Inhabitants' environmental perceptions in the city of Rome within the framework for urban biosphere reserves of the UNESCO programme on man and biosphere.

PubMed

Bonnes, Mirilia; Carrus, Giuseppe; Bonaiuto, Marino; Fornara, Ferdinando; Passafaro, Paola

2004-06-01

The article presents the main tenets of the UNESCO Programme on Man and Biosphere (MAB), launched by the United Nations at the beginning of the 1970s. The program aimed at supporting applied research and scientific knowledge for managing natural resources in a rational and sustainable way. The implication of the full ecological perspective, typical of the MAB, for promoting multidisciplinary and integrated approaches in the study of environmental issues is briefly outlined. In particular, we point out the role of the MAB, through the biosphere reserve concept, in supporting the collaboration between natural-biological and social-behavioral sciences when dealing with biodiversity conservation problems and with urban ecosystems. Then, the specific UNESCO-MAB Project on the city of Rome, launched at the end of the 1980s, is briefly presented, together with the recent project of the Department of the Environment of the Rome Municipality to propose Rome's urban and periurban green areas as a new UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve. The results of the main research activities conducted therein are summarized. In particular, the specific research lines of the environmental psychology research group, involved in the MAB-Rome Project for approximately two decades, are presented. These research lines dealt with various aspects of residents' environmental perceptions and behaviors in the city of Rome. The practical implications of these results are also briefly discussed.

[Historical presence of invasive fish in the biosphere reserve sierra de Huautla, Mexico].

PubMed

Mejía-Mojica, Humberto; de Rodríguez-Romero, Felipe Jesús; Díaz-Pardo, Edmundo

2012-06-01

The effects of invasive species on native ecosystems are varied, and these have been linked to the disappearance or decline of native fauna, changes in community structure, modification of ecosystems and as vectors of new diseases and parasites. Besides, the development of trade in species for ornamental use has contributed significantly to the import and introduction of invasive fish in some important areas for biodiversity conservation in Mexico, but the presence of these species is poorly documented. In this study we analyzed the fish community in the Biosphere Reserve Sierra de Huautla by looking at diversity changes in the last 100 years. For this, we used databases of historical records and recent collections for five sites in the Amacuzac river, along the Biosphere Reserve area. We compared the values of similarity (Jaccard index) between five times series (1898-1901, 1945-1953, 1971-1980, 1994-1995 and 2008-2009), and we obtained values of similarity (Bray-Curtis) between the five sites analyzed. In our results we recognized a total of 19 species for the area, nine non-native and ten native, three of which were eliminated for the area. Similarity values between the early days and current records were very low (.27); the major changes in the composition of the fauna occurred in the past 20 years. The values of abundance, diversity and similarity among the sampling sites, indicate the dominance of non-native species. We discuss the role of the ornamental fish trade in the region as the leading cause of invasive introduction in the ecosystem and the possible negative effects that at least four non-native species have had on native fauna and the ecosystem (Oreochromis mossambicus, Amatitlania nigrofasciata, Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus and P pardalis). There is an urgent need of programs for registration, control and eradication of invasive species in the Sierra de Huautla Biosphere Reserve and biodiversity protection areas in Mexico.

Domestic carnivore interactions with wildlife in the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, Chile: husbandry and perceptions of impact from a community perspective

PubMed Central

Saavedra-Aracena, Lorena; Jiménez, Jaime E.

2018-01-01

Background Hundreds of millions of domestic carnivores worldwide have diverse positive affiliations with humans, but can provoke serious socio-ecological impacts when free-roaming. Unconfined dogs (Canis familiaris) and cats (Felis catus) interact with wildlife as predators, competitors, and disease-transmitters; their access to wildlife depends on husbandry, perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors of pet owners and non-owners. Methods To better understand husbandry and perceptions of impacts by unconfined, domestic carnivores, we administered questionnaires (n = 244) to pet owners and non-owners living in one of the last wilderness areas of the world, the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, located in southern Chile. We used descriptive statistics to provide demographic pet and husbandry information, quantify free-roaming dogs and cats, map their sightings in nature, and report experiences and perceptions of the impact of free-roaming dogs and cats on wildlife. We corroborated our results with an analysis of prey remains in dog feces (n = 53). With generalized linear models, we examined which factors (i.e., food provisioning, reproductive state, rural/village households, sex, and size) predicted that owned dogs and cats bring wildlife prey home. Results Thirty-one percent of village dogs (n = 121) and 60% of dogs in rural areas (n = 47) roamed freely day and/or night. Free-roaming dog packs were frequently observed (64% of participants) in the wild, including a feral dog population on Navarino Island. Dogs (31 of 168) brought home invasive muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) and avian prey, and over half of all cats (27 of 51) brought home mainly avian prey. Birds were also the most harassed wildlife category, affected by one third of all dogs and cats. Nevertheless, dog-wildlife conflicts were hardly recognized (<9% of observed conflicts and suspected problems), and only 34% of the participants thought that cats might impact birds. Diet analysis revealed that dogs

Domestic carnivore interactions with wildlife in the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, Chile: husbandry and perceptions of impact from a community perspective.

PubMed

Schüttler, Elke; Saavedra-Aracena, Lorena; Jiménez, Jaime E

2018-01-01

Hundreds of millions of domestic carnivores worldwide have diverse positive affiliations with humans, but can provoke serious socio-ecological impacts when free-roaming. Unconfined dogs ( Canis familiaris ) and cats ( Felis catus ) interact with wildlife as predators, competitors, and disease-transmitters; their access to wildlife depends on husbandry, perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors of pet owners and non-owners. To better understand husbandry and perceptions of impacts by unconfined, domestic carnivores, we administered questionnaires ( n  = 244) to pet owners and non-owners living in one of the last wilderness areas of the world, the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, located in southern Chile. We used descriptive statistics to provide demographic pet and husbandry information, quantify free-roaming dogs and cats, map their sightings in nature, and report experiences and perceptions of the impact of free-roaming dogs and cats on wildlife. We corroborated our results with an analysis of prey remains in dog feces ( n  = 53). With generalized linear models, we examined which factors (i.e., food provisioning, reproductive state, rural/village households, sex, and size) predicted that owned dogs and cats bring wildlife prey home. Thirty-one percent of village dogs ( n  = 121) and 60% of dogs in rural areas ( n  = 47) roamed freely day and/or night. Free-roaming dog packs were frequently observed (64% of participants) in the wild, including a feral dog population on Navarino Island. Dogs (31 of 168) brought home invasive muskrats ( Ondatra zibethicus ) and avian prey, and over half of all cats (27 of 51) brought home mainly avian prey. Birds were also the most harassed wildlife category, affected by one third of all dogs and cats. Nevertheless, dog-wildlife conflicts were hardly recognized (<9% of observed conflicts and suspected problems), and only 34% of the participants thought that cats might impact birds. Diet analysis revealed that dogs consumed livestock

Human Migration and Agricultural Expansion: An Impending Threat to the Maya Biosphere Reserve

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sader, Steven; Reining, Conard; Sever, Thomas L.; Soza, Carlos

1997-01-01

Evidence is presented of the current threats to the Maya Biosphere Reserve in northern Guatemala as derived through time-series Landsat Thematic Mapper observations and analysis. Estimates of deforestation rates and trends are examined for different management units within the reserve and buffer zones. The satellite imagery was used to quantify and monitor rates, patterns, and trends of forest clearing during a time period corresponding to new road construction and significant human migration into the newly accessible forest region. Satellite imagery is appropriate technology in a vast and remote tropical region where aerial photography and extensive field-based methods are not cost-effective and current, timely data is essential for establishing conservation priorities.

Man and the Biosphere: Ground Truthing Coral Reefs for the St. John Island Biosphere Reserve.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brody, Michael J.; And Others

Research on the coral species composition of St. John's reefs in the Virgin Islands was conducted through the School for Field Studies (SFS) Coral Reef Ecology course (winter 1984). A cooperative study program based on the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's (Unesco) program, Man and the Biosphere, was undertaken by…

[Ecology and health in Chile: present and future development].

PubMed

Oyarzún, M

1997-09-01

In response to the progressive environmental deterioration, the Ecological Society of America has made a proposal, called "Sustainable Biosphere Initiative", to do research, teaching and decision making processes on biodiversity, global change and the effects of human activities on environment. The goal of appropriate environmental protection and welfare for mankind includes health and quality of life. Presently, Chile faces a number of environmental problems such as pollution, excessive urban growth, loss of agricultural areas, disposal of solid waste and species extinction. The lack of education and information in Chile, on these problems, is worrisome. The role of universities to overcome this deficit should be crucial in the future sustainable development of Chile.

Social structure of lions (Panthera leo) is affected by management in Pendjari Biosphere Reserve, Benin.

PubMed

Sogbohossou, Etotépé A; Bauer, Hans; Loveridge, Andrew; Funston, Paul J; De Snoo, Geert R; Sinsin, Brice; De Iongh, Hans H

2014-01-01

Lion populations have undergone a severe decline in West Africa. As baseline for conservation management, we assessed the group structure of lions in the Pendjari Biosphere Reserve in Benin. This reserve, composed of one National Park and two Hunting Zones, is part of the WAP transboundary complex of protected areas. Overall mean group size was 2.6±1.7 individuals (n = 296), it was significantly higher in the National Park (2.7±1.7, n = 168) than in the Hunting Zones (2.2±1.5, n = 128). Overall adult sex ratio was even, but significantly biased towards females (0.67) in the National Park and towards males (1.67) in the Hunting Zones. Our results suggest that the Pendjari lion population is affected by perturbations, such as trophy hunting.

Comparative assessment of public opinion on the landscape quality of two biosphere reserves in Europe.

PubMed

Sowińska-Świerkosz, Barbara; Chmielewski, Tadeusz J

2014-09-01

The European Landscape Convention (2000) obligates European Union countries to identify and implement landscape quality objectives (LQOs) understood as the specification of public expectations and preferences concerning the landscape of a given area, expressed by competent public authorities. The convention emphasizes the important role of local community representatives in this field. In Poland, the implementation of the LQO concept was first undertaken in two regions with radically different landscape characteristics: (1) the West Polesie Biosphere Reserve and (2) the selected protected areas of the Roztocze-Solska Forest, nominated to the rank of a biosphere reserve. The first stage of the presented study was the recognition of public opinion on the quality of key features of landscape, based on a questionnaire (n = 470). The primary objective of the study was to provide an answer to the following questions: (1) Whether similar social expectations regarding landscape quality exist in spite of radically different landscape characteristics of the regions investigated (landscape quality is understood as spatial arrangement, scenic beauty, and lack of environmental pollution); (2) which landscape features are considered to be most preservation worthy by the representatives of both local communities; and (3) What processes or development impacts pose the greatest threat to the landscape quality of both regions according to the public opinion? The conducted comparative assessment revealed that it is possible to define a set of features fundamental to the quality of both areas and that representatives of local communities pointed out the same threats to the natural and cultural values of both regions investigated.

Seasonal Variation of Eutrophication in Some Lakes of Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve.

PubMed

Török, Liliana; Török, Zsolt; Carstea, Elfrida M; Savastru, Dan

2017-01-01

  To understand the trophic state of lakes, this study aims to determine the dynamics of phytoplankton assemblages and the main factors that influence their seasonal variation. Sampling campaigns were carried out in three lakes from the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve. Spectral analysis of specific phytoplankton pigments was applied as a diagnostic marker to establish the distribution and composition of phytoplankton taxonomic groups. Fluorescence spectroscopy was used to quantify changes in dissolved organic matter (DOM). The relative contribution of the main phytoplankton groups to the total phytoplankton biomass and the trend of development during succession of the seasons showed that cyanobacteria could raise potential ecological or human health problems. Moreover, fluorescence spectroscopy revealed that Cryptophyta and cyanobacteria were the main contributors to the protein-like components of DOM. It was concluded that fluorescence could be used to provide a qualitative evaluation of the eutrophication degree in Danube Delta lakes.

Social Structure of Lions (Panthera leo) Is Affected by Management in Pendjari Biosphere Reserve, Benin

PubMed Central

Sogbohossou, Etotépé A.; Bauer, Hans; Loveridge, Andrew; Funston, Paul J.; De Snoo, Geert R.; Sinsin, Brice; De Iongh, Hans H.

2014-01-01

Lion populations have undergone a severe decline in West Africa. As baseline for conservation management, we assessed the group structure of lions in the Pendjari Biosphere Reserve in Benin. This reserve, composed of one National Park and two Hunting Zones, is part of the WAP transboundary complex of protected areas. Overall mean group size was 2.6±1.7 individuals (n = 296), it was significantly higher in the National Park (2.7±1.7, n = 168) than in the Hunting Zones (2.2±1.5, n = 128). Overall adult sex ratio was even, but significantly biased towards females (0.67) in the National Park and towards males (1.67) in the Hunting Zones. Our results suggest that the Pendjari lion population is affected by perturbations, such as trophy hunting. PMID:24416263

Long term changes in forest cover and land use of Similipal Biosphere Reserve of India using satellite remote sensing data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saranya, K. R. L.; Reddy, C. Sudhakar

2016-04-01

The spatial changes in forest cover of Similipal biosphere reserve, Odisha, India over eight decades (1930-2012) has been quantified by using multi-temporal data from different sources. Over the period, the forest cover reduced by 970.8 km2 (23.6% of the total forest), and most significantly during the period, 1930-1975. Human-induced activities like conversion of forest land for agriculture, construction of dams and mining activities have been identified as major drivers of deforestation. Spatial analysis indicates that 399 grids (1 grid = 1 × 1 km) have undergone large-scale changes in forest cover (>75 ha) during 1930-1975, while only 3 grids have shown >75 ha loss during 1975-1990. Annual net rate of deforestation was 0.58 during 1930-1975, which has been reduced substantially during 1975-1990 (0.04). Annual gross rate of deforestation in 2006-2012 is indeed low (0.01) as compared to the national and global average. This study highlights the impact and effectiveness of conservation practices in minimizing the rate of deforestation and protecting the Similipal Biosphere Reserve.

The importance of a Biosphere Reserve of Atlantic Forest for the conservation of stream fauna.

PubMed

Yoshida, C E; Uieda, V S

2014-05-01

Preservation of terrestrial fauna and flora has been the main reason for the settlement of most protected areas in the past 30 years, but although those areas may include water bodies, this does not necessarily mean that the biodiversity of freshwater environments are also protected. In the present study, the fauna inventory of eight streams (1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th orders) of three microbasins of Japi Mountain, a Biosphere Reserve of Atlantic Forest recognised by UNESCO since 1994, located in São Paulo state, southeast of Brazil, was conducted. The hypothesis of this study is that the conservation of this area is important for the maintenance of the aquatic biodiversity of this biome, and so, this world hotspot deserves priority conservation actions. From 2005 to 2007, benthic macroinvertebrates, fishes and, eventually, anuran amphibians were sampled in these streams. The results showed that Japi Mountain contributes to the conservation of 138 taxonomic units of the aquatic biota and covers a rich and representative biodiversity of freshwater fauna of the world (0.2%), Neotropical region (0.9%), Brazil (2.4%) and São Paulo state (17.9%). The studied streams in the Environmental Protection Area help protect endangered taxa like the fishes Neoplecostomus paranensis and Pareiorhina cf rudolphi, and shelter freshwater invertebrates and fishes whose distribution is restricted to the Brazilian territory. Japi Mountain is also an important haven of species that was missing there like the frog species Vitreorana eurygnatha. Thus, this species inventory emphasises the importance of conservation actions of the freshwater environments of this Biosphere Reserve of Atlantic Forest.

Access 1996: A directory of permanent plots which monitor flora, fauna, climate, hydrology, soil, geology, and the effects of anthropogenic changes at 132 biosphere reserves in 27 countries

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1996-07-01

This directory summarizes information about environmental data collected in permanent monitoring and research plots in 132 biosphere reserves in Canada, the United States, and 25 European countries. The text of the directory is organized alphabetically by country and, within each country, alphabetically according to the name of the biosphere reserve. Tabular summaries of information on permanent plots are provided. The summaries are organized topically . A general summary of basic information on permanent plots is followed by more detailed information on permanent plots dedicated primarily to monitroing and research on particular topics.

Local peoples' knowledge, aptitude and perceptions of planning and management issues in nanda devi biosphere reserve, India.

PubMed

Rao, Kottapalli S; Nautiyal, Sunil; Maikhuri, Rakesh K; Saxena, Krishna G

2003-02-01

Local peoples' knowledge, aptitude, and perceptions of planning and management issues were investigated in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (NDBR) in Uttaranchal State of India. Conflicts ensued between local inhabitants and the management authority due to lack of community participation. Although most respondents seem to claim the knowledge of the objectives of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, the source of information indicates their interaction with the management authority is not frequent. While local population seem to agree on reduced intensity of agriculture with compensation equal to loss of net income, there is a perceptible difference in responses among different age groups. While the younger generation seems to agree to move away to other areas with suitable compensation packages, the older generation prefer those options that require some adjustments in use and access to natural resources. The option of ecotourism as a source of income is acceptable to most respondents, but young and old respondents disagreed about impact of such activity on social behavior of local inhabitants. Among those groups studied, only the "self-employed group" seem to be more interested in ecotourism in comparison to other occupation classes. Gender differences in perceptions are prominent with reference to development options. While the men preferred economic opportunities, the women preferred improved living conditions. An evaluation mechanism similar to the one described in this paper will be helpful to the management authority to assess and modify their management plans to mitigate conflicts with local people.

Gathering "tea"--from necessity to connectedness with nature. Local knowledge about wild plant gathering in the Biosphere Reserve Grosses Walsertal (Austria).

PubMed

Grasser, Susanne; Schunko, Christoph; Vogl, Christian R

2012-08-13

Wild plant gathering is an essential element in livelihood strategies all over the world. However due to changing circumstances in Europe, the reason for gathering has altered from one of necessity in the past to a pleasurable activity today. Wild plant gathering has therefore also received renewed attention as a form of intangible cultural heritage expressing local preferences, habits and man's relationship with nature. In the Biosphere Reserve Grosses Walsertal (Austria), local people's knowledge of the gathering of wild plants and their perception of their own gathering activities are being documented. The focus of this paper is on the uses of herbal teas and the informal guidelines for gathering plants that have been issued by the Bergtee (mountain tea) association. Thirty-six free-list interviews were conducted with subsequent semi-structured interviews and three focus group meetings held with members of the Bergtee association. Participatory observation (gathering and processing plants, mixing and marketing tea) also allowed for greater understanding of what had been reported. In total, 140 different gathered plant species were listed by respondents. Herbal tea is the most frequently mentioned use. The Bergtee association, founded by a young man and two middle-aged women in the valley, is a good example of the link between biological and cultural diversity, with the aim of sharing the biosphere reserve's natural treasures as well as local plant-related knowledge in the form of herbal tea products. The association's informal guidelines for gathering reflect people's attitude to nature: monetary income does not play a major role in gathering plants; instead people's appreciation of the value of the nature around them is to the fore. Gathering wild plants can be seen as an expression of people's regional identity. The conscious appreciation of nature and related local knowledge is crucial for the sustainable conservation and use of the Biosphere Reserve

[The jaguar Panthera onca (Carnivora: Felidae) in “El Cielo” Biosphere Reserve, Tamaulipas, Mexico].

PubMed

Carrera-Treviño, Rogelio; Lira-Torres, Iván; Martínez-García, Luis; López-Hernández, Martha

2016-12-01

Information on the ecology of jaguars (Panthera onca) in “El Cielo” Biosphere Reserve in Tamaulipas, Mexico is scant and limited to anecdotic records in a handful of publications. The objectives of our study were to: a) determine population density and structure of jaguars, b) compare their activity patterns with that of pumas (Puma concolor), c) ascertain potential prey relative abundance, and d) evaluate local resident’s perception on loss of domestic animals due to jaguar predation. Between April 2013 and April 2014 we conducted camera trapping in Gomez Farias Township with a total sampling effort of 8 580 camera trap days. Besides, we completed 136 semi-structured interviews among local residents of Gomez Farias and Llera Townships to gather information on domestic animal losses attributed to jaguars and other carnivores. We identified eight different jaguar individuals during a complete year of camera-trapping, composed of four adult females, one juvenile female, two adult males and one juvenile male. We estimated a jaguar density of 5.9 ± 1.3 jaguars/100 km². Activity patterns for jaguars and pumas were similar as both were nocturnal and crepuscular in nature. The most abundant potential prey species for jaguars in the study site were Crax rubra, Cuniculus paca, Mazama temama, Odocoileus virginianus and Didelphis virginiana; while the rarest were Mephitis macroura and Procyon lotor. Interview results suggested that chickens, dogs, and house cats were the most consumed domestic animals from all reported losses by local residents (n= 107). This study represents the first attempt to describe jaguar ecology in “El Cielo” Biosphere Reserve; however, there is a need of additional monitoring efforts to determine the current status of jaguars in a larger area in order to establish conservation strategies. Finally, this jaguar population may have an important role in maintaining the species in the Sierra Madre Oriental biological corridor connecting

The Efficacy of Landscape-Level Conservation in Changbai Mountain Biosphere Reserve, China

PubMed Central

Zhang, Jianliang; Liu, Fangzheng; Cui, Guofa

2014-01-01

Anthropogenic landscape alteration is rather common in many protected areas (PAs), jeopardizing the efficacy of PAs conservation. However, the general consensus is that PAs still remain effective in habitat conservation. To assess the efficacy of landscape-level conservation, we examined landscape alterations in the Changbai Mountain Biosphere Reserve (CMBR), which was established in 1960 as a “flagship” protected area in China. Based on analyses of high-resolution satellite images and data of forest inventory, field survey and interview, we developed two new indexes to assess the efficacy of landscape conservation, i.e. the quality index of protected landscape and the interference index of anthropogenic landscape. From 1993 to 2012, the quality index increased from 74.48 to 75.50, and the interference index decreased from 0.49 to 0.06, suggesting that the overall quality of protected landscape improved and the degree of anthropogenic interference decreased in CMBR. The increase in landscape quality was mainly due to the progressive vegetation recovery of previous cutover land in the windthrow area, the cease of the use of the cultivated land, and the amelioration of spatial pattern of protected landscape. We conclude that the current landscape conservation methods used in CMBR are effective, and the method we developed has the potential to be used to assess the efficacy of landscape-level conservation in nature reserves worldwide. PMID:24743693

Migration to the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala: Why place matters.

PubMed

Carr, David L

2008-01-01

Virtually all migration research examines international migration or urbanization. Yet understudied rural migrants are of critical concern for environmental conservation and rural sustainable development. Despite the fact that a relatively small number of all migrants settle remote rural frontiers, these are the agents responsible for perhaps most of the tropical deforestation on the planet. Further, rural migrants are among the most destitute people worldwide in terms of economic and human development. While a host of research has investigated deforestation resulting from frontier migration, and a modest literature has emerged on frontier development, this article explores the necessary antecedent to tropical deforestation and poverty along agricultural frontiers: out-migration from origin areas. The data come from a 2000 survey with community leaders and key informants in 16 municipios of migrant origin to the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR), Petén, Guatemala. A common denominator among communities of migration origin to the Petén frontier was unequal resource access, usually land. Nevertheless, the factors driving resource scarcity were widely variable. Land degradation, land consolidation, and population growth prevailed in some communities but not in others. Despite similar exposure to community and regional level push factors, most people in the sampled communities did not out-migrate, suggesting that any one or combination of factors is not necessarily sufficient for out-migration.

Migration to the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala: Why place matters

PubMed Central

Carr, David L.

2009-01-01

Virtually all migration research examines international migration or urbanization. Yet understudied rural migrants are of critical concern for environmental conservation and rural sustainable development. Despite the fact that a relatively small number of all migrants settle remote rural frontiers, these are the agents responsible for perhaps most of the tropical deforestation on the planet. Further, rural migrants are among the most destitute people worldwide in terms of economic and human development. While a host of research has investigated deforestation resulting from frontier migration, and a modest literature has emerged on frontier development, this article explores the necessary antecedent to tropical deforestation and poverty along agricultural frontiers: out-migration from origin areas. The data come from a 2000 survey with community leaders and key informants in 16 municipios of migrant origin to the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR), Petén, Guatemala. A common denominator among communities of migration origin to the Petén frontier was unequal resource access, usually land. Nevertheless, the factors driving resource scarcity were widely variable. Land degradation, land consolidation, and population growth prevailed in some communities but not in others. Despite similar exposure to community and regional level push factors, most people in the sampled communities did not out-migrate, suggesting that any one or combination of factors is not necessarily sufficient for out-migration. PMID:19657470

Fifty-year spatiotemporal analysis of landscape changes in the Mont Saint-Hilaire UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (Quebec, Canada).

PubMed

Béliveau, Marc; Germain, Daniel; Ianăş, Ana-Neli

2017-05-01

Diachronic analysis with a GIS-based classification of land-use changes based on aerial photographs, orthophotos, topographic maps, geotechnical reports, urban plans, and using landscape metrics has permitted insight into the driving forces responsible for landscape fragmentation in the Mont Saint-Hilaire (MSH) Biosphere Reserve over the period 1958-2015. Although the occurrence of exogenous factors, such as extreme weather and fires, can have a significant influence on the fragmentation of the territory in time and space, the accelerated development of the built environment (+470%) is nevertheless found to be primarily responsible for landscape fragmentation and the loss of areas formerly occupied by orchards, agriculture, and woodlands. The landscape metrics used corroborate these results, with a simplification of the shape of polygons, and once again reveal the difficulties of harmonizing different land uses. MSH has become somewhat of a forest island in a sea of residential development and agriculture. To counter this isolation of fragmented habitat components, forest corridors have been proposed and developed for the Biosphere Reserve and particularly for the core area. Two corridors, to the north and south, are used to connect the protected area and other wooded areas at the regional scale, in order to promote genetic exchange between populations of various species. In that regard, the forest buffer zone around the hill continues to play a key role and has great ecological value for species and ecological preservation and conservation. However, appropriate management and landscape preservation actions should recognize and focus on landscape composition and the associated geographical configuration.

The biosphere: Problems and solutions; Proceedings of the Miami International Symposium on the Biosphere, Miami Beach, FL, April 23, 24, 1984

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veziroglu, T. N.

The objective of the Miami International Symposium on the Biosphere was to provide a forum for the presentation of the latest research findings on the environmental effects of human activities. The topics discussed are related to biosphere reserves, environmental aspects of hydrocarbon fuels, radioactivity and nuclear waste, land management, acid rains, water quality, water resources, coastal resources management, the pollution of rivers, industrial waste, economic development and the environment, health hazards and solutions, endangered species, environmentally compatible systems, space pollution, and global considerations. Attention is given to questions regarding global security and sustainable development, environethics as a global strategy for environmental quality, a gestalt approach to the environment, potential indicators for monitoring biosphere reserves, a review of regional impacts associated with the development of U.S. synthetic fuel resources, water resources in the Soviet Union, and pollution-free pesticides.

Wildlife-vehicle collisions in Lanzarote Biosphere Reserve, Canary Islands.

PubMed

Tejera, Gustavo; Rodríguez, Beneharo; Armas, Carlos; Rodríguez, Airam

2018-01-01

Insular wildlife is more prone to extinction than their mainland relatives. Thus, a basic understanding of non-natural mortality sources is the first step in the development of conservation management plans. The Canary Islands are an important tourist destination due to their unique climate and rich scenery and biodiversity. During the last few decades, there has been significant development of urban areas and busy road networks. However, there have been no studies describing the effects of road mortality on wildlife in this archipelago. We describe the temporal and spatial patterns of wildlife roadkill in Lanzarote (UNESCO Biosphere Reserve), using counts from cars for an entire annual cycle. A total of 666 roadkills were recorded (monthly average of 0.09 birds/km and 0.14 mammals/km) comprising at least 37 species including native birds and introduced mammals. Seasonal abundance, richness and diversity of roadkills showed a high peak during summer months for both mammals and birds. GLMs indicated that accidents (including birds and mammals) have a higher probability of occurrence close to houses and on roads with high speed limits. When analysed separately, mammal kills occurred in sectors with high speed limits, close to houses and in areas surrounded by exotic bushes, while bird roadkills appeared in road sectors with high speed limits, close to houses and low traffic volume. Our findings highlight that roads are a potential threat to native birds in the eastern Canary Islands. Detailed studies on the local population dynamics of highly affected species, such as the Houbara Bustard, Eurasian Stone Curlew, Barn Owl or Southern Shrike, are urgently needed to determine whether these levels of road mortality are sustainable.

Wildlife-vehicle collisions in Lanzarote Biosphere Reserve, Canary Islands

PubMed Central

Tejera, Gustavo; Armas, Carlos; Rodríguez, Airam

2018-01-01

Insular wildlife is more prone to extinction than their mainland relatives. Thus, a basic understanding of non-natural mortality sources is the first step in the development of conservation management plans. The Canary Islands are an important tourist destination due to their unique climate and rich scenery and biodiversity. During the last few decades, there has been significant development of urban areas and busy road networks. However, there have been no studies describing the effects of road mortality on wildlife in this archipelago. We describe the temporal and spatial patterns of wildlife roadkill in Lanzarote (UNESCO Biosphere Reserve), using counts from cars for an entire annual cycle. A total of 666 roadkills were recorded (monthly average of 0.09 birds/km and 0.14 mammals/km) comprising at least 37 species including native birds and introduced mammals. Seasonal abundance, richness and diversity of roadkills showed a high peak during summer months for both mammals and birds. GLMs indicated that accidents (including birds and mammals) have a higher probability of occurrence close to houses and on roads with high speed limits. When analysed separately, mammal kills occurred in sectors with high speed limits, close to houses and in areas surrounded by exotic bushes, while bird roadkills appeared in road sectors with high speed limits, close to houses and low traffic volume. Our findings highlight that roads are a potential threat to native birds in the eastern Canary Islands. Detailed studies on the local population dynamics of highly affected species, such as the Houbara Bustard, Eurasian Stone Curlew, Barn Owl or Southern Shrike, are urgently needed to determine whether these levels of road mortality are sustainable. PMID:29561864

Crop damage and livestock depredation by wildlife: a case study from Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, India.

PubMed

Rao, K S; Maikhuri, R K; Nautiyal, S; Saxena, K G

2002-11-01

The success of conserving biological resources in any Biosphere Reserve or protected area depends on the extent of support and positive attitudes and perceptions of local people have towards such establishments. Ignoring the dependence of the local people for their subsistence needs on resources of such areas leads to conflicts between protected area managers and the local inhabitants. Crop yield losses and livestock depredation were serious problems observed in most buffer zone villages of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve. In the present study 10 villages situated in the buffer zone of Nanada Devi Biosphere Reserve (1612 km2 area) in Chamoli district of Uttaranchal, India were studied during 1996-97 using a questionnaire survey of each household (419 = households; 2253 = total population in 1991; 273 ha = cultivated area). Estimates of crop yield losses were made using paired plots technique in four representative villages for each crop species. The magnitude of crop yield losses varied significantly with the distance of agricultural field from forest boundary. The total crop yield losses were high for wheat and potato in all the villages. The spatial distribution of total crop yield losses in any village indicated that they were highest in the area near to forest and least in the area near to village for all crops. Losses from areas near to forest contributed to more than 50% of total losses for each crop in all villages. However, in Lata, Peng and Tolma villages, the losses are high for kidney bean and chemmi (local variety of kidney bean) which varied between 18.5% to 30% of total losses in those villages. Potato alone represents 43.6% of total crop yield loss due to wildlife in Dronagiri village in monetary terms. Among the crops, the monetary value of yield losses are least for amaranth and highest for kidney bean. The projected total value of crop yield losses due to wildlife damage for buffer zone villages located in Garhwal Himalaya is about Rs. 538,620 (US

Satellite image based quantification of invasion and patch dynamics of mesquite ( Prosopis juliflora) in Great Rann of Kachchh, Kachchh Biosphere Reserve, Gujarat, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasha, S. Vazeed; Satish, K. V.; Reddy, C. Sudhakar; Prasada Rao, P. V. V.; Jha, C. S.

2014-10-01

The invasion of alien species is a significant threat to global biodiversity and the top driver of climate change. The present study was conducted in the Great Rann of Kachchh, part of Kachchh Biosphere Reserve, Gujarat, India, which has been severely affected by invasion of Prosopis juliflora. The invasive weed infestation has been identified using multi-temporal remote sensing datasets of 1977, 1990, 1999, 2005 and 2011. Spatial analyses of the transition matrix, extent of invasive colonies, patchiness, coalescence and rate of spread were carried out. During the study period of three and half decades, almost 295 km2 of the natural land cover was converted into Prosopis cover. This study has shown an increment of 42.9% of area under Prosopis cover in the Great Rann of Kachchh, part of the Kachchh Biosphere Reserve during 1977 to 2011. Spatial analysis indicates high occupancy of Prosopis cover with most of the invasion (95.9%) occurring in the grasslands and only 4.1% in other land cover types. The process of Prosopis invasion shows high patch initiation, followed by coalescence, indicating aggressive colonization of species. The number of patches within an area of < 1 km2 increased from 1977 to 2011, indicating the formation of new Prosopis habitats by replacing the grasslands. The largest patch of Prosopis cover increased from 144 km2 in 1977 to 430 km2 in 2011. The estimated mean patch size was 7.8 km2 in 1977. The mean patch size was largest during 2011, i.e., 9 km2. The annual spread rate for Prosopis has been estimated as 2.1% during 2005-2011. The present work has investigated the long term changes in Prosopis cover in the Great Rann of Kachchh, part of Kachchh Biosphere Reserve. The spatial database generated will be useful in preparing strategies for the management of Prosopis juliflora.

Identifying and closing gaps in environmental monitoring by means of metadata, ecological regionalization and geostatistics using the UNESCO biosphere reserve Rhoen (Germany) as an example.

PubMed

Schröder, Winfried; Pesch, Roland; Schmidt, Gunther

2006-03-01

In Germany, environmental monitoring is intended to provide a holistic view of the environmental condition. To this end the monitoring operated by the federal states must use harmonized, resp., standardized methods. In addition, the monitoring sites should cover the ecoregions without any geographical gaps, the monitoring design should have no gaps in terms of ecologically relevant measurement parameters, and the sample data should be spatially without any gaps. This article outlines the extent to which the Rhoen Biosphere Reserve, occupying a part of the German federal states of Bavaria, Hesse and Thuringia, fulfills the listed requirements. The investigation considered collection, data banking and analysis of monitoring data and metadata, ecological regionalization and geostatistics. Metadata on the monitoring networks were collected by questionnaires and provided a complete inventory and description of the monitoring activities in the reserve and its surroundings. The analysis of these metadata reveals that most of the monitoring methods are harmonized across the boundaries of the three federal states the Rhoen is part of. The monitoring networks that measure precipitation, surface water levels, and groundwater quality are particularly overrepresented in the central ecoregions of the biosphere reserve. Soil monitoring sites are more equally distributed within the ecoregions of the Rhoen. The number of sites for the monitoring of air pollutants is not sufficient to draw spatially valid conclusions. To fill these spatial gaps, additional data on the annual average values of the concentrations of air pollutants from monitoring sites outside of the biosphere reserve had therefore been subject to geostatistical analysis and estimation. This yields valid information on the spatial patterns and temporal trends of air quality. The approach illustrated is applicable to similar cases, as, for example, the harmonization of international monitoring networks.

Quality assessment of pollution indicators in marine water at critical locations of the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, Tuticorin.

PubMed

Rajendran, Viji; Nirmaladevi D, Shrinithivihahshini; Srinivasan, Balakrishnan; Rengaraj, Chithradevi; Mariyaselvam, Sheelamary

2018-01-01

The present study focused on the shoreline environment of urban and industrial areas, and the aim of this study was to assess the coastal water quality in the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve. Water samples were collected from five different coastal sites during the premonsoon and monsoon seasons. The samples were analyzed following the standard methods. The results showed that the levels of microbiological indicators in the samples highly exceeded the regional and national standard seawater permissible limits, and environmental parameters such as the total suspended solid and dissolved oxygen were affected significantly (p<0.05). To identify frequent pollution indicators, their levels should be estimated to determine possible pollution in coastal ecosystems due to human interventions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Land change in the southern Yucatán and Calakmul biosphere reserve: effects on habitat and biodiversity.

PubMed

Vester, Henricus F M; Lawrence, Deborah; Eastman, J Ronald; Turner, B L; Calmé, Sophie; Dickson, Rebecca; Pozo, Carmen; Sangermano, Florencia

2007-06-01

The southern Yucatán contains the largest expanse of seasonal tropical forests remaining in Mexico, forming an ecocline between the drier north of the peninsula and the humid Petén, Guatemala. The Calakmul Biosphere Reserve resides in the center of this region as part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. The reserve's functions are examined in regard to land changes throughout the region, generated over the last 40 years by increasing settlement and the expansion and intensification of agriculture. These changes are documented from 1987/1988 to 2000, and their implications regarding the capacity of the reserve to protect the ecocline, forest habitats, and butterfly diversity are addressed. The results indicate that the current landscape matrix serves the biotic diversity of the reserve, with several looming caveats involving the loss of humid forests and the interruption of biota flow across the ecocline, and the amount and proximity of older forest patches beyond the reserve. The highly dynamic land cover changes underway in this economic frontier warrant an adaptive management approach that monitors the major changes underway in mature forest types, while the paucity of systematic ecological and environment-development studies is rectified in order to inform policy and practice.

Decadal time-scale monitoring of forest fires in Similipal Biosphere Reserve, India using remote sensing and GIS.

PubMed

Saranya, K R L; Reddy, C Sudhakar; Rao, P V V Prasada; Jha, C S

2014-05-01

Analyzing the spatial extent and distribution of forest fires is essential for sustainable forest resource management. There is no comprehensive data existing on forest fires on a regular basis in Biosphere Reserves of India. The present work have been carried out to locate and estimate the spatial extent of forest burnt areas using Resourcesat-1 data and fire frequency covering decadal fire events (2004-2013) in Similipal Biosphere Reserve. The anomalous quantity of forest burnt area was recorded during 2009 as 1,014.7 km(2). There was inconsistency in the fire susceptibility across the different vegetation types. The spatial analysis of burnt area shows that an area of 34.2 % of dry deciduous forests, followed by tree savannah, shrub savannah, and grasslands affected by fires in 2013. The analysis based on decadal time scale satellite data reveals that an area of 2,175.9 km(2) (59.6 % of total vegetation cover) has been affected by varied rate of frequency of forest fires. Fire density pattern indicates low count of burnt area patches in 2013 estimated at 1,017 and high count at 1,916 in 2004. An estimate of fire risk area over a decade identifies 12.2 km(2) is experiencing an annual fire damage. Summing the fire frequency data across the grids (each 1 km(2)) indicates 1,211 (26 %) grids are having very high disturbance regimes due to repeated fires in all the 10 years, followed by 711 grids in 9 years and 418 in 8 years and 382 in 7 years. The spatial database offers excellent opportunities to understand the ecological impact of fires on biodiversity and is helpful in formulating conservation action plans.

