The abrupt onset of the modern South Asian Monsoon winds

The South Asian Monson (SAM) is one of the most intense climatic elements yet its initiation and variations are not well established. Dating the deposits of SAM wind-driven currents in IODP cores from the Maldives yields an age of 12. 9 Ma indicating an abrupt SAM onset, over a short period of 300 kyrs. This coincided with the Indian Ocean Oxygen Minimum Zone expansion as revealed by geochemical tracers and the onset of upwelling reflected by the sediment's content of particulate organic matter. A weaker 'proto-monsoon' existed between 12.9 and 25 Ma, as mirrored by the sedimentary signature of dust influx. Abrupt SAM initiation favors a strong influence of climate in addition to the tectonic control, and we propose that the post Miocene Climate Optimum cooling, together with increased continentalization and establishment of the bipolar ocean circulation, i.e. the beginning of the modern world, shifted the monsoon over a threshold towards the modern system

Corrigendum to “Carbonate delta drift: A new sediment drift type” [Mar. Geol. 401 (2018) 98–111]

The authors regret the mistake in the drawing of the delta drift architecture in figure 11. The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused. [Figure presented

Holocene glacial activity in Barilari Bay, west Antarctic Peninsula, tracked by magnetic mineral assemblages: Linking ice, ocean, and atmosphere

We investigate the origin and fate of lithogenic sediments using magnetic mineral assemblages in Barilari Bay, west Antarctic Peninsula (AP) from sediment cores recovered during the Larsen Ice Shelf System, Antarctica (LARISSA) NBP10-01 cruise. To quantify and reconstruct Holocene changes in covarying magnetic mineral assemblages, we adopt an unsupervised mathematical unmixing strategy and apply it to measurements of magnetic susceptibility as a function of increasing temperature. Comparisons of the unmixed end-members with magnetic observations of northwestern AP bedrock and the spatial distribution of magnetic mineral assemblages within the fjord, allow us to identify source regions, including signatures for ‘‘inner bay,’’ ‘‘outer bay,’’ and ‘‘northwestern AP’’ sources. We find strong evidence that supports the establishment of a late Holocene ice shelf in the fjord coeval with the Little Ice Age. Additionally, we present new evidence for late Holocene sensitivity to conditions akin to positive mean Southern Annual Mode states for western AP glaciers at their advanced Neoglacial positions

Development of the supply chain oriented quality assurance system for aerospace manufacturing SMEs and its implementation perspectives

Aerospace manufacturing SMEs are continuously facing the challenge on managing their supply chain and complying with the aerospace manufacturing quality standard requirement due to their lack of resources and the nature of business. In this paper, the ERP system based approach is presented to quality control and assurance work in light of seamless integration of in-process production data and information internally and therefore managing suppliers more effectively and efficiently. The Aerospace Manufacturing Quality Assurance Standard (BS/EN9100) is one of the most recognised and essential protocols for developing the industry-operated-and-driven quality assurance systems. The research investigates using the ERP based system as an enabler to implement BS/EN9100 quality management system at manufacturing SMEs and the associated implementation and application perspectives. An application case study on a manufacturing SME is presented by using the SAP based implementation, which helps further evaluate and validate the approach and application system development

L’anziano attivo. Proposte e riflessioni per la terza e la quarta età

Il problema della senilità si pone ormai in Italia, come in tutte le società avanzate, in termini assai diversi dal passato. I saggi compresi nel presente volume intervengono su tutti gli aspetti della senilità - da quelli psicologici, sanitari e affettivi a quelli assistenziali, economici e giuridici - per suggerire indicazioni operative e possibili soluzioni.- Indice #4- Prefazione, Marcello Pacini #10- Introduzione, Giuliano Urbani #12- Prima parte Per una nuova concezione della condizione anziana #20- L’età del tempo libero, Norberto Bobbio #22- L’anziano protagonista in una società che cambia, Gian Maria Capuani e Giannino Piana #26- La piccola immortalità, Nando dalla Chiesa #36- L’anziano come risorsa sociale: il volontariato dopo la pensione, Fausto Melloni #44- Seconda Parte Aspetti sociali della condizione anziana #62- Psicogerontologia: attualità e nuove prospettive, Maria Antonietta Aveni Casucci #64- L’invecchiamento della popolazione italiana in un contesto internazionale, Antonio Golini e Agostino Lori #82- L’anziano e l’innovazione tecnologica, Francesco Jovane e Roberto Groppetti #114- La tutela giuridica dell’anziano, Luigi Mengoni #128- La salute dell’anziano: valutazione dei meccanismi di plasticità, Renzo Rozzini, Angelo Bianchetti e Marco Trabucchi #140- Lavoratori anziani: ambivalenza e interventi, Harris T. Schrank e Joan M. Waring #156- Il medico e l’anziano, Carlo Vergani #176- La normalità incerta, Virginio Oddone e Fabrizio Fabris #188- Il quadro organizzativo per una corretta assistenza socio-sanitaria alla popolazione anziana, Gaetano Maria Fara #200- Terza Parte Le tendenze della riflessione #216- La condizione degli anziani in Italia, Claudio Calvaruso #218- Anziani attivi: un possibile esempio di nuova centralità del sociale, Vincenzo Cesareo #228- Appendice Un contributo di ricerca #246- Figli adulti e genitori anziani: una nuova relazione tra le generazioni, Giovanna Rossi #24

