Age and palaeoenvironment of Pliocene sediments, Cameron Inlet Formation, eastern Flinders Island, Tasmania: implications for southeastern Australian biostratigraphy

A previously unrecorded thin unit of very Early Pliocene calcareous sediments of the Cameron Inlet Formation from two auger holes in central Flinders Island, Tasmania, has yielded a very diverse fauna of benthic Foraminifera and enough planktonic forms to allow fine correlation with international biostratigraphic standards (N19, approximately 5.3–4.4 Ma, or Lower Opoitian in New Zealand terminology). Ostracods are also recorded. It is older than an earlier recorded sample from North Patriarch Drain a few kilometres away. It lies within the Kalimnan of southeastern Australian stage nomenclature and probably equivalent to 1985 Molluscan Assemblage XVI. The sediments and faunas accumulated in very shallow, fully marine conditions, initially with some possible estuarine aspect that faded with time. The fauna is of well-known species, dominated by Parredicta kalimnensis (Parr, 1939). Other abundant and diverse forms are elphidiids and cibicidids. Agglutinated forms are almost absent and miliolids are diverse but minor components. The fauna includes a new polymorphinid genus and species that will be described elsewhere. The samples contain a bewildering array of unilocular forms. Water temperature appears to have been about 12°C. The Kalimnan Stage may encompass the entire Pliocene and two substages may be identifiable

Modelling impacts of seasonal wastewater treatment plant effluent permits and biosolid substitution for phosphorus management in catchments and river systems

The issues of diffuse and point source phosphorus (P) pollution in river systems are presented using a catchment model to assess nutrient behaviour, seasonal effluent standards and biosolid substitution. A process-based, dynamic water quality model (INCA-P) has been applied to four UK catchments, namely, the Rivers Tywi, Wensum, Lunan and Hampshire Avon, to simulate water fluxes, sediments, total phosphorus and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentrations. The model has been used to assess impacts of both agricultural runoff and point P sources from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) on water quality. With increasing costs for P fertilizer and P reduction at WWTPs, a strategy of recycling P from WWTPs as biosolids to substitute for fertilizers in vulnerable catchments has been investigated. Significant reductions in P concentrations are achieved if this substitution were implemented on a large scale. Reductions in SRP of between 6% and 41% can be achieved using this strategy. The effects of implementing new WWTP standards are shown to reduce SRP by 30%. Seasonal consent standards applied in only summer months could reduce SRP by 53% and achieve a substantial reduction in treatment costs year round

A review of the Cenozoic stratigraphy and glacial history of the Lambert Graben - Prydz Bay region, East Antarctica

The Cenozoic glacial history of East Antarctica is recorded in part by the stratigraphy of the Prydz Bay - Lambert Graben region. The glacigene strata and associated erosion surfaces record at least 10 intervals of glacial advance (with accompanying erosion and sediment compaction), and more than 17 intervals of glacial retreat (enabling open marine deposition in Prydz Bay and the Lambert Graben). The number of glacial advances and retreats is considerably less than would be expected from Milankovitch frequencies due to the incomplete stratigraphic record. Large advances of the Lambert Glacier caused progradation of the continental shelf edge. At times of extreme glacial retreat, marine conditions reached > 450 km inland from the modern ice shelf edge. This review presents a partial reconstruction of Cenozoic glacial extent within Prydz Bay and the Lambert Graben that can be compared to eustatic sea-level records from the southern Australian continental margin

An Integrated Approach Providing Scientific and Policy-Relevant Insights for South-West Bangladesh

Bangladesh is identified as an impact hotspot for sea-level rise in multiple studies. However, a range of other factors must be considered including catchment management, socio-economic development and governance quality, as well as delta plain biophysical processes. Taking an integrated assessment approach highlights that to 2050 future changes are more sensitive to human choice/policy intervention than climate change, ecosystem services diminish as a proportion of the economy with time, continuing historic trends and significant poverty persists for some households. Hence under favourable policy decisions, development could transform Bangladesh by 2050 making it less vulnerable to longer-term climate change and subsidence. Beyond 2050, the threats of climate change are much larger, requiring strategic adaptation responses and policy changes that must be initiated now

Distributed and dynamic modelling of hydrology, phosphorus and ecology in the Hampshire Avon and Blashford Lakes: evaluating alternative strategies to meet WFD standards.

The issues of diffuse and point source phosphorus (P) pollution in the Hampshire Avon and Blashford Lakes are explored using a catchment model of the river system. A multibranch, process based, dynamic water quality model (INCA-P) has been applied to the whole river system to simulate water fluxes, total phosphorus (TP) and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentrations and ecology. The model has been used to assess impacts of both agricultural runoff and point sources from waste water treatment plants (WWTPs) on water quality. The results show that agriculture contributes approximately 40% of the phosphorus load and point sources the other 60% of the load in this catchment. A set of scenarios have been investigated to assess the impacts of alternative phosphorus reduction strategies and it is shown that a combined strategy of agricultural phosphorus reduction through either fertiliser reductions or better phosphorus management together with improved treatment at WWTPs would reduce the SRP concentrations in the river to acceptable levels to meet the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) requirements. A seasonal strategy for WWTP phosphorus reductions would achieve significant benefits at reduced cost

Marine Dynamics and Productivity in the Bay of Bengal

The Bay of Bengal provides important ecosystem services to the Bangladesh delta. It is also subject to the consequences of climate change as monsoon atmospheric circulation and fresh water input from the major rivers are the dominating influences. Changes in marine circulation will affect patterns of biological production through alterations in the supply of nutrients to photosynthesising plankton. Productivity in the northern Bay will also be sensitive to changes in riverborne nutrients. In turn, these changes could influence potential fish catch. The Bay also affects the physical environment of Bangladesh: relative sea-level rise is expected to be in the range of 0.5–1.7 m by 2100, and changing climate could affect the development of tropical cyclones over the Bay