Orthoptera (Insecta: Tettigonioidea, Pyrgomorphoidea, Acridoidea) of Kafa Biosphere Reserve, Bale Mountains National Park and other areas of conservation interest in Ethiopia.

PubMed

Felix, Rob P W H; Massa, Bruno

2016-11-09

An annotated checklist of 51 Orthoptera taxa (Tettigonioidea, Pyrgomorphoidea and Acridoidea) of Kafa Biosphere Reserve, Bale Mountains National Park and some additional sites in Ethiopia is presented. Ten species are newly recorded for the country. Four species are new to science: Peropyrrhicia attilioi n. sp., P. keffensis n. sp., P. semiensis n. sp. and Coryphosima danieli n. sp. The status of Peropyrrhicia cooperi Uvarov, 1934 and P. scotti Uvarov, 1934 is revised: both are considered valid species.

Diet, dietary selectivity and density of South American grey fox, Lycalopex griseus, in Central Chile.

PubMed

Muñoz-Pedreros, Andrés; Yáñez, José; Norambuena, Heraldo V; Zúñiga, Alfredo

2018-01-01

The South American grey fox Lycalopex griseus is a canid widely distributed in southern South America; however, some aspects of its biology are still poorly known. We studied the diet and density of L. griseus in the Lago Peñuelas Biosphere Reserve, in Central Chile. The trophic niche breadth was B = 6.16 (B sta = 0.47) and prey diversity was H' = 2.46 (H max ' = 3.17, J' = 0.78). The highest proportions of prey consumed in the diet were Oryctolagus cuniculus (52.21%) and other mammals (32.78%). We compared these results with a latitudinal gradient of diet results for this species in Chile. L. griseus eats mostly mammals (>90% of total prey), consuming the rodent Phyllotis darwini and reptiles in the northern zone; Oryctolagus cuniculus, Octodon degus and Abrocoma bennetti in the central zone; Abrothrix spp. and lagomorphs in the southern zone; and Lepus capensis and Ovis aries in the austral zone. The estimated density of L. griseus in Lago Peñuelas NR was 1.3 foxes/km 2 . © 2017 International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

The Biosphere.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cloud, Preston

1983-01-01

Discusses the earth's biosphere, considering how the microbial, animal and plant life (which make up the biosphere) are sustained by the earth's lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. Also considers how these three earth features have powerfully shaped the evolution of these organisms. (JN)

Hiking trails and tourism impact assessment in protected area: Jiuzhaigou Biosphere Reserve, China.

PubMed

Li, Wenjun; Ge, Xiaodong; Liu, Chunyan

2005-09-01

More and more visitors are attracted to protected areas nowadays, which not only bring about economic increase but also seriously adverse impacts on the ecological environment. In protected areas, trails are linkage between visitors and natural ecosystem, so they concentrate most of the adverse impacts caused by visitors. The trampling problems on the trails have been received attentions in the tremendous researches. However, few of them have correlated the environmental impacts to trail spatial patterns. In this project, the trails were selected as assessment objective, the trampling problems trail widening, multiple trail, and root exposure were taken as assessment indicators to assess ecological impacts in the case study area Jiuzhaigou Biosphere Reserve, and two spatial index, connectivity and circularity, were taken to indicate the trail network spatial patterns. The research results showed that the appearing frequency of the trampling problems had inverse correlation with the circularity and connectivity of the trail network, while the problem extent had no correlation with the spatial pattern. Comparing with the pristine trails, the artificial maintenance for the trails such as wooden trails and flagstone trails could prohibit vegetation root from exposure effectively. The research finds will be useful for the future trail design and tourism management.

Rural aquaculture as a sustainable alternative for forest conservation in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico.

PubMed

López-García, José; Manzo-Delgado, Lilia L; Alcántara-Ayala, Irasema

2014-06-01

Forest conservation plays a significant role in environmental sustainability. In Mexico only 8.48 million ha of forest are used for conservation of biodiversity. Payment for Environmental Services in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, one of the most important national protected areas, contributes to the conservation of these forests. In the Reserve, production of rainbow trout has been important for the rural communities who need to conserve the forest cover in order to maintain the hibernation cycle of the butterfly. Aquaculture is a highly productive activity for these protected areas, since it harnesses the existing water resources. In this study, changes from 1999 to 2012 in vegetation and land-use cover in the El Lindero basin within the Reserve were evaluated in order to determine the conservation status and to consider the feasibility of aquaculture as a means of sustainable development at community level. Evaluation involved stereoscopic interpretation of digital aerial photographs from 1999 to 2012 at 1:10,000 scale, comparative analysis by orthocorrected mosaics and restitution on the mosaics. Between 1999 and 2012, forested land recovered by 28.57 ha (2.70%) at the expense of non-forested areas, although forest degradation was 3.59%. Forest density increased by 16.87%. In the 46 ha outside the Reserve, deforestation spread by 0.26%, and land use change was 0.11%. The trend towards change in forest cover is closely related to conservation programmes, particularly payment for not extracting timber, reforestation campaigns and surveillance, whose effects have been exploited for the development of rural aquaculture; this is a new way to improve the socio-economic status of the population, to avoid logging and to achieve environmental sustainability in the Reserve. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modeling the biophysical impacts of global change in mountain biosphere reserves

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bugmann, H.K.M.; Bjornsen, F. Ewert; Haeberli, W.; Guisan, Antoine; Fagre, Daniel B.; Kaab, A.

2007-01-01

Mountains and mountain societies provide a wide range of goods and services to humanity, but they are particularly sensitive to the effects of global environmental change. Thus, the definition of appropriate management regimes that maintain the multiple functions of mountain regions in a time of greatly changing climatic, economic, and societal drivers constitutes a significant challenge. Management decisions must be based on a sound understanding of the future dynamics of these systems. The present article reviews the elements required for an integrated effort to project the impacts of global change on mountain regions, and recommends tools that can be used at 3 scientific levels (essential, improved, and optimum). The proposed strategy is evaluated with respect to UNESCO's network of Mountain Biosphere Reserves (MBRs), with the intention of implementing it in other mountain regions as well. First, methods for generating scenarios of key drivers of global change are reviewed, including land use/land cover and climate change. This is followed by a brief review of the models available for projecting the impacts of these scenarios on (1) cryospheric systems, (2) ecosystem structure and diversity, and (3) ecosystem functions such as carbon and water relations. Finally, the cross-cutting role of remote sensing techniques is evaluated with respect to both monitoring and modeling efforts. We conclude that a broad range of techniques is available for both scenario generation and impact assessments, many of which can be implemented without much capacity building across many or even most MBRs. However, to foster implementation of the proposed strategy, further efforts are required to establish partnerships between scientists and resource managers in mountain areas.

The Legacy of Biosphere 2 for Biospherics and Closed Ecological System Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, J.; Alling, A.; Nelson, M.

The unprecedented challenges of creating Biosphere 2, the world's first laboratory for biospherics, the study of global ecology and long-term closed ecological system dynamics led to breakthrough developments in many fields, and a deeper understanding of the opportunities and difficulties of material closure. This paper will review these accomplishments and challenges, citing some of the key research accomplishments and publications which have resulted from the experiments in Biosphere 2. Engineering accomplishments included development of a technique for variable volume to deal with pressure differences between the facility and outside environment, developing methods of leak detection and sealing, and achieving new standards of closure, with an annual atmospheric leakrate of less than 10%, or less than 300 ppm per day. This degree of closure permitted detailed tracking of carbon dioxide, oxygen, and trace gases such as nitrous oxide and ethylene over the seasonal variability of two years. Full closure also necessitated developing new approaches and technologies for complete air, water, and wastewater recycle and reuse within the facility. The development of a soil-based highly productive agricultural system was a first in closed ecological systems, and much was learned about managing a wide variety of crops using non-chemical means of pest and disease control. Closed ecological systems have different temporal b ogeochemical cycling and ranges ofi atmospheric components because of their smaller reservoirs of air, water and soil, and higher concentration of biomass, and Biosphere 2 provided detailed examination and modeling of these accelerated cycles over a period of closure which measured in years. Medical research inside Biosphere 2 included the effects on humans of lowered oxygen: the discovery that human productivity can be maintained down to 15% oxygen could lead to major economies on the design of space stations and planetary/lunar settlements. The improved

Mapping Topoclimate and Microclimate in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weiss, S. B.

2006-12-01

Overwintering monarch butterflies in Mexico select areas of the high elevation Oyamel fir -pine forest providing a canopy that protects them from extremes of cold, heat, sun, and wind. These exacting microclimatic conditions are found in relatively small areas of forest with appropriate topography and canopy cover. The major goal of this investigation is to map topoclimatic and microclimatic conditions within the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve by combining temperature monitoring (iButton Thermochrons), hemispherical canopy photography, multiple regression, and GIS modeling. Temperature measurements included base weather stations and arrays of Thermochrons (on the north-side of trees at 2m height) across local topographic and canopy cover gradients. Topoclimatic models of minimum temperatures included topographic position, slope, and elevation, and predicted that thermal belts on slopes and cold air drainage into canyons create local minimum temperature gradients of 2°C. Topoclimatic models of maximum temperatures models included elevation, topographic position, and relative solar exposure, with local gradients of 3°C. These models, which are independent of forest canopy structure, were then projected across the entire region. Forest canopy structure, including direct and diffuse solar radiation, was assessed with hemispherical photography at each Thermochron site. Canopy cover affected minimum temperatures primarily on the calmest, coldest nights. Maximum temperatures were predicted by direct radiation below the canopy. Fine- scale grids (25 m spacing) at three overwintering sites characterized effects of canopy gaps and edges on temperature and wind exposure. The effects of temperature variation were considered for lipid loss rates, ability to take flight, and freezing mortality. Lipid loss rates were estimated by measured hourly temperatures. Many of the closed canopy sites allowed for substantial lipid reserves at the end of the season (March 15), but

Bottom-up control of consumers leads to top-down indirect facilitation of invasive annual herbs in semiarid Chile.

PubMed

Madrigal, Jaime; Kelt, Douglas A; Meserve, Peter L; Gutierrez, Julio R; Squeo, Francisco A

2011-02-01

The abundance of exotic plants is thought to be limited by competition with resident species (including plants and generalist herbivores). In contrast, observations in semiarid Chile suggest that a native generalist rodent, the degu (Octodon degus), may be facilitating the expansion of exotic annual plants. We tested this hypothesis with a 20-year data set from a World Biosphere Reserve in mediterranean Chile. In this semiarid environment, rainfall varies annually and dramatically influences cover by both native and exotic annual plants; degu population density affects the composition and cover of exotic and native annual plants. In low-rainfall years, cover of both native and exotic herbs is extremely low. Higher levels of precipitation result in proportional increases in cover of all annual plants (exotic and native species), leading in turn to increases in degu population densities, at which point they impact native herbs in proportion to their greater cover, indirectly favoring the expansion of exotic plants. We propose that bottom-up control of consumers at our site results in top-down indirect facilitation of invasive annual herbs, and that this pattern may be general to other semiarid ecosystems.

Ethno-medicinal uses and screening of plants for antibacterial activity from Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Odisha, India.

PubMed

Panda, Sujogya Kumar

2014-01-01

The present study examined the variety and the extent of medicinal plants used in the health care system of tribal inhabitants of Similipal Biosphere Reserve. In addition to this, such plants were also screened for antibacterial properties against common pathogenic bacteria. Semi-structured interview was carried out with 42 informants (mean age 42, 86% male, 14% female) at 24 locations in and around SBR, regarding the use of plants for the treatment of various human ailments. Antibacterial screening is adopted with the documented ethnomedicinal plants using methanol and aqueous extracts against eight bacterial strains. A total of 187 plant species belonging to 74 families were documented for frequent medicinal uses against common ailments such as stomach problems, fever, skin diseases, diarrhea and dysentery. Although all parts of plant are used, leaves and bark are most common. Tribals used the plant parts both in form of decoction (taken orally as in internal problems) and paste (external use). Out of 187 plant species, 120 plants recorded antibacterial activity against test bacterial strain. This study revealed that self care using medicinal plants is a common practice by the tribes of SBR. About 64% of the used plants have scientifically proved medicinal values with respect to the antibacterial properties. © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Community Assembly Processes of the Microbial Rare Biosphere.

PubMed

Jia, Xiu; Dini-Andreote, Francisco; Falcão Salles, Joana

2018-03-14

Our planet teems with microorganisms that often present a skewed abundance distribution in a local community, with relatively few dominant species coexisting alongside a high number of rare species. Recent studies have demonstrated that these rare taxa serve as limitless reservoirs of genetic diversity, and perform disproportionate types of functions despite their low abundances. However, relatively little is known about the mechanisms controlling rarity and the processes promoting the development of the rare biosphere. Here, we propose the use of multivariate cut-offs to estimate rare species and phylogenetic null models applied to predefined rare taxa to disentangle the relative influences of ecoevolutionary processes mediating the assembly of the rare biosphere. Importantly, the identification of the factors controlling rare species assemblages is critical for understanding the types of rarity, how the rare biosphere is established, and how rare microorganisms fluctuate over spatiotemporal scales, thus enabling prospective predictions of ecosystem responses. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The legacy of biosphere 2 for the study of biospherics and closed ecological systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, J. P.; Nelson, M.; Alling, A.

The unprecedented challenges of creating Biosphere 2, the world's first laboratory for biospherics, the study of global ecology and long-term closed ecological system dynamics, led to breakthrough developments in many fields, and a deeper understanding of the opportunities and difficulties of material closure. This paper will review accomplishments and challenges, citing some of the key research findings and publications that have resulted from the experiments in Biosphere 2. Engineering accomplishments included development of a technique for variable volume to deal with pressure differences between the facility and outside environment, developing methods of atmospheric leak detection and sealing, while achieving new standards of closure, with an annual atmospheric leakrate of less than 10%, or less than 300 ppm per day. This degree of closure permitted detailed tracking of carbon dioxide, oxygen, and trice gases such as nitrous oxide and ethylene over the seasonal variability of two years. Full closure also necessitated developing new approaches and technologies for complete air, water, and wastewater recycle and reuse within the facility. The development of a soil-based highly productive agricultural system was a first in closed ecological systems, and much was learned about managing a wide variety of crops using non-chemical means of pest and disease control. Closed ecological systems have different temporal biogeochemical cycling and ranges of atmospheric components because of their smaller reservoirs of air, water and soil, and higher concentration of biomass, and Biosphere 2 provided detailed examination and modeling of these accelerated cycles over a period of closure which measured in years. Medical research inside Biosphere 2 included the effects on humans of lowered oxygen: the discovery that human productivity can be maintained with good health with lowered atmospheric oxygen levels could lead to major economies on the design of space stations and

Multiple-host pathogens in domestic hunting dogs in Nicaragua's Bosawás Biosphere Reserve.

PubMed

Fiorello, Christine V; Straub, Mary H; Schwartz, Laura M; Liu, James; Campbell, Amanda; Kownacki, Alexa K; Foley, Janet E

2017-03-01

Nicaragua's Bosawás Biosphere Reserve is a vast forested area inhabited largely by indigenous Mayangna and Miskitu people. Most Bosawás residents rely on subsistence hunting and swidden agriculture, and hunting dogs are important for finding and securing wild game. We investigated the health of hunting dogs in three communities differing in location, size, and economy. Dogs in all communities were nutritionally compromised and experienced a heavy burden of disease. Seroprevalence of canine distemper, canine parvovirus, Rickettsia rickettsii, and Leptospira spp. exceeded 50% of dogs. At least one dog was actively shedding leptospires in urine, and many dogs were anemic and/or dehydrated. These dogs interact with wildlife in the forest and humans and domestic livestock in the communities, and may therefore serve as sources of zoonotic and wildlife diseases. Bosawás represents one of the largest intact tracts of habitat for jaguars (Panthera onca) in Central America, and given that these communities are located within the forest, jaguars may be at risk from disease spillover from hunting dogs. Dog owners reported that four of 49 dogs had been attacked and killed by jaguars in the past year, and that retaliatory killing of jaguars was sometimes practiced. Disease spillover from dogs to wildlife could occur both in the course of dogs' hunting activities as well as during jaguar attacks. A better understanding of dog depredation by jaguars, pathogen exposure in jaguars, and a management strategy for the hunting dog population, are urgently needed to mitigate these dual threats to jaguars, improve the lives of hunting dogs, and safeguard the health of their owners. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chile.

PubMed

1988-09-01

Allende government resulted in enormous fiscal deficits, economic recession, inflation, and severe decline in the gross domestic product. In 1982 the government devalued the peso and agreed to the International Monetary Fund's 2-year austerity program to lower the $20.5 billion national debt. In 1987 the gross domestic product was $18.4 billion, $1465 per capita; the annual real growth rate was 5.4%, and inflation had fallen from an annual rate of over 1000% to 21.5%. 245 Chilean pesos equal US1$. Chile's chief export is copper ($2.2 billion in 1987), of which Chile is the world's largest producer and exporter. Chile also exports gold, silver, iron ore, molybdenum, iodine, and nitrates. Chile has 20% of the world's copper reserves and 33% of the world's lithium. 21% of Chile's gross domestic product consists of textiles, metal manufacturing, food processing, pulp, paper, and wood products; and 10% consists of agricultural produce. Relations with the United States deteriorated after the 1976 murder in Washington, DC, of former Chilean ambassador Orlando Letelier. Arms and security assistance to Chile were banned, and in 1981 the US Agency for International Development and the Peace Corps ceased operations in Chile.

Ethnomedicinal plant use by Lepcha tribe of Dzongu valley, bordering Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve, in North Sikkim, India

PubMed Central

Pradhan, Bharat K; Badola, Hemant K

2008-01-01

Lepcha is the oldest and the first tribe reported from Sikkim, India; majority of its population inhabiting in Dzongu valley, an officially demarcated reserve for Lepcha community, bordering Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve, in north district. Lepchas of Dzongu are known for their retention of rich cultural heritage. In view of the on-going cultural and economic changes brought in by the process of globalization, the immediate need was felt to document in details the under-explored ethnomedicinal practices of Lepchas of Dzongu valley. This paper reports 118 species, belonging to 71 families and 108 genera, under ethnomedicinal utility by the Lepchas for curing approximately 66 ailments, which could be grouped under 14 broad categories. Zingiberaceae appeared as the most used family (8 species and 5 genera). As per use pattern, maximum of 30.50% species are to cure stomach related disorders/ailments, followed by 19.49% for curing cut, wounds, inflammation, sprains and joint pains. Administration of medicine orally is recorded in 75% cases. Root and rhizome harvesting targeted 30 species. The changing scenario over time both at socio-cultural front and passing traditional knowledge interests from older to younger generation and rich ethnomicinal wealth of the oldest tribe of Sikkim are discussed in the light of conservation strategies and techniques to adopt. PMID:18826658

The Impact of Hydrodynamics in Erosion - Deposition Process in Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve, South Viet Nam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vo-Luong, H. P.

2014-12-01

Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve is always considered as a friendly green belt to protect and bring up the habitants. However, recently some mangrove areas in the Dong Tranh estuary are being eroded seriously. Based on the field measurements in SW and NE monsoons as well as data of topography changes in 10 years, it is proved that hydrodynamics of waves, tidal currents and riverine currents are the main reasons for erosion-deposition processes at the studied site. The erosion-deposition process changes due to monsoon. The analysed results show that high waves and tidal oscillation cause the increase of the erosion rate in NE monsoon. However, high sediment deposition occurs in SW monsoon due to weak waves and more alluvium from upstream. Many young mangrove trees grow up and develop in the SW monsoon. From the research, it is strongly emphasized the role of mangrove forests in soil retention and energy dissipation.

Analysis of heavy metals concentration in water and sediment in the Hara biosphere reserve, southern Iran.

