Centre for the Observation and Modelling of Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tectonics
NERC Open Research ArchiveNot a member yet
55023 research outputs found
Sort by
The genome sequence of the poplar hawk-moth, Laothoe populi (Linnaeus, 1758)
Get PDFWe present a genome assembly from an individual female Laothoe populi (the poplar hawk-moth; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Sphingidae). The genome sequence is 576 megabases in span. The majority of the assembly is scaffolded into 29 chromosomal pseudomolecules, with the W and Z sex chromosome assembled
Photophysiology of the first reported bleached crustose coralline alga, Clathromorphum sp. (Hapalidiales, Rhodophyta), from Antarctica
Get PDFDuring a 2019 Chilean Antarctic Scientific Expedition (ECA 55) studying crustose coralline algae (CCA) diversity on the Antarctic Peninsula, bleaching of these algae was observed for the first time in this region. Here, we present initial findings on the physiological state of bleached and normally pigmented CCA (Clathromorphum sp.) assessed using chlorophyll-a fluorescence induction pulse amplitude modulation. The study site experienced high light exposure and salinity in the water column. Our analyses found that bleached CCA have relatively healthy photophysiology responses but lower photosynthetic efficiency, which could be associated with the low salinities recorded in the study area. However, seasonal monitoring and mesocosm experiments across the southern polar latitudes are urgently required to confirm this hypothesis
Rice-fish co-culture promotes multiple ecosystem services supporting increased yields
No full textRice-fish co-culture, combining rice cultivation with managed fish populations, has been conducted in southeast Asia for more than 2000 years. This is both an extensive and integrated management system that has significant potential to enhance yield by promoting a range of ecosystem services benefiting soil health and natural pest control in the rice growing period. However, very little is known about the role of earthworms in this process once the crop has been harvested. Here, we conducted a field experiment over two years (2019 and 2021) comparing rice-fish co-culture vs. rice-monoculture (fish free) systems in eastern China. We evaluated rice yield, earthworm populations (supporting nutrient cycling and soil structure), soil quality (including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and organic matter), pest abundance and populations of arthropod predators. Results showed that rice-fish co-culture increased earthworm and predator populations, while also improving soil quality and decreasing insect pests. This led to increased yield. We showed that the spill-over effects of earthworms from surrounding paddy field ridges into rice paddy fields benefited soil quality acting to increase rice productivity, but that this acted in combination with other processes such as the activity of fish and increased natural pest control. Our study suggests that rice-fish co-culture farming practices support multiple ecosystem services through improved soil quality, earthworm abundance, arthropod predator natural pest control and rice productivity
Improvement of physical and chemical properties of calcareous dark gray soil under different nitrogenous fertilizer management practices in wetland rice cultivation
No full textSoil is a valuable natural resource and medium for plant growth. Modern approaches to agricultural production can have negative impacts on soil health through interventions such as injudicious fertilizer application, tillage operations, and pesticide applications. The aims of this study were to explore whether nitrogen (N) fertilizer management could contribute to improved soil health in degraded calcareous dark gray soils in the northern part of Bangladesh. We investigated the effect of applying N as different fertilizer options (1) Zero N, (2) recommended dose (180 kg ha−1) prilled urea (PU) N, (3) recommended dose plus 25% extra prilled urea (PU) N, (4) 25% minus of recommended dose prilled urea (PU) N, (5) recommended dose in 2 metric ton ha−1 (MT ha−1) cow dung with prilled urea (PU) N, (6) Urea super granule (USG) deep placement and (7) 4 MT ha−1 biochar with recommended prilled urea (PU) N. In our experiment, we observed that fertilizer management options using biochar (4 MT ha−1) with the recommended rate of PU N and cow dung N (2 MT ha−1) supplemented with PU N contributed to the maintenance of good such as physical and chemical properties of soil. After three years of experimentation, the proportion of sand particles in the experimental soil was reduced slightly. On the other hand, the proportion of silt and clay particles increased due to the application of cow dung N 2 MT ha−1 supplemented with PU N and biochar 4 MT ha−1 with recommended PU N. The combined application of cow dung and biochar with fertilizer N significantly increased soil organic matter (1.79 and 1.38% where the initial value was 1.20%) and total N content (0.07–0.09%). The addition of biochar in the soil increased the soil pH (7.62‒8.60). The available phosphorus and exchangeable potassium were improved in the soil due to application of cow dung and biochar. Likewise, the zinc content of the post-harvest soil also increased. Therefore, the application of biochar 4 MT ha−1 with recommended prilled urea N and cow dung N 2 MTha−1 with supplemented prilled urea N are the two good options for restoration or improvement of soil physical and chemical properties
An Update to the Central England Temperature Series—HadCET v2.1
Get PDFThe Central England Temperature (CET) series is one of the longest instrumental climate records in the world. The CET record from 1659 represents a roughly triangular area of England extending from the Lancashire plain in the north, to London in the south‐east and south‐west of the Midlands of England. HadCET is a composite series produced by the Met Office Hadley Centre, using data from a succession of observing sites for which the data have been adjusted to remove inhomogeneities to be consistent with the original long running series and be updated in near real time. This paper documents a technical update to the HadCET which is referred to as HadCET version 2 (v2), and at time of publication v2.1.0.0 is the latest available version
Life-course exposure to air pollution and the risk of dementia in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936
Get PDF•Background: Air pollution in later life has been associated with dementia; however, limited research has investigated the association between air pollution across the life course, either at specific life periods or cumulatively. The project investigates the association of air pollution with dementia via a life-course epidemiological approach.
•Methods: Participants of the Lothian Birth Cohort, born in 1936, provided lifetime residential history in 2014. Participant’s air pollution exposure for time periods 1935, 1950, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2001, and 2007 was modeled using an atmospheric chemistry transport model. Lifetime cumulative exposures were calculated as time-weighted mean exposure. Of 572 participants, 67 developed all-cause dementia [35 with Alzheimer's dementia (AD)] by wave 5 (~82 years). Cox proportional hazards and competing risk models assessed the association between all-cause dementia and AD with particulate matter (diameter of ≤2.5 µm) PM 2.5 and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) exposure at specific life periods and cumulatively. False discovery rate (FDR) correction was applied for multiple testing.
•Results: The mean follow-up was 11.26 years. One standard deviation (SD) higher exposure to air pollution in 1935 (PM 2.5 = 14.03 μg/m 3 , NO 2 = 5.35 μg/m 3 ) was positively linked but not statistically significant to all-cause dementia [PM 2.5 hazard ratio (HR) = 1.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.90, 1.49; NO 2 HR = 1.13, 95% CI = 0.88, 1.47] and AD (PM 2.5 HR = 1.38, 95% CI = 1.00, 1.91; NO 2 HR = 1.35, 95% CI = 0.92, 1.99). In the competing risk model, one SD elevated PM 2.5 exposure (1.12 μg/m 3 ) in 1990 was inversely associated with dementia (subdistribution HR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.67, 0.99) at P = 0.034 but not after FDR correction ( P FDR = 0.442). Higher cumulative PM 2.5 per one SD was associated with an increased risk of all-cause dementia and AD for all accumulation models except for the early-life model.
•Conclusion: The in-utero and early-life exposure to PM 2.5 and NO 2 was associated with higher AD and all-cause dementia risk, suggesting a sensitive/critical period. Cumulative exposure to PM 2.5 across the life course was associated with higher dementia risk. Midlife PM 2.5 exposure’s negative association with all-cause dementia risk may stem from unaddressed confounders or bias
Chapter 8: Pollution in Antarctica
Get PDFThis chapter examines the historical legacy of human activities in and around Antarctica and assesses pollutants from the mid-late 20th century onwards that will have lasting impacts, potentially thousands of years into the future. First, we examine some well-known anthropogenic pollution threats, principally from the impact of tourism, research stations and shipping, the legacy of degrading whaling stations and other infrastructure, and ‘chemical’ contaminants. Second, we examine some ‘novel’ pollutants such as radioactive fallout, metals, and plastics. Current environmental and mitigation practices are evaluated, and the impact of climate change on pollutants in Antarctica is highlighted
Geology of the Edinburgh district
Get PDFThis Open Report describes the geology of the Edinburgh district and surrounding area, and accompanies the BGS Sheet 32E (Edinburgh) sheets, with a Bedrock edition (2003) and a Bedrock and Superficial Deposits edition (2006). The report was originally intended as a Sheet Description, but this series was discontinued before revisions and editing of the manuscript were complete. Some authors retired from BGS, and the manuscript languished in the bottom drawer for a decade. With the new BGS strategy for Maps and Models for the 21st century (BGS 2023), it was decided that the manuscript still represented a valuable contribution to the knowledge of the geology of Edinburgh district. As a result, although published in 2025, the report represents the state of knowledge and understanding of the geology as reached in the early 2000s, and the reader needs to take into account the vintage of the report.
