Reconstructing Coastal Sediment Budgets From Beach‐ and Foredune‐Ridge Morphology: A Coupled Field and Modeling Approach

Preserved beach and foredune ridges may serve as proxies for coastal change, reflecting alterations in sea level, wave energy, or past sediment fluxes. In particular, time‐varying shoreface sediment budgets have been inferred from the relative size of foredune ridges through application of radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating to these systems over the last decades. However, geochronological control requires extensive field investigation and analysis. Purely field‐based studies might also overlook relationships between the mechanics of sediment delivery to the shoreface and foredune ridges, missing insights about sensitivity to changes in sediment budget. We therefore propose a simple geomorphic model of beach/foredune‐ridge and swale morphology to quantify the magnitude of changes in cross‐shore sediment budget, employing field measurements of ridge volume, ridge spacing, elevation, and shoreline progradation. Model behaviors are constrained by the partitioning of sediment fluxes to the shoreface and foredune ridge and can be used to reproduce several cross‐shore patterns observed in nature. These include regularly spaced ridges (“washboards”), large singular ridges, and wide swales with poorly developed ridges. We evaluate our model against well‐preserved ridge and swale systems at two sites along the Virginia Eastern Shore (USA): Fishing Point, for which historical records provide a detailed history of shoreline progradation and ridge growth, and Parramore Island, for which a relatively more complex morphology developed over a poorly constrained period of prehistoric growth. Our results suggest this new model could be used to infer the sensitivity of field sites across the globe to variations in sediment delivery

Extinction and the Dimming of KIC 8462852

To test alternative hypotheses for the behavior of KIC 8462852, we obtained measurements of the star over a wide wavelength range from the UV to the mid-infrared from October 2015 through December 2016, using Swift, Spitzer and at AstroLAB IRIS. The star faded in a manner similar to the long-term fading seen in Kepler data about 1400 days previously. The dimming rate for the entire period reported is 22.1 +\- 9.7 milli-mag/yr in the Swift wavebands, with amounts of 21.0 +\- 4.5 mmag in the groundbased B measurements, 14.0 +\- 4.5 mmag in V, and 13.0 +\- 4.5 in R, and a rate of 5.0 +\- 1.2 mmag/yr averaged over the two warm Spitzer bands. Although the dimming is small, it is seen at >= 3 sigma by three different observatories operating from the UV to the IR. The presence of long-term secular dimming means that previous SED models of the star based on photometric measurements taken years apart may not be accurate. We find that stellar models with T_{eff} = 7000 - 7100 K and A_V ~ 0.73 best fit the Swift data from UV to optical. These models also show no excess in the near-simultaneous Spitzer photometry at 3.6 and 4.5 microns, although a longer wavelength excess from a substantial debris disk is still possible (e.g., as around Fomalhaut). The wavelength dependence of the fading favors a relatively neutral color (i.e., R_V >= 5, but not flat across all the bands) compared with the extinction law for the general ISM (R_V = 3.1), suggesting that the dimming arises from circumstellar material.Comment: accepted by the Astrophysical Journal; acknowledgements revised 9/1/201

A statistical approach to quantify uncertainty in carbon monoxide measurements at the Izaña global GAW station: 2008–2011

Atmospheric CO in situ measurements are carried out at the Izaña (Tenerife) global GAW (Global Atmosphere Watch Programme of the World Meteorological Organization – WMO) mountain station using a Reduction Gas Analyser (RGA). In situ measurements at Izaña are representative of the subtropical Northeast Atlantic free troposphere, especially during nighttime. We present the measurement system configuration, the response function, the calibration scheme, the data processing, the Izaña 2008–2011 CO nocturnal time series, and the mean diurnal cycle by months

High mountain deglaciation. Glacial morphology, evolution and morphogenetic phases in the Posets massif (Aragonese Pyrenees).