PubMed

Nowrouzi, Mohsen; Mansouri, Borhan; Nabizadeh, Sahar; Pourkhabbaz, Alireza

2014-02-01

This study determined the concentration of heavy metals (Al, Cr, Cu, and Zn) in water and sediments at nine sites in the Hara biosphere reserve of southern Iran during the summer and winter 2010. Determination of Al, Cr, Cu, and Zn in water was carried out by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer (Shimadzu, AA 610s) and in sediment by flame atomic absorption spectrometer (Perkin Elmer, AA3030). Results showed that the heavy metal concentrations in the water samples decreased in the sequence of Zn > Al > Cu > Cr, while in sediment samples were Cr > Zn > Cu > Al. Data analysis indicated that with the exception of Al, there was a Pearson's correlation coefficient between pH and Cu, Zn, and Cr at α = 0.01, 0.05, and 0.001 in sediment (in winter), respectively. There were also significant differences between heavy metals of Cr, Cu, and Zn during the two seasons (p < 0.001) in the water and sediment.

Earth's early biosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Des Marais, D. J.

1998-01-01

Understanding our own early biosphere is essential to our search for life elsewhere, because life arose on Earth very early and rocky planets shared similar early histories. The biosphere arose before 3.8 Ga ago, was exclusively unicellular and was dominated by hyperthermophiles that utilized chemical sources of energy and employed a range of metabolic pathways for CO2 assimilation. Photosynthesis also arose very early. Oxygenic photosynthesis arose later but still prior to 2.7 Ga. The transition toward the modern global environment was paced by a decline in volcanic and hydrothermal activity. These developments allowed atmospheric O2 levels to increase. The O2 increase created new niches for aerobic life, most notably the more advanced Eukarya that eventually spawned the megascopic fauna and flora of our modern biosphere.

The mangrove's contribution to people: Interdisciplinary pilot study of the Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve in Viet Nam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cormier-Salem, Marie-Christine; Van Trai, Nguyen; Burgos, Ariadna; Durand, Jean-Dominique; Bettarel, Yvan; Klein, Judith; Duc Huy, Hoang; Panfili, Jacques

2017-10-01

The main objective of this pilot study, conducted in June 2015 in the Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve (Can Gio MBR, Viet Nam), was to develop an interdisciplinary approach to assess some key services provided by reforested mangroves subject to external pressures and varying management policies. We focused on the abundance of viruses, bacteria, endo- and epi- and macrofauna and the diversity of crabs in the mangrove and the exploitation of its resources. The main social finding was that the local inhabitants are aware of the levels of protection of the different zones within the Can Gio MBR and respect them. The core and the buffer zones seem to present a similar ecological status. Genotyping showed a low level of crab diversity although there were many different morphotypes. In the future, we need to understand the stakeholders' general perception of the biodiversity and environment changes by developing an integrated, multi-scale approach.

Displacement, Deprivation and Development: The Impact of Relocation on Income and Livelihood of Tribes in Similipal Tiger and Biosphere Reserve, India.

PubMed

Mahapatra, Ajay Kumar; Tewari, D D; Baboo, Biplab

2015-08-01

A large volume of literature describes adverse consequences of conservation-induced displacement on indigenous communities depended on natural resources of wildlife habitat. Resettlement policies in protected areas the world over are mainly designed and implemented without consideration of social and economic costs of exclusion. This study examined income and poverty profile of tribal residents in Similipal Tiger and Biosphere Reserve in India, relative to the households relocated out of the reserve. The income from different sources and livelihood diversification of displaced reserve dwellers reflected changes resulting from the loss of access to natural and household assets. The results contradicted common perception about impoverishment outcome of relocation. It showed an increase in the per capita income for poorer segments with an overall 8% increase in absolute household income and corresponding improvement in the poverty ratio (head count ratio) and FGT index (0.241) for the relocated community. Contrary to other studies, the finding did not observe social alignment or marginalization; however, on-farm livelihood diversification reduced with increased dependence on off-farm sources. Expulsion of people from forest reserves to support conservation is inadequate in restricting habitat use of locals unless suitable alternative livelihood options are available for forest dependent was proven from the study.

Displacement, Deprivation and Development: The Impact of Relocation on Income and Livelihood of Tribes in Similipal Tiger and Biosphere Reserve, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahapatra, Ajay Kumar; Tewari, D. D.; Baboo, Biplab

2015-08-01

A large volume of literature describes adverse consequences of conservation-induced displacement on indigenous communities depended on natural resources of wildlife habitat. Resettlement policies in protected areas the world over are mainly designed and implemented without consideration of social and economic costs of exclusion. This study examined income and poverty profile of tribal residents in Similipal Tiger and Biosphere Reserve in India, relative to the households relocated out of the reserve. The income from different sources and livelihood diversification of displaced reserve dwellers reflected changes resulting from the loss of access to natural and household assets. The results contradicted common perception about impoverishment outcome of relocation. It showed an increase in the per capita income for poorer segments with an overall 8 % increase in absolute household income and corresponding improvement in the poverty ratio (head count ratio) and FGT index (0.241) for the relocated community. Contrary to other studies, the finding did not observe social alignment or marginalization; however, on-farm livelihood diversification reduced with increased dependence on off-farm sources. Expulsion of people from forest reserves to support conservation is inadequate in restricting habitat use of locals unless suitable alternative livelihood options are available for forest dependent was proven from the study.

Anthropogenic transformation of the terrestrial biosphere.

PubMed

Ellis, Erle C

2011-03-13

Human populations and their use of land have transformed most of the terrestrial biosphere into anthropogenic biomes (anthromes), causing a variety of novel ecological patterns and processes to emerge. To assess whether human populations and their use of land have directly altered the terrestrial biosphere sufficiently to indicate that the Earth system has entered a new geological epoch, spatially explicit global estimates of human populations and their use of land were analysed across the Holocene for their potential to induce irreversible novel transformation of the terrestrial biosphere. Human alteration of the terrestrial biosphere has been significant for more than 8000 years. However, only in the past century has the majority of the terrestrial biosphere been transformed into intensively used anthromes with predominantly novel anthropogenic ecological processes. At present, even were human populations to decline substantially or use of land become far more efficient, the current global extent, duration, type and intensity of human transformation of ecosystems have already irreversibly altered the terrestrial biosphere at levels sufficient to leave an unambiguous geological record differing substantially from that of the Holocene or any prior epoch. It remains to be seen whether the anthropogenic biosphere will be sustained and continue to evolve.

Group dynamics challenges: Insights from Biosphere 2 experiments.

PubMed

Nelson, Mark; Gray, Kathelin; Allen, John P

2015-07-01

Successfully managing group dynamics of small, physically isolated groups is vital for long duration space exploration/habitation and for terrestrial CELSS (Controlled Environmental Life Support System) facilities with human participants. Biosphere 2 had important differences and shares some key commonalities with both Antarctic and space environments. There were a multitude of stress factors during the first two year closure experiment as well as mitigating factors. A helpful tool used at Biosphere 2 was the work of W.R. Bion who identified two competing modalities of behavior in small groups. Task-oriented groups are governed by conscious acceptance of goals, reality-thinking in relation to time and resources, and intelligent management of challenges. The opposing unconscious mode, the "basic-assumption" ("group animal") group, manifests through Dependency/Kill the Leader, Fight/Flight and Pairing. These unconscious dynamics undermine and can defeat the task group's goal. The biospherians experienced some dynamics seen in other isolated teams: factions developing reflecting personal chemistry and disagreements on overall mission procedures. These conflicts were exacerbated by external power struggles which enlisted support of those inside. Nevertheless, the crew evolved a coherent, creative life style to deal with some of the deprivations of isolation. The experience of the first two year closure of Biosphere 2 vividly illustrates both vicissitudes and management of group dynamics. The crew overrode inevitable frictions to creatively manage both operational and research demands and opportunities of the facility, thus staying 'on task' in Bion's group dynamics terminology. The understanding that Biosphere 2 was their life support system may also have helped the mission to succeed. Insights from the Biosphere 2 experience can help space and remote missions cope successfully with the inherent challenges of small, isolated crews. Copyright © 2015 The Committee on

Information in the Biosphere: Biological and Digital Worlds.

PubMed

Gillings, Michael R; Hilbert, Martin; Kemp, Darrell J

2016-03-01

Evolution has transformed life through key innovations in information storage and replication, including RNA, DNA, multicellularity, and culture and language. We argue that the carbon-based biosphere has generated a cognitive system (humans) capable of creating technology that will result in a comparable evolutionary transition. Digital information has reached a similar magnitude to information in the biosphere. It increases exponentially, exhibits high-fidelity replication, evolves through differential fitness, is expressed through artificial intelligence (AI), and has facility for virtually limitless recombination. Like previous evolutionary transitions, the potential symbiosis between biological and digital information will reach a critical point where these codes could compete via natural selection. Alternatively, this fusion could create a higher-level superorganism employing a low-conflict division of labor in performing informational tasks. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Planetary Bootstrap: A Prelude to Biosphere Phenomenology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kazansky, Alexander B.

2004-08-01

This paper deals with systemic status as well as with some phenomenological and evolutionary aspects of biosphere. Biosphere is represented as multilevel autopoietic system in which different organizational levels are nested into each other. The conceptual model of punctuated epigenesis, biosphere evolutionary process is suggested, in which endogenous planetary organizational crises play role of evolutionary mechanism, creating novelty. The hypothesis is proposed, that the biosphere reaction on the humankind destructive activity reminds the distributed immune response of biological organism, described by F.Varela in his "cognitive immunology". The biosphere evolution is interpreted as the hermeneutical spiral of "Process Being" self-uncovering thus illustrating the historical process of transformation of biosphere as the type of Being in the periods of crises. Some arguments are adduced in favor of biosphere phenomenology development and application of the methods of second-order cybernetics to actual problems of planetary scale.

Spatio-temporal variability of hydro-chemical characteristics of coastal waters of Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve (GoMMBR), South India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kathiravan, K.; Natesan, Usha; Vishnunath, R.

2017-03-01

The intention of this study was to appraise the spatial and temporal variations in the physico-chemical parameters of coastal waters of Rameswaram Island, Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve, south India, using multivariate statistical techniques, such as cluster analysis, factor analysis and principal component analysis. Spatio-temporal variations among the physico-chemical parameters are observed in the coastal waters of Gulf of Mannar, especially during northeast and post monsoon seasons. It is inferred that the high loadings of pH, temperature, suspended particulate matter, salinity, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, chlorophyll a, nutrient species of nitrogen and phosphorus strongly determine the discrimination of coastal water quality. Results highlight the important role of monsoonal variations to determine the coastal water quality around Rameswaram Island.

[A phylogenetic analysis of plant communities of Teberda Biosphere Reserve].

PubMed

Shulakov, A A; Egorov, A V; Onipchenko, V G

2016-01-01

Phylogenetic analysis of communities is based on the comparison of distances on the phylogenetic tree between species of a community under study and those distances in random samples taken out of local flora. It makes it possible to determine to what extent a community composition is formed by more closely related species (i.e., "clustered") or, on the opposite, it is more even and includes species that are less related with each other. The first case is usually interpreted as a result of strong influence caused by abiotic factors, due to which species with similar ecology, a priori more closely related, would remain: In the second case, biotic factors, such as competition, may come to the fore and lead to forming a community out of distant clades due to divergence of their ecological niches: The aim of this' study Was Ad explore the phylogenetic structure in communities of the northwestern Caucasus at two spatial scales - the scale of area from 4 to 100 m2 and the smaller scale within a community. The list of local flora of the alpine belt has been composed using the database of geobotanic descriptions carried out in Teberda Biosphere Reserve at true altitudes exceeding.1800 m. It includes 585 species of flowering plants belonging to 57 families. Basal groups of flowering plants are.not represented in the list. At the scale of communities of three classes, namely Thlaspietea rotundifolii - commumties formed on screes and pebbles, Calluno-Ulicetea - alpine meadow, and Mulgedio-Aconitetea subalpine meadows, have not demonstrated significant distinction of phylogenetic structure. At intra level, for alpine meadows the larger share of closely related species. (clustered community) is detected. Significantly clustered happen to be those communities developing on rocks (class Asplenietea trichomanis) and alpine (class Juncetea trifidi). At the same time, alpine lichen proved to have even phylogenetic structure at the small scale. Alpine (class Salicetea herbaceae) that

Elemental concentration and potential ecological risk assessment of reef associated surface sediments of Appa Island, Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, Southeast coast of India.

PubMed

Saravanan, P; Krishnakumar, S; Silva, Judith D; Pradhap, D; Vidyasakar, A; Radhakrishnan, K; Godson, Prince S; Arumugam, K; Magesh, N S

2018-03-01

Thirty three surface sediments were collected for the present study to assess the elemental concentration and its associated ecological risk in the reef associated surface sediments, Appa Island, Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, South east coast of India. The distribution of calcium carbonate in the reef sediments is controlled by coral debris and shell fragments whereas the Organic matter (OM) content are chiefly derived from mangroves and sea grasses. The circulation of trace elements and Fe, Mn are controlled by the fluvial process and re-suspended sediments. The concentration of Pb was primarily controlled by migration of pollutants through long shore sediment transport process. The main source of Pb in the study area is from coal incinerating power plants and coal handling operations from harbors. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Search for life in deep biospheres].

PubMed

Naganuma, Takeshi

2003-12-01

The life in deep biospheres bridges conventional biology and future exobiology. This review focuses the microbiological studies from the selected deep biospheres, i.e., deep-sea hydrothermal vents, sub-hydrothermal vents, terrestrial subsurface and a sub-glacier lake. The dark biospheres facilitate the emergence of organisms and communities dependent on chemolithoautotrophy, which are overwhelmed by photoautotrophy (photosynthesis) in the surface biospheres. The life at deep-sea hydrothermal vents owes much to chemolithoautotrophy based on the oxidation of sulfide emitted from the vents. It is likely that similarly active bodies such as the Jovian satellite Europa may have hydrothermal vents and associated biological communities. Anoxic or anaerobic condition is characteristic of deep subsurface biospheres. Subsurface microorganisms exploit available oxidants, or terminal electron acceptors (TEA), for anaerobic respiration. Sulfate, nitrate, iron (III) and CO2 are the representative TEAs in the deep subsurface. Below the 3000-4000 m-thick glacier on Antarctica, there have been >70 lakes with liquid water located. One of such sub-glacial lakes, Lake Vostok, is about to be drill-penetrated for microbiological studies. These deep biosphere "platforms" provide new knowledge about the diversity and potential of the Earth's life. The expertise obtained from the deep biosphere expeditions will facilitate the capability of exobiologial exploration.

Analysis of Low-Biomass Microbial Communities in the Deep Biosphere.

PubMed

Morono, Y; Inagaki, F

2016-01-01

Over the past few decades, the subseafloor biosphere has been explored by scientific ocean drilling to depths of about 2.5km below the seafloor. Although organic-rich anaerobic sedimentary habitats in the ocean margins harbor large numbers of microbial cells, microbial populations in ultraoligotrophic aerobic sedimentary habitats in the open ocean gyres are several orders of magnitude less abundant. Despite advances in cultivation-independent molecular ecological techniques, exploring the low-biomass environment remains technologically challenging, especially in the deep subseafloor biosphere. Reviewing the historical background of deep-biosphere analytical methods, the importance of obtaining clean samples and tracing contamination, as well as methods for detecting microbial life, technological aspects of molecular microbiology, and detecting subseafloor metabolic activity will be discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Biosphere2 and Earthbuzz

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Washburne, J. C.

2009-12-01

In an attempt to reach a broader audience, Biosphere 2, near Tucson, AZ, is participating in a network of science centers thanks to new funding through the Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) and the National Center for Earth System Dynamics (NCED). Each of these centers will be tied together through an Earthbuzz kiosk, basically a networked web site that allows visitors to learn more about the work of leading local scientists in a very personal and captivating format. Content is currently being developed by Biosphere 2 researchers, staff, and graduate students that range from a public question and answer forum called “Scientist on the Spot” to science blogs by Biosphere 2 Fellows. It is hoped that this project will help educate the public about the Anthropocene, that is, the current geologic period that is so greatly affected by humankind’s impact on the health of the planet. Biosphere 2 provides a unique location to engage the public in this conversation for several reasons. First, no other destination on Earth gives the public such a physical immersion into what climate change might mean as does Biosphere 2. On the regular walking tour, visitors are guided through scaled down versions of an African savannah, a semi-arid thorn scrub, a coastal fog desert and a tropical rainforest. Digital displays of temperature and humidity confirm what your body is feeling - conditions ranging from desert aridity to tropical humidity. As one passes through the biomes of Biosphere 2, climate change is a whole body experience. Second, Biosphere 2 is also an active ecological research site - part of a unique network of sites run by the University of Arizona that allow scientists to study ecosystem processes across a range of scales - from microscopic root studies to studies encompassing large watersheds. In particular, a group of researchers is studying why large stands of pinion-juniper forests across the southwest have died in recent years. Biosphere2’s role in this

Trends in deforestation and forest degradation after a decade of monitoring in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico.

PubMed

Vidal, Omar; López-García, José; Rendón-Salinas, Eduardo

2014-02-01

We used aerial photographs, satellite images, and field surveys to monitor forest cover in the core zones of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico from 2001 to 2012. We used our data to assess the effectiveness of conservation actions that involved local, state, and federal authorities and community members (e.g., local landowners and private and civil organizations) in one of the world's most iconic protected areas. From 2001 through 2012, 1254 ha were deforested (i.e., cleared areas had <10% canopy cover), 925 ha were degraded (i.e., areas for which canopy forest decreased), and 122 ha were affected by climatic conditions. Of the total 2179 ha of affected area, 2057 ha were affected by illegal logging: 1503 ha by large-scale logging and 554 ha by small-scale logging. Mexican authorities effectively enforced efforts to protect the monarch reserve, particularly from 2007 to 2012. Those efforts, together with the decade-long financial support from Mexican and international philanthropists and businesses to create local alternative-income generation and employment, resulted in the decrease of large-scale illegal logging from 731 ha affected in 2005-2007 to none affected in 2012, although small-scale logging is of growing concern. However, dire regional social and economic problems remain, and they must be addressed to ensure the reserve's long-term conservation. The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) overwintering colonies in Mexico-which engage in one of the longest known insect migrations-are threatened by deforestation, and a multistakeholder, regional, sustainable-development strategy is needed to protect the reserve. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Biomedical program at Space Biospheres Ventures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walford, Roy

1990-01-01

There are many similarities and some important differences between potential health problems of Biosphere 2 and those of which might be anticipated for a space station or a major outpost on Mars. The demands of time, expense, and equipment would not readily allow medical evacuation from deep space for a serious illness or major trauma, whereas personnel can easily be evacuated from Biosphere 2 if necessary. Treatment facilities can be somewhat less inclusive, since distance would not compel the undertaking of heroic measures or highly complicated surgical procedures on site, and with personnel not fully trained for these procedures. The similarities are given between medical requirements of Biosphere 2 and the complex closed ecological systems of biospheres in space or on Mars. The major problems common to all these would seem to be trauma, infection, and toxicity. It is planned that minor and moderate degrees of trauma, including debridement and suturing of wounds, x ray study of fractures, will be done within Biosphere 2. Bacteriologic and fungal infections, and possibly allergies to pollen or spores are expected to be the commonest medical problem within Biosphere 2.

Biochemical constituents of a wild strain of Schizophyllum commune isolated from Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve (ABR), India.

