Impacto da introdução da albufeira de Alqueva no modelo de previsão AROME

Apesar de as comportas da barragem de Alqueva terem sido fechadas em 2002, dando origem ao maior lago artificial da Europa Ocidental, os seus possíveis efeitos no estado do tempo em Portugal não são tidos em conta pelos modelos operacionais de previsão numérica utilizados no Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA). Assim, é necessário introduzir a fisiografia do lago no modelo em estudo (AROME) e realizar a validação do mesmo através das diferenças entre as simulações com e sem Alqueva, confrontando os resultados da análise estatística e meteorológica com as observações; ABSTRACT: Although the floodgates of the Alqueva dam were closed in 2002, giving rise to the largest artificial lake in Western Europe, its possible effects on the weather in Portugal are not being taken into account by the operational Numerical Weather Prediction models at IPMA. Thus, it is necessary to introduce the physiography of the lake in the model under study (AROME), and to validate it by analysing statistically as well as meteorologically the differences between the model simulations with and without Alqueva and to compare these results with observations

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved