Seascape Genetics of a Globally Distributed, Highly Mobile Marine Mammal: The Short-Beaked Common Dolphin (Genus Delphinus)

Identifying which factors shape the distribution of intraspecific genetic diversity is central in evolutionary and conservation biology. In the marine realm, the absence of obvious barriers to dispersal can make this task more difficult. Nevertheless, recent studies have provided valuable insights into which factors may be shaping genetic structure in the world's oceans. These studies were, however, generally conducted on marine organisms with larval dispersal. Here, using a seascape genetics approach, we show that marine productivity and sea surface temperature are correlated with genetic structure in a highly mobile, widely distributed marine mammal species, the short-beaked common dolphin. Isolation by distance also appears to influence population divergence over larger geographical scales (i.e. across different ocean basins). We suggest that the relationship between environmental variables and population structure may be caused by prey behaviour, which is believed to determine common dolphins' movement patterns and preferred associations with certain oceanographic conditions. Our study highlights the role of oceanography in shaping genetic structure of a highly mobile and widely distributed top marine predator. Thus, seascape genetic studies can potentially track the biological effects of ongoing climate-change at oceanographic interfaces and also inform marine reserve design in relation to the distribution and genetic connectivity of charismatic and ecologically important megafauna

Korkea rakentaminen

Useilla paikkakunnilla Suomessa on vireillä rakennuskohteita, joiden rakennuksien korkeus poikkeaa tavanomaisesta rakennuksesta. Suomessa kokemus korkeiden rakennusten rakentamisesta on kuitenkin varsin vähäistä ja vaatii uudenlaista ajattelutapaa rakennustyömaille kuin suunnittelutoimistoihinkin. Tässä työssä tarkastelukohteena on Helsingissä YIT:n rakentama Tripla-keskus, jossa hotelli- ja toimistorakennuksen korkeus vaati noudattamaan viranomaisten asettamia määräyksiä. Opinnäytetyössä haastateltiin useita työnjohtajia Triplan työmaalla, Helsingin pelastuslaitoksessa sekä tehtiin useita työmaakäyntejä. Korkeissa rakennuksissa korostuu useat rakentamisen osa-alueet, jotka vaativat lisähuomiota eri toimijoilta. Tässä työssä on tuotu esille viimeisin versio Helsingin kaupungin laatimasta korkean rakentamisen ohjekortistoa sekä dokumentoitu Triplan työmaalta erilaisia ratkaisuja tuotannosta, työturvallisuudesta sekä paloturvallisuudesta. Tuulen vaikutus korkeaan rakennukseen kasvaa entisestään, mitä korkeammalle rakennetaan. On varsin tärkeää huomioida tiiviissä kaupunkiympäristössä työnaikainen putoamisenestäminen. Uutena ratkaisuna markkinoille ovat tulleet putoamissuojaverkot, joiden asentamisen suunnittelu pitäisi lähteä rakennesuunnittelijan pöydältä. Työmaan ja pelastuslaitoksen pitää tehdä tiivistä yhteistyötä paloturvallisuudesta rakennushankkeen alkuvaiheesta lähtien sekä esimerkiksi järjestää pelastautumisharjoituksia työmaalla. Rakennus on jaettava palo-osastoihin pinta-alan ja kerroksien suhteen sekä rakennuksessa on käytettävä työnaikaisia palo-ovia. Jotta rakennustyömaa pysyy aikataulussa, on tällöin aloitettava sisävaiheentyöt ennen kuin vesikatto on rakennettu. Tällöin rakennukseen on tehtävä erilaisia vedeneristys ratkaisuja kerroksittain. Uudenlaisista rakennuskohteista on hyvin tärkeää dokumentoida onnistumiset sekä haasteet, jotta jatkossa osataan ennaltaehkäistä tulleita ongelmia mahdollisimman tehokkaasti ja kehittää Suomen rakentamista eteenpäin.Many cities in Finland have constructions projects in progress, whose building height differs from a conventional height of building. However, the experience a building of high-rise building in Finland is rather limited and requires a new way of thinking for construction sites and design offices. This work focuses on the Tripla project created by YIT In Helsinki. Where the height of the hotel and office building are required to comply with regulations set by authorities. Where also several supervisors were interviewed at the Tripla site, in the Helsinki Rescue department and several construction site visits were made. In high-rise building, several construction areas emphasize which are require additional attention. In this thesis, the latest version of the Helsinki city high-rise construction help card was introduced as well as documented various solution for construction, occupational safety and fire safety from the Tripla site. The effect of the wind on a tall building will increase further, the higher it will be built. It is very important to take into account the prevention of falls during work in a constrained urban environment. A new solution for prevent falling, to the market has come Fall Protection Netting Systems, whose installation planning should start at the structural designer’s table. The construction site and rescue service must work closely together on fire safety from the start of the construction project. For example, by organizing rescue exercises on site. The building must be dividing into fire compartments by area and floors. Also, during construction, the fire doors must be used to prevent the speared of fire. For the construction site to stay on schedule, it is necessary to start the internal work phase before the water roof is built. In this case, different waterproofing solutions must be used in the building by floors. It is very important to document successes and challenges in new construction projects, so that in the future we will know how to prevent problems as efficiently as possible and develop building technology of Finland