PubMed

Tripathi, Arpita Mani; Tiwary, Bhupendra N

2013-08-01

A wild strain of Schizophyllum commune (MTCC 9670) isolated from Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve of Central India was evaluated for the production of bioactive compounds. The chemical constituents of wild and in vitro grown cultures were compared. Under optimized conditions, different organic and aqueous extracts from mycelia and fruiting bodies were used to extract chemical components from the cultures grown in vitro. The gas chromatography combined wih mass spectrometry analysis of extracts identified two phenolic compounds, namely Phenyl benzoate (C13H10O2) and 4-(phenyl methoxy) phenol (C13H12O2) in the ethanolic extract of in vitro grown fruiting bodies and one antibacterial compound Pyrrolo (1, 2-a) piperazine-3, 6-dione (C7H10O2N2) in the methanolic extract of mycelia. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed that the gallic acid and L-ascorbic acid were identifiable antioxidant components in the extracts possessing high free radical scavenging activity. The findings suggest that the wild strain of S. commune may serve as the source of novel bioactive compounds with effective antimicrobial and antioxidant activities.

[Abundance and species diversity of tabanids (Diptera) in the biosphere reserve Ipassa-Makokou (Gabon) during the rainy season].

PubMed

Mavoungou, J F; Makanga, B K; Acapovi-Yao, G; Desquesnes, M; M'Batchi, B

2012-05-01

The abundance and species diversity of tabanids were evaluated by trapping of insects using Vavoua traps, during the rainy season, from October 4 to November 30, 2009, in three different habitats: primary forest, secondary forest and village, in the biosphere reserve Ipassa-IRET Makokou in Gabon. Eight species belonging to three genera of tabanids have been identified for a total of 402 specimens caught. The tabanid species numerically the most abundant were: Tabanus secedens Walker, 1854 (55.2%), Tabanus obscurehirtus Ricardo, 1908 (13.9%), Chrysops dimidiatus Wulp, 1885 (11.2%) and Chrysops silaceus Austen, 1907 (10.7%). The less abundant species were Tabanus par Walker, 1854 (3.2%), Tabanus besti arbucklei Austen, 1912 (3%), Tabanus marmorosus congoicola Bequaert, 1930 (1%) and Ancala fasciata fasciata (Fabricius, 1775) (0.5%). Specimens of the genera Tabanus and Chrysops could not be identified, these insects represented respectively 0.7% and 0.5% of the insects trapped. The highest proportion of tabanids was trapped in secondary forest (75.1%) and the lower in primary forest (4.5%).

Biosphere 2: The True Story.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Keeffe, Michael

1992-01-01

Discusses the history and current developments of the Biosphere 2 Project, a prototype for enclosed self-sustaining structures for space colonization built in the Arizona Desert. Biosphere 2 was created to educate and provide solutions to environmental problems and revenue from research. (MCO)

The water cycle in closed ecological systems: Perspectives from the Biosphere 2 and Laboratory Biosphere systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, Mark; Dempster, W. F.; Allen, J. P.

2009-12-01

To achieve sustainable, healthy closed ecological systems requires solutions to challenges of closing the water cycle - recycling wastewater/irrigation water/soil medium leachate and evaporated water and supplying water of required quality as needed for different needs within the facility. Engineering Biosphere 2, the first multi-biome closed ecological system within a total airtight footprint of 12,700 m 2 with a combined volume of 200,000 m 3 with a total water capacity of some 6 × 10 6 L of water was especially challenging because it included human inhabitants, their agricultural and technical systems, as well as five analogue ecosystems ranging from rainforest to desert, freshwater ecologies to saltwater systems like mangrove and mini-ocean coral reef ecosystems. By contrast, the Laboratory Biosphere - a small (40 m 3 volume) soil-based plant growth facility with a footprint of 15 m 2 - is a very simplified system, but with similar challenges re salinity management and provision of water quality suitable for plant growth. In Biosphere 2, water needs included supplying potable water for people and domestic animals, irrigation water for a wide variety of food crops, and recycling and recovering soil nutrients from wastewater. In the wilderness biomes, providing adequately low salinity freshwater terrestrial ecosystems and maintaining appropriate salinity and pH in aquatic/marine ecosystems were challenges. The largest reservoirs in Biosphere 2 were the ocean/marsh with some 4 × 10 6 L, soil with 1 to 2 × 10 6 l, primary storage tank with 0 to 8 × 10 5 L and storage tanks for condensate and soil leachate collection and mixing tanks with a capacity of 1.6 × 10 5 L to supply irrigation for farm and wilderness ecosystems. Other reservoirs were far smaller - humidity in the atmosphere (2 × 10 3 L), streams in the rainforest and savannah, and seasonal pools in the desert were orders of magnitude smaller (8 × 10 4 L). Key technologies included condensation from

Feedbacks between climate change and biosphere integrity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lade, Steven; Anderies, J. Marty; Donges, Jonathan; Steffen, Will; Rockström, Johan; Richardson, Katherine; Cornell, Sarah; Norberg, Jon; Fetzer, Ingo

2017-04-01

The terrestrial and marine biospheres sink substantial fractions of human fossil fuel emissions. How the biosphere's capacity to sink carbon depends on biodiversity and other measures of biosphere integrity is however poorly understood. Here, we (1): review assumptions from literature regarding the relationships between the carbon cycle and the terrestrial and marine biospheres; and (2) explore the consequences of these different assumptions for climate feedbacks using the stylised carbon cycle model PB-INT. We find that: terrestrial biodiversity loss could significantly dampen climate-carbon cycle feedbacks; direct biodiversity effects, if they exist, could rival temperature increases from low-emission trajectories; and the response of the marine biosphere is critical for longer term climate change. Simple, low-dimensional climate models such as PB-INT can help assess the importance of still unknown or controversial earth system processes such as biodiversity loss for climate feedbacks. This study constitutes the first detailed study of the interactions between climate change and biosphere integrity, two of the 'planetary boundaries'.

Gathering “tea” – from necessity to connectedness with nature. Local knowledge about wild plant gathering in the Biosphere Reserve Grosses Walsertal (Austria)

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Wild plant gathering is an essential element in livelihood strategies all over the world. However due to changing circumstances in Europe, the reason for gathering has altered from one of necessity in the past to a pleasurable activity today. Wild plant gathering has therefore also received renewed attention as a form of intangible cultural heritage expressing local preferences, habits and man’s relationship with nature. In the Biosphere Reserve Grosses Walsertal (Austria), local people’s knowledge of the gathering of wild plants and their perception of their own gathering activities are being documented. The focus of this paper is on the uses of herbal teas and the informal guidelines for gathering plants that have been issued by the Bergtee (mountain tea) association. Methods Thirty-six free-list interviews were conducted with subsequent semi-structured interviews and three focus group meetings held with members of the Bergtee association. Participatory observation (gathering and processing plants, mixing and marketing tea) also allowed for greater understanding of what had been reported. Results In total, 140 different gathered plant species were listed by respondents. Herbal tea is the most frequently mentioned use. The Bergtee association, founded by a young man and two middle-aged women in the valley, is a good example of the link between biological and cultural diversity, with the aim of sharing the biosphere reserve’s natural treasures as well as local plant-related knowledge in the form of herbal tea products. The association’s informal guidelines for gathering reflect people’s attitude to nature: monetary income does not play a major role in gathering plants; instead people’s appreciation of the value of the nature around them is to the fore. Conclusions Gathering wild plants can be seen as an expression of people’s regional identity. The conscious appreciation of nature and related local knowledge is crucial for the sustainable

Post-closure biosphere assessment modelling: comparison of complex and more stylised approaches.

PubMed

Walke, Russell C; Kirchner, Gerald; Xu, Shulan; Dverstorp, Björn

2015-10-01

the uncertainties concerning the biosphere on very long timescales, stylised biosphere models are shown to provide a useful point of reference in themselves and remain a valuable tool for nuclear waste disposal licencing procedures. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Geospatial risk assessment and trace element concentration in reef associated sediments, northern part of Gulf of Mannar biosphere reserve, Southeast Coast of India.

PubMed

Krishnakumar, S; Ramasamy, S; Simon Peter, T; Godson, Prince S; Chandrasekar, N; Magesh, N S

2017-12-15

Fifty two surface sediments were collected from the northern part of the Gulf of Mannar biosphere reserve to assess the geospatial risk of sediments. We found that distribution of organic matter and CaCO 3 distributions were locally controlled by the mangrove litters and fragmented coral debris. In addition, Fe and Mn concentrations in the marine sediments were probably supplied through the riverine input and natural processes. The Geo-accumulation of elements fall under the uncontaminated category except Pb. Lead show a wide range of contamination from uncontaminated-moderately contaminated to extremely contaminated category. The sediment toxicity level of the elements revealed that the majority of the sediments fall under moderately to highly polluted sediments (23.07-28.84%). The grades of potential ecological risk suggest that predominant sediments fall under low to moderate risk category (55.7-32.7%). The accumulation level of trace elements clearly suggests that the coral reef ecosystem is under low to moderate risk. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Role of forest conservation in lessening land degradation in a temperate region: the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico.

PubMed

Manzo-Delgado, Lilia; López-García, José; Alcántara-Ayala, Irasema

2014-06-01

With international concern about the rates of deforestation worldwide, particular attention has been paid to Latin America. Forest conservation programmes in Mexico include Payment for Environmental Services (PES), a scheme that has been successfully introduced in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. To seek further evidence of the role of PES in lessening land degradation processes in a temperate region, the conservation state of the Cerro Prieto ejido within the Reserve was assessed by an analysis of changes in vegetation cover and land-use between 1971 and 2013. There were no changes in the total forest surface area, but the relative proportions of the different classes of cover density had changed. In 1971, closed and semi-closed forest occupied 247.81 ha and 5.38 ha, 82.33% and 1.79% of the total area of the ejido, respectively. By 2013, closed forest had decreased to 230.38 ha (76.54% of the ejido), and semi-closed cover was 17.23 ha (5.72% of the ejido), suggesting that some semi-closed forest had achieved closed status. The final balance between forest losses and recovery was: 29.63 ha were lost, whereas 13.72 ha were recovered. Losses were mainly linked to a sanitation harvest programme to control the bark beetle Scolytus mundus. Ecotourism associated with forest conservation in the Cerro Prieto ejido has been considered by inhabitants as a focal alternative for economic development. Consequently, it is essential to develop a well-planned and solidly structured approach based on social cohesion to foster a community-led sustainable development at local level. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Putting the Deep Biosphere and Gas Hydrates on the Map

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sikorski, Janelle J.; Briggs, Brandon R.

2016-01-01

Microbial processes in the deep biosphere affect marine sediments, such as the formation of gas hydrate deposits. Gas hydrate deposits offer a large source of natural gas with the potential to augment energy reserves and affect climate and seafloor stability. Despite the significant interdependence between life and geology in the ocean, coverage…

A Regional-Scale Groundwater Model Supporting Management of the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve and its Catchment, Quintana Roo, Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neuman, B. R.; Merediz Alonso, G.; Rebolledo Vieyra, M.; Marin, L.; Supper, R.; Bauer-Gottwein, P.

2007-05-01

The Caribbean Coast of the Yucatan Peninsula is a rapidly developing area featuring a booming tourism industry. The number of hotel rooms in the Riviera Maya has increased from 2600 in 1996 to 26,000 in 2005, while the total population in the Mexican federal state of Quintana Roo has grown from 500,000 in 1990 to 1,115,000 in 2005. This explosive growth threatens the region's water resources, which primarily consist of a less than 50m thick freshwater lens residing in the regional karst aquifer underlying the entire Yucatan Peninsula. The Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve, a 6400 km2 combined marine/terrestrial nature protection area is situated south of Tulum (approx. 87.3° - 88° W, 19° - 20° N). The site is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site and is protected under the Ramsar Convention. It includes extensive freshwater wetlands, saline/brackish mangrove swamps, tropical rainforests and parts of the world's second largest coral reef. The freshwater supply to the system occurs primarily via subsurface inflow. Large freshwater springs emerge through vertical sinkholes (cenotes) in the lagoons of Sian Ka'an. Management of this unique ecosystem in view of the rapid development and urbanization of the surrounding areas requires detailed knowledge on the groundwater flow paths in and around the reserve. Moreover, mapping and delineation of its groundwater catchment zone and groundwater traveling time zones is essential. To this end, a regional-scale steady-state groundwater flow model of the Sian Ka'an Biosphere reserve and its catchment was developed. The model is implemented in MIKE SHE with a finite-difference cell size of 1 km2 and is driven with temporally averaged climate forcings. The karst aquifer is treated as an equivalent porous medium. Darcy's law is assumed to be valid over regional scales and the main structural elements of the karst aquifer are included in the model as zones of varying hydraulic conductivity. High conductivity zones in the Sian Ka

Trends in Deforestation and Forest Degradation after a Decade of Monitoring in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico

PubMed Central

VIDAL, OMAR; LÓPEZ-GARCÍA, JOSÉ; RENDÓN-SALINAS, EDUARDO

2014-01-01

We used aerial photographs, satellite images, and field surveys to monitor forest cover in the core zones of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico from 2001 to 2012. We used our data to assess the effectiveness of conservation actions that involved local, state, and federal authorities and community members (e.g., local landowners and private and civil organizations) in one of the world’s most iconic protected areas. From 2001 through 2012, 1254 ha were deforested (i.e., cleared areas had <10% canopy cover), 925 ha were degraded (i.e., areas for which canopy forest decreased), and 122 ha were affected by climatic conditions. Of the total 2179 ha of affected area, 2057 ha were affected by illegal logging: 1503 ha by large-scale logging and 554 ha by small-scale logging. Mexican authorities effectively enforced efforts to protect the monarch reserve, particularly from 2007 to 2012. Those efforts, together with the decade-long financial support from Mexican and international philanthropists and businesses to create local alternative-income generation and employment, resulted in the decrease of large-scale illegal logging from 731 ha affected in 2005–2007 to none affected in 2012, although small-scale logging is of growing concern. However, dire regional social and economic problems remain, and they must be addressed to ensure the reserve’s long-term conservation. The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) overwintering colonies in Mexico—which engage in one of the longest known insect migrations—are threatened by deforestation, and a multistakeholder, regional, sustainable-development strategy is needed to protect the reserve. PMID:24001209

Additive partitioning of testate amoeba species diversity across habitat hierarchy within the pristine southern taiga landscape (Pechora-Ilych Biosphere Reserve, Russia).

PubMed

Tsyganov, Andrey N; Komarov, Alexander A; Mitchell, Edward A D; Shimano, Satoshi; Smirnova, Olga V; Aleynikov, Alexey A; Mazei, Yuri A

2015-02-01

In order to better understand the distribution patterns of terrestrial eukaryotic microbes and the factors governing them, we studied the diversity partitioning of soil testate amoebae across levels of spatially nested habitat hierarchy in the largest European old-growth dark coniferous forest (Pechora-Ilych Biosphere Reserve; Komi Republic, Russia). The variation in testate amoeba species richness and assemblage structure was analysed in 87 samples from six biotopes in six vegetation types using an additive partitioning procedure and principal component analyses. The 80 taxa recorded represent the highest value of species richness for soil testate amoebae reported for taiga soils so far. Our results indicate that testate amoeba assemblages were highly aggregated at all levels and were mostly controlled by environmental factors rather than dispersal processes. The variation in species diversity of testate amoebae increased from the lowest to the highest hierarchical level. We conclude that, similarly to macroscopic organisms, testate amoeba species richness and community structure are primarily controlled by environmental conditions within the landscape and suggest that metacommunity dynamics of free-living microorganisms are driven by species sorting and/or mass effect processes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Lignocellulose deconstruction in the biosphere

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bomble, Yannick J.; Lin, Chien-Yuan; Amore, Antonella

Microorganisms have evolved different and yet complementary mechanisms to degrade biomass in the biosphere. The chemical biology of lignocellulose deconstruction is a complex and intricate process that appears to vary in response to specific ecosystems. These microorganisms rely on simple to complex arrangements of glycoside hydrolases to conduct most of these polysaccharide depolymerization reactions and also, as discovered more recently, oxidative mechanisms via lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases or non-enzymatic Fenton reactions which are used to enhance deconstruction. It is now clear that these deconstruction mechanisms are often more efficient in the presence of the microorganisms. In general, a major fraction ofmore » the total plant biomass deconstruction in the biosphere results from the action of various microorganisms, primarily aerobic bacteria and fungi, as well as a variety of anaerobic bacteria. Beyond carbon recycling, specialized microorganisms interact with plants to manage nitrogen in the biosphere. Understanding the interplay between these organisms within or across ecosystems is crucial to further our grasp of chemical recycling in the biosphere and also enables optimization of the burgeoning plant-based bioeconomy.« less

Lignocellulose deconstruction in the biosphere.

PubMed

Bomble, Yannick J; Lin, Chien-Yuan; Amore, Antonella; Wei, Hui; Holwerda, Evert K; Ciesielski, Peter N; Donohoe, Bryon S; Decker, Stephen R; Lynd, Lee R; Himmel, Michael E

2017-12-01

Microorganisms have evolved different and yet complementary mechanisms to degrade biomass in the biosphere. The chemical biology of lignocellulose deconstruction is a complex and intricate process that appears to vary in response to specific ecosystems. These microorganisms rely on simple to complex arrangements of glycoside hydrolases to conduct most of these polysaccharide depolymerization reactions and also, as discovered more recently, oxidative mechanisms via lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases or non-enzymatic Fenton reactions which are used to enhance deconstruction. It is now clear that these deconstruction mechanisms are often more efficient in the presence of the microorganisms. In general, a major fraction of the total plant biomass deconstruction in the biosphere results from the action of various microorganisms, primarily aerobic bacteria and fungi, as well as a variety of anaerobic bacteria. Beyond carbon recycling, specialized microorganisms interact with plants to manage nitrogen in the biosphere. Understanding the interplay between these organisms within or across ecosystems is crucial to further our grasp of chemical recycling in the biosphere and also enables optimization of the burgeoning plant-based bioeconomy. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Using a cultural-ecological framework to explore dietary beliefs and practices during pregnancy and lactation among women in Adivasi communities in the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve, India.

PubMed

Craig, Hope C; Jeyanthi, R; Pelto, Gretel; Willford, Andrew C; Stoltzfus, Rebecca J

2018-01-01

This article explores maternal dietary beliefs and practices gathered through interviews with mothers of infants and young children in Adivasi communities in the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve, India. Guided by focused ethnographic study methods, interviews were conducted with 33 key informants. We used a cultural-ecological framework to analyze and interpret the texts that were elicited from women about dietary beliefs and eating patterns during pregnancy and lactation. We identify differences between what women were advised to eat, felt they should eat, and reported consuming. The findings offer guidance for interventions to improve maternal diets in this vulnerable population.

The Biosphere: A Decadal Vision

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peterson, David L.; Curran, Paul J.; Mlynzcak, Marty; Miller, Richard

2003-01-01

This paper focuses on biosphere-climate interactions including the influences of human activities. Recognizing this is only one aspect of biospheric processes, this places an emphasis of those biogeochemical processes that have a profound effect on numerous other aspects of the biosphere and the services it provides, services which are critical to sustaining life on Earth. And, the paper will focus on the various scientific aspects of assessing the availability of fresh water, including its sensitivity to climate variance and land use changes. Finally, this paper hopes to emphasize the potential role that greatly expanded space observations and interactive modeling can play in developing our understanding of Earth and its the living systems.

Resource management and fertility in Mexico’s Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve: Campos, cash, and contraception in the lobster-fishing village of Punta Allen

PubMed Central

Carr, David L.

2009-01-01

This case study examines the link between marine resource management, and the universal contraceptive use among married couples in the lobster- fishing village of Punta Allen, located in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Several reasons appear to contribute to small desired and actual family sizes. Some of these include a medical clinic staff effective in promoting family planning, cooperative and private resource ownership, changing cultural attitudes, geographical limitations to population and economic growth, and a desire to conserve the environment for aesthetic and economic motives. Lastly, families desired to preserve a sustained balance between benefiting from lobster harvests today and safeguarding this marine resource for their children in the future. PMID:19672473

A biosphere assessment of high-level radioactive waste disposal in Sweden.