Exploring the equity of GP practice prescribing rates for selected coronary heart disease drugs: a multiple regression analysis with proxies of healthcare need

Background There is a small, but growing body of literature highlighting inequities in GP practice prescribing rates for many drug therapies. The aim of this paper is to further explore the equity of prescribing for five major CHD drug groups and to explain the amount of variation in GP practice prescribing rates that can be explained by a range of healthcare needs indicators (HCNIs). Methods The study involved a cross-sectional secondary analysis in four primary care trusts (PCTs 1–4) in the North West of England, including 132 GP practices. Prescribing rates (average daily quantities per registered patient aged over 35 years) and HCNIs were developed for all GP practices. Analysis was undertaken using multiple linear regression. Results Between 22–25% of the variation in prescribing rates for statins, beta-blockers and bendrofluazide was explained in the multiple regression models. Slightly more variation was explained for ACE inhibitors (31.6%) and considerably more for aspirin (51.2%). Prescribing rates were positively associated with CHD hospital diagnoses and procedures for all drug groups other than ACE inhibitors. The proportion of patients aged 55–74 years was positively related to all prescribing rates other than aspirin, where they were positively related to the proportion of patients aged >75 years. However, prescribing rates for statins and ACE inhibitors were negatively associated with the proportion of patients aged >75 years in addition to the proportion of patients from minority ethnic groups. Prescribing rates for aspirin, bendrofluazide and all CHD drugs combined were negatively associated with deprivation. Conclusion Although around 25–50% of the variation in prescribing rates was explained by HCNIs, this varied markedly between PCTs and drug groups. Prescribing rates were generally characterised by both positive and negative associations with HCNIs, suggesting possible inequities in prescribing rates on the basis of ethnicity, deprivation and the proportion of patients aged over 75 years (for statins and ACE inhibitors, but not for aspirin)

Carbon stable isotope analysis of cereal remains as a way to reconstruct water availability: preliminary results

Reconstructing past water availability, both as rainfall and irrigation, is important to answer questions about the way society reacts to climate and its changes and the role of irrigation in the development of social complexity. Carbon stable isotope analysis of archaeobotanical remains is a potentially valuable method for reconstructing water availability. To further define the relationship between water availability and plant carbon isotope composition and to set up baseline values for the Southern Levant, grains of experimentally grown barley and sorghum were studied. The cereal crops were grown at three stations under five different irrigation regimes in Jordan. Results indicate that a positive but weak relationship exists between irrigation regime and total water input of barley grains, but no relationship was found for sorghum. The relationship for barley is site-specific and inter-annual variation was present at Deir ‘Alla, but not at Ramtha and Khirbet as-Samra

Search for sterile neutrino mixing in the MINOS long-baseline experiment

A search for depletion of the combined flux of active neutrino species over a 735 km baseline is reported using neutral-current interaction data recorded by the MINOS detectors in the NuMI neutrino beam. Such a depletion is not expected according to conventional interpretations of neutrino oscillation data involving the three known neutrino flavors. A depletion would be a signature of oscillations or decay to postulated noninteracting sterile neutrinos, scenarios not ruled out by existing data. From an exposure of 3.18×1020 protons on target in which neutrinos of energies between ~500¿¿MeV and 120 GeV are produced predominantly as ¿µ, the visible energy spectrum of candidate neutral-current reactions in the MINOS far detector is reconstructed. Comparison of this spectrum to that inferred from a similarly selected near-detector sample shows that of the portion of the ¿µ flux observed to disappear in charged-current interaction data, the fraction that could be converting to a sterile state is less than 52% at 90% confidence level (C.L.). The hypothesis that active neutrinos mix with a single sterile neutrino via oscillations is tested by fitting the data to various models. In the particular four-neutrino models considered, the mixing angles ¿24 and ¿34 are constrained to be less than 11° and 56° at 90% C.L., respectively. The possibility that active neutrinos may decay to sterile neutrinos is also investigated. Pure neutrino decay without oscillations is ruled out at 5.4 standard deviations. For the scenario in which active neutrinos decay into sterile states concurrently with neutrino oscillations, a lower limit is established for the neutrino decay lifetime t3/m3>2.1×10-12¿¿s/eV at 90% C.L

Effects of two contrasting canopy manipulations on growth and water use of London plane (Platanus x acerifolia) trees

Aims: Two contrasting canopy manipulations were compared to unpruned controls on London plane trees, to determine the effects on canopy regrowth, soil and leaf water relations. Methods: ‘Canopy reduction’, was achieved by removing the outer 30 % length of all major branches and ‘canopy thinning’, by removing 30 % of lateral branches arising from major branches. Results: Total canopy leaf areas recovered within two and three years of pruning for the canopy-thinned and reduced trees respectively. Canopy reduction increased mean leaf size, nitrogen concentration, canopy leaf area density and conserved soil moisture for up to 3 years, whereas canopy thinning had no effects. Another experiment compared more severe canopy reduction to unpruned trees. This produced a similar growth response to the previous experiment, but soil moisture was conserved nearer to the trunk. Analysis of 13C and 18O signals along with leaf water relations and soil moisture data suggested that lower boundary layer conductance within the canopy-reduced trees restricted tree water use, whereas for the canopy-thinned trees the opposite occurred. Conclusions: Only canopy reduction conserved soil moisture and this was due to a combination of reduced total canopy leaf area and structural changes in canopy architecture