Reconstructions of Late Holocene Storminess in Europe and the Role of the North Atlantic Oscillation

Winter storms can have devastating social and economic impacts in Europe. The severity of storms and the region they influence (southern or northern Europe) is related to the index of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). However recent findings indicate that over the last millennium the relationship between the NAO and storminess varied and the forcings over centennial timescales are debated. Therefore in this research storminess has been reconstructed from NAO-sensitive regions of southern Europe (Galicia, Spain) and northern Europe (Outer Hebrides, Scotland), to investigate the Late Holocene NAO-storminess relationship and the causes of observed variability. Reconstructions were based on measurements of aeolian sand deposits within ombrotrophic peat bogs and a lake sedimentary archive from the Hebrides. The elemental composition of the lake sediments were analysed (using ITRAX XRF core scanning) to identify aeolian/in-washed sediment resulting from storms, as confirmed by correlations with instrumental data. As this is a relatively new technique there was a methodological focus on assessing its applicability for storm reconstructions and the maximum resolution achievable. It is concluded the reconstruction had a 10-year resolution (equivalent to 2-5 mm sampling resolution). The peat bog reconstructions span 4000 cal yr BP to present and indicate that there was a Late Holocene northward storm track shift. The results suggest that storminess was high in Galicia between 4000-1800 cal yr BP, after which it decreased and then gradually increased in the Outer Hebrides after 1500 cal yr BP. Comparison with an NAO reconstruction supports a consistent NAO-storm relationship through the Late Holocene. Orbital forcing is suggested as causing a steepening of the latitudinal temperature gradient and increasingly zonal circulation. Superimposed on this trend are centennial variations, which spectral analysis and visual comparisons suggest are primarily the result of solar minima (suggested as causing a weakened latitudinal temperature gradient and meridional circulation patterns), with some additional forcing from volcanic and oceanic changes. Therefore there has been a consistent storm-NAO relationship through the Late Holocene; however there appear to have been millennial and centennial shifts as the result of hemispheric circulation reorganisations.University of ExeterBritish Geological Surve

Student Loneliness: The Role of Social Media Through Life Transitions

The move to university can be difficult for students- a transition often characterised by a risk of loneliness and poor mental health. Previous work highlights the important role social media can play in this transition. We report findings from a large-scale survey of 510 first year un-dergraduates across the UK, identifying factors that predict student loneliness, and exploring their social media use. Higher levels of social capital, induction satisfaction, and sense of community are significantly associated with lower levels of loneliness. Conversely, those reporting a more ‘liminal self’- the desire to edit and reinvent yourself online - experience greater loneliness- with an indirect relationship between online social information seeking and loneliness, through social capital. We surmise that being ‘true to yourself’ online is important when starting university, and that social media can be a useful tool in facilitating offline relationships and maintaining ties to old friends

First-Year Seminars Taxonomy

First-year seminars are designed to assist entering students as they form connections with the IUPUI community, including other students, faculty, and advisors in a prospective major. This First-Year Seminars High-Impact Practice Taxonomy seeks to clearly define the features of First-Year Seminars as a high-impact practice. The taxonomy describes four attributes of First-Year Seminars practice along three dimensions of impact—High-Impact, Higher-Impact, and Highest-Impact

Early Education and Employment Outcomes After Cancer in Adolescents and Young Adults

Purpose: This study describes the early educational and vocational outcomes of Australian adolescents and young adults (AYAs) after cancer diagnosis and examines factors associated with these outcomes. Methods: Within this cross-sectional national Australian study, 196 AYAs aged 15-25 years at cancer diagnosis and within 6-24 months of diagnosis were recruited from 18 sites. Participants completed a survey that included questions about school and work outcomes, support received regarding necessary changes to education and vocation, and validated measures of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. Results: Almost half of the sample (43%) was not fully "back on track" with their previous educational and vocational plans. Post-traumatic stress and emotional symptoms were associated with poorer school/work functioning (beta = -0.95, p = 0.009 and beta = -1.27, p = 0.001, respectively). Higher PedsQL school/work functioning was associated with a slightly greater likelihood of being "back on track" with education and work plans (OR 1.03, p = 0.001). AYAs who felt well supported regarding changes to education and work plans more frequently reported receiving support from formal sources and from more sources than those who felt less supported. Unmet need of accessing an educational or vocational advisor was significantly more frequent in adult than in pediatric settings (42% vs. 17%; p = 0.024). Parents were the most common source of educational or vocational support for AYAs rather than professionals. Conclusion: This study highlights the connection between school and work participation and mental health in a national sample of AYAs with cancer. It suggests distinct benefits of educational and vocational support.Peer reviewe

Aeolian sediment reconstructions from the Scottish Outer Hebrides: Late Holocene storminess and the role of the North Atlantic Oscillation