PubMed

Kautsky, Ulrik; Lindborg, Tobias; Valentin, Jack

2015-04-01

Licence applications to build a repository for the disposal of Swedish spent nuclear fuel have been lodged, underpinned by myriad reports and several broader reviews. This paper sketches out the technical and administrative aspects and highlights a recent review of the biosphere effects of a potential release from the repository. A comprehensive database and an understanding of major fluxes and pools of water and organic matter in the landscape let one envisage the future by looking at older parts of the site. Thus, today's biosphere is used as a natural analogue of possible future landscapes. It is concluded that the planned repository can meet the safety criteria and will have no detectable radiological impact on plants and animals. This paper also briefly describes biosphere work undertaken after the review. The multidisciplinary approach used is relevant in a much wider context and may prove beneficial across many environmental contexts. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Developing Starlight connections with UNESCO sites through the Biosphere Smart

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marin, Cipriano

2015-08-01

The large number of UNESCO Sites around the world, in outstanding sites ranging from small islands to cities, makes it possible to build and share a comprehensive knowledge base on good practices and policies on the preservation of the night skies consistent with the protection of the associated scientific, natural and cultural values. In this context, the Starlight Initiative and other organizations such as IDA play a catalytic role in an essential international process to promote comprehensive, holistic approaches on dark sky preservation, astronomical observation, environmental protection, responsible lighting, sustainable energy, climate change and global sustainability.Many of these places have the potential to become models of excellence to foster the recovery of the dark skies and its defence against light pollution, included some case studies mentioned in the Portal to the Heritage of Astronomy.Fighting light pollution and recovering starry sky are already elements of a new emerging culture in biosphere reserves and world heritage sites committed to acting on climate change and sustainable development. Over thirty territories, including biosphere reserves and world heritage sites, have been developed successful initiatives to ensure night sky quality and promote sustainable lighting. Clear night skies also provide sustainable income opportunities as tourists and visitors are eagerly looking for sites with impressive night skies.Taking into account the high visibility and the ability of UNESCO sites to replicate network experiences, the Starlight Initiative has launched an action In cooperation with Biosphere Smart, aimed at promoting the Benchmark sites.Biosphere Smart is a global observatory created in partnership with UNESCO MaB Programme to share good practices, and experiences among UNESCO sites. The Benchmark sites window allows access to all the information of the most relevant astronomical heritage sites, dark sky protected areas and other places

Pastoralists in a changing environment: The competition for grazing land in and around the W Biosphere Reserve, Benin Republic.

PubMed

Tamou, Charles; Ripoll-Bosch, Raimon; de Boer, Imke J M; Oosting, Simon J

2018-04-01

Pastoralists face increasing competition for land with crop farmers and nature in and around the W Biosphere Reserve (WBR) in Benin. Our aim was to describe and analyse land use changes in order to understand their drivers, and to describe and analyse the viewpoints of relevant stakeholders in order to understand the competition for land. To this end, remote sensing data, regional statistics, and survey data were collected. We found that crop land expansion around the WBR was the direct driver of decrease of the grazing land area. Population growth and rising demand for food crops, and government support to the cotton sector were indirect drivers of grazing land reduction. Furthermore, competing claims on land among users arose from the complex interaction of crop expansion, presence of WBR and the way it is governed, the lack of support to pastoralists, and the increasing shift of pastoralists' lifestyle into one of settled crop farmers. Pastoralism is under threat and its survival depends on the successful implementation of policies to support pastoralists and protect grazing lands.

Historical overview of the Biosphere 2 project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, John P.

1990-01-01

An extensive historical overview is given of the Biosphere 2 project. The overview begins in late 1969, as the moon landings commenced, when work began on ecological projects which laid the conceptual foundation for the current Biosphere 2 project. Continuing through to taking a complete functional suite of microbes together with their associated aquatic elements and an air volume and putting them inside a closed lab flask in which to measure the oxygen and CO2 levels, study energy flows and visually observe the changes therein. The laws of biospherics formulated by the author which can be tested in the Biosphere 2 project are listed.

Challenges to conservation: land use change and local participation in the Al Reem Biosphere Reserve, West Qatar

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

One response to humanity's unsustainable use of natural resources and consequent degradation, even destruction of the environment, is to establish conservation areas to protect Nature and preserve biodiversity at least in selected regions. In Qatar, the government has shown strong support for this approach, confronted by the environmental consequences of oil and gas extraction and rapid urban development, by designating about one-tenth of the country a conservation area. Located in the west of the peninsula, it comprises the Al Reem Reserve, subsequently declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Several approaches have figured in conservation, currently popular is co-management featuring participation of the local population, which recognises that people's activities often contribute to today's environment, with the promotion of bio-cultural diversity. However, these assumptions may not hold where rapid social and cultural change occurs, as in Qatar. We explore the implications of such change, notably in land use. We detail changes resulting with the move from nomadic to sedentary lifestyles: in land access, which now features tribal-state control, and herding strategies, which now feature migrant labour and depend on imported fodder and water, underwritten by the country's large gas and oil revenues. Current stocking arrangements - animals herded in much smaller areas than previously - are thought responsible for the degradation of natural resources. The place of animals, notably camels, in Qatari life, has also changed greatly, possibly further promoting overstocking. Many local people disagree. What are the implications of such changes for the participatory co-management of conservation areas? Do they imply turning the clock back to centrally managed approaches that seek to control access and local activities? PMID:20964818

Green synthesis and antimicrobial activity of silver nanoparticles using wild medicinal mushroom Ganoderma applanatum (Pers.) Pat. from Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Odisha, India.

PubMed

Mohanta, Yugal Kishore; Singdevsachan, Sameer Kumar; Parida, Umesh Kumar; Panda, Sujogya Kumar; Mohanta, Tapan Kumar; Bae, Hanhong

2016-08-01

In the present study, green synthesis and cost effective approach of silver nanoparticles using wild medicinal mushroom Ganoderma applanatum (Pers.) Pat. from Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Odisha, India is reported. The biosynthesised AgNPs were characterised using UV-visible spectroscopy, particle analyser and scanning electron microscopy studies. It was found by dynamic light scattering analysis, that the average size and charges of the AgNPs were 133.0 ± 0.361 nm and -6.01 ± 5.30 mV, respectively. Moreover, the Fourier transform infrared study was also conducted to identify the biomolecules or functional groups responsible for the reduction of Ag and stabilisation of the AgNPs. The potential biomedical application with reference to antimicrobial activity of the synthesised AgNPs was investigated against some pathogenic microorganisms viz. Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Vibrio cholerae, Staphylococcus aureus and Shigella flexneri.

Recovery of Durvillaea antarctica (Durvilleales) inside and outside Las Cruces Marine Reserve, Chile.

PubMed

Castilla, J C; Campo, M A; Bustamante, R H

2007-07-01

We present the results for over two decades of monitoring on intertidal food-gatherers and the population of the low rocky shore dweller kelp Durvillaea antarctica, a short-distance disperser, inside and outside the no-take marine reserve, Estacion Costera de Investigaciones Marinas (ECIM), at Las Cruces, central Chile. It was hypothesized that protection of an initially extremely depleted population would recover by recolonizing first the no-take area and then adjacent non-protected (exploited) areas. We found that recovery of D. antarctica occurred slowly inside ECIM, with increase in density and biomass, of up to three orders of magnitude as compared to an adjacent non-protected area, which showed approximately 2-yr delay. These results suggest that the kelp population inside ECIM was likely regulated via intraspecific competition, which did not occur outside. Results showed no evidence for juvenile vs. adult density dependence other than a weak relationship for the central area of ECIM. These findings also suggest that the population recovery and cross-boundary seeding subsides affected the population dynamics. Understanding these dynamics may enhance management and conservation policies. Our work highlights the critical value of baseline and long-term comparative studies in marine no-take protected and non-protected areas for understanding how population processes respond to human and conservation practices.

Checklist, diversity and distribution of testate amoebae in Chile.

PubMed

Fernández, Leonardo D; Lara, Enrique; Mitchell, Edward A D

2015-10-01

Bringing together more than 170 years of data, this study represents the first attempt to construct a species checklist and analyze the diversity and distribution of testate amoebae in Chile, a country that encompasses the southwestern region of South America, countless islands and part of the Antarctic. In Chile, known diversity includes 416 testate amoeba taxa (64 genera, 352 infrageneric taxa), 24 of which are here reported for the first time. Species-accumulation plots show that in Chile, the number of testate amoeba species reported has been continually increasing since the mid-19th century without leveling off. Testate amoebae have been recorded in 37 different habitats, though they are more diverse in peatlands and rainforest soils. Only 11% of species are widespread in continental Chile, while the remaining 89% of the species exhibit medium or short latitudinal distribution ranges. Also, species composition of insular Chile and the Chilean Antarctic territory is a depauperated subset of that found in continental Chile. Nearly, the 10% of the species reported here are endemic to Chile and many of them are distributed only within the so-called Chilean biodiversity hotspot (ca. 25° S-47° S). These findings are here thoroughly discussed in a biogeographical and evolutionary context. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Biosphere 2 test module experimentation program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alling, Abigail; Leigh, Linda S.; Maccallum, Taber; Alvarez-Romo, Norberto

1990-01-01

The Biosphere 2 Test Module is a facility which has the capability to do either short or long term closures: five month closures with plants were conducted. Also conducted were investigations of specific problems, such as trace gas purification by bioregenerative systems by in-putting a fixed concentration of a gas and observing its uptake over time. In other Test Module experiments, the concentration of one gas was changed to observe what effects this has on other gases present or on the system. The science of biospherics which encompasses the study of closed biological systems provides an opening into the future in space as well as in the Earth's biosphere.

Uncontacted Waorani in the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve: Geographical Validation of the Zona Intangible Tagaeri Taromenane (ZITT).

PubMed

Pappalardo, Salvatore Eugenio; De Marchi, Massimo; Ferrarese, Francesco

2013-01-01

The Tagaeri Taromenane People are two indigenous groups belonging to the Waorani first nation living in voluntary isolation within the Napo region of the western Amazon rainforest. To protect their territory the Ecuadorean State has declared and geographically defined, by Decrees, the Zona Intangible Tagaeri Taromenane (ZITT). This zone is located within the UNESCO Yasuní Biosphere Reserve (1989), one of the most biodiverse areas in the world. Due to several hydrocarbon reserve exploitation projects running in the area and the advancing of a large-scale deforestation front, the survival of these groups is presently at risk. The general aim was to validate the ZITT boundary using the geographical references included in the Decree 2187 (2007) by analyzing the geomorphological characteristics of the area. Remote sensing data such as Digital Elevation Models (DEM), Landsat imagery, topographic cartography of IGM-Ecuador, and fieldwork geographical data have been integrated and processed by Geographical Information System (GIS). The ZITT presents two levels of geographic inconsistencies. The first dimension is about the serious cartographical weaknesses in the perimeter delimitation related to the impossibility of linking two rivers belonging to different basins while the second deals with the perimeter line not respecting the hydrographic network. The GIS analysis results clearly show that ZITT boundary is cartographically nonsense due to the impossibility of mapping out the perimeter. Furthermore, GIS analysis of anthropological data shows presence of Tagaeri Taromenane clans outside the ZITT perimeter, within oil production areas and in nearby farmer settlements, reflecting the limits of protection policies for non-contacted indigenous territory. The delimitation of the ZITT followed a traditional pattern of geometric boundary not taking into account the nomadic characteristic of Tagaeri Taromenane: it is necessary to adopt geographical approaches to recognize the

Uncontacted Waorani in the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve: Geographical Validation of the Zona Intangible Tagaeri Taromenane (ZITT)

PubMed Central

Pappalardo, Salvatore Eugenio; De Marchi, Massimo; Ferrarese, Francesco

2013-01-01

The Tagaeri Taromenane People are two indigenous groups belonging to the Waorani first nation living in voluntary isolation within the Napo region of the western Amazon rainforest. To protect their territory the Ecuadorean State has declared and geographically defined, by Decrees, the Zona Intangible Tagaeri Taromenane (ZITT). This zone is located within the UNESCO Yasuní Biosphere Reserve (1989), one of the most biodiverse areas in the world. Due to several hydrocarbon reserve exploitation projects running in the area and the advancing of a large-scale deforestation front, the survival of these groups is presently at risk. The general aim was to validate the ZITT boundary using the geographical references included in the Decree 2187 (2007) by analyzing the geomorphological characteristics of the area. Remote sensing data such as Digital Elevation Models (DEM), Landsat imagery, topographic cartography of IGM-Ecuador, and fieldwork geographical data have been integrated and processed by Geographical Information System (GIS). The ZITT presents two levels of geographic inconsistencies. The first dimension is about the serious cartographical weaknesses in the perimeter delimitation related to the impossibility of linking two rivers belonging to different basins while the second deals with the perimeter line not respecting the hydrographic network. The GIS analysis results clearly show that ZITT boundary is cartographically nonsense due to the impossibility of mapping out the perimeter. Furthermore, GIS analysis of anthropological data shows presence of Tagaeri Taromenane clans outside the ZITT perimeter, within oil production areas and in nearby farmer settlements, reflecting the limits of protection policies for non-contacted indigenous territory. The delimitation of the ZITT followed a traditional pattern of geometric boundary not taking into account the nomadic characteristic of Tagaeri Taromenane: it is necessary to adopt geographical approaches to recognize the

The Study of Socio-Biospheric Problems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Andrew M.

Concepts, tools, and a methodology are needed which will permit the analysis of emergent socio-biospheric problems and facilitate their effective management. Many contemporary problems may be characterized as socio-biospheric; for example, pollution of the seas, acid rain, the growth of cities, and an atmosphere loaded with carcinogens. However,…

The water cycle in closed ecological systems: perspectives from the Biosphere 2 and Laboratory Biosphere systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, Mark; Dempster, William; Allen, John P.

To achieve sustainable and healthy closed ecological systems requires successful solutions to the challenge of closing the water cycle - recycling wastewater/soil leachate and evaporateed water and supplying water of required quality as needed for different needs within the facility. Engineering Biosphere 2, the first multi-biome closed ecological system, total footprint of the airtight area is 12,700 m2 with a combined volume of 200,000 m3 with a total water capacity of some 6 x 106 liters of water presented a complex challenge because it included human inhabitants, their agricultural and technical systems, as well as a range of analogue ecosystems ranging from rainforest to desert, freshwater ecologies to mini-ocean coral reef ecosystems. By contrast, the Laboratory Biosphere - a small (40m3 volume) soil-based plant growth facility with a footprint of 15m3 - is a very simplified system, but with some similar issues such as salinity management and the provision of water quality sufficient for plant growth. In Biosphere 2, water needs included supplying potable water for people and domestic animals, irrigation water for a wide variety of food crops, and recycling and recovering soil nutrients from wastewater. In the wilderness biomes, adequately freshwater was needed for terrestrial ecosystems and maintaining appropriate salinity and pH in aquatic/marine ecosystems. The largest reservoirs in Biosphere 2 were the ocean/marsh with some 4x106 liters, soil with 2 x 106 liters, primary storage tanks with a capacity for up to 8 x 105 liters and storage tanks for condensate collection and mixing tanks with 1.5 x 105 liters to supply irrigation for farm and wilderness ecosystems. Other reservoirs were far smaller - humidity in the atmosphere (2 x 103 liters), streams in the rainforest and savannah, and seasonal pools in the desert were orders of magnitude smaller (8 x 103 liters). Key technologies included condensation from humidity in the airhandlers and from the glass

Socioeconomic determinants of disability in Chile.

PubMed

Zitko Melo, Pedro; Cabieses Valdes, Báltica

2011-10-01

Disability is a worldwide public health priority. A shift from a biomedical perspective of dysfunction to a broader social understanding of disability has been proposed. Among many different social factors described in the past, socioeconomic position remains as a key multidimensional determinant of health. The study goal was to analyze the relationship between disability and different domains of socioeconomic position in Chile. Cross-sectional analysis of an anonymized population-based survey conducted in Chile in 2006. Any disability (dichotomous variable) and 6 different types of disability were analyzed on the bases of their relationship with income quintiles, occupational status, educational level, and material living standards (quality of the housing, overcrowding rate and sanitary conditions). Confounding and interaction effects were explored using R statistical program. Income, education, occupation, and material measures of socioeconomic position, along with some sociodemographic characteristics of the population, were independently associated with the chance of being disabled in Chile. Interestingly, classic measures of socioeconomic position (income, education, and occupation) were consistently associated with any disability in Chile, whereas material living conditions were partially confounded by these classic measures. In addition to this, each type of disability showed a particular pattern of related social determinants, which also varied by age group. This study contributed to the understanding of disability in Chile and how different domains of socioeconomic position might be associated with this prevalent condition. Disability remains a complex multidimensional public health problem in Chile that requires the inclusion of a wide range of risk factors, of which socioeconomic position is particularly relevant. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Five new species of the genera Heerz Marsh, Lissopsius Marsh and Ondigus Braet, Barbalho and van Achterberg (Braconidae, Doryctinae) from the Chamela-Cuixmala biosphere reserve in Jalisco, Mexico

PubMed Central

Zaldívar-Riverón, Alejandro; Martínez, Juan José; Ceccarelli, Fadia Sara; Shaw, Scott R.

2012-01-01

Abstract Five new species belonging to the poorly known Neotropical doryctine parasitoid wasps genera Heerz Marsh (Heerz ecmahla sp. n. and Heerz macrophthalma sp. n.), Lissopsius Marsh (Lissopsius pacificus sp. n. and Lissopsius jalisciensis sp. n.) and Ondigus Braet, Barbalho & van Achterberg (Ondigus cuixmalensis sp. n.) are described from the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere reserve in Jalisco, Mexico. Keys to the described species of the above three genera are provided. The phylogenetic placement of the examined taxa is investigated based on mitochondrial (COI) and nuclear (28S, 2nd and 3rd domain regions) DNA sequence data. PMID:22328849

NEW DIRECTIONS: VOCS AND BIOSPHERE-ATMOSPHERE FEEDBACKS

EPA Science Inventory

Shallcross and Monks [New Directions: a Role For Isoprene in Biosphere-Climate-Chemistry Feedbacks, Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 34 (2000) pp. 1659-1660] recently summarized the importance of biogenic isoprene in a biosphere-atmosphere system under constant change. In this art...

Analysis of the Governance Structures in Japan's Biosphere Reserves: Perspectives from Bottom-Up and Multilevel Characteristics.

PubMed

Tanaka, Toshinori; Wakamatsu, Nobuhiko

2018-01-01

This paper analyzes the governance structures of Biosphere Reserves (BRs) in Japan by focusing on six criteria that elucidate the main characteristics therein: general information (nomination process, year of designation, size, and population), legal frameworks, stakeholder identification, and decision-making processes (number of municipalities and role of consociation), administrative institutions (human resources, budgetary situation, and expense distribution), executed BR implementation activities, and participatory/collaborative frameworks. This research consists of a literature review, a questionnaire administered to the secretariats of seven existing BRs and follow-up interviews. Three main characteristics of BRs were identified. First, a responsible local government(s) is nominated to manage the BR rather than the central government. Consequently, BR implementation in Japan is led by those municipalities that have strong motivations for regional development using the BR concept. Second, two types of BR governance structures exist in Japan: the single municipality type and the multi-municipality type. All BRs have so called Kyougikai, a consociation for decision-making, consultation and/or collaboration among stakeholders. In the single municipality structure, the consociation includes diverse actors from private and community sectors, while in the multi-municipality structure, consociations are based in more diplomatic settings and only include members of the public sector. Third, gaps between pre/post-Seville BR implementation sites were identified. The motivations for the formation of pre-Seville BRs, which were designated in 1980 in a top-down fashion prior to an awareness of BRs, varied greatly from those BRs nominated by municipalities after 2010. The authors identified fewer administrative resources and activities associated with the pre-Seville sites.

