Centre for the Observation and Modelling of Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tectonics
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Low-cost preventative measures can effectively mitigate microplastic release from scientific research facilities in Antarctica
No full textMicroplastic release in Antarctica is an issue of increasing concern, despite the limited human presence in the region. This study estimates the annual release of microplastics from the wastewaters of scientific facilities through the use of personal care products and laundering. Furthermore, it analyses the most cost-efficient policy interventions to target this pollution. The study has estimated a potential release of 238 kg per year, which is negligible on a continental scale but could have substantial local environmental impacts. A comprehensive cost-efficiency analysis demonstrates that microplastic release can be effectively mitigated through low-cost preventative measures, such as installing washing machine filters and banning hygiene products containing microbeads. Furthermore, the implementation of wastewater treatment systems is suggested as a crucial and long-term cost-effective solution for treating wastewater effluent and removing other pollutants from the Antarctic region. These results provide a framework to inform policy decisions on microplastic release in Antarctica and lay the foundation for improved environmental protection strategies in this sensitive region
Deep Argo improves the accuracy and resolution of ocean bathymetry
Get PDFOcean bathymetry plays an instrumental role in stirring ocean circulation and ocean mixing, shaping the transport of ocean heat, freshwater, oxygen, and carbon, influencing the propagation of tides and tsunamis, and controlling the dispersion of sediments, nutrients, and planktonic species. The dearth of direct ocean bathymetry measurements from shipboard echo sounders covering only 26% of the ocean floor calls for supplemental data. Satellites can provide bathymetry estimates in poorly-sampled regions, but intrinsic limitations of satellite measurements limit their ability to resolve features at horizontal scale 77% of data coverage) and higher vertical accuracy of the Deep Argo data set (3.9–4.2 m at 4,000–6,000 m depth). The inclusion of the Deep Argo bathymetry in the general bathymetric chart of the ocean shows 50–200 m range improvement in the accuracy of altimetrically derived predicted depths
Effect-based and (non-)target chemical analyses reveal concerning levels of emerging contaminants in urban streams in sub-Saharan Africa
No full textWater contamination by micropollutants is a global issue, yet there is limited information from low-income regions. To address this, we evaluated surface water quality in rapidly growing sub-Saharan area of Malawi lacking wastewater treatment. Integrated assessment of passive sample extracts representing wet and dry seasons combined effect-based approach with in vitro bioassays, target and non-target chemical analyses (NTS). It revealed specific contamination profiles characterized by high concentrations of numerous pollutants, frequent exceedances of Predicted No-Effect Concentrations, and concerning levels of certain insecticides (chlorpyrifos, pirimiphos-methyl) and pharmaceuticals (sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, diclofenac). Proposed threshold values were exceeded for estrogenicity, androgenicity, aryl hydrocarbon receptor-mediated activity, thyroid hormone receptor agonism, and transthyretin (TTR) binding inhibition (highest effect-based trigger value exceedance, over 600-fold), which indicates risks to aquatic life. The combination of TTR pull-down assay, NTS, and bioassays enabled the isolation and identification of active compounds, including previously unreported TTR ligands 4-hydroxychlorothalonil (pesticide metabolite) and chlorothiazide (diuretic). Linear alkylbenzene sulfonates and related features contributed most significantly to TTR binding inhibition. This study introduces novel analytical approaches to address challenging groups of surfactants occurring in technical mixtures containing multiple branched isomers. The results underscore the added value of implementing effect-based assessment in understudied regions and the challenges posed by transformation products and technical mixtures lacking standards and reference spectra in NTS libraries. Our findings emphasize the need to expand MS/MS spectral libraries by incorporating metabolites and transformation products. The study highlights the impacts and risks of untreated wastewater discharges in regions affected by climatic and socio-economic pressures
Controls on Fjord Temperature Throughout Greenland in a Reduced‐Physics Model
Get PDFGreenland's fjords modulate exchanges between its outlet glaciers and the open ocean. Subglacial discharge and iceberg melt redistribute heat and salt in the fjord, modifying waters at glacier fronts and impacting glacier melt. Considering observations are sparse and general circulation models are computationally expensive, we use a reduced-physics model to simulate vertical profiles of temperature and salinity for 37 fjords around Greenland. For each fjord, we conduct large model ensembles to explore the effects of subglacial discharge, iceberg melt, and fjord-shelf exchange on water properties. We show that our model successfully captures water mass changes inside fjords: iceberg melt cools the surface, while subglacial discharge plumes and fjord-shelf exchange tend to decrease and increase temperature stratification, respectively. By comparing our ensemble to observations, we highlight that despite high interannual and fjord-to-fjord variability in ocean and meltwater forcings, a reduced-physics model can elucidate how fjords modulate ice-sheet-ocean exchanges at Greenland-wide scales
The Bunce legacy: a framework for landscape monitoring in the UK
No full textIn the UK, the late Professor Bob Bunce developed an approach to landscape monitoring involving a stratified sampling strategy in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The strategy facilitated large-scale landscape estimates and assessments of land use information, including farmland habitats and plant species, from a statistical sample of survey sites. The success of the approach at smaller scales led to a series of ongoing national monitoring programmes, managed by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, which are currently the longest running and most comprehensive ecological surveys in the UK. Data collected during these surveys is critical to the understanding of the extent of farmed land in the UK and its relevance for the provision of a wide range of ecosystem services (as well as production).
Notably, the Countryside Survey of Great Britain has been running since 1978 and has been repeated at approximately decadal intervals, until 2019 when it became an annual rolling programme. The programme is flexible, and has been used to evaluate agricultural impacts on habitats and plant species including agri-environment schemes and nitrogen deposition. For example, it recently enabled an assessment of hedgerows in England to be carried out in 2023. The linked Countryside Survey in Northern Ireland has been running since 1986 and has just undergone a repeat survey in the last 2 years. In Wales, the Bunce methods have been adapted to develop the Environmental Monitoring and Monitoring Programme (ERAMMP) field survey – a comprehensive integrated assessment of the Welsh landscape.
An overview of the stratified sampling approach will be described including a description of the approaches to calculating state and change in agricultural landscapes, in particular, changes in farmland plants and habitats. Background to the latest monitoring programmes will be given and some key findings from the Countryside Surveys and ERAMMP will be presented, with an emphasis on potential farmland indicators
‘Seeing inside flood embankments' – novel geophysical imaging approaches for assessing the health of safety–critical flood defence infrastructure
No full textGeophysical characterisation and monitoring of flood embankments or levees can transform
future flood defence management by providing rapid, non-invasive, spatial/volumetric
subsurface information to inform susceptibility assessments and enabling onset detection of
deterioration and failure mechanisms. Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) is particularly
promising due to its sensitivity to critical geotechnical properties, including clay content,
porosity, and moisture content.
The primary focus of this thesis is the development of ERT methodologies that provied accurate
resistivity models for quantitative interpretation. Offline topography poses a significant
challenge for 2D surveys carried out along embankment crests. Systematic forward modelling of
typical embankment geometries reveals that most geometries significantly affect ERT
measurements, compounded by subsurface resistivity variations. Generally, 3D acquisitions and
inversions are recommended, or 2D surveys may be corrected using the 3D topography and
estimated resistivity distribution.
Burrowing animals can perforate flood embankments, increasing the risk of seepage.
Information on the burrow location enables targeted remediation. Combined ERT and Ground
Penetrating Radar (GPR) surveys were undertaken for two badger setts by the River Ouse. Both
methods identified shallow burrows, but ERT imaged tunnels up to 1.5 m deep, allowing the setts
to be accurately mapped, informing remediation. I have shown for the first time that ERT can
serve as a primary survey tool for badger setts.
Looking to the future, climate change is causing hotter, drier summers and warmer, wetter
winters, accelerating earthwork deterioration. To evaluate the risk, a clay-rich flood embankment
at Warden, Northumberland, was monitored using ERT and environmental sensors for 2.5 years.
By correlating observed drying depths to the local climate and extrapolating it using climate
models, I show that drying depths may nearly double by 2100. Desiccation-driven embankment
deterioration will become increasingly damaging.
This research highlights the value of ERT for quantitatively characterising and monitoring flood
embankments in a changing climate
The Provenance of Silver in the Viking‐Age Hoard From Bedale, North Yorkshire
Get PDFThe acquisition of silver was a key motive propelling the Viking expansion out of Scandinavia; identifying the sources of Viking silver during the early part of the Viking Age can provide critical insights into the relative significance of western European and eastern, Islamic wealth in the Viking expansion. Here, we present new lead isotope and trace element analyses of silver ingots and rings contained in the late ninth‐ /early tenth‐century hoard from Bedale, North Yorkshire. Comparing the results of the cast silver artefacts against an extensive reference dataset comprising ninth‐century Anglo‐Saxon, Carolingian and Islamic silver sources, in addition to candidate lead sources, we identify several metallurgical groups with distinct silver origins.
Silver subject to cupellation (refining) during recent recycling/casting processes can be distinguished from non‐refined silver, from both western European and eastern Islamic and indeed mixed, sources. The results indicate a dominant contribution of western European silver, pointing to the fate of loot seized by the Vikings during their raids on the Continent in the ninth century. Nonetheless, Islamic silver is also present in several large ingots: silver from the east—the product of long‐distance trade networks connecting Scandinavia with the Islamic Caliphate—permeated Viking wealth sources even in the western part of the Viking overseas settlement and should be seen as a significant driver of the Viking phenomenon
The genome sequence of the European shag, Gulosus aristotelis (previously Phalacrocorax aristotelis) (Linnaeus, 1761)
Get PDFWe present a genome assembly from an individual female Gulosus aristotelis, previously known as Phalacrocorax aristotelis, (the European shag; Chordata; Aves; Pelecaniformes; Phalacrocoracidae). The genome sequence is 1,279.1 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 36 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the Z and W sex chromosomes. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 18.61 kilobases in length. Gene annotation of this assembly on Ensembl identified 16,474 protein coding genes
Genomic, transcriptomic and epigenomic signatures of ageing and cold adaptation in the Antarctic clam Laternula elliptica
Get PDFGenomic data are lacking for most Antarctic marine invertebrates, predicating our ability to understand physiological adaptation and specific life-history traits, such as longevity. The environmental stress response of the Antarctic infaunal clam Laternula elliptica is much diminished in older adult animals compared with younger juvenile individuals. However, the mechanism underlying this reduced capacity is unknown. In this study, we describe and analyse the genome of L. elliptica and use it as a tool to understand transcriptomic responses to shell damage across different age cohorts. Gene expression data were combined with reduced representation enzymic methyl sequencing to identify if methylation was acting as an epigenetic mechanism driving age-dependent transcriptional profiles. Our transcriptomic results demonstrated a clear bipartite molecular response in L. elliptica, associated with a rapid growth phase in juveniles and a stabilization phase in reproductively mature adults. Genes active in the response to damage repair in juvenile animals are silent in adults but can be reactivated after several months following damage stimulus; however, these genes were not methylated. Hence, the trigger for this critical and imprinted change in physiological state is, as yet, unknown. While epigenetics is likely involved in this process, the mechanism is unlikely to be methylation
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