Future wave climate over the west-European shelf seas

In this paper, we investigate changes in the wave climate of the west-European shelf seas under global warming scenarios. In particular, climate change wind fields corresponding to the present (control) time-slice 1961–2000 and the future (scenario) time-slice 2061–2100 are used to drive a wave generation model to produce equivalent control and scenario wave climate. Yearly and seasonal statistics of the scenario wave climates are compared individually to the corresponding control wave climate to identify relative changes of statistical significance between present and future extreme and prevailing wave heights. Using global, regional and linked global–regional wind forcing over a set of nested computational domains, this paper further demonstrates the sensitivity of the results to the resolution and coverage of the forcing. It suggests that the use of combined forcing from linked global and regional climate models of typical resolution and coverage is a good option for the investigation of relative wave changes in the region of interest of this study. Coarse resolution global forcing alone leads to very similar results over regions that are highly exposed to the Atlantic Ocean. In contrast, fine resolution regional forcing alone is shown to be insufficient for exploring wave climate changes over the western European waters because of its limited coverage. Results obtained with the combined global–regional wind forcing showed some consistency between scenarios. In general, it was shown that mean and extreme wave heights will increase in the future only in winter and only in the southwest of UK and west of France, north of about 44–45° N. Otherwise, wave heights are projected to decrease, especially in summer. Nevertheless, this decrease is dominated by local wind waves whilst swell is found to increase. Only in spring do both swell and local wind waves decrease in average height

In situ analysis of solvent/nonsolvent exchange and phase separation processes during the membrane formation of polylactides

Membrane formation of polylactides has been studied using in situ analysis techniques. An experimental method based on the use of dark ground optics and reflected light illumination is used to monitor the mass transfer and phase separation dynamics during for mation. Additionally, the phase separation and structure formation has been studied using optical microscopy. The results of the dark ground optics technique for the polymer/solvent/nonsolvent systems poly-L-lactide/chloroform/methanol and poly-DL-lactide/chloroform/methanol showed that the diffusion kinetics were similar for the semicrystalline poly-L-lactide (PLLA) and the amorphous poly-DL-lactide. The influence of the molecular weight of the polymers on the diffusion kinetics was found to be negligible. Increasing the polymer concentration of the casting solution decreased the rate of diffusion. The phase separation of poly-DL-lactide was studied with optical microscopy and found to proceed via liquid-liquid demixing. For poly-L-lactide solutions of relatively low concentration (5-6% w/w), phase separation proceeded via liquid-liquid demixing followed by crystallization. For more concentrated PLLA solutions, phase separation proceeded directly via solid-liquid demixing processes. Additionally, for 6% w/w solutions of poly-L-lactide in dioxane immersed in methanol, precipitation also occurred solely via solid-liquid demixing

El campeón de la virtud o El barón Inglés

Copia digital. Valladolid : Junta de Castilla y León. Consejería de Cultura y Turismo, 201

Two-dimensional reduced-physics model to describe historic morphodynamic behaviour of an estuary inlet

Understanding medium to long term morphodynamic change is important for sustainable coastal and estuary management. This paper analyses morphodynamic change of a complex estuary inlet which is subjected to multiple environmental drivers and proposes a reduced physics model to explain the historic medium term morphodynamic change of the inlet. The analysis shows that even though the estuary inlet undergoes multiscale morphological change, the changes that take place over a timescale of several years are more significant and important. The reduced physics model suggests that this simplified modelling approach is able to recognise principal historic morphodynamic trends in the estuary. However, the length and quality of the inlet bathymetry data set limits the applicability of the models and the quality of model outputs

The Impacts of a Subglacial Discharge Plume on Calving, Submarine Melting, and Mélange Mass Loss at Helheim Glacier, South East Greenland

Almost half of the Greenland ice sheet’s mass loss occurs through iceberg calving at marine terminating glaciers. The presence of buoyant subglacial discharge plumes at these marine termini are thought to increase mass loss both through submarine melting and by undercutting that consequently increases calving rates. Plume models are used to predict submarine melting and undercutting. However, there are few observations that allow these relationships to be tested. Here we use airborne lidar from the terminus of Helheim Glacier, SE Greenland to measure the bulge induced at the surface by the upwelling plume. We use these measurements to estimate plume discharge rates using a high‐resolution, three‐dimensional plume model. Multi‐year observations of the plume are compared to a record of calving from camera and icequake data. We find no evidence to suggest that the presence of a plume, determined by its visibility at the surface, increases the frequency of major calving events and also show that mass loss at the terminus driven directly by plume discharge is significantly less than mass loss from major calving events. The results suggest that the contribution of direct plume‐driven mass loss at deep marine‐terminating glaciers may be less than at shallower termini

Fostering personal meaning and self-relevance : a self-determination theory perspective on internalization

Central to self-determination theory (SDT) is the notion that autonomously motivated learning relates to greater learning benefits. While learners' intrinsic motivation has received substantial attention, learners also display volitional learning when they come to endorse the personal meaning or self-relevance of the learning task. In Part I of this review, we discuss how the process of internalization, in addition to intrinsic motivation, constitutes an important growth process. In Part II, we indicate how autonomy-supportive teaching and the provision of a rationale are critical to fostering internalization, and we review past empirical studies. Further, we propose an emerging model to explain when provided rationales foster perceived self-relevance and promote the process of internalization, thereby, considering both critical features of the rationale itself and the broader context in which the rationale becomes embedded. In Part III, the process of internalization is discussed in relation to the concepts of utility value and instrumentality

The distribution of quantifiers in clefts

This paper examines the distribution of quantifiers in clefts. It addresses the fact that quantifiers are not always banned as clefted constituents and discusses analyses which have been proposed in the literature in order to account for this phenomenon. The paper argues that quantifiers qualify for clefted constituents only when they bear a strong reading (Agouraki 2010). Using Cypriot Greek data, it argues that clefts express identificational focus and shows that under this analysis, the distribution of quantifiers, which are sometimes allowed to occur in clefts and sometimes not, can be explained. Quantifiers which have a strong interpretation can express exhaustive identification, whereas quantifiers which bear a weak reading cannot, as they do not satisfy the existence presupposition induced by the cleft clause. The analysis can carry over to crosslinguistic data displaying similar constraints on the distribution of quantifiers in constructions which express identificational focus

Impacts and Potential Mitigation of Road Mortality for Hedgehogs in Europe.

Transport infrastructure is a pervasive element in modern landscapes and continues to expand to meet the demands of a growing human population and its associated resource consumption. Road-induced mortality is often thought to be a major contributor to the marked declines of European hedgehog populations. This review synthesizes available evidence on the population-level impacts of road mortality and the threat to population viability for the five hedgehog species in Europe. Local and national studies suggest that road mortality can cause significant depletions in population sizes, predominantly removing adult males. Traffic collisions are a probable cause of fragmentation effects, subsequently undermining ecological processes such as dispersal, as well as the genetic variance and fitness of isolated populations. Further studies are necessary to improve population estimates and explicitly examine the consequences of sex- and age-specific mortality rates. Hedgehogs have been reported to use crossing structures, such as road tunnels, yet evaluations of mitigation measures for population survival probability are largely absent. This highlights the need for robust studies that consider population dynamics and genetics in response to mitigation. In light of ongoing declines of hedgehog populations, it is paramount that applied research is prioritised and integrated into a holistic spatial planning process

Causal Loop Analysis of coastal geomorphological systems

As geomorphologists embrace ever more sophisticated theoretical frameworks that shift from simple notions of evolution towards single steady equilibria to recognise the possibility of multiple response pathways and outcomes, morphodynamic modellers are facing the problem of how to keep track of an ever-greater number of system feedbacks. Within coastal geomorphology, capturing these feedbacks is critically important, especially as the focus of activity shifts from reductionist models founded on sediment transport fundamentals to more synthesist ones intended to resolve emergent behaviours at decadal to centennial scales. This paper addresses the challenge of mapping the feedback structure of processes controlling geomorphic system behaviour with reference to illustrative applications of Causal Loop Analysis at two study cases: (1) the erosion-accretion behaviour of graded (mixed) sediment beds, and (2) the local alongshore sediment fluxes of sand-rich shorelines. These case study examples are chosen on account of their central role in the quantitative modelling of geomorphological futures and as they illustrate different types of causation. Causal loop diagrams, a form of directed graph, are used to distil the feedback structure to reveal, in advance of more quantitative modelling, multi-response pathways and multiple outcomes. In the case of graded sediment bed, up to three different outcomes (no response, and two disequilibrium states) can be derived from a simple qualitative stability analysis. For the sand-rich local shoreline behaviour case, two fundamentally different responses of the shoreline (diffusive and anti-diffusive), triggered by small changes of the shoreline cross-shore position, can be inferred purely through analysis of the causal pathways. Explicit depiction of feedback-structure diagrams is beneficial when developing numerical models to explore coastal morphological futures. By explicitly mapping the feedbacks included and neglected within a model, the modeller can readily assess if critical feedback loops are included