Producción CientíficaEl Posets es un macizo de alta montaña prácticamente deglaciado, donde las formas glaciares dominan en un medio crionival actual. Mediante la elaboración de la cartografía geomorfológica, la reconstrucción de las distintas fases glaciares y la estimación de los límites de equilibrio glaciar de cada fase, se establece la evolución de la deglaciación y la transición de un medio glaciar a periglaciar. Se han detectado cinco fases morfogenéticas principales en la alta montaña, Fase I, Pleniglaciar, con el macizo cubierto por una extensa capa de hielo; Fase II, Máxima extensión interna, mayor expansión de los glaciares en el interior del macizo, adscrita al Tardiglaciar; Fase III, Retroceso interno, muy próximos a los anteriores, también del Tardiglaciar; Deglaciación holocena, período de retroceso glaciar y progresión periglaciar; Fase IV, Avance menor, del período de avance acaecido en época histórica, la Pequeña Edad del Hielo; y Retroceso reciente. En la Pequeña Edad del Hielo se describe la evolución, con seis fases principales responsables del modelado del entorno de los glaciares.The Posets massif is the second highest massif in the Pyrenees (3.368 m). It is a deglaciated high mountain massif, that includes three small glaciers at the highest cirque of Posets peak. The deglaciation evolution and the transition from a glacial environment to a periglacial one have been established from (1) geomorphological mapping, (2) depositional landforms description and (3) paleoELA reconstruction. Five main morphogenetic phases are defined: Phase I, Pleniglacial, during this phase the massif is covered by ice and glaciers which fed the Ésera and Cinqueta valley glaciers; Phase II, Inner advance maximum, main advance of glaciers in the massif, of Late Glacial age; Phase III, Inner retreat, also Late Glacial age; Holocene deglaciation, backward motion of glaciers phase and periglacial features; Phase IV, Smaller advance, glacial historic period, the Litle Ice Age (L.I.A.); and Recent retreat. The L.I.A. morphogenetic evolution is formed by six main phases. Nowadays, the Posets massif is a high rocky mountain, very recently deglaciated, with a marginal glacial morphodynamic and an intense cryonival activity

In-situ CO measurements at Izaña global GAW station: GC-RGA system, data processing, and 2008-2011 time series

Comunicación presentada en: 16th WMO/IAEA Meeting on Carbon Dioxide, Other Greenhouse Gases, and Related Measurement Techniques celebrado del 25 al 28 de octubre de 2011 en Wellington, Nueva Zelanda

Evidencia de transferencia horizontal de genes de resistencia a antibióticos provenientes de bacterias ambientales

This study looked for the presence of environmental antibiotic resistance genes and their capacity to disseminate through conjugation. Water and soil samples were collected from pristine zones of the Ecuadorian Amazon Basin (Sucumbios, Napo and Orellana provin­ces), and they were inoculated in a modify wheat grain medium (WGM). Some of WGM cultures contained diverse bacterial species that were able to transfer antibiotic resistance genes to Escherichia coli K12. Finally, 10 strains were isolated and proved to be responsible of antibiotic resistance gene transfer. Strains were identified (using 16S rDNA sequences) as Serratia sp., Pseudomonas sp., Listonella sp., and Aeromonas sp. In this work, we pro­ved that environmental bacteria can transfer antibiotic resistance genes as tetraciclin and ampicilin.El presente estudio exploró la presencia y la capacidad de diseminación de genes de resis­tencia a antibióticos provenientes de bacterias ambientales. Se recolectó muestras de agua y suelo de zonas prístinas de la Amazonia ecuatoriana (provincias de Sucumbíos, Napo y Orellana) las cuales fueron inoculadas en un medio de grano de trigo modificado (WGM). Algunos de estos cultivos multi-bacterianos (mixtos) demostraron tener bacterias capaces de transferir genes de resistencia a antibióticos a una cepa de Escherichia coli K12. A partir de los cultivos mixtos se aisló 10 cepas bacterianas responsables de esta transferencia. Las cepas aisladas fueron identificadas mediante el secuenciamiento del gen del ARN riboso- mal 16S (16S rDNA) como Serratia sp., Pseudomonas sp., Listonella sp. y Aeromonas sp. El hallazgo más importante del presente trabajo fue el probar que existe transferencia de genes que proveen resistencia a antibióticos como la tetraciclina y ampicilina a partir de bacterias ambientales

Plesiomonas shigelloides Infection, Ecuador, 2004–2008

Diarrheal risk associated with Plesiomonas shigelloides infection was assessed in rural communities in northwestern Ecuador during 2004–2008. We found little evidence that single infection with P. shigelloides is associated with diarrhea but stronger evidence that co-infection with rotavirus causes diarrhea