites in mountain goat, Oreamnos americanus, from the Western Cordillera of North America.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoberg, Eric P; Abrams, Arthur; Pilitt, Patricia A; Jenkins, Emily J

2012-08-01

Marshallagia lichtenfelsi sp. n. is a dimorphic ostertagiine nematode occurring in the abomasum of mountain goats, Oreamnos americanus, from the Western Cordillera of North America. Major and minor morphotype males and females are characterized and distinguished relative to the morphologically similar Marshallagia marshalli / Marshallagia occidentalis from North America and Marshallagia dentispicularis, along with other congeners, from the Palearctic region. The configuration of the convoluted and irregular synlophe in the cervical region of males and females of M. lichtenfelsi is apparently unique, contrasting with a continuous and parallel system of ridges among those species of Marshallagia, including M. marshalli/M. occidentalis, which have been evaluated. Specimens of M. lichtenfelsi are further defined by the rectangular form of the accessory bursal membrane (width > length) in the major morphotype and by the trapezoidal Sjöberg's organ in the minor morphotype, in addition to specific attributes of the spicules and spicule tips. We regard 12 species, including the proposed new taxon, to be valid. Primary diagnostic characters are reviewed for Marshallagia and a framework is presented for standardization of future descriptions incorporating the synlophe in males and females and the structure of the spicules and genital cone in major and minor morphotype males. The center of diversity for species of Marshallagia is the mountain-steppe region of central Eurasia where 11 species (including the Holarctic M. marshalli) are recognized in association with Caprini, Rupicaprini, and Antelopinae; only 2 species occur in the Nearctic. In this assemblage, M. lichtenfelsi is endemic to North America and limited in host distribution to mountain goats. An intricate history for refugial isolation and population fragmentation demonstrated for mountain goats and wild sheep indicates the potential for considerable cryptic diversity for Marshallagia and other nematodes. Shifting

Barrier effects of remote high mountain on atmospheric metal transport in the eastern Tibetan Plateau.

Science.gov (United States)

Bing, Haijian; Zhou, Jun; Wu, Yanhong; Luo, Xiaosan; Xiang, Zhongxiang; Sun, Hongyang; Wang, Jipeng; Zhu, He

2018-07-01

Anthropogenic metals adsorbed on suspended fine particles can be deposited on remote and inaccessible high mountains by long-range atmospheric transport. In this study, we investigated the cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in the soils, mosses and rainfall of three transects on the Gongga Mountain, eastern Tibetan Plateau, to understand the mountain interception effects on their atmospheric transport. The concentrations of Cd and Pb in the soils and mosses displayed a pattern of eastern transect>northern transect>western transect. The distribution of Cd and Pb on the eastern transect increased from 2000 to 2900m a.s.l. (above sea level), decreased toward the timberline, and increased again with altitude; on the northern transect, it generally decreased with altitude whereas a distribution trend was not clearly observed on the western transect. The Cd and Pb concentrations in the rainfall of the eastern transect generally decreased with altitude, and they were higher inside forests than outside forests and temporally higher in the winter than the summer. The Pb isotopic ratios coupled with moss bio-monitoring distinguished anthropogenic sources of Cd and Pb on the eastern and northern transects, whereas bedrock weathering was the main source of Cd and Pb on the western transect. We proposed a conceptual model to delineate the effects of terrain, local climate and vegetation on the transport of atmospheric metals. Our results highlighted the high mountains in the eastern Tibetan Plateau as an effective natural barrier limiting atmospheric metal transport. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A case study: Fish production in the integrated farming system of the Black Thai in Yen Chau district (Son La province) in mountainous North-western Vietnam - current state and potential

OpenAIRE

Steinbronn, Silke

2009-01-01

Son La province is located in mountainous north-western Vietnam and belongs to the poorest regions of the country. In the valleys of this province, fish farming is one of the major activities among farmers who belong to the ethnic Black Thai minority. Up until now, the aquaculture system practiced here has not been scientifically investigated. There is generally very little data available regarding the aquaculture of resource-poor farmers in Southeast Asia. This lack of information can be par...

Late glacial vegetation and climate changes in the high mountains of Bulgaria (Southeast Europe)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bozilova, E.D.; Tonkov, S.B.

2005-01-01

Full text: The Late glacial vegetation history in the high mountains of Southern Bulgaria (Rila, Pirin, Western Rhodopes) is reconstructed by means of pollen analysis, plant macrofossils and radiocarbon dating of sediments from lakes and peat-bogs located between 1300 and 2200 m a.s.l. The vegetation response to the climate fluctuations after 13000 14 C yrs. BP in the Rila Mountains is bound for the first time to a detailed chronological framework. Two stadial and one interstadial phases are delimited analogous with the Oldest Dryas-Bolling/Allerod-Younger Dryas cycle for Western Europe. During the stadials mountain-steppe vegetation composed of Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae, Poaceae and other cold-resistant herbs dominated at high elevation with sparse stands of Pinus, Betula, and shrubland of Juniperus and Ephedra. The climate improvement in the interstadial resulted in the initial spread of deciduous and coniferous trees (Quercus, Tilia, Corylus, Carpinus, Abies, Picea) from their local refugia below 1000 m. The palaeoecological record from the climate deterioration during the Younger Dryas is documented in thin sections of the cores investigated. (author)

Paleomagnetism of the Talesh Mountains and implications for the geodynamics of NW Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Langereis, C. G.; Kuijper, C. B.; Rezaeian, M.; van der Boon, A.; Cotton, L.; Pastor-Galan, D.; Krijgsman, W.

2017-12-01

Since the late Eocene, convergence and subsequent collision between Arabia and Eurasia was accommodated both in the overriding Eurasian plate - which includes the Iranian plateau - and by subduction and accretion of the Neotethys and Arabian margin. Determining rotations of the Talesh is of crucial importance for estimating crustal shortening in the Arabia-Eurasia collision region. Previously, we quantified how much Arabia-Eurasia convergence was accommodated north of the Talesh mountains of NW Iran (120 km). Since the Eocene, the Talesh and western Alborz Mountains show a 16° net clockwise rotation relative to Eurasia. In our kinematic restoration, we considered the Talesh and western Alborz Mountains as a coherent single block, with a length of 600 km. However, on a smaller scale ( 100 km), the Talesh Mountains show a Z-shaped outcrop pattern of Eocene volcanic rocks. Here, we present new paleomagnetic data from Cretaceous sediments and Eocene volcanics of the Talesh Mountains, which cover a gap in our previous work. We reconstruct vertical axis rotations of the Z-shape. For the Eocene, our results indicate an increasing amount of CW rotation with respect to Eurasia from south to north: 24° in the southeast to 49° in the central Talesh. Cretaceous data show significantly larger rotations of 70-100° CW. This could indicate that curvature in the Talesh is progressive through time. The formation of this orocline must have started after the Eocene at the latest. However, it seems that not all of the outcrop pattern can be explained by the observed vertical axis rotations yet.

Fire history and climate characteristics during the last millennium of the Great Hinggan Mountains at the monsoon margin in northeastern China

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Chuanyu; He, Jiabao; Zhang, Yan; Cong, Jinxin; Han, Dongxue; Wang, Guoping

2018-03-01

The northeastern region of China, at the limit of the summer monsoon, is characterized by the presence of mountains that influenced by the Asian summer monsoon on one side and the westerlies on the other; however, few studies have compared the environmental characteristics on the two sides of these mountains. In this study, two peatland cores from the western and eastern sides of the Great Hinggan Mountains were investigated to better understand the climatic and environmental conditions and the measurements of black carbon (BC) and δ13C-BC were used to reconstruct the fire history and environmental characteristics during the last millennium. Our results showed that the variations in the δ13C-BC values are more sensitive to climate changes than the BC fluxes, and the climate forcing mechanisms differed between the two sides of the mountains. Lower δ13C-BC values around 500 cal yr BP on the western side of the mountains indicated climate conditions were wetter than that on the eastern side, and were influenced by low sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean. The region east of the mountains was mainly influenced by the strong Asian summer monsoon, and the decreasing of δ13C-BC values indicated climate conditions became wetter from 250 cal yr BP to the present and were wetter than that on the western side after 150 cal yr BP. Moreover, when one of these two forcing factors weakened and the other strengthened (e.g. from 400 to 150 cal yr BP), climate conditions in these two sides were similar.

Snow hydrology in Mediterranean mountain regions: A review

Science.gov (United States)

Fayad, Abbas; Gascoin, Simon; Faour, Ghaleb; López-Moreno, Juan Ignacio; Drapeau, Laurent; Page, Michel Le; Escadafal, Richard

2017-08-01

Water resources in Mediterranean regions are under increasing pressure due to climate change, economic development, and population growth. Many Mediterranean rivers have their headwaters in mountainous regions where hydrological processes are driven by snowpack dynamics and the specific variability of the Mediterranean climate. A good knowledge of the snow processes in the Mediterranean mountains is therefore a key element of water management strategies in such regions. The objective of this paper is to review the literature on snow hydrology in Mediterranean mountains to identify the existing knowledge, key research questions, and promising technologies. We collected 620 peer-reviewed papers, published between 1913 and 2016, that deal with the Mediterranean-like mountain regions in the western United States, the central Chilean Andes, and the Mediterranean basin. A large amount of studies in the western United States form a strong scientific basis for other Mediterranean mountain regions. We found that: (1) the persistence of snow cover is highly variable in space and time but mainly controlled by elevation and precipitation; (2) the snowmelt is driven by radiative fluxes, but the contribution of heat fluxes is stronger at the end of the snow season and during heat waves and rain-on-snow events; (3) the snow densification rates are higher in these regions when compared to other climate regions; and (4) the snow sublimation is an important component of snow ablation, especially in high-elevation regions. Among the pressing issues is the lack of continuous ground observation in high-elevation regions. However, a few years of snow depth (HS) and snow water equivalent (SWE) data can provide realistic information on snowpack variability. A better spatial characterization of snow cover can be achieved by combining ground observations with remotely sensed snow data. SWE reconstruction using satellite snow cover area and a melt model provides reasonable information that

Early to Middle Jurassic tectonic evolution of the Bogda Mountains, Northwest China: Evidence from sedimentology and detrital zircon geochronology

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Hongjie; Tao, Huifei; Wang, Qi; Qiu, Zhen; Ma, Dongxu; Qiu, Junli; Liao, Peng

2018-03-01

The Bogda Mountains, as an important intracontinental orogenic belt, are situated in the southern part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), and are a key area for understanding the Mesozoic evolution of the CAOB. However, the tectonic evolution of the Bogda Mountains remains controversial during the Mesozoic Era, especially the Early to Middle Jurassic Periods. The successive Lower to Middle Jurassic strata are well preserved and exposed along the northern flank of the Western Bogda Mountains and record the uplift processes of the Bogda Mountains. In this study, we analysed sedimentary facies combined with detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology at five sections of Lower to Middle Jurassic strata to detect the tectonic evolution and changes of provenance in the Bogda area. During Early to Middle Jurassic times, the fluvial, deltaic and lacustrine environments dominated in the western section of the Bogda area. The existence of Early Triassic peak age indicates that the Bogda Mountains did not experience uplift during the period of early Badaowan Formation deposition. The Early Triassic to Late Permian granitoid plutons and Carboniferous volcanic rocks from the Barkol and Santanghu areas were the main provenances. The significant change in the U-Pb age spectrum implies that the Eastern Bogda Mountains initiated uplift in the period of late Badaowan Formation deposition, and the Eastern Junggar Basin and the Turpan-Hami Basin were partially partitioned. The Eastern Bogda Mountains gradually became the major provenance. From the period of early Sangonghe to early Toutunhe Formations deposition, the provenance of the sediments and basin-range frame were similar to that of late Badaowan. However, the Eastern Bogda Mountains suffered intermittent uplift three times, and successive denudation. The uplifts respectively happened in early Sangonghe, late Sangonghe to early Xishanyao, and late Xishanyao to early Toutunhe. During the deposition stage of Toutunhe Formation, a

Deep structure of the Alborz Mountains by joint inversion of P receiver functions and dispersion curves

Science.gov (United States)

Rastgoo, Mehdi; Rahimi, Habib; Motaghi, Khalil; Shabanian, Esmaeil; Romanelli, Fabio; Panza, Giuliano F.

2018-04-01

The Alborz Mountains represent a tectonically and seismically active convergent boundary in the Arabia - Eurasia collision zone, in western Asia. The orogenic belt has undergone a long-lasted tectono-magmatic history since the Cretaceous. The relationship between shallow and deep structures in this complex tectonic domain is not straightforward. We present a 2D velocity model constructed by the assemblage of 1D shear wave velocity (Vs) models from 26 seismic stations, mainly distributed along the southern flank of the Alborz Mountains. The shear wave velocity structure has been estimated beneath each station using joint inversion of P-waves receiver functions and Rayleigh wave dispersion curves. A substantiation of the Vs inversion results sits on the modeling of Bouguer gravity anomaly data. Our velocity and density models show low velocity/density anomalies in uppermost mantle of western and central Alborz at a depth range of ∼50-100 km. In deeper parts of the uppermost mantle (depth range of 100-150 km), a high velocity/density anomaly is located beneath most of the Mountain range. The spatial pattern of these low and high velocity/density structures in the upper mantle is interpreted as the result of post collisional delamination of lower part of the western and central Alborz lithosphere.

Ice core records of climate variability on the Third Pole with emphasis on the Guliya ice cap, western Kunlun Mountains

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Lonnie G.; Yao, Tandong; Davis, Mary E.; Mosley-Thompson, Ellen; Wu, Guangjian; Porter, Stacy E.; Xu, Baiqing; Lin, Ping-Nan; Wang, Ninglian; Beaudon, Emilie; Duan, Keqin; Sierra-Hernández, M. Roxana; Kenny, Donald V.

2018-05-01

Records of recent climate from ice cores drilled in 2015 on the Guliya ice cap in the western Kunlun Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau, which with the Himalaya comprises the Third Pole (TP), demonstrate that this region has become warmer and moister since at least the middle of the 19th century. Decadal-scale linkages are suggested between ice core temperature and snowfall proxies, North Atlantic oceanic and atmospheric processes, Arctic temperatures, and Indian summer monsoon intensity. Correlations between annual-scale oxygen isotopic ratios (δ18O) and tropical western Pacific and Indian Ocean sea surface temperatures are also demonstrated. Comparisons of climate records during the last millennium from ice cores acquired throughout the TP illustrate centennial-scale differences between monsoon and westerlies dominated regions. Among these records, Guliya shows the highest rate of warming since the end of the Little Ice Age, but δ18O data over the last millennium from TP ice cores support findings that elevation-dependent warming is most pronounced in the Himalaya. This, along with the decreasing precipitation rates in the Himalaya region, is having detrimental effects on the cryosphere. Although satellite monitoring of glaciers on the TP indicates changes in surface area, only a few have been directly monitored for mass balance and ablation from the surface. This type of ground-based study is essential to obtain a better understanding of the rate of ice shrinkage on the TP.

Probability of infestation and extent of mortality models for mountain pine beetle in lodgepole pine forests in Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

Jose F. Negron; Jennifer G. Klutsch

2017-01-01

The mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, is a significant agent of tree mortality in lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud.) forests throughout western North America. A large outbreak of mountain pine beetle caused extensive tree mortality in north-central Colorado beginning in the late 1990s. We use data from a network of plots established in...

Detection of Spatio-Temporal Changes of Norway Spruce Forest Stands in Ore Mountains Using Landsat Time Series and Airborne Hyperspectral Imagery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Mišurec

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The study focuses on spatio-temporal changes in the physiological status of the Norway spruce forests located at the central and western parts of the Ore Mountains (northwestern part of the Czech Republic, which suffered from severe environmental pollution from the 1970s to the 1990s. The situation started improving after the pollution loads decreased significantly at the end of the 1990s. The general trends in forest recovery were studied using the tasseled cap transformation and disturbance index (DI extracted from the 1985–2015 time series of Landsat data. In addition, 16 vegetation indices (VIs extracted from airborne hyperspectral (HS data acquired in 1998 using the Advanced Solid-State Array Spectroradiometer (ASAS and in 2013 using the Airborne Prism Experiment (APEX were used to study changes in forest health. The forest health status analysis of HS image data was performed at two levels of spatial resolution; at a tree level (original 2.0 m spatial resolution, as well as at a forest stand level (generalized to 6.0 m spatial resolution. The temporal changes were studied primarily using the VOG1 vegetation index (VI as it was showing high and stable sensitivity to forest damage for both spatial resolutions considered. In 1998, significant differences between the moderately to heavily damaged (central Ore Mountains and initially damaged (western Ore Mountains stands were detected for all the VIs tested. In 2013, the stands in the central Ore Mountains exhibited VI values much closer to the global mean, indicating an improvement in their health status. This result fully confirms the finding of the Landsat time series analysis. The greatest difference in Disturbance Index (DI values between the central (1998: 0.37 and western Ore Mountains stands (1998: −1.21 could be seen at the end of the 1990s. Nonetheless, levelling of the physiological status of Norway spruce was observed for the central and western parts of the Ore Mountains in

Current and potential tree locations in tree line ecotone of Changbai Mountains, Northeast China: the controlling effects of topography.

Science.gov (United States)

Zong, Shengwei; Wu, Zhengfang; Xu, Jiawei; Li, Ming; Gao, Xiaofeng; He, Hongshi; Du, Haibo; Wang, Lei

2014-01-01

Tree line ecotone in the Changbai Mountains has undergone large changes in the past decades. Tree locations show variations on the four sides of the mountains, especially on the northern and western sides, which has not been fully explained. Previous studies attributed such variations to the variations in temperature. However, in this study, we hypothesized that topographic controls were responsible for causing the variations in the tree locations in tree line ecotone of the Changbai Mountains. To test the hypothesis, we used IKONOS images and WorldView-1 image to identify the tree locations and developed a logistic regression model using topographical variables to identify the dominant controls of the tree locations. The results showed that aspect, wetness, and slope were dominant controls for tree locations on western side of the mountains, whereas altitude, SPI, and aspect were the dominant factors on northern side. The upmost altitude a tree can currently reach was 2140 m asl on the northern side and 2060 m asl on western side. The model predicted results showed that habitats above the current tree line on the both sides were available for trees. Tree recruitments under the current tree line may take advantage of the available habitats at higher elevations based on the current tree location. Our research confirmed the controlling effects of topography on the tree locations in the tree line ecotone of Changbai Mountains and suggested that it was essential to assess the tree response to topography in the research of tree line ecotone.

Current and Potential Tree Locations in Tree Line Ecotone of Changbai Mountains, Northeast China: The Controlling Effects of Topography

OpenAIRE

Zong, Shengwei; Wu, Zhengfang; Xu, Jiawei; Li, Ming; Gao, Xiaofeng; He, Hongshi; Du, Haibo; Wang, Lei

2014-01-01

Tree line ecotone in the Changbai Mountains has undergone large changes in the past decades. Tree locations show variations on the four sides of the mountains, especially on the northern and western sides, which has not been fully explained. Previous studies attributed such variations to the variations in temperature. However, in this study, we hypothesized that topographic controls were responsible for causing the variations in the tree locations in tree line ecotone of the Changbai Mountain...

Forest development and carbon dynamics after mountain pine beetle outbreaks

Science.gov (United States)

E. Matthew. Hansen

2014-01-01

Mountain pine beetles periodically infest pine forests in western North America, killing many or most overstory pine stems. The surviving secondary stand structure, along with recruited seedlings, will form the future canopy. Thus, even-aged pine stands become multiaged and multistoried. The species composition of affected stands will depend on the presence of nonpines...

Native Americans and Yucca Mountain: A revised and updated summary report on research undertaken between 1987 and 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fowler, C.S.

1991-01-01

This report summarizes data collected between September 1986 and September 1988 relative to Native American concerns involving the potential siting of a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The data were collected from Western Shoshone and Southern Paiute people upon whose aboriginal lands the repository potentially is to be located. Western Shoshone people involved in the study were those resident or affiliated with reservation communities at Yomba and Duckwater, Nevada, and Death Valley, California. Southern Paiute people were at reservation communities at Moapa and Las Vegas. Additional persons of Western Shoshone and Southern Paiute descent were interviewed at Beatty, Tonopah, Caliente, Pahrump, and Las Vegas, Nevada. The work was part of a larger project of socioeconomic studies for the State of Nevada's Nuclear Waste Projects office, conducted by Mountain West of Phoenix, Arizona

Relief Evolution in Tectonically Active Mountain Ranges

Science.gov (United States)

Whipple, Kelin X.

2004-01-01

The overall aims of this 3-yr project, as originally proposed were to: (1) investigate quantitatively the roles of fluvial and glacial erosion in the evolution of relief in mountainous regions, and (2) test rigorously the quality and accuracy of SRTM topographic data in areas of rugged relief - both the most challenging and of greatest interest to geomorphic, neotectonic, and hazards applications. Natural laboratories in both the western US and the Southern Alps of New Zealand were identified as most promising. The project has been both successful and productive, despite the fact that no SRTM data for our primary field sites in New Zealand were released on the time frame of the work effort. Given the delayed release of SRTM data, we pursued the scientific questions of the roles of fluvial and, especially, glacial erosion in the evolution of relief in mountainous regions using available digital elevation models (DEMs) for the Southern Alps of New Zealand (available at both 25m and 50m pixel sizes), and USGS 10m and 30m DEMs within the Western US. As emphasized in the original proposal, we chose the emphasis on the role of glacial modification of topographic relief because there has been little quantitative investigation of glacial erosion processes at landscape scale. This is particularly surprising considering the dramatic sculpting of most mid- and high-latitude mountain ranges, the prodigious quantities of glacially-derived sediment in terrestrial and marine basins, and the current cross-disciplinary interest in the role of denudational processes in orogenesis and the evolution of topography in general. Moreover, the evolution of glaciated landscapes is not only a fundamental problem in geomorphology in its own right, but also is at the heart of the debate over Late Cenozoic linkages between climate and tectonics.

The mountain pine beetle and whitebark pine waltz: Has the music changed?

Science.gov (United States)

Barbara J. Bentz; Greta Schen-Langenheim

2007-01-01

The mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) (MPB), is a bark beetle native to western North American forests, spanning wide latitudinal and elevational gradients. MPB infest and reproduce within the phloem of most Pinus species from northern Baja California in Mexico to central British Columbia in...

Analyzing Spatial Behavior of Backcountry Skiers in Mountain Protected Areas Combining GPS Tracking and Graph Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karolina Taczanowska

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Mountain protected areas (PAs aim to preserve vulnerable environments and at the same time encourage numerous outdoor leisure activities. Understanding the way people use natural environments is crucial to balance the needs of visitors and site capacities. This study aims to develop an approach to evaluate the structure and use of designated skiing zones in PAs combining Global Positioning System (GPS tracking and analytical methods based on graph theory. The study is based on empirical data (n = 609 GPS tracks of backcountry skiers collected in Tatra National Park (TNP, Poland. The physical structure of the entire skiing zones system has been simplified into a graph structure (structural network; undirected graph. In a second step, the actual use of the area by skiers (functional network; directed graph was analyzed using a graph-theoretic approach. Network coherence (connectivity indices: β, γ, α, movement directions at path segments, and relative importance of network nodes (node centrality measures: degree, betweenness, closeness, and proximity prestige were calculated. The system of designated backcountry skiing zones was not evenly used by the visitors. Therefore, the calculated parameters differ significantly between the structural and the functional network. In particular, measures related to the actually used trails are of high importance from the management point of view. Information about the most important node locations can be used for planning sign-posts, on-site maps, interpretative boards, or other tourist infrastructure.

Attempting to restore mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana) four years after fire

Science.gov (United States)

Restoration of shrubs is increasingly needed throughout the world because of altered fire regimes, anthropogenic disturbance, and over-utilization. The native shrub mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. vaseyana (Rydb.) Beetle) is a restoration priority in western North America be...

Atmospheric water budget over the western Himalayas in a regional ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

influences the water budget over mountainous regions. This winter ... Moisture feedback; western Himalayas; regional climate. J. Earth Syst. Sci. ... and role of soil moisture in determining regional flood or ... Grell (1993), the resolvable-scale cloud and preci- ..... RegCNET: Regional climate modeling for the developing world ...

Mountain peatlands range from CO2 sinks at high elevations to sources at low elevations: Implications for a changing climate

Science.gov (United States)

David J. Millar; David J. Cooper; Kathleen A. Dwire; Robert M. Hubbard; Joseph. von Fischer

2016-01-01

Mountain fens found in western North America have sequestered atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) for millennia, provide important habitat for wildlife, and serve as refugia for regionally-rare plant species typically found in boreal regions. It is unclear how Rocky Mountain fens are responding to a changing climate. It is possible that fens found at lower elevations may...

Chemical composition of the Tatra Mountain lakes: Response to acidification

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Stuchlík, E.; Kopáček, Jiří; Fott, J.; Hořická, Z.

2006-01-01

Roč. 61, Suppl. 18 (2006), S11-S20 ISSN 0006-3088 Grant - others:EC(XE) GOCE-CT-2003-505540; EC(XE) EV5V-CT92-0205 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60170517 Keywords : acidification * long-term trends * nutrients Subject RIV: DJ - Water Pollution ; Quality Impact factor: 0.213, year: 2006

Explaining the mechanisms through which regional atmospheric circulation variability drives summer temperatures and glacial melt in western High Mountain Asia (HMA)

Science.gov (United States)

Forsythe, Nathan; Fowler, Hayley; Blenkinsop, Stephen; Li, Xiaofeng; Pritchard, David

2017-04-01

Comprehension of mechanisms by which atmospheric circulation influences sub-regional temperature and water resources variability in high-elevation mountainous catchments is of great scientific urgency due to the dependency of large downstream populations on the river flows these basins provide. In this work we quantify a regional atmospheric pattern, the Karakoram Zonal Shear (KZS), with a very pronounced annual cycle which we standardise into a dimensionless (seasonal) circulation metric the Karakoram Zonal Index (KZI). Going beyond previous regional circulation metrics such as the "middle-upper tropospheric temperature index" (MUTTI) or the Webster and Yang Monsoonal Index (WYMI) which have focused solely on the South Asian Summer Monsoon (June to September) season, the KZS/KZI provides an indicator which captures the influence and interactions of the westerly jet throughout the entire annual cycle. Use of the KZS and KZI have led us to identify a further regional atmospheric system, the Karakoram Vortex, which propagates "warm high" (anticyclonic postitive temperature anomaly) and "cold low" (cyclonic negative temperature anomaly) patterns across a very broad swath of Central and South Asia in winter but over a much more constrained area of western HMA in summer. The KV exerts this temperature influence through a combination of adiabatic effects and large-scale advection. Quantify KV influence, the KZI shows strong and statistically significantly near surface (2m) air temperatures both across western HMA both as observed through local meteorological stations and as estimated by an ensemble of global meteorological reanalyses. We show that this strong influence on temperature translates to important consequences for meltwater generation from highly glaciated Indus river tributaries which is logical given that previous studies have established the role of air temperature in modulating glacially-derived river flows in western HMA. By improving the understanding of

Revised potentiometric-surface map, Yucca Mountain and vicinity, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ervin, E.M.; Luckey, R.R.; Burkhardt, D.J.

1994-01-01

The revised potentiometric-surface map presented in this report updates earlier maps of the Yucca Mountain area using mainly 1988 average water levels. Because of refinements in the corrections to the water-level measurements, these water levels have increased accuracy and precision over older values. The small-gradient area to the southeast of Yucca Mountain is contoured with a 0.25-meter interval and ranges in water-level altitude from 728.5 to 73 1.0 meters. Other areas with different water levels, to the north and west of Yucca Mountain, are illustrated with shaded patterns. The potentiometric surface can be divided into three regions: (1) A small-gradient area to the southeast of Yucca Mountain, which may be explained by flow through high-transmissivity rocks or low ground-water flux through the area; (2) A moderate-gradient area, on the western side of Yucca Mountain, where the water-level altitude ranges from 775 to 780 meters, and appears to be impeded by the Solitario Canyon Fault and a splay of that fault; and (3) A large-gradient area, to the north-northeast of Yucca Mountain, where water level altitude ranges from 738 to 1,035 meters, possibly as a result of a semi-perched groundwater system. Water levels from wells at Yucca Mountain were examined for yearly trends using linear least-squares regression. Data from five wells exhibited trends which were statistically significant, but some of those may be a result of slow equilibration of the water level from drilling in less permeable rocks. Adjustments for temperature and density changes in the deep wells with long fluid columns were attempted, but some of the adjusted data did not fit the surrounding data and, thus, were not used

Native Americans and Yucca Mountain: A revised and updated summary report on research undertaken between 1987 and 1991; Volume 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fowler, C.S. [Cultural Resources Consultants Ltd., Reno, NV (United States)

1991-10-15

This report summarizes data collected between September 1986 and September 1988 relative to Native American concerns involving the potential siting of a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The data were collected from Western Shoshone and Southern Paiute people upon whose aboriginal lands the repository potentially is to be located. Western Shoshone people involved in the study were those resident or affiliated with reservation communities at Yomba and Duckwater, Nevada, and Death Valley, California. Southern Paiute people were at reservation communities at Moapa and Las Vegas. Additional persons of Western Shoshone and Southern Paiute descent were interviewed at Beatty, Tonopah, Caliente, Pahrump, and Las Vegas, Nevada. The work was part of a larger project of socioeconomic studies for the State of Nevada`s Nuclear Waste Projects office, conducted by Mountain West of Phoenix, Arizona.

Composition and biogeography of forest patches on the inland mountains of the southern Cape

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. J. Geldenhuys

1997-10-01

Full Text Available Patterns in species richness of 23 small, isolated forests on the inland mountains of the southern Cape were studied. Species richness of woody plants and vines of the Kouga-Baviaanskloof Forests was higher than in the western mountain complexes, where species richness in the more southern Rooiberg and Kamanassie Mountains was higher than in the Swartberg range. The Rooiberg, a dry mountain with small forests far away from the coastal source area, had more species than, and contained many species which are absent from, the larger, moister forests of the Kamanassie which are closest to the coastal source areas. Neither altitude nor distance from the source area, the forests south of the coastal mountains, nor long-distance dispersal, adequately explained the variation in species richness. The variations are best explained in terms of dispersal corridors along the Gouritz and Gamtoos River systems which connect the coastal forests with the inland mountains. The distribution patterns of four species groups in relation to the geomorphological history of the two river systems provide relative dates for the expansion and contraction of temperate forest, subtropical forest and subtropical transitional thicket in the southern Cape.

Estimation of snow and glacier melt contribution to Liddar stream in a mountainous catchment, western Himalaya: an isotopic approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeelani, Gh; Shah, Rouf A; Jacob, Noble; Deshpande, Rajendrakumar D

2017-03-01

Snow- and glacier-dominated catchments in the Himalayas are important sources of fresh water to more than one billion people. However, the contribution of snowmelt and glacier melt to stream flow remains largely unquantified in most parts of the Himalayas. We used environmental isotopes and geochemical tracers to determine the source water and flow paths of stream flow draining the snow- and glacier-dominated mountainous catchment of the western Himalaya. The study suggested that the stream flow in the spring season is dominated by the snowmelt released from low altitudes and becomes isotopically depleted as the melt season progressed. The tracer-based mixing models suggested that snowmelt contributed a significant proportion (5-66 %) to stream flow throughout the year with the maximum contribution in spring and summer seasons (from March to July). In 2013 a large and persistent snowpack contributed significantly (∼51 %) to stream flow in autumn (September and October) as well. The average annual contribution of glacier melt to stream flow is little (5 %). However, the monthly contribution of glacier melt to stream flow reaches up to 19 % in September during years of less persistent snow pack.

Climate along the crest of the US Rocky Mountains during the last glaciation: preliminary insights from numerical modeling of paleoglaciers

Science.gov (United States)

Leonard, E. M.; Laabs, B. J.; Plummer, M. A.; Huss, E.; Spiess, V. M.; Mackall, B. T.; Jacobsen, R. E.; Quirk, B.

2012-12-01

Climate conditions at the time of the local Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the US Rocky Mountains were assessed using a 2-d coupled glacier energy/mass-balance and ice-flow model (Plummer and Phillips, 2003). The model was employed to understand the conditions that would be necessary to sustain valley glaciers and small mountain icecaps at their maximum extents in eight areas distributed along the crest of the range from northern New Mexico (35.8oN) to northern Montana (48.6oN). For each setting, model experiments yield a set of temperature and precipitation combinations that may have accompanied the local LGM. If the results of global and regional climate models are used to constrain temperature depression estimates from our model experiments, the following precipitation pattern emerges for the local LGM. In the northern Rocky Mountains in Montana and northern Wyoming, model results suggest a strong reduction in precipitation of 50% or more. In the central Rocky Mountains of southern Wyoming and Colorado, precipitation appears to have been 50-90% of modern. By contrast, precipitation appears to have been strongly enhanced in the southern Rocky Mountains of New Mexico. These results are broadly consistent with a pattern of precipitation observed in global and regional climate simulations of the LGM in the western U.S., in which precipitation was reduced in the northern Rocky Mountains but increased in the southern Rocky Mountains. This pattern may reflect a southward displacement of mean position the Pacific Jet Stream in western North America during and possibly following the LGM.

EXPANSION OF DIDYMOSPHENIA GEMINATA (LYNGBE) M. SCHMIDT (BACILLARIOPHYCEAE) IN RUNNING WATERS IN S-E POLAND: NEW RECORDS IN THE PODKARPACIE REGION

OpenAIRE

Teresa Noga; Jadwiga Stanek-Tarkowska; Anita Pajączek; Łukasz Peszek; Natalia Kochman

2014-01-01

Nowadays Didymosphenia geminata is one of the most frequently studied diatoms in the world, due to its massive development in most continents. In Poland, up to the 1990’s only a small number of specimens were recorded, from streams in the Tatra Mountains and the Dunajec River. D. geminata was found in 2007–2008 in the middle and upper sections of the Wisłok River, while in 2009 and 2011 it was also found in the Wisłoka, Ropa, Bielcza, and San. The cells belonged to one morphotype “geminata” a...

Mountain pine beetle-killed lodgepole pine for the production of submicron lignocellulose fibrils

Science.gov (United States)

Ingrid Hoeger; Rolland Gleisner; Jose Negron; Orlando J. Rojas; J. Y. Zhu

2014-01-01

The elevated levels of tree mortality attributed to mountain pine beetle (MPB) (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) in western North American forests create forest management challenges. This investigation introduces the production of submicron or nanometer lignocellulose fibrils for value-added materials from the widely available resource represented by dead pines after...

Mapping Asbestos-Cement Roofing with Hyperspectral Remote Sensing over a Large Mountain Region of the Italian Western Alps

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Federico Frassy

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The World Health Organization estimates that 100 thousand people in the world die every year from asbestos-related cancers and more than 300 thousand European citizens are expected to die from asbestos-related mesothelioma by 2030. Both the European and the Italian legislations have banned the manufacture, importation, processing and distribution in commerce of asbestos-containing products and have recommended action plans for the safe removal of asbestos from public and private buildings. This paper describes the quantitative mapping of asbestos-cement covers over a large mountainous region of Italian Western Alps using the Multispectral Infrared and Visible Imaging Spectrometer sensor. A very large data set made up of 61 airborne transect strips covering 3263 km2 were processed to support the identification of buildings with asbestos-cement roofing, promoted by the Valle d’Aosta Autonomous Region with the support of the Regional Environmental Protection Agency. Results showed an overall mapping accuracy of 80%, in terms of asbestos-cement surface detected. The influence of topography on the classification’s accuracy suggested that even in high relief landscapes, the spatial resolution of data is the major source of errors and the smaller asbestos-cement covers were not detected or misclassified.

Further contributions to a new tectonic interpretation of the Sainte Victoire Mountain (Provence, France)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ricour, J.; Monteau, R.; Laville, P.; Agryriadis, I.

2016-10-01

A new tectonic interpretation of the Sainte Victoire Mountain (north of Marseille, south eastern France) is proposed, principally invoking vertical movements and providing evidence which suggests an uplift which may be still active today in the western part. Some new observations confirm our hypothesis. (Author)

Nitrogen cycling following mountain pine beetle disturbance in lodgepole pine forests of Greater Yellowstone

Science.gov (United States)

Jacob M. Griffin; Monica G. Turner; Martin Simard

2011-01-01

Widespread bark beetle outbreaks are currently affecting multiple conifer forest types throughout western North America, yet many ecosystem-level consequences of this disturbance are poorly understood. We quantified the effect of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) outbreak on nitrogen (N) cycling through litter, soil, and vegetation in...

Forecasting Western U.S. Snowpack

Science.gov (United States)

Kapnick, S. B.; Yang, X.; Vecchi, G. A.; Delworth, T. L.; Gudgel, R.; Malyshev, S.; Milly, C.; Shevliakova, E.; Underwood, S.; Margulis, S. A.

2017-12-01

Cold season mountain snow accumulation in the western United States plays a critical role in regional hydroclimate and water supply. While climate projections provide estimates of future snowpack loss by the end of the century and weather forecasts provide predictions of weather conditions and hazards out to two weeks, less progress has been made for snow predictions at seasonal timescales (months to 2 years), particularly beyond 6 months. Utilizing observations, climate indices, and a suite of global climate models, we demonstrate our dynamical system's feasibility of seasonal snowpack predictions and quantify the limits of predictive skill more than 2 seasons in advance for snowpack—snow that accumulates on the ground in the mountains. Our ability to predict snowpack is reliant on both temperature and precipitation prediction skill modulating both the amount of frozen precipitation that falls and how much snow accumulates and stays on the ground throughout the season. We will quantify prediction skill and outline areas necessary for the future advancement of seasonal hydroclimate prediction.

Ecohydrologic process modeling of mountain block groundwater recharge.

Science.gov (United States)

Magruder, Ian A; Woessner, William W; Running, Steve W

2009-01-01

Regional mountain block recharge (MBR) is a key component of alluvial basin aquifer systems typical of the western United States. Yet neither water scientists nor resource managers have a commonly available and reasonably invoked quantitative method to constrain MBR rates. Recent advances in landscape-scale ecohydrologic process modeling offer the possibility that meteorological data and land surface physical and vegetative conditions can be used to generate estimates of MBR. A water balance was generated for a temperate 24,600-ha mountain watershed, elevation 1565 to 3207 m, using the ecosystem process model Biome-BGC (BioGeochemical Cycles) (Running and Hunt 1993). Input data included remotely sensed landscape information and climate data generated with the Mountain Climate Simulator (MT-CLIM) (Running et al. 1987). Estimated mean annual MBR flux into the crystalline bedrock terrain is 99,000 m(3) /d, or approximately 19% of annual precipitation for the 2003 water year. Controls on MBR predictions include evapotranspiration (radiation limited in wet years and moisture limited in dry years), soil properties, vegetative ecotones (significant at lower elevations), and snowmelt (dominant recharge process). The ecohydrologic model is also used to investigate how climatic and vegetative controls influence recharge dynamics within three elevation zones. The ecohydrologic model proves useful for investigating controls on recharge to mountain blocks as a function of climate and vegetation. Future efforts will need to investigate the uncertainty in the modeled water balance by incorporating an advanced understanding of mountain recharge processes, an ability to simulate those processes at varying scales, and independent approaches to calibrating MBR estimates. Copyright © 2009 The Author(s). Journal compilation © 2009 National Ground Water Association.

Characterization of Stream Channel Evolution Due to Extensional Tectonics Along the Western Margin of North Boulder Basin (Bull Mountain), SW Montana with the Use of Geologic Mapping and Thermochronologic (U-Th/He) Dating.

Science.gov (United States)

Cataldo, K.; Douglas, B. J.; Yanites, B.

2017-12-01

Landscape response to active tectonics, such as fault motion or regional uplift, can be recorded in river profiles as changes in slope (i.e. knickpoints) or topography. North Boulder basin region (SW Montana), experienced two separate phases of extension, from 45 - 35 Ma and again beginning 14 Ma to the present, producing basin-and-range style fault-blocks. Focusing on the Bull Mountain region, located on the western margin of the North Boulder basin, data is collected to test the hypothesis that Bull Mountain is located on the hanging wall of a half-graben. Our objective is to elucidate the active tectonics of the study area within a regional context by utilizing river profile analysis and thermochronometric data. High-resolution (distribution of water, which is an important commodity in SW Montana for ranchers and farmers. Thus, the ability to discern the probability of recurring tectonic events and the effects on the regional watersheds, could help facilitate solutions before these events take place.

An economic assessment of mountain pine beetle timber salvage in the west

Science.gov (United States)

Jeffrey P. Prestemon; Karen L. Abt; Kevin M. Potter; Frank H. Koch

2013-01-01

The mountain pine beetle has killed lodgepole pine and other species of pines in the western United States in an ongoing epidemic. The most heavily affected states are in the interior West: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, with smaller losses elsewhere. Timber salvage is one response to the epidemic, which could generate revenues for affected landowners and...

Distribution of birds and plants at the western and southern edges of the Madrean Sky Islands in Sonora, Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Aaron D. Flesch; Lisa A. Hahn

2005-01-01

The western and southern edges of the Madrean Sky Island region are poorly defined and have received little study. After exploring mountains in these areas, we documented range extensions and additional records for several species of interest. Although many of these disjunct mountains have not been considered Sky Islands, their flora and fauna are similar to other...

Rudist and foraminifer assemblages in the Santonian-Campanian sequence of Nanos Mountain (Western Slovenia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mauro Caffau

2004-06-01

Full Text Available The Santonian-Campanian limestones of Nanos Mountain are mainly characterized by wackestone-packstone with benthic foraminifers, thaumatoporellaceans and rudists. Rudists in growth position are rare and rudist congregations are found only in bouquets with less than ten individuals. Rudist shells are chaotically deposited in beds and frequently show signs of bioturbation and erosion. The analyzed sequence from Nanos Mountain testifies an inner shelf environment in a ramp-like depositional setting. In the lower part of the sequence, rudist assemblages are characterized by abundant hippuritids and radiolitids whereas benthic foraminifers are rare and poorly preserved. In the upper part of the sequence, rudist assemblages consist of abundant radiolitids and rare hippuritids. Benthic foraminifers are usually well-preserved and the presence of the Keramosphaerina tergestina (Stache is recorded. The vertical distribution of rudist and foraminifer assemblages with the presence of K. tergestina reflect sea level changes in an inner shelf environment during Santonian-Campanian.

Upper-mantle velocities below the Scandinavian Mountains from P- and S- wave traveltime tomography

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hejrani, Babak; Balling, N.; Jacobsen, B. H.

2017-01-01

More than 20000 arrival-times of teleseismic P- and S-waves were measured over a period of more than 10 years in five separate temporary and two permanent seismic networks covering the Scandinavian (Scandes) Mountains and adjacent areas of the Baltic Shield. The relative traveltime residuals were...... between Lofoten and the crest of the Northern Scandes Mountains and stays off the coast further north. Seismic velocities in the depth interval 100-300 km change across the UMVB from low relative VP and even lower relative VS on the western side to high relative VP and even higher relative VS to the east...

Cone and seed production of western larch in response to girdling and nitrogen fertilization - an update

Science.gov (United States)

Russell T. Graham; Jonalea R. Tonn; Theresa B. Jain

1995-01-01

Western larch (Larix occidentalis Nutt.) is a sporadic cone and seed producer. Because the species is such an important component of the -Northern Rocky Mountain forests, methods of increasing seed production are needed. Girdling, fertilizing, and a combination of the two were used on 75-year-old western larch in northern Idaho. Girdling at the base of the live crown...

Slope Controls Grain Yield and Climatic Yield in Mountainous Yunnan province, China

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, X.; Rong, L.; Gu, Z.; Feng, D.

2017-12-01

Mountainous regions are increasingly vulnerable to food insecurity because of limited arable land, growing population pressure, and climate change. Development of sustainable mountain agriculture will require an increased understanding of the effects of environmental factors on grain and climatic yields. The objective of this study was to explore the relationships between actual grain yield, climatic yield, and environmental factors in a mountainous region in China. We collected data on the average grain yield per unit area in 119 counties in Yunnan province from 1985 to 2012, and chose 17 environmental factors for the same period. Our results showed that actual grain yield ranged from 1.43 to 6.92 t·ha-1, and the climatic yield ranged from -0.15 to -0.01 t·ha-1. Lower climatic yield but higher grain yield was generally found in central areas and at lower slopes and elevations in the western and southwestern counties of Yunnan province. Higher climatic yield but lower grain yield were found in northwestern parts of Yunnan province on steep slopes. Annual precipation and temperature had a weak influence on the climatic yield. Slope explained 44.62 and 26.29% of the variation in grain yield and climatic yield. The effects of topography on grain and climatic yields were greater than climatic factors. Slope was the most important environmental variable for the variability in climatic and grain yields in the mountainous Yunnan province due to the highly heterogeneous topographic conditions. Conversion of slopes to terraces in areas with higher climatic yields is an effective way to maintain grain production in response to climate variability. Additionally, soil amendments and soil and water conservation measures should be considered to maintain soil fertility and aid in sustainable development in central areas, and in counties at lower slopes and elevations in western and southwestern Yunnan province.

Estimating abundance of mountain lions from unstructured spatial sampling

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Robin E.; Royle, J. Andrew; Desimone, Richard; Schwartz, Michael K.; Edwards, Victoria L.; Pilgrim, Kristy P.; Mckelvey, Kevin S.