A two million year record of low-latitude aridity linked to continental weathering from the Maldives

Indian-Asian monsoon has oscillated between warm/wet interglacial periods and cool/dry glacial periods with periodicities closely linked to variations in Earth’s orbital parameters. However, processes that control wet versus dry, i.e. aridity cyclical periods on the orbital time-scale in the low latitudes of the Indian-Asian continent remain poorly understood because records over millions of years are scarce. The sedimentary record from International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 359 provides a well-preserved, high-resolution, continuous archive of lithogenic input from the Maldives reflecting on low-latitude aridity cycles. Variability within the lithogenic component of sedimentary deposits of the Maldives results from changes in monsoon-controlled sedimentary sources. Here, we present X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core-scanning results from IODP Site U1467 for the past two million years, allowing full investigation of orbital periodicities. We specifically use the Fe/K as a terrestrial climate proxy reflecting on wet versus dry conditions in the source areas of the Indian-Asian landmass, or from further afield. The Fe/K record shows orbitally forced cycles reflecting on changes in the relative importance of aeolian (stronger winter monsoon) during glacial periods versus fluvial supply (stronger summer monsoon) during interglacial periods. For our chronology, we tuned the Fe/K cycles to precessional insolation changes, linking Fe/K maxima/minima to insolation minima/maxima with zero phase lag. Wavelet and spectral analyses of the Fe/K record show increased dominance of the 100 kyr cycles after the Mid Pleistocene Transition (MPT) at 1.25 Ma in tandem with the global ice volume benthic δ 18 O data (LR04 record). In contrast to the LR04 record, the Fe/K profile resolves 100-kyr-like cycles around the 130 kyr frequency band in the interval from 1.25 to 2 million years. These 100-kyr-like cycles likely form by bundling of two or three obliquity cycles, indicating that low-latitude Indian-Asian climate variability reflects on increased tilt sensitivity to regional eccentricity insolation changes (pacing tilt cycles) prior to the MPT. The implication of appearance of the 100 kyr cycles in the LR04 and the Fe/K records since the MPT suggests strengthening of a climate link between the low and high latitudes during this period of climate transition. The Correction to this article has been published in Progress in Earth and Planetary Science 2019 6:21 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s40645-019-0259-

Antarctic ice sheet sensitivity to atmospheric CO2 variations in the early to mid-Miocene

Geological records from the Antarctic margin offer direct evidence of environmental variability at high southern latitudes and provide insight regarding ice sheet sensitivity to past climate change. The early to mid-Miocene (23-14 Mya) is a compelling interval to study as global temperatures and atmospheric CO2 concentrations were similar to those projected for coming centuries. Importantly, this time interval includes the Miocene Climatic Optimum, a period of global warmth during which average surface temperatures were 3-4 °C higher than today. Miocene sediments in the ANDRILL-2A drill core from the Western Ross Sea, Antarctica, indicate that the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) was highly variable through this key time interval. A multiproxy dataset derived from the core identifies four distinct environmental motifs based on changes in sedimentary facies, fossil assemblages, geochemistry, and paleotemperature. Four major disconformities in the drill core coincide with regional seismic discontinuities and reflect transient expansion of grounded ice across the Ross Sea. They correlate with major positive shifts in benthic oxygen isotope records and generally coincide with intervals when atmospheric CO2 concentrations were at or below preindustrial levels (∼280 ppm). Five intervals reflect ice sheet minima and air temperatures warm enough for substantial ice mass loss during episodes of high (∼500 ppm) atmospheric CO2. These new drill core data and associated ice sheet modeling experiments indicate that polar climate and the AIS were highly sensitive to relatively small changes in atmospheric CO2 during the early to mid-Miocene

ECO-Boat MOL Capturing Data from Real Use of the Product

Part 1: Knowledge ManagementInternational audienceIn many industries, such as leisure boat production, product design and process engineering are often based on diffuse criteria and a lack of data about the actual use of the products. If design and process development are not based on facts, there is a great risk of setting the wrong quality criteria and performance requirements. In the leisure boat industry the lack of data from how customers actually use their products results in product design based on experience (looking backwards), subjective judgments and input from certain customers or key persons. This often results in too high or wrong quality standards and consequently over-processing. ECO-boat MOL has studied this situation in the leisure boat industry. The paper describes how this research project has approached the need for more fact-based design through three different sources. The project also (re)defines work processes in design and production that take advantage of the new data and information