On the role of the Agulhas system in ocean circulation and climate

The Atlantic Ocean receives warm, saline water from the Indo-Pacific Ocean through Agulhas leakage around the southern tip of Africa. Recent findings suggest that Agulhas leakage is a crucial component of the climate system and that ongoing increases in leakage under anthropogenic warming could strengthen the Atlantic overturning circulation at a time when warming and accelerated meltwater input in the North Atlantic is predicted to weaken it. Yet in comparison with processes in the North Atlantic, the overall Agulhas system is largely overlooked as a potential climate trigger or feedback mechanism. Detailed modelling experiments—backed by palaeoceanographic and sustained modern observations—are required to establish firmly the role of the Agulhas system in a warming climate

Combinatorial laser synthesis of biomaterial thin films: selection and processing for medical applications.

A new generation of implantable biomaterials should possess smart surfaces and interfaces able to modulate cellular behaviour and directly address specific clinical issues. This chapter provides an overview of recent advances in the field of laser-based combinatorial synthesis of thin biomaterial films with gradient of composition on solid substrates for medical applications. Laser processing methods and selected applications for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine are reviewed in sequel