Analysis of the Governance Structures in Japan's Biosphere Reserves: Perspectives from Bottom-Up and Multilevel Characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanaka, Toshinori; Wakamatsu, Nobuhiko

2018-01-01

This paper analyzes the governance structures of Biosphere Reserves (BRs) in Japan by focusing on six criteria that elucidate the main characteristics therein: general information (nomination process, year of designation, size, and population), legal frameworks, stakeholder identification, and decision-making processes (number of municipalities and role of consociation), administrative institutions (human resources, budgetary situation, and expense distribution), executed BR implementation activities, and participatory/collaborative frameworks. This research consists of a literature review, a questionnaire administered to the secretariats of seven existing BRs and follow-up interviews. Three main characteristics of BRs were identified. First, a responsible local government(s) is nominated to manage the BR rather than the central government. Consequently, BR implementation in Japan is led by those municipalities that have strong motivations for regional development using the BR concept. Second, two types of BR governance structures exist in Japan: the single municipality type and the multi-municipality type. All BRs have so called Kyougikai, a consociation for decision-making, consultation and/or collaboration among stakeholders. In the single municipality structure, the consociation includes diverse actors from private and community sectors, while in the multi-municipality structure, consociations are based in more diplomatic settings and only include members of the public sector. Third, gaps between pre/post-Seville BR implementation sites were identified. The motivations for the formation of pre-Seville BRs, which were designated in 1980 in a top-down fashion prior to an awareness of BRs, varied greatly from those BRs nominated by municipalities after 2010. The authors identified fewer administrative resources and activities associated with the pre-Seville sites.

Reconnecting to the biosphere.

PubMed

Folke, Carl; Jansson, Asa; Rockström, Johan; Olsson, Per; Carpenter, Stephen R; Chapin, F Stuart; Crépin, Anne-Sophie; Daily, Gretchen; Danell, Kjell; Ebbesson, Jonas; Elmqvist, Thomas; Galaz, Victor; Moberg, Fredrik; Nilsson, Måns; Osterblom, Henrik; Ostrom, Elinor; Persson, Asa; Peterson, Garry; Polasky, Stephen; Steffen, Will; Walker, Brian; Westley, Frances

2011-11-01

Humanity has emerged as a major force in the operation of the biosphere, with a significant imprint on the Earth System, challenging social-ecological resilience. This new situation calls for a fundamental shift in perspectives, world views, and institutions. Human development and progress must be reconnected to the capacity of the biosphere and essential ecosystem services to be sustained. Governance challenges include a highly interconnected and faster world, cascading social-ecological interactions and planetary boundaries that create vulnerabilities but also opportunities for social-ecological change and transformation. Tipping points and thresholds highlight the importance of understanding and managing resilience. New modes of flexible governance are emerging. A central challenge is to reconnect these efforts to the changing preconditions for societal development as active stewards of the Earth System. We suggest that the Millennium Development Goals need to be reframed in such a planetary stewardship context combined with a call for a new social contract on global sustainability. The ongoing mind shift in human relations with Earth and its boundaries provides exciting opportunities for societal development in collaboration with the biosphere--a global sustainability agenda for humanity.

Regionally strong feedbacks between the atmosphere and terrestrial biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Green, Julia K.; Konings, Alexandra G.; Alemohammad, Seyed Hamed; Berry, Joseph; Entekhabi, Dara; Kolassa, Jana; Lee, Jung-Eun; Gentine, Pierre

2017-06-01

The terrestrial biosphere and atmosphere interact through a series of feedback loops. Variability in terrestrial vegetation growth and phenology can modulate fluxes of water and energy to the atmosphere, and thus affect the climatic conditions that in turn regulate vegetation dynamics. Here we analyse satellite observations of solar-induced fluorescence, precipitation, and radiation using a multivariate statistical technique. We find that biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks are globally widespread and regionally strong: they explain up to 30% of precipitation and surface radiation variance in regions where feedbacks occur. Substantial biosphere-precipitation feedbacks are often found in regions that are transitional between energy and water limitation, such as semi-arid or monsoonal regions. Substantial biosphere-radiation feedbacks are often present in several moderately wet regions and in the Mediterranean, where precipitation and radiation increase vegetation growth. Enhancement of latent and sensible heat transfer from vegetation accompanies this growth, which increases boundary layer height and convection, affecting cloudiness, and consequently incident surface radiation. Enhanced evapotranspiration can increase moist convection, leading to increased precipitation. Earth system models underestimate these precipitation and radiation feedbacks mainly because they underestimate the biosphere response to radiation and water availability. We conclude that biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks cluster in specific climatic regions that help determine the net CO2 balance of the biosphere.

Regionally Strong Feedbacks Between the Atmosphere and Terrestrial Biosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Green, Julia K.; Konings, Alexandra G.; Alemohammad, Seyed Hamed; Lee, Jung-Eun; Berry, Joseph; Entekhabi, Dara; Kolassa, Jana; Gentine, Pierre

2017-01-01

The terrestrial biosphere and atmosphere interact through a series of feedback loops. Variability in terrestrial vegetation growth and phenology can modulate fluxes of water and energy to the atmosphere, and thus affect the climatic conditions that in turn regulate vegetation dynamics. Here we analyze satellite observations of solar-induced fluorescence, precipitation, and radiation using a multivariate statistical technique. We find that biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks are globally widespread and regionally strong: they explain up to 30 of precipitation and surface radiation variance. Substantial biosphere-precipitation feedbacks are often found in regions that are transitional between energy and water limitation, such as semi-arid or monsoonal regions. Substantial biosphere-radiation feedbacks are often present in several moderately wet regions and in the Mediterranean, where precipitation and radiation increase vegetation growth. Enhancement of latent and sensible heat transfer from vegetation accompanies this growth, which increases boundary layer height and convection, affecting cloudiness, and consequently incident surface radiation. Enhanced evapotranspiration can increase moist convection, leading to increased precipitation. Earth system models underestimate these precipitation and radiation feedbacks mainly because they underestimate the biosphere response to radiation and water availability. We conclude that biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks cluster in specific climatic regions that help determine the net CO2 balance of the biosphere.

Intracultural variation of knowledge about wild plant uses in the Biosphere Reserve Grosses Walsertal (Austria)

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Leading scholars in ethnobiology and ethnomedicine continuously stress the need for moving beyond the bare description of local knowledge and to additionally analyse and theorise about the characteristics and dynamics of human interactions with plants and related local knowledge. Analyses of the variation of local knowledge are thereby perceived as minimal standard. In this study we investigate the distribution and variation of wild plant knowledge in five domains: food, drinks, human medicine, veterinary medicine and customs. We assess relations between the wild plant knowledge of informants and their socio-demographic as well as geographic background. Method Research was conducted in the Biosphere Reserve Grosses Walsertal, Austria. Structured questionnaires were used to inquire wild plant knowledge from 433 informants with varying socio-demographic and geographic background. Children assisted in the data collection. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and generalized linear models. Results and discussion A majority of respondents is familiar with wild plant uses, however to varying degrees. Knowledge variations depend on the socio-demographic and geographic background of the informants as well as on the domains of knowledge under investigation: women, older informants and homegardeners report more human medicinal applications and applications in drinks than men, younger informants and non-homegardeners; farmers know a greater variety of veterinary medicinal applications than non-farmers; the place of residence relates significantly to food and veterinary uses. Customs are difficult to investigate in standardized matrices. The household-related distribution of work and the general socio-cultural context are especially helpful in order to explain intracultural variation of knowledge in the Grosses Walsertal. Conclusions Research on the intracultural variation of local knowledge exposes cultural characteristics and highlights the cultural

Recent developments in assessment of long-term radionuclide behavior in the geosphere-biosphere subsystem.

PubMed

Smith, G M; Smith, K L; Kowe, R; Pérez-Sánchez, D; Thorne, M; Thiry, Y; Read, D; Molinero, J

2014-05-01

Decisions on permitting, controlling and monitoring releases of radioactivity into the environment rely on a great variety of factors. Important among these is the prospective assessment of radionuclide behavior in the environment, including migration and accumulation among and within specific environmental media, and the resulting environmental and human health impacts. Models and techniques to undertake such assessments have been developed over several decades based on knowledge of the ecosystems involved, as well as monitoring of previous radionuclide releases to the environment, laboratory experiments and other related research. This paper presents developments in the assessment of radiation doses and related research for some of the key radionuclides identified as of potential significance in the context of releases to the biosphere from disposal facilities for solid radioactive waste. Since releases to the biosphere from disposal facilities involve transfers from the geosphere to the biosphere, an important aspect is the combined effects of surface hydrology, near-surface hydrogeology and chemical gradients on speciation and radionuclide mobility in the zone in which the geosphere and biosphere overlap (herein described as the geosphere-biosphere subsystem). In turn, these aspects of the environment can be modified as a result of environmental change over the thousands of years that have to be considered in radioactive waste disposal safety assessments. Building on the experience from improved understanding of the behavior of the key radionuclides, this paper proceeds to describe development of a generic methodology for representing the processes and environmental changes that are characteristic of the interface between the geosphere and the biosphere. The information that is provided and the methodology that is described are based on international collaborative work implemented through the BIOPROTA forum, www.bioprota.org. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All

Victor Kovda, Soil Science and Biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovda, I.

2012-04-01

Victor Kovda (1904-1991) was one of the most famous soil scientists at the national and international soil science community. He published more than 500 scientific works including about 400 papers, 17 collective monographs, 30 personal monographs, and more than 200 interviews and popular papers describing the role of soils not only for food production, but for the functioning of the biosphere. Victor Kovda was a talented organizer, who founded the new Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry (known at the present time as the Institute of physico-chemical and biological problems of soil science in Pushchino, Russia). During six years from 1959 to 1964 he was the head of Science Department in UNESCO, where he initiated a set of international projects (ex. Soil World Map of FAO-UNESCO, Source-book on irrigation and drainage). He continued his international activity after UNESCO as a President of the International Soil Science Society (1968-1974), organizer of the X international Soil Science Congress in Moscow (1974), president of SCOPE (1973-1976), working for ICSU. The last three decades of his national and international activities Victor Kovda initiated and was strongly involved in the popularization of biosphere role and functions of soils and soil cover. The start point for this activity was his special talk "Biosphere and man" presented during the intergovernmental conference in the framework of the international program "Man and Biosphere" organized by UNESCO in 1968 in Paris. The next key presentation "Soil as a component of biosphere" Victor Kovda gave as a plenary lecture during the X International congress of soil scientists. This presentation determined the focus of soil science for the next decades: at least Russian soil science became oriented towards the investigation of biosphere functions and role of soils. Soils science was accepted not only for agriculture and food production, but also as a fundamental science with a large environmental

Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere - SAMAB.ORG

Science.gov Websites

Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Home Who We Are SAMAB Initiatives Archives Welcome to SAMAB This slideshow requires JavaScript. The Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere (SAMAB

Environmental gradients regulate the spatio-temporal variability of phytoplankton assemblages in the Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve, Vietnam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pham, Thanh-Luu

2017-12-01

This paper covers spatial and temporal variation in phytoplankton communities and physico-chemical variables in the Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve (CGMBR), Vietnam, based on field measurement conducted monthly at nine stations during February 2009 to January 2010. Species diversity, richness and phytoplankton abundance were calculated. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) was used to investigate the relationship between environmental factors and phytoplankton community. A total of 126 species were recorded with a clear dominance of Bacillariophyceae, which formed about 76.4% of the total phytoplankton counts with an annual average of 44.900 cells/L. Other algal classes like Dinophyceae, Cyanophyceae and Chrysophyceae sustained low counts, forming collectively about 14% of the total abundance of phytoplankton. Although Chaetoceros and Coscinodiscus were the most dominant genera, Schroederella and Skeletonema showed high abundance during the studied period. Among the nine environmental parameters tested in this study, salinity, nitrate and ammonium were found to be significantly different between two seasons. On the other hand, no significant difference was found between stations for the studied variables. Results of CCA indicated that phytoplankton assemblage in the CGMBR was influenced by salinity, nitrate and phosphate concentration. This is the first study simultaneously investigating the phytoplankton communities and their environment in this area and it is essential in order to set up the baseline of future studies.

Aeolian Processes and the Biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ravi, Sujith; D'Odorico, Paolo; Breshears, David D.; Field, Jason P.; Goudie, Andrew S.; Huxman, Travis E.; Li, Junran; Okin, Gregory S.; Swap, Robert J.; Thomas, Andrew D.; Van Pelt, Scott; Whicker, Jeffrey J.; Zobeck, Ted M.

2011-08-01

Aeolian processes affect the biosphere in a wide variety of contexts, including landform evolution, biogeochemical cycles, regional climate, human health, and desertification. Collectively, research on aeolian processes and the biosphere is developing rapidly in many diverse and specialized areas, but integration of these recent advances is needed to better address management issues and to set future research priorities. Here we review recent literature on aeolian processes and their interactions with the biosphere, focusing on (1) geography of dust emissions, (2) impacts, interactions, and feedbacks, (3) drivers of dust emissions, and (4) methodological approaches. Geographically, dust emissions are highly spatially variable but also provide connectivity at global scales between sources and effects, with “hot spots” being of particular concern. Recent research reveals that aeolian processes have impacts, interactions, and feedbacks at a variety of scales, including large-scale dust transport and global biogeochemical cycles, climate mediated interactions between atmospheric dust and ecosystems, impacts on human health, impacts on agriculture, and interactions between aeolian processes and dryland vegetation. Aeolian dust emissions are driven largely by, in addition to climate, a combination of soil properties, soil moisture, vegetation and roughness, biological and physical crusts, and disturbances. Aeolian research methods span laboratory and field techniques, modeling, and remote sensing. Together these integrated perspectives on aeolian processes and the biosphere provide insights into management options and aid in identifying research priorities, both of which are increasingly important given that global climate models predict an increase in aridity in many dryland systems of the world.

Building a community of practice for sustainability: strengthening learning and collective action of Canadian biosphere reserves through a national partnership.

PubMed

Reed, Maureen G; Godmaire, Hélène; Abernethy, Paivi; Guertin, Marc-André

2014-12-01

Deliberation, dialogue and systematic learning are now considered attributes of good practice for organizations seeking to advance sustainability. Yet we do not know whether organizations that span spatial scales and governance responsibilities can establish effective communities of practice to facilitate learning and action. The purpose of this paper is to generate a framework that specifies actions and processes of a community of practice designed to instill collective learning and action strategies across a multi-level, multi-partner network. The framework is then used to describe and analyze a partnership among practitioners of Canada's 16 UNESCO biosphere reserves, and additional researchers and government representatives from across Canada. The framework is a cycle of seven action steps, beginning and ending with reflecting on and evaluating present practice. It is supported by seven characteristics of collaborative environmental management that are used to gauge the success of the partnership. Our results show that the partnership successfully built trust, established shared norms and common interest, created incentives to participate, generated value in information sharing and willingness to engage, demonstrated effective flow of information, and provided leadership and facilitation. Key to success was the presence of a multi-lingual facilitator who could bridge cultural differences across regions and academia-practitioner expectations. The project succeeded in establishing common goals, setting mutual expectations and building relations of trust and respect, and co-creating knowledge. It is too soon to determine whether changes in practices that support sustainability will be maintained over the long term and without the help of an outside facilitator. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Qualitative properties of the minimal model of carbon circulation in the biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pestunov, Aleksandr; Fedotov, Anatoliy; Medvedev, Sergey

2014-05-01

Substantial changes in the biosphere during recent decades have caused legitimate concern in the international community. The fact that feedbacks between the atmospheric CO2 concentration, global temperature, permafrost, ocean CO2 concentration and air humidity increases the risk of catastrophic phenomena on the planetary scale. The precautionary principle allows us to consider greenhouse effect using the mathematical models of the biosphere-climate system. Minimal models do not allow us to make a quantitative description of the "biosphere-climate" system dynamics, which is determined by the aggregate effect of the set of known climatic and biosphere processes. However, the study of such models makes it possible to understand the qualitative mechanisms of biosphere processes and to evaluate their possible consequences. The global minimal model of long-term dynamics of carbon in biosphere is considered basing on assumption that anthropogenous carbon emissions in atmosphere are absent [1]. Qualitative analysis of the model shows that there exists a set of model parameters (taken from the current estimation ranges), such that the system becomes unstable. It is also shown that external influences on the carbon circulation can lead either to degradation of the biosphere or to global temperature change [2]. This work is aimed at revealing the conditions under which the biosphere model can become unstable, which can result in catastrophic changes in the Earth's biogeocenoses. The minimal model of the biosphere-climate system describes an improbable, but, nevertheless, a possible worst-case scenario of the biosphere evolution takes into consideration only the most dangerous biosphere mechanisms and ignores some climate feedbacks (such as transpiration). This work demonstrates the possibility of implementing the trigger mode in the biosphere, which can lead to dramatic changes in the state of the biosphere even without additional burning of fossil fuels. This mode

Seismology in Chile

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kausel, E.

1983-01-01

The Department of Geology and Geophysics, which is under the faculties of Mathematics and Physical Sciences of the University of Chile, is the organization that is responsible for the Seismological Service of Chile and for installing,operating, and maintaining the seismological stations as well as all the strong-motion stations in Chile.

Chile.

PubMed

1992-05-01

The background notes on Chile provide a statistical summary of the population, geography, government, and the economy, and more descriptive text on the history, population, government, economy, defense, and foreign relations. In brief, Chile has 13.3 million Spanish Indian (Mestizos), European, and Indian inhabitants and an annual growth rate of 1.6%. 96% are literate. Infant mortality is 18/1000. 34% of the population are involved in industry and commerce, 30% in services, 19% in agriculture and forestry and fishing, 7% in construction, and 2% in mining. The major city is Santiago. The government, which gained independence in 1810, is a republic with executive, legislative, and judicial branches. There are 12 regions. There are 6 major political parties. Suffrage is universal at 18 years. Gross domestic product (GDP) is $29.2 billion. The annual growth rate is 5% and inflation is 19%. Copper, timber, fish, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, and molybdenum are its natural resources. Agricultural products are 9% of GDP and include wheat, potatoes, corn, sugar beets, onions, beans, fruits, and livestock. Industry is 21% of GDP and includes mineral refining, metal manufacturing, food and fish processing, paper and wood products, and finished textiles. $8.3 billion is the value of exports and $7 billion of imports. Export markets are in Japan, the US, Germany, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. Chile received $3.5 billion in economic aid between 1949-85, but little in recent years. 83% live in urban centers, principally around Santiago. Congressional representation is made on the basis of elections by a unique binomial majority system. Principal government officials are identified. Chile has a diversified free market economy and is almost self-sufficient in food production. The US is a primary trading partner. 49% of Chile's exports are minerals. Chile maintains diplomatic relations with 70 countries, however, relations are strained with Argentina and Bolivia. Relations

Gene expression in the deep biosphere.

