The triggering factors of the Móafellshyrna debris slide in northern Iceland: Intense precipitation, earthquake activity and thawing of mountain permafrost

On the 20th September 2012, a large debris slide occurred in the Móafellshyrna Mountain in the Tröllaskagi peninsula, central north Iceland. Our work describes and discusses the relative importance of the three factors that may have contributed to the failure of the slope: intense precipitation, earthquake activity and thawing of ground ice. We use data from weather stations, seismometers, witness reports and field observations to examine these factors. The slide initiated after an unusually warm and dry summer followed by a month of heavy precipitation. Furthermore, the slide occurred after three seismic episodes, whose epicentres were located ~60km NNE of Móafellshyrna Mountain. The main source of material for the slide was ice-rich colluvium perched on a topographic bench. Blocks of ice-cemented colluvium slid and then broke off the frontal part of the talus slope, and the landslide also involved a component of debris slide, which mobilized around 312,000-480,000m(3) (as estimated from field data and aerial images of erosional morphologies). From our analysis we infer that intense precipitation and seismic activity prior to the slide are the main preparatory factors for the slide. The presence of ice-cemented blocks in the slide's deposits leads us to infer that deep thawing of ground ice was likely the final triggering factor. Ice-cemented blocks of debris have been observed in the deposits of two other recent landslides in northern Iceland, in the Torfufell Mountain and the Árnesfjall Mountain. This suggests that discontinuous mountain permafrost is degrading in Iceland, consistent with the decadal trend of increasing atmospheric temperature in Iceland. This study highlights a newly identified hazard in Iceland: landslides as a result of ground ice thaw. Knowledge of the detailed distribution of mountain permafrost in colluvium on the island is poorly constrained and should be a priority for future research in order to identify zones at risk from this hazard

Sheltered housing in Scotland

SIGLELD:GPB-1579 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

The training and development needs of bilingual support workers in the NHS in community settings

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:GPC/09547 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Essential fish habitats and hotspots of nekto‐benthic diversity and density in the western Mediterranean

1. Since the 1990s, most currently assessed Mediterranean nekto‐benthic stocks have been exploited above maximum sustainable yield and have declined. This study explores the co‐occurrence of essential fish habitats for the most important nekto‐benthic resources exploited by bottom‐trawl fisheries in the western Mediterranean and areas of importance for nekto‐benthic communities. 2. Fishery‐independent data obtained from Mediterranean scientific bottom‐trawl surveys were used to identify persistent hotspots of recruitment for the most important nekto‐benthic species around the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands between 2002 and 2016, as an indicator of their essential fish habitats. Likewise, hotspots of nekto‐benthic community diversity and density were also determined, as an estimate of key areas for nekto‐benthic communities. 3. Areas of overlap of persistent hotspots of recruitment and of community species richness and density were mainly found on the deep shelf and the upper slope (100–200 m and 200–500 m deep respectively). 4. These overlapping areas could be of particular interest in the development of fishery management plans aiming to implement an ecosystem approach to fisheries. Protection, through temporary or permanent closures, of the overlapping areas identified would contribute to improving both the sustainable exploitation of the main target species of bottom‐trawl fisheries and the conservation of nekto‐benthic communities