Terrestrial laser scanning observations of geomorphic changes and varying lava lake levels at Erebus volcano, Antarctica

A Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) instrument was used to image the topography of the Main Crater at Erebus volcano each December in 2008, 2009, and 2010. Our high-spatial resolution TLS scans provide unique insights into annual and decadal scale geomorphic evolution of the summit area when integrated with comparable data collected by an airborne instrument in 2001. We observe both a pattern of subsidence within the Inner Crater of the volcano and an ~ 3 m per-year drop in the lava lake level over the same time period that are suggestive of decreasing overpressure in an underlying magma reservoir. We also scanned the active phonolite lava lake hosted within the Inner Crater, and recorded rapid cyclic fluctuations in the level of the lake. These were sporadically interrupted by minor explosions by bursting gas bubbles at the lake surface. The TLS data permit calculation of lake level rise and fall speeds and associated rates of volumetric change within the lake. These new observations, when considered with prior determinations of rates of lake surface motion and gas output, are indicative of unsteady magma flow in the conduit and its associated variability in gas volume fraction.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (Division of Polar Programs) under Grants ANT0838817 and ANT1142083. The Optech ILRIS 3D TLS instrument was provided by the UNAVCO Polar group with support from NSF grant award ANT0723223. CO receives additional support from the NEC Centre for the Observation and Modeling of Earthquakes, volcanoes and Tectonics (COMET). We gratefully acknowledge the following for assisting with fieldwork on Erebus: Nelia Dunbar, Bill McIntosh, Aaron Curtis, Nels Iverson, Matt Zimmerer, Melissa Kammerer, Nial Peters, Kayla Iacovino, Yves Moussallam, Tehnuka Ilanko, Anna Barford, and Harry Keys. We also acknowledge tremendous logistical support from the staff and the civilian contractors working out of McMurdo station on behalf of the Division of Polar Programs of NSF. We extend especial thanks to the helicopter support provided by PHI and Helicopters, New Zealand. We thank Mark Murray and Rick Aster for their comments on an early version of the manuscript, and Carolyn Parcheta and anonymous for formal reviews of the submitted manuscript.This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2015.02.01

Estimating Trends of Population Decline in Long-Lived Marine Species in the Mediterranean Sea Based on Fishers' Perceptions

We conducted interviews of a representative sample of 106 retired fishers in Italy, Spain and Greece, asking specific questions about the trends they perceived in dolphin and shark abundances between 1940 and 1999 (in three 20 year periods) compared to the present abundance. The large marine fauna studied were not target species of the commercial fleet segment interviewed (trawl fishery). The fishers were asked to rank the perceived abundance in each period into qualitative ordinal classes based on two indicators: frequency of sightings and frequency of catches (incidental or intentional) of each taxonomic group. The statistical analysis of the survey results showed that both incidental catches and the sighting frequency of dolphins have decreased significantly over the 60+ years of the study period (except for in Greece due to the recent population increase). This shows that fishers' perceptions are in agreement with the declining population trends detected by scientists. Shark catches were also perceived to have diminished since the early 1940s for all species. Other long-lived Mediterranean marine fauna (monk seals, whales) were at very low levels in the second half of the 20th century and no quantitative data could be obtained. Our study supports the results obtained in the Mediterranean and other seas that show the rapid disappearance (over a few decades) of marine fauna. We show that appropriately designed questionnaires help provide a picture of animal abundance in the past through the valuable perceptions of fishers. This information can be used to complement scientific sources or in some cases be taken as the only information source for establishing population trends in the abundance of sensitive species