A simple qualitative approach for mapping regional landslide susceptibility in the Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean are highly susceptible to landslides. Following recent landslide incidents, Jarðfeingi (Faroese Earth and Energy Directorate) has pointed out, that the risk of human lives or of property being lost or affected by landslides may be increasing. This paper aims at presenting and testing a simple qualitative approach for mapping regional landslide susceptibility in the Faroe Islands, using few key parameters. The susceptibility model holds information about both landslide initiation areas and runout zones. Landslide initiation areas are determined from slope angle thresholds (25°–40°) and soil cover data, while runout zones are delineated using the angle of reach approach taking into account the presence/absence of geological benches in the runout path, which has not been considered in earlier studies. Data input is obtained from a landslide database containing 67 debris flows throughout the Faroe Islands. Angle of reach values differ significantly with the presence/absence of geological benches in the runout path. Two values of angle of reach, 21.5° and 27.6°, are used for calculating runout zones. The landslide susceptibility model is tested in a study area at the town of Klaksvík in the northern part of the Faroe Islands. A map validation comparing predicted susceptibility zones with a validation-dataset of 87 actual landslides in the study area reveal that 69% and 92%, respectively, of actual landslide initiation areas and runout zones are correctly predicted. Moreover 87% of the actual landslides are included in the overall predicted landslide susceptibility areas

A maternal low protein diet has pronounced effects on mitochondrial gene expression in offspring liver and skeletal muscle; protective effect of taurine

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Low birth weight is associated with an increased risk of developing impaired glucose tolerance, and eventually type 2 diabetes in adult life. Gestational protein restriction in rodents gives rise to a low birth weight phenotype in the offspring.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We examined gene expression changes in liver and skeletal muscle of mice subjected to gestational protein restriction (LP) or not (NP), with or without taurine supplementation in the drinking water. LP offspring had a 40% lower birth weight than NP offspring, with taurine preventing half the decrease. Microarray gene expression analysis of newborn mice revealed significant changes in 2012 genes in liver and 967 genes in skeletal muscle of LP offspring. Taurine prevented 30% and 46% of these expression changes, respectively. Mitochondrial genes, especially those involved with oxidative phosphorylation, were more abundantly changed than other genes. The mitochondrial genes were mainly upregulated in liver, but downregulated in skeletal muscle, despite no change in citrate synthase activity in either tissue. Taurine preferentially rescued genes concerned with fatty acid metabolism in liver and with oxidative phosphorylation and TCA cycle in skeletal muscle. A mitochondrial signature was seen in the liver of NP offspring with taurine supplementation, as gene sets for mitochondrial ribosome as well as lipid metabolism were over represented in 4-week-old offspring subjected to gestational taurine supplementation. Likewise, 11 mitochondrial genes were significantly upregulated by gestational taurine supplementation in 4-week-old NP offspring.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Gestational protein restriction resulted in lower birth weight associated with significant gene expression changes, which was different in liver and muscle of offspring. However, a major part of the birth weight decrease and the expression changes were prevented by maternal taurine supplementation, implying taurine is a key factor in determining expression patterns during development and in that respect also an important component in metabolic fetal programming.</p

Navigating overgrazing and cultural values through narratives and participatory mapping : a socio-cultural analysis of sheep grazing in the Faroe Islands

Long-term livestock grazing has shaped landscapes, biodiversity, societies, cultures, and economies in the North Atlantic over time. However, overgrazing has become a major environmental sustainability challenge for this region, covering the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Scotland. The objective of this study was to elicit narratives and spatial patterns of local people's management preferences for sheep grazing in the Faroe Islands through a socio-cultural lens. We collected data via a Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) survey with an open question about hopes and concerns for sheep management in the Faroe Islands and a mapping exercise for expressing spatial preferences for sheep management. Four distinct narratives emerged from a qualitative analysis of responses to the open question (n = 184): (1) Sustainable sheep management, (2) Nature without sheep, (3) Sheep as part of Faroese culture, and (4) Sheep as nuisance. Visual inspection of narrative-specific maps with locations where either no or fewer sheep were preferred indicated that sheep management is not simply a 'sheep vs. no sheep' issue but embedded in a more nuanced consideration of the place of sheep in the landscape and society. For example, for some residents sheep-farming is not a commercial enterprise but a social activity and local source of food. Our combined methodological approach using qualitative and spatial data can help researchers in other fields identify the interplay between place-specific areas of grazing management concern and socio-cultural values, enabling more targeted land-use management policies or plans.Peer reviewe

Navigating overgrazing and cultural values through narratives and participatory mapping: a socio-cultural analysis of sheep grazing in the Faroe Islands