However, this report has been updated in two aspects. The first concerns the re-interpretation of the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary in the district, and indeed in the Midland Valley as a whole. This boundary was previously thought to occur within the Kinneswood formation, but work in the Scottish Borders (Marshall et al. 2018) has shown that the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary occurs at the boundary between the Kinneswood and Ballagan formations. The relevant strata can be reliably correlated to the Edinburgh district, so the chronostratigraphy of these formations has been updated in this report.
Secondly, changes in society and policy related to the green transition and decarbonisation of energy sources renders part of the Applied Geology section as out-of-date. Sections on fossil fuel sections are to a degree redundant, but have been retained for historic purposes. Comments in bold are added to provide more modern context and to reflect recent policy changes. The section on geothermal energy has been extensively updated by Alison Monaghan to match current interest and directions of research.
Alison Monaghan and Teddy Reeves have tracked revisions and corrections, and have extensively edited the manuscript, so that the outstanding work of the original authors Mike Browne, David Gould, Alison Monaghan and Maxine Akhurst can finally be published
Tundra vegetation community type, not microclimate, controls asynchrony of above- and below-ground phenology
Get PDFThe below‐ground growing season often extends beyond the above‐ground growing season in tundra ecosystems and as the climate warms, shifts in growing seasons are expected. However, we do not yet know to what extent, when and where asynchrony in above‐ and below‐ground phenology occurs and whether variation is driven by local vegetation communities or spatial variation in microclimate. Here, we combined above‐ and below‐ground plant phenology metrics to compare the relative timings and magnitudes of leaf and fine‐root growth and senescence across microclimates and plant communities at five sites across the Arctic and alpine tundra biome. We observed asynchronous growth between above‐ and below‐ground plant tissue, with the below‐ground season extending up to 74% (~56 days) beyond the onset of above‐ground leaf senescence. Plant community type, rather than microclimate, was a key factor controlling the timing, productivity, and growth rates of fine roots, with graminoid roots exhibiting a distinct ‘pulse’ of growth later into the growing season than shrub roots. Our findings indicate the potential of vegetation change to influence below‐ground carbon storage as the climate warms and roots remain active in unfrozen soils for longer. Taken together, our findings of increased root growth in soils that remain thawed later into the growing season, in combination with ongoing tundra vegetation change including increased shrub and graminoid abundance, indicate increased below‐ground productivity and altered carbon cycling in the tundra biome
Accounting for the uncertainty in nitrogen deposition estimates in support of policy
Get PDF•Deposition of reactive nitrogen (Nr) onto sensitive habitats in exceedance of Critical Load (CL) thresholds can drive biodiversity loss and affect ecosystem function. Nr deposition is a highly complex process that is difficult to measure and model, leading to large uncertainties.
•We assess the implications for policy development and target setting of the large range in estimates provided by different modelling approaches.
•We considered three UK models (UKIAM, EMEP4UK, CBED), used to inform national policy and responses to the UN-ECE Air Convention. We used a scaling method to project the range in current estimates to future scenarios, and a risk-based approach to provide a probabilistic assessment of exceedances. We considered two future scenarios, a 2040 baseline and a 2040 high ambition technological measures scenario, in relation to a 2018 baseline.
•The 2018 baseline CL excedances are highly dependent on the model used – Average Accumulated Exceedance of 1.3-9.1 kg.N.ha-1.yr-1 across all habitats. The relative reduction in exceedances for future scenarios also depends on the model, with a range of 30-66% achieved by 2040 for the high ambition scenario, posing a challenge for target setting. Despite this, it’s clear that a much greater level of ambition is required to protect the majority of habitat areas. Our risk-based approach shows that implementing only technological measures is likely to leave most areas in exceedance in 2040.
•This uncertainty in the assessment of Nr deposition and the benefits of abatement measures poses a challenge for policy development that is not unique to the UK
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage NERC Open Research Archive? Access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard!