A 1500 year aeolian history as recorded in a peat bog from northern Romania: dust fluxes and deposition control in comparison with Western Europe

Dust consists of small particles that reached the atmosphere from various sources (arid or semi-arid regions) via aeolian processes. Dust plays an important role in climate systems due to the changes it can induce in the radiative properties of the atmosphere;  reflecting or absorbing solar radiation, or, indirectly, by affecting  cloud formation and precipitation patterns. Dust transport and deposition can vary over time and space, and it is controlled mainly by climatic characteristics (e.g., precipitation, wind speed, the movement of air masses

How warm? How wet? Hydroclimate reconstruction of the past 7500 years in northern Carpathians, Romania

As natural and anthropogenic ecosystems are dependent on the local water availability, understanding past changes in hydroclimate represents a priority in research concerning past climate variability. Here, we used testate amoebae (TA) and chironomid analysis on a radiocarbon dated complex of small pond and peat bog sediment profiles from an ombrotrophic bog (Taut Muced, northern Carpathians, Romania) to quantitatively determine major hydrological changes and July air temperature over the last 7500 years.Wet mire surface conditions with a pH between 23 and 4.5 were inferred for the periods 4500-2700 and 1300400 cal yr BP by the occurrence of Archerella flavum, Amphitrema wrightianum and Hyalosphenia papilio. Dry phases in mire surface conditions and a pH between 2.5 and 5 were inferred for 7550-4500, 2750-1300 and 0 cal yr BP-present by the dominance of Nebela militaris, Difflugia pulex and Phryganella acropodia. The quantitative reconstruction of mean July temperature based on the chironomid communities suggests low summer temperatures for the periods 6550-5600, 4500-3150 and 1550-600 cal yr BP, while periods of slightly higher summer temperatures were observed for 5600-4500,3150-1550 and 100 cal yr BP-present. There is a generally good agreement between drier phases of the peat surface conditions with higher July temperature, suggesting that temperature may have been a controlling factor for water table fluctuation.Our quantitative reconstructions, among the first for central eastern Europe, show a relatively good agreement with other palaeohydrological studies from central eastern Europe, but contrast with others estimates from north-west Europe. Another important aspect of our study is that it provides valuable information on changes in local hydrology and the potential effect of the mean summer temperature over these changes. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Genotyping of African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) Isolates in Romania with the First Report of Genotype II in Symptomatic Pigs

The World Organisation for Animal Health has listed African swine fever as the most important deadly disease in domestic swine around the world. The virus was recently brought from South-East Africa to Georgia in 2007, and it has since expanded to Russia, Eastern Europe, China, and Southeast Asia, having a devastating impact on the global swine industry and economy. In this study, we report for the first time the molecular characterization of nine African swine fever virus (ASFV) isolates obtained from domestic pigs in Mureş County, Romania. All nine Romanian samples clustered within p72 genotype II and showed 100% identity with all compared isolates from Georgia, Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and Poland. This is the first report of ASFV genotype II in the country

How warm? How wet? Hydroclimate reconstruction of the past 7500 years in northern Carpathians, Romania

As natural and anthropogenic ecosystems are dependent on the local water availability, understanding past changes in hydroclimate represents a priority in research concerning past climate variability. Here, we used testate amoebae (TA) and chironomid analysis on a radiocarbon dated complex of small pond and peat bog sediment profiles from an ombrotrophic bog (Taut Muced, northern Carpathians, Romania) to quantitatively determine major hydrological changes and July air temperature over the last 7500 years.Wet mire surface conditions with a pH between 23 and 4.5 were inferred for the periods 4500-2700 and 1300400 cal yr BP by the occurrence of Archerella flavum, Amphitrema wrightianum and Hyalosphenia papilio. Dry phases in mire surface conditions and a pH between 2.5 and 5 were inferred for 7550-4500, 2750-1300 and 0 cal yr BP-present by the dominance of Nebela militaris, Difflugia pulex and Phryganella acropodia. The quantitative reconstruction of mean July temperature based on the chironomid communities suggests low summer temperatures for the periods 6550-5600, 4500-3150 and 1550-600 cal yr BP, while periods of slightly higher summer temperatures were observed for 5600-4500,3150-1550 and 100 cal yr BP-present. There is a generally good agreement between drier phases of the peat surface conditions with higher July temperature, suggesting that temperature may have been a controlling factor for water table fluctuation.Our quantitative reconstructions, among the first for central eastern Europe, show a relatively good agreement with other palaeohydrological studies from central eastern Europe, but contrast with others estimates from north-west Europe. Another important aspect of our study is that it provides valuable information on changes in local hydrology and the potential effect of the mean summer temperature over these changes. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Disentangling dust and sand deposition using a peat record in CE Europe (northern Romania): a novel multiproxy analysis

Aeolian sediments play an important role in the global climatic system and occur in the atmosphere due to soil and bedrock erosion. Here, we applied three different methods: geochemical (XRF), manual and laser-based particle size analysis to an ombrotrophic peat profile in the Carpathian Mountains to determine changes in aeolian deposition and wind/storm activity over the last 7800 years. The results show four changes in aeolian fluxes (dust and sand) over time: 7800–4150 cal. yr BP – generally low dust fluxes with a periodic intensification of sand fluxes; 4150–2300 cal. yr BP – intense deposition of both dust and sand; 2300–150 cal. yr BP – fluctuating dust and sand fluxes; the last 200 years – the highest amplitude of both sand and dust fluxes. This study found that patterns in aeolian fluxes were primarily influenced by climate, but with anthropogenic drivers, such as disturbance by fire, becoming more important in recent times. We also found a good agreement with other studies of dust fluxes for the earlier part of this record before 3500 cal. yr BP, but an increasing divergence over the last 3500 years. In terms of a methodological approach, we suggest that the three approaches each have both advantages and disadvantages; though overall laser-based particle size dust and sand reconstruction appears to best capture the most complex changes in both aeolian deposition rates and sources