2012-01-01

Mountain lions (Puma concolor) are often difficult to monitor because of their low capture probabilities, extensive movements, and large territories. Methods for estimating the abundance of this species are needed to assess population status, determine harvest levels, evaluate the impacts of management actions on populations, and derive conservation and management strategies. Traditional mark–recapture methods do not explicitly account for differences in individual capture probabilities due to the spatial distribution of individuals in relation to survey effort (or trap locations). However, recent advances in the analysis of capture–recapture data have produced methods estimating abundance and density of animals from spatially explicit capture–recapture data that account for heterogeneity in capture probabilities due to the spatial organization of individuals and traps. We adapt recently developed spatial capture–recapture models to estimate density and abundance of mountain lions in western Montana. Volunteers and state agency personnel collected mountain lion DNA samples in portions of the Blackfoot drainage (7,908 km2) in west-central Montana using 2 methods: snow back-tracking mountain lion tracks to collect hair samples and biopsy darting treed mountain lions to obtain tissue samples. Overall, we recorded 72 individual capture events, including captures both with and without tissue sample collection and hair samples resulting in the identification of 50 individual mountain lions (30 females, 19 males, and 1 unknown sex individual). We estimated lion densities from 8 models containing effects of distance, sex, and survey effort on detection probability. Our population density estimates ranged from a minimum of 3.7 mountain lions/100 km2 (95% Cl 2.3–5.7) under the distance only model (including only an effect of distance on detection probability) to 6.7 (95% Cl 3.1–11.0) under the full model (including effects of distance, sex, survey effort, and

Influence of the Farmer’s Livelihood Assets on Livelihood Strategies in the Western Mountainous Area, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhifei Liu

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The livelihood strategies of farm households depend on the conditions of their assets, and farm households cope with risks and shocks through portfolios consisting of different types of assets. Thus, discussing the relationship between the livelihood assets and the livelihood strategies of farm households helps in understanding their livelihood conditions and in formulating reasonable poverty reduction policies. Taking Zunyi City, which is located in a western, mountainous area of China, as the study region and using the framework of sustainability analysis, this study first tries to establish the mechanism of the influence of farm household livelihood assets on livelihood strategies, then evaluates different farm household livelihood assets by establishing an evaluation index system for them, and finally conducts an empirical analysis on the influence of farm household livelihood assets on livelihood strategies using a multinomial logit model. The research results indicate the following: (1 natural assets and material assets have a significant negative influence on farm households’ choice of livelihood strategies, that is, the more natural assets and material assets that farm households own, the more likely they are to choose livelihood strategies involving engaging in agricultural production; (2 Manpower assets and financial assets have a significant positive influence on farm households’ choice of livelihood strategy, namely, the more manpower assets and financial assets that farm households own, the more likely they are to choose livelihood strategies involving engaging in non-agricultural production; (3 Social assets have no significant influence on farm households’ choice of livelihood strategy.

Notice of release for Eagle Germplasm western yarrow (selected germplasm, natural track)

Science.gov (United States)

Scott M. Lambert; Stephen B. Monsen; Nancy Shaw

2011-01-01

The United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station; United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Idaho State Office; Utah State University, Agricultural Experiment Station; and University of Idaho, Agricultural Experiment Station, announce the release of a selected germplasm (natural track) of western...

Restoring big sagebrush after controlling encroaching western juniper with fire: aspect and subspecies effects

Science.gov (United States)

The need for restoration of shrubs is increasingly recognized around the world. In the western USA, restoration of mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. vaseyana (Rydb.) Beetle) after controlling encroaching conifers is a priority to improve sagebrush-associated wildlife habitat. ...

The green against the green

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haluza, I.

2007-01-01

When two years ago national park Tatransky narodny park (TANAP) was hit by a windstorm that destroyed 12-thousand hectares of forest, environmentalists demanded that at least part of the area be left untouched. They wanted to achieve a situation where some parts of the mountains would be covered by virgin forest. Foresters warned that if they left the fallen trees where they were, the bark beetle population would multiply excessively, and then spread to a large part of the High Tatras forests. For a long time the mountains would be covered by dry stumps and the dream of environmentalist about a virgin forest would only start to come true after many decades. Gradually the two parties managed to reach a consensus in regards to most of the damaged areas. The area under the fifth level of protection remained untouched (the fallen wood was not removed) and environmentalists allowed the foresters salvage cuttings for planting pheromone traps. Although the bark beetle still manages to spread further, the numbers are not so high as to endanger the Tatra forests. State owned forestry company Statne lesy TANAP together with private owners harvested about 93% of the calamity wood. The rest was left where it had fallen to create ground for a new natural forest. Foresters sold the wood and are using the money raised to plant new forests. This was not the end of disputes, however. At the beginning of last month the fight between environmentalists and foresters ignited again. (author)

Summertime Minimum Streamflow Elasticity to Antecendent Winter Precipitation, Peak Snow Water Equivalent and Summertime Evaporative Demand in the Western US Maritime Mountains

Science.gov (United States)

Schaperow, J.; Cooper, M. G.; Cooley, S. W.; Alam, S.; Smith, L. C.; Lettenmaier, D. P.

2017-12-01

As climate regimes shift, streamflows and our ability to predict them will change, as well. Elasticity of summer minimum streamflow is estimated for 138 unimpaired headwater river basins across the maritime western US mountains to better understand how climatologic variables and geologic characteristics interact to determine the response of summer low flows to winter precipitation (PPT), spring snow water equivalent (SWE), and summertime potential evapotranspiration (PET). Elasticities are calculated using log log linear regression, and linear reservoir storage coefficients are used to represent basin geology. Storage coefficients are estimated using baseflow recession analysis. On average, SWE, PET, and PPT explain about 1/3 of the summertime low flow variance. Snow-dominated basins with long timescales of baseflow recession are least sensitive to changes in SWE, PPT, and PET, while rainfall-dominated, faster draining basins are most sensitive. There are also implications for the predictability of summer low flows. The R2 between streamflow and SWE drops from 0.62 to 0.47 from snow-dominated to rain-dominated basins, while there is no corresponding increase in R2 between streamflow and PPT.

Klamath Mountains Ecoregion: Chapter 13 in Status and trends of land change in the Western United States--1973 to 2000

Science.gov (United States)

Sleeter, Benjamin M.; Calzia, James P.

2012-01-01

The Klamath Mountains Ecoregion covers approximately 47,791 km2 (18,452 mi2) of the Klamath and Siskiyou Mountains of northern California and southern Oregon (fig. 1) (Omernik, 1987; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1997). The ecoregion is flanked by the Coast Range Ecoregion to the west, the Southern and Central California Chaparral and Oak Woodlands Ecoregion to the south, the Cascades and the Eastern Cascades Slopes and Foothills Ecoregions to the east, and the Willamette Valley Ecoregion to the north. The mild Mediterranean climate of the ecoregion is characterized by hot, dry summers and wet winters; the amount of winter moisture varies within the ecoregion, decreasing from west to east. The Klamath–Siskiyou Mountains region is widely recognized as an important biodiversity hotspot (Whittaker, 1960; Kruckeberg, 1984; Wagner, 1997; DellaSala and others, 1999), containing more than 3,500 plant species, more than 200 of which are endemic (Sawyer, 2007). A biological assessment by DellaSala and others (1999) ranked the Klamath–Siskiyou Mountains region as the fifth richest coniferous forest in terms of species diversity. In addition, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature considers the region an area of notable botanical importance (Wagner, 1997). Twenty-nine different species of conifers can be found in the Klamath Mountains Ecoregion (Sawyer, 1996).

Persistence of evapotranspiration impacts from mountain pine beetle outbreaks in lodgepole pine forests, south-central Rocky Mountains, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Vanderhoof, Melanie; Williams, Christopher

2014-05-01

The current extent and high severity (percent tree mortality) of mountain pine beetle outbreaks across western North America have been attributed to regional climate change, specifically warmer summer and winter temperatures and drier summers. These outbreaks are widespread and have potentially persistent impacts on forest evapotranspiration. The few data-driven studies have largely been restricted by the temporal availability of remote sensing products. This study utilized multiple mountain pine beetle outbreak location datasets, both current and historical, within lodgepole pine stands in the south-central Rocky Mountains. The full seasonal evapotranspiration impact of outbreak events for decades after outbreak (0 to 60 years) and the role of outbreak severity in determining that impact were quantified. We found a 30% reduction in evapotranspiration peaking at 14-20 years post-outbreak during the spring snowmelt period, when water was not limited, but a minimal reduction in evapotranspiration during the remainder of the growing season (June - August). We also found a significant increase in evapotranspiration, relative to non-attacked stands, in intermediate aged stands (20-40 years post-disturbance) corresponding with a peak in LAI and therefore transpiration. During the snow-cover months evapotranspiration initially increased with needle fall and snag fall and corresponding increases in albedo and shortwave transmission to the surface. We found that changes in evapotranspiration during all seasons dissipated by 60 years post-attack. MODIS evapotranspiration values responded most strongly to mountain pine beetle driven changes in net radiation or available energy, and vegetation cover (e.g. LAI, fPAR and EVI). It also appears that the post-attack response of evapotranspiration may be sensitive to precipitation patterns and thus the consequences of a disturbance event may depend on the directionality of climate change conditions.

Description of a new moss frog from the south-western Cape (Anura ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A new species of moss frog, genus Arthroleptella, is described from the Kleinrivier mountains of the south-western Cape. It is morphologically indistinguishable from the other three species in the area. The four Cape species are allopatric, each has a unique male advertisement call, and preliminary molecular data shows ...

Detection of nitric acid and nitric oxides in the terrestrial atmosphere in the middle-infrared spectral region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. I. Blecka

1996-11-01

Full Text Available A proposal for combined space and ground-based observations of the vertical distributions and the column densities of nitric acid and nitric oxide concentrations in the earth's atmosphere is discussed. We focus on the aspects that are particular to the idea of correlative measurements: geometrical considerations, simulations of the solar absorption spectra in the middle-infrared region corresponding to the different observational geometries, and the associated retrieval methods. These studies are done specifically for the Belgian-French experiment MIRAS (MIR Infrared Atmospheric Spectrometer onboard the Russian Space Station MIR and correlative ground-based FTIR measurements in the Tatra mountains.

Western dwarf mistletoe infects understory Jeffrey pine seedlings on Cleveland National Forest, California

Science.gov (United States)

Robert F. Scharpf; Detlev Vogler

1986-01-01

Many young, understory Jeffrey pines (Pinus jeffreyi Grev. & Balf.) were found to be infected by western dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium campylopodum Engelm.) on Laguna Mountain, Cleveland National Forest, in southern California. Under heavily infected overstory, about three-fourths of the young pines (about 15 years old on the...

Geomorphic evidence for post-10 Ma uplift of the western flank of the central Andes 18°30'-22°S

Science.gov (United States)

Hoke, Gregory D.; Isacks, Bryan L.; Jordan, Teresa E.; Blanco, NicoláS.; Tomlinson, Andrew J.; Ramezani, Jahandar

2007-10-01

The western Andean mountain front forms the western edge of the central Andean Plateau. Between 18.5° and 22°S latitude, the mountain front has ˜3000 m of relief over ˜50 km horizontal distance that has developed in the absence of major local Neogene deformation. Models of the evolution of the plateau, as well as paleoaltimetry estimates, all call for continued large-magnitude uplift of the plateau surface into the late Miocene (i.e., younger than 10 Ma). Longitudinal river profiles from 20 catchments that drain the western Andean mountain front contain several streams with knickpoint-bounded segments that we use to reconstruct the history of post-10 Ma surface uplift of the western flank of the central Andean Plateau. The generation of knickpoints is attributed to tectonic processes and is not a consequence of base level change related to Pacific Ocean capture, eustatic change, or climate change as causes for creating the knickpoint-bounded stream segments observed. Minor valley-filling alluvial gravels intercalated with the 5.4 Ma Carcote ignimbrite suggest uplift related river incision was well under way by 5.4 Ma. The maximum age of river incision is provided by the regionally extensive, approximately 10 Ma El Diablo-Altos de Pica paleosurface. The river profiles reveal that relative surface uplift of at least1 km occurred after 10 Ma.

Integration of remote sensing and geochemical data in the mineral evaluation of the Yucca Mountain Addition, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feldman, S.C.; Castor, S.B.; Tingley, J.V.

1996-01-01

In 1989 the U.S. Department of Energy filed an application with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for an administrative land withdrawal of about 4,300 acres bordering the western edge of the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and the southern edge of the Nellis Air Force Range. This area, which is referred to as the Yucca Mountain Addition, includes approximately 400 acres that are being considered as part of a potential repository for high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. A study of the geology and mineral deposits is required for a land withdrawal request under federal law. The Yucca Mountain Addition mineral evaluation was accomplished in late 1989 by field examination, sample collection, geochemical analysis, the analysis of satellite remote sensing data, and the collection of rock spectra in the field. Data from the Yucca Mountain Addition and from mining districts in the area were collected and analyzed, and the two data sets were then compared. The evaluation was limited to surficial data both at the Yucca Mountain Addition and in the mining districts. Evidence from both geochemical and remote sensing analyses indicate that the potential for mineral deposits is low in the Yucca Mountain Addition

Gravity anomalies, compensation mechanisms, and the geodynamics of western Ishtar Terra, Venus

Science.gov (United States)

Grimm, Robert E.; Phillips, Roger J.

1991-01-01

Pioneer Venus line-of-sight orbital accelerations were utilized to calculate the geoid and vertical gravity anomalies for western Ishtar Terra on various planes of altitude z sub 0. The apparent depth of isostatic compensation at z sub 0 = 1400 km is 180 + or - 20 km based on the usual method of minimum variance in the isostatic anomaly. An attempt is made here to explain this observation, as well as the regional elevation, peripheral mountain belts, and inferred age of western Ishtar Terra, in terms of one or three broad geodynamic models.

Vertical Variability in Saturated Zone Hydrochemistry Near Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

G. Patterson; P. Striffler

2007-01-01

The differences in the saturated zone hydrochemistry with depth at borehole NC-EWDP-22PC reflect the addition of recharge along Fortymile Wash. The differences in water chemistry with depth at borehole NC-EWDP-19PB appear to indicate that other processes are involved. Water from the lower part of NC-EWDP-19PB possesses chemical characteristics that clearly indicate that it has undergone cation exchange that resulted in the removal of calcium and magnesium and the addition of sodium. This water is very similar to water from the Western Yucca Mountain facies that has previously been thought to flow west of NC-EWDP-19PB. Water from the lower zone in NC-EWDP-19PB also could represent water from the Eastern Yucca Mountain facies that has moved through clay-bearing or zeolitized aquifer material resulting in the altered chemistry. Water chemistry from the upper part of the saturated zone at NC-EWDP-19PB, both zones at NC-EWDP-22PC, and wells in the Fortymile Wash facies appears to be the result of recharge through the alluvium south of Yucca Mountain and within the Fortymile Wash channel

Complexity in the biological recovery of Tatra Mountain lakes from acidification

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Stuchlík, Evžen; Bitušík, P.; Hardekopf, D.W.; Hořická, Zuzana; Kahounová, M.; Tátosová, J.; Vondrák, Daniel; Dočkalová, Kateřina

2017-01-01

Roč. 228, č. 5 (2017), č. článku 184. ISSN 0049-6979 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-09231S Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : phytoplankton * zooplankton * chironomids * oligotrophication * eutrophication Subject RIV: DA - Hydrology ; Limnology OBOR OECD: Marine biology, freshwater biology, limnology Impact factor: 1.702, year: 2016

Mapping New Terrain: Climate Change and America's West. Report of the Consortium for Integrated Climate Research in Western Mountains (CIRMOUNT)

Science.gov (United States)

Henry F. CIRMOUNT Committee (Diaz; Constance I. Millar; Daniel R. Cayan; Michael D. Dettinger; Daniel B. Fagre; Lisa J. Graumlich; Greg Greenwood; Malcolm K. Hughes; David L. Peterson; Frank L. Powell; Kelly T. Redmond; Nathan L. Stephenson; Thomas W. Swetnam; Connie) Woodhouse

2006-01-01

Climate variability and sustained change presage far-reaching transformations across America’s West, an expanse dominated by immense mountain ranges and interspersed with important urban centers. These mountains provide the region’s life blood—water that courses through its streams and runs out its faucets, power that fuels its industries...

A new fossil-lagerstätte from the lower eocene of lessini mountains (northern Italy): A multidisciplinary approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Giusberti, L.; Bannikov, A.; Boscolo Galazzo, F.; Fornaciari, E.; Frieling, J.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/338017909; Luciani, V.; Papazzoni, C.A.; Roghi, G.; Schouten, S.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/137124929; Sluijs, A.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/311474748; Bosellini, F.R.; Zorzin, R.

2014-01-01

Hemipelagic dark limestones within calciturbiditic deposits at Monte Solane in the western Lessini Mountains of northern Italy yield a fish fauna dominated by stomiiforms. A minor component of the fossil assemblage is represented by a macroalgal non-calcareous flora associated with rarer terrestrial

How fast is the denudation of the Taiwan Mountains? (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Siame, L. L.; Derrieux, F.; KANG, C.; Bourles, D. L.; Braucher, R.; Léanni, L.; Chen, R.; Lee, J.; Chu, H.; Chang, C.; Byrne, T. B.

2013-12-01

Orogenic settings are particularly well suited to study and quantify the coupling relations between tectonics, topography, climate and erosion since they record tectonic evolution along convergent margins and the connection between deep and surface processes. However, the interaction of deep and shallow processes is still poorly understood and the role they play in the exhumation of rocks, the structural and kinematic evolution of orogenic wedges, and the relation between tectonics and climate-dependent surface processes are still debated. Therefore, quantification of denudation rates in a wide range of climatic and tectonic settings, as well as at various time and space scales, is a critical step in calibrating and validating landscape evolution models. In this study, we focus on the mountains of the arc-continent collision in Taiwan, which serve as one of the best examples in the world to understand and study mountain building processes. We investigate the pattern and magnitude of denudation rates at the scale of the orogenic system, deriving denudation rates from in situ-produced cosmogenic nuclide 10Be concentrations measured in (1) river-borne quartz minerals sampled at major watersheds outlets, and (2) bedrock outcrops along ridge crests and at summits located along the major drainage divide of the belt. We determined a denudation pattern showing a clear discrepancy between the western (1.7×0.2 mm/yr) and eastern (4.1×0.5 mm/yr) sides of the range. Conversely, bedrock denudation determined along ridge crests, summits and flat surfaces preserved at high elevations are characterized by significantly lower denudation rates on the order of 0.24×0.03 mm/yr. Altogether, the cosmogenic-derived denudation pattern at the orogen-scale reflects fundamental mountain building processes from frontal accretion in the Western Foothills to basal accretion and fast exhumation in the Central Range. Applied to the whole orogen, such field-based approach thus provides

Extent of endocrine disruption in fish of western and Alaskan National Parks

Science.gov (United States)

Schreck, Carl B.; Kent, Michael

2013-01-01

In 2008 2009, 998 fish were collected from 43 water bodies across 11 western Alaskan national parks and analyzed for reproductive abnormalities. Exposure to estrogenic substances such as pesticides can induce abnormalities like intersex. Results suggest there is a greater propensity for male intersex fish collected from parks located in the Rocky Mountains, and specifically in Rocky Mountain NP. Individual male intersex fish were also identified at Lassen Volcanic, Yosemite, and WrangellSt. Elias NPs. The preliminary finding of female intersex was determined to be a false positive. The overall goal of this project was to assess the general health of fish from eleven western national parks to infer whether health impacts may be linked to contaminant health thresholds for animal andor human health. This was accomplished by evaluating the presence of intersex fish with eggs developing in male gonads or sperm developing in female gonads using histology. In addition, endocrine disrupting compounds and other contaminants were quantified in select specimens. General histologic appearance of the gonadal tissue and spleen were observed to assess health.

Small-mammal responses to pine regeneration treatments in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Roger W. Perry; Ronald E. Thill

2005-01-01

We compared the initial effects of four forest regeneration treatments (single-tree selection, group selection, shelterwood, and clearcut), and unharvested controls (mature, second-growth forest) on relative abundance of small mammals and small-mammal habitat throughout the Ouachita Mountains of western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. We compared small-mammal capture...

Is lodgepole pine mortality due to mountain pine beetle linked to the North American Monsoon?

Science.gov (United States)

Sara A. Goeking; Greg C. Liknes

2012-01-01

Regional precipitation patterns may have influenced the spatial variability of tree mortality during the recent mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosa) (MPB) outbreak in the western United States. Data from the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program show that the outbreak was especially severe in the state of Colorado where over 10 million lodgepole pines (...

Lower Paleozoic carbonate rocks of Baird Mountains Quadrangle, Alaska

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dumoulin, J.A.; Harris, A.G.

1985-04-01

Lower Paleozoic carbonate rocks in the Baird Mountains quadrangle form a relatively thin (about 550 m), chiefly shallow-water succession that has been imbricately thrust and metamorphosed to lower greenschist facies. Middle and Upper Cambrian rocks - the first reported from the western Brooks Range - occur in the northeastern quarter of the quadrangle, south of Angayukaqsraq (formerly Hub) Mountain. They consist of marble grading upward into thin-bedded marble/dolostone couplets and contain pelagiellid mollusks, acetretid brachiopods, and agnostid trilobites. Sedimentologic features and the Pelagiellas indicate a shallow-water depositional environment. Overlying these rocks are Lower and Middle Ordovician marble and phyllite containing graptolites and conodonts of midshelf to basinal aspect. Upper Ordovician rocks in this area are bioturbated to laminated dolostone containing warm, shallow-water conodonts. In the Omar and Squirrel Rivers areas to the west, the Lower Ordovician carbonate rocks show striking differences in lithofacies, biofacies, and thickness. Here they are mainly dolostone with locally well-developed fenestral fabric and evaporite molds, and bioturbated to laminated orange- and gray-weathering dolomitic marble. Upper Silurian dolostone, found near Angayukaqsraq Mountain and on the central Squirrel River, contains locally abundant corals and stronmatoporoids. Devonian carbonate rocks are widely distributed in the Baird Mountains quadrangle; at least two distinct sequences have been identified. In the Omar area, Lower and Middle Devonian dolostone and marble are locally cherty and rich in megafossils. In the north-central (Nakolik River) area, Middle and Upper Devonian marble is interlayered with planar to cross-laminated quartz-carbonate metasandstone and phyllite.

A case report of monitoring PSA level changes in two prostate cancer patients treated with Mountain Ginseng Pharmacopuncture and Sweet Bee Venom along with western anticancer therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yeonhee Lee

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Objectives: The purpose of this report is to find out how Mountain Ginseng Pharmacopuncture(MGP and Sweet Bee Venom(SBV treatments are effective on prostate cancer patients by monitoring Prostate specific antigen(PSA values. Methods: We treated two prostate cancer patients with MGP and SBV from October 2008 to April 2011. One patient had localized prostate cancer, the other was in the terminal stage of prostate cancer with lung and bone metastasis and both had been receiving western anticancer therapy. We had monitored the changes of PSA value. Results: In case 1, MGP and SBV treatments seemed to be helpful in preventing the recurrence of localized prostate cancer. In case 2, PSA value was decreased by MGP treatment. Conclusions: It is conceivable that MGP and SBV are effective treatments for patients with prostate cancer.

Medicinal flora and ethnoecological knowledge in the Naran Valley, Western Himalaya, Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Shujaul M; Page, Sue; Ahmad, Habib; Shaheen, Hamayun; Ullah, Zahid; Ahmad, Mushtaq; Harper, David M

2013-01-10

Mountain ecosystems all over the world support a high biological diversity and provide home and services to some 12% of the global human population, who use their traditional ecological knowledge to utilise local natural resources. The Himalayas are the world's youngest, highest and largest mountain range and support a high plant biodiversity. In this remote mountainous region of the Himalaya, people depend upon local plant resources to supply a range of goods and services, including grazing for livestock and medicinal supplies for themselves. Due to their remote location, harsh climate, rough terrain and topography, many areas within this region still remain poorly known for its floristic diversity, plant species distribution and vegetation ecosystem service. The Naran valley in the north-western Pakistan is among such valleys and occupies a distinctive geographical location on the edge of the Western Himalaya range, close to the Hindu Kush range to the west and the Karakorum Mountains to the north. It is also located on climatic and geological divides, which further add to its botanical interest. In the present project 120 informants were interviewed at 12 main localities along the 60 km long valley. This paper focuses on assessment of medicinal plant species valued by local communities using their traditional knowledge. Results revealed that 101 species belonging to 52 families (51.5% of the total plants) were used for 97 prominent therapeutic purposes. The largest number of ailments cured with medicinal plants were associated with the digestive system (32.76% responses) followed by those associated with the respiratory and urinary systems (13.72% and 9.13% respectively). The ailments associated with the blood circulatory and reproductive systems and the skin were 7.37%, 7.04% and 7.03%, respectively. The results also indicate that whole plants were used in 54% of recipes followed by rhizomes (21%), fruits (9.5%) and roots (5.5%). Our findings demonstrate the

The Impact Snow Albedo Feedback over Mountain Regions as Examined through High-Resolution Regional Climate Change Experiments over the Rocky Mountains

Science.gov (United States)

Letcher, Theodore

As the climate warms, the snow albedo feedback (SAF) will play a substantial role in shaping the climate response of mid-latitude mountain regions with transient snow cover. One such region is the Rocky Mountains of the western United States where large snow packs accumulate during the winter and persist throughout the spring. In this dissertation, the Weather Research and Forecast model (WRF) configured as a regional climate model is used to investigate the role of the SAF in determining the regional climate response to forced anthropogenic climate change. The regional effects of climate change are investigated by using the pseudo global warming (PGW) framework, which is an experimental configuration in a which a mean climate perturbation is added to the boundary forcing of a regional model, thus preserving the large-scale circulation entering the region through the model boundaries and isolating the mesoscale climate response. Using this framework, the impact of the SAF on the regional energetics and atmospheric dynamics is examined and quantified. Linear feedback analysis is used to quantify the strength of the SAF over the Headwaters region of the Colorado Rockies for a series of high-resolution PGW experiments. This technique is used to test sensitivity of the feedback strength to model resolution and land surface model. Over the Colorado Rockies, and integrated over the entire spring season, the SAF strength is largely insensitive to model resolution, however there are more substantial differences on the sub-seasonal (monthly) timescale. In contrast, the SAF strength over this region is very sensitive to choice of land surface model. These simulations are also used to investigate how spatial and diurnal variability in warming caused by the SAF influences the dynamics of thermally driven mountain-breeze circulations. It is shown that, the SAF causes stronger daytime mountain-breeze circulations by increasing the warming on the mountains slopes thus enhancing

Leech presence on Iberian Brown Frog, Rana iberica, (Amphibia: Anura: Ranidae from north-western Spain

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César Ayres

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The authors describe a case of parasitism on Rana iberica by two species of leeches, Batracobdella sp. and Hirudo medicinalis, in a mountainous area of north-western Spain. Conservation implications of high parasite load on small and isolated populations are discussed.

Report on geomorphologic and geodesic field surveys in the Sor Rondane Mountains, Eastern Dronning Maud Land, 2011-2012 (JARE-53

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Yusuke Suganuma

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Geomorphologic and geodetic field surveys were carried out in the Sor Rondane Mountains, East Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, during the 2011-2012 summer season as part of the 53rd Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE-53. The field party consisted of three geomorphologists, one geodesist, and one field assistant. The expedition was supported by the Belgian Antarctic Research Expedition (BELARE and the International Polar Foundation (IPF. Dronning Maud Land Air Network (DROMLAN provided air transport from Cape Town, South Africa to the Sor Rondane Mountains via Novolazarevskaya Airbase. The survey areas were the central and western parts of the Sor Rondane Mountains. This report summarizes the field expedition in terms of operations, logistics, and weather records.

Effects of mountain beaver management and thinning on 15-year-old Douglas fir growth and survival.

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Campbell, Dan L; Engeman, Richard M; Farley, James P

2015-07-01

We examined 4-year growth of 15-year-old damaged and undamaged Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menzesii) after integrating temporary population reductions of mountain beaver (Aplodontia rufa) with thinning in a pre-commercial hand-planted plantation in western Washington. Five treatment combinations were considered: (1) trapping mountain beavers in an unthinned area, (2) trapping before thinning to 65 trees/ha (160 trees/ac), (3) no trapping and thinning to 65 trees/ha, (4) no trapping and thinning to 146 trees/ha (360 trees/ac), and (5) no trapping and no thinning. Removal of ≥ 90 % of mountain beavers temporarily reduced mountain beaver activity whether the stand was unthinned or thinned. Diameter growth at breast height (dbh) was greater for undamaged trees than for damaged trees in thinned areas. Tree height growth was greatest in trapped areas whether thinned or not. No differences were detected in 4-year survival between trees damaged aboveground and those without aboveground damage, which may be related to undetected root damage to trees without aboveground damage. Basal diameter growth and dbh growth were greatest for areas thinned to 65 trees/ha. Seventy-eight percent of stomachs from mountain beaver trapped in winter contained Douglas fir root or stem materials. Overall, short-term removal of mountain beavers integrated with pre-commercial thinning promoted growth of crop trees.

Evaluating a Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter snow cover data assimilation method to estimate SWE within a high-resolution hydrologic modeling framework across Western US mountainous regions

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Oaida, C. M.; Andreadis, K.; Reager, J. T., II; Famiglietti, J. S.; Levoe, S.

2017-12-01

Accurately estimating how much snow water equivalent (SWE) is stored in mountainous regions characterized by complex terrain and snowmelt-driven hydrologic cycles is not only greatly desirable, but also a big challenge. Mountain snowpack exhibits high spatial variability across a broad range of spatial and temporal scales due to a multitude of physical and climatic factors, making it difficult to observe or estimate in its entirety. Combing remotely sensed data and high resolution hydrologic modeling through data assimilation (DA) has the potential to provide a spatially and temporally continuous SWE dataset at horizontal scales that capture sub-grid snow spatial variability and are also relevant to stakeholders such as water resource managers. Here, we present the evaluation of a new snow DA approach that uses a Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter (LETKF) in tandem with the Variable Infiltration Capacity macro-scale hydrologic model across the Western United States, at a daily temporal resolution, and a horizontal resolution of 1.75 km x 1.75 km. The LETKF is chosen for its relative simplicity, ease of implementation, and computational efficiency and scalability. The modeling/DA system assimilates daily MODIS Snow Covered Area and Grain Size (MODSCAG) fractional snow cover over, and has been developed to efficiently calculate SWE estimates over extended periods of time and covering large regional-scale areas at relatively high spatial resolution, ultimately producing a snow reanalysis-type dataset. Here we focus on the assessment of SWE produced by the DA scheme over several basins in California's Sierra Nevada Mountain range where Airborne Snow Observatory data is available, during the last five water years (2013-2017), which include both one of the driest and one of the wettest years. Comparison against such a spatially distributed SWE observational product provides a greater understanding of the model's ability to estimate SWE and SWE spatial variability

Summer spatial patterning of chukars in relation to free water in Western Utah

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Larsen, R.T.; Bissonette, J.A.; Flinders, J.T.; Hooten, M.B.; Wilson, T.L.

2010-01-01

Free water is considered important to wildlife in arid regions. In the western United States, thousands of water developments have been built to benefit wildlife in arid landscapes. Agencies and researchers have yet to clearly demonstrate their effectiveness. We combined a spatial analysis of summer chukar (Alectoris chukar) covey locations with dietary composition analysis in western Utah. Our specific objectives were to determine if chukars showed a spatial pattern that suggested association with free water in four study areas and to document summer dietary moisture content in relation to average distance from water. The observed data for the Cedar Mountains study area fell within the middle of the random mean distance to water distribution suggesting no association with free water. The observed mean distance to water for the other three areas was much closer than expected compared to a random spatial process, suggesting the importance of free water to these populations. Dietary moisture content of chukar food items from the Cedar Mountains (59%) was significantly greater (P model error components in future ecological research. ?? Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009.

Advances in global mountain geomorphology

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Slaymaker, Olav; Embleton-Hamann, Christine

2018-05-01

Three themes in global mountain geomorphology have been defined and reinforced over the past decade: (a) new ways of measuring, sensing, and analyzing mountain morphology; (b) a new emphasis on disconnectivity in mountain geomorphology; and (c) the emergence of concerns about the increasing influence of anthropogenic disturbance of the mountain geomorphic environment, especially in intertropical mountains where population densities are higher than in any other mountain region. Anthropogenically induced hydroclimate change increases geomorphic hazards and risks but also provides new opportunities for mountain landscape enhancement. Each theme is considered with respect to the distinctiveness of mountain geomorphology and in relation to important advances in research over the past decade. The traditional reliance on the high energy condition to define mountain geomorphology seems less important than the presence of unique mountain landforms and landscapes and the distinctive ways in which human activity and anthropogenically induced hydroclimate change are transforming mountain landscapes.

Contributions to the phytocoenologic study in pure european beech stand forests in Codru-Moma Mountains (North-Western Romania

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Călin-Gheorghe PĂŞCUŢ

2010-05-01

Full Text Available In the present work we present a phytocoenologic study on the associations found in pure European beech stand forests in Codru-Moma Mountains namely: Festuco drymejae-Fagetum Morariu et al. 1968, Luzulo albidae-Fagetum sylvaticae Zólyomi 1955.Characterization of the associations we studied and presentation of the tables have been made considering the selection of the most representative relevées of pure European beech forests belonging to Codru-Moma Mountains.The phytocoenoses of pure forest stands of European beech forests belonging to the two associations were analyzed in terms of floristic composition, life forms spectrum, spectrum chart of the floral elements and ecological indices.

Tree response and mountain pine beetle attack preference, reproduction, and emergence timing in mixed whitebark and lodgepole pines

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Barbara J. Bentz; Celia Boone; Kenneth F. Raffa

2015-01-01

Mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) is an important disturbance agent in Pinus ecosystems of western North America, historically causing significant tree mortality. Most recorded outbreaks have occurred in mid elevation lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta). In warm years, tree mortality also occurs at higher elevations in mixed species stands.

Stone Dust Agglomeration for Utilizing as Building Material

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Gabriel Borowski

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In the paper we discuss the possibility of using stone dust for utilizing as building material. The tested material was amphibolite, found in the Sudeten Mountains and the Tatra Mountains in Poland. The chemical composition of dust was determined by means of spectrometry methods. Moreover, the basic physical properties of the material were designated. Stone dust was mixed with starch or cement binder. The binder addition was from 5% to 20% by weight. The water content was adjusted to about 25% humidity. The mixture was then compressed in a hydraulic press at 50 MPa. The results of the mechanical toughness of agglomerates were shown. On the basis of the results, acceptable toughness of agglomerates was found, with the addition of cement in mass share 20% and seasoning for 48 hours. However, starch was not suitable as a binder for agglomeration of amphibolite.

Transhumant Pastoralism in the Context of Socioeconomic and Climate Change in the Mountains of Nepal

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Popular Gentle

2016-05-01

Full Text Available This research explored how transhumant pastoralism has been sustained and promoted in the context of socioeconomic and climate change in the mountain regions of Nepal. Based on case study research conducted in Nepal’s western mountains, the status, opportunities, and constraints of transhumant pastoralism in the changing context were analyzed. We found that indigenous and traditional knowledge, feelings of cultural identity, collective ownership, income, and mutual benefits have acted as motivating factors in sustaining transhumant pastoralism for generations. The continuation of this practice is threatened by the following challenges: the impacts of climate change on mountain ecosystems, socioeconomic changes, market influence on livelihood decisions, youth migration and labor shortage, low motivation of local people to engage in livestock rearing, and conflicts between herder and nonherder communities and institutions, as well as inadequate policy support and institutional arrangements. We conclude that unless there are positive policy and institutional arrangements to support transhumant pastoralism, the age-old practice will disappear.

CERN accelerator school: an introductory course in Poland

CERN Multimedia

2006-01-01

For the first time since the CERN Accelerator School (CAS) was set up, the â€ﾜIntroduction to Accelerator Physics” course was held in Zakopane, Poland.  This course was organised together with the National Atomic Energy Agency, Warsaw and the AGH University of Science and Technology, Cracow and was held from 1-13 October 2006 at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. The course was very well attended with 113 participants representing 26 different nationalities. Although most of the participants originated from Europe, some students came from countries as far away as Canada, China, India and North America.

Fuels and predicted fire behavior in the southern Appalachian Mountains and fire and fire surrogate treatments

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Thomas Waldrop; Ross J. Phillips; Dean A. Simon

2010-01-01

This study tested the success of fuel reduction treatments for mitigating wildfire behavior in an area that has had little previous research on fire, the southern Appalachian Mountains. A secondary objective of treatments was to restore the community to an open woodland condition. Three blocks of four treatments were installed in a mature hardwood forest in western...

Carbon and nutrient contents in soils from the Kings River Experimental Watersheds, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California

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D.W. Johnson; C.T. Hunsaker; D.W. Glass; B.M. Rau; B.A. Roath

2011-01-01

Soil C and nutrient contents were estimated for eight watersheds in two sites (one high elevation, Bull, and one low elevation, Providence) in the Kings River Experimental Watersheds in the western Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Eighty-seven quantitative pits were dug to measure soil bulk density and total rock content, while three replicate surface samples...

Population densities and tree diameter effects associated with verbenone treatments to reduce mountain pine beetle-caused mortality of lodgepole pine.

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Progar, R A; Blackford, D C; Cluck, D R; Costello, S; Dunning, L B; Eager, T; Jorgensen, C L; Munson, A S; Steed, B; Rinella, M J

2013-02-01

Mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), is among the primary causes of mature lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta variety latifolia mortality. Verbenone is the only antiaggregant semiochemical commercially available for reducing mountain pine beetle infestation of lodgepole pine. The success of verbenone treatments has varied greatly in previous studies because of differences in study duration, beetle population size, tree size, or other factors. To determine the ability of verbenone to protect lodgepole pine over long-term mountain pine beetle outbreaks, we applied verbenone treatments annually for 3 to 7 yr at five western United States sites. At one site, an outbreak did not develop; at two sites, verbenone reduced lodgepole pine mortality in medium and large diameter at breast height trees, and at the remaining two sites verbenone was ineffective at reducing beetle infestation. Verbenone reduced mountain pine beetle infestation of lodgepole pine trees in treated areas when populations built gradually or when outbreaks in surrounding untreated forests were of moderate severity. Verbenone did not protect trees when mountain pine beetle populations rapidly increase.

Mountain plover nest survival in relation to prairie dog and fire dynamics in shortgrass steppe

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Augustine, David J.; Skagen, Susan K.

2014-01-01

Disturbed xeric grasslands with short, sparse vegetation provide breeding habitat for mountain plovers (Charadrius montanus) across the western Great Plains. Maintaining local disturbance regimes through prairie dog conservation and prescribed fire may contribute to the sustainability of recently declining mountain plover populations, but these management approaches can be controversial. We estimated habitat-specific mountain plover densities and nest survival rates on black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies and burns in the shortgrass steppe of northeastern Colorado. Mountain plover densities were similar on prairie dog colonies (5.9 birds/km2; 95% CI = 4.7–7.4) and sites burned during the preceding dormant season (6.7 birds/km2; 95% CI = 4.6–9.6), whereas the 29-day nest survival rate was greater on prairie dog colonies (0.81 in 2011 and 0.39 in 2012) compared to the burned sites (0.64 in 2011 and 0.17 in 2012). Reduced nest survival in 2012 compared to 2011 was associated with higher maximum daily temperatures in 2012, consistent with a previous weather-based model of mountain plover nest survival in the southern Great Plains. Measurements of mountain plover density relative to time since disturbance showed that removal of prairie dog disturbance by sylvatic plague reduced mountain plover density by 70% relative to active prairie dog colonies after 1 year. Plover densities declined at a similar rate (by 78%) at burned sites between the first and second post-burn growing season. Results indicate that black-tailed prairie dog colonies are a particularly important nesting habitat for mountain plovers in the southern Great Plains. In addition, findings suggest that prescribed burning can be a valuable means to create nesting habitat in landscapes where other types of disturbances (such as prairie dog colonies) are limited in distribution and size. 

Comparison of riparian and upland forest stand structure and fuel loads in beetle infested watersheds, southern Rocky Mountains

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Kathleen A. Dwire; Robert Hubbard; Roberto Bazan

2015-01-01

Extensive outbreaks of mountain pine beetle (MPB), spruce beetle (SB), and other insects are altering forest stand structure throughout western North America, and thereby contributing to the heterogeneity of fuel distribution. In forested watersheds, conifer-dominated riparian forests frequently occur as narrow linear features in the landscape mosaic and contribute to...

Observing Semi-Arid Ecoclimates across Mountain Gradients in the Great Basin, USA

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Strachan, Scotty

Observation of climate and ecohydrological variables in mountain systems is a necessary (if challenging) endeavor for modern society. Water resources are often intimately tied to mountains, and high elevation environments are frequently home to unique landscapes and biota with limited geographical distributions. This is especially true in the temperate and semi-arid mountains of the western United States, and specifically the Great Basin. Stark contrasts in annual water balance and ecological populations are visible across steep elevational gradients in the region; and yet the bulk of our historical knowledge of climate and related processes comes from lowland observations. Interpolative models that strive to estimate conditions in mountains using existing datasets are often found to be inaccurate, making future projections of mountain climate and ecosystem response suspect. This study details the results of high-resolution topographically-diverse ecohydrological monitoring, and describes the character and seasonality of basic climatic variables such as temperature and precipitation as well as their impact on soil moisture and vegetation during the 2012-2015 drought sequence. Relationships of topography (elevation/aspect) to daily and seasonal temperatures are shown. Tests of the PRISM temperature model are performed at the large watershed scale, revealing magnitudes, modes, and potential sources of bias that could dramatically affect derivative scientific conclusions. A new method of precipitation phase partitioning to detect and quantify frozen precipitation on a sub-daily basis is described. Character of precipitation from sub-daily to annual scales is quantified across all major Great Basin vegetation/elevation zones, and the relationship of elevation to precipitation phase, intensity, and amount is explored. Water-stress responses of Great Basin conifers including Pinus flexilis, Pinus longaeva, and Pinus ponderosa are directly observed, showing potential

Study on Gold and base metal occurrence in Uluwai Prospect, Western Latimojong Mountain, South Sulawesi

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Maulana, Adi; Jaya, Asri; Imai, Akira

2018-02-01

Uluwai Prospect is located in the northern part of South Arm of Sulawesi along the eastern part of the Kalosi Fold Belt and Latimojong Mountain. The area is generally characterized by moderate to rugged topography area with elevation in the range of 700 to 1400 m above sea level in the mountainous complex called Latimojong Mountain Complex. The mineralization is characterized by a relatively simple sulphide ore mineral assemblage consists of pyrite, sphalerite and chalcopyrite. Samples were collected in areas showing abundant sulphide minerals where younger faults cut the bedding and foliation of country rocks. A number of silicified zones have been observed, as well as float material containing disseminated pyrite, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite with hematite, goethite and limonite. Some alteration types have been observed including sericitization, albitization, carbonatization and silisification. The samples collected indicated that the mineralisation is contained within metasedimentary (sandstone to mudstone) and greenschist. Geochemical analyses from 16 samples including 5 stream sediment samples indicated that the most promising mineralization occur in the prospect area are copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn). This is also supported by the abundance of chalcopyrite and sphalerite in some highly altered samples. Assaying of the collected samples revealed most of samples contain relatively low gold (Au) concentration. However, two samples contain 0.007 and 0.01 ppm of Au. In the mineralized area, Zn concentrations are up to 134 ppm, Cu up to 120 ppm and Pb up to 18 ppm and As up to 70 ppm. There is no clear relationship that exists between Au and the base metals except that one of the samples with highest Au values tend to have high Zn and As. This unclear pattern also shown by Cu, Pb and Zn. Base metal concentration in stream sediment samples show a relatively stable pattern than in rock samples. Arsenic tends to be elevated in base metal rich samples. Sb and Mo are

New records of marginal locations for American pika (Ochotona princeps) in the Western Great Basin

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Constance I. Millar; Robert D. Westfall; Diane L. Delany

2013-01-01

We describe 46 new site records documenting occupancy by American pika (Ochotona princeps) at 21 locations from 8 mountain regions in the western Great Basin, California, and Nevada. These locations comprise a subset of sites selected from regional surveys to represent marginal, isolated, or otherwise atypical pika locations, and to provide...

Mountain goat abundance and population trends in the Olympic Mountains, Washington, 2011

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Jenkins, Kurt; Happe, Patricia; Griffin, Paul C.; Beirne, Katherine; Hoffman, Roger; Baccus, William

2011-01-01

We conducted an aerial helicopter survey between July 18 and July 25, 2011, to estimate abundance and trends of introduced mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) in the Olympic Mountains. The survey was the first since we developed a sightability correction model in 2008, which provided the means to estimate the number of mountain goats present in the surveyed areas and not seen during the aerial surveys, and to adjust for undercounting biases. Additionally, the count was the first since recent telemetry studies revealed that the previously defined survey zone, which was delineated at lower elevations by the 1,520-meter elevation contour, did not encompass all lands used by mountain goats during summer. We redefined the lower elevation boundary of survey units before conducting the 2011 surveys in an effort to more accurately estimate the entire mountain goat population. We surveyed 39 survey units, comprising 39 percent of the 59,615-hectare survey area. We estimated a mountain goat population of 344±44 (standard error, SE) in the expanded survey area. Based on this level of estimation uncertainty, the 95-percent confidence interval ranged from 258 to 430 mountain goats at the time of the survey. To permit comparisons of mountain goat populations between the 2004 and 2011 surveys, we recomputed population estimates derived from the 2004 survey using the newly developed bias correction methods, and we computed the 2004 and 2011 surveys based on comparable survey zone definitions (for example, using the boundaries of the 2004 survey). The recomputed estimates of mountain goat populations were 217±19 (SE) in 2004 and 303±41(SE) in 2011. The difference between the current 2011 population estimate (344±44[SE]) and the recomputed 2011 estimate (303±41[SE]) reflects the number of mountain goats counted in the expanded lower elevation portions of the survey zone added in 2011. We conclude that the population of mountain goats has increased in the Olympic Mountains at

From coseismic offsets to fault-block mountains

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Thompson, George A.; Parsons, Tom

2017-09-01

In the Basin and Range extensional province of the western United States, coseismic offsets, under the influence of gravity, display predominantly subsidence of the basin side (fault hanging wall), with comparatively little or no uplift of the mountainside (fault footwall). A few decades later, geodetic measurements [GPS and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR)] show broad (˜100 km) aseismic uplift symmetrically spanning the fault zone. Finally, after millions of years and hundreds of fault offsets, the mountain blocks display large uplift and tilting over a breadth of only about 10 km. These sparse but robust observations pose a problem in that the coesismic uplifts of the footwall are small and inadequate to raise the mountain blocks. To address this paradox we develop finite-element models subjected to extensional and gravitational forces to study time-varying deformation associated with normal faulting. Stretching the model under gravity demonstrates that asymmetric slip via collapse of the hanging wall is a natural consequence of coseismic deformation. Focused flow in the upper mantle imposed by deformation of the lower crust localizes uplift, which is predicted to take place within one to two decades after each large earthquake. Thus, the best-preserved topographic signature of earthquakes is expected to occur early in the postseismic period.

