Technical summary

Human interference with the climate system is occurring. Climate change poses risks for human and natural systems. The assessment of impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability in the Working Group II contribution to the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) evaluates how patterns of risks and potential benefits are shifting due to climate change and how risks can be reduced through mitigation and adaptation. It recognizes that risks of climate change will vary across regions and populations, through space and time, dependent on myriad factors including the extent of mitigation and adaptation

Comparison of results of repair of digital nerves by denatured muscle grafts and end-to-end sutures

A further report is made on patients with primary and delayed repair of digital nerves with autogenous denatured muscle grafts. There was evidence of continued improvement in threshold response to tactile stimuli, and discriminative function. These results were superior to those in 24 patients with conventional end-to-end sutures on clinical testing

Impact of elevated CO2 on shellfish calcification

Ocean acidification resulting from human emissions of carbon dioxide has already lowered and will further lower surface ocean pH. The consequent decrease in calcium carbonate saturation potentially threatens calcareous marine organisms. Here, we demonstrate that the calcification rates of the edible mussel (Mytilus edulis) and Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) decline linearly with increasing pCO2. Mussel and oyster calcification may decrease by 25 and 10%, respectively, by the end of the century, following the IPCC IS92a scenario (∼740 ppmv in 2100). Moreover, mussels dissolve at pCO2 values exceeding a threshold value of ∼1800 ppmv. As these two species are important ecosystem engineers in coastal ecosystems and represent a large part of worldwide aquaculture production, the predicted decrease of calcification in response to ocean acidification will probably have an impact on coastal biodiversity and ecosystem functioning as well as potentially lead to significant economic loss.

The carbonate system in the Ligurian Sea

Chapter 4International audienceThe study of the oceanic carbonate system is linked to two important environmental issues: ocean CO$_2$ uptake and ocean acidification and its impact on organisms, ecosystems and ecosystem services. This chapter mainly focuses on the seasonal cycles and long‐term trends of the ocean carbonate system based on a synthesis of data collected in the Ligurian Sea from 1998 to 2016. In addition to the effect of potential T (theta) on CO$_2$ solubility, the distribution of dissolved inorganic carbon CT in the water column is driven by the antagonistic effects of the biological carbon pump that increases the vertical gradient of CT (lowering CT at the surface and increasing it in the ocean interior) and the exchange of CO$_2$ at the air–sea interface. The chapter also presents the seasonal cycle of the carbonate system and ancillary variables in the surface water