Sustainable development indicators in structural design

Kestävästä kehityksestä käydään laajasti keskustelua ja se näkyy eri toimialoilla yhteiskunnassa. Lisäksi YK on asettanut kestävän kehityksen tavoitteita. Rakennusala käyttää suurta määrää resursseja, ja sillä on merkittävä vaikutus ympäristöllisiin, sosiaalisiin ja taloudellisiin näkökohtiin. Rakennesuunnittelu on suorassa kosketuksessa käytettävien resurssien kanssa sekä rakenteiden suunnittelussa, rakenneratkaisuissa ja optimoinnissa. Rakenteet ympäröivät ihmisiä jokapäiväisessä elämässä. Rakennesuunnittelijalla ei kuitenkaan ole vakiintunutta tapaa vaikuttaa kestävään kehitykseen. Kirjallisuuskatsauksessa käsiteltiin useampaa teemaa, kuten kestävä kehitys, indikaattorit, kestävän kehityksen mukainen rakennesuunnittelu ja viranomaisnäkökulmaa, joiden avulla voitiin saavuttaa työn tavoitteita. Sweco yrityksenä on halunnut terävöittää rakennesuunnittelijan roolia kestävässä kehityksessä ja kehittää työkalun, jolla arvioidaan rakennesuunnittelun kestävyyttä. Tämä työ toimii työkalun pohjatietona. Olennainen tieto on kestävän kehityksen mukaiset indikaattorit. Indikaattoreita löydettiin 15, joita arvioitiin soveltaen QFD-analyysiä. Analyysin avulla arvioidaan indikaattoreiden merkittävyyttä rakennesuunnittelulle, indikaattorin yhdistymistä kestävän kehityksen painopistealueisiin ja indikaattoreiden välistä korrelointia. Analyysi toteutettiin asiantuntijahaastatteluiden yhteydessä. Haastatteluiden avulla saatiin lisää näkemystä indikaattoreiden merkittävyydelle rakennesuunnittelussa. Kestävän kehityksen mukaisessa rakennesuunnittelussa korostuu indikaattoreiden varhainen käyttöönotto projekteissa ja rakennesuunnittelijan osallistuminen integroituun suunnitteluun. Integroidussa suunnittelussa rakennesuunnittelija toimii osana kestävän kehityksen suunnittelutiimiä.Sustainable development is widely discussed and reflected in various sectors of society. In addition, the UN has set goals for sustainable development. The construction industry uses a large amount of resources and has a significant impact on the environmental, social and economic aspects. The field of structural design is in direct contact with the resources used, as well as in structural design, structural solutions and optimization. Structures surround people in everyday life. However, the structural designer does not have a well-established way of influencing sustainable development. The literature review addressed several themes, such as sustainable development, indicators, structural design for sustainable development, and the authority perspective. The themes were used to achieve the goals of the work. As a company, Sweco has wanted to sharpen the role of the structural designer in sustainable development and develop a tool to assess the sustainability of structural design. This work serves as the basic information for the tool. Relevant information is sustainable indicators. Fifteen indicators were found and evaluated using QFD analysis. The analysis is used to assess the significance of the indicators for structural design, the integration of the indicator with the sustainable development priorities and the correlation between the indicators. The analysis was conducted in connection with expert interviews. The interviews provided further insight into the significance of indicators in structural design. The sustainable structural design emphasizes the early introduction of indicators in projects and the involvement of the structural designer in integrated design. In integrated design, the structural designer works as part of the sustainability design team

Surface expression of Mediterranean Water dipoles and their contribution to the shelf/slope – open ocean exchange

The generation of dipolar eddies within the Mediterranean Water (MW) layers, at the Portuguese continental slope, was observed using subsurface RAFOS floats. The surface expression of these mid-depth dipoles is here characterized with remote sensing data, namely with sea surface temperature, chlorophyll concentration and sea surface height measurements. Two cases are presented demonstrating the remote detection of these underwater structures in the Gulf of Cadiz during 1998 and 2001. The presence of subsurface MW dipoles in the Iberian coastal zone is shown to influence the development of coastal upwelling filaments. The surface circulation induced by the dipoles causes the upwelling filaments to extend offshorewards and thus to enhance the transport of physical, chemical and biological properties into the open ocean. A numerical model simulation of the ocean circulation around the Iberian Peninsula forced by heat and freshwater fluxes (computed using the NCEP reanalysis atmospheric state) and by the overflow of MW at the Strait of Gibraltar, corroborates the connection between the surface and the mid-depth flows. The high-resolution numerical experiment is used to help clarifying the occurrence of the MW dipoles surface expression and the impact of these dipoles on the eddy kinetic energy of the upper ocean and on the exchange of volume and salt between the shelf/slope and the open ocean

Manifestation of two meddies in altimetry and sea-surface temperature

Two meddies were identified in the Iberian Basin using shipboard ADCP (Meddy 1) and Argo float (Meddy 2) in contrasting background conditions. Meddy 1 was observed while interacting with the Azores Current (AzC), while Meddy 2 was observed in a much calmer dynamical background, north from the AzC jet. In both cases the meddies formed a clear anticyclonic surface signal, detectable in altimetry as well as in sea-surface temperature (SST). Analysis of the in situ observations of the dynamic signal over Meddy 1 showed that the signal, generated by the moving meddy, dominated the AzC dynamics at least up to the base of the seasonal thermocline even at the late stages of its interaction with the jet. The centre of rotation of the surface signal was shifted south-westward from the axis of the meddy by about 18 km, and its dynamic radius was 2 times bigger than that of the meddy. In the centre of the anticyclonic surface signals of both meddies, SST was colder than that of the surrounding water, in contrast to warm SST anomalies in the cores of surface anticyclones generated by meandering surface currents. The latter difference gives ground for identification of meddies (as well as other sub-surface anticyclones) in comparatively dynamically calm regions using coupled altimetry–SST remote sensing data. An identification of Meddy 1 prior to the shipboard ADCP measurements was the first successful experience. At the same time, SST anomalies over the meddies were rather weak, often unstable and statistically significant only over periods of months

The Gulf of Cadiz Gap wind anticyclones

International audienceWe describe surface anticyclones developing in summer time after persistent Levanter (i.e., easterly) gap winds in the Gulf of Cadiz. The process of generation of these eddies is similar to those formed in the tropical Pacific eastern margin in many aspects, but their evolution and fate are different. The anticyclones are surface intensified structures with a radius of about 30 km, reach velocity maxima exceeding 30 cm/s, and have a strong baroclinic signature in the upper 150 m. They form when the thermocline is thin and shallow, after persistent easterly gap wind jets blowing through the Strait of Gibraltar. A conspicuous cold filament (nearly 8 °C negative anomaly), protruding seaward approximately aligned with the wind jet, is the first observable evidence of the phenomenon. An anticyclonic eddy is generated in the northern limb of the filament, and gradually acquires a rounded shape. No clear sign of a cyclonic counterpart is detected. The eddy remains trapped at the slope in close interaction with the Gulf of Cadiz slope Current (that feeds the Atlantic Inflow into the Mediterranean), and within a time-scale of 1–2 months the eddy dissipates by interaction with the Inflow and in some cases is swallowed into the Strait of Gibraltar. In 23 years (1991–2013) of satellite SST images we discovered 16 events (~0.7/yr). In a 20-yr simulation (1989–2008), 13 eddies were observed (~0.65/yr). The vast majority of eddies were observed in the August–October period. An event in 1997 is followed in SST imagery and with in situ hydrology data. This event is reproduced in the model in great detail and an analysis of its dynamics is presented

Estuarine environment studies with Isurus, a REMUS class AUV

In this paper, we address the current developments of the "PISCIS" project. We focus on the experimental results from recent operational missions with an AUV in a estuarine environment. Besides describing mission planning and logistic details, we also present tools for oceanographic data processing and visualization. This will be demonstrated with some examples of collected data

Assessing the Potential of PV-powered Urban Buses

International audienc

Inter-annual variability and long term predictability of exchanges through the Strait of Gibraltar

Inter-annual variability of calculated barotropic (netflow) and simulated baroclinic (inflow and outflow) exchanges through the Strait of Gibraltar is analyzed and their response to the main modes of atmospheric variability is investigated. Time series of the outflow obtained by high resolution simulations and estimated from in-situ Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) current measurements are compared. The time coefficients (TC) of the leading empirical orthogonal function (EOF) modes that describe zonal atmospheric circulation in the vicinity of the Strait (1st and 3rd of Sea-Level Pressure (SLP) and 1st of the wind) show significant covariance with the inflow and outflow. Based on these analyses, a regression model between these SLP TCs and outflow of the Mediterranean Water was developed. This regression outflow time series was compared with estimates based on current meter observations and the predictability and reconstruction of past exchange variability based on atmospheric pressure fields are discussed. The simple regression model seems to reproduce the outflow evolution fairly reasonably, with the exception of the year 2008, which is apparently anomalous without available physical explanation yet.The exchange time series show a reduced inter-annual variability (less than 1%, 2.6% and 3.1% of total 2-day variability, for netflow, inflow and outflow, respectively). From a statistical point of view no clear long-term tendencies were revealed. Anomalously high baroclinic fluxes are reported for the years of 2000-2001 that are coincident with strong impact on the Alboran Sea ecosystem. The origin of the anomalous flow is associated with a strong negative anomaly (~ - 9 hPa) in atmospheric pressure fields settled north of Iberian Peninsula and extending over the central Atlantic, favoring an increased zonal circulation in winter 2000/2001. These low pressure fields forced intense and durable westerly winds in the Gulf of Cadiz-Alboran system. The signal of this anomaly is also seen in time coefficients of the most significant EOF modes.The predictability of the exchanges for future climate is discussed. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.This study had the support of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, FCT) in the frame of the MedEX Project (MARIN-ERA/MAR/0002/2008) and PEst-OE/MAR/UI0199/2011. D. Boutov was funded by FCT with a research grant SFRH/BI/51367/2011. In-situ outflow estimations were obtained in the frame of the Spanish funded INGRES Project (CTM2010-21229-C02). ECMWF ERA-Interim data used in this study have been obtained from the ECMWF Data Server (http://www.ecmwf.int/).Peer Reviewe