Vegetation of high-altitude fens and restio marshlands of the Hottentots Holland Mountains, Western Cape, South Africa

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E. J. J. Sieben

2004-09-01

Full Text Available Seepages occurring at high altitudes in the Hottentots Holland Mountains (HHM (Western Cape Province. South Africa were subject to a phytosociological survey. Relevé sampling method and classification procedures of the floristic-sociological (Braun-Blanquet approach as well as numerical data analyses (numerical classification and ordination were used to reveal syn- taxonomic patterns and characterize the position of the syntaxa along major environmental gradients. Nine plant communities were recognized, three of which were classified as associations, following formal syntaxonomic and nomenclatural rules of the floristic-sociological approach Most of the studied mire communities were dominated by low-growing clonal restios (Restionaceae. whereas some consisted of other types of graminoids. The most important species determining the structure (and function of the mire communities on sandstones of the HHM include restios Anthochortus crinalis, Chondropetalum deustum.C. mucronatum, Elegia intermedia. E. thyrsifera. Restio subtilis. R. purpurascens. cyperoids Epischoenus villosus. Ficinia argy-ropa, grasses Ehrharta setacea subsp. setacea. Pentameris hirtiglumis as well as shrubs Berzelia squarrosa. Cliffortia tricuspi- data. Erica intenallaris and Grubbia rosmarinifolia. Protea lacticolor and Restio perplexus dominate a rare shale band seep­age community. There are two major groups of communities—the fens (dominated by carpets of Anthochortus crinalis and other low-growing species and the restio marshlands (mosaics of low tussocks of Restio subtilis and tall Chondropetalum mucrona­tum. The degree of soil (and water minerotrophy was found to be the most important differentiating feature between the mire (fen and restio marshland communities studied. The soils in the centre of mires were found to have high contents of peat and showed very little influence from the underlying sandstone. The soils along the mire margins had a greater admixture of

Regional changes and global connections: monitoring climate variability and change in the western United States

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Henry F. Diaz

2004-01-01

Mountain ecosystems of the Western United States are complex and include cold desert biomes, such as those found in Nevada; subpolar biomes found in the upper treeline zone; and tundra ecosystems, occurring above timberline. Many studies (for example, Thompson 2000) suggest that high-elevation environments, comprising glaciers, snow, permafrost, water, and the...

Low offspring survival in mountain pine beetle infesting the resistant Great Basin bristlecone pine supports the preference-performance hypothesis.

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Erika L Eidson

Full Text Available The preference-performance hypothesis states that ovipositing phytophagous insects will select host plants that are well-suited for their offspring and avoid host plants that do not support offspring performance (survival, development and fitness. The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae, a native insect herbivore in western North America, can successfully attack and reproduce in most species of Pinus throughout its native range. However, mountain pine beetles avoid attacking Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva, despite recent climate-driven increases in mountain pine beetle populations at the high elevations where Great Basin bristlecone pine grows. Low preference for a potential host plant species may not persist if the plant supports favorable insect offspring performance, and Great Basin bristlecone pine suitability for mountain pine beetle offspring performance is unclear. We infested cut bolts of Great Basin bristlecone pine and two susceptible host tree species, limber (P. flexilis and lodgepole (P. contorta pines with adult mountain pine beetles and compared offspring performance. To investigate the potential for variation in offspring performance among mountain pine beetles from different areas, we tested beetles from geographically-separated populations within and outside the current range of Great Basin bristlecone pine. Although mountain pine beetles constructed galleries and laid viable eggs in all three tree species, extremely few offspring emerged from Great Basin bristlecone pine, regardless of the beetle population. Our observed low offspring performance in Great Basin bristlecone pine corresponds with previously documented low mountain pine beetle attack preference. A low preference-low performance relationship suggests that Great Basin bristlecone pine resistance to mountain pine beetle is likely to be retained through climate-driven high-elevation mountain pine beetle outbreaks.

Difference in tree growth responses to climate at the upper treeline: Qilian Juniper in the Anyemaqen Mountains.

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Peng, Jianfeng; Gou, Xiaohua; Chen, Fahu; Li, Jinbao; Liu, Puxing; Zhang, Yong; Fang, Keyan

2008-08-01

Three ring-width chronologies were developed from Qilian Juniper (Sabina przewalskii Kom.) at the upper treeline along a west-east gradient in the Anyemaqen Mountains. Most chronological statistics, except for mean sensitivity (MS), decreased from west to east. The first principal component (PC1) loadings indicated that stands in a similar climate condition were most important to the variability of radial growth. PC2 loadings decreased from west to east, suggesting the difference of tree-growth between eastern and western Anyemaqen Mountains. Correlations between standard chronologies and climatic factors revealed different climatic influences on radial growth along a west-east gradient in the study area. Temperature of warm season (July-August) was important to the radial growth at the upper treeline in the whole study area. Precipitation of current May was an important limiting factor of tree growth only in the western (drier) upper treeline, whereas precipitation of current September limited tree growth in the eastern (wetter) upper treeline. Response function analysis results showed that there were regional differences between tree growth and climatic factors in various sampling sites of the whole study area. Temperature and precipitation were the important factors influencing tree growth in western (drier) upper treeline. However, tree growth was greatly limited by temperature at the upper treeline in the middle area, and was more limited by precipitation than temperature in the eastern (wetter) upper treeline.

Mineral resources of the Hawk Mountain Wilderness Study Area, Honey County, Oregon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turrin, B.D.; Conrad, J.E.; Plouff, D.; King, H.D.; Swischer, C.C.; Mayerle, R.T.; Rains, R.L.

1989-01-01

The Hawk Mountain Wildeness Study Area in south-central Oregon is underlain by Miocene age basalt, welded tuff, and interbedded sedimentary rock. The western part of this study area has a low mineral resource potential for gold. There is a low mineral resource potential for small deposits of uranium in the sedimentary rocks. This entire study area has a low potential for geothermal and oil and gas resources. There are no mineral claims or identified resources in this study area

Disentangling detoxification: gene expression analysis of feeding mountain pine beetle illuminates molecular-level host chemical defense detoxification mechanisms.

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Jeanne A Robert

Full Text Available The mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae, is a native species of bark beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae that caused unprecedented damage to the pine forests of British Columbia and other parts of western North America and is currently expanding its range into the boreal forests of central and eastern Canada and the USA. We conducted a large-scale gene expression analysis (RNA-seq of mountain pine beetle male and female adults either starved or fed in male-female pairs for 24 hours on lodgepole pine host tree tissues. Our aim was to uncover transcripts involved in coniferophagous mountain pine beetle detoxification systems during early host colonization. Transcripts of members from several gene families significantly increased in insects fed on host tissue including: cytochromes P450, glucosyl transferases and glutathione S-transferases, esterases, and one ABC transporter. Other significantly increasing transcripts with potential roles in detoxification of host defenses included alcohol dehydrogenases and a group of unexpected transcripts whose products may play an, as yet, undiscovered role in host colonization by mountain pine beetle.

Looking at the roots of the highest mountains: the lithospheric structure of the Himalaya-Tibet and the Zagros orogens. Results from a geophysical-petrological study

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Tunini, L.; Jimenez-Munt, I.; Fernandez, M.; Villasenor, A.; Afonso, J. C.; Verges, J.

2013-12-01

The Himalaya-Tibet and Zagros orogens are the two most prominent mountain belts built by continental collision. They are part of a huge belt of Cenozoic age which runs from the Pyrenees to Burma. In its central sector, the collision with the southern margin of the Eurasian plate has resulted not only in the building of mountain ranges over the north-eastern edges of the Arabian and Indian plates but also in widespread deformation 1000-3000 km from the suture zones. Zagros and Himalaya-Tibet orogens share many geodynamic processes but at different rates, amount of convergence and stage of development. The study of their present-day structures provides new insights into their quasi coeval collisional event pointing out differences and similarities in the mountain building processes. We present 2D crust and upper mantle cross-sections down to 400 km depth, along four SW-NE trending profiles. Two profiles cross the Zagros Mountains, running from the Mesopotamian Foreland Basin up to the Alborz and Central Iran. Two other profiles run through the Himalaya-Tibetan orogen: the western transect crosses the western Himalaya, Tarim Basin, Tian Shan Mountains and Junggar Basin; the eastern transect runs from the Indian shield to the Beishan Basin, crossing the eastern Himalaya, Tibetan Plateau, Qaidam Basin and Qilian Mountains. We apply the LitMod-2D code which integrates potential fields (gravity and geoid), isostasy (elevation) and thermal (heat flow and temperature distribution) equations, and mantle petrology. The resulting crust and upper mantle structure is constrained by available data on elevation, Bouguer anomaly, geoid height, surface heat flow and seismic data including P- and S-wave tomography models. Our results show distinct deformation patterns between the crust and the lithospheric mantle beneath the Zagros and Himalaya-Tibetan orogens, indicating a strong strain partitioning in both areas. At crustal level, we found a thickening beneath the Zagros and the

Low offspring survival in mountain pine beetle infesting the resistant Great Basin bristlecone pine supports the preference-performance hypothesis

Science.gov (United States)

Erika L. Eidson; Karen E. Mock; Barbara J. Bentz

2018-01-01

The preference-performance hypothesis states that ovipositing phytophagous insects will select host plants that are well-suited for their offspring and avoid host plants that do not support offspring performance (survival, development and fitness). The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae), a native insect herbivore in western North America, can successfully...

Environmental fate and behavior of persistent organic pollutants in Shergyla Mountain, southeast of the Tibetan Plateau of China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Nali; Schramm, Karl-Werner; Wang, Thanh; Henkelmann, Bernhard; Zheng, Xiaoyan; Fu, Jianjie; Gao, Yan

2014-01-01

Pristine mountains are ideal settings to study transport and behavior of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) along gradients of climate and land cover. The present work investigated the concentrations and patterns of 28 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), 25 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), 13 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and 3 hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDs) isomers in the air of the Shergyla Mountain, southeastern Tibetan Plateau. Endosulfan I, hexachlorobenzene, pentachlorobenzene, hexachlorocyclohexanes and dichlorodibenzotrichloroethane and its degradation products (DDTs) were the predominant compounds while PBDEs and HBCDs showed the lowest background concentrations. Most of the target POPs had significantly higher concentrations in summer than those in winter. Increasing trends of the concentrations of DDTs and endosulfan were found with increasing altitude on the western slope in the Shergyla Mountain. Potential forest filter effect was observed based on the lower air concentrations of the target POPs in the forest than the ones out of the forest. - Highlights: • Concentrations of DDT and endosulfan increased with elevation in Shergyla Mountain. • Potential forest filter effect for some POPs was observed in summer in the Plateau. • Seasonal variations of POPs levels existed in atmosphere of the Plateau. • Different behavior of POPs was observed on the two slopes of the Shergyla Mountain. - Different behaviors of POPs were observed on the two slopes of the Shergyla Mountain, and potential forest filter effects for some POPs were observed in the summer

Observation and simulation of net primary productivity in Qilian Mountain, western China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Y; Zhu, Q; Chen, J M; Wang, Y Q; Liu, J; Sun, R; Tang, S

2007-11-01

We modeled net primary productivity (NPP) at high spatial resolution using an advanced spaceborne thermal emission and reflection radiometer (ASTER) image of a Qilian Mountain study area using the boreal ecosystem productivity simulator (BEPS). Two key driving variables of the model, leaf area index (LAI) and land cover type, were derived from ASTER and moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. Other spatially explicit inputs included daily meteorological data (radiation, precipitation, temperature, humidity), available soil water holding capacity (AWC), and forest biomass. NPP was estimated for coniferous forests and other land cover types in the study area. The result showed that NPP of coniferous forests in the study area was about 4.4 tCha(-1)y(-1). The correlation coefficient between the modeled NPP and ground measurements was 0.84, with a mean relative error of about 13.9%.

Granitoids of the Mala Fatra and Velka Fatra Mts.: Rb/Sr isochron geochronology (Western Carpathians)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagdasaryan, G.P.; Gukasyan, R.C.; Cambel, B.; Kamenicky, L.; Macek, J.

1992-01-01

New data formerly lacking (with exceptions - Dubna Skala, 1990) were gained from the Western Carpathian core mountain - Mala Fatra and Velka Fatra - by the Rb/Sr method. The isochron based on 13 samples gave the age of 361±10 Ma for Mala Fatra and Velka Fatra intrusions. (author) 4 tabs., 4 figs., 8 refs

Post-harvest seedling recruitment following mountain pine beetle infestation of Colorado lodgepole pine stands: A comparison using historic survey records

Science.gov (United States)

Byron J. Collins; Charles C. Rhoades; Jeffrey Underhill; Robert M. Hubbard

2010-01-01

The extent and severity of overstory lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelm. ex Wats.) mortality from mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) has created management concerns associated with forest regeneration, wildfire risk, human safety, and scenic, wildlife, and watershed resources in western North America. Owing to the unprecedented...

Annual Copper Mountain Conferences on Multigrid and Iterative Methods, Copper Mountain, Colorado

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCormick, Stephen F.

2016-01-01

This project supported the Copper Mountain Conference on Multigrid and Iterative Methods, held from 2007 to 2015, at Copper Mountain, Colorado. The subject of the Copper Mountain Conference Series alternated between Multigrid Methods in odd-numbered years and Iterative Methods in even-numbered years. Begun in 1983, the Series represents an important forum for the exchange of ideas in these two closely related fields. This report describes the Copper Mountain Conference on Multigrid and Iterative Methods, 2007-2015. Information on the conference series is available at http://grandmaster.colorado.edu/~copper/

Annual Copper Mountain Conferences on Multigrid and Iterative Methods, Copper Mountain, Colorado

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McCormick, Stephen F. [Front Range Scientific, Inc., Lake City, CO (United States)

2016-03-25

This project supported the Copper Mountain Conference on Multigrid and Iterative Methods, held from 2007 to 2015, at Copper Mountain, Colorado. The subject of the Copper Mountain Conference Series alternated between Multigrid Methods in odd-numbered years and Iterative Methods in even-numbered years. Begun in 1983, the Series represents an important forum for the exchange of ideas in these two closely related fields. This report describes the Copper Mountain Conference on Multigrid and Iterative Methods, 2007-2015. Information on the conference series is available at http://grandmaster.colorado.edu/~copper/.

Reconnaissance and economic geology of Copper Mountain metamorphic complex, Owl Creek Mountains, Wyoming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hausel, W.D.

1983-01-01

The Copper Mountain metamorphic complex lies within a westerly trending belt of Precambrian exposures known as the Owl Creek Mountains uplift. The metamorphic complex at Copper Mountain is part of a larger complex known as the Owl Creek Mountains greenstone belt. Until more detailed mapping and petrographic studies can be completed, the Copper Mountain area is best referred to as a complex, even though it has some characteristics of a greestone belt. At least three episodes of Precambrian deformation have affected the supracrustals, and two have disturbed the granites. The final Precambrian deformation event was preceded by a weak thermal event expressed by retrogressive metamorphism and restricted metasomatic alteration. During this event, a second phase of pegmatization was accompanied by hydrothermal solutions. During the Laramide orogeny, Copper Mountain was again modified by deformation. Laramide deformation produced complex gravity faults and keystone grabens. Uranium deposits were formed following major Laramide deformation. The genesis of these deposits is attributable to either the leaching of granites or the leaching of overlying tuffaceous sediments during the Tertiary. Production of metals and industrial minerals has been limited, although some gold, copper, silver, tungsten, beryl, feldspar, and lithium ore have been shipped from Copper Mountain. A large amount of uranium was produced from the Copper Mountain district in the 1950s

Reassessing rainfall in the Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico: Local and global ecohydrological implications

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Sheila F.; Stallard, Robert F.; Scholl, Martha A.; Gonzalez, Grizelle; Torres-Sanchez, Angel J.

2017-01-01

Mountains receive a greater proportion of precipitation than other environments, and thus make a disproportionate contribution to the world’s water supply. The Luquillo Mountains receive the highest rainfall on the island of Puerto Rico and serve as a critical source of water to surrounding communities. The area’s role as a long-term research site has generated numerous hydrological, ecological, and geological investigations that have been included in regional and global overviews that compare tropical forests to other ecosystems. Most of the forest- and watershed-wide estimates of precipitation (and evapotranspiration, as inferred by a water balance) have assumed that precipitation increases consistently with elevation. However, in this new analysis of all known current and historical rain gages in the region, we find that similar to other mountainous islands in the trade wind latitudes, leeward (western) watersheds in the Luquillo Mountains receive lower mean annual precipitation than windward (eastern) watersheds. Previous studies in the Luquillo Mountains have therefore overestimated precipitation in leeward watersheds by up to 40%. The Icacos watershed, however, despite being located at elevations 200–400 m below the tallest peaks and to the lee of the first major orographic barrier, receives some of the highest precipitation. Such lee-side enhancement has been observed in other island mountains of similar height and width, and may be caused by several mechanisms. Thus, the long-reported discrepancy of unrealistically low rates of evapotranspiration in the Icacos watershed is likely caused by previous underestimation of precipitation, perhaps by as much as 20%. Rainfall/runoff ratios in several previous studies suggested either runoff excess or runoff deficiency in Luquillo watersheds, but this analysis suggests that in fact they are similar to other tropical watersheds. Because the Luquillo Mountains often serve as a wet tropical archetype in global

Reassessing rainfall in the Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico: Local and global ecohydrological implications.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sheila F Murphy

Full Text Available Mountains receive a greater proportion of precipitation than other environments, and thus make a disproportionate contribution to the world's water supply. The Luquillo Mountains receive the highest rainfall on the island of Puerto Rico and serve as a critical source of water to surrounding communities. The area's role as a long-term research site has generated numerous hydrological, ecological, and geological investigations that have been included in regional and global overviews that compare tropical forests to other ecosystems. Most of the forest- and watershed-wide estimates of precipitation (and evapotranspiration, as inferred by a water balance have assumed that precipitation increases consistently with elevation. However, in this new analysis of all known current and historical rain gages in the region, we find that similar to other mountainous islands in the trade wind latitudes, leeward (western watersheds in the Luquillo Mountains receive lower mean annual precipitation than windward (eastern watersheds. Previous studies in the Luquillo Mountains have therefore overestimated precipitation in leeward watersheds by up to 40%. The Icacos watershed, however, despite being located at elevations 200-400 m below the tallest peaks and to the lee of the first major orographic barrier, receives some of the highest precipitation. Such lee-side enhancement has been observed in other island mountains of similar height and width, and may be caused by several mechanisms. Thus, the long-reported discrepancy of unrealistically low rates of evapotranspiration in the Icacos watershed is likely caused by previous underestimation of precipitation, perhaps by as much as 20%. Rainfall/runoff ratios in several previous studies suggested either runoff excess or runoff deficiency in Luquillo watersheds, but this analysis suggests that in fact they are similar to other tropical watersheds. Because the Luquillo Mountains often serve as a wet tropical archetype in

Changes in precipitating snow chemistry with seasonality in the remote Laohugou glacier basin, western Qilian Mountains.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Zhiwen; Qin, Dahe; Qin, Xiang; Cui, Jianyong; Kang, Shichang

2017-04-01

Trace elements in the atmosphere could provide information about regional atmospheric pollution. This study presented a whole year of precipitation observation data regarding the concentrations of trace metals (e.g., Cr, Ni, Cu, Mn, Cd, Mo, Pb, Sb, Ti, and Zn), and a TEM-EDX (transmission electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer) analysis from June 2014 to September 2015 at a remote alpine glacier basin in Northwest China, the Laohugou (LHG) basin (4200 m a.s.l.), to determine the regional scale of atmospheric conditions and chemical processing in the free troposphere in the region. The results of the concentrations of trace metals showed that, although the concentrations generally were lower compared with that of surrounding rural areas (and cities), they showed an obviously higher concentration and higher EFs in winter (DJF) and a relatively lower concentration and lower EFs in summer (JJA) and autumn (SON), implying clearly enhanced winter pollution of the regional atmosphere in Northwest China. The TEM observed residue in precipitation that was mainly composed of types of dust, salt-dust, BC-fly ash-soot, and organic particles in precipitation, which also showed remarked seasonal change, showing an especially high ratio of BC-soot-fly ash particles in winter precipitation compared with that of other seasons (while organic particles were higher in the summer), indicating significant increased anthropogenic particles in the winter atmosphere. The source of increased winter anthropogenic pollutants mainly originated from emissions from coal combustion, e.g., the regional winter heating supply for residents and cement factories in urban and rural regions of Northwest China. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) atmospheric optical depth (AOD) also showed a significant influence of regional atmospheric pollutant emissions over the region in winter. In total, this work indicated that the atmospheric environment in western Qilian

Late Holocene expansion of Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) in the Central Rocky Mountains, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Norris, Jodi R; Betancourt, Julio L.; Jackson, Stephen T.

2016-01-01

"Aim: Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) experienced one of the most extensive and rapid post-glacial plant migrations in western North America. We used plant macrofossils from woodrat (Neotoma) middens to reconstruct its spread in the Central Rocky Mountains, identify other vegetation changes coinciding with P. ponderosa expansion at the same sites, and relate P. ponderosa migrational history to both its modern phylogeography and to a parallel expansion by Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma).

A Comment on “Management for Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak Suppression: Does Relevant Science Support Current Policy?”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher J. Fettig

2014-04-01

Full Text Available There are two general approaches for reducing the negative impacts of mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, on forests. Direct control involves short-term tactics designed to address current infestations by manipulating mountain pine beetle populations, and includes the use of fire, insecticides, semiochemicals, sanitation harvests, or a combination of these treatments. Indirect control is preventive, and designed to reduce the probability and severity of future infestations within treated areas by manipulating stand, forest and/or landscape conditions by reducing the number of susceptible host trees through thinning, prescribed burning, and/or alterations of age classes and species composition. We emphasize that “outbreak suppression” is not the intent or objective of management strategies implemented for mountain pine beetle in the western United States, and that the use of clear, descriptive language is important when assessing the merits of various treatment strategies.

MERCURY CONCENTRATIONS IN SALMONIDS FROM WESTERN U.S. NATIONAL PARKS AND RELATIONSHIPS WITH AGE AND MACROPHAGE AGGREGATES

Science.gov (United States)

Mercury accumulation in aquatic foodwebs and its effects on aquatic biota are of growing concern both for the health of the fish and the piscivores that prey upon them. This is of particular concern for western U.S. National Parks because it is known that mountainous and Arctic a...

Downstream effects of stream flow diversion on channel characteristics and riparian vegetation in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Simeon T. Caskey; Tyanna S. Blaschak; Ellen Wohl; Elizabeth Schnackenberg; David M. Merritt; Kathleen A. Dwire

2015-01-01

Flow diversions are widespread and numerous throughout the semi-arid mountains of the western United States. Diversions vary greatly in their structure and ability to divert water, but can alter the magnitude and duration of base and peak flows, depending upon their size and management. Channel geometry and riparian plant communities have adapted to unique hydrologic...

Pollination ecology and floral function of Brown's peony (Paeonia brownii) in the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon

Science.gov (United States)

Peter Bernhardt; Retha Meier; Nan. Vance

2013-01-01

Brown’s peony, Paeonia brownie (Paeoniaceae), is one of only two peony species native to the Western Hemisphere, yet its pollination ecology and breeding system have never been documented. Using flowering individuals of an endemic colony in the Blue Mountains of Oregon, U.S., we investigated the peony’s pollination system and floral function. We...

Ecological consequences of mountain pine beetle outbreaks for wildlife in western North American forests

Science.gov (United States)

Saab, Victoria A.; Latif, Quresh S.; Rowland, Mary M.; Johnson, Tracey N.; Chalfoun, Anna D.; Buskirk, Steven W.; Heyward, Joslin E.; Dresser, Matthew A.

2014-01-01

Mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) (MPB) outbreaks are increasingly prevalent in western North America, causing considerable ecological change in pine (Pinus spp.) forests with important implications for wildlife. We reviewed studies examining wildlife responses to MPB outbreaks and postoutbreak salvage logging to inform forest management and guide future research. Our review included 16 studies describing MPB outbreak relationships with 89 bird species and 6 studies describing relationships with 11 mammalian species, but no studies of reptiles or amphibians. We included studies that compared wildlife response metrics temporally (before versus after the outbreak) and spatially (across sites that varied in severity of outbreak) in relation to beetle outbreaks. Outbreaks ranged in size from 20,600 to ≥107 ha and studies occurred 1‐30 years after the peak MPB outbreak, but most studies were conducted over the short-term (i.e., ≤6 years after the peak of MPB-induced tree mortality). Birds were the only taxa studied frequently; however, high variability existed among those studies to allow many inferences, although some patterns were evident. Avian studies concluded that cavity-nesting species responded more favorably to beetle-killed forests than species with open-cup nests, and species nesting in the shrub layer favored outbreak forests compared with ground and open-cup canopy nesters that generally showed mixed relationships. Bark-drilling species as a group clearly demonstrated a positive short-term association with MPB epidemics compared with that of other foraging assemblages. Cavity-nesting birds that do not consume bark beetles (i.e., secondary cavity-nesting species and nonbark-drilling woodpeckers) also exhibited some positive responses to MPB outbreaks, although not as pronounced or consistent as those of bark-drilling woodpeckers. Mammalian responses to MPB outbreaks were mixed. Studies consistently reported negative effects of MPB

An Integrated Processing Strategy for Mountain Glacier Motion Monitoring Based on SAR Images

Science.gov (United States)

Ruan, Z.; Yan, S.; Liu, G.; LV, M.

2017-12-01

Mountain glacier dynamic variables are important parameters in studies of environment and climate change in High Mountain Asia. Due to the increasing events of abnormal glacier-related hazards, research of monitoring glacier movements has attracted more interest during these years. Glacier velocities are sensitive and changing fast under complex conditions of high mountain regions, which implies that analysis of glacier dynamic changes requires comprehensive and frequent observations with relatively high accuracy. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has been successfully exploited to detect glacier motion in a number of previous studies, usually with pixel-tracking and interferometry methods. However, the traditional algorithms applied to mountain glacier regions are constrained by the complex terrain and diverse glacial motion types. Interferometry techniques are prone to fail in mountain glaciers because of their narrow size and the steep terrain, while pixel-tracking algorithm, which is more robust in high mountain areas, is subject to accuracy loss. In order to derive glacier velocities continually and efficiently, we propose a modified strategy to exploit SAR data information for mountain glaciers. In our approach, we integrate a set of algorithms for compensating non-glacial-motion-related signals which exist in the offset values retrieved by sub-pixel cross-correlation of SAR image pairs. We exploit modified elastic deformation model to remove the offsets associated with orbit and sensor attitude, and for the topographic residual offset we utilize a set of operations including DEM-assisted compensation algorithm and wavelet-based algorithm. At the last step of the flow, an integrated algorithm combining phase and intensity information of SAR images will be used to improve regional motion results failed in cross-correlation related processing. The proposed strategy is applied to the West Kunlun Mountain and Muztagh Ata region in western China using ALOS

Western Energy Corridor -- Energy Resource Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leslie Roberts; Michael Hagood

2011-06-01

The world is facing significant growth in energy demand over the next several decades. Strategic in meeting this demand are the world-class energy resources concentrated along the Rocky Mountains and northern plains in Canada and the U.S., informally referred to as the Western Energy Corridor (WEC). The fossil energy resources in this region are rivaled only in a very few places in the world, and the proven uranium reserves are among the world's largest. Also concentrated in this region are renewable resources contributing to wind power, hydro power, bioenergy, geothermal energy, and solar energy. Substantial existing and planned energy infrastructure, including refineries, pipelines, electrical transmission lines, and rail lines provide access to these resources.

Western Energy Corridor -- Energy Resource Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roberts, Leslie; Hagood, Michael

2011-01-01

The world is facing significant growth in energy demand over the next several decades. Strategic in meeting this demand are the world-class energy resources concentrated along the Rocky Mountains and northern plains in Canada and the U.S., informally referred to as the Western Energy Corridor (WEC). The fossil energy resources in this region are rivaled only in a very few places in the world, and the proven uranium reserves are among the world's largest. Also concentrated in this region are renewable resources contributing to wind power, hydro power, bioenergy, geothermal energy, and solar energy. Substantial existing and planned energy infrastructure, including refineries, pipelines, electrical transmission lines, and rail lines provide access to these resources.

Paleoseismic evidence for late Holocene tectonic deformation along the Saddle mountain fault zone, Southeastern Olympic Peninsula, Washington

Science.gov (United States)

Barnett, Elizabeth; Sherrod, Brian; Hughes, Jonathan F.; Kelsey, Harvey M.; Czajkowski, Jessica L.; Walsh, Timothy J.; Contreras, Trevor A.; Schermer, Elizabeth R.; Carson, Robert J.

2015-01-01

Trench and wetland coring studies show that northeast‐striking strands of the Saddle Mountain fault zone ruptured the ground about 1000 years ago, generating prominent scarps. Three conspicuous subparallel fault scarps can be traced for 15 km on Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) imagery, traversing the foothills of the southeast Olympic Mountains: the Saddle Mountain east fault, the Saddle Mountain west fault, and the newly identified Sund Creek fault. Uplift of the Saddle Mountain east fault scarp impounded stream flow, forming Price Lake and submerging an existing forest, thereby leaving drowned stumps still rooted in place. Stratigraphy mapped in two trenches, one across the Saddle Mountain east fault and the other across the Sund Creek fault, records one and two earthquakes, respectively, as faulting juxtaposed Miocene‐age bedrock against glacial and postglacial deposits. Although the stratigraphy demonstrates that reverse motion generated the scarps, slip indicators measured on fault surfaces suggest a component of left‐lateral slip. From trench exposures, we estimate the postglacial slip rate to be 0.2  mm/yr and between 0.7 and 3.2  mm/yr during the past 3000 years. Integrating radiocarbon data from this study with earlier Saddle Mountain fault studies into an OxCal Bayesian statistical chronology model constrains the most recent paleoearthquake age of rupture across all three Saddle Mountain faults to 1170–970 calibrated years (cal B.P.), which overlaps with the nearby Mw 7.5 1050–1020 cal B.P. Seattle fault earthquake. An earlier earthquake recorded in the Sund Creek trench exposure, dates to around 3500 cal B.P. The geometry of the Saddle Mountain faults and their near‐synchronous rupture to nearby faults 1000 years ago suggest that the Saddle Mountain fault zone forms a western boundary fault along which the fore‐arc blocks migrate northward in response to margin‐parallel shortening across the Puget Lowland.

Tooth wear and feeding ecology in mountain gorillas from Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda.

Science.gov (United States)

Galbany, Jordi; Imanizabayo, Olive; Romero, Alejandro; Vecellio, Veronica; Glowacka, Halszka; Cranfield, Michael R; Bromage, Timothy G; Mudakikwa, Antoine; Stoinski, Tara S; McFarlin, Shannon C

2016-03-01

Ecological factors have a dramatic effect on tooth wear in primates, although it remains unclear how individual age contributes to functional crown morphology. The aim of this study is to determine how age and individual diet are related to tooth wear in wild mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) from Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. We calculated the percent of dentine exposure (PDE) for all permanent molars (M1-M3) of known-age mountain gorillas (N = 23), to test whether PDE varied with age using regression analysis. For each molar position, we also performed stepwise multiple linear regression to test the effects of age and percentage of time spent feeding on different food categories on PDE, for individuals subject to long-term observational studies by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International's Karisoke Research Center. PDE increased significantly with age for both sexes in all molars. Moreover, a significant effect of gritty plant root consumption on PDE was found among individuals. Our results support prior reports indicating reduced tooth wear in mountain gorillas compared to western gorillas, and compared to other known-aged samples of primate taxa from forest and savanna habitats. Our findings corroborate that mountain gorillas present very low molar wear, and support the hypothesis that age and the consumption of particular food types, namely roots, are significant determinants of tooth wear variation in mountain gorillas. Future research should characterize the mineral composition of the soil in the Virunga habitat, to test the hypothesis that the physical and abrasive properties of gritty foods such as roots influence intra- and interspecific patterns of tooth wear. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Denudation history of the Snowy Mountains: constraints from apatite fission track thermochronology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kohn, B.P.; Gleadow, A.J.W.; Cox, S.J.D.

1999-01-01

Apatite fission track thermo chronology from Early Palaeozoic granitoids centred around the Kosciuszko massif of the Snowy Mountains, records a denudation history that was episodic and highly variable. The form of the apatite fission track age profile assembled from vertical sections and hydro-electric tunnels traversing the mountains, together with numerical forward modelling, provide strong evidence for two episodes of accelerated denudation, commencing in Late Permian - Early Triassic (ca 270 250 Ma) and mid-Cretaceous (ca 110-100 Ma) times, and a possible third episode in the Cenozoic. Denudation commencing in the Late Permian - Early Triassic wins widespread in the eastern and Central Snowy Mountains area, continued through much of the Triassic, and amounted to at least ∼2.0-2,4 km. This episode was probably the geomorphic response to the Hunter-Bowen Orogeny. Post-Triassic denudation to the present in these areas amounted to ∼2.0-2.2 km. Unambiguous evidence for mid-Cretaceous cooling and possible later cooling is confined to a north-south-trending sinuous belt, up to ∼15km wide by at least 35km long, of major reactivated Palaeozoic faults on the western side of the mountains. This zone is the most deeply exposed area of the Kosciuszko block. Denudation accompanying these later events totalled up to ∼1.8-2.0 km and ∼2.0 2.25 km respectively. Mid-Cretaceous denudation marks the onset of renewed tectonic activity in the south-eastern highlands following a period of relative quiescence since the Late Triassic, and establishes a temporal link with the onset of extension related to the opening of the Tasman Sea. Much of the present day relief of the mountains resulted from surface uplift which disrupted the post-mid-Cretaceous apatite fission track profile by variable offsets on faults. Copyright (1999) Geological Society of Australia

Escaping to the summits: phylogeography and predicted range dynamics of Cerastium dinaricum, an endangered high mountain plant endemic to the western Balkan Peninsula.

Science.gov (United States)

Kutnjak, Denis; Kuttner, Michael; Niketić, Marjan; Dullinger, Stefan; Schönswetter, Peter; Frajman, Božo

2014-09-01

The Balkans are a major European biodiversity hotspot, however, almost nothing is known about processes of intraspecific diversification of the region's high-altitude biota and their reaction to the predicted global warming. To fill this gap, genome size measurements, AFLP fingerprints, plastid and nuclear sequences were employed to explore the phylogeography of Cerastium dinaricum. Range size changes under future climatic conditions were predicted by niche-based modeling. Likely the most cold-adapted plant endemic to the Dinaric Mountains in the western Balkan Peninsula, the species has conservation priority in the European Union as its highly fragmented distribution range includes only few small populations. A deep phylogeographic split paralleled by divergent genome size separates the populations into two vicariant groups. Substructure is pronounced within the southeastern group, corresponding to the area's higher geographic complexity. Cerastium dinaricum likely responded to past climatic oscillations with altitudinal range shifts, which, coupled with high topographic complexity of the region and warmer climate in the Holocene, sculptured its present fragmented distribution. Field observations revealed that the species is rarer than previously assumed and, as shown by modeling, severely endangered by global warming as viable habitat was predicted to be reduced by more than 70% by the year 2080. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evolution of Topography in Glaciated Mountain Ranges

Science.gov (United States)

Brocklehurst, Simon H.

2002-01-01

This thesis examines the response of alpine landscapes to the onset of glaciation. The basic approach is to compare fluvial and glacial laudscapes, since it is the change from the former to the latter that accompanies climatic cooling. This allows a detailed evaluation of hypotheses relating climate change to tectonic processes in glaciated mountain belts. Fieldwork was carried out in the eastern Sierra Nevada, California, and the Sangre de Cristo Range, Colorado, alongside digital elevation model analyses in the western US, the Southern Alps of New Zealand, and the Himalaya of northwestern Pakistan. hypothesis is overstated in its appeal to glacial erosion as a major source of relief production and subsequent peak uplift. Glaciers in the eastern Sierra Nevada and the western Sangre de Cristos have redistributed relief, but have produced only modest relief by enlarging drainage basins at the expense of low-relief topography. Glaciers have lowered valley floors and ridgelines by similar amounts, limiting the amount of "missing mass' that can be generated, and causing a decrease in drainage basin relief. The principal response of glaciated landscapes to rapid rock uplift is the development of towering cirque headwalls. This represents considerable relief production, but is not caused by glacial erosion alone. Large valley glaciers can maintain their low gradient regardless of uplift rate, which supports the "glacial buzzsaw" hypothesis. However, the inability of glaciers to erode steep hillslopes as rapidly can cause mean elevations to rise. Cosmogenic isotope dating is used to show that (i) where plucking is active, the last major glaciation removed sufficient material to reset the cosmogenic clock; and (ii) former glacial valley floors now stranded near the crest of the Sierra Nevada are at varying stages of abandonment, suggesting a cycle of drainage reorganiszation and relief inversion due to glacial erosion similar to that observed in river networks. Glaciated

Chemical variability of zeolites at a potential nuclear waste repository, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Broxton, D.E.

1985-01-01

The compositions of clinoptilolites and their host tuffs have been examined by electron microprobe and x-ray fluorescence, respectively, to determine their variability at a potential nuclear waste repository, Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Because of their sorptive properties, these zeolites could provide important geologic barriers to radionuclide migration. Variations in clinoptilolite composition can strongly affect the mineral's thermal and ion-exchange properties, thus influencing its behavior in the repository environment. Clinoptilolites and heulandites closest to the proposed repository have calcium-rich compositions (60 to 90 mol. % Ca) and silica-to-aluminum ratios that concentrate between 4.0 and 4.6. In contrast, clinoptilolites and their host tuffs deeper in the volcanic sequence have highly variable compositions that vary vertically and laterally. Deeper-occurring clinoptilolites in the eastern part of Yucca Mountain are characterized by calcic-potassic compositions and tend to become more calcium-rich with depth. Clinoptilolites at equivalent stratigraphic levels on the western side of Yucca Mountain have sodic-potassic compositions and tend to become more sodium-rich with depth. Despite their differences in exchangeable cation compositions these two deeper-occurring compositional suites have similar silica-to-aluminum ratios, concentrating between 4.4 and 5.0. The chemical variability of clinoptilolites and their host tuffs at Yucca Mountain suggest that their physical and chemical properties will also vary. Compositionally-dependent clinoptilolite properties important for repository performance assessment include expansion/contraction behavior, hydration/dehydration behavior, and ion-exchange properties

Vertical axis rotation (or lack thereof) of the eastern Mongolian Altay Mountains: Implications for far-field transpressional mountain building

Science.gov (United States)

Gregory, Laura C.; Mac Niocaill, Conall; Walker, Richard T.; Bayasgalan, Gantulga; Craig, Tim J.

2018-06-01

The Altay Mountains of Western Mongolia accommodate 10-20% of the current shortening of the India-Asia collision in a transpressive regime. Kinematic models of the Altay require faults to rotate anticlockwise about a vertical axis in order to accommodate compressional deformation on the major strike slip faults that cross the region. Such rotations should be detectable by palaeomagnetic data. Previous estimates from the one existing palaeomagnetic study from the Altay, on Oligocene and younger sediments from the Chuya Basin in the Siberian Altay, indicate that at least some parts of the Altay have experienced up to 39 ± 8° of anticlockwise rotation. Here, we present new palaeomagnetic results from samples collected in Cretaceous and younger sediments in the Zereg Basin along the Har-Us-Nuur fault in the eastern Altay Mountains, Mongolia. Our new palaeomagnetic results from the Zereg Basin provide reliable declinations, with palaeomagnetic directions from 10 sites that pass a fold test and include magnetic reversals. The declinations are not significantly rotated with respect to the directions expected from Cretaceous and younger virtual geomagnetic poles, suggesting that faults in the eastern Altay have not experienced a large degree of vertical axis rotation and cannot have rotated >7° in the past 5 m.y. The lack of rotation along the Har-Us-Nuur fault combined with a large amount of rotation in the northern Altay fits with a kinematic model for transpressional deformation in which faults in the Altay have rotated to an orientation that favours the development of flower structures and building of mountainous topography, while at the same time the range widens at the edges as strain is transferred to better oriented structures. Thus the Har-Us-Nuur fault is a relatively young fault in the Altay, and has not yet accommodated significant rotation.

Severity of a mountain pine beetle outbreak across a range of stand conditions in Fraser Experimental Forest, Colorado, United States

Science.gov (United States)

Anthony G. Vorster; Paul H. Evangelista; Thomas J. Stohlgren; Sunil Kumar; Charles C. Rhoades; Robert M. Hubbard; Antony S. Cheng; Kelly Elder

2017-01-01

The recent mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) outbreaks had unprecedented effects on lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) in western North America. We used data from 165 forest inventory plots to analyze stand conditions that regulate lodgepole pine mortality across a wide range of stand structure and species composition at the Fraser...

Increasing synchrony of high temperature and low flow in western North American streams: Double trouble for coldwater biota?

Science.gov (United States)

Ivan Arismendi; Mohammad Safeeq; Sherri L. Johnson; Jason B Dunham; Roy Haggerty

2013-01-01

Flow and temperature are strongly linked environmental factors driving ecosystem processes in streams. Stream temperature maxima (Tmax_w) and stream flow minima (Qmin) can create periods of stress for aquatic organisms. In mountainous areas, such as western North America, recent shifts toward an earlier spring peak flow and...

Providing more informative projections of climate change impact on plant distribution in a mountain environment

Science.gov (United States)

Randin, C.; Engler, R.; Pearman, P.; Vittoz, P.; Guisan, A.

2007-12-01

Due to their conic shape and the reduction of area with increasing elevation, mountain ecosystems were early identified as potentially very sensitive to global warming. Moreover, mountain systems may experience unprecedented rates of warming during the next century, two or three times higher than that records of the 20th century. In this context, species distribution models (SDM) have become important tools for rapid assessment of the impact of accelerated land use and climate change on the distribution plant species. In this study, we developed and tested new predictor variables for species distribution models (SDM), specific to current and future geographic projections of plant species in a mountain system, using the Western Swiss Alps as model region. Since meso- and micro-topography are relevant to explain geographic patterns of plant species in mountain environments, we assessed the effect of scale on predictor variables and geographic projections of SDM. We also developed a methodological framework of space-for-time evaluation to test the robustness of SDM when projected in a future changing climate. Finally, we used a cellular automaton to run dynamic simulations of plant migration under climate change in a mountain landscape, including realistic distance of seed dispersal. Results of future projections for the 21st century were also discussed in perspective of vegetation changes monitored during the 20th century. Overall, we showed in this study that, based on the most severe A1 climate change scenario and realistic dispersal simulations of plant dispersal, species extinctions in the Western Swiss Alps could affect nearly one third (28.5%) of the 284 species modeled by 2100. With the less severe B1 scenario, only 4.6% of species are predicted to become extinct. However, even with B1, 54% (153 species) may still loose more than 80% of their initial surface. Results of monitoring of past vegetation changes suggested that plant species can react quickly to the

Groundwater dynamics in mountain peatlands with contrasting climate, vegetation, and hydrogeological setting

Science.gov (United States)

Millar, David J.; Cooper, David J.; Ronayne, Michael J.

2018-06-01

Hydrological dynamics act as a primary control on ecosystem function in mountain peatlands, serving as an important regulator of carbon fluxes. In western North America, mountain peatlands exist in different hydrogeological settings, across a range climatic conditions, and vary in floristic composition. The sustainability of these ecosystems, particularly those at the low end of their known elevation range, is susceptible to a changing climate via changes in the water cycle. We conducted a hydrological investigation of two mountain peatlands, with differing vegetation, hydrogeological setting (sloping vs basin), and climate (strong vs weak monsoon influence). Growing season saturated zone water budgets were modeled on a daily basis, and subsurface flow characterizations were performed during multiple field campaigns at each site. The sloping peatland expectedly showed a strong lateral groundwater potential gradient throughout the growing season. Alternatively, the basin peatland had low lateral gradients but more pronounced vertical gradients. A zero-flux plane was apparent at a depth of approximately 50 cm below the peat surface at the basin peatland; shallow groundwater above this depth moved upward towards the surface via evapotranspiration. The differences in groundwater flow dynamics between the two sites also influenced water budgets. Higher groundwater inflow at the sloping peatland offset higher rates of evapotranspiration losses from the saturated zone, which were apparently driven by differences in vegetative cover. This research revealed that although sloping peatlands cover relatively small portions of mountain watersheds, they provide unique settings where vegetation directly utilizes groundwater for transpiration, which were several-fold higher than typically reported for surrounding uplands.

A changing world: Using nuclear techniques to investigate the impact of climate change on polar and mountainous regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henriques, Sasha

2015-01-01

Nuclear techniques are being used in polar and mountainous regions to study climate change and its impact on the quality of land, water and ecosystems in order to better conserve and manage these resources. Researchers from around the world will be using data from 13 benchmark sites to draw conclusions about the effects of the rapidly changing climate on the Arctic, mountains and the western part of Antarctica, which have alarmed communities, environmentalists, scientists and policy makers. Between July 2015 and July 2016 they will be using isotopic and nuclear techniques, as well as geochemical and biological analytical methods from other scientific disciplines. This will enable them to track soil and water, to monitor the movement of soil and sediment and to assess the effects of melting permafrost on the atmosphere, as well as on the land, water and fragile ecosystems of mountainous and polar regions. The measurements follow numerous on-site tests carried out since November 2014 to perfect the sampling technique.

Tracking the multi-stage exhumation history of the western Chinese Tianshan by Apatite Fission Track (AFT) dating - Implications for the preservation of epithermal deposits in ancient orogenic belt

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yannan; Cai, Keda

2017-04-01

The western Chinese Tianshan, located in the southern domain of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), was originally constructed by multiple accretion-collision processes in the Paleozoic, and was superimposed by complex intracontinental tectonic evolution in the Mesozoic-Cenozoic. Understanding the timing and mechanism of the latter geological processes is critical to unravel the preservation conditions of the epithermal deposits in the western Chinese Tianshan. This work presents new apatite fission track (AFT) data for three mountain ranges of the western Chinese Tianshan to track their exhumation history. Our AFT data gave a wide range of ages from 76.8 ± 5.5 Ma to 182.3 ± 9.9 Ma, and the mean confined fission track lengths are between 9.8 ± 0.5 μm and 12.3 ± 0.2 μm. The new data, in combination with the thermal history modeling，enable us to attribute the exhumation history to three primary stages, including Early Permian (300-280 Ma), Late Triassic-Early Cretaceous (230-130 Ma), and Late Oligocene-Early Miocene (30-20 Ma). The first stage may be caused by the terrane accretion-collision in the late Paleozoic. The second stage was likely related to the closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean during the Mesozoic. The last one is regarded as the result of the collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasia Plate in the Cenozoic. The extraordinary exhumation processes of these three major mountain ranges might have been responsible for sediment supply to the corresponding intra-mountain basins in the western Chinese Tianshan, and the particularly mountain-basin coupling evolution is ascribed to an essential condition for the preservation of epithermal deposits in ancient orogenic belt.

YUCCA MOUNTAIN SITE DESCRIPTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simmons, A.M.

2004-01-01

The ''Yucca Mountain Site Description'' summarizes, in a single document, the current state of knowledge and understanding of the natural system at Yucca Mountain. It describes the geology; geochemistry; past, present, and projected future climate; regional hydrologic system; and flow and transport within the unsaturated and saturated zones at the site. In addition, it discusses factors affecting radionuclide transport, the effect of thermal loading on the natural system, and tectonic hazards. The ''Yucca Mountain Site Description'' is broad in nature. It summarizes investigations carried out as part of the Yucca Mountain Project since 1988, but it also includes work done at the site in earlier years, as well as studies performed by others. The document has been prepared under the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management quality assurance program for the Yucca Mountain Project. Yucca Mountain is located in Nye County in southern Nevada. The site lies in the north-central part of the Basin and Range physiographic province, within the northernmost subprovince commonly referred to as the Great Basin. The basin and range physiography reflects the extensional tectonic regime that has affected the region during the middle and late Cenozoic Era. Yucca Mountain was initially selected for characterization, in part, because of its thick unsaturated zone, its arid to semiarid climate, and the existence of a rock type that would support excavation of stable openings. In 1987, the United States Congress directed that Yucca Mountain be the only site characterized to evaluate its suitability for development of a geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel

Colluvial legacies of millennial landscape change on individual hillsides, place-based investigation in the western Pyrenees Mountains

Science.gov (United States)

D.S. Leigh; T.L. Gragson; M.R. Coughlan

2015-01-01

We detect transition to agropastoral land use in a mountain landscape by radiocarbon dating physical signatures (sedimentation rates, charcoal concentrations, magnetic susceptibility) of conversion from native forest to pasture contained within colluvial stratigraphic sections. Focus is on two study sites located on toeslopes directly beneath zero-order hollows...

Ozone distribution and phytotoxic potential in mixed conifer forests of the San Bernardino Mountains, southern California

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bytnerowicz, Andrzej; Arbaugh, Michael; Schilling, Susan; Fraczek, Witold; Alexander, Diane

2008-01-01

In the San Bernardino Mountains of southern California, ozone (O 3 ) concentrations have been elevated since the 1950s with peaks reaching 600 ppb and summer seasonal averages >100 ppb in the 1970s. During that period increased mortality of ponderosa and Jeffrey pines occurred. Between the late 1970s and late1990s, O 3 concentrations decreased with peaks ∼180 ppb and ∼60 ppb seasonal averages. However, since the late 1990s concentrations have not changed. Monitoring during summers of 2002-2006 showed that O 3 concentrations (2-week averages) for individual years were much higher in western sites (58-69 ppb) than eastern sites (44-50 ppb). Potential O 3 phytotoxicity measured as various exposure indices was very high, reaching SUM00 - 173.5 ppm h, SUM60 - 112.7 ppm h, W126 - 98.3 ppm h, and AOT40 - 75 ppm h, representing the highest values reported for mountain areas in North America and Europe. - Although peak ozone concentrations have greatly decreased in the San Bernardino Mountains, very high ozone phytotoxic potential remains

Airborne Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) images over disseminated gold deposits, Osgood Mountains, Humboldt County, Nevada

Science.gov (United States)

Krohn, M. Dennis

1986-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) acquired airborne Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) images over several disseminated gold deposits in northern Nevada in 1983. The aerial surveys were flown to determine whether TIMS data could depict jasperoids (siliceous replacement bodies) associated with the gold deposits. The TIMS data were collected over the Pinson and Getchell Mines in the Osgood Mountains, the Carlin, Maggie Creek, Bootstrap, and other mines in the Tuscarora Mountains, and the Jerritt Canyon Mine in the Independence Mountains. The TIMS data seem to be a useful supplement to conventional geochemical exploration for disseminated gold deposits in the western United States. Siliceous outcrops are readily separable in the TIMS image from other types of host rocks. Different forms of silicification are not readily separable, yet, due to limitations of spatial resolution and spectral dynamic range. Features associated with the disseminated gold deposits, such as the large intrusive bodies and fault structures, are also resolvable on TIMS data. Inclusion of high-resolution thermal inertia data would be a useful supplement to the TIMS data.

Uplifting model of the Longmenshan mountain in the eastern margin of Tibetan plateau

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, S.; Ding, R.; Mao, C.

2010-12-01

mountain are about 500 to 1000 m higher than the hinterland surface on the west side. In a word, Longmenshan mountain has been formed by the combination of eastern-wing thrusting and west-wing flexing which are attested by the deformation of the Tertiary peneplains and the longitudinal profiles of Quaternary strath terraces of Dadu river. The possible mechanisms for the uplifting of the mountain are the fault-bend folding of the upper crust, the upwelling of plastic lower crust , and crustal isostasy induced by surface erosion. In the light of the existence of longitudinal thrust faults or reversely strike-slip fault along the eastern and western wings of Longmenshan mountain, and no finding of longitudinal extensional faults there, fault-bend folding is proposed to be the leading factor.

Hydrometeorological daily recharge assessment model (DREAM) for the Western Mountain Aquifer, Israel: Model application and effects of temporal patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Sheffer, N. A.; Dafny, E.; Gvirtzman, H.; Navon, S.; Frumkin, A.; Morin, E.

2010-05-01

Recharge is a critical issue for water management. Recharge assessment and the factors affecting recharge are of scientific and practical importance. The purpose of this study was to develop a daily recharge assessment model (DREAM) on the basis of a water balance principle with input from conventional and generally available precipitation and evaporation data and demonstrate the application of this model to recharge estimation in the Western Mountain Aquifer (WMA) in Israel. The WMA (area 13,000 km2) is a karst aquifer that supplies 360-400 Mm3 yr-1 of freshwater, which constitutes 20% of Israel's freshwater and is highly vulnerable to climate variability and change. DREAM was linked to a groundwater flow model (FEFLOW) to simulate monthly hydraulic heads and spring flows. The models were calibrated for 1987-2002 and validated for 2003-2007, yielding high agreement between calculated and measured values (R2 = 0.95; relative root-mean-square error = 4.8%; relative bias = 1.04). DREAM allows insights into the effect of intra-annual precipitation distribution factors on recharge. Although annual precipitation amount explains ˜70% of the variability in simulated recharge, analyses with DREAM indicate that the rainy season length is an important factor controlling recharge. Years with similar annual precipitation produce different recharge values as a result of temporal distribution throughout the rainy season. An experiment with a synthetic data set exhibits similar results, explaining ˜90% of the recharge variability. DREAM represents significant improvement over previous recharge estimation techniques in this region by providing near-real-time recharge estimates that can be used to predict the impact of climate variability on groundwater resources at high temporal and spatial resolution.

Human impacts to mountain streams

Science.gov (United States)

Wohl, Ellen

2006-09-01

Mountain streams are here defined as channel networks within mountainous regions of the world. This definition encompasses tremendous diversity of physical and biological conditions, as well as history of land use. Human effects on mountain streams may result from activities undertaken within the stream channel that directly alter channel geometry, the dynamics of water and sediment movement, contaminants in the stream, or aquatic and riparian communities. Examples include channelization, construction of grade-control structures or check dams, removal of beavers, and placer mining. Human effects can also result from activities within the watershed that indirectly affect streams by altering the movement of water, sediment, and contaminants into the channel. Deforestation, cropping, grazing, land drainage, and urbanization are among the land uses that indirectly alter stream processes. An overview of the relative intensity of human impacts to mountain streams is provided by a table summarizing human effects on each of the major mountainous regions with respect to five categories: flow regulation, biotic integrity, water pollution, channel alteration, and land use. This table indicates that very few mountains have streams not at least moderately affected by land use. The least affected mountainous regions are those at very high or very low latitudes, although our scientific ignorance of conditions in low-latitude mountains in particular means that streams in these mountains might be more altered than is widely recognized. Four case studies from northern Sweden (arctic region), Colorado Front Range (semiarid temperate region), Swiss Alps (humid temperate region), and Papua New Guinea (humid tropics) are also used to explore in detail the history and effects on rivers of human activities in mountainous regions. The overview and case studies indicate that mountain streams must be managed with particular attention to upstream/downstream connections, hillslope

Influence of spatial resolution on precipitation simulations for the central Andes Mountains

Science.gov (United States)

Trachte, Katja; Bendix, Jörg

2013-04-01

The climate of South America is highly influenced by the north-south oriented Andes Mountains. Their complex structure causes modifications of large-scale atmospheric circulations resulting in various mesoscale phenomena as well as a high variability in the local conditions. Due to their height and length the terrain generates distinctly climate conditions between the western and the eastern slopes. While in the tropical regions along the western flanks the conditions are cold and arid, the eastern slopes are dominated by warm-moist and rainy air coming from the Amazon basin. Below 35° S the situation reverses with rather semiarid conditions in the eastern part and temperate rainy climate along southern Chile. Generally, global circulation models (GCMs) describe the state of the global climate and its changes, but are disabled to capture regional or even local features due to their coarse resolution. This is particularly true in heterogeneous regions such as the Andes Mountains, where local driving features, e. g. local circulation systems, highly varies on small scales and thus, lead to a high variability of rainfall distributions. An appropriate technique to overcome this problem and to gain regional and local scale rainfall information is the dynamical downscaling of the global data using a regional climate model (RCM). The poster presents results of the evaluation of the performance of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model over South America with special focus on the central Andes Mountains of Ecuador. A sensitivity study regarding the cumulus parametrization, microphysics, boundary layer processes and the radiation budget is conducted. With 17 simulations consisting of 16 parametrization scheme combinations and 1 default run a suitable model set-up for climate research in this region is supposed to be evaluated. The simulations were conducted in a two-way nested mode i) to examine the best physics scheme combination for the target and ii) to

YUCCA MOUNTAIN SITE DESCRIPTION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A.M. Simmons

2004-04-16

The ''Yucca Mountain Site Description'' summarizes, in a single document, the current state of knowledge and understanding of the natural system at Yucca Mountain. It describes the geology; geochemistry; past, present, and projected future climate; regional hydrologic system; and flow and transport within the unsaturated and saturated zones at the site. In addition, it discusses factors affecting radionuclide transport, the effect of thermal loading on the natural system, and tectonic hazards. The ''Yucca Mountain Site Description'' is broad in nature. It summarizes investigations carried out as part of the Yucca Mountain Project since 1988, but it also includes work done at the site in earlier years, as well as studies performed by others. The document has been prepared under the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management quality assurance program for the Yucca Mountain Project. Yucca Mountain is located in Nye County in southern Nevada. The site lies in the north-central part of the Basin and Range physiographic province, within the northernmost subprovince commonly referred to as the Great Basin. The basin and range physiography reflects the extensional tectonic regime that has affected the region during the middle and late Cenozoic Era. Yucca Mountain was initially selected for characterization, in part, because of its thick unsaturated zone, its arid to semiarid climate, and the existence of a rock type that would support excavation of stable openings. In 1987, the United States Congress directed that Yucca Mountain be the only site characterized to evaluate its suitability for development of a geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.

MOUNTAIN TOURISM INTERCONNECTIONS. VARIATION OF MOUNTAIN TOURIST FLOW IN SUCEAVA COUNTY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

George CHEIA

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Mountain tourism, in addition to one of the most common types of tourism, is generated by a complex of factors and at the same time, triggers a series of processes involving tourism phenomenon, especially the environment where it is taking place. This paper aims to discuss some of these causal factors, and the relationship between this type of tourism and the tourist area itself (1. By using SPSS analytical methods , it can be practically demonstrated the impact of mountain tourist flow in spas (2 and mountain resorts (3 in Suceava county.

Late Miocene-Recent evolution of the Finike Basin and its linkages with the Beydağlari complex and the Anaximander Mountains, eastern Mediterranean

Science.gov (United States)

Aksu, A. E.; Hall, J.; Yaltırak, C.; Çınar, E.; Küçük, M.; Çifçi, G.

2014-11-01

Interpretation of ~ 2500 km of high-resolution multi-channel seismic reflection profiles shows that the Finike Basin evolved during the Pliocene-Quaternary as the result of dramatic subsidence associated with loading of large imbricate thrust panels that carry the western Tauride Mountains in the north in the Late Miocene. The stacked, seaward prograded Quaternary deltas presently resting at 1000-1500 m water depths corroborate the rapid subsidence of the region. The ubiquitous presence of evaporites in the 2000-2400 m-deep Antalya Basin and their absence in the 3000-3200 m deep Finike Basin suggest that the morphology of the Finike Basin and environs must have been considerably different during the Messinian and that this region must have remained above the depositional base of evaporites during this time. The transition from the Messinian to the Pliocene-Quaternary is marked by partitioning of stress into several discrete spatial domains. A dextral strike-slip fault zone developed along the western Antalya Basin, extending from the apex of the Isparta Angle southward into the Anaximander Mountains. This fault zone, referred to as the Antalya Fault zone, transected the Anaximander Mountains (sensu lato) separating the Anaxagoras Mountain from the Anaximander and Anaximenes Mountains. Hence, the Finike Basin, Sırrı Erinç Plateau and the Anaximander and Anaximenes Mountains remained part of the onland Beydağları Block and experienced ~ 20° counterclockwise rotation during the Late Miocene. We envisage the boundaries of the Beydağları Block as the Burdur-Fethiye Fault zone in the west, the newly delineated Antalya Fault zone in the east and the east-west trending sector of the Sırrı Erinç Plateau in the southwest. Kinematic evaluation of the structural elements mapped across the Finike Basin and the Sırrı Erinç Plateau suggest that two additional strike-slip zones developed during the Pliocene-Quaternary relaying the stress between the Antalya Fault

Arizona/New Mexico Mountains Ecoregion: Chapter 10 in Status and trends of land change in the Western United States--1973 to 2000

Science.gov (United States)

Ruhlman, Jana; Gass, Leila; Middleton, Barry

2012-01-01

As the name suggests, the Arizona/New Mexico Mountains Ecoregion includes much of the mountainous regions of these two states, plus a very small part in the Guadalupe Mountains of northwestern Texas. Several isolated areas of higher terrain in Arizona and New Mexico are also included in the ecoregion, which occupies approximately 108,432 km2 (41,866 mi2) (Omernik, 1987; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1997). The ecoregion is bounded on the south by the Sonoran Basin and Range, Madrean Archipelago, and Chihuahuan Deserts Ecoregions; to the north, the ecoregion is both bounded and surrounded by the Arizona/New Mexico Plateau Ecoregion (fig. 1). The ecoregion encompasses the largest contiguous ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest in the United States (Strom and Fulé, 2007), which stretches from Williams, Arizona, along the Mogollon Rim, Arizona, into southwestern New Mexico, north and west of Silver City, New Mexico.

[Source identification and potential ecological hazards assessment of trace metalloid/heavy metals in the soil of Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang, China].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhao-Yong; Jilili, Abuduwailil; Jiang, Feng-Qing

2014-11-01

In this study, the contents of ten metalloid/heavy metals (As, Pb, Ni, Cd, Co, Hg, Cu, Mn, Zn and Cr) in soil samples collected from three sections including the central Urumqi-Akesu, eastern Blikun-Yiwu and western Zhaosu-Tekesi in Tianshan Mountains were determined, and their sources were identified by using typical statistical and multivariate statistical methods. The potential ecological risks of these heavy metals were assessed by employing pollution index method, potential ecological risk index and the background values of Tianshan Mountains, and Xinjiang, and also the Second National Standard of the Soil Qualities of China. The results showed that the contents of the heavy metals (Pb, Ni, Cd, Co, Hg, Cu, Mn Zn and Cr) and metalloid As were all higher than the soil background values of the Tianshan Mountain or Xinjiang, and their variation co- efficients belonged to the medium variation. In general, the contents of the ten metalloid/heavy metals in the soil of Tianshan Mountains were low. Principal component analysis showed that the ten metalloid/heavy metals could be identified as two principal components, among which PC1 (Cd, Pb, Hg, Mn and Zn) could be seen as 'human influence sources factor', PC2 (Cu, Ni, Cr, Co and As) as 'natural sources factor'. Mn and As had larger loads both in PC1 and PC2, and they could be co-influenced by human and natural sources. The pollution assessment showed that Hg and Cd in central Urumuqi-Akesu section and As in western Zhaosu-Tekesi section were all at alert level, while the other heavy metals in other sections were all at security level. From the comprehensive pollution indices (P(z)) of heavy metals, it was found that the ten metalloid/heavy metals in the soils of central Urumqi-Akesu section were at low pollution level, but those in the other two sections were at clean level. The potential ecological risk assessment showed that the potential ecological risk coefficient (E(i)r) and the ecological damage index (RI) of Hg

Implications of seismic reflection and potential field geophysical data on the structural framework of the Yucca Mountain--Crater Flat region, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brocher, T.M.; Langenheim, V.E.; Hunter, W.C.

1998-01-01

Seismic reflection and gravity profiles collected across Yucca Mountain, Nevada, together with geologic data, provide evidence against proposed active detachment faults at shallow depth along the pre-Tertiary-Tertiary contact beneath this potential repository for high-level nuclear waste. The new geophysical data show that the inferred pre-Tertiary-Tertiary contact is offset by moderate-to-high-angle faults beneath Crater Flat and Yucca Mountain, and thus this shallow surface cannot represent an active detachment surface. The reflection lines reveal that the Amargosa Desert rift zone is an asymmetric half-graben having a maximum depth of about 4 km and a width of about 25 km. The east-dipping Bare Mountain fault that bounds this graben to the west can be traced by seismic reflection data to a depth of at least 3.5 km and possibly as deep as 6 km, with a constant dip of 64 degree ± 5 degree. Along the profile the transition from east- to west-dipping faults occurs at or just west of the Solitario Canyon fault, which bounds the western side of Yucca Mountain. The interaction at depth of these east- and west-dipping faults, having up to hundreds of meters offset, is not imaged by the seismic reflection profile. Understanding potential seismic hazards at Yucca Mountain requires knowledge of the subsurface geometry of the faults near Yucca Mountain, since earthquakes generally nucleate and release the greatest amount of their seismic energy at depth. The geophysical data indicate that many fault planes near the potential nuclear waste facility dip toward Yucca Mountain, including the Bare Mountain range-front fault and several west-dipping faults east of Yucca Mountain. Thus, earthquake ruptures along these faults would lie closer to Yucca Mountain than is often estimated from their surface locations and could therefore be more damaging

Ikh Turgen Mountain Glacier Change and 3d Surface Extents Prediction Using Long Term Landsat Image and Climate Data

Science.gov (United States)

Nasanbat, Elbegjargal; Erdenebat, Erdenetogtokh; Chogsom, Bolorchuluun; Lkhamjav, Ochirkhuyag; Nanzad, Lkhagvadorj

2018-04-01

The glacier is most important the freshwater resources and indicator of the climate change. The researchers noted that during last decades the glacier is melting due to global warming. The study calculates a spatial distribution of protentional change of glacier coverage in the Ikh Turgen mountain of Western Mongolia, and it integrates long-term climate data and satellite datasets. Therefore, in this experiment has tried to estimation three-dimensional surface area of the glacier. For this purpose, Normalized difference snow index (NDSI) was applied to decision tree approach, using Landsat MSS, TM, ETM+ and LC8 imagery for 1975-2016, a surface and slope for digital elevation model, precipitation and air temperature historical data of meteorological station. The potential volume area significantly changed glacier cover of the Ikh Turgen Mountain, and the area affected by highly variable precipitation and air temperature regimes. Between 1972 and 2016, a potential area of glacier area has been decreased in Ikh Turgen mountain region.

Spatiotemporal evolution of Calophaca (fabaceae) reveals multiple dispersals in central Asian mountains.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ming-Li; Wen, Zhi-Bin; Fritsch, Peter W; Sanderson, Stewart C

2015-01-01

The Central Asian flora plays a significant role in Eurasia and the Northern Hemisphere. Calophaca, a member of this flora, includes eight currently recognized species, and is centered in Central Asia, with some taxa extending into adjacent areas. A phylogenetic analysis of the genus utilizing nuclear ribosomal ITS and plastid trnS-trnG and rbcL sequences was carried out in order to confirm its taxonomic status and reconstruct its evolutionary history. We employed BEAST Bayesian inference for dating, and S-DIVA and BBM for ancestral area reconstruction, to study its spatiotemporal evolution. Our results show that Calophacais monophyletic and nested within Caragana. The divergence time of Calophaca is estimated at ca. 8.0 Ma, most likely driven by global cooling and aridification, influenced by rapid uplift of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau margins. According to ancestral area reconstructions, the genus most likely originated in the Pamir Mountains, a global biodiversity hotspot and hypothesized Tertiary refugium of many Central Asian plant lineages. Dispersals from this location are inferred to the western Tianshan Mountains, then northward to the Tarbagatai Range, eastward to East Asia, and westward to the Caucasus, Russia, and Europe. The spatiotemporal evolution of Calophaca provides a case contributing to an understanding of the flora and biodiversity of the Central Asian mountains and adjacent regions.

Strategies, tools, and challenges for sustaining and restoring high elevation five-needle white pine forests in western North America

Science.gov (United States)

Robert E. Keane; Anna W. Schoettle

2011-01-01

Many ecologically important, five-needle white pine forests that historically dominated the high elevation landscapes of western North America are now being heavily impacted by mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus spp.) outbreaks, the exotic disease white pine blister rust (WPBR), and altered high elevation fire regimes. Management intervention using specially designed...

Chronology and pedogenic effects of mid- to late-Holocene conversion of forests to pastures in the French western Pyrenees

Science.gov (United States)

David S. Leigh; Theodore L. Gragson; Michael R. Coughlan

2015-01-01

This paper presents a place-based examination of the timing and long-term pedogenic effects of human-induced forest to pasture conversion in the French western Pyrenees Mountains, Basque commune of Larrau. We analyzed colluvial stratigraphic sections to derive the chronology of landscape change using radiocarbon dating, charcoal concentrations, magnetic...

Model-based evidence for persistent species zonation shifts in the southern Rocky Mountains under a warming climate

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, A.; Shuman, J. K.; Shugart, H. H., Jr.; Dwire, K. A.; Fornwalt, P.; Sibold, J.; Negrón, J. F.

2016-12-01

Forests in the Rocky Mountains are a crucial part of the North American carbon budget, but increases in disturbances such as insect outbreaks and fire, in conjunction with climate change, threaten their vitality. Mean annual temperatures in the western United States have increased by 2°C since 1950 and the higher elevations are warming faster than the rest of the landscape. It is predicted that this warming trend will continue, and that by the end of this century, nearly 50% of the western US landscape will have climate profiles with no current analog within that region. Individual tree-based modeling allows various climate change scenarios and their effects on forest dynamics to be tested. We use an updated individual-based gap model, the University of Virginia Forest Model Enhanced (UVAFME) at a subalpine site in the southern Rocky Mountains. UVAFME has been quantitatively and qualitatively validated in the southern Rocky Mountains, and results show that UVAFME-output on size structure, biomass, and species composition compares reasonably to inventory data and descriptions of vegetation zonation and successional dynamics for the region. We perform a climate sensitivity test in which temperature is first increased linearly by 2°C over 100 years, stabilized for 200 years, cooled back to present climate values over 100 years, and again stabilized for 200 years. This test is conducted to determine what effect elevated temperatures may have on vegetation zonation, and how persistent the changes may be if the climate is brought back to its current state. Results show that elevated temperatures within the southern Rocky Mountains may lead to decreases in biomass and changes in species composition as species migrate upslope. These changes are also likely to be fairly persistent for at least one- to two-hundred years. The results from this study suggest that UVAFME and other individual-based gap models can be used to inform forest management and climate mitigation

Ongoing lithospheric removal in the western Mediterranean: Evidence from Ps receiver functions and thermobarometry of Neogene basalts (PICASSO project)

Science.gov (United States)

Thurner, Sally; Palomeras, Imma; Levander, Alan; Carbonell, Ramon; Lee, Cin-Ty

2014-04-01

The western Mediterranean tectonic system consists of the Betic Mountains in southern Spain and the Rif Mountains in northern Morocco curved around the back-arc extensional Alboran basin. Multiple tectonic models have been developed to explain the coeval compressional and extensional tectonic processes that have affected the western Mediterranean since the Oligocene. In order to provide constraints on these evolutionary models, we use Ps teleseismic receiver functions (RF), thermobarometric analyses of post-Oligocene basalts, and previous teleseismic tomography images to investigate the lithospheric structure of the region. Ps RFs were calculated using seismic data from 239 broadband seismic stations in southern Iberia and northern Morocco and thermobarometric analysis was performed on 19 volcanic samples distributed throughout the region. The RF images reveal a highly variable Moho depth (˜25 to ˜55 km), as well as a strong positive, sub-Moho horizon between ˜45 and ˜80 km depth beneath the central Betic and Rif Mountains, which we interpret to be the top of the previously imaged Alboran Sea slab. Thermobarometric constraints from magmas in the eastern Betics and Rif indicate mantle melting depths between 40 and 60 km, typical of melting depths beneath mid-oceanic ridges where little to no lithosphere exists. Together, the RF and thermobarometric data suggest ongoing and recent slab detachment resulting from delamination of the continental lithosphere.

Moisture Supply From the Western Ghats Forests to Water Deficit East Coast of India

Science.gov (United States)

Paul, Supantha; Ghosh, Subimal; Rajendran, K.; Murtugudde, Raghu

2018-05-01

The mountainous western coast of India, known as the Western Ghats, is considered to be a biodiversity hot spot, but it is under a constant threat due to human activities. The region is characterized by high orographic monsoon precipitation resulting in dense vegetation cover. Feedback of such a dense vegetation on the southwest monsoon rainfall is not yet explored. Here we perform regional climate simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting model and find that evapotranspiration from the vegetation of Western Ghats contributes 25-40% of the southwest monsoon rainfall over the water-deficit state of Tamil Nadu. This contribution reaches 50% during deficit monsoon years or dry spells within a season. Our findings suggest that recent deforestation in this area will affect not only the biodiversity of the region but also the water availability over Peninsular India, which is already impacted by water scarcity.

YUCCA MOUNTAIN PROJECT - A BRIEFING -

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-01-01

This report has the following articles: Nuclear waste--a long-term national problem; Spent nuclear fuel; High-level radioactive waste; Radioactivity and the environment; Current storage methods; Disposal options; U.S. policy on nuclear waste; The focus on Yucca Mountain; The purpose and scope of the Yucca Mountain Project; The approach for permanently disposing of waste; The scientific studies at Yucca Mountain; The proposed design for a repository at Yucca Mountain; Natural and engineered barriers would work together to isolate waste; Meticulous science and technology to protect people and the environment; Licensing a repository; Transporting waste to a permanent repository; The Environmental Impact Statement for a repository; Current status of the Yucca Mountain Project; and Further information available on the Internet

Six hundred years of agricultural activity in the Gorce Mountains (Polish Carpathians)

Science.gov (United States)

Bucała, Anna

2016-04-01

. Forest expansion, although delayed for 150 years compared to those observed in the mountains of Western Europe, have a positive impact on the environment (reduction of erosion and frequency of large floods).

Verbenone Plus reduces levels of tree mortality attributed to mountain pine beetle infestations in whitebark pine, a tree species of concern

Science.gov (United States)

Christopher J. Fettig; Beverly M. Bulaon; Christopher P. Dabney; Christopher J. Hayes; Stepehen R. McKelvey

2012-01-01

In western North America, recent outbreaks of the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, have been severe, long-lasting and well-documented. We review previous research that led to the identification of Verbenone Plus, a novel four-component semiochemical blend [acetophenone, (E)-2-hexen-1-ol + (Z)-2-hexen-1-ol, and (–)-verbenone]...

Mountain Weather and Climate, Third Edition

Science.gov (United States)

Hastenrath, Stefan

2009-05-01

For colleagues with diverse interests in the atmosphere, glaciers, radiation, landforms, water resources, vegetation, human implications, and more, Mountain Weather and Climate can be a valuable source of guidance and literature references. The book is organized into seven chapters: 1, Mountains and their climatological study; 2,Geographical controls of mountain meteorological elements; 3, Circulation systems related to orography; 4, Climatic characteristics of mountains; 5, Regional case studies; 6, Mountain bioclimatology; and 7, Changes in mountain climates. These chapters are supported by l78 diagrams and photographs, 47 tables, and some 2000 literature references. The volume has an appendix of units and energy conversion factors and a subject index, but it lacks an author index.

Thematic dimension of geological heritage: An evidence from the Western Caucasus

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Plyusnina Ekaterina E.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The geodiversity hotspot comprising 14 geological heritage sites is located on the territory of Mountainous Adygeja in the Western Caucasus (southwestern Russia. The geosites represent some lengthy intervals of the geological history from the Precambrian to the Quaternary, as well as changes in the palaeotectonical affinity of the Greater Caucasus. Visitors of this territory can observe rocks, fossils, and facies, which are typical for the geological periods, especially the Permian, the Triassic, and Jurassic, and the Cretaceous. The same geosites permit to trace shift of the Greater Caucasus Terrane from the Gondwanan margin, where it was before the Devonian, to Laurussia and then Laurasia. Therefore, the geosites can be grouped thematically to facilitate arrangement of geoconservation and geotourism activities. This approach permits to increase the scientific and educational values of the geological heritage in Mountainous Adygeja and to make it more attractive for geotourists. However, such a thematic treatment of the regional geological heritage should not lead to underestimation of the other geological features.

Dust Allergens within Rural Northern Rocky Mountain Residences.

Science.gov (United States)

Weiler, Emily; Semmens, Erin; Noonan, Curtis; Cady, Carol; Ward, Tony

2015-01-23

To date, few studies have characterized allergens within residences located in rural areas of the northern Rocky Mountain region. In this study, we collected dust samples from 57 homes located throughout western Montana and northern Idaho. Dust samples were collected and later analyzed for dust mite allergens Der f 1 and Der p 1 , Group 2 mite allergens ( Der p 2 and Der f 2 ), domestic feline ( Fel d 1 ), and canine ( Can f 1 ). Indoor temperature and humidity levels were also measured during the sampling program, as were basic characteristics of each home. Dog (96%) and cat (82%) allergens were the most prevalent allergens found in these homes (even when a feline or canine did not reside in the home). Results also revealed the presence of dust mites. Seven percent (7%) of homes tested positive for Der p 1 , 19% of homes were positive for Der f 1 , and 5% of homes were positive for the Group 2 mite allergens. Indoor relative humidity averaged 27.0 ± 7.6% within the homes. Overall, humidity was not significantly associated with dust mite presence, nor was any of the other measured home characteristics. This study provides a descriptive assessment of indoor allergen presence (including dust mites) in rural areas of the northern Rocky Mountains, and provides new information to assist regional patients with reducing allergen exposure using in-home intervention strategies.

Characterisation of phosphate rocks at kurun mountain, Sudan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdelgader, G. A. M.

2014-08-01

This main objective of this study was to characterise some Sudanese phosphate raw materials collected from Jebel Kurun, located in the eastern part of Nuba Mountain, Western Sudan. The study also aimed to investigate the association between uranium and phosphate and to determine the concentration of some essential elements and trace elements in the phosphate rock. A total of 30 samples were collected from Karun's eastran mountains, near Abujibiha City and have been analyzed for the selected elements using x-ray fluorescence. The obtained results showed that the average concentration of elements was Ca (11.3) and Fe (1.7) as a percentage, while it was Cu (1617.7), Ni (258.4), Pb (185.9), Ti (27.62), V (3779.9), U (160.9), Zn (152.8) and Mn (776.3) in ppm. The average total phosphorus content (analyzed as P O5 %) using UV-visible spectrometer was found to be 30.54%. This could be considered is acceptable percentage for phosphate to be 30.54%. This could be considered is acceptable percentage for phosphate to be used in industrial fertilizers and phosphoric acid production. The average total calcium carbonate was 15.7%. For the elements distribution, uranium found to be more concentrated in the summit of Jebel Kurun, and it displayed a correlation with lead. Furthermore, four groups of association have been noticed, based on elements concentrations.(Author)

Aboveground Net Primary Production of tree cover at the post-disturbance area in the Tatra National Park, Slovakia

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Konôpka Bohdan

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Large-scale disturbances under the conditions of Slovakia, caused especially by storm and bark beetle, bring dramatic decline in carbon budget of the country, besides other negative consequences. The largest disturbance in modern history of the Slovak forestry was the storm damage that occurred in November 2004. The Tatra National Park (TNP was one of the most affected regions. Thus, in this territory, two transects (T1 – the Danielov dom site and T2 – near the Horný Smokovec village were established to survey basic dendrometric properties of trees in young stands established after the disaster. The standing stock of aboveground biomass in tree cover for the spring and autumn 2014 was calculated using the recorded variables, i.e. tree height and diameter measured at the stem base, together with the region-specific allometric relations. Then, the Aboveground Net Primary Production (ANPP in tree cover was estimated with respect to its components (stem, branches and foliage. ANPP was 315 g m−2 per year (Transect T1, and 391 g m−2 per year (Transect T2. The differences in the structure of ANPP, i.e. contribution of tree components, were found between transects T1 and T2. They were caused by the contrasting tree species composition, specifically the ratios between Norway spruce and broadleaved species. Broadleaves allocated more biomass production to foliage than spruce. This phenomenon together with higher turnover (once a year of foliage caused that broadleaves manifest higher share of fast-cycling carbon in comparison to the amount of carbon sequestrated in woody parts (stem and branches. High variability of ANPP was found within the transects, i.e. among the plots (microsites. As for the representative estimation of the standing stock of aboveground part of tree cover as well as ANPP at the post-disturbance area in the TNP territory, the survey should be performed on a net of research plots. Only this approach enables reliable estimates

Pools and composition of soils in the alpine zone of the Tatra Mountains

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kopáček, Jiří; Kaňa, Jiří; Šantrůčková, H.

2006-01-01

Roč. 61, Suppl. 18 (2006), S35-S49 ISSN 0006-3088 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) 1QS600170504 Grant - others:EC(XE) GOCE-CT-2003-505540; EC(XE) EVK1-CT-1999-00032; MSM(CZ) 6007665801 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60170517 Keywords : Soil chemistry * base saturation Subject RIV: CE - Biochemistry Impact factor: 0.213, year: 2006

When did the Penglai orogeny begin on Taiwan?: Geochronological and petrographic constraints on the exhumed mountain belts and foreland-basin sequences

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, W. S.; Syu, S. J.; Yeh, J. J.

2017-12-01

Foreland basin receives large amounts of synorogenic infill that is eroded from the adjacent exhumed mountain belt, and therefore provides the important information on exhumation evolution. Furthermore, a complete stratigraphic sequence of Taiwan mountain belt consists of five units of Miocene sedimentary rocks (the Western Foothills and the uppermost sequence on the proto-Taiwan mountain belt), Oligocene argillite (the Hsuehshan Range), Eocene quartzite (the Hsuehshan Range), Eocene-Miocene slate and schist (Backbone Range), and Cretaceous schist (Backbone Range) from top to bottom. Based on the progressive unroofing history, the initiation of foreland basin received sedimentary lithic sediments from the uppermost sequence of proto-Taiwan mountain belt, afterwards, and receiving low- to medium-grade metamorphic lithic sediments in ascending order of argillite, quartzite, slate, and schist clasts. Therefore, the sedimentary lithics from mountain belt were deposited which represents the onset of the mountain uplift. In this study, the first appearance of sedimentary lithic sediments occurs in the Hengchun Peninsula at the middle Miocene (ca. 12-10 Ma). Thus, sandstone petrography of the late Miocene formation (10-5.3 Ma) shows a predominantly recycled sedimentary and low-grade metamorphic sources, including sandstone, argillite and quartzite lithic sediments of 10-25% which records erosion to slightly deeper metamorphic terrane on the mountain belt. Based on the results of previous thermogeochronological studies of the Yuli belt, it suggests that the middle Miocene occurred mountain uplift. The occurrence of low-grade metamorphic lithic sediments in the Hengchun Peninsula during late Miocene is coincident with the cooling ages of uplift and denuded Yuli schist belt at the eastern limb of Backbone Range.

Climate-influenced ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) seed masting trends in western Montana, USA

OpenAIRE

Keyes, Christopher R.; Gonzalez, Ruben Manso

2015-01-01

Aim of study: The aim of this study was to analyze 10-year records of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) seed production, in order to confirm synchronic seed production and to evaluate cyclical masting trends, masting depletion effect, and climate-masting relationships. Area of study: The study area was located in a P. ponderosa stand in the northern Rocky Mountains (western Montana, USA). Material and methods: The study was conducted in one stand that had been subjected to a silvicul...

Geologic map of the Simcoe Mountains Volcanic Field, main central segment, Yakama Nation, Washington

Science.gov (United States)

Hildreth, Wes; Fierstein, Judy

2015-01-01

Mountainous parts of the Yakama Nation lands in south-central Washington are mostly covered by basaltic lava flows and cinder cones that make up the Simcoe Mountains volcanic field. The accompanying geologic map of the central part of the volcanic field has been produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on behalf of the Water Resources Program of the Yakama Nation. The volcanic terrain stretches continuously from Mount Adams eastward as far as Satus Pass and Mill Creek Guard Station. Most of the many hills and buttes are volcanic cones where cinders and spatter piled up around erupting vents while lava flows spread downslope. All of these small volcanoes are now extinct, and, even during their active lifetimes, most of them erupted for no more than a few years. On the Yakama Nation lands, the only large long-lived volcano capable of erupting again in the future is Mount Adams, on the western boundary.

Mineral resources of the Swasey Mountain and Howell Peak Wilderness Study Areas, Millard County, Utah

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lindsey, D.A.; Zimbelman, D.R.; Campbell, D.L.; Duval, J.S.; Cook, K.L.; Podwysocki, M.H.; Brickey, D.W.; Yambrick, R.A.; Tuftin, S.E.

1989-01-01

The Swasey Mountain and the Howell Peak Wilderness Study Areas are underlain by an east-dipping sequence of carbonate rocks, shale, and quartzite of Cambrian age. The Sand Pass mineralized area, immediately northwest of the Swasey Mountain Wilderness Study Area, contains numerous occurrences of jasperoid, small igneous intrusions of Tertiary age, and geochemical anomalies; the mineralized area has been explored for gold. Although no identified resources of metals are known in or near the wilderness study areas, the distribution of geologic structures and stream-sediment geochemical anomalies indicates there is a moderate potential for undiscovered resources of lead, zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, and gold. An area of moderate potential for undiscovered resources of these metals extends south and east into the Swasey Mountain Wilderness Study Area from the Sand Pass mineralized area. A second area of moderate potential for undiscovered resources of these metals extends from the southern part of the Swasey Mountain Wilderness Study Area across the western part of the Howell Peak Wilderness Study Area. Both study areas contain inferred subeconomic resources of quartzite, high-purity limestone, and sand and gravel. Both areas have moderate resource potential for high-purity limestone and dolomite. Fossils, especially trilobites, of interest to collectors are present in both areas. The potential for undiscovered resources is moderate for oil and gas and is low for geothermal energy within the study areas. There is no potential for undiscovered resources of coal.

Impact of a Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak on Young Lodgepole Pine Stands in Central British Columbia

OpenAIRE

Dhar, Amalesh; Balliet, Nicole; Runzer, Kyle; Hawkins, Christopher

2015-01-01

The current mountain pine beetle (MPB) (Dendroctonous ponderosae Hopkins) epidemic has severely affected pine forests of Western Canada and killed millions of hectares of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia Engelm.) forest. Generally, MPB attack larger and older (diameter > 20 cm or >60 years of age) trees, but the current epidemic extends this limit with attacks on even younger and smaller trees. The study’s aim was to investigate the extent of MPB attack in y...

Yucca Mountain digital database

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daudt, C.R.; Hinze, W.J.

1992-01-01

This paper discusses the Yucca Mountain Digital Database (DDB) which is a digital, PC-based geographical database of geoscience-related characteristics of the proposed high-level waste (HLW) repository site of Yucca Mountain, Nevada. It was created to provide the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste (ACNW) and its staff with a visual perspective of geological, geophysical, and hydrological features at the Yucca Mountain site as discussed in the Department of Energy's (DOE) pre-licensing reports

ISOSTATICALLY DISTURBED TERRAIN OF NORTHWESTERN ANDES MOUNTAINS FROM SPECTRALLY CORRELATED FREE-AIR AND GRAVITY TERRAIN DATA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hernández P Orlando

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Recently revised models on global tectonics describe the convergence of the North Andes, Nazca, Caribbean and South American Plates and their seismicity, volcanism, active faulting and extreme
topography. The current plate boundaries of the area are mainly interpreted from volcanic and seismic datasets with variable confidence levels. New insights on the isostatic state and plate boundaries of
the northwestern Andes Mountains can be obtained from the spectral analysis of recently available gravity and topography data.
Isostatically disturbed terrain produces free-air anomalies that are highly correlated with the gravity effects of the terrain. The terrain gravity effects (TGE and free air gravity anomalies (FAGA of the
Andes mountains spectral correlation data confirms that these mountains are isostatically disturbed. Strong negative terrain-correlated FAGA along western South America and the Greater and Lesser Antilles are consistent with anomalously deepened mantle displaced by subducting oceanic plates.

Inversion of the compensated terrain gravity effects (CTGE reveals plate subduction systems with alternating shallower and steeper subduction angles. The gravity modeling highlights crustal
deformation from plate collision and subduction and other constraints on the tectonism of the plate boundary zones for the region.

Recreational mountain biking injuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Aitken, S A; Biant, L C; Court-Brown, Charles M

2011-04-01

Mountain biking is increasing in popularity worldwide. The injury patterns associated with elite level and competitive mountain biking are known. This study analysed the incidence, spectrum and risk factors for injuries sustained during recreational mountain biking. The injury rate was 1.54 injuries per 1000 biker exposures. Men were more commonly injured than women, with those aged 30-39 years at highest risk. The commonest types of injury were wounding, skeletal fracture and musculoskeletal soft tissue injury. Joint dislocations occurred more commonly in older mountain bikers. The limbs were more commonly injured than the axial skeleton. The highest hospital admission rates were observed with head, neck and torso injuries. Protective body armour, clip-in pedals and the use of a full-suspension bicycle may confer a protective effect.

Altered Precipitation and Flow Patterns in the Dunajec River Basin

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Mariola Kędra

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This study analyzes changes in long-term patterns of precipitation and river flow, as well as changes in their variability over the most recent 60 years (1956–2015. The study area is situated in the mountain basin of the Dunajec River, encompassing streams draining the Tatra Mountains in southern Poland. The focus of the study was to evaluate how regional warming translates into precipitation changes in the studied mountain region, and how changes in climate affect sub-regional hydrology. Monthly time series of precipitation measured at several sites were compared for two 30-year periods (1986–2015 versus 1956–1985. The significance of the difference between the periods in question was evaluated by means of the Wilcoxon signed rank test with the Bonferroni correction. The identified shifts in precipitation for 6 months are statistically significant and largely consistent with the revealed changes in river flow patterns. Moreover, significant differences in precipitation variability were noted in the study area, resulting in a significant decrease in the repeatability of precipitation over the most recent 30 years (1986–2015. Changes in the variability of the river flow studied were less visible in this particular mountain region (while significant for two months; however, the overall repeatability of river flow decreased significantly at the same rate as for precipitation.

Field test of foliar-spray herbicides to control mountain laurel in mature mixed-oak forests in western Maryland

Science.gov (United States)

Gary W. Miller; Patrick H. Brose; Jeffrey D. Kochenderfer; James N. Kochenderfer; Kurt W. Gottschalk; John R. Denning

2016-01-01

Successful oak (Quercus spp.) regeneration requires the presence of competitive sources of oak reproduction before parent oaks are harvested. Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) in the understory of many Appalachian forests prevents new oak seedlings from receiving adequate sunlight to survive and grow into competitive size classes. This study examined the efficacy of...

Temperature and Precipitation trends in Kashmir valley, North Western Himalayas

Science.gov (United States)

Shafiq, Mifta Ul; Rasool, Rehana; Ahmed, Pervez; Dimri, A. P.

2018-01-01

Climate change has emerged as an important issue ever to confront mankind. This concern emerges from the fact that our day-to-day activities are leading to impacts on the Earth's atmosphere that has the potential to significantly alter the planet's shield and radiation balance. Developing countries particularly whose income is particularly derived from agricultural activities are at the forefront of bearing repercussions due to changing climate. The present study is an effort to analyze the changing trends of precipitation and temperature variables in Kashmir valley along different elevation zones in the north western part of India. As the Kashmir valley has a rich repository of glaciers with its annual share of precipitation, slight change in the temperature and precipitation regime has far reaching environmental and economic consequences. The results from Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) data of the period 1980-2014 reveals that the annual mean temperature of Kashmir valley has increased significantly. Accelerated warming has been observed during 1980-2014, with intense warming in the recent years (2001-2014). During the period 1980-2014, steeper increase, in annual mean maximum temperature than annual mean minimum temperature, has been observed. In addition, mean maximum temperature in plain regions has shown higher rate of increase when compared with mountainous areas. In case of mean minimum temperature, mountainous regions have shown higher rate of increase. Analysis of precipitation data for the same period shows a decreasing trend with mountainous regions having the highest rate of decrease which can be quite hazardous for the fragile mountain environment of the Kashmir valley housing a large number of glaciers.

Description and analysis of the geohydrologic system in western Pinal County, Arizona

Science.gov (United States)

Hardt, W.F.; Cattany, R.E.

1965-01-01

Western Pinal County is between Phoenix and Tucson in the Basin and Range physiographic province of southern Arizona and consists of about 2,000 square miles of valley floor with low relief surrounded by mountains. It is the second largest agricultural area in the State, and about 25 percent of the ground water pumped in the State is from this area. The study area has been divided into four parts. Three of these--the Casa Grande-Florence area, the Eloy area, and the Stanfield-Maricopa area--are in the lower Santa Cruz basin; the fourth--the Gila River area--is a long narrow strip along the Gila River from the Ashurst-Hayden Dam to the confluence of the Gila and Santa Cruz Rivers. The project was undertaken to provide a better understanding of the ground-water supply in relation to the present and potential water use in this area of extensive ground-water development. The arid climate of western Pinal County--combining high temperatures and low humidity--causes most of the precipitation to be returned to the atmosphere by evapotranspiration, which leaves only a very small part for recharge to the ground-water reservoir. The computed potential evapotranspiration--44. 97 inches--is five times greater than the average precipitation. In general, the subsurface materials in western Pinal County are unconsolidated alluvial deposits underlain by consolidated alluvium and crystalline rocks and bounded by mountains consisting of crystalline and minor sedimentary rocks. The crystalline and sedimentary rocks of the mountains are not known to be water bearing in western Pinal County. The impermeable rocks underlying the basin are called the hydrologic bedrock unit in this report. Although the unit may consist of several different rock types, the distinction between them is relatively unimportant in this study because none of them yield appreciable amounts of water. The lower Santa Cruz basin in western Pinal County is divided into two sections by a buried ridge of the

Rocky Mountain spotted fever

Science.gov (United States)

... spotted fever on the foot Rocky Mountain spotted fever, petechial rash Antibodies Deer and dog tick References McElligott SC, Kihiczak GG, Schwartz RA. Rocky Mountain spotted fever and other rickettsial infections. In: Lebwohl MG, Heymann ...

Microrefugia, Climate Change, and Conservation of Cedrus atlantica in the Rif Mountains, Morocco

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachid Cheddadi

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This study reconstructs and interprets the changing range of Atlas cedar in northern Morocco over the last 9,000 years. A synthesis of fossil pollen records indicated that Atlas cedars occupied a wider range at lower elevations during the mid-Holocene than today. The mid-Holocene geographical expansion reflected low winter temperatures and higher water availability over the whole range of the Rif Mountains relative to modern conditions. A trend of increasing aridity observed after 6,000 years BP progressively reduced the range of Atlas cedar and prompted its migration toward elevations above 1,400 masl. To assess the impact of climate change on cedar populations over the last decades, we performed a transient model simulation for the period between 1960 and 2010. Our simulation showed that the range of Atlas cedar decreased by about 75% over the last 50 years and that the eastern populations of the range in the Rif Mountains were even more threatened by the overall lack of water availability than the western ones. Today, Atlas cedar populations in the Rif Mountains are persisting in restricted and isolated areas (Jbel Kelti, Talassemtane, Jbel Tiziren, Oursane, Tidighine that we consider to be modern microrefugia. Conservation of these isolated populations is essential for the future survival of the species, preserving polymorphisms and the potential for population recovery under different climatic conditions.

Effects of a Severe Mountain Pine Beetle Epidemic in Western Alberta, Canada under Two Forest Management Scenarios

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard R. Schneider

2010-01-01

Full Text Available We used a simulation model to investigate possible effects of a severe mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins epidemic under two management scenarios in Alberta, Canada. Our simulated outbreak was based on the current epidemic in British Columbia, which may kill close to 80% of the province's pine volume. Our two management scenarios were conventional harvest and a pine-reduction strategy modeled on a component of Alberta's Mountain Pine Beetle Management Strategy. The pine strategy seeks to reduce the number of susceptible pine stands by 75% over the next 20 years through targeted harvesting by the forest industry. Our simulations showed that the pine strategy could not be effectively implemented, even if the onset of the beetle outbreak was delayed for 20 years. Even though we increased mill capacity by 20% and directed all harvesting to high volume pine stands during the pine strategy's surge cut, the amount of highly susceptible pine was reduced by only 43%. Additional pine volume remained within mixed stands that were not targeted by the pine strategy. When the outbreak occurred in each scenario, sufficient pine remained on the landscape for the beetle to cause the timber supply to collapse. Alternative management approaches and avenues for future research are discussed.

Man-induced transformation of mountain meadow soils of Aragats mountain massif (Armenia)

Science.gov (United States)

Avetisyan, M. H.

2018-01-01

The article considers issues of degradation of mountain meadow soils of the Aragats mountain massif of the Republic of Armenia and provides the averaged research results obtained for 2013 and 2014. The present research was initiated in the frames of long-term complex investigations of agroecosystems of Armenia’s mountain massifs and covered sod soils of high mountain meadow pasturelands and meadow steppe grasslands lying on southern slope of Mt. Aragats. With a purpose of studying the peculiarities of migration and transformation of flows of major nutrients namely carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus in study mountain meadow and meadow steppe belts of the Aragats massif we investigated water migration of chemical elements and regularities of their leaching depending on different belts. Field measurement data have indicated that organic carbon and humus in a heavily grazed plot are almost twice as low as on a control site. Lysimetric data analysis has demonstrated that heavy grazing and illegal deforestation have brought to an increase in intrasoil water acidity. The results generated from this research support a conclusion that a man’s intervention has brought to disturbance of structure and nutrient and water regimes of soils and loss of significant amounts of soil nutrients throughout the studied region.

Eradication of non-native fish from a small mountain lake: gill netting as a non-toxic alternative to the use of rotenone.

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R.A. Knapp; K.R. Matthews

1998-01-01

Nearly all mountain lakes in the western United States were historically fishless, but most now contain introduced trout populations. As a result of the impacts of these introductions on ecosystem structure and function, there is increasing interest in restoring some lakes to a fishless condition. To date, however, the only effective method of fish eradication is the...

The role of wildfire, prescribed fire, and mountain pine beetle infestations on the population dynamics of black-backed woodpeckers in the Black Hills, South Dakota

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Christopher T. Rota; Joshua J. Millspaugh; Mark A. Rumble; Chad P. Lehman; Dylan C. Kesler

2014-01-01

Wildfire and mountain pine beetle infestations are naturally occurring disturbances in western North American forests. Black-backed woodpeckers (Picoides arcticus) are emblematic of the role these disturbances play in creating wildlife habitat, since they are strongly associated with recently-killed forests. However, management practices aimed at reducing the economic...

Some Like it High! Phylogenetic Diversity of High-Elevation Cyanobacterial Community from Biological Soil Crusts of Western Himalaya.

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Čapková, Kateřina; Hauer, Tomáš; Řeháková, Klára; Doležal, Jiří

2016-01-01

The environment of high-altitudinal cold deserts of Western Himalaya is characterized by extensive development of biological soil crusts, with cyanobacteria as dominant component. The knowledge of their taxonomic composition and dependency on soil chemistry and elevation is still fragmentary. We studied the abundance and the phylogenetic diversity of the culturable cyanobacteria and eukaryotic microalgae in soil crusts along altitudinal gradients (4600-5900 m) at two sites in the dry mountains of Ladakh (SW Tibetan Plateau and Eastern Karakoram), using both microscopic and molecular approaches. The effects of environmental factors (altitude, mountain range, and soil physico-chemical parameters) on the composition and biovolume of phototrophs were tested by multivariate redundancy analysis and variance partitioning. Both phylogenetic diversity and composition of morphotypes were similar between Karakorum and Tibetan Plateau. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene revealed strains belonging to at least five genera. Besides clusters of common soil genera, e.g., Microcoleus, Nodosilinea, or Nostoc, two distinct clades of simple trichal taxa were newly discovered. The most abundant cyanobacterial orders were Oscillatoriales and Nostacales, whose biovolume increased with increasing elevation, while that of Chroococales decreased. Cyanobacterial species richness was low in that only 15 morphotypes were detected. The environmental factors accounted for 52 % of the total variability in microbial data, 38.7 % of which was explained solely by soil chemical properties, 14.5 % by altitude, and 8.4 % by mountain range. The elevation, soil phosphate, and magnesium were the most important predictors of soil phototrophic communities in both mountain ranges despite their different bedrocks and origin. The present investigation represents a first record on phylogenetic diversity of the cyanobacterial community of biological soil crusts from Western Himalayas and first record

Arizona/New Mexico Plateau Ecoregion: Chapter 26 in Status and trends of land change in the Western United States--1973 to 2000

Science.gov (United States)

Ruhlman, Jana; Gass, Leila; Middleton, Barry

2012-01-01

Situated between ecoregions of distinctly different topographies and climates, the Arizona/New Mexico Plateau Ecoregion represents a large area of approximately 192,869 km2 (74,467 mi2) that stretches across northern Arizona, central and northwestern New Mexico, and parts of southwestern Colorado; in addition, a small part extends into southeastern Nevada (fig. 1) (Omernik, 1987; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1997). Forested, mountainous terrain borders the ecoregion on the northeast (Southern Rockies Ecoregion) and southwest (Arizona/New Mexico Mountains Ecoregion). Warmer and drier climates exist to the south (Chihuahuan Deserts Ecoregion) and west (Mojave Basin and Range Ecoregion). The semiarid grasslands of the western Great Plains are to the east (Southwestern Tablelands Ecoregion), and the tablelands of the Colorado Plateau in Utah and western Colorado lie to the north (Colorado Plateaus Ecoregion). The Arizona/New Mexico Plateau Ecoregion occupies a significant portion of the southern half of the Colorado Plateau.

Stratigraphy and paleogeographic significance of the Pennsylvanian-Permian Bird Spring Formation in the Ship Mountains, southeastern California

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Stone, Paul; Stevens, Calvin H.; Howard, Keith A.; Hoisch, Thomas D.

2013-01-01

A thick sequence of limestone, dolomite, and minor sandstone assigned to the Pennsylvanian and lower Permian Bird Spring Formation is exposed in the Ship Mountains about 85 kilometers (km) southwest of Needles, California, in the eastern Mojave Desert. These strata provide a valuable reference section of the Bird Spring Formation in a region where rocks of this age are not extensively exposed. This section, which is about 900 meters (m) thick, is divided into five informal members. Strata of the Bird Spring Formation in the Ship Mountains originated as shallow-water marine deposits on the broad, southwest-trending continental shelf of western North America. Perpendicular to the shelf, the paleogeographic position of the Ship Mountains section is intermediate between those of the thicker, less terrigenous, more seaward section of the Bird Spring Formation in the Providence Mountains, 55 km to the northwest, and the thinner, more terrigenous, more landward sections of the Supai Group near Blythe, 100 km to the southeast. Parallel to the shelf, the Ship Mountains section is comparable in lithofacies and inferred paleogeographic position to sections assigned to the Callville Limestone and overlying Pakoon Limestone in northwestern Arizona and southeastern Nevada, 250 km to the northeast. Deposition of the Bird Spring Formation followed a major rise in eustatic sea level at about the Mississippian- Pennsylvanian boundary. The subsequent depositional history was controlled by episodic changes in eustatic sea level, shelf subsidence rates, and sediment supply. Subsidence rates could have been influenced by coeval continental-margin tectonism to the northwest.

Moessbauer spectra of white micas from the Central Western Carpathians Mountains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sitek, J; Toth, I; Sulak, M; Putis, M

2010-01-01

Potassium white micas from the rocks included into Cretaceous deformation zones (ca. 100-70 Ma in age) of the Central Western Carpathians were investigated by Moessbauer spectroscopy. White micas formed during a polystage evolution and changing P-T conditions of their crystallization in crustal-scale shear zones. We found criteria for distinguishing generations of celadonite-poor (muscovitic) and celadonite-rich (phengitic) white micas using Moessbauer spectroscopy. This method revealed contrasting spectra characterized by typical quadrupole doublets corresponding to Fe 2+ Fe 3+ contents in white micas. They are in the range of 2.9-3.0 mm/s for phengite, and 2.6-2.7 mm/s for muscovite. Moessbauer spectra reflect well the chemical changes in white mica aggregates, especially of those close to the end-member muscovite and (alumino-)celadonite compositions.

Moessbauer spectra of white micas from the Central Western Carpathians Mountains

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sitek, J; Toth, I [Department of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Ilkovicova 3, Bratislava (Slovakia); Sulak, M; Putis, M, E-mail: jozef.sitek@stuba.s [Department of of Mineralogy and Petrology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University Bratislava, Mlynska dolina G, 842 15 Bratislava (Slovakia)

2010-03-01

Potassium white micas from the rocks included into Cretaceous deformation zones (ca. 100-70 Ma in age) of the Central Western Carpathians were investigated by Moessbauer spectroscopy. White micas formed during a polystage evolution and changing P-T conditions of their crystallization in crustal-scale shear zones. We found criteria for distinguishing generations of celadonite-poor (muscovitic) and celadonite-rich (phengitic) white micas using Moessbauer spectroscopy. This method revealed contrasting spectra characterized by typical quadrupole doublets corresponding to Fe{sup 2+} Fe{sup 3+} contents in white micas. They are in the range of 2.9-3.0 mm/s for phengite, and 2.6-2.7 mm/s for muscovite. Moessbauer spectra reflect well the chemical changes in white mica aggregates, especially of those close to the end-member muscovite and (alumino-)celadonite compositions.

Whitebark pine mortality related to white pine blister rust, mountain pine beetle outbreak, and water availability

Science.gov (United States)

Shanahan, Erin; Irvine, Kathryn M.; Thoma, David P.; Wilmoth, Siri K.; Ray, Andrew; Legg, Kristin; Shovic, Henry

2016-01-01

Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) forests in the western United States have been adversely affected by an exotic pathogen (Cronartium ribicola, causal agent of white pine blister rust), insect outbreaks (Dendroctonus ponderosae, mountain pine beetle), and drought. We monitored individual trees from 2004 to 2013 and characterized stand-level biophysical conditions through a mountain pine beetle epidemic in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Specifically, we investigated associations between tree-level variables (duration and location of white pine blister rust infection, presence of mountain pine beetle, tree size, and potential interactions) with observations of individual whitebark pine tree mortality. Climate summaries indicated that cumulative growing degree days in years 2006–2008 likely contributed to a regionwide outbreak of mountain pine beetle prior to the observed peak in whitebark mortality in 2009. We show that larger whitebark pine trees were preferentially attacked and killed by mountain pine beetle and resulted in a regionwide shift to smaller size class trees. In addition, we found evidence that smaller size class trees with white pine blister rust infection experienced higher mortality than larger trees. This latter finding suggests that in the coming decades white pine blister rust may become the most probable cause of whitebark pine mortality. Our findings offered no evidence of an interactive effect of mountain pine beetle and white pine blister rust infection on whitebark pine mortality in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Interestingly, the probability of mortality was lower for larger trees attacked by mountain pine beetle in stands with higher evapotranspiration. Because evapotranspiration varies with climate and topoedaphic conditions across the region, we discuss the potential to use this improved understanding of biophysical influences on mortality to identify microrefugia that might contribute to successful whitebark pine conservation

Long-term monitoring of western aspen--lessons learned.

Science.gov (United States)

Strand, E K; Bunting, S C; Starcevich, L A; Nahorniak, M T; Dicus, G; Garrett, L K

2015-08-01

Aspen woodland is an important ecosystem in the western United States. Aspen is currently declining in western mountains; stressors include conifer expansion due to fire suppression, drought, disease, heavy wildlife and livestock use, and human development. Forecasting of tree species distributions under future climate scenarios predicts severe losses of western aspen within the next 50 years. As a result, aspen has been selected as one of 14 vital signs for long-term monitoring by the National Park Service Upper Columbia Basin Network. This article describes the development of a monitoring protocol for aspen including inventory mapping, selection of sampling locations, statistical considerations, a method for accounting for spatial dependence, field sampling strategies, and data management. We emphasize the importance of collecting pilot data for use in statistical power analysis and semi-variogram analysis prior to protocol implementation. Given the spatial and temporal variability within aspen stem size classes, we recommend implementing permanent plots that are distributed spatially within and among stands. Because of our careful statistical design, we were able to detect change between sampling periods with desired confidence and power. Engaging a protocol development and implementation team with necessary and complementary knowledge and skills is critical for success. Besides the project leader, we engaged field sampling personnel, GIS specialists, statisticians, and a data management specialist. We underline the importance of frequent communication with park personnel and network coordinators.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Science.gov (United States)

... with facebook share with twitter share with linkedin Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Credit: CDC A male cayenne tick, Amblyomma cajennense, ... and New Mexico. Why Is the Study of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever a Priority for NIAID? Tickborne diseases are becoming ...

Lineament and Morphometric Analysis for Watershed Development of Tarali River Basin, Western India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vikrant Bartakke

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Tarali river is major tributary of River Krishna, which is flowing in western India. The study area lies between latitude 17°23' to 17°38' N and longitude 73°48' to 74°7' E. The area has steep to moderate slope and elevation ranges from 584 - 1171m above mean sea level. Basin exhibits hilly and mountain terrain forming ridges and Western Ghats with deep valley, plateaus and plain. The whole area can be obtained in topographical maps i.e. 47 G/14, 47 G/15 47 K/2, 47 K/3 covering area of about 627 sq.km, acquired from Survey of India. Present study includes lineament and morphometric analysis of Tarali River basin for management and conservation of watershed.

The economics of fuel management: Wildfire, invasive plants, and the dynamics of sagebrush rangelands in the western United States

Science.gov (United States)

Michael H. Taylor; Kimberly Rollins; Mimako Kobayashi; Robin J. Tausch

2013-01-01

In this article we develop a simulation model to evaluate the economic efficiency of fuel treatments and apply it to two sagebrush ecosystems in the Great Basin of the western United States: the Wyoming Sagebrush Steppe and Mountain Big Sagebrush ecosystems. These ecosystems face the two most prominent concerns in sagebrush ecosystems relative to wildfire: annual grass...

Mapping and evaluation of snow avalanche risk using GIS technique in Rodnei National Park

Science.gov (United States)

Covǎsnianu, Adrian; Grigoraş, Ioan-Rǎducu; Covǎsnianu, Liliana-Elena; Iordache, Iulian; Balin, Daniela

2010-05-01

The study consisted in a precise mapping project (GPS field campaign, on-screen digitization of the topographic maps at 1:25.000 scale and updated with ASTER mission) of the Rodnei National Park area (Romanian Carpathians) with a focus on snow avalanche risk survey. Parameters taken into account were slope, aspect, altitude, landforms and roughness resulted from a high resolute numerical terrain model obtained by ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) mission. The resulted digital surface model with a spatial resolution of 10 m covered a total area of 187 square kilometers and was improved by the help of Topo to Raster tool. All these parameters were calibrated after a model applied onto Tatra Massive and also Ceahlău Mountain. The results were adapted and interpreted in accordance with European avalanche hazard scale. This work was made in the context of the elaboration of Risk Map and is directly concerning both the security of tourism activities but also the management of the Rodnei Natural Park. The extension of this method to similar mountain areas is ongoing.

Book of Abstracts - International Conference 'Radon in Environment', Zakopane, 10-14 May 2009

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mazur, J.; Kozak, K.; Kobol, I.

2009-04-01

The Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences has been organizing since 2000 the serial conferences, traditionally called RADON IN ENVIRONMENT. This is the first international meeting, two previous conferences (in 2000 and 2005) were national. The conference covers the following topics: · radon and thoron in air, water and soil, · modelling of radon transport, · geological aspects, · measurement techniques and interpretation of results, · techniques of reducing radon concentrations, · health aspects, · protection against radon risk, · uranium and thorium series, · NORM and TENORM elements in environment, · law regulations, · information policy. The Conference takes place in Zakopane (southern part of Poland, about 100 km distance from Krakow) at the conference and holiday centre '' ANTALOWKA ''. Zakopane, beautifully situated at the foot of the Tatra mountains, offers a chance to take advantage of outdoor recreation and to become acquainted with the unique folklore of the local mountaineers. We do hope that the conference will provide a forum to explore and discuss new scientific initiatives and all participants will benefit from this meeting. (author)

Simulating 3-D radiative transfer effects over the Sierra Nevada Mountains using WRF

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Gu

2012-10-01

Full Text Available A surface solar radiation parameterization based on deviations between 3-D and conventional plane-parallel radiative transfer models has been incorporated into the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF model to understand the solar insolation over mountain/snow areas and to investigate the impact of the spatial and temporal distribution and variation of surface solar fluxes on land-surface processes. Using the Sierra-Nevada in the western United States as a testbed, we show that mountain effect could produce up to −50 to + 50 W m⁻² deviations in the surface solar fluxes over the mountain areas, resulting in a temperature increase of up to 1 °C on the sunny side. Upward surface sensible and latent heat fluxes are modulated accordingly to compensate for the change in surface solar fluxes. Snow water equivalent and surface albedo both show decreases on the sunny side of the mountains, indicating more snowmelt and hence reduced snow albedo associated with more solar insolation due to mountain effect. Soil moisture increases on the sunny side of the mountains due to enhanced snowmelt, while decreases on the shaded side. Substantial differences are found in the morning hours from 8–10 a.m. and in the afternoon around 3–5 p.m., while differences around noon and in the early morning and late afternoon are comparatively smaller. Variation in the surface energy balance can also affect atmospheric processes, such as cloud fields, through the modulation of vertical thermal structure. Negative changes of up to −40 g m⁻² are found in the cloud water path, associated with reductions in the surface insolation over the cloud region. The day-averaged deviations in the surface solar flux are positive over the mountain areas and negative in the valleys, with a range between −12~12 W m⁻². Changes in sensible and latent heat fluxes and surface skin temperature follow the solar insolation pattern. Differences in the

Mantle Subduction and Uplift of Intracontinental Mountains: A Case Study from the Chinese Tianshan Mountains within Eurasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jinyi; Zhang, Jin; Zhao, Xixi; Jiang, Mei; Li, Yaping; Zhu, Zhixin; Feng, Qianwen; Wang, Lijia; Sun, Guihua; Liu, Jianfeng; Yang, Tiannan

2016-06-29

The driving mechanism that is responsible for the uplift of intracontinental mountains has puzzled geologists for decades. This study addresses this issue by using receiver function images across the Chinese Tianshan Mountains and available data from both deep seismic profiles and surface structural deformation. The near-surface structural deformation shows that the Tianshan crust experienced strong shortening during the Cenozoic. The receiver function image across the Tianshan Mountains reveals that the lithosphere of the Junggar Basin to the north became uncoupled along the Moho, and the mantle below the Moho subducted southwards beneath the northern part of the Tianshan Mountains, thereby thickening the overlying crust. Similar deep structures, however, are not observed under the Tarim Basin and the adjacent southern Tianshan Mountains. This difference in the deep structures correlates with geomorphological features in the region. Thus, a new model of mantle subduction, herein termed M-type subduction, is proposed for the mountain-building processes in intracontinental compressional settings. The available geomorphological, geological and seismic data in the literatures show that this model is probably suitable for other high, linear mountains within the continent.

Identification and partial characterization of lactic acid bacteria isolated from traditional dairy products produced by herders in the western Tianshan Mountains of China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zuo, F L; Feng, X J; Chen, L L; Chen, S W

2014-11-01

Thirty strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated from herders' traditional dairy products collected from Xinjiang, China. The species Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Enterococcus, Pediococcus and Leuconostoc were identified by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing analysis and conventional observation. The strains' fermentation characteristics, including milk acidification, proteolysis, autolysis, antimicrobial activity and diacetyl production, were assayed and compared. Strains NL24 and NL31 showed the highest proteolytic activity-2·75 and 2·08 mmol Phe l(-1) milk, respectively. Strains C, NL41, SW2, Z3-11, NL42 and Z2-91 had high autolytic activity. In addition, most of the wild strains produced diacetyl, half of them to high levels. This study provides a clue to LAB biodiversity in traditional dairy foods produced by herders in the western Tianshan Mountains. High-performing strains should be further evaluated for practical application in value-added fermented dairy products. Our results reveal a certain variety of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in traditional dairy products from Xinjiang. Some of the LAB strains, such as Lactobacillus rhamnosus NL24 and Lactobacillus paracasei SW2, possess excellent functional properties and have the potential for application in indigenous fermented dairy products. Performance of the newly isolated strains in cheese or yogurt manufacturing was further evaluated. Application of the high-performing strains to enrich the flavour of fermented dairy products is highly desirable and holds great commercial potential. © 2014 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Assessment of geophysical logs from borehole USW G-2, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, P.H.; Schimschal, U.

1993-01-01

Commercial logging contractors, Western Atlas, Schlumberger, and Edcon obtained borehole geophysical logs at the site of a potential high level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Drill hole USW-G2 was picked for this test of suitable logging tools and logging technology, both representing state-of-the-art technology by these commercial companies. Experience gained by analysis of existing core data and a variety of logs obtained earlier by Birdwell and Dresser Atlas served as a guide to a choice of logs to be obtained. Logs were obtained in water-filled borehole in zeolitized tuff (saturated zone) and in air-filled borehole largely in unaltered welded tuff (unsaturated zone)

The origins of mountain geoecology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ives, Jack D.

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Mountain geoecology, as a sub-discipline of Geography, stems from the life and work of Carl Troll who, in turn, was inspired by the philosophy and mountain travels of Alexander von Humboldt. As founding chair of the IGU Commission on High-Altitude Geoecology (1968, Troll laid the foundations for inter-disciplinary and international mountain research. The paper traces the evolution of the Commission and its close links with the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme (1972- and the United Nations University’s mountain Project (1978-. This facilitated the formation of a major force for inclusion of a mountain chapter in AGENDA 21 during the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Herat Summit (UNCED and the related designation by the United Nations of 2002 as the International Year of Mountains. In this way, mountain geoecology not only contributed to worldwide mountain research but also entered the political arena in the struggle for sustainable mountain development and the well-being of mountain people.La geoecología de montaña, como sub-disciplina de la Geografía, entronca con la vida y trabajo de Carl Troll, quien, a su vez, fue inspirado por la filosofía y viajes de Alexander von Humboldt. Como presidente fundador de la comisión de la UGI sobre High Altitude Geoecology (1968, Troll colocó las bases para la investigación interdisciplinar e internacional de las montañas. Este trabajo presenta la evolución de la Comisión y sus estrechas relaciones con el Programa Hombre y Biosfera de UNESCO (1972- y con el Proyecto de montaña de la Universidad de Naciones Unidas (1978-. Esto facilitó la inclusión de un capítulo sobre la montaña en AGENDA 21 durante la Cumbre de la Tierra de Río de Janeiro (UNCED, y la consiguiente designación de 2002 como el Año Internacional de las Montañas por parte de Naciones Unidas. En este sentido, la geoecología de montaña no sólo contribuyó a la investigación de las montañas del mundo sino que también empujó a la pol

An Investigation of the Impacts of Climate and Environmental Change on Alpine Lakes in the Uinta Mountains, Utah

Science.gov (United States)

Moser, K. A.; Hundey, E. J.; Porinchu, D. F.

2007-12-01

Aquatic systems in alpine and sub-alpine areas of the western United States are potentially impacted by atmospheric pollution and climate change. Because these mountainous regions are an important water resource for the western United States, it is critical to monitor and protect these systems. The Uinta Mountains are an east- west trending mountain range located on the border between Utah, Wyoming and Colorado and downwind of the Wasatch Front, Utah, which is characterized by a rapidly expanding population, as well as mining and industry. This alpine area provides water to many areas in Utah, and contributes approximately nine percent of the water supply to the Upper Colorado River. Our research is focused on determining the impacts of climate change and pollution on alpine lakes in the Uinta Mountains. The results presented here are based on limnological measurements made at 64 Uinta Mountain lakes spanning a longitude gradient of one degree and an elevation gradient of 3000 feet. At each lake maximum depth, conductivity, salinity, pH, Secchi depth, temperature, alkalinity, and concentrations of major anions, cations and trace metals were measured. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was performed to determine relationships between these variables and to examine the variability of the values of these variables. Our results indicate that steep climate gradients related to elevation and longitude result in clear differences in limnological properties of the study sites, with high elevation lakes characterized by greater amounts of nitrate and nitrite compared to low elevation sites. As well, diatoms in these lakes indicate that many high elevation sites are mesotrophic to eutrophic, which is unexpected for such remote aquatic ecosystems. We hypothesize that elevated nitrate and nitrite levels at high elevation sites are related to atmospherically derived nitrogen, but are being exacerbated relative to lower elevation sites by greater snow cover and reduced plant

Big George to Carter Mountain 115-kV transmission line project, Park and Hot Springs Counties, Wyoming. Environmental Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-02-01

The Western Area Power Administration (Western) is proposing to rebuild, operate, and maintain a 115-kilovolt (kV) transmission line between the Big George and Carter Mountain Substations in northwest Wyoming (Park and Hot Springs Counties). This environmental assessment (EA) was prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the Department of Energy (DOE). The existing Big George to Carter Mountain 69-kV transmission line was constructed in 1941 by the US Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, with 1/0 copper conductor on wood-pole H-frame structures without an overhead ground wire. The line should be replaced because of the deteriorated condition of the wood-pole H-frame structures. Because the line lacks an overhead ground wire, it is subject to numerous outages caused by lightning. The line will be 54 years old in 1995, which is the target date for line replacement. The normal service life of a wood-pole line is 45 years. Under the No Action Alternative, no new transmission lines would be built in the project area. The existing 69-kV transmission line would continue to operate with routine maintenance, with no provisions made for replacement.

Application of regional climate models to the Indian winter monsoon over the western Himalayas.

Science.gov (United States)

Dimri, A P; Yasunari, T; Wiltshire, A; Kumar, P; Mathison, C; Ridley, J; Jacob, D

2013-12-01

The Himalayan region is characterized by pronounced topographic heterogeneity and land use variability from west to east, with a large variation in regional climate patterns. Over the western part of the region, almost one-third of the annual precipitation is received in winter during cyclonic storms embedded in westerlies, known locally as the western disturbance. In the present paper, the regional winter climate over the western Himalayas is analyzed from simulations produced by two regional climate models (RCMs) forced with large-scale fields from ERA-Interim. The analysis was conducted by the composition of contrasting (wet and dry) winter precipitation years. The findings showed that RCMs could simulate the regional climate of the western Himalayas and represent the atmospheric circulation during extreme precipitation years in accordance with observations. The results suggest the important role of topography in moisture fluxes, transport and vertical flows. Dynamical downscaling with RCMs represented regional climates at the mountain or even event scale. However, uncertainties of precipitation scale and liquid-solid precipitation ratios within RCMs are still large for the purposes of hydrological and glaciological studies. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Protection of the Mountain Ridgelines Utilizing GIS

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, S.; Lee, M.

2013-12-01

Korean peninsula is characterized by numerous hills and mountains. The longest mountain ridgeline starting from Mt. Baekdusan to Mt. Jirisan is called Baekdudaegan which is similar to the continental divide or topographical watershed. In this study, GIS data, such as remotesensing images, national digital map, and watershed map, are used to analyze Korean mountain ridgelines structure and one Baekdudaegan data and nine Ridgelines are extracted. When extracted Baekdudaegan and other Ridgelines are overlaid on geologic maps, granite and gneiss are main components on the mountain ridgelines. The main mountain ridgelines are considered as the spiritual heritage overlapped in the land in Korea. As the environmental state is relatively better than those of other region in Korea, so many mountain ridgelines are legally protected by national legislation. The mountain ridgelines has hierarchical system; Baekdudaegan, Jeongmaek, Gimaek and Jimaek etc. according to their scale and total lengths of ridgelines. As only part of mountain ridgelines are currently protected by law or managed in environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure, we think that most part of them should be under protection. Considering the environmental state of the ridgelines, we think that some protective measures should be set up nearby 1 km on both sides of them. If there goes a development plan or project near the main mountain ridgelines, topographical change index (TCI) and topographical scale index (TSI) etc. are to be applied in EIA. This study intends: firstly, to analyze the topological characteristics of the Korean mountain ridgelines using GIS, secondly, to analyze the geological characteristics of nearby mountain ridgelines, and lastly, to find a way to utilize the results on EIA.

Climate Changes Documented in Ice Core Records from Third Pole Glaciers, with Emphasis on the Guliya Ice Cap in the Western Kunlun Mountains over the Last 100 Years

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, L. G.; Yao, T.; Beaudon, E.; Mosley-Thompson, E.; Davis, M. E.; Kenny, D. V.; Lin, P. N.

2016-12-01

The Third Pole (TP) is a rapidly warming region containing 100,000 km2 of ice cover that collectively holds one of Earth's largest stores of freshwater that feeds Asia's largest rivers and helps sustain 1.5 billion people. Information on the accelerating warming in the region, its impact on the glaciers and subsequently on future water resources is urgently needed to guide mitigation and adaptation policies. Ice core histories collected over the last three decades across the TP demonstrate its climatic complexity and diversity. Here we present preliminary results from the flagship project of the Third Pole Environment Program, the 2015 Sino-American cooperative ice core drilling of the Guliya ice cap in the Kunlun Mountains in the western TP near the northern limit of the region influenced by the southwest monsoon. Three ice cores, each 51 meters in length, were recovered from the summit ( 6700 masl) while two deeper cores, one to bedrock ( 310 meters), were recovered from the plateau ( 6200 masl). Across the ice cap the net balance (accumulation) has increased annually by 2.3 cm of water equivalent from 1963-1992 to 1992-2015, and average oxygen isotopic ratios (δ18O) have enriched by 2‰. This contrasts with the recent ablation on the Naimona'nyi glacier located 540 km south of Guliya in the western Himalaya. Borehole temperatures in 2015 on the Guliya plateau have warmed substantially in the upper 30 meters of the ice compared to temperatures in 1992, when the first deep-drilling of the Guliya plateau was conducted. Compared with glaciers in the northern and western TP, the Himalayan ice fields are more sensitive to both fluctuations in the South Asian Monsoon and rising temperatures in the region. We examine the climatic changes of the last century preserved in ice core records from sites throughout the TP and compare them with those reconstructed for earlier warm epochs, such as the Medieval Climate Anomaly ( 950-1250 AD), the early Holocene "Hypsithermal

Multitemporal Snow Cover Mapping in Mountainous Terrain for Landsat Climate Data Record Development

Science.gov (United States)

Crawford, Christopher J.; Manson, Steven M.; Bauer, Marvin E.; Hall, Dorothy K.

2013-01-01

A multitemporal method to map snow cover in mountainous terrain is proposed to guide Landsat climate data record (CDR) development. The Landsat image archive including MSS, TM, and ETM+ imagery was used to construct a prototype Landsat snow cover CDR for the interior northwestern United States. Landsat snow cover CDRs are designed to capture snow-covered area (SCA) variability at discrete bi-monthly intervals that correspond to ground-based snow telemetry (SNOTEL) snow-water-equivalent (SWE) measurements. The June 1 bi-monthly interval was selected for initial CDR development, and was based on peak snowmelt timing for this mountainous region. Fifty-four Landsat images from 1975 to 2011 were preprocessed that included image registration, top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) reflectance conversion, cloud and shadow masking, and topographic normalization. Snow covered pixels were retrieved using the normalized difference snow index (NDSI) and unsupervised classification, and pixels having greater (less) than 50% snow cover were classified presence (absence). A normalized SCA equation was derived to independently estimate SCA given missing image coverage and cloud-shadow contamination. Relative frequency maps of missing pixels were assembled to assess whether systematic biases were embedded within this Landsat CDR. Our results suggest that it is possible to confidently estimate historical bi-monthly SCA from partially cloudy Landsat images. This multitemporal method is intended to guide Landsat CDR development for freshwaterscarce regions of the western US to monitor climate-driven changes in mountain snowpack extent.

Uranium and radon surveys in western Himalaya

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Virk, H.S.

1997-01-01

The water samples from mountain springs, streams and river systems in the western Himalaya were collected and analysed in the laboratory for uranium and radon contents. It is observed that the Himalayan river system is conspicuous by its high dissolved uranium and radium concentration. The water samples contain from 0.89 ppb to 63.4 ppb of uranium and from 34 Bq/I to 364 Bq/I of radon. The radon emanation in soil is measured by the track-etch method, emanometry and alpha-logger technique. The daily and long-term variation of radon was monitored in some mineralized zones of Himachal Pradesh (HP) state with high uranium content in the soil. The maximum values of radon are recorded in Chhinjra, Rameda, Samurkala and Kasol areas of HP. (author)

Radioactivity measurements in epiphytic lichens of Uludag Mountain in Western Anatolia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ayseguel Kahraman; Goekay Kaynak; Gizem Akkaya; Orhan Guerler; Sezai Yalcin

2013-01-01

Activity concentrations of gross-β, naturally occurring 226 Ra, 232 Th, 210 Pb, 7 Be and anthropogenic 137 Cs in epiphytic lichens collected from Uludag Mountain are presented and discussed with the aim of evaluating potential usability of lichens as a biomonitor. The activity concentrations of gross-β, 137 Cs, 40 K, 226 Ra, 232 Th, 210 Pb and 7 Be in the lichen samples were found to be in the range of 177-707, 4.05-94.26, 86-211, below detection limit (BDL)-19.2, BDL-14.0, 229-872, and 72.1-220.7 Bq kg -1 in dry weight, respectively. 137 Cs content in collected epiphytic lichens was in descending order: Parmelia sulcata > Lobaria pulmonaria > Pseudevernia furfuracea > Usnea filipendula. The best biomonitor for 137 Cs among the lichen species used in this study was determined as Parmelia sulcata. Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated between 137 Cs and 40 K activity concentrations using a statistical package program (SPSS ver. 17.0) and a negative correlation value (R = -0,323, p = 0,222) was obtained. The highest 226 Ra and 232 Th activity concentrations were found in Bogazova Yaylasi which has a geological structure including granitic rocks. It was found that 137 Cs and 7 Be activity concentrations in species demonstrated an inverse behaviour. The effect of mean annual precipitation and temperature on 7 Be activity concentration was determined using multi regression analysis. Also, correlations between the 137 Cs and 7 Be, and 40 K and 7 Be were investigated. (author)

Phytogeography of the tropical north-east African mountains

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I. Friis

1983-11-01

Full Text Available The tropical north-east African mountains are tentatively divided into four phytochoria, the formal rank of which is not defined. The division is based on patterns of distribution and endemism in the region. The recognition of a distinct Afromontane phytochorion is now well established (Chapman & White, 1970; Werger, 1978; White, 1978. However, there is still very little information on the phytogeography of the individual mountains or mountain systems. This study hopes to fill a little of the gap by analysing distribution patterns and patterns of endemism in the flora of the tropical north-east African mountains. The north-east African mountain system is the largest in tropical Africa (see e.g. map in White, 1978. At the core of this system is the large Ethiopian massif, around which are located various mountains and mountain chains. These include the Red Sea Hills in the Sudan, the mountain chain in northern Somalia, the south-west Arabian mountains, and the Imatong mountains of south-east Sudan. The latter are often referred to the East African mountain system (White, 1978 but. as I will point out later, they also have a close connection with the south-west highlands of Ethiopia. The paper presents some results of my study of the mountain flora of tropical north-east Africa, particularly the forest species. Where no source is indicated, the data are from my own unpublished studies.

Distinct crustal isostasy trends east and west of the Rocky Mountain Front

KAUST Repository

Schmandt, Brandon

2015-12-14

© 2015. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Seismic structure beneath the contiguous U.S. was imaged with multimode receiver function stacking and inversion of Rayleigh wave dispersion and ellipticity measurements. Crust thickness and elevation are weakly correlated across the contiguous U.S., but the correlation is ∼3-4 times greater for separate areas east and west of the Rocky Mountain Front (RMF). Greater lower crustal shear velocities east of the RMF, particularly in low-elevation areas with thick crust, are consistent with deep crustal density as the primary cause of the contrasting crust thickness versus elevation trends. Separate eastern and western trends are best fit by Airy isostasy models that assume lower crust to uppermost mantle density increases of 0.18 g/cm3 and 0.40 g/cm3, respectively. The former value is near the minimum that is plausible for felsic lower crust. Location of the transition at the RMF suggests that Laramide to post-Laramide processes reduced western U.S. lower crustal density.

Management of Multi-Casualty Incidents in Mountain Rescue: Evidence-Based Guidelines of the International Commission for Mountain Emergency Medicine (ICAR MEDCOM).

Science.gov (United States)

Blancher, Marc; Albasini, François; Elsensohn, Fidel; Zafren, Ken; Hölzl, Natalie; McLaughlin, Kyle; Wheeler, Albert R; Roy, Steven; Brugger, Hermann; Greene, Mike; Paal, Peter

2018-02-15

Blancher, Marc, François Albasini, Fidel Elsensohn, Ken Zafren, Natalie Hölzl, Kyle McLaughlin, Albert R. Wheeler III, Steven Roy, Hermann Brugger, Mike Greene, and Peter Paal. Management of multi-casualty incidents in mountain rescue. High Alt Med Biol. 00:000-000, 2018. Multi-Casualty Incidents (MCI) occur in mountain areas. Little is known about the incidence and character of such events, and the kind of rescue response. Therefore, the International Commission for Mountain Emergency Medicine (ICAR MEDCOM) set out to provide recommendations for the management of MCI in mountain areas. Details of MCI occurring in mountain areas related to mountaineering activities and involving organized mountain rescue were collected. A literature search using (1) PubMed, (2) national mountain rescue registries, and (3) lay press articles on the internet was performed. The results were analyzed with respect to specific aspects of mountain rescue. We identified 198 MCIs that have occurred in mountain areas since 1956: 137 avalanches, 38 ski lift accidents, and 23 other events, including lightning injuries, landslides, volcanic eruptions, lost groups of people, and water-related accidents. General knowledge on MCI management is required. Due to specific aspects of triage and management, the approach to MCIs may differ between those in mountain areas and those in urban settings. Mountain rescue teams should be prepared to manage MCIs. Knowledge should be reviewed and training performed regularly. Cooperation between terrestrial rescue services, avalanche safety authorities, and helicopter crews is critical to successful management of MCIs in mountain areas.

Gaddi Buffalo: An Indigenous Breed of Far-Western Nepal

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T.M. Raj

2010-02-01

Full Text Available A study on indigenous Gaddi buffalo of far-western region of Nepal was conducted to understand the production parameters and husbandry practices intending to make future strategy for improvement. The breed is well known in the far-western districts of Nepal and adapted in hills and mountains of the region with diverse climatic conditions. Among 3 identified buffalo breeds (Gaddi, Lime and Parkote and one under study (Terai, Gaddi was found morphologically larger (p<0.01 and docile in temperament. Major population of Gaddi was found to be black in color and some brown and light brown. Morphologically, it looks like Indian Murrah, however white round patch on the middle of forehead and tuft of the tail, and semi-curved horn shape are the distinguished characters. The average ages at puberty, first calving and calving interval was 3.8, 5.7 and 2.0 years respectively. Lactation length varied from 14 to 22 months and milk yield from 2.5 to 5.5 liters/day. Major problems recorded were lack of pure breeding bulls, negative selection, feed scarcity, poor technical know-how and health management. The paper discusses on the overall buffalo management system in the far-western region of Nepal and suggests improvement plan with maximum utilization of locally available farm resources.

Mountain Biking Injuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Ansari, Majid; Nourian, Ruhollah; Khodaee, Morteza

With the increasing popularity of mountain biking, also known as off-road cycling, and the riders pushing the sport into extremes, there has been a corresponding increase in injury. Almost two thirds of acute injuries involve the upper extremities, and a similar proportion of overuse injuries affect the lower extremities. Mountain biking appears to be a high-risk sport for severe spine injuries. New trends of injury patterns are observed with popularity of mountain bike trail parks and freeride cycling. Using protective gear, improving technical proficiency, and physical fitness may somewhat decrease the risk of injuries. Simple modifications in bicycle-rider interface areas and with the bicycle (bike fit) also may decrease some overuse injuries. Bike fit provides the clinician with postural correction during the sport. In this review, we also discuss the importance of race-day management strategies and monitoring the injury trends.

Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis and its clinical distinction from Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Science.gov (United States)

Paddock, Christopher D; Finley, Richard W; Wright, Cynthia S; Robinson, Howard N; Schrodt, Barbara J; Lane, Carole C; Ekenna, Okechukwu; Blass, Mitchell A; Tamminga, Cynthia L; Ohl, Christopher A; McLellan, Susan L F; Goddard, Jerome; Holman, Robert C; Openshaw, John J; Sumner, John W; Zaki, Sherif R; Eremeeva, Marina E

2008-11-01

Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis, a recently identified spotted fever transmitted by the Gulf Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum), was first described in 2004. We summarize the clinical and epidemiological features of 12 patients in the United States with confirmed or probable disease attributable to R. parkeri and comment on distinctions between R. parkeri rickettsiosis and other United States rickettsioses. Clinical specimens from patients in the United States who reside within the range of A. maculatum for whom an eschar or vesicular rash was described were evaluated by > or =1 laboratory assays at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, GA) to identify probable or confirmed infection with R. parkeri. During 1998-2007, clinical samples from 12 patients with illnesses epidemiologically and clinically compatible with R. parkeri rickettsiosis were submitted for diagnostic evaluation. Using indirect immunofluorescence antibody assays, immunohistochemistry, polymerase chain reaction assays, and cell culture isolation, we identified 6 confirmed and 6 probable cases of infection with R. parkeri. The aggregate clinical characteristics of these patients revealed a disease similar to but less severe than classically described Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Closer attention to the distinct clinical features of the various spotted fever syndromes that exist in the United States and other countries of the Western hemisphere, coupled with more frequent use of specific confirmatory assays, may unveil several unique diseases that have been identified collectively as Rocky Mountain spotted fever during the past century. Accurate assessments of these distinct infections will ultimately provide a more valid description of the currently recognized distribution, incidence, and case-fatality rate of Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Equilibrium of vegetation and climate at the European rear edge. A reference for climate change planning in mountainous Mediterranean regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz-Labourdette, Diego; Martínez, Felipe; Martín-López, Berta; Montes, Carlos; Pineda, Francisco D

2011-05-01

Mediterranean mountains harbour some of Europe's highest floristic richness. This is accounted for largely by the mesoclimatic variety in these areas, along with the co-occurrence of a small area of Eurosiberian, Boreal and Mediterranean species, and those of Tertiary Subtropical origin. Throughout the twenty-first century, we are likely to witness a climate change-related modification of the biogeographic scenario in these mountains, and there is therefore a need for accurate climate regionalisations to serve as a reference of the abundance and distribution of species and communities, particularly those of a relictic nature. This paper presents an objective mapping method focussing on climate regions in a mountain range. The procedure was tested in the Cordillera Central Mountains of the Iberian Peninsula, in the western Mediterranean, one of the ranges occupying the largest area of the Mediterranean Basin. This regionalisation is based upon multivariate analyses and upon detailed cartography employing 27 climatic variables. We used spatial interpolation of data based on geographic information. We detected high climatic diversity in the mountain range studied. We identified 13 climatic regions, all of which form a varying mosaic throughout the annual temperature and rainfall cycle. This heterogeneity results from two geographically opposed gradients. The first one is the Mediterranean-Euro-Siberian variation of the mountain range. The second gradient involves the degree of oceanicity, which is negatively related to distance from the Atlantic Ocean. The existing correlation between the climatic regions detected and the flora existing therein enables the results to be situated within the projected trends of global warming, and their biogeographic and ecological consequences to be analysed.

Mapping the potential for decentralized energy generation based on RES in Western Balkans

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Schneider Daniel R.

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Although the countries of the Western Balkans are mostly electrified, there are still regions which do not have access to the electricity network or where the network capacity is insufficient. For the most part such areas are under special care of the state (i. e. underdeveloped, devastated by war, depopulated, on islands or in mountainous regions. Since the decentralized energy generation covers a broad range of technologies, including many renewable energy technologies that provide small-scale power at sites close to the users, such concept could be of interest for these locations. This paper identifies the areas in Western Balkans where such systems could be applied. Consideration is given to geographical locations as well as possible applications. Wind, hydro, solar photovoltaic, and biomass conversion systems were taken into consideration. Since the renewable energy sources data for Western Balkans region are rather scarce, the intention was to give a survey of the present situation and an estimate of future potential for decentralized energy generation based on renewable energy sources. The decentralized energy generation based on renewable energy sources in Western Balkans will find its niche easier for the users that will produce electricity for their own needs and for the users located in remote rural areas (off-grid applications.

Mountain cedar allergens found in nonpollen tree parts.

Science.gov (United States)

Goetz, D W; Goetz, M A; Whisman, B A

1995-09-01

Mountain cedar (Juniperus ashei) pollen is the principal aeroallergen in south central Texas from late December through February. The major mountain cedar allergen is a 40-kD glycoprotein, gp40. To identify allergens in mountain cedar wood, leaves, and berries and to detect mountain cedar allergen in smoke from burning male or female trees. SDS-PAGE plus mountain cedar human sIgE and monoclonal antibody immunoblots identified mountain cedar allergens within pollen and nonpollen tree part extracts. IgE immunoblots identified a single wood allergen at 36 kD and three berry allergens at 36, 26-27, and 21 kD, in addition to known pollen allergens. Mountain cedar monoclonal antibody bound an allergen epitope present not only on 40, 33, and 28-kD pollen allergens, but also on 36 and 32-kD wood allergens, and the 26-27-kD berry allergen. Immunoblot studies detected no mountain cedar allergen in leaves and no allergen in smoke from burning male and female trees. Allergens constituted a much smaller percentage of extractable protein in wood and berries than in pollen. Mountain cedar berry allergen content is too small to give credence to the ingestion of berries as a folk medicine treatment of mountain cedar pollinosis. In addition, while smoke from burning mountain cedar trees may be irritating, it contains no allergens that could cause allergic rhinoconjunctivitis.

Taking the pulse of mountains: Ecosystem responses to climatic variability

Science.gov (United States)

Fagre, Daniel B.; Peterson, David L.; Hessl, Amy E.

2003-01-01

An integrated program of ecosystem modeling and field studies in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest (U.S.A.) has quantified many of the ecological processes affected by climatic variability. Paleoecological and contemporary ecological data in forest ecosystems provided model parameterization and validation at broad spatial and temporal scales for tree growth, tree regeneration and treeline movement. For subalpine tree species, winter precipitation has a strong negative correlation with growth; this relationship is stronger at higher elevations and west-side sites (which have more precipitation). Temperature affects tree growth at some locations with respect to length of growing season (spring) and severity of drought at drier sites (summer). Furthermore, variable but predictable climate-growth relationships across elevation gradients suggest that tree species respond differently to climate at different locations, making a uniform response of these species to future climatic change unlikely. Multi-decadal variability in climate also affects ecosystem processes. Mountain hemlock growth at high-elevation sites is negatively correlated with winter snow depth and positively correlated with the winter Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) index. At low elevations, the reverse is true. Glacier mass balance and fire severity are also linked to PDO. Rapid establishment of trees in subalpine ecosystems during this century is increasing forest cover and reducing meadow cover at many subalpine locations in the western U.S.A. and precipitation (snow depth) is a critical variable regulating conifer expansion. Lastly, modeling potential future ecosystem conditions suggests that increased climatic variability will result in increasing forest fire size and frequency, and reduced net primary productivity in drier, east-side forest ecosystems. As additional empirical data and modeling output become available, we will improve our ability to predict the effects of climatic change

EXPANSION OF DIDYMOSPHENIA GEMINATA (LYNGBE M. SCHMIDT (BACILLARIOPHYCEAE IN RUNNING WATERS IN S-E POLAND: NEW RECORDS IN THE PODKARPACIE REGION

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Teresa Noga

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Nowadays Didymosphenia geminata is one of the most frequently studied diatoms in the world, due to its massive development in most continents. In Poland, up to the 1990’s only a small number of specimens were recorded, from streams in the Tatra Mountains and the Dunajec River. D. geminata was found in 2007–2008 in the middle and upper sections of the Wisłok River, while in 2009 and 2011 it was also found in the Wisłoka, Ropa, Bielcza, and San. The cells belonged to one morphotype “geminata” and were characterized by high variability of size. It develops in mesotrophic, well-oxygenated, upper parts of flowing waters with rapid currents. It was most abundant below reservoirs on the San, Wisłok and Wisłoka.

Shrinking windows of opportunity for oak seedling establishment in southern California mountains

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Frank W.; Sweet, Lynn C.; Serra-Diaz, Josep M.; Franklin, Janet; McCullough, Ian M.; Flint, Alan L.; Flint, Lorraine E.; Dingman, John; Regan, Helen M.; Syphard, Alexandra D.; Hannah, Lee; Redmond, Kelly; Moritz, Max A.

2016-01-01

Seedling establishment is a critical step that may ultimately govern tree species’ distribution shifts under environmental change. Annual variation in the location of seed rain and microclimates results in transient “windows of opportunity” for tree seedling establishment across the landscape. These establishment windows vary at fine spatiotemporal scales that are not considered in most assessments of climate change impacts on tree species range dynamics and habitat displacement. We integrate field seedling establishment trials conducted in the southern Sierra Nevada and western Tehachapi Mountains of southern California with spatially downscaled grids of modeled water-year climatic water deficit (CWDwy) and mean August maximum daily temperature (Tmax) to map historical and projected future microclimates suitable for establishment windows of opportunity for Quercus douglasii, a dominant tree species of warm, dry foothill woodlands, and Q. kelloggii, a dominant of cooler, more mesic montane woodlands and forests. Based on quasi-binomial regression models, Q. douglasii seedling establishment is significantly associated with modeled CWDwy and to a lesser degree with modeled Tmax. Q. kelloggii seedling establishment is most strongly associated with Tmax and best predicted by a two-factor model including CWDwy and Tmax. Establishment niche models are applied to explore recruitment window dynamics in the western Tehachapi Mountains, where these species are currently widespread canopy dominants. Establishment windows are projected to decrease by 50–95%, shrinking locally to higher elevations and north-facing slopes by the end of this century depending on the species and climate scenario. These decreases in establishment windows suggest the potential for longer-term regional population declines of the species. While many additional processes regulate seedling establishment and growth, this study highlights the need to account for topoclimatic controls and

Species diversity and drivers of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in a semi-arid mountain in China

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He Zhao

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF play an essential role in complex ecosystems. However, the species diversity and composition of AMF communities remain unclear in semi-arid mountains. Further, it is not well understood if the characteristics of AMF community assemblies differ for different habitat types, e.g., agricultural arable land, artificial forest land, natural grassland, and bush/wood land. Here, using the high-throughput technology by Illumina sequencing on the MiSeq platform, we explored the species diversity and composition of soil AMF communities among different habitat types in a semi-arid mountain (Taihang Mountain, Mid-western region of China. Then, we analyzed the effect of nutrient composition and soil texture on AMF community assembly. Our results showed that members of the Glomus genera were predominated in all soil types. The distance-based redundancy analysis indicated that the content of water, available phosphorus, and available potassium were the most crucial geochemical factors that significantly affected AMF communities (p < 0.05. The analysis of the soil texture confirmed that AMF diversity was negatively correlated with soil clay content. The comparison of AMF diversity among the various habitat types revealed that the artificial forest land had the lowest AMF diversity in comparison with other land types. Our findings suggest that there were differences in species diversity and composition of soil AMF communities among different habitat types. These findings shed new light on the characteristics of community structure and drivers of community assembly in AMF in semi-arid mountains, and point to the potential importance of different habitat types on AMF communities.

Recruitment patterns and growth of high-elevation pines in response to climatic variability (1883–2013), in the western Great Basin, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Constance I. Millar; Robert D. Westfall; Diane L. Delany; Alan L. Flint; Lorraine E. Flint

2015-01-01

Over the period 1883–2013, recruitment of subalpine limber pine (Pinus flexilis E. James) and Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva D.K. Bailey) above the upper tree line, below the lower tree line, and across middle-elevation forest borders occurred at localized sites across four mountain ranges in the western Great...

Snow and Ice Climatology of the Western United States and Alaska from MODIS

Science.gov (United States)

Rittger, K. E.; Painter, T. H.; Mattmann, C. A.; Seidel, F. C.; Burgess, A.; Brodzik, M.

2013-12-01

The climate and hydroclimate of the Western US and Alaska are tightly coupled to their snow and ice cover. The Western US depends on mountain snowmelt for the majority of its water supply to agriculture, industrial and urban use, hydroelectric generation, and recreation, all driven by increasing population and demand. Alaskan snow and glacier cover modulate regional climate and, as with the Western US, dominate water supply and hydroelectric generation in much of the state. Projections of climate change in the Western US and Alaska suggest that the most pronounced impacts will include reductions of mountain snow and ice cover, earlier runoff, and a greater fraction of rain instead of snow. We establish a snow and ice climatology of the Western US and Alaska using physically based MODIS Snow Covered Area and Grain size model (MODSCAG) for fractional snow cover, the MODIS Dust Radiative Forcing in Snow model (MODDRFS) for radiative forcing by light absorbing impurities in snow, and the MODIS Permanent Ice model (MODICE) for annual minimum exposed snow. MODSCAG and MODDRFS use EOS MOD09GA historical reflectance data (2000-2012) to provide daily and 8-day composites and near real time products since the beginning of 2013, themselves ultimately composited to 8-day products. The compositing method considers sensor-viewing geometry, solar illumination, clouds, cloud shadows, aerosols and noisy detectors in order to select the best pixel for an 8-day period. The MODICE annual minimum exposed snow and ice product uses the daily time series of fractional snow and ice from MODSCAG to generate annual maps. With this project we have established an ongoing, national-scale, consistent and replicable approach to assessing current and projected climate impacts and climate-related risk in the context of other stressors. We analyze the products in the Northwest, Southwest, and Alaska/Arctic regions of the National Climate Assessment for the last decade, the nation's hottest on record

Internal Migration and Land Use and Land Cover Changes in the Middle Mountains of Nepal

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Bhawana KC

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The movement of rural households from remote uplands to valley floors and to semiurban and urban areas (internal migration is a common phenomenon in the middle mountain districts of Nepal. Understanding the causes and effects of internal migration is critical to the development and implementation of policies that promote land use planning and sustainable resource management. Using geospatial information technologies and social research methods, we investigated the causes and effects of internal migration on land use and land cover patterns in a western mountain district of Nepal between 1998 and 2013. The results show a decreasing number of households at high elevations (above 1400 m, where an increase in forest cover has been observed with a consequent decrease in agricultural land and shrub- or grassland. At lower elevations (below 1400 m, forest cover has remained constant over the last 25 years, and the agricultural land area has increased but has become geometrically complex to meet the diverse needs and living requirements of the growing population. Our findings indicate that internal migration plays an important role in shaping land use and land cover change in the middle mountains of Nepal and largely determines the resource management, utilization, and distribution patterns within a small geographic unit. Therefore, land use planning must take an integrated and interdisciplinary approach rather than considering social, environmental, and demographic information in isolation.

Complex mountain terrain and disturbance history drive variation in forest aboveground live carbon density in the western Oregon Cascades, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Zald, Harold S.J.; Spies, Thomas A.; Seidl, Rupert; Pabst, Robert J.; Olsen, Keith A.; Steel, E. Ashley

2016-01-01

Forest carbon (C) density varies tremendously across space due to the inherent heterogeneity of forest ecosystems. Variation of forest C density is especially pronounced in mountainous terrain, where environmental gradients are compressed and vary at multiple spatial scales. Additionally, the influence of environmental gradients may vary with forest age and developmental stage, an important consideration as forest landscapes often have a diversity of stand ages from past management and other disturbance agents. Quantifying forest C density and its underlying environmental determinants in mountain terrain has remained challenging because many available data sources lack the spatial grain and ecological resolution needed at both stand and landscape scales. The objective of this study was to determine if environmental factors influencing aboveground live carbon (ALC) density differed between young versus old forests. We integrated aerial light detection and ranging (lidar) data with 702 field plots to map forest ALC density at a grain of 25 m across the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, a 6369 ha watershed in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, USA. We used linear regressions, random forest ensemble learning (RF) and sequential autoregressive modeling (SAR) to reveal how mapped forest ALC density was related to climate, topography, soils, and past disturbance history (timber harvesting and wildfires). ALC increased with stand age in young managed forests, with much greater variation of ALC in relation to years since wildfire in old unmanaged forests. Timber harvesting was the most important driver of ALC across the entire watershed, despite occurring on only 23% of the landscape. More variation in forest ALC density was explained in models of young managed forests than in models of old unmanaged forests. Besides stand age, ALC density in young managed forests was driven by factors influencing site productivity, whereas variation in ALC density in old unmanaged forests

Mountain home known geothermal resource area: an environmental analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spencer, S.G.; Russell, B.F. (eds.)

1979-09-01

The Mountain Home KGRA encompasses an area of 3853 hectares (ha) at the foot of the Mount Bennett Hills in Elmore County, Idaho. The site is associated with an arid climate and high winds that generate an acute dust problem. The KGRA lies adjacent to the northwest-southeast trending fault zone that reflects the northern boundary of the western Snake River Plain graben. Data indicate that a careful analysis of the subsidence potential is needed prior to extensive geothermal development. Surface water resources are confined to several small creeks. Lands are utilized for irrigated farmlands and rangeland for livestock. There are no apparent soil limitations to geothermal development. Sage grouse and mule deer are the major species of concern. The potential of locating significant heritage resources other than the Oregon Trail or the bathhouse debris appears to be relatively slight.

Spatiotemporal patterns of mercury accumulation in lake sediments of western North America

Science.gov (United States)

Drevnick, Paul; Cooke, Colin A.; Barraza, Daniella; Blais, Jules M.; Coale, Kenneth; Cumming, Brian F.; Curtis, Chris; Das, Biplob; Donahue, William F.; Eagles-Smith, Collin A.; Engstrom, Daniel R.; Fitzgerald, William F.; Furl, Chad V.; Gray, John R.; Hall, Roland I.; Jackson, Togwell A.; Laird, Kathleen R.; Lockhart, W. Lyle; Macdonald, Robie W.; Mast, M. Alisa; Mathieu, Callie; Muir, Derek C.G.; Outridge, Peter; Reinemann, Scott; Rothenberg, Sarah E.; Ruiz-Fernandex, Ana Carolina; St. Louis, V.L.; Sanders, Rhea; Sanei, Hamed; Skierszkan, Elliott; Van Metre, Peter C.; Veverica, Timothy; Wiklund, Johan A.; Wolfe, Brent B.

2016-01-01

For the Western North America Mercury Synthesis, we compiled mercury records from 165 dated sediment cores from 138 natural lakes across western North America. Lake sediments are accepted as faithful recorders of historical mercury accumulation rates, and regional and sub-regional temporal and spatial trends were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Mercury accumulation rates in sediments have increased, on average, four times (4×) from 1850 to 2000 and continue to increase by approximately 0.2 μg/m2 per year. Lakes with the greatest increases were influenced by the Flin Flon smelter, followed by lakes directly affected by mining and wastewater discharges. Of lakes not directly affected by point sources, there is a clear separation in mercury accumulation rates between lakes with no/little watershed development and lakes with extensive watershed development for agricultural and/or residential purposes. Lakes in the latter group exhibited a sharp increase in mercury accumulation rates with human settlement, stabilizing after 1950 at five times (5×) 1850 rates. Mercury accumulation rates in lakes with no/little watershed development were controlled primarily by relative watershed size prior to 1850, and since have exhibited modest increases (in absolute terms and compared to that described above) associated with (regional and global) industrialization. A sub-regional analysis highlighted that in the ecoregion Northwestern Forest Mountains, mercury deposited to watersheds is delivered to lakes. Research is warranted to understand whether mountainous watersheds act as permanent sinks for mercury or if export of “legacy” mercury (deposited in years past) will delay recovery when/if emissions reductions are achieved.

Seasonal distribution and aerial surveys of mountain goats in Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic National Parks, Washington

Science.gov (United States)

Jenkins, Kurt; Beirne, Katherine; Happe, Patricia; Hoffman, Roger; Rice, Cliff; Schaberl, Jim

2011-01-01

We described the seasonal distribution of Geographic Positioning System (GPS)-collared mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) in Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic National Parks to evaluate aerial survey sampling designs and provide general information for park managers. This work complemented a companion study published elsewhere of aerial detection biases of mountain goat surveys in western Washington. Specific objectives reported here were to determine seasonal and altitudinal movements, home range distributions, and temporal dynamics of mountain goat movements in and out of aerial survey sampling frames established within each park. We captured 25 mountain goats in Mount Rainier (9), North Cascades (5), and Olympic (11) National Parks, and fitted them with GPS-collars programmed to obtain 6-8 locations daily. We obtained location data on 23 mountain goats for a range of 39-751 days from 2003 to 2008. Altitudinal distributions of GPS-collared mountain goats varied individually and seasonally, but median altitudes used by individual goats during winter ranged from 817 to 1,541 meters in Olympic and North Cascades National Parks, and 1,215 to 1,787 meters in Mount Rainier National Park. Median altitudes used by GPS-collared goats during summer ranged from 1,312 to 1,819 meters in Olympic and North Cascades National Parks, and 1,780 to 2,061 meters in Mount Rainier National Park. GPS-collared mountain goats generally moved from low-altitude winter ranges to high-altitude summer ranges between June 11 and June 19 (range April 24-July 3) and from summer to winter ranges between October 26 and November 9 (range September 11-December 23). Seasonal home ranges (95 percent of adaptive kernel utilization distribution) of males and female mountain goats were highly variable, ranging from 1.6 to 37.0 kilometers during summers and 0.7 to 9.5 kilometers during winters. Locations of GPS-collared mountain goats were almost 100 percent within the sampling frame used for

Nitrogen cycling responses to mountain pine beetle disturbance in a high elevation whitebark pine ecosystem.

Science.gov (United States)

Keville, Megan P; Reed, Sasha C; Cleveland, Cory C

2013-01-01

Ecological disturbances can significantly affect biogeochemical cycles in terrestrial ecosystems, but the biogeochemical consequences of the extensive mountain pine beetle outbreak in high elevation whitebark pine (WbP) (Pinus albicaulis) ecosystems of western North America have not been previously investigated. Mountain pine beetle attack has driven widespread WbP mortality, which could drive shifts in both the pools and fluxes of nitrogen (N) within these ecosystems. Because N availability can limit forest regrowth, understanding how beetle-induced mortality affects N cycling in WbP stands may be critical to understanding the trajectory of ecosystem recovery. Thus, we measured above- and belowground N pools and fluxes for trees representing three different times since beetle attack, including unattacked trees. Litterfall N inputs were more than ten times higher under recently attacked trees compared to unattacked trees. Soil inorganic N concentrations also increased following beetle attack, potentially driven by a more than two-fold increase in ammonium (NH₄⁺) concentrations in the surface soil organic horizon. However, there were no significant differences in mineral soil inorganic N or soil microbial biomass N concentrations between attacked and unattacked trees, implying that short-term changes in N cycling in response to the initial stages of WbP attack were restricted to the organic horizon. Our results suggest that while mountain pine beetle attack drives a pulse of N from the canopy to the forest floor, changes in litterfall quality and quantity do not have profound effects on soil biogeochemical cycling, at least in the short-term. However, continuous observation of these important ecosystems will be crucial to determining the long-term biogeochemical effects of mountain pine beetle outbreaks.

Nitrogen cycling responses to mountain pine beetle disturbance in a high elevation whitebark pine ecosystem

Science.gov (United States)

Keville, Megan P.; Reed, Sasha C.; Cleveland, Cory C.

2013-01-01

Ecological disturbances can significantly affect biogeochemical cycles in terrestrial ecosystems, but the biogeochemical consequences of the extensive mountain pine beetle outbreak in high elevation whitebark pine (WbP) (Pinus albicaulis) ecosystems of western North America have not been previously investigated. Mountain pine beetle attack has driven widespread WbP mortality, which could drive shifts in both the pools and fluxes of nitrogen (N) within these ecosystems. Because N availability can limit forest regrowth, understanding how beetle-induced mortality affects N cycling in WbP stands may be critical to understanding the trajectory of ecosystem recovery. Thus, we measured above- and belowground N pools and fluxes for trees representing three different times since beetle attack, including unattacked trees. Litterfall N inputs were more than ten times higher under recently attacked trees compared to unattacked trees. Soil inorganic N concentrations also increased following beetle attack, potentially driven by a more than two-fold increase in ammonium (NH4+) concentrations in the surface soil organic horizon. However, there were no significant differences in mineral soil inorganic N or soil microbial biomass N concentrations between attacked and unattacked trees, implying that short-term changes in N cycling in response to the initial stages of WbP attack were restricted to the organic horizon. Our results suggest that while mountain pine beetle attack drives a pulse of N from the canopy to the forest floor, changes in litterfall quality and quantity do not have profound effects on soil biogeochemical cycling, at least in the short-term. However, continuous observation of these important ecosystems will be crucial to determining the long-term biogeochemical effects of mountain pine beetle outbreaks.

Mountain-Scale Coupled Processes (TH/THC/THM)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dixon, P.

2004-01-01

The purpose of this Model Report is to document the development of the Mountain-Scale Thermal-Hydrological (TH), Thermal-Hydrological-Chemical (THC), and Thermal-Hydrological-Mechanical (THM) Models and evaluate the effects of coupled TH/THC/THM processes on mountain-scale UZ flow at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. This Model Report was planned in ''Technical Work Plan (TWP) for: Performance Assessment Unsaturated Zone'' (BSC 2002 [160819], Section 1.12.7), and was developed in accordance with AP-SIII.10Q, Models. In this Model Report, any reference to ''repository'' means the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, and any reference to ''drifts'' means the emplacement drifts at the repository horizon. This Model Report provides the necessary framework to test conceptual hypotheses for analyzing mountain-scale hydrological/chemical/mechanical changes and predict flow behavior in response to heat release by radioactive decay from the nuclear waste repository at the Yucca Mountain site. The mountain-scale coupled TH/THC/THM processes models numerically simulate the impact of nuclear waste heat release on the natural hydrogeological system, including a representation of heat-driven processes occurring in the far field. The TH simulations provide predictions for thermally affected liquid saturation, gas- and liquid-phase fluxes, and water and rock temperature (together called the flow fields). The main focus of the TH Model is to predict the changes in water flux driven by evaporation/condensation processes, and drainage between drifts. The TH Model captures mountain-scale three dimensional (3-D) flow effects, including lateral diversion at the PTn/TSw interface and mountain-scale flow patterns. The Mountain-Scale THC Model evaluates TH effects on water and gas chemistry, mineral dissolution/precipitation, and the resulting impact to UZ hydrological properties, flow and transport. The THM Model addresses changes in permeability due to mechanical and thermal disturbances in

Geology of Gable Mountain-Gable Butte Area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fecht, K.R.

1978-09-01

Gable Mountain and Gable Butte are two ridges which form the only extensive outcrops of the Columbia River Basalt Group in the central portion of the Pasco Basin. The Saddle Mountains Basalt and two interbedded sedimentary units of the Ellensburg Formation crop out on the ridges. These include, from oldest to youngest, the Asotin Member (oldest), Esquatzel Member, Selah Interbed, Pomona Member, Rattlesnake Ridge Interbed, and Elephant Mountain Member (youngest). A fluvial plain composed of sediments from the Ringold and Hanford (informal) formations surrounds these ridges. The structure of Gable Mountain and Gable Butte is dominated by an east-west-trending major fold and northwest-southeast-trending parasitic folds. Two faults associated with the uplift of these structures were mapped on Gable Mountain. The geomorphic expression of the Gable Mountain-Gable Butte area resulted from the comlex folding and subsequent scouring by post-basalt fluvial systems

CEPF Western Ghats Special Series: Meghamalai landscape : a biodiversity hotspot

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S. Bhupathy

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The Meghamalai, also known as High Wavy Mountains, is located in the Theni Forest Division of Tamil Nadu, Western Ghats. The landscape is endowed with an array of vegetation types varying from dry (thorn forests in the eastern side to wet (evergreen forests on the western side due to wide elevation gradient (220-2000 m above sea level and varied rainfall pattern (wind ward and leeward zones. The composition and configuration of this landscape facilitates diverse species of vertebrates (18 species of fishes, 35 amphibians, 90 reptiles, 254 birds, 63 mammals. In the past, selected floral and faunal groups of Meghamalai have been sporadically surveyed by the British explorers. However, in-depth ecological studies on various biota have only been initiated in recent years by SACON and WILD, which highlighted the conservation importance of the area. It is hoped that the recently declared Meghamalai Wildlife Sanctuary encompassing a part of the landscape, and the proposal of the Srivilliputtur-Meghamalai Tiger Reserve, if realized, would help conserving the diverse biota of this landscape in the long run.

Causal Chains Arising from Climate Change in Mountain Regions: the Core Program of the Mountain Research Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Greenwood, G. B.

2014-12-01

Mountains are a widespread terrestrial feature, covering from 12 to 24 percent of the world's terrestrial surface, depending of the definition. Topographic relief is central to the definition of mountains, to the benefits and costs accruing to society and to the cascade of changes expected from climate change. Mountains capture and store water, particularly important in arid regions and in all areas for energy production. In temperate and boreal regions, mountains have a great range in population densities, from empty to urban, while tropical mountains are often densely settled and farmed. Mountain regions contain a wide range of habitats, important for biodiversity, and for primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy. Climate change interacts with this relief and consequent diversity. Elevation itself may accentuate warming (elevationi dependent warming) in some mountain regions. Even average warming starts complex chains of causality that reverberate through the diverse social ecological mountain systems affecting both the highlands and adjacent lowlands. A single feature of climate change such as higher snow lines affect the climate through albedo, the water cycle through changes in timing of release , water quality through the weathering of newly exposed material, geomorphology through enhanced erosion, plant communities through changes in climatic water balance, and animal and human communities through changes in habitat conditions and resource availabilities. Understanding these causal changes presents a particular interdisciplinary challenge to researchers, from assessing the existence and magnitude of elevation dependent warming and monitoring the full suite of changes within the social ecological system to climate change, to understanding how social ecological systems respond through individual and institutional behavior with repercussions on the long-term sustainability of these systems.

Mountains as early warning indicators of climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, M. W.

2015-12-01

The panoramic splendor and complexity of mountain environments have inspired and challenged humans for centuries. These areas have been variously perceived as physical structures to be conquered, as sites of spiritual inspiration, and as some of the last untamed natural places on Earth. In our time, the perception that "mountains are forever" may provide solace to those seeking stability in a rapidly changing world. However, changes in the hydrology and in the abundance and species composition of the native flora and fauna of mountain ecosystems are potential bellwethers of global change, because these systems have a propensity to amplify environmental changes within specific portions of this landscape. Mountain areas are thus sentinels of climate change. We are seeing effects today in case histories I present from the Himalaya's, Andes, Alps, and Rocky Mountains. Furthermore, these ecosystem changes are occurring in mountain areas before they occur in downstream ecosystems. Thus, mountains are early warning indicators of perturbations such as climate change. The sensitivity of mountain ecosystems begs for enhanced protection and worldwide protection. Our understanding of the processes that control mountain ecosystems—climate interactions, snowmelt runoff, biotic diversity, nutrient cycling—is much less developed compared to downstream ecosystems where human habitation and development has resulted in large investments in scientific knowledge to sustain health and agriculture. To address these deficiencies, I propose the formation of an international mountain research consortium.

Environmental gradients across wetland vegetation groups in the arid slopes of Western Alborz Mountains, N. Iran

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Asghar Kamrani

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Mountain wetlands are unique ecosystems in the arid southern slopes of Alborz range, the second largest range in Iran. The spatial distribution characteristics of wetland vegetation in the arid region of the Alborz and the main factors affecting their distributional patterns were studied. A classification of vegetation and ecological characteristics were carried out using data extracted from 430 relevés in 90 wetland sites. The data were analyzed using Two Way Indicator Species Analysis (TWINSPAN and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA. The wetland vegetation of Alborz Mountain was classified into four large groups. The first vegetation group was calcareous rich vegetation, mainly distributed in the river banks and characterized by helophytes such as Bolboschoenus affinis as indicator species. The second group was saline transitional vegetation, distributed in the ecotone areas and dominated by Phragmites australis. The third vegetation group is wet meadow vegetation which mainly consists of geophytes, endemic and Irano-Turanian species, distributed in the higher altitudes. This vegetation is mainly characterized by indicator species such as Carex orbicularis, high level concentration of Fe2+ and percentage of organic matter in the soil. The fourth vegetation group is aquatic vegetation, distributed in the lakeshores. The aquatic group species are mainly hydrophytic such as Batrachium trichophyllum. The TWINSPAN vegetation groups could be also recognized in the DCA graphs and ecologically differentiated by ANOVA of studied variables. Four vegetation groups can be differentiated on two first axes of indirect ordination. There is a gradient of pH, EC and organic matter associated with altitude on the DCA diagram. Correlation analysis between the axes of DCA and environmental factors shows that altitude, soil texture and other dependant environmental variables (e.g. pH are the main environmental factors affecting the distribution of wetland

Investigation of the mineral potential of the Clipper Gap, Lone Mountain-Weepah, and Pipe Spring plutons, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tingley, J.V.; Maldonado, F.

1983-01-01

The Clipper Gap pluton, composed mostly of quartz monzonite with minor granite, granodiorite, and crosscutting alaskite dikes, intrudes Paleozoic western facies strata. A narrow zone of contact metamorphism is present at the intrusive-sediment contact. No mineral production has been recorded from Clipper Gap, but quartz veins containing gold-silver-copper mineral occurrences have been prospected there from the late 1800's to the present. Areas of the Lone Mountain-Weepah plutons that were studied are located in Esmeralda County about 14 km west of Tonopah, Nevada. At Lone Mountain, a Cretaceous intrusive cuts folded Precambrian and Cambrian sediments. Lead-zinc ores have been mined from small replacement ore bodies in the Alpine district, west of Lone Mountain. Copper and molybdenum occurrences have been found along the east flank of Lone Mountain, and altered areas were noted in intrusive outcrops around the south end of Lone Mountain. Mineral occurrences are widespread and varied with mining activity dating back to the 1860's. The Pipe Spring pluton study area is flanked by two important mining districts, Manhattan to the north and Belmont to the northeast. Mining activity at Belmont dates from 1865. Activity at Manhattan was mainly between 1907 and 1947, but the district is active at the present time (1979). Four smaller mining areas, Monarch, Spanish Springs, Baxter Spring, and Willow Springs, are within the general boundary of the area. The Pipe Spring pluton study area contains numerous prospects along the northern contact zone of the pluton. Tungsten-bearing veins occur within the pluton near Spanish Springs, with potential for gold-tungsten placer in the Ralston Valley. Nickel and associated metals occur at Willow Spring and Monarch Ranch, where prospects may be associated with the margin of the Big Ten Peak Caldera

Injuries in mountain biking.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaulrapp, H; Weber, A; Rosemeyer, B

2001-01-01

Despite still growing attraction mountain biking as a matter of sports traumatology still lacks relevant data based on large cross-sectional surveys. To obtain an overview of risk factors, types, and main body sites of injuries occurring in mountain biking we assessed the results of a questionnaire answered by 3873 athletes. A total of 8133 single lesions were reported by 3474 athletes, 36% of whom regularly participated in competitions. The incidence of injuries in mountain biking is comparable to that in other outdoor sports, the majority of injuries being minor. Mountain biking athletes were found to have an overall injury risk rate of 0.6% per year and 1 injury per 1000 h of biking. The main risk factors included slippery road surface, cyclist's poor judgement of the situation, and excessive speed, representing personal factors that could be altered by preventive measures. Of all injuries 14% were due to collision with some part of the bike, especially the pedals and the handlebar. While 75% of the injuries were minor, such as skin wounds and simple contusions, 10% were so severe that hospitalization was required. A breakdown of the injuries according to body site and frequency of occurrence is presented.

Extinction of Harrington's mountain goat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mead, J.I.; Martin, P.S.; Euler, R.C.; Long, A.; Jull, A.J.T.; Toolin, L.J.; Donahue, D.J.; Linick, T.W.

1986-01-01

Keratinous horn sheaths of the extinct Harrington's mountain goat, Oreamnos harringtoni, were recovered at or near the surface of dry caves of the Grand Canyon, Arizona. Twenty-three separate specimens from two caves were dated nondestructively by the tandem accelerator mass spectrometer (TAMS). Both the TAMS and the conventional dates indicate that Harrington's mountain goat occupied the Grand Canyon for at least 19,000 years prior to becoming extinct by 11,160 +/- 125 radiocarbon years before present. The youngest average radiocarbon dates on Shasta ground sloths, Nothrotheriops shastensis, from the region are not significantly younger than those on extinct mountain goats. Rather than sequential extinction with Harrington's mountain goat disappearing from the Grand Canyon before the ground sloths, as one might predict in view of evidence of climatic warming at the time, the losses were concurrent. Both extinctions coincide with the regional arrival of Clovis hunters

Using dissolved gases to observe the evolution of groundwater age in a mountain watershed over a period of thirteen years

Science.gov (United States)

Manning, Andrew H.

2011-01-01

Baseflows in snowmelt-dominated mountain streams are critical for sustaining ecosystems and water resources during periods of greatest demand. Future climate predictions for mountainous areas throughout much of the western U.S. include increasing temperatures, declining snowpacks, and earlier snowmelt periods. The degree to and rate at which these changes will affect baseflows in mountain streams remains unknown, largely because baseflows are groundwater-fed and the relationship between climate and groundwater recharge/discharge rates in mountain watersheds is uncertain. We use groundwater age determinations from multiple dissolved gas tracers (CFCs, SF6, and 3H/3He) to track changes in groundwater age over a period of thirteen years in the Sagehen Creek watershed, Sierra Nevada Mountains, CA. Data were collected from springs and wells in 2009 and 2010 and combined with those obtained in prior studies from 1997 to 2003. Apparent ages range from 0 to >60 years. Comparison between variations in age and variations in snow water equivalent (SWE) and mean annual air temperature reveals the degree of correlation between these climate variables and recharge rate. Further, comparison of apparent ages from individual springs obtained at different times and using different tracers helps constrain the age distribution in the sampled waters. The age data are generally more consistent with an exponential age distribution than with piston-flow. However, many samples, even those with relatively old mean ages, must have a disproportionately large very young fraction that responds directly to annual SWE variations. These findings have important implications for how future baseflows may respond to decreasing SWE.

THE MOUNTAIN REGIONS IN CONTEXT OF STRATEGY 2020

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ANTONESCU Daniela

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The mountain regions in Romania and European Union represent a special territory of interest, with a huge economic, social, environmental and cultural potential. More, mountain area is considerate a natural-economic region and constitutes an important objective for regional development policy. The main sectors of mountain area are presented in agriculture and tourism fields that lead the key role in safeguarding the sensitive eco-system and thereby maintaining the general living and working space.Mountain areas should have a specific policy defined by the sustainable development principle, which meets the needs of the present without compromising the opportunities of future generations. The specific mountain policy aims to reduce the imbalance between favored and disadvantaged mountain regions, permanently marked by natural, economic, social, cultural and environmental constraints. In previous programming period, mountain regions among have profited from the intensive regional support, in specially, for constructing of and connecting them to fresh water and waste water networks, in particular for increasing of life quality. In context of 2020 Strategy, the Member States will concentrate investments on a small number of thematic objectives. In advanced regions, 60 % of funds will used for only two of these objectives (competitiveness of SME and research/innovation. The all less developed regions will received about 50% of Structural Funds In Romania, mountain representing 29.93% out of the total national surface and 20.14% from UAA (Utilised Agricultural Area of total national. The mountain territory has around 20% of the national population and is overlapping almost 100% with the Carpathian Mountains. Due to these conditions, Romania's regional development policy must take into account the specificities of mountain area, the problems they faced, and the requirements of 2020 Strategy.This paper presents the main aspects to be taken into account

Sustainability and Mountain Tourism: The Millennial’s Perspective

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Alessandro Bonadonna

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Evidence from several studies illustrates the different points of view through which sustainability and mountains have been studied over the years. Nowadays, interest in Millennials is increasing but no research has compared Millennials and sustainability in the mountain context. This study aims at defining sustainability with reference to Millennial perception of both winter and summer mountain sports. By analysing data gathered from a sample of 2292 Millennials (Piedmont area, the authors confirm their high degree of sensitivity towards sustainable issues and, above all, discover that there are differences in the sustainable perception Millennials have of both mountain winter and summer sports. More specifically, Millennial perception is deeply influenced by the place where they are used to living―mountains or cities―and by their gender. From a managerial point of view, results have direct implications on the administrators of mountain institutions who can implement appropriate initiatives in order to correctly sensitise Millennials towards mountain sports. Moreover, from a theoretical perspective, the study opens a new scenario on two important topics linked to sustainability, namely Millennials and mountain sports.

A 15,400-year record of environmental magnetic variations in sub-alpine lake sediments from the western Nanling Mountains in South China: Implications for palaeoenvironmental changes

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Wei; Wei, Zhiqiang; Shang, Shentan; Ye, Susu; Tang, Xiaowen; Zhu, Chan; Xue, Jibin; Ouyang, Jun; Smol, John P.

2018-04-01

A detailed environmental magnetic investigation has been performed on a sub-alpine sedimentary succession deposited over the past 15,400 years in Daping Swamp in the western Nanling Mountains of South China. Magnetic parameters reveal that fine grains of pseudo-single domain (PSD) magnetite or titanomagnetite are the dominant magnetic minerals in the lake sediments and surface soils collected from the catchment, which suggests that magnetic minerals in lake sediments mainly originated from surface soil erosion of the catchment. Variation of surface runoff caused by rainfall is interpreted as the main process for transportation of weathered soils into the lake. In the Last Deglacial period (LGP, 15,400-11,500 cal a BP), the influx of magnetic minerals of detrital material may have been significantly affected by the severe dry and cold conditions of the Last Glacial Maximum. Stabilised conditions of the catchment associated with increased vegetation coverage (e.g., 8000-4500 and 2500-1000 cal a BP) limited the input of magnetic minerals. Intensive soil erosion caused by increased human activity may have given rise to abnormal increases in multiple magnetic parameters after 1000 cal a BP. Because changes in runoff and vegetation coverage are closely related to Asian summer monsoon (ASM) intensity, the sedimentary magnetism of Daping Swamp provides another source of information to investigate the evolution of the ASM.

Sustainable utilization and conservation of plant biodiversity in montane ecosystems: the western Himalayas as a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Shujaul Mulk; Page, Sue E; Ahmad, Habib; Harper, David M

2013-08-01

Conservation of the unique biodiversity of mountain ecosystems needs trans-disciplinary approaches to succeed in a crowded colloquial world. Geographers, conservationists, ecologists and social scientists have, in the past, had the same conservation goals but have tended to work independently. In this review, the need to integrate different conservation criteria and methodologies is discussed. New criteria are offered for prioritizing species and habitats for conservation in montane ecosystems that combine both ecological and social data. Ecological attributes of plant species, analysed through robust community statistical packages, provide unbiased classifications of species assemblages and environmental biodiversity gradients and yield importance value indices (IVIs). Surveys of local communities' utilization of the vegetation provides use values (UVs). This review suggests a new means of assessing anthropogenic pressure on plant biodiversity at both species and community levels by integrating IVI and UV data sets in a combined analysis. Mountain ecosystems are hot spots for plant conservation efforts because they hold a high overall plant diversity as communities replace each other along altitudinal and climatic gradients, including a high proportion of endemic species. This review contributes an enhanced understanding of (1) plant diversity in mountain ecosystems with special reference to the western Himalayas; (2) ethnobotanical and ecosystem service values of mountain vegetation within the context of anthropogenic impacts; and (3) local and regional plant conservation strategies and priorities.

AHP 35: An Abandoned Mountain Deity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Limusishiden (Li Dechun 李得春

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Lasizi are cairns where mountain deities dwell, and the same word also refers to the deities that dwell in these cairns. There are many lasizi in Tu areas in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, Haidong Municipality, Qinghai Province. The most famous are: Chileb, located in the north part of both Danma Town and Donggou Township Durizang, located in the northern part of Wushi Town Lawa, located atop a mountain on the border between Danma Town and Wushi Town. The mountain is referred to as Lawa Lasizi. Lawa Village is located at the foot of Lawa Lasizi's west side, which is within Danma Town territory. Tughuan Village is located at the foot of Lawa Lasizi's east side, which belongs is within Wushi Town jurisdiction. Sughua, located atop a mountain on the border between Danma Town and Dongshan Township. The mountain is locally known as Sughua Lasizi. Qighaan Dawa Village is located at the foot of Sughua Lasizi's west side, which is part of Dongshan Township. Sughua Village is located at the foot of Sughua Lasizi's east side, which is part of belongs Danma Town. Walighuan, located atop a mountain in Hongyazigou Township and Sunduu, located on the border between Songduo and Bazha (two autonomous Tibetan townships in Huzhu County and Ledu Region. ...

A new network on mountain geomorphosites

Science.gov (United States)

Giusti, Christian

2013-04-01

Since about two decades, the value of geoheritage in mountain areas has been re-discovered in various parts of the Alps (Reynard et al., 2010) and other mountain ranges, and various initiatives (protection of sites worthy of protection, inventories of geomorphosites, geotourist promotion, creation of geoparks, etc.) to conserve or promote mountain geoheritage have been developed. As mountains are recognized as natural areas with a very high geodiversity, and at the same time as areas with a great potential for the development of soft tourism, a new Network on Mountain Geomorphosites was created in October 2012 in conclusion to a workshop organized by the University of Lausanne (Switzerland). The Network is open to all researchers active in geoheritage, geoconservation and geotourism studies in mountain areas. For the first years research will focus on three main issues: - Geoheritage and natural processes: Mountains are very sensitive areas where climate change impacts are very acute and where active geomorphological processes rapidly modify landscapes. It is hypothesized that geoheritage will be highly impacted by global change in the future. Nevertheless, at the moment, very little research is carried out on the evolution of landforms recognized as geoheritage and no specific management measures have been developed. Also, the tourist activities related to geoheritage, especially the trails developed to visit geomorphosites, are sensitive to geomorphological processes in mountain areas in a context of global change, and need, therefore, to be better addressed by geomorphologists. - Geotourism: During the last two decades numerous initiatives have developed geotourism in mountain areas. Nevertheless, studies addressing issues such as the needs of the potential public(s) of geotourism, the evaluation of the quality of the geotourist products developed by scientists and/or local authorities, and the assessment of the economic benefits of geotourism for the regional

Mountains: top down.

Science.gov (United States)

Woodwell, George M

2004-11-01

Mountainous regions offer not only essential habitat and resources, including water, to the earth's more than 6 billion inhabitants, but also insights into how the global human habitat works, how it is being changed at the moment as global climates are disrupted, and how the disruption may lead to global biotic and economic impoverishment. At least 600 million of the earth's more than 6 billion humans dwell in mountainous regions. Such regions feed water into all the major rivers of the world whose valleys support most of the rest of us. At least half of the valley dwellers receive part or all of their water from montane sources, many from the melt water of glaciers, others from the annual snow melt. Glaciers are retreating globally as the earth warms as a result of human-caused changes in the composition of the atmosphere. Many are disappearing, a change that threatens municipal water supplies virtually globally. The warming is greatest in the higher latitudes where the largest glaciers such as those of Greenland and the Antarctic Continent have become vulnerable. The melting of ice in the northern hemisphere raises serious concerns about the continued flow of the Gulf Stream and the possibility of massive climatic changes in Scandinavia and northern Europe. Mountains are also biotic islands in the sea life, rich in endemism at the ecotype level. The systematic warming of the earth changes the environment out from under these genetically specialized strains (ecotypes) which are then maladapted and vulnerable to diseases of all types. The process is systematic impoverishment in the pattern conspicuous on mountain slopes with increasing exposure to climatic extremes. It is seen now in the increased mortality and morbidity of plants as climatic changes accumulate. The seriousness of the global climatic disruption is especially clear in any consideration of mountains. It can and must be addressed constructively despite the adamancy of the current US administration.

A contribution to the knowledge of the mountain entomofauna of Mexico with a description of two new species of Onthophagus Latreille, 1802 (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae)

Science.gov (United States)

Moctezuma, Victor; Rossini, Michele; Zunino, Mario; Halffter, Gonzalo

2016-01-01

Abstract Recent intensive samplings carried out across the mountainous regions of El Pinal (Puebla, Mexico) have provided new insights into the main environmental factors that affect the geographic distribution of the scarabaeinae beetles of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt above 2500 m a.s.l. This study is part of an ongoing project investigating the diversity and biogeography of copro-necrophagous beetles (Scarabaeinae, Aphodiinae, Geotrupinae and Silphidae) in the easternmost areas of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Previous experience allows us to propose a series of predictions that we expect will provide possible explanations for current distribution patterns observed in Scarabaeinae and other groups of insects found in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. This mountain range has a primarily biogeographic importance, limiting the Mexican High Plateau in the South and connecting the western and eastern Sierra Madre mountain chains, which are considered the most important routes for dispersal of mountain fauna of northern origin. The taxonomic and biogeographic study of the species collected so far in El Pinal (including Onthophagus clavijeroi sp. n. and Onthophagus martinpierai sp. n. described here), along with their possible relationships with other known species, allows us to answer the preliminary assumptions proposed. PMID:28050158

Palaeoenvironmental and geochemical approach of Archaeocyath-rich facies from Lower Cambrian of Western Gondwana margin at Central Iberian Zone (Urda, Toledo Mountains, Spain)

Science.gov (United States)

Menéndez, Silvia; Rodríguez-Martínez, Marta; Moreno-Eris, Elena; Perejón, Antonio; Reitner, Joachim

2010-05-01

Archaeocyath-rich facies are located in a quarry close to Urda village, at Toledo Mountains, Spain. The outcrops belong to the Caliza de los Navalucillos Formation and they record a considerably high diverse archaeocyath assemblage in the Lower Cambrian successions from the Central Iberian Zone (Julivert et al. 1972 [1974]). In fact, it is first time recorded the presence of Agyrekocyathus, Dokidocyathus, and Plicocyathus in the Central Iberian Zone. Therefore Plicocyathus is no longer exclusive to biozone VI in Spain. The presence of Anthomorpha is characteristic for the early Botomian, presently early Stage 4 (ICS, 2009), and the assemblage corresponds to the biozone VII (late Ovetian, following the biozonation of Perejón & Moreno-Eiris, 2006). The fossiliferous part of the succession is formed by seven lithofacies, all of them tectonically folded and with a low grade metamorphic overprint. They are comprised by two main groups of facies: (a) mound-shaped to massive lithofacies (A1, A2, A3, A4) and (b) massive to bedded and nodular lithofacies (B1, B2, B3). Archaeocyaths occur in several facies: (A1) mound-shaped white marble with irregular to stromatactoid cavities; (A2) massive mottled white to grey limestone; (A3) massive grey limestone with slumps levels; (A4) massive archaeocyath-rich orange limestone; as well as in carbonate nodules embedded in siltstones and cherts (B1, B2 and B3). The best preserved assemblage comes from the nodule record, where fossils are partially pyritized. This type of preservation is exceptional and has never been described before. XRD and wavelength-dispersive electron microprobe analyses reveal the presence of pyrite and pyrrotine partially altered to iron oxides and hydroxides (hematite and goethite) surrounding the archaeocyath cups. In Central Iberian Zone, the development of mounds and nodular facies like those described here is unusual, although the Botomian marks the peak for Early Cambrian archaeocyathan-microbial mounds

Kinematics of active deformation across the Western Kunlun mountain range (Xinjiang, China), and potential seismic hazards within the southern Tarim Basin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guilbaud, Christelle; Simoes, Martine; Barrier, Laurie

2017-01-01

remains seismic. To quantify the rate of active deformation and the potential for major earthquakes in this region, we combine a structural and quantitative morphological analysis of the Yecheng-Pishan fold, along the topographic mountain front in the epicentral area. Using a seismic profile, we derive...

MOUNTAIN TOURISM-PLEASURE AND NECESSITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriela Corina SLUSARIUC

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Tourism has a more and more important role in the economic development of many countries. Mountain tourism is an anti-stress solutions and a type of disconnection from the citadel life style through replacing some activities of media consuming type, games and virtual socializing with therapy through movement, the physical activity being an essential dimension in assuring the high life quality. Mountaineering is searched for: practicing winter sports, its invigorating and comforting, relaxing role, medical spa treatments practicing hiking, alpinism. Mountain tourism generates increased economic benefits for the surrounding areas, improves the life quality of the local communities and can assure the prosperity of some disadvantaged areas, being able to be a remedy for unindustrialised regions. Mountain tourism contributes to the economic development of the region and also to satisfying spiritual and psychological needs of the people, representing a necessity for a touristic area and a pleasure for tourist consumers.

Isotopic Characterization of Snow, Ice and Glacial Melt in the Western Himalayas, India

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rai, S. P.; Kumar, B.; Arora, M.; Singh, R. D. [National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, 247 667 (India)

2013-07-15

Precipitation and glacial melt samples were collected at the snout of the Gangotri Glacier, popularly known as Gaumukh, located in the western Himalayas, India. Snow and ice samples were collected from different sites of the Gangotri Glacier. The local meteoric water line (LMWL) developed for the ablation period (May to October) is {delta}{sup 2}H = 8.2 {delta}{sup 18}O + 17.1 (r{sup 2} = 0.99), which shows a slightly higher slope and intercept than GMWL. This may be due to local summer connective precipitation occurring under dry climatic conditions and mountainous region moisture recycling with the south-west monsoon. The meltwater line, {delta}{sup 2}H =9.4 {delta}{sup 18}O + 37.5 (r{sup 2}= 0.96), having a significantly higher slope and intercept than the GMWL and LMWL. The main reasons for the higher slope and intercept of meltwater line may be due to the recycling of local vapour with moisture derived from the Western disturbance moisture whose source is the Mediterranean sea. The high d-exess values of snow, ice and meltwater indicate that the source of moisture is the Western disturbances. (author)

Climate Response of Tree Radial Growth at Different Timescales in the Qinling Mountains.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Changfeng Sun

Full Text Available The analysis of the tree radial growth response to climate is crucial for dendroclimatological research. However, the response relationships between tree-ring indices and climatic factors at different timescales are not yet clear. In this study, the tree-ring width of Huashan pine (Pinus armandii from Huashan in the Qinling Mountains, north-central China, was used to explore the response differences of tree growth to climatic factors at daily, pentad (5 days, dekad (10 days and monthly timescales. Correlation function and linear regression analysis were applied in this paper. The tree-ring width showed a more sensitive response to daily and pentad climatic factors. With the timescale decreasing, the absolute value of the maximum correlation coefficient between the tree-ring data and precipitation increases as well as temperature (mean, minimum and maximum temperature. Compared to the other three timescales, pentad was more suitable for analysing the response of tree growth to climate. Relative to the monthly climate data, the association between the tree-ring data and the pentad climate data was more remarkable and accurate, and the reconstruction function based on the pentad climate was also more reliable and stable. We found that the major climatic factor limiting Huashan pine growth was the precipitation of pentads 20-35 (from April 6 to June 24 rather than the well-known April-June precipitation. The pentad was also proved to be a better timescale for analysing the climate and tree growth in the western and eastern Qinling Mountains. The formation of the earlywood density of Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis from Shimenshan in western Qinling was mainly affected by the maximum temperature of pentads 28-32 (from May 16 to June 9. The maximum temperature of pentads 28-33 (from May 16 to June 14 was the major factor affecting the ring width of Chinese pine from Shirenshan in eastern Qinling.

Mössbauer spectra of white micas from the Central Western Carpathians Mountains

Science.gov (United States)

Sitek, J.; Sulák, M.; Putiš, M.; Tóth, I.

2010-03-01

Potassium white micas from the rocks included into Cretaceous deformation zones (ca. 100-70 Ma in age) of the Central Western Carpathians were investigated by Mössbauer spectroscopy. White micas formed during a polystage evolution and changing P-T conditions of their crystallization in crustal-scale shear zones. We found criteria for distinguishing generations of celadonite-poor (muscovitic) and celadonite-rich (phengitic) white micas using Mössbauer spectroscopy. This method revealed contrasting spectra characterized by typical quadrupole doublets corresponding to Fe2+ Fe3+ contents in white micas. They are in the range of 2.9-3.0 mm/s for phengite, and 2.6-2.7 mm/s for muscovite. Mössbauer spectra reflect well the chemical changes in white mica aggregates, especially of those close to the end-member muscovite and (alumino-)celadonite compositions.

ACUTE MOUNTAIN SICKNESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jakub Krzeszowiak

2012-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the most likely pathophysiological causes of the development of acute mountain sickness (AMS, also known as altitude sickness, its pulmonary form i.e. high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE, and high altitude cerebral edema (HACE. These diseases constitute extraordinary environmental hazards because they are directly connected with low atmospheric pressure, and thus low partial oxygen pressure. The above adverse atmospheric conditions start to affect humans already at an altitude of 2,500 meters above the sea level and, coupled with extreme physical exertion, can quickly lead to respiratory alkalosis, which is not present under any other conditions in the lowlands. Mountaineering above 4,500 m a.s.l. leads to hypoxia of internal organs and, primarily, reduced renal perfusion with all its consequences. The above adverse changes, combined with inadequate acclimatization, can lead to a situation of imminent danger to life and health. This paper describes in detail the consequences of acute mountain sickness, which can ultimately lead to the development of AMS and one of severe forms of HACE and/or HAPE.

Personal and professional profile of mountain medicine physicians.

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, Patrick

2003-01-01

The purpose of this study was to define and describe the personal and professional profile of mountain medicine physicians including general physical training information and to include a detailed overview of the practice of mountain sports. A group of physicians participating in a specialized mountain medicine education program filled out a standardized questionnaire. The data obtained from this questionnaire were first analyzed in a descriptive way and then by statistical methods (chi2 test, t test, and analysis of variance). Detailed results have been provided for gender, age, marital status, general training frequency and methods, professional status, additional medical qualifications, memberships in professional societies and alpine clubs, mountain sports practice, and injuries sustained during the practice of mountain sports. This study has provided a detailed overview concerning the personal and professional profile of mountain medicine physicians. Course organizers as well as official commissions regulating the education in mountain medicine will be able to use this information to adapt and optimize the courses and the recommendations/requirements as detailed by the UIAA-ICAR-ISMM (Union Internationale des Associations Alpinistes, International Commission for Alpine Rescue, International Society for Mountain Medicine).

The 5th EFIS Tatra Immunology Conference on 'Molecular Determinants of T Cell Immunity' Held in the High Tatra Mountains, Slovakia, September 7-11, 2002

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Denzel, A.; Hořejší, Václav; Hayday, A.

2003-01-01

Roč. 86, č. 1 (2003), s. 1-6 ISSN 0165-2478 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LN00A026 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5052915 Keywords : immunology * conference * T- cell Subject RIV: EC - Immunology Impact factor: 1.710, year: 2003

Late- and post-glacial vegetation dynamics in Western Rhodopes (Bulgaria) based on pollen analysis and radiocarbon dating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Filipovitch, L.; Lazarova, M.

2002-01-01

This study offers a reconstruction of Quaternary vegetation in the region of Shiroka Polyana (Western Rhodopes mountains) on the basis of pollen analysis and 14 C dating. It helps to trace out the trends in vegetation dynamics. The palaeosuccession cycle providing valuable floristic and coenotic information about the Late Glacial (13000 BP) and the entire Holocene throughout several major stages is recreated: grassy communities, thermophilus deciduous forests, fir-hornbeam-beech forests, spruce-pine forests, pine-spruce forests. (authors)

Effects of Grosmannia clavigera and Leptographium longiclavatum on Western White Pine seedlings and the fungicidal activity of Alamo®, Arbotect®, and TREE-age®

Science.gov (United States)

Stephen A. Wyka; Joseph J. Doccola; Brian L. Strom; Sheri L. Smith; Douglas W. McPherson; Srdan G. Acimovic; Kier D. Klepzig

2016-01-01

Bark beetles carry a number of associated organisms that are transferred to the host tree upon attack that are thought to play a role in tree decline. To assess the pathogenicity to western white pine (WWP; Pinus monticola) of fungi carried by the mountain pine beetle (MPB; Dendroctonus ponderosae), and to evaluate the...

Mountains of Our Future Earth: Defining Priorities for Mountain Research—A Synthesis From the 2015 Perth III Conference

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erin H. Gleeson

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The Perth conferences, held every 5 years in Perth, Scotland, bring together people who identify as mountain researchers and who are interested in issues related to global change in mountain social-ecological systems. These conferences provide an opportunity to evaluate the evolution of research directions within the mountain research community, as well as to identify research priorities. The Future Earth Strategic Research Agenda provides a useful framework for evaluating the mountain research community's progress toward addressing global change and sustainability challenges. Using a process originally set up to analyze contributions to the 2010 conference, the abstracts accepted for the 2015 conference in the context of the Future Earth framework were analyzed. This revealed a continued geographic underrepresentation in mountain research of Africa, Latin America, and South and Southeast Asia but a more even treatment of biophysical and social science themes than in 2010. It also showed that the Perth conference research community strongly focused on understanding system processes (the Dynamic Planet theme of the Future Earth research agenda. Despite the continued bias of conference contributions toward traditional observation- and conservation-oriented research, survey results indicate that conference participants clearly believe that transdisciplinary, transformative research is relevant to mountains. Of the 8 Future Earth focal challenges, those related to safeguarding natural assets, promoting sustainable land use, increasing resilience and understanding the water-energy-food nexus received considerable attention. The challenges related to sustainable consumption, decarbonizing socioeconomic systems, cities, and health were considerably less well represented, despite their relevance to mountain socioeconomic systems. Based on these findings, we outline a proposal for the future directions of mountain research.

Reasons for decision in the matter of Trans Mountain Pipeline Inc. (formerly Terasen Pipelines (Trans Mountain) Inc.) : tariffs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

In 2006 and 2007 Terasen Pipelines (Trans Mountain) Inc. (now Trans Mountain Pipeline Inc.) submitted a series of applications to the National Energy Board for revisions to the Trans Mountain Tariffs. They were filed in response to apportionment concerns on the Trans Mountain pipeline. Four of the applications involved pronounced and contentious changes to the capacity allocation procedures on the pipeline system. For ease of reference, the Board amalgamated its 4 decisions on these applications into a single document. A map of the Trans Mountain pipeline system as a whole was presented along with a detailed map indicating the delivery locations served by the system in the lower mainland of British Columbia and the state of Washington. The issues considered by the Board in each of these decisions included capacity allocation for Westridge Dock; capacity allocations to export destinations; common carriage requirements; and the need for creating a new barge subcategory. Relevant sections of the National Energy Board Act referred to in the decisions were highlighted. This document also listed the Trans Mountain Tariffs that have introduced notable revisions to the capacity allocation procedures on the system since September 2003. 16 refs., 2 figs., 3 appendices

Published attenuation functions compared to 6/29/1992 Little Skull Mountain earthquake motion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hofmann, R.B.; Ibrahim, A.K.

1994-01-01

Several western U.S. strong motion acceleration earthquake attenuation functions are compared to peak accelerations recorded during the 6/29/1992 Little Skull Mountain, Nevada earthquake. The comparison revealed that there are several definitions of site-to-source distance and at least two definitions of peak acceleration in use. Probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) codes typically estimate accelerations assuming point sources. The computer code, SEISM 1, was developed for the eastern U.S. where ground acceleration is usually defined in terms of epicentral distance. Formulae whose distance definitions require knowledge of the earthquake fault slip zone dimensions may predict very different near-field accelerations when epicentral distance is used. Approximations to achieve more consistent PSHA results are derived

The role of Mesozoic sedimentary basin tapers on the formation of Cenozoic crustal shortening structures and foredeep in the western Sichuan Basin, China

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, M.

2017-12-01

The foreland basin records important clues of tectonic and sedimentary process of mountain-building, thus to explore its dynamic mechanism on the formation is an important issue of the mountain-basin interaction. The Longmen Shan fold-and-thrust belt and its adjacent Sichuan basin located in the eastern margin of Tibetan Plateau, are one of the most-concerned regions of studying modern mountain-building and seismic process, and are also a natural laboratory of studying the dynamics of the formation and development of foreland basin. However, it still need further explore on the mechanics of the development of the Cenozoic foreland basin and thrust-belts in the western Sichuan Basin. The Longmen Shan thrust belt has experienced multi-stages of tectonics evolution, foreland basin formation and topography growth since Late Triassic, and whether the early formed basin architecture and large Mesozoic sedimentary basin taper can influence the formation and development of the Cenozoic foreland basin and thrust belts? To solve these issues, this project aim to focus on the Cenozoic foreland basin and internal crustal shortening structures in the western Sichuan basin, on the basis of growth critical wedge taper theory. We will reconstruct the shape of multi-phases of sedimentary basin tapers, the temporal-spatial distribution of crustal shortening and thrusting sequences, and analyze the control mechanism of Mesozoic sedimentary basin taper on the formation of Cenozoic foreland basins, and final explore the interaction between the tectonics geomorphology, stress field and dynamic propagation of foreland basin.

Return to Black Mountain palaeomagnetic reassessment of the Chatsworth and Ninmaroo formations, western Queensland, Australia

CERN Document Server

Anderson, K L; Lackie, M A; Schmidt, P W; 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2003.02164.x

2004-01-01

Palaeomagnetic results from late Middle Cambrian-Early Ordovician carbonate sequences sampled at Black Mountain (Mt Unbunmaroo), Mt Datson and near Chatsworth Station (southeastern Georgina Basin) are presented. A palaeomagnetic reassessment of these carbonates was designed in an effort to constrain regional magnetization ages as results from an earlier study, conducted at Mt Unbunmaroo, play a pivotal role in a proposed Cambrian inertial interchange true polar wander (IITPW) event. Remanent magnetizations within these carbonates were found to be variably developed with most specimens displaying two of the five isolated components. Component PF, for which goethite is the identified remanence carrier, is thought to reflect a chemical remanent magnetization of recent origin. Component TR, held by haematite, has a palaeomagnetic pole consistent with the Tertiary segment of Australia's apparent polar wander path (APWP) and most probably was acquired as a consequence of prolonged weathering during this period. The...

Mountaineering Tourism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick Maher

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Reviewed: Mountaineering Tourism Edited by Ghazali Musa, James Higham, and Anna Thompson-Carr. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge, 2015. xxvi + 358 pp. Hardcover. US$ 145.00. ISBN 978-1-138-78237-2.

Peat in the mountains of New Guinea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G.S. Hope

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Peatlands are common in montane areas above 1,000 m in New Guinea and become extensive above 3,000 m in the subalpine zone. In the montane mires, swamp forests and grass or sedge fens predominate on swampy valley bottoms. These mires may be 4–8 m in depth and up to 30,000 years in age. In Papua New Guinea (PNG there is about 2,250 km2 of montane peatland, and Papua Province (the Indonesian western half of the island probably contains much more. Above 3,000 m, peat soils form under blanket bog on slopes as well as on valley floors. Vegetation types include cushion bog, grass bog and sedge fen. Typical peat depths are 0.5‒1 m on slopes, but valley floors and hollows contain up to 10 m of peat. The estimated total extent of mountain peatland is 14,800 km2 with 5,965 km2 in PNG and about 8,800 km2 in Papua Province. The stratigraphy, age structure and vegetation histories of 45 peatland or organic limnic sites above 750 m have been investigated since 1965. These record major vegetation shifts at 28,000, 17,000‒14,000 and 9,000 years ago and a variable history of human disturbance from 14,000 years ago with extensive clearance by the mid-Holocene at some sites. While montane peatlands were important agricultural centres in the Holocene, the introduction of new dryland crops has resulted in the abandonment of some peatlands in the last few centuries. Despite several decades of research, detailed knowledge of the mountain peatlands is poor and this is an obstacle to scientific management.

Yucca Mountain project prototype testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hughes, W.T.; Girdley, W.A.

1990-01-01

The U.S. DOE is responsible for characterizing the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada to determine its suitability for development as a geologic repository to isolate high-level nuclear waste for at least 10,000 years. This unprecedented task relies in part on measurements made with relatively new methods or applications, such as dry coring and overcoring for studies to be conducted from the land surface and in an underground facility. The Yucca Mountain Project has, since 1988, implemented a program of equipment development and methods development for a broad spectrum of hydrologic, geologic, rock mechanics, and thermomechanical tests planned for use in an Exploratory Shaft during site characterization at the Yucca Mountain site. A second major program was fielded beginning in April 1989 to develop and test methods and equipment for surface drilling to obtain core samples from depth using only air as a circulating medium. The third major area of prototype testing has been during the ongoing development of the Instrumentation/ Data Acquisition System (IDAS), designed to collect and monitor data from down-hole instrumentation in the unsaturated zone, and store and transmit the data to a central archiving computer. Future prototype work is planned for several programs including the application of vertical seismic profiling methods and flume design to characterizing the geology at Yucca Mountain. The major objectives of this prototype testing are to assure that planned Site Characterization testing can be carried out effectively at Yucca Mountain, both in the Exploratory Shaft Facility (ESF), and from the surface, and to avoid potential major failures or delays that could result from the need to re-design testing concepts or equipment. This paper will describe the scope of the Yucca Mountain Project prototype testing programs and summarize results to date. 3 figs

Hydrological response to dynamical downscaling of climate model outputs: A case study for western and eastern snowmelt-dominated Canada catchments

OpenAIRE

Magali Troin; Daniel Caya; Juan Alberto Velázquez; François Brissette

2015-01-01

Study region: An analysis of hydrological response to a dynamically downscaled multi-member multi-model global climate model (GCM) ensemble of simulations based on the Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM) is presented for three snowmelt-dominated basins in Canada. The basins are situated in the western mountainous (British Columbia) and eastern level (Quebec) regions in Canada, providing comprehensive experiments to validate the CRCM over various topographic features. Study focus: The ev...

Mountain biking injuries: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Carmont, Michael R

2008-01-01

Mountain biking is a fast, exciting adventure sport with increasing numbers of participants and competitions. A search of PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, DH data, and Embase databases was performed using the following keywords: mountain, biking and injuries. This revealed 2 review articles, 17 case controlled studies, 4 case series and 5 case reports. This review summarises the published literature on mountain biking injuries, discusses injury frequency and common injury mechanisms. Riders are quick to adopt safety measures. Helmet usage is now increasingly common and handlebar adaptations have been discontinued. Although the sport has a reputation for speed and risk with research and awareness, injury prevention measures are being adopted making the sport as safe as possible.

Updated Estimates of Glacier Mass Change for Western North America

Science.gov (United States)

Menounos, B.; Gardner, A. S.; Howat, I.; Berthier, E.; Dehecq, A.; Noh, M. J.; Pelto, B. M.

2017-12-01

Alpine glaciers are critical components in Western North America's hydrologic cycle. We use varied remotely-sensed datasets to provide updated mass change estimates for Region 2 of the Randolf Glacier Inventory (RGI-02 - all North American glaciers outside of Alaska). Our datasets include: i) aerial laser altimetry surveys completed over many thousands of square kilometers; and ii) multiple Terabytes of high resolution optical stereo imagery (World View 1-3 and Pleiades). Our data from the period 2014-2017 includes the majority of glaciers in RGI-02, specifically those ice masses in the Rocky Mountains (US and Canada), Interior Ranges in British Columbia and the Cascade Mountains (Washington). We co-registered and bias corrected the recent surface models to the Shuttle Radar Topographic Mapping (SRTM) data acquired in February, 2000. In British Columbia, our estimates of mass change are within the uncertainty estimates obtained for the period 1985-2000, but estimates from some regions indicate accelerated mass loss. Work is also underway to update glacier mass change estimates for glaciers in Washington and Montana. Finally, we use re-analysis data (ERA interim and ERA5) to evaluate the meteorological drivers that explain the temporal and spatial variability of mass change evident in our analysis.

Mapping critical levels/loads for the Slovak Republic. Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zavodsky, D; Babiakova, G; Mitosinkova, M [and others

1996-08-01

As a part of the Agreement on Environmental Cooperation between Norway and Slovakia a project ``Mapping Critical Levels/Loads for Slovakia`` was established. This report presents the final project results. Critical loads for forest, surface and ground waters and their exceedances were calculated by means of the steady-state mass balance model PROFILE for soils, and the steady-state water chemistry method for waters. A grid distance of 10 km was used. Because the sulphur deposition has been decreasing, the exceedances of critical load of acidity and critical sulphur deposition of forest soils have decreased from 1990 to 1995. Practically no acidity exceedances for surface water or ground water were found in 1995. The critical level of forest ozone was exceeded all over Slovakia. In the Tatra mountains the exceedance was over 25000 ppb.h. 23 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs.

SNL Yucca Mountain Project data report: Density and porosity data for tuffs from the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwartz, B.M.

1990-02-01

Yucca Mountain, located on and adjacent to the Nevada Test Site in southern Nevada, is being evaluated as a potential site for underground disposal of nuclear wastes. At present, the physical, thermal, and mechanical properties of tuffaceous rocks from Yucca Mountain are being determined as part of the Yucca Mountain Project. This report documents experiment data, which have been obtained by Sandia National Laboratories or its contractors, for the density and porosity of tuffaceous rocks that lie above the water table at Yucca Mountain. 7 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs

HYDROLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS OF FAULTS AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN, NEVADA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

R.P. Dickerson

2000-01-01

Yucca Mountain comprises a series of north-trending ridges composed of tuffs within the southwest Nevada volcanic field, 120 km northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada. These ridges are formed of east-dipping blocks of interbedded welded and nonwelded tuff that are offset along steep, mostly west-dipping faults that have tens to hundreds of meters of vertical separation. Yucca Mountain is currently under study as a potential site for underground storage of high-level radioactive waste, with the principle goal being the safe isolation of the waste from the accessible environment. To this end, an understanding of the behavior of ground-water flow through the mountain in the unsaturated zone and beneath the mountain in the saturated zone is critical. The percolation of water through the mountain and into the ground-water flow system beneath the potential repository site is predicated on: (1) the amount of water available at the surface as a result of the climatic conditions, (2) the hydrogeologic characteristics of the volcanic strata that compose the mountain. and (3) the hydrogeologic characteristics of the structures, particularly fault zones and fracture networks, that disrupt these strata. This paper addresses the hydrogeologic characteristics of the fault zones at Yucca Mountain, focusing primarily on the central part of the mountain where the potential repository block is located

The legacy of attack: implications of high phloem resin monoterpene levels in lodgepole pines following mass attack by mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, E L; Huber, D P W; Carroll, A L

2012-04-01

The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) is the most serious pest of pines (Pinus) in western North America. Host pines protect themselves from attack by producing a complex mixture of terpenes in their resin. We sampled lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta variety latifolia) phloem resin at four widely separated locations in the interior of British Columbia, Canada, both just before (beginning of July) and substantially after (end of August) the mountain pine beetle dispersal period. The sampled trees then were observed the next spring for evidence of survival, and the levels of seven resin monoterpenes were compared between July and August samples. Trees that did not survive consistently had significantly higher phloem resin monoterpene levels at the end of August compared with levels in July. Trees that did survive mainly did not exhibit a significant difference between the two sample dates. The accumulation of copious defense-related secondary metabolites in the resin of mountain pine beetle-killed lodgepole pine has important implications for describing the environmental niche that the beetle offspring survive in as well as that of parasitoids, predators, and other associates.

Symposium 9: Rocky Mountain futures: preserving, utilizing, and sustaining Rocky Mountain ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Baron, Jill S.; Seastedt, Timothy; Fagre, Daniel B.; Hicke, Jeffrey A.; Tomback, Diana; Garcia, Elizabeth; Bowen, Zachary H.; Logan, Jesse A.

2013-01-01

In 2002 we published Rocky Mountain Futures, an Ecological Perspective (Island Press) to examine the cumulative ecological effects of human activity in the Rocky Mountains. We concluded that multiple local activities concerning land use, hydrologic manipulation, and resource extraction have altered ecosystems, although there were examples where the “tyranny of small decisions” worked in a positive way toward more sustainable coupled human/environment interactions. Superimposed on local change was climate change, atmospheric deposition of nitrogen and other pollutants, regional population growth, and some national management policies such as fire suppression.

[Life cycles of ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) from the mountain taiga and mountain forest-steppe in the Eastern Sayan].

Science.gov (United States)

Khobrakova, L Ts; Sharova, I Kh

2005-01-01

Seasonal dynamics and demographic structure was studied in 15 dominant ground beetle species in the mountain taiga and mountain forest-steppe belts of the Eastern Sayan (Okinskoe Plateau). Life cycles of the dominant ground beetle species were classified by developmental time, seasonal dynamics, and intrapopulation groups with different reproduction timing. The strategies of carabid life cycles adapted to severe mountain conditions of the Eastern Sayan were revealed.

Floristic analysis of the wanda mountain in north eastern china

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, H.; Xu, L.; Zhang, Z.

2016-01-01

The plants of the Wanda Mountain area were investigated between 2009 to 2013. The results show that Wanda Mountain has 95 families of seed plants distributed in 334 genera and 705 species. A geographical component analysis shows that in addition to a small number of cosmopolitan species, cold, temperate and tropical species account for 14.9%, 77.3% and 4.4% of the total species, respectively, indicating that the flora of the Wanda Mountains exhibits a significant temperate nature and includes a small number of tropical components and certain cold components. In addition, the Wanda Mountains show a remarkable level of endemism and are geographically related to other regions in East Asia, particularly Japan. Furthermore, the Wanda Mountains present a complicated species composition, with a total of 14 distribution patterns and 10 variants. The coefficient of similarity between the flora of the Wanda Mountain area and the flora of the Changbai Mountain area is 43.1%, and the coefficient of similarity between the flora of the Wanda Mountain area and the flora of the Lesser Xingan Mountain area is 49.2%, indicating that the plants of the Wanda Mountain area are more common to those of the Lesser Xingan Mountain area. (author)

ACUTE PHASE PROTEIN INCREASE IN HIGH ALTITUDE MOUNTAINEERS

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Tolga Saka

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Introduction: Many middle-aged Turks go hiking in mountains to breathe some fresh air or to maintain fitness. Objective: This study investigated the effects of regular high altitude mountain climbing on the metabolic and hematological responses of mountaineers. Methods: Hematological and biochemical parameters were studied, as well as some hormonal values of 21 mountaineers and 16 healthy age-matched sedentary volunteers. Results: The neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR was significantly lower (p<0.04 in mountaineers compared with the sedentary group. Total protein (p<0.001 and albumin (p<0.001 were lower, while the levels of ferritin (p<0.04, creatine (p<0.03 and creatine phosphokinase (p<0.01 were higher in mountaineers. Other hematological and biochemical parameters, i.e., erythrocytes, leukocytes, hemoglobin and hematocrit, did not change significantly. Conclusion: Our results show that regular exposure to high altitude increased the serum levels of some acute phase proteins with anti-inflammatory properties.

An evaluation of seven methods for controlling mountain laurel thickets in the mixed-oak forests of the central Appalachian Mountains, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Patrick H. Brose

2017-01-01

In the Appalachian Mountains of eastern North America, mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) thickets in mixed-oak (Quercus spp.) stands can lead to hazardous fuel situations, forest regeneration problems, and possible forest health concerns. Therefore, land managers need techniques to control mountain laurel thickets and limit...

Developmental geology of coalbed methane from shallow to deep in Rocky Mountain basins and in Cook Inlet-Matanuska Basin, Alaska, USA and Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, R.C.; Flores, R.M.

1998-01-01

The Rocky Mountain basins of western North America contain vast deposits of coal of Cretaceous through early Tertiary age. Coalbed methane is produced in Rocky Mountain basins at depths ranging from 45 m (150 ft) to 1981 m (6500 ft) from coal of lignite to low-volatile bituminous rank. Although some production has been established in almost all Rocky Mountain basins, commercial production occurs in only a few. despite more than two decades of exploration for coalbed methane in the Rocky Mountain region, it is still difficult to predict production characteristics of coalbed methane wells prior to drilling. Commonly cited problems include low permeabilities, high water production, and coals that are significantly undersaturated with respect to methane. Sources of coalbed gases can be early biogenic, formed during the early stages of coalification, thermogenic, formed during the main stages of coalification, or late stage biogenic, formed as a result of the reintroduction of methane-gnerating bacteria by groundwater after uplift and erosion. Examples of all three types of coalbed gases, and combinations of more than one type, can be found in the Rocky Mountain region. Coals in the Rocky Mountain region achieved their present ranks largely as a result of burial beneath sediments that accumulated during the Laramide orogeny (Late Cretaceous through the end of the eocene) or shortly after. Thermal events since the end of the orogeny have also locally elevated coal ranks. Coal beds in the upper part of high-volatile A bituminous rank or greater commonly occur within much more extensive basin-centered gas deposits which cover large areas of the deeper parts of most Rocky Mountain basins. Within these basin-centered deposits all lithologies, including coals, sandstones, and shales, are gas saturated, and very little water is produced. The interbedded coals and carbonaceous shales are probably the source of much of this gas. Basin-centered gas deposits become overpressured

Distribution of Eurasian minnows (Phoxinus: Cypriniformes in the Western Balkans

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Vucić Matej

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The Eurasian minnows of the genus Phoxinus are small cyprinid species, widely distributed across Europe and Asia. Currently, there are at least 15 species in Phoxinus, with preliminary data suggesting more to be described. Despite the discernible increase in research integrating molecular phylogenetic approaches with traditional taxonomy and systematics, inter- and intraspecific relationships in the genus Phoxinus are still poorly known. The aims of this research were to: (i compile data on the distribution of Phoxinus species in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina from the sampling conducted by authors from 2006 to 2016 and from literature sources, and (ii provide a detailed insight on distribution ranges of genetic clades and species of Phoxinus in the western Balkans. Additional 118 localities in Croatia and 8 locations in Bosnia and Herzegovina were added to already known 160 localities from the literature data. Molecular analyses of mitochondrial DNA indicate: (i the presence of Phoxinus marsilii in Croatia (Drava drainage, the Papuk Mountain, around 260 km south of its known distribution range in Hungary, and (ii an exceptional genetic variability of P. lumaireul in the Western Balkans.

Exhumation of the Black Mountains in Death Valley, California, with new thermochronometric data from the Badwater Turtleback

Science.gov (United States)

Sizemore, T. M.; Cemen, I.; Wielicki, M. M.; Stockli, D. F.; Heizler, M. T.; Lutz, B. M.

2017-12-01

The Black Mountains, in Death Valley, California, are one of the key areas to better understand Basin and Range extension because they contain Cenozoic igneous and sedimentary rocks overlying mid- to deep-crustal, 1.74 Ga basement gneiss with abundant fault striations, large-scale extensional folds, and tectonite fabrics containing top-to-the-northwest shear-sense indicators. These rocks make up the footwall of three prominent, high-relief "turtleback" fault surfaces in the western flank of the Black Mountains, which are thought to have accommodated a significant amount of strain in the Death Valley area. It is unknown whether the missing Paleozoic and Mesozoic strata in the Black Mountains were removed in association with high-angle faulting, or along a continuous detachment surface with a rolling-hinge style of faulting as the hanging wall moved to the west, now forming the Panamint Range. The turtlebacks play an important role in resolving this question because they are commonly cited as containing conflicting evidence of both hypotheses. To provide insight into this problem, we are building an exhumation model across the Black Mountains using previously published thermochronometric data as well as new transect-based (U-Th)/He and Ar-Ar thermochronology and U-Pb geochronology for the Badwater turtleback. The model will provide a four-dimensional view of the exhumation history of the Black Mountains, to serve as evidence for either of the two previously mentioned hypotheses, or possibly some other style of exhumation. Additionally, we will compare the exhumation history of the Black Mountains to that of the Panamint Range using previously published data and interpretations. Our preliminary zircon U-Pb data suggest a crystallization age for the gneissic rocks on the Badwater turtleback of 1.74 Ga (207Pb/206Pb, 2σ error=31.8 Ma, n=6) with two younger populations at 1.46 Ga (207Pb/206Pb, 2σ error=51.8 Ma, n=3) and 79.6 Ma (206Pb/238U, 2σ error=10.0 Ma, n=2

MOUNTAIN-SCALE COUPLED PROCESSES (TH/THC/THM) MODELS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Y.S. Wu

2005-01-01

This report documents the development and validation of the mountain-scale thermal-hydrologic (TH), thermal-hydrologic-chemical (THC), and thermal-hydrologic-mechanical (THM) models. These models provide technical support for screening of features, events, and processes (FEPs) related to the effects of coupled TH/THC/THM processes on mountain-scale unsaturated zone (UZ) and saturated zone (SZ) flow at Yucca Mountain, Nevada (BSC 2005 [DIRS 174842], Section 2.1.1.1). The purpose and validation criteria for these models are specified in ''Technical Work Plan for: Near-Field Environment and Transport: Coupled Processes (Mountain-Scale TH/THC/THM, Drift-Scale THC Seepage, and Drift-Scale Abstraction) Model Report Integration'' (BSC 2005 [DIRS 174842]). Model results are used to support exclusion of certain FEPs from the total system performance assessment for the license application (TSPA-LA) model on the basis of low consequence, consistent with the requirements of 10 CFR 63.342 [DIRS 173273]. Outputs from this report are not direct feeds to the TSPA-LA. All the FEPs related to the effects of coupled TH/THC/THM processes on mountain-scale UZ and SZ flow are discussed in Sections 6 and 7 of this report. The mountain-scale coupled TH/THC/THM processes models numerically simulate the impact of nuclear waste heat release on the natural hydrogeological system, including a representation of heat-driven processes occurring in the far field. The mountain-scale TH simulations provide predictions for thermally affected liquid saturation, gas- and liquid-phase fluxes, and water and rock temperature (together called the flow fields). The main focus of the TH model is to predict the changes in water flux driven by evaporation/condensation processes, and drainage between drifts. The TH model captures mountain-scale three-dimensional flow effects, including lateral diversion and mountain-scale flow patterns. The mountain-scale THC model evaluates TH effects on water and gas

MOUNTAIN-SCALE COUPLED PROCESSES (TH/THC/THM)MODELS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Y.S. Wu

2005-08-24

This report documents the development and validation of the mountain-scale thermal-hydrologic (TH), thermal-hydrologic-chemical (THC), and thermal-hydrologic-mechanical (THM) models. These models provide technical support for screening of features, events, and processes (FEPs) related to the effects of coupled TH/THC/THM processes on mountain-scale unsaturated zone (UZ) and saturated zone (SZ) flow at Yucca Mountain, Nevada (BSC 2005 [DIRS 174842], Section 2.1.1.1). The purpose and validation criteria for these models are specified in ''Technical Work Plan for: Near-Field Environment and Transport: Coupled Processes (Mountain-Scale TH/THC/THM, Drift-Scale THC Seepage, and Drift-Scale Abstraction) Model Report Integration'' (BSC 2005 [DIRS 174842]). Model results are used to support exclusion of certain FEPs from the total system performance assessment for the license application (TSPA-LA) model on the basis of low consequence, consistent with the requirements of 10 CFR 63.342 [DIRS 173273]. Outputs from this report are not direct feeds to the TSPA-LA. All the FEPs related to the effects of coupled TH/THC/THM processes on mountain-scale UZ and SZ flow are discussed in Sections 6 and 7 of this report. The mountain-scale coupled TH/THC/THM processes models numerically simulate the impact of nuclear waste heat release on the natural hydrogeological system, including a representation of heat-driven processes occurring in the far field. The mountain-scale TH simulations provide predictions for thermally affected liquid saturation, gas- and liquid-phase fluxes, and water and rock temperature (together called the flow fields). The main focus of the TH model is to predict the changes in water flux driven by evaporation/condensation processes, and drainage between drifts. The TH model captures mountain-scale three-dimensional flow effects, including lateral diversion and mountain-scale flow patterns. The mountain-scale THC model evaluates TH effects on

Chemical, petrographic, and K-Ar age data to accompany reconnaissance geologic strip map from Kingman to south of Bill Williams Mountain, Arizona

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arney, B.; Goff, F.; Eddy, A.C.

1985-04-01

As part of a reconnaissance mapping project, 40 chemical analyses and 13 potassium-argon age dates were obtained for Tertiary volcanic and Precambrian granitic rocks between Kingman and Bill Williams Mountain, Arizona. The dated volcanic rocks range in age from 5.5 +- 0.2 Myr for basalt in the East Juniper Mountains to about 25 Myr for a biotite-pyroxene andesite. The date for Picacho Butte, a rhyodacite in the Mt. Floyd volcanic field, was 9.8 +- 0.07 Myr, making it the oldest rhyodacite dome in that volcanic field. Dated rocks in the Fort Rock area range from 20.7 to 24.3 Myr. No ages were obtained on the Precambrian rocks. Compositionally, the volcanic rocks analyzed range from alkali basalt to rhyolite, but many rocks on the western side of the map area are unusually potassic. The granites chosen for analysis include syenogranite from the Hualapai Mountains, a muscovite granite from the Picacho Butte area, and two other granites. The chemical and K-Ar age data and petrographic descriptions included in this report accompany the reconnaissance geologic strip map published as LA-9202-MAP by Goff, Eddy, and Arney. 9 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs

Mountain biking injuries: an update.

Science.gov (United States)

Kronisch, Robert L; Pfeiffer, Ronald P

2002-01-01

This article reviews the available literature regarding injuries in off-road bicyclists. Recent progress in injury research has allowed the description of several patterns of injury in this sport. Mountain biking remains popular, particularly among young males, although sales and participation figures have decreased in the last several years. Competition in downhill racing has increased, while cross-country racing has decreased somewhat in popularity. Recreational riders comprise the largest segment of participants, but little is known about the demographics and injury epidemiology of noncompetitive mountain cyclists. Most mountain bikers participating in surveys reported a history of previous injuries, but prospective studies conducted at mountain bike races have found injury rates of bike racing the risk of injury may be higher for women than men. Minor injuries such as abrasions and contusions occur frequently, but are usually of little consequence. Fractures usually involve the torso or upper extremities, and shoulder injuries are common. Head and face injuries are not always prevented by current helmet designs. Fatal injuries are rare but have been reported. Improvements in safety equipment, rider training and racecourse design are suggested injury prevention measures. The authors encourage continued research in this sport.

Yucca Mountain Milestone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunt, Rod

1997-01-01

The Department of Energy project to determine if the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada is suitable for geologic disposal of high-level nuclear waste reached a major milestone in late April when a 25-foot-diameter tunnel boring machine ''holed through'' completing a five-mile-long, horseshoe-shaped excavation through the mountain. When the cutting-head of the giant machine broke through to daylight at the tunnel's south portal, it ended a 2 1/2-year excavation through the mountain that was completed ahead of schedule and with an outstanding safety record. Video of the event was transmitted live by satellite to Washington, DC, where it was watched by Secretary of Energy Frederico Pena and other high-level DOE officials, signifying the importance of the project's mission to find a repository for high-level nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel produced by nuclear power plants. This critical undertaking is being performed by DOE's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM). The tunnel is the major feature of the Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF), which serves as an underground laboratory for engineers and scientists to help determine if Yucca Mountain is suitable to serve as a repository for the safe disposal of high-level nuclear waste. Morrison Knudsen's Environmental/Government Group is providing design and construction-management services on the project. The MK team is performing final design for the ESF and viability assessment design for the underground waste repository that will be built only if the site is found suitable for such a mission. In fact, if at anytime during the ESF phase, the site is found unsuitable, the studies will be stopped and the site restored to its natural state

Developing landscape habitat models for rare amphibians with small geographic ranges: a case study of Siskiyou Mountains salamanders in the western USA

Science.gov (United States)

Nobuya Suzuki; Deanna H. Olson; Edward C. Reilly

2007-01-01

To advance the development of conservation planning for rare species with small geographic ranges, we determined habitat associations of Siskiyou Mountains salamanders (Plethodon stormi) and developed habitat suitability models at fine (10 ha), medium (40 ha), and broad (202 ha) spatial scales using available geographic information systems data and...

Mountain laurel toxicosis in a dog.

Science.gov (United States)

Manhart, Ingrid O; DeClementi, Camille; Guenther, Christine L

2013-01-01

To describe a case of mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) toxicosis in a dog, including case management and successful outcome. A dog presented for vomiting, hematochezia, bradycardia, weakness, and ataxia, which did not improve with supportive treatment. Mountain laurel ingestion was identified as cause of clinical signs after gastrotomy was performed to remove stomach contents. Supportive treatment was continued and the dog made a full recovery. This report details a case of mountain laurel toxicosis in a dog, including management strategies and outcome, which has not been previously published in the veterinary literature. © Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society 2013.