Northern Europe can be strongly influenced by winter storms driven by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), with a positive NAO index associated with greater storminess in northern Europe. However, palaeoclimate reconstructions have suggested that the NAO-storminess relationship observed during the instrumental period is not consistent with the relationship over the last millennium, especially during the Little Ice Age (LIA), when it has been suggested that enhanced storminess occurred during a phase of persistent negative NAO. To assess this relationship over a longer time period, a storminess reconstruction from an NAO-sensitive area (the Outer Hebrides) is compared with Late Holocene NAO reconstructions. The patterns of storminess are inferred from aeolian sand deposits within two ombrotrophic peat bogs, with multiple cores and two locations used to distinguish the storminess signal from intra-site variability and local factors. The results suggest storminess increased after 1000 cal yrs BP, with higher storminess during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) than the LIA, supporting the hypothesis that the NAO-storminess relationship was consistent with the instrumental period. However the shift from a predominantly negative to positive NAO at c.2000 cal yrs BP preceded the increased storminess by 1000 years. We suggest that the long-term trends in storminess were caused by insolation changes, while oceanic forcing may have influenced millennial variability

Financial Challenges of Cancer for Adolescents and Young Adults and Their Parent Caregivers

This study examined the financial impact of cancer and the use of income support in adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer and their parent caregivers. As part of a national Australian study exploring the psychosocial impacts of cancer, 196 AYAs ages 15 to 25 years, six to 24 months from diagnosis, and 204 parent caregivers from 18 cancer sites were surveyed. Logistic regression and chi-square analyses were conducted to assess the influence of clinical and sociodemographic variables on financial status. Qualitative responses were coded, and key themes were identified using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that more than half of AYAs and parents reported financial issues as a consequence of AYA cancer. Financial issues resulted from direct medical costs, associated costs from treatment, and indirect costs from loss of income. AYAs and parents reported that it was important for them to receive income support, both during and after cancer treatment. However, large proportions of those who reported needing income support had difficulty accessing it. AYAs and their families are substantially financially disadvantaged by cancer, many for a prolonged time. Patient- and family-centered assessments and interventions are required to reduce the financial burden of AYA cancer.Peer reviewe

Holocene atmospheric dust deposition in NW Spain

Acknowledgements The authors would like to extend their thanks to the students of the EcoPast research group (GI-1553, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Facultade de Bioloxía) and colleagues who helped with fieldwork and laboratory analyses. Funding The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: This research was partially funded by Consiliencia network (ED431D2017/08 Xunta de Galicia) and Funding for Consolidation and Structuration of Research Units (ED431B2018/20 Xunta de Galicia).Peer reviewedPostprin

Investigating the maximum resolution of µXRF core scanners: a 1800 year storminess reconstruction from the Outer Hebrides

Micro x-ray fluorescence (µXRF) core scanning is capable of measuring the elemental composition of lake sediment at sub-millimetre resolution, but bioturbation and physical mixing may degrade environmental signals at such fine scales. The aim of this research is to determine the maximum possible resolution at which meaningful environmental signals may be reconstructed from lake sediments using this method. Sediment from a coastal lake in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, has been analysed using calibrated element measurements to reconstruct storminess since AD 200. We find that a Ca/K ratio in lake-core sediments reflects the presence of fine calcium carbonate shell fragments, a constituent of sand in the catchment that is washed and blown into the lake. Variations in this ratio are significantly correlated with instrumental records of precipitation and low pressures, suggesting it is a proxy for storminess. Furthermore, identification of a c. 60-year cycle supports a climatic influence on Ca/K, as this cycle is frequently identified in reconstructions of the North Atlantic Oscillation and North Atlantic sea-surface temperature. Comparison with weather records at different resolutions and spectral analysis indicate that µXRF data from Loch Hosta can be interpreted at sub-decadal resolutions (equivalent to core depth intervals of 3–5 mm in this location). Therefore, we suggest that sub-centimetre sampling using µXRF core scanning could be beneficial in producing environmental reconstructions in many lake settings where sediments are not varved

Sea surface temperature in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean over the Late Glacial and Holocene

Centennial- and millennial-scale variability of Southern Ocean temperature over the Holocene is poorly known, due to both short instrumental records and sparsely distributed high-resolution temperature reconstructions, with evidence for past temperature variations in the region coming mainly from ice core records. Here we present a high-resolution (similar to 60 year), diatom-based sea surface temperature (SST) reconstruction from the western Indian sector of the Southern Ocean that spans the interval 14.2 to 1.0 ka (calibrated kiloyears before present). During the late deglaciation, the new SST record shows cool temperatures at 14.2-12.9 ka and gradual warming between 12.9 and 11.6 ka in phase with atmospheric temperature evolution. This supports the evolution of the Southern Ocean SST during the deglaciation being linked with a complex combination of processes and drivers associated with reorganisations of atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns. Specifically, we suggest that Southern Ocean surface warming coincided, within the dating uncertainties, with the reconstructed slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), rising atmospheric CO2 levels, changes in the southern westerly winds and enhanced upwelling. During the Holocene the record shows warm and stable temperatures from 11.6 to 8.7 ka followed by a slight cooling and greater variability from 8.7 to 1 ka, with a quasi-periodic variability of 200-260 years identified by spectral analysis. We suggest that the increased variability during the mid- to late Holocene reflects the establishment of centennial variability in SST connected with changes in the high-latitude atmospheric circulation and Southern Ocean convection.Peer reviewe