Long-term livestock grazing has shaped landscapes, biodiversity, societies, cultures, and economies in the North Atlantic over time. However, overgrazing has become a major environmental sustainability challenge for this region, covering the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Scotland. The objective of this study was to elicit narratives and spatial patterns of local people's management preferences for sheep grazing in the Faroe Islands through a socio-cultural lens. We collected data via a Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) survey with an open question about hopes and concerns for sheep management in the Faroe Islands and a mapping exercise for expressing spatial preferences for sheep management. Four distinct narratives emerged from a qualitative analysis of responses to the open question (n = 184): (1) Sustainable sheep management, (2) Nature without sheep, (3) Sheep as part of Faroese culture, and (4) Sheep as nuisance. Visual inspection of narrative-specific maps with locations where either no or fewer sheep were preferred indicated that sheep management is not simply a 'sheep vs. no sheep' issue but embedded in a more nuanced consideration of the place of sheep in the landscape and society. For example, for some residents sheep-farming is not a commercial enterprise but a social activity and local source of food. Our combined methodological approach using qualitative and spatial data can help researchers in other fields identify the interplay between place-specific areas of grazing management concern and socio-cultural values, enabling more targeted land-use management policies or plans

The emerging picture of a diverse deep Arctic Ocean seafloor: From habitats to ecosystems

Interest in the deep Arctic Ocean is rapidly increasing from governments, policy makers, industry, researchers, and conservation groups, accentuated by the growing accessibility of this remote region by surface vessel traffic. In this review, our goal is to provide an updated taxonomic inventory of benthic taxa known to occur in the deep Arctic Ocean and relate this inventory to habitat diversity. To achieve this goal, we collected data for Arctic metazoan deep-sea taxa from open-access databases, information facilities, and non-digitised scientific literature, limiting the collection to the area north of 66◦N and below 500 m depth (excluding all shelf seas). Although notable progress has been made in understanding the deep Arctic using novel technologies and infrastructure, this data gathering shows that knowledge of deep-sea benthic Arctic communities remains very limited. Yet, through our compilation of habitat maps, we show that the Arctic contains a high diversity of geomorphological features, including slopes, deep basins, submarine canyons, ridges, and seamounts, as well as chemosynthesis-based and biogenic (biologically engineered) ecosystems. To analyse taxon richness and density, using both morphological and molecular data, we compiled 75,404 faunal records with 2,637 taxa. Phyla with the most records were the Arthropoda (21,405), Annelida (13,763) and Porifera (12,591); phyla with the most documented taxa were the Arthropoda (956), Annelida (566) and Mollusca (351). An overview of the dominant groups inhabiting the different geomorphological features highlights regions in the deep Arctic where data are particularly scarce and increased research efforts are needed, particularly the deep basins of the central Arctic Ocean. This scarcity of deep benthic Arctic biodiversity data creates a bottleneck for developing robust management and conservation measures in a rapidly changing region, leading to a call for international collaboration and shared data to ensure understanding and preservation of these fragile Arctic ecosystems

Basaltic Dyke with Specific Volcanogenic Structures and its geomorphic evolution: Unique Geoheritage of the Faroe Islands (North Atlantic Ocean)

Volcanic landforms resulting from Cenozoic volcanism represent the most peculiar features of global geodiversity and provide eminent narratives for geoeducation. Among them, however, relict volcanic forms and site-specific landforms in remote areas have received less attention. In this paper, we provide the first description of unique volcanogenic features (hereinafter referred to as pseudo-hieroglyphs) developed on a summit rock wall at the Sandfelli ridge near the village of Gjógv in the N Eysturoy Island (Faroe Islands). The geomorphic evolution of the ridge and rock wall during the Quaternary is described and detailed petrographic analyses of the volcanogenic features are provided. Based on observed petrographical features, we interpret the pseudo-hieroglyphs to probably represent unique examples of chaotic horizontal columnar jointing. Following the geomorphological and petrographic examination of the study site, we analyse current Faroese legislation aiming at nature conservation and use this case to discuss broader implications of geoheritage conservation and geotourism in distant regions.Vulkanická krajina vzniklá kenozoickým vulkanismem představuje nejpodivnější rysy globální geodiversity a poskytuje vynikající příběhy pro geovzdělávání. Méně pozornosti se však dostává reliktním vulkanickým formám a lokálním tvarům reliéfu v odlehlých oblastech. V tomto článku přinášíme první popis unikátních vulkanogenních tvarů (dále jen "pseudo-hieroglyfy"), které se vyvíjely na skalní stěně vrcholu na hřbetě Sandfelli u vesnice Gjógv v severní části ostrova Eysturoy (Faerské ostrovy). Je popsán geomorfologický vývoj hřbetu a skalní stěny během kvartéru a jsou uvedeny podrobné petrografické analýzy vulkanogenních vlastností. Na základě pozorovaných petrografických rysů interpretujeme pseudo-hieroglyfy, které pravděpodobně představují jedinečné příklady chaotické horizontální sloupcovité odlučnosti. Po geomorfologickém a petrografickém studiu zájmové lokality analyzujeme současnou faerskou legislativu zaměřenou na ochranu přírody a užíváme tohoto příkladu k diskusi širších důsledků zachování a geoturistiky geografického dědictví ve vzdálených regionech