Impact of Dams on Riparian Frog Communities in the Southern Western Ghats, India

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Rohit Naniwadekar

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The Western Ghats is a global biodiversity hotspot and home to diverse and unique assemblages of amphibians. Several rivers originate from these mountains and hydropower is being tapped from them. The impacts of hydrological regulation of riparian ecosystems to wildlife and its habitat are poorly documented, and in particular the fate of frog populations is unknown. We examined the effects of dams on riparian frog communities in the Thamirabarani catchment in southern Western Ghats. We used nocturnal visual encounter surveys constrained for time, to document the species richness of frogs below and above the dam, and also at control sites in the same catchment. While we did not find differences in species richness below and above the dams, the frog community composition was significantly altered as a likely consequence of altered flow regime. The frog species compositions in control sites were similar to above-dam sites. Below-dam sites had a distinctly different species composition. Select endemic frog species appeared to be adversely impacted due to the dams. Below-dam sites had a greater proportion of generalist and widely distributed species. Dams in the Western Ghats appeared to adversely impact population of endemic species, particularly those belonging to the genus Nyctibatrachus that shows specialization for intact streams.

Mountain Warfare: The Need for Specialist Training

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Malik, Muhammad

2003-01-01

This study focuses on the need for specialist training for mountain warfare. It analyzes the special characteristics of mountain and high altitude terrain which affect conduct of military operations...

Yucca Mountain Project public interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reilly, B.E.

1990-01-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is committed to keeping the citizens of Nevada informed about activities that relate to the high-level nuclear waste repository program. This paper presents an overview of the Yucca Mountain Project's public interaction philosophy, objectives, activities and experiences during the two years since Congress directed the DOE to conduct site characterization activities only for the Yucca Mountain site

The wind and fire disturbance in Central European mountain spruce forests: the regeneration after four years

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Monika Budzáková

2013-03-01

Full Text Available A strong windstorm in November 2004 resulted in a huge blown-down spruce forest area in the southern part of the Tatra National Park in the Western Carpathians in Slovakia, Central Europe. The aim of this work is to study the vegetation composition of spruce forest at differently managed sites four years after this disturbance. Four study areas were selected for this purpose: (i an area where the fallen trees were extracted and new seedlings were planted; (ii an area, which was hit by a forest fire after the extraction; (iii an area where no active management was applied; (iv a reference forest unaffected by such disturbance. A total of 100 plots were selected, 25 of each area type. The result of DCA and CCA analyses consistently indicated that after this short period the non-extracted and extracted areas are currently most similar to the reference forest area, while the fire affected area differed. A one-way ANOVA comparing species cover for the different plot sizes indicated some significant differences between the extracted and non-extracted plots. The abundance of certain species commonly occurring in spruce forests, such as Dyopteris carthusiana agg., Vaccinium myrtillus and Avenella flexuosa, correlated weli with the non-extracted plots, compared to the extracted plots. Coverage of these species was lowest on burned plots. The lowest Shannon-Wiener’s diversity values were recorded in burned plots. This was most likely a consequence of mono-dominant competitive species spread, (mainly Chamerion angustifolium which profited from the altered ecological conditions following the fire. Although some differences were also registered in the Shannon-Wiener diversity index between the remaining research plots, however these were not statistically significant. The most important results of our investigations include the extensive influence of fire disturbance on vegetation. Study revealed that the wind-disturbed area is able to regenerate

ARCOS Network: A Sustainable Mountain Development Hub for Africa

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Gilbert Muvunankiko

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The African continent is endowed with mountains of high productivity, biodiversity, endemism, and cultural diversity. African mountain ecosystems play an important role in economic development, poverty alleviation, and environmental protection. However, climate change and extreme events, as well as human activities, alter the capacity of mountains to provide such services to millions of Africans who depend on them. Since the creation in 1995 of the Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS, mountains have been at the core of its programs, and collaboration among stakeholders is a key aspect of its search for sustainable solutions to threats affecting African mountains.

Sediment underthrusting within a continental magmatic arc: Coast Mountains batholith, British Columbia

Science.gov (United States)

Pearson, David M.; MacLeod, Douglas R.; Ducea, Mihai N.; Gehrels, George E.; Jonathan Patchett, P.

2017-10-01

Though continental magmatic arcs are factories for new continental crust, a significant proportion of continental arc magmas are recycled from supracrustal material. To evaluate the relative contributions of retroarc underthrusting and trench side partial sediment subduction for introducing supracrustal rocks to the middle and lower crust of continental magmatic arcs, we present results from the deeply exposed country rocks of the Coast Mountains batholith of western British Columbia. Prior work demonstrates that these rocks underwent widespread partial melting that contributed to the Coast Mountains batholith. We utilize U-Pb zircon geochronology, Sm-Nd thermochronology, and field-based studies to document the protoliths and early burial history of amphibolite and granulite-facies metasedimentary rocks in the Central Gneiss Complex. U-Pb detrital zircon data from the structurally highest sample localities yielded 190 Ma unimodal age peaks and suggest that retroarc rocks of the Stikine terrane constitute a substantial portion of the Central Gneiss Complex. These supracrustal rocks underwent thrust-related burial and metamorphism at >25 km depths prior to 80 Ma. These rocks may also be underlain at the deepest exposed structural levels by Upper Cretaceous metasedimentary rocks, which may have been emplaced as a result of trench side underplating or intraarc burial. These results further our understanding of the mechanisms of material transport within the continental lithosphere along Cordilleran subduction margins.

Projected hydrologic changes in monsoon-dominated Himalaya Mountain basins with changing climate and deforestation

Science.gov (United States)

Neupane, Ram P.; White, Joseph D.; Alexander, Sara E.

2015-06-01

In mountain headwaters, climate and land use changes affect short and long term site water budgets with resultant impacts on landslide risk, hydropower generation, and sustainable agriculture. To project hydrologic change associated with climate and land use changes in the Himalaya Mountains, we used the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) calibrated for the Tamor and Seti River basins located at eastern and western margins of Nepal. Future climate change was modeled using averaged temperature and precipitation for 2080 derived from Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) (B1, A1B and A2) of 16 global circulation models (GCMs). Land use change was modeled spatially and included expansion of (1) agricultural land, (2) grassland, and (3) human settlement area that were produced by considering existing land use with projected changes associated with viability of elevation and slope characteristics of the basins capable of supporting different land use type. From these simulations, higher annual stream discharge was found for all GCM-derived scenarios compared to a baseline simulation with maximum increases of 13 and 8% in SRES-A2 and SRES-A1B for the Tamor and Seti basins, respectively. On seasonal basis, we assessed higher precipitation during monsoon season in all scenarios that corresponded with higher stream discharge of 72 and 68% for Tamor and Seti basins, respectively. This effect appears to be geographically important with higher influence in the eastern Tamor basin potentially due to longer and stronger monsoonal period of that region. However, we projected minimal changes in stream discharge for the land use scenarios potentially due to higher water transmission to groundwater reservoirs associated with fractures of the Himalaya Mountains rather than changes in surface runoff. However, when combined the effects of climate and land use changes, discharge was moderately increased indicating counteracting mechanisms of hydrologic yield in these mountains

Origin and implications of a thrust-bound gypsiferous unit along the western edge of Jabal Sumeini, northern Oman Mountains

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, David J. W.; Ali, Mohammed Y.; Searle, Michael P.

2018-04-01

The Oman Mountains comprise a series of thrust sheets of Neo-Tethyan oceanic rocks that were emplaced onto the Arabian continental margin during obduction of the Semail Ophiolite during the Late Cretaceous. Three separate groups of anomalous gypsiferous bodies intrude the allochthonous units along faults over a distance of about 150 km in the Hawasina Window, Jabal Qumayrah and Jabal Sumeini. The bodies at Jabal Sumeini form a band about 4 km long and up to 100 m wide along a late-stage thrust that restacks the allochthon over a post-emplacement Maastrichtian-Palaeogene sedimentary succession. The gypsum shows evidence of flow-folding and contains numerous clasts and rafts of a range of quartzose sandstones, but with only a minor component from carbonates from the Neo-Tethyan Sumeini Group in the hanging-wall. Palaeogene limestones from the footwall succession are essentially absent. Strontium isotope ratios are high and intersect with the open ocean-water reference curve for the Late Cambrian-Ordovician and Late Miocene-Pliocene. They are also noticeably higher than the ratios from the two other gypsiferous outcrop areas in the Oman Mountains and from outcrops of Ediacaran-Early Cambrian salt domes in central Oman. However, the regional stratigraphy points towards a source of the gypsum from either an Ediacaran-Early Cambrian Ara Group salt basin or from the Lower Fars Formation (Early-Middle Miocene), and derivation of the sandstone clasts and rafts from thick Lower Palaeozoic clastic sequences. The discrepancy with the ages inferred from the strontium isotope data can be attributed to deposition of the gypsum in restricted conditions not in equilibrium with the prevailing ocean water. Two models are presented, for an Ediacaran-Early Cambrian and an Early-Middle Miocene source. While the latter cannot be wholly discounted, the stratigraphic and structural context point more strongly towards an Ediacaran-Early Cambrian Ara Group source of the gypsum. This was

Sediment budgets of mountain catchments: Scale dependence and the influence of land-use

Science.gov (United States)

Förster, Helga; Dotterweich, Markus; Wunderlich, Jürgen

2010-05-01

Long-term sediment budgets of forested mountain catchments are scarcely investigated today. This is because they are traditionally expected to show few erosion features and low sediment delivery. This opinion originates from process-based hydrological studies proving the runoff preventing properties of trees and forest soils. In addition mountain areas have been colonized later and only sporadically compared to the fruitful loess-covered lowlands. On the other hand steep hillslopes, narrow valleys and the availability of regolith cause a high erosion potential. And there is evidence that historical floods and yearly occurring storms initiate intensive but local and sporadic erosion events. Sediment budgets from zero-order catchments of the Palatinate Forest in the south-western sandstone escarpment in Rhineland-Palatinate show spatially varying intensities of land use impact and relief conditions. The budgets are based on field data and a soilscape model of an upper periglacial cover bed with a homogenous thickness. OSL- and 14C-dates of colluvial deposits allow relating erosion events to land-use changes derived from historical maps and written archives. The presented case studies from the Palatinate Forest are of special interest as the high proximity to the loess-covered and intensively cultivated Rhine Graben effected settlement and land-use intensity in the mountain catchments. Clear cuts for settlements were joined by deforestation for agriculture and stretched mainly along the Haardtrand and high order valleys. Off these areas the strength of interference in the forest ecosystem depended on transport possibilities and distance to the Rhine Graben. In the vicinity strong devastation and clear cutting occurred. With increasing distance the felling intensity decreased and some parts seem to be nearly undisturbed until the 18th century. The needs for wood were controlled by the economical development as well as political decisions on local to European scale. The

Western Mountain Initiative - Publications

Science.gov (United States)

physiological mechanisms in drought-induced tree mortality. Nature Ecology and Evolution. DOI:10.1038/s41559-017 -843. 10.1038/nclimate3088. Halofsky, J.E., D.L. Peterson, K.L. Metlen, M.G. Myer, and V.A. Sample during drought in forests worldwide. Nature Plants 1, article number:15139. doi:10.1038/nplants.2015.139

Clockwise rotation and implications for northward drift of the western Transverse Ranges from paleomagnetism of the Piuma Member, Sespe Formation, near Malibu, California

Science.gov (United States)

Hillhouse, John W.

2010-01-01

New paleomagnetic results from mid-Tertiary sedimentary beds in the Santa Monica Mountains reinforce the evidence for large-scale rotation of the western Transverse Ranges, and anisotropy measurements indicate that compaction-induced inclination flattening may resolve a long-standing controversy regarding the original paleolatitude of the rotated block. Previously published paleomagnetic data indicate that post-Oligocene rotation amounts to 70°–110° clockwise, affecting the Channel Islands, Santa Monica Mountains, and Santa Ynez Mountains. The Sespe Formation near Malibu consists of a lower member dominated by nonmarine sandstone and conglomerate and an upper section, the Piuma Member, which consists of gray-red sandstone and mudstone interbedded with minor tuff and limestone beds. The Piuma Member has a paleomagnetic pole at 36.6°N, 326.7°E (A95min = 5.0°, A95max = 9.6°), obtained by thermal demagnetization of 34 oriented cores from Oligocene and early Miocene beds. After correcting for plunge of the geologic structure, the data are consistent with significant clockwise rotation (77° ± 7°) of the region relative to stable North America. Rotation of the western Transverse Ranges is generally viewed as a consequence of Pacific–North American plate interactions after 28 Ma, when east–west subduction gave way to northwest transform motion in southern California. Inclinations from the Piuma study indicate a paleolatitude anomaly of 11° ± 7° and are consistent with a mean northward drift that exceeds generally accepted San Andreas fault displacement by a factor of 3. However, sedimentary inclination error may accentuate the anomaly. Anisotropy of isothermal remanent magnetization indicates inclination flattening of approximately 8°, and correction for the effect reduces the paleolatitude anomaly to 5.3° ± 5.8°. Compaction may explain the inclination flattening in these sedimentary rocks, but the process does not adequately explain lower

Canadian Rockies Ecoregion: Chapter 4 in Status and trends of land change in the Western United States--1973 to 2000

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Janis L.

2012-01-01

The Canadian Rockies Ecoregion covers approximately 18,494 km2 (7,141 mi2) in northwestern Montana (Omernik, 1987; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1997). The east side of the ecoregion is bordered by the Montana Valley and Foothill Prairies Ecoregion, which also forms a large part of the western border of the ecoregion. In addition, the Northern Rockies Ecoregion wraps around the ecoregion to the northwest and south (fig. 1). As the name implies, the Canadian Rocky Mountains are located mostly in Canada, straddling the border between Alberta and British Columbia. However, this ecoregion only includes the part of the northern Rocky Mountains that is in the United States. This ecoregion is characterized by steep, high-elevation mountain ranges similar to most of the rest of the Rocky Mountains. Compared to the Northern Rockies Ecoregion, however, the Canadian Rockies Ecoregion reaches higher elevations and contains a greater proportion of perennial snow and ice (Omernik, 1987) (fig. 2). Over the years, this section of the Rocky Mountains has garnered many different names, including “Crown of the Continent” by George Bird Grinnell (Waldt, 2008) and “Backbone of the World” by the Blackfeet (Pikuni) Nation. Throughout the ecoregion, montane, subalpine, and alpine ecosystems have distinct flora and fauna elevation zones. Glaciers, permanent snowfields, and seasonal snowpack are found at the highest elevations. Spring and summer runoff fills lakes and tarns that form the headwaters of numerous streams and rivers, including the Columbia and Missouri Rivers that flow west and east, respectively, from the Continental Divide.

Western Hemisphere Zuphiini: descriptions of Coarazuphium whiteheadi, new species, and Zuphioides, new genus, and classification of the genera (Coleoptera, Carabidae

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George Ball

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Based on small samples (exemplars analyzed with morphological methods, including detailed descriptions and illustrations, this study treats primarily the Zuphium genus-group in the Western Hemisphere, which comprises two precinctive genera: Coarazuphium Gnaspini, Vanin & Godoy, 1998 (type species Parazuphium tessai Godoy & Vanin, 1990 and Zuphioides gen. n. (type species Zuphium mexicanum Chaudoir, 1863. The genus Coarazuphium includes six troglobitic species from Brazilian caves, and one probably hypogaeic (troglophilic species from the mountains of Oaxaca, in Mexico (C. whiteheadi, sp. n., type locality, ridge top, in western Oaxaca, Mexico, at 2164 m, 35 km north of San Pedro Juchatengo, 16.462N, 97.010W. The epigaeic genus Zuphioides includes 23 species, with its geographical range extended from Neotropical temperate Argentina in southern South America, northward through the tropics to north temperate southeastern Canada, in the Nearctic Region. Keys are provided to the species of Coarazuphium and to the genera of Western Hemisphere Zuphiini.

Hydrologeologic characteristics of faults at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dickerson, Robert P.

2001-01-01

Yucca Mountain is under study as a potential site for underground storage of high-level radioactive waste, with the principle goal being the safe isolation of the waste from the accessible environment. This paper addresses the hydrogeologic characteristics of the fault zones at Yucca Mountain, focusing primarily on the central part of the mountain where the potential repository block is located

Pollen and macroscopic analyses of sediments from two lakes in the High Tatra mountains, Slovakia

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Rybníčková, Eliška; Rybníček, Kamil

2006-01-01

Roč. 15, - (2006), s. 345-356 ISSN 0939-6314 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA206/96/0531; GA ČR GA206/02/0568 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60050516 Keywords : Pollen analyses * macroscopic analyses * high mointain lakes Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 0.649, year: 2006

Fire Regime and Ecosystem Effects of Climate-driven Changes in Rocky Mountains Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Westerling, A. L.; Das, T.; Lubetkin, K.; Romme, W.; Ryan, M. G.; Smithwick, E. A.; Turner, M.

2009-12-01

Western US Forest managers face more wildfires than ever before, and it is increasingly imperative to anticipate the consequences of this trend. Large fires in the northern Rocky Mountains have increased in association with warmer temperatures, earlier snowmelt, and longer fire seasons (1), and this trend is likely to continue with global warming (2). Increased wildfire occurrence is already a concern shared by managers from many federal land-management agencies (3). However, new analyses for the western US suggest that future climate could diverge even more rapidly from past climate than previously suggested. Current model projections suggest end-of-century hydroclimatic conditions like those of 1988 (the year of the well-known Yellowstone Fires) may represent close to the average year rather than an extreme year. The consequences of a shift of this magnitude for the fire regime, post-fire succession and carbon (C) balance of western forest ecosystems are well beyond what scientists have explored to date, and may fundamentally change the potential of western forests to sequester atmospheric C. We link hydroclimatic extremes (spring and summer temperature and cumulative water-year moisture deficit) to extreme fire years in northern Rockies forests, using large forest fire histories and 1/8-degree gridded historical hydrologic simulations (1950 - 2005) (4) forced with historical gridded temperature and precipitation (5). The frequency of extremes in hydroclimate associated with historic severe fire years in the northern Rocky Mountains is compared to those projected under a range of climate change projections, using global climate model runs for the A2 and B1 emissions pathways for three global climate models (NCAR PCM1, GFDL CM2.1, CNRM CM3). Coarse-scale climatic variables are downscaled to a 1/8 degree grid and used to force hydrologic simulations (6, 7). We will present preliminary results using these hydrologic simulations to model spatially explicit annual

Rb-Sr isochronous dating of granitoids of Dumbier zone of Low Tatras (Western Carpathians)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagdasaryan, G.P.; Gukasyan, R.Kh.; Cambel, B.; Vesel'skij, J.

1985-01-01

The results are discussed of isotopic-geochronological research and age determination of characteristic samples of granitoid rocks, obtained by the Rb/Sr isochronous method. The samples were biotite granodiorites and granites taken from various parts of the Dumbier massif and small granite bodies of the Kralicka type. Rb/Sr isochrones of the rock samples show identical age values: 362+-21 m.y. for the Dumbier massif and 365+-17 m.y. correspnding to the Middle - Upper Devonian. Initial 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios equal to 0.7079 and 0.7157, respectively, allow to make a presumption that the rocks of the Dumbier massif may have been derived both from crustal and from mantle sources while granites of the Kralicka type are close to the rocks of the crustal origin

Transport of neptunium through Yucca Mountain tuffs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Triay, I.R.; Robinson, B.A.; Mitchell, A.J.; Overly, C.M.; Lopez, R.M.

1993-01-01

Neptunium has a high solubility in groundwaters from Yucca Mountain [1]. Uranium in nuclear reactors produces 237 Np which has a half-life of 2.1 4 x 10 6 years. Consequently, the transport of 237 Np through tuffs is of major importance in assessing the performance of a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. The objective of this work is to determine the amount of Np retardation that is provided by the minerals in Yucca Mountain tuffs as a function of groundwater chemistry

Glacier change in the Gangdise Mountains, southern Tibet, since the Little Ice Age

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qian; Yi, Chaolu; Fu, Ping; Wu, Yubin; Liu, Jinhua; Wang, Ninglian

2018-04-01

Delineating glacier change during the Little Ice Age (LIA) is of great importance when attempting to understand regional climatic changes and can also help to improve the understanding of any predictions of future glacial changes. However, such knowledge is still lacking for some critical regions of the Tibetan Plateau (TP). In this study, we mapped 4188 contemporary glaciers and reconstructed 1216 LIA areas of glacial coverage in the Gangdise Mountains to the north of the Himalaya using Google Earth satellite imagery. We estimated their paleoglacial areas and equilibrium line altitudes (ELAs) based on the toe-to-headwall altitude ratio (THAR) method. Results show that most glaciers are small (ELA ranges from 5516 to 6337 m asl; the LIA ELA ranged from 5476 to 6329 m asl. Contemporary and LIA ELA values rise from southeast to northwest. As a general rule, the rise in the ELA value decreases from the eastern to the central Gangdise Mountains and then increases westward, with a mean ELA rise of 45 m. Multiple regression models suggest that 46.8% of the glacier area loss can be explained by glacier elevation, area, and slope. However, only 15.5% of the rise in ELA values can be explained by glacial geometric, topographic, or locational parameters. The spatial pattern of modern ELA values in this region appears inversely related to precipitation, which decreases from southeast to northwest, implying that precipitation is one of the key controls of ELAs. This is also consistent with results from elsewhere in High Asia. In contrast to the Gangdise Mountains' eastern and western sectors, glaciers in the central sector have undergone less change, i.e., in terms of reductions in length, area loss, and rises in ELA. Topography can of course also influence glacial change by creating shielding and/or rainshadow effects and by affecting local temperatures.

Geological Identification of Seismic Source at Opak Fault Based on Stratigraphic Sections of the Southern Mountains

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Hita Pandita

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Earthquake is one of the unpredicted natural disasters on our earth. Despite of the absence of high-accuracy method to precisely predict the occurrence of earthquake, numerous studies have been carried out by seismologists to find it. One of the efforts to address the vulnerability of a region to earthquakes is by recognizing the type of rock as the source of the earthquake. Opak Fault is an active fault which was thought to be the source of earthquakes in Yogyakarta and adjacent areas. This study aimed to determine the seismic source types of rocks in Yogyakarta and adjacent areas. The methods were by measuring stratigraphic sections and the layer thickness in the western part of Southern Mountains. Field study was done in 6 (six research sites. Results of stratigraphic measurement indicated the sedimentary rocks in the Southern Mountains was 3.823 km in thick, while the bedrock was more than 1.042 km in thick. Based on the result, the rock types as the seismic source were thought to originate from the continental crust rocks formed of granite and metamorphic complex.

The Correlation of Geo-Ecological Environment and Mountain Urban planning

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Chun; Zeng, Wei

2018-01-01

As a special area with the complex geological structure, mountain city is more prone to geological disasters. Due to air pollution, ground subsidence, serious water pollution, earthquakes and floods geo-ecological environment problems have become increasingly serious, mountain urban planning is facing more severe challenges. Therefore, this article bases on the correlation research of geo-ecological environment and mountain urban planning, and re-examins mountain urban planning from the perspective of geo-ecological, coordinates the relationship between the human and nature by geo-ecological thinking, raises the questions which urban planning need to pay attention. And advocates creating an integrated system of geo-ecological and mountain urban planning, analysis the status and dynamics of present mountain urban planning.

Mountain tourism development in Serbia and neighboring countries

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Krunić Nikola

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Mountain areas with their surroundings are important parts of tourism regions with potentials for all-season tourism development and complementary activities. Development possibilities are based on size of high mountain territory, nature protection regimes, infrastructural equipment, provided conditions for leisure and recreation as well as involvement of local population in processes of development and protection. This paper analyses the key aspects of tourism development, winter tourism in high-mountain areas of Serbia and some neighboring countries (Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece. Common determinants of cohesion between nature protection and mountain tourism development, national development policies, applied models and concepts and importance of trans-border cooperation are indicated.

Histopathological changes in lungs of the mountain snow avalanche victims and its potential usefulness in determination of cause and mechanism of death

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Mariusz Kobek

2016-09-01

Full Text Available On 28 January 2003 snow avalanche in the Polish Tatras happened, in which 8 people died and 5 were injured. We tried to determine cause and manner of death in 6 fatal victims instead of advanced late post mortem changes in internal organs. Taking into consideration the circumstances of death, we paid special attention to histopathological examination of lungs, extended by Gomori’s and AZAN staining. Pattern of the changes was similar to those observed in forensic medicine in cases of asphyxia due to airway obstruction and/or immobilization of chest and abdomen (Perthes’ syndrome. Histopathological study with the use of more specific staining methods has a significant diagnostic value during establishing the cause and mechanism of death of the deceased snow avalanche victims with advanced post mortem changes.

Numerical studies of rock-gas flow in Yucca Mountain; Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ross, B.; Amter, S.; Lu, Ning [Disposal Safety, Inc., Washington, DC (United States)

1992-02-01

A computer model (TGIF -- Thermal Gradient Induced Flow) of two-dimensional, steady-state rock-gas flow driven by temperature and humidity differences is described. The model solves for the ``fresh-water head,`` a concept that has been used in models of variable-density water flow but has not previously been applied to gas flow. With this approach, the model can accurately simulate the flows driven by small differences in temperature. The unsaturated tuffs of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, are being studied as a potential site for a repository for high-level nuclear waste. Using the TGIF model, preliminary calculations of rock-gas flow in Yucca Mountain are made for four east-west cross-sections through the mountain. Calculations are made for three repository temperatures and for several assumptions about a possible semi-confining layer above the repository. The gas-flow simulations are then used to calculate travel-time distributions for air and for radioactive carbon-14 dioxide from the repository to the ground surface.

Mountaineering and photography. Contacts between 1880 and 1940

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Maria Andorno

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Since the second half of the nineteenth century, the photograph produced in high altitude mountain (mountaineering photography gives rise to peculiar images that do not belong to the tradition of landscape painting. Mountaineering is similar to the art of performance, if we talk about physical and mental commitment. Therefore, photos taken during the ascent of a peak shows both conceptual and formal values.

Preliminary Magnetostratigraphic Study of the Split Mountain and Lower Imperial Groups, Split Mountain Gorge, Western Salton Trough, CA

Science.gov (United States)

Fluette, A. L.; Housen, B. A.; Dorsey, R. J.

2004-12-01

We present preliminary results of a magnetostratigraphic study of Miocene-Pliocene sedimentary rocks of the Split Mt. and lower Imperial Groups exposed in Split Mt. Gorge and eastern Fish Creek-Vallecito basin, western Salton Trough. Precise age control for the base of this thick section is needed to improve our understanding of the early history of extension-related subsidence in this region. The geologic setting and stratigraphic framework are known from previous work by Dibblee (1954, 1996), Woodard (1963), Kerr (1982), Winker (1987), Kerr and Kidwell (1991), Winker and Kidwell (1986; 1996), and others. We have analyzed Upper Miocene to lower Pliocene strata exposed in a conformable section in Split Mt. Gorge, including (in order from the base; nomenclature of Winker and Kidwell, 1996): (1) Split Mt. Group: Red Rock Fm alluvial sandstone; Elephant Trees alluvial conglomerate; and lower megabreccia unit; and (2) lower part of Imperial Group, including: Fish Creek Gypsum; proximal to distal turbidites of the Latrania Fm and Wind Caves Mbr of Deguynos Fm; upper megabreccia unit; marine mudstone and rhythmites of the Mud Hills Mbr (Deguynos Fm); and the basal part of the Yuha Mbr (Deguynos Fm). Measured thickness from the base of the Elephant Trees Cgl to the base of the Yuha Mbr is about 1050 m, consistent with previous measurements of Winker (1987). Paleomagnetic samples were collected at approximately 10 m intervals throughout this section. The upper portion of our sampled section overlaps with the lower part of the section sampled for magnetostratigraphic study by Opdyke et al. (1977) and Johnson et al. (1983). They interpreted the base of their section to be about 4.3 Ma, and calculated an average sedimentation rate of approximately 5.5 mm/yr for the lower part of their section. Good-quality preliminary results from 15 paleomagnetic sites distributed throughout our sampled section permit preliminary identification of 6 polarity zones. Based on regional mapping

Pyritic ash-flow tuff, Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castor, S.B.; Tingley, J.V.; Bonham, H.F. Jr.

1994-01-01

The Yucca Mountain site is underlain by a 1,500-m-thick Miocene volcanic sequence that comprises part of the southwestern Nevada volcanic field. Rocks of this sequence, which consists mainly of ash-flow tuff sheets with minor flows and bedded tuff, host precious metal mineralization in several areas as near as 10 km from the site. In two such areas, the Bullfrog and Bare Mountain mining districts, production and reserves total over 60 t gold and 150 t silver. Evidence of similar precious metal mineralization at the Yucca Mountain site may lead to mining or exploratory drilling in the future, compromising the security of the repository. The authors believe that most of the pyrite encountered by drilling at Yucca Mountain was introduced as pyroclastic ejecta, rather than by in situ hydrothermal activity. Pyritic ejecta in ash-flow tuff are not reported in the literature, but there is no reason to believe that the Yucca Mountain occurrence is unique. The pyritic ejecta are considered by us to be part of a preexisting hydrothermal system that was partially or wholly destroyed during eruption of the tuff units. Because it was introduced as ejecta in tuff units that occur at depths of about 1,000 m, such pyrite does not constitute evidence of shallow mineralization at the proposed repository site; however, the pyrite may be evidence for mineralization deep beneath Yucca Mountain or as much as tens of kilometers from it

Approach to identification and development of mountain tourism regions and destinations in Serbia with special reference to the Stara Planina mountain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milijić Saša

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with theoretical-methodological issues of tourism offer planning and regulation of settlements in mountain destinations. The basic determinants of the development of mountain tourist regions destinations in EU countries, in which respectable development results have been achieved, first of all in terms of income, together with appropriately adjusted development and environmental management system, have been emphasized. The ongoing transition and structural processes in Serbia will have an impact on application of these experiences. At the same time, a basis for competitiveness of mountain regions will not be determined only by spatial capacity and geological location, but also by creative-innovative developing environment. Taking into account the spatial-functional criteria and criteria for the development and protection, the possible spatial definition of mountain tourist regions/destinations in Serbia are presented. The justifiability and positioning of tourism development projects are analyzed aiming at uniform regional development, where two segments of demand are of particularly importance, i.e. demand for mountain tourism services and for real estates in mountain centers. Furthermore, holders of tourism offer will be analyzed through a contemporary approach which may be defined as the development and noncommercial and market and commercial one. International criteria which are evaluated while selecting city/mountain destination for Winter Olympic Games are particularly analyzed. Considering experience of countries with higher level of development of mountain regions, the main starting point for positioning projects for sustainable development of tourist destinations are defined by specifying them according to specific local and regional conditions. A rational model for spatial organization of tourism offer is shown on the example of the Stara Planina tourist region.

Spiders in mountain habitats of the Giant Mountains

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Růžička, Vlastimil; Vaněk, J.; Šmilauer, P.

2012-01-01

Roč. 43, č. 4 (2012), s. 341-347 ISSN 1067-4136 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50070508 Keywords : Giant Mountains (Krkonoše, Karkonosze) * spider s * anemo-orographic systems Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 0.236, year: 2012 http://www.springerlink.com/content/0k5g721q1155r146/fulltext.pdf

Eastern Arc Mountains and their national and global importance ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Eastern Arc Mountains comprise a chain of separate mountain blocks running from southern Kenya through Tanzania in a crescent or arc shape. In Tanzania, the Eastern Arc consists of North and South Pare, East and West Usambaras, Nguru, Ukaguru, Rubeho, Uluguru, Udzungwa and Mahenge Mountains.

Winter Tourism and mountain wetland management and restoration

Science.gov (United States)

Gaucherand, S.; Mauz, I.

2012-04-01

The degradation and loss of wetlands is more rapid than that of other ecosystems (MEA 2005). In mountains area, wetlands are small and scattered and particularly sensitive to global change. The development of ski resorts can lead to the destruction or the deterioration of mountain wetlands because of hydrologic interferences, fill in, soil compression and erosion, etc. Since 2008, we have studied a high altitude wetland complex in the ski resort of Val Thorens. The aim of our study was to identify the impacts of mountain tourism development (winter and summer tourism) on wetland functioning and to produce an action plan designed to protect, rehabilitate and value the wetlands. We chose an approach based on multi-stakeholder participatory process at every stage, from information gathering to technical choices and monitoring. In this presentation, we show how such an approach can efficiently improve the consideration of wetlands in the development of a ski resort, but also the bottlenecks that need to be overcome. We will also discuss some of the ecological engineering techniques used to rehabilitate or restore high altitude degraded wetlands. Finally, this work has contributed to the creation in 2012 of a mountain wetland observatory coordinated by the conservatory of Haute-Savoie. The objective of this observatory is to estimate ecosystem services furnished by mountain wetlands and to find restoration strategies adapted to the local socio-economical context (mountain agriculture and mountain tourism).

Lithospheric Strength Beneath the Zagros Mountains of Southwestern Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, A. N.; Nyblade, A.; Brazier, R.; Rodgers, A.; Al-Amri, A.

2006-05-01

The Zagros Mountain Belt of southwestern Iran is among the most seismically active mountain belts in the world. Early seismic studies of this area found that the lithosphere underlying the Zagros Mountains follows the "jelly sandwich" model, having a strong upper crust and a strong lithospheric mantle, separated by a weak lower crust. More recent studies, which analyzed earthquakes originating within the Zagros Mountains that were recorded at teleseismic distances, however, found that these earthquakes occurred only within the upper crust, thus indicating that the strength of the Zagros Mountains' lithosphere lies only within the upper crust, in accordance with the "creme brulee" lithospheric model. Preliminary analysis of regionally recorded earthquakes that originated within the Zagros Mountains is presented here. Using earthquakes recorded at regional distances will allow the analysis of a larger dataset than has been used in previous studies. Preliminary results show earthquakes occurring throughout the crust and possibly extending into the upper mantle.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Woods, Charles R

2013-04-01

Rocky Mountain spotted fever is typically undifferentiated from many other infections in the first few days of illness. Treatment should not be delayed pending confirmation of infection when Rocky Mountain spotted fever is suspected. Doxycycline is the drug of choice even for infants and children less than 8 years old. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MOUNTAIN NATURAL BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN RUSSIA

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Arkady Tishkov

2012-01-01

Full Text Available High biodiversity and degree of endemism of mountain biota strengthen the mountain regions’ status for the territorial nature conservation. Analysis of the protected areas’ representativeness in various mountain regions of Russia shows some discrepancy between their quantity, square and regional biodiversity originality. The biggest divergences are marked for the Northern Caucasus. The main problems: small area of the protected territories and also cluster character of their spatial distribution, mostly in the high mountains are not supposed to conform with the highest values of the regional flora’s and fauna’s uniqueness, to compensate representativeness of the protected biota and, in anyway, to correspond with the purpose of nature protection frame—the protected territories ecologic network’s forming. The situation in the Urals, Siberia and the Far East seems to be better. The large areas of the protected territories are in general agreement with the high originality of the nature ecosystems. Nevertheless each concrete case needs analysis of the regional biota’s and ecosystems’ biodiversity distribution within the protected areas, including character and (or unique elements of the regional biodiversity to be held. The development of the effectual territorial conservation of mountain regions needs differential approach. The creation of the large representative parcels of nature landscapes in the key-areas has the considerable meaning in the low-developed regions, difficult to access. And well-developed regions have the necessity of nature protected territories’ network development and the planning of the ecological frame’s forming. The territorial biodiversity conservation, including the system of federal, regional and local levels with protective conservation of the rare species has to be combined with ecosystem’s restoration, especially in the zones disturbed by erosion, recreation and military actions. Also it is

The effects of forest-savanna-grassland gradients on bird communities of Chiquitano Dry Forests domain, in western Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Godoi, Mauricio N; Souza, Edivaldo O DE

2016-01-01

Different vegetation types are distributed in mountains according to altitude, topography and soil. The composition and structure of bird communities in these areas can change in relation to the vegetation gradient, with particular communities occupying each habitat type. In this study we present the changes in composition, species richness and bird abundance over the gradient of forests, savannas and altitudinal grasslands of Maciço do Urucum, a mountainous region located in the Chiquitano Dry Forests domain in western Brazil. We recorded 165 bird species through qualitative and quantitative methods. Forested savannas, riparian forests and submontane forests presented the highest richness and abundance of birds, while arboreal savannas and altitudinal grasslands had intermediate and low values, respectively. The bird composition was similar between riparian and submontane forests, while other vegetation types present more dissimilar bird communities. Our results show differences in composition, richness and bird abundance among the vegetation types present at Maciço do Urucum, and highlight an important function of vegetation gradients for the conservation of bird communities in mountains. Additionally, this is the first study of the bird communities in the Brazilian Chiquitano Dry Forests, an important domain in the west of Brazil which has been poorly studied.

Mingadhuga Mingayung: Respecting Country through Mother Mountain's Stories to Share Her Cultural Voice in Western Academic Structures

Science.gov (United States)

McKnight, Anthony

2015-01-01

The cultural invasion of Yuin Country in Australia not only colonized the Yuin people and Yuin Country itself, but also contributed to non-Aboriginal people's continual colonized journey of disconnecting self from Mother Earth. Cultural awareness is a process driven by Western theories informed by the colonial dualism that functions on separation…

Modeling a historical mountain pine beetle outbreak using Landsat MSS and multiple lines of evidence

Science.gov (United States)

Assal, Timothy J.; Sibold, Jason; Reich, Robin M.

2014-01-01

Mountain pine beetles are significant forest disturbance agents, capable of inducing widespread mortality in coniferous forests in western North America. Various remote sensing approaches have assessed the impacts of beetle outbreaks over the last two decades. However, few studies have addressed the impacts of historical mountain pine beetle outbreaks, including the 1970s event that impacted Glacier National Park. The lack of spatially explicit data on this disturbance represents both a major data gap and a critical research challenge in that wildfire has removed some of the evidence from the landscape. We utilized multiple lines of evidence to model forest canopy mortality as a proxy for outbreak severity. We incorporate historical aerial and landscape photos, aerial detection survey data, a nine-year collection of satellite imagery and abiotic data. This study presents a remote sensing based framework to (1) relate measurements of canopy mortality from fine-scale aerial photography to coarse-scale multispectral imagery and (2) classify the severity of mountain pine beetle affected areas using a temporal sequence of Landsat data and other landscape variables. We sampled canopy mortality in 261 plots from aerial photos and found that insect effects on mortality were evident in changes to the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) over time. We tested multiple spectral indices and found that a combination of NDVI and the green band resulted in the strongest model. We report a two-step process where we utilize a generalized least squares model to account for the large-scale variability in the data and a binary regression tree to describe the small-scale variability. The final model had a root mean square error estimate of 9.8% canopy mortality, a mean absolute error of 7.6% and an R2 of 0.82. The results demonstrate that a model of percent canopy mortality as a continuous variable can be developed to identify a gradient of mountain pine beetle severity on the

The Olympic Mountains Experiment (OLYMPEX)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Houze, Robert A. [University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; McMurdie, Lynn A. [University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; Petersen, Walter A. [NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama; Schwaller, Mathew R. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland; Baccus, William [Olympic National Park, Port Angeles, Washington; Lundquist, Jessica D. [University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; Mass, Clifford F. [University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; Nijssen, Bart [University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; Rutledge, Steven A. [Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado; Hudak, David R. [Environment and Climate Change Canada, King City, Ontario, Canada; Tanelli, Simone [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California; Mace, Gerald G. [University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah; Poellot, Michael R. [University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota; Lettenmaier, Dennis P. [University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Zagrodnik, Joseph P. [University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; Rowe, Angela K. [University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; DeHart, Jennifer C. [University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; Madaus, Luke E. [National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado; Barnes, Hannah C. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington

2017-10-01

the Olympic Mountains Experiment (OLYMPEX) took place during the 2015-2016 fall-winter season in the vicinity of the mountainous Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. The goals of OLYMPEX were to provide physical and hydrologic ground validation for the U.S./Japan Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite mission and, more specifically, to study how precipitation in Pacific frontal systems is modified by passage over coastal mountains. Four transportable scanning dual-polarization Doppler radars of various wavelengths were installed. Surface stations were placed at various altitudes to measure precipitation rates, particle size distributions, and fall velocities. Autonomous recording cameras monitored and recorded snow accumulation. Four research aircraft supplied by NASA investigated precipitation processes and snow cover, and supplemental rawinsondes and dropsondes were deployed during precipitation events. Numerous Pacific frontal systems were sampled, including several reaching "atmospheric river" status, warm and cold frontal systems, and postfrontal convection

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever: Statistics and Epidemiology

Science.gov (United States)

... Search Form Controls Cancel Submit Search the CDC Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) Note: Javascript is disabled or is not ... message, please visit this page: About CDC.gov . Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) Transmission Signs and Symptoms Diagnosis and Testing ...

Evolution of endemism on a young tropical mountain.

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Merckx, Vincent S F T; Hendriks, Kasper P; Beentjes, Kevin K; Mennes, Constantijn B; Becking, Leontine E; Peijnenburg, Katja T C A; Afendy, Aqilah; Arumugam, Nivaarani; de Boer, Hugo; Biun, Alim; Buang, Matsain M; Chen, Ping-Ping; Chung, Arthur Y C; Dow, Rory; Feijen, Frida A A; Feijen, Hans; Feijen-van Soest, Cobi; Geml, József; Geurts, René; Gravendeel, Barbara; Hovenkamp, Peter; Imbun, Paul; Ipor, Isa; Janssens, Steven B; Jocqué, Merlijn; Kappes, Heike; Khoo, Eyen; Koomen, Peter; Lens, Frederic; Majapun, Richard J; Morgado, Luis N; Neupane, Suman; Nieser, Nico; Pereira, Joan T; Rahman, Homathevi; Sabran, Suzana; Sawang, Anati; Schwallier, Rachel M; Shim, Phyau-Soon; Smit, Harry; Sol, Nicolien; Spait, Maipul; Stech, Michael; Stokvis, Frank; Sugau, John B; Suleiman, Monica; Sumail, Sukaibin; Thomas, Daniel C; van Tol, Jan; Tuh, Fred Y Y; Yahya, Bakhtiar E; Nais, Jamili; Repin, Rimi; Lakim, Maklarin; Schilthuizen, Menno

2015-08-20

Tropical mountains are hot spots of biodiversity and endemism, but the evolutionary origins of their unique biotas are poorly understood. In varying degrees, local and regional extinction, long-distance colonization, and local recruitment may all contribute to the exceptional character of these communities. Also, it is debated whether mountain endemics mostly originate from local lowland taxa, or from lineages that reach the mountain by long-range dispersal from cool localities elsewhere. Here we investigate the evolutionary routes to endemism by sampling an entire tropical mountain biota on the 4,095-metre-high Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, East Malaysia. We discover that most of its unique biodiversity is younger than the mountain itself (6 million years), and comprises a mix of immigrant pre-adapted lineages and descendants from local lowland ancestors, although substantial shifts from lower to higher vegetation zones in this latter group were rare. These insights could improve forecasts of the likelihood of extinction and 'evolutionary rescue' in montane biodiversity hot spots under climate change scenarios.

Introduction to the special issue: permafrost and periglacial research from coasts to mountains

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Schrott, Lothar; Humlum, Ole

2017-09-01

This special issue of Geomorphology includes eleven papers dealing with permafrost and periglacial research from coasts to mountains. The compilation represents a selection from 47 presentations (oral and posters) given at the 4th European Conference on Permafrost - IPA Regional Conference (EUCOP4, June 2014) in the session ;Periglacial Geomorphology;. Geomorphology as a leading journal for our discipline is particularly suitable to publish advances in permafrost and periglacial research with a focus on geomorphic processes. Since 1989 Geomorphology has published 121 special issues and two special issues are explicitly dedicated to permafrost and periglacial research, however, only with a focus on research in Antarctica. In this special issue we present papers from the Canadian Beaufort Sea, Alaska, Spitzbergen, central western Poland, the European Alps, the eastern Sudetes, the southern Carpathians, Nepal, and Antarctica.

Sweet vernal grasses (Anthoxanthum) colonized African mountains along two fronts in the Late Pliocene, followed by secondary contact, polyploidization and local extinction in the Pleistocene.

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Tusiime, Felly Mugizi; Gizaw, Abel; Wondimu, Tigist; Masao, Catherine Aloyce; Abdi, Ahmed Abdikadir; Muwanika, Vincent; Trávníček, Pavel; Nemomissa, Sileshi; Popp, Magnus; Eilu, Gerald; Brochmann, Christian; Pimentel, Manuel

2017-07-01

High tropical mountains harbour remarkable and fragmented biodiversity thought to a large degree to have been shaped by multiple dispersals of cold-adapted lineages from remote areas. Few dated phylogenetic/phylogeographic analyses are however available. Here, we address the hypotheses that the sub-Saharan African sweet vernal grasses have a dual colonization history and that lineages of independent origins have established secondary contact. We carried out rangewide sampling across the eastern African high mountains, inferred dated phylogenies from nuclear ribosomal and plastid DNA using Bayesian methods, and performed flow cytometry and AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphism) analyses. We inferred a single Late Pliocene western Eurasian origin of the eastern African taxa, whose high-ploid populations in one mountain group formed a distinct phylogeographic group and carried plastids that diverged from those of the currently allopatric southern African lineage in the Mid- to Late Pleistocene. We show that Anthoxanthum has an intriguing history in sub-Saharan Africa, including Late Pliocene colonization from southeast and north, followed by secondary contact, hybridization, allopolyploidization and local extinction during one of the last glacial cycles. Our results add to a growing body of evidence showing that isolated tropical high mountain habitats have a dynamic recent history involving niche conservatism and recruitment from remote sources, repeated dispersals, diversification, hybridization and local extinction. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.