PubMed

Orsi, William D; Edgcomb, Virginia P; Christman, Glenn D; Biddle, Jennifer F

2013-07-11

Scientific ocean drilling has revealed a deep biosphere of widespread microbial life in sub-seafloor sediment. Microbial metabolism in the marine subsurface probably has an important role in global biogeochemical cycles, but deep biosphere activities are not well understood. Here we describe and analyse the first sub-seafloor metatranscriptomes from anaerobic Peru Margin sediment up to 159 metres below the sea floor, represented by over 1 billion complementary DNA (cDNA) sequence reads. Anaerobic metabolism of amino acids, carbohydrates and lipids seem to be the dominant metabolic processes, and profiles of dissimilatory sulfite reductase (dsr) transcripts are consistent with pore-water sulphate concentration profiles. Moreover, transcripts involved in cell division increase as a function of microbial cell concentration, indicating that increases in sub-seafloor microbial abundance are a function of cell division across all three domains of life. These data support calculations and models of sub-seafloor microbial metabolism and represent the first holistic picture of deep biosphere activities.

Ciliates and the rare biosphere-community ecology and population dynamics.

PubMed

Weisse, Thomas

2014-01-01

Application of deep sequencing technologies to environmental samples and some detailed morphological studies suggest that there is a vast, yet unexplored rare ciliate biosphere, tentatively defined in terms of operational taxonomic units. However, very few studies complemented molecular and phylogenetic data with morphological and ecological descriptions of the species inventory. This is mainly because the sampling effort increases strongly with decreasing species abundance. In spite of this limited knowledge, it is clear that species that are rare under certain environmental conditions (temporal rare biosphere) may become abundant when the physical, chemical, and biological variables of their habitat change. Furthermore, some species may always be present in low numbers if their dispersal rates are exceedingly high (accidental rare biosphere). An intriguing question is whether there are some species that are always rare, i.e., in every suitable environment. This permanent rare biosphere is conceptually different from the temporal rare biosphere. This review characterizes typical aquatic habitats of the rare ciliate biosphere, portrays different scenarios under which some or even many species may be permanently rare (background fauna), and identifies some fundamental questions that need to be addressed to achieve a better understanding of the population dynamics of the rare ciliate biosphere. © 2014 The Authors The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society of Protistologists.

Multidimensional spatial characterization of plant invasions in 'El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar' Biosphere Reserve

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchez Flores, Erick

Invasive species are considered an agent of ecological change with more significant effects than global warming. Exotic plant invasions threaten biodiversity and ecosystem viability worldwide. Their effects in the Sonoran Desert ecosystems are a growing concern among ecologists and land managers. We hypothesized that highly dynamic desert environments are unstable, therefore more vulnerable to invasion by exotic plant species. To test this hypothesis we used a multidimensional approach to assess the spatial distribution of two exotic species: Brassica tournefortii (Saharan mustard) and Schismus arabicus (Arabian grass), in a portion of 'El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar' Biosphere Reserve (PBR) in northwestern Sonora, Mexico. This approach combined genetic algorithms, geographic information systems, field methods, statistical analysis, and remote sensing modeling at multiple spatial and temporal scales to predict and test the current and potential distribution of the invasives over dynamic landscapes. Predicted probability of invasion was influenced strongly by human factors: Road networks were the strongest predictors of presence, revealing the potential importance of humans as vectors of invasiveness. Dynamic landscapes, associated mostly with vegetation losses, were detected spectrally in the eastern portion of the study area, very likely associated with past agricultural and current grazing activity. Combined models of high probability for invasion by B. tournefortii and S. arabicus over dynamic landscapes were tested against confirmed locations of the invasives and land cover types associated with invasion. Results confirmed the hypothesis of the study and suggest that more dynamic landscapes are more prone to invasion by these two exotic plants in the PBR. B. tournefortii was found associated mostly with landscapes occupied by microphyllous desert scrub and grassland, as well as sarcocaulescent desert scrub. S. arabicus was found more abundantly in the

Occurrence of culturable soil fungi in a tropical moist deciduous forest Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Odisha, India.

PubMed

Jena, Santanu K; Tayung, Kumanand; Rath, Chandi C; Parida, Debraj

2015-03-01

Similipal Biosphere Reserve (SBR) is a tropical moist deciduous forest dominated by the species Shorea robusta . To the best of our knowledge their rich biodiversity has not been explored in term of its microbial wealth. In the present investigation, soil samples were collected from ten selected sites inside SBR and studied for their physicochemical parameters and culturable soil fungal diversity. The soil samples were found to be acidic in nature with a pH ranging from of 5.1-6.0. Highest percentage of organic carbon and moisture content were observed in the samples collected from the sites, Chahala-1 and Chahala-2. The plate count revealed that fungal population ranged from 3.6 × 10 (4) -2.1 × 10 (5) and 5.1 × 10 (4) -4.7 × 10 (5) cfu/gm of soil in summer and winter seasons respectively. The soil fungus, Aspergillus niger was found to be the most dominant species and Species Important Values Index (SIVI) was 43.4 and 28.6 in summer and winter seasons respectively. Among the sites studied, highest fungal diversity indices were observed during summer in the sites, Natto-2 and Natto-1. The Shannon-Wiener and Simpson indices in these two sites were found to be 3.12 and 3.022 and 0.9425 and 0.9373 respectively. However, the highest Fisher's alpha was observed during winter in the sites Joranda, Natto-2, Chahala-1 and Natto-1 and the values were 3.780, 3.683, 3.575 and 3.418 respectively. Our investigation revealed that, fungal population was dependent on moisture and organic carbon (%) of the soil but its diversity was found to be regulated by sporulating species like Aspergillus and Penicillium.

Occurrence of culturable soil fungi in a tropical moist deciduous forest Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Odisha, India

PubMed Central

Jena, Santanu K.; Tayung, Kumanand; Rath, Chandi C.; Parida, Debraj

2015-01-01

Similipal Biosphere Reserve (SBR) is a tropical moist deciduous forest dominated by the species Shorea robusta . To the best of our knowledge their rich biodiversity has not been explored in term of its microbial wealth. In the present investigation, soil samples were collected from ten selected sites inside SBR and studied for their physicochemical parameters and culturable soil fungal diversity. The soil samples were found to be acidic in nature with a pH ranging from of 5.1–6.0. Highest percentage of organic carbon and moisture content were observed in the samples collected from the sites, Chahala-1 and Chahala-2. The plate count revealed that fungal population ranged from 3.6 × 10 4 –2.1 × 10 5 and 5.1 × 10 4 –4.7 × 10 5 cfu/gm of soil in summer and winter seasons respectively. The soil fungus, Aspergillus niger was found to be the most dominant species and Species Important Values Index (SIVI) was 43.4 and 28.6 in summer and winter seasons respectively. Among the sites studied, highest fungal diversity indices were observed during summer in the sites, Natto-2 and Natto-1. The Shannon-Wiener and Simpson indices in these two sites were found to be 3.12 and 3.022 and 0.9425 and 0.9373 respectively. However, the highest Fisher’s alpha was observed during winter in the sites Joranda, Natto-2, Chahala-1 and Natto-1 and the values were 3.780, 3.683, 3.575 and 3.418 respectively. Our investigation revealed that, fungal population was dependent on moisture and organic carbon (%) of the soil but its diversity was found to be regulated by sporulating species like Aspergillus and Penicillium . PMID:26221092

'Rare biosphere' bacteria as key phenanthrene degraders in coastal seawaters.

PubMed

Sauret, Caroline; Séverin, Tatiana; Vétion, Gilles; Guigue, Catherine; Goutx, Madeleine; Pujo-Pay, Mireille; Conan, Pascal; Fagervold, Sonja K; Ghiglione, Jean-François

2014-11-01

By coupling DNA-SIP and pyrosequencing approaches, we identified Cycloclasticus sp. as a keystone degrader of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) despite being a member of the 'rare biosphere' in NW Mediterranean seawaters. We discovered novel PAH-degrading bacteria (Oceanibaculum sp., Sneathiella sp.) and we identified other groups already known to possess this function (Alteromonas sp., Paracoccus sp.). Together with Cycloclasticus sp., these groups contributed to potential in situ phenanthrene degradation at a rate >0.5 mg l(-1) day(-1), sufficient to account for a considerable part of PAH degradation. Further, we characterized the PAH-tolerant bacterial communities, which were much more diverse in the polluted site by comparison to unpolluted marine references. PAH-tolerant bacteria were also members of the rare biosphere, such as Glaciecola sp. Collectively, these data show the complex interactions between PAH-degraders and PAH-tolerant bacteria and provide new insights for the understanding of the functional ecology of marine bacteria in polluted waters. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chile stand management for mechanical green chile harvest

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Currently the red chile crop is mechanically harvested. Because the pods will be dehydrated before consumption, breakage and bruising of red pods is not a concern. Green chile, however, is currently hand harvested because of the fragile nature of the fruit and the need to avoid pod damage. Hand h...

Tourism in Chile | CTIO

Science.gov Websites

Program PIA Program GO-FAAR Program Other Opportunities Tourism Visits to Tololo Astro tourism in Chile Tourism in Chile Information for travelers Visit Tololo Media Relations News Press Release Publications ‹› You are here CTIO Home » Outreach » Tourism » Tourism in Chile Tourism in Chile Map of

Earth applications of closed ecological systems: relevance to the development of sustainability in our global biosphere.

PubMed

Nelson, M; Allen, J; Alling, A; Dempster, W F; Silverstone, S

2003-01-01

The parallels between the challenges facing bioregenerative life support in artificial closed ecological systems and those in our global biosphere are striking. At the scale of the current global technosphere and expanding human population, it is increasingly obvious that the biosphere can no longer safely buffer and absorb technogenic and anthropogenic pollutants. The loss of biodiversity, reliance on non-renewable natural resources, and conversion of once wild ecosystems for human use with attendant desertification/soil erosion, has led to a shift of consciousness and the widespread call for sustainability of human activities. For researchers working on bioregenerative life support in closed systems, the small volumes and faster cycling times than in the Earth's biosphere make it starkly clear that systems must be designed to ensure renewal of water and atmosphere, nutrient recycling, production of healthy food, and safe environmental methods of maintaining technical systems. The development of technical systems that can be fully integrated and supportive of living systems is a harbinger of new perspectives as well as technologies in the global environment. In addition, closed system bioregenerative life support offers opportunities for public education and consciousness changing of how to live with our global biosphere. c2003 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Perchlorate contamination in Chile: Legacy, challenges, and potential solutions.

PubMed

Vega, Marcela; Nerenberg, Robert; Vargas, Ignacio T

2018-07-01

This paper reviews the unique situation of perchlorate contamination in Chile, including its sources, presence in environmental media and in the human population, and possible steps to mitigate its health impacts. Perchlorate is a ubiquitous water contaminant that inhibits thyroid function. Standards for drinking water range from 2 to 18 µg L -1 in United States and Europe. A major natural source of perchlorate contamination is Chile saltpeter, found in the Atacama Desert. High concentrations of perchlorate have presumably existed in this region, in soils, sediments, surface waters and groundwaters, for millions of years. As a result of this presence, and the use of Chile saltpeter as a nitrogen fertilizer, perchlorate in Chile has been found at concentrations as high as 1480 µg L -1 in drinking water, 140 µg/kg -1 in fruits, and 30 µg L -1 in wine. Health studies in Chile have shown concentrations of 100 µg L - 1 in breast milk and 20 µg L -1 in neonatal serum. It is important to acknowledge perchlorate as a potential health concern in Chile, and assess mitigation strategies. A more thorough survey of perchlorate in Chilean soils, sediments, surface waters, groundwaters, and food products can help better assess the risks and potentially develop standards. Also, perchlorate treatment technologies should be more closely assessed for relevance to Chile. The Atacama Desert is a unique biogeochemical environment, with millions of years of perchlorate exposure, which can be mined for novel perchlorate-reducing microorganisms, potentially leading to new biological treatment processes for perchlorate-containing waters, brines, and fertilizers. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Global carbon export from the terrestrial biosphere controlled by erosion.

PubMed

Galy, Valier; Peucker-Ehrenbrink, Bernhard; Eglinton, Timothy

2015-05-14

Riverine export of particulate organic carbon (POC) to the ocean affects the atmospheric carbon inventory over a broad range of timescales. On geological timescales, the balance between sequestration of POC from the terrestrial biosphere and oxidation of rock-derived (petrogenic) organic carbon sets the magnitude of the atmospheric carbon and oxygen reservoirs. Over shorter timescales, variations in the rate of exchange between carbon reservoirs, such as soils and marine sediments, also modulate atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. The respective fluxes of biospheric and petrogenic organic carbon are poorly constrained, however, and mechanisms controlling POC export have remained elusive, limiting our ability to predict POC fluxes quantitatively as a result of climatic or tectonic changes. Here we estimate biospheric and petrogenic POC fluxes for a suite of river systems representative of the natural variability in catchment properties. We show that export yields of both biospheric and petrogenic POC are positively related to the yield of suspended sediment, revealing that POC export is mostly controlled by physical erosion. Using a global compilation of gauged suspended sediment flux, we derive separate estimates of global biospheric and petrogenic POC fluxes of 157(+74)(-50) and 43(+61)(-25) megatonnes of carbon per year, respectively. We find that biospheric POC export is primarily controlled by the capacity of rivers to mobilize and transport POC, and is largely insensitive to the magnitude of terrestrial primary production. Globally, physical erosion rates affect the rate of biospheric POC burial in marine sediments more strongly than carbon sequestration through silicate weathering. We conclude that burial of biospheric POC in marine sediments becomes the dominant long-term atmospheric carbon dioxide sink under enhanced physical erosion.

The biosphere rules.

PubMed

Unruh, Gregory C

2008-02-01

Sustainability, defined by natural scientists as the capacity of healthy ecosystems to function indefinitely, has become a clarion call for business. Leading companies have taken high-profile steps toward achieving it: Wal-Mart, for example, with its efforts to reduce packaging waste, and Nike, which has removed toxic chemicals from its shoes. But, says Unruh, the director of Thunderbird's Lincoln Center for Ethics in Global Management, sustainability is more than an endless journey of incremental steps. It is a destination, for which the biosphere of planet Earth--refined through billions of years of trial and error--is a perfect model. Unruh distills some lessons from the biosphere into three rules: Use a parsimonious palette. Managers can rethink their sourcing strategies and dramatically simplify the number and types of materials their companies use in production, making recycling cost-effective. After the furniture manufacturer Herman Miller discovered that its leading desk chair had 200 components made from more than 800 chemical compounds, it designed an award-winning successor whose far more limited materials palette is 96% recyclable. Cycle up, virtuously. Manufacturers should design recovery value into their products at the outset. Shaw Industries, for example, recycles the nylon fiber from its worn-out carpet into brand-new carpet tile. Exploit the power of platforms. Platform design in industry tends to occur at the component level--but the materials in those components constitute a more fundamental platform. Patagonia, by recycling Capilene brand performance underwear, has achieved energy costs 76% below those for virgin sourcing. Biosphere rules can teach companies how to build ecologically friendly products that both reduce manufacturing costs and prove highly attractive to consumers. And managers need not wait for a green technological revolution to implement them.

A global biogeocenotical biosphere simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moiseyev, N. N.

1980-01-01

This model of the D. Forrester type, constructed in differential equations, predicts the food and mineral supply for the factors biosphere population, depending on two socio-economic factors, until about the year 2500. If contemporary rates of natural resources utilization are maintained and there is no management of the environment, food resources will begin to limit human population growth after 2200, and mineral resources will after 2300. A decrease in the biosphere pollution, increase in effective agricultural production, and discovery of new energy sources may forestall or completely avert the onset of a crisis situation. Conservation measures, according to the model, are to a considerable extent realizable only if carried out simultaneously in both areas.

[Distribution and abundance of fish community in the littoral area of "Los Petenes" Biosphere Reserve, Campeche, Mexico].

PubMed

Muñoz-Rojas, Sandra; Ayala-Pérez, Luis Amado; Sosa-López, Atahualpa; Villalobos-Zapata, Guillermo Jorge

2013-03-01

"Los Petenes" Biosphere Reserve (RBLP) is a critical habitat for many aquatic and terrestrial species. It has the biggest and better conserved seagrass beds, and it represents an important habitat for food, protection and breeding of aquatic organisms, and a temporal refuge for migratory species. The objective of this study was to describe the ichthyofauna diversity in the littoral coastal area of the RBLP, to identify the ecological dominant species, and to analyze the abundance of the fish community and its temporal and spatial changes, and their relationship with some environmental variables. Monthly fish samples were obtained with the aid of trawl nets, from 24 samplings sites distributed along the reserve, between May 2009 and April 2010. The trawl net was operated 288 times and 21 795 individuals with 279.5kg of weight were collected. A total of 46 fish species grouped in 34 genera and 23 families were identified. In a spatial scale, the abundance showed the next ranges: 0.018-0.094ind./m2; 0.249-1.072 g/m2 and 9.75-19.32g/ind.; the diversity indexes obtained were: H'n=1.46-2.15, J'=0.45-0.71 and D'=2.08-3.92. In a temporal scale, the abundance and diversity ranged between: 0.026-0.066ind./m2; 0.342-0.764g/m2 and 6.49-22.98g/ind.; H'n=1.76-2.08; J'=0.52-0.64 and D'=3.07-4.18. Eleven dominant species were identified with a representation of the 94.39% in number of individuals, and 89.66% in weight of the total catch. From the total, eight species had economic or commercial importance, especially Lagodon rhomboides and Haemulon plumierii. The cluster analyses identified four fish associations; these results are discussed in order to identify relationships between habitat-species. Finally, the canonical correspondence analysis evidenced an association between H. plumierii with salinity and dissolved solids. The RBLP has high habitat diversity and its fish community has developed strategies to use all the spatial and temporal conditions and to satisfy the needs

Harvesting the biosphere: the human impact.

PubMed

Smil, Vaclav

2011-01-01

The human species has evolved to dominate the biosphere: global anthropomass is now an order of magnitude greater than the mass of all wild terrestrial mammals. As a result, our dependence on harvesting the products of photosynthesis for food, animal feed, raw materials, and energy has grown to make substantial global impacts. During the past two millennia these harvests, and changes of land use due to deforestation and conversions of grasslands and wetlands, have reduced the stock of global terrestrial plant mass by as much as 45 percent, with the twentieth-century reduction amounting to more than 15 percent. Current annual harvests of phytomass have been a significant share of the global net primary productivity (NPP, the total amount of new plant tissues created by photosynthesis). Some studies put the human appropriation of NPP (the ratio of these two variables) as high as 40 percent but the measure itself is problematic. Future population growth and improved quality of life will result in additional claims on the biosphere, but options to accommodate these demands exist without severely compromising the irreplaceable biospheric services.

Biospheric energization and stability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budding, E.; Ozel, M. E.; Gunduz, G.

2013-09-01

We utilize the physical properties of a hypothetical molecular schema giving rise to an autocatalytic biosphere. A key concept is the driving of terrestrial life as a parametric oscillation: i.e. that the biosphere behaves fundamentally as an oscillatory system into which solar energy is diurnally deposited. The schema, containing 'A, B and C' type components acting together in a 'bottom-up' driving mechanism, underlies all biospheric superstructure. Surviving modes of the oscillation are consistent with Darwinian organization, or hierarchical structures appearing to have top-down propagation through the growth of cellular replication. The model was detailed by Budding et al (2012), where experimental support from the work of Powner et al (2009) is presented, as well as suggestions on supportive fossil evidence. Although the growth in total energization is very slow in this model, it is important to notice its exponential character, suggestive of potential instability. The model is applicable to generally expectable processes on planets, including zonal segregation, complexity growth and Haeckel's biogenic principle within surviving life-forms. Fermi's exobiological paradox can be resolved in terms of the exponential growth and low L solutions of Drake's equation. Feasible values for the particular growth of selected species (the human one in herelevent terrestrial case) allow for L to be less than a few  100 y, recalling Rees' (2004) 'final century' discussion. This arises when the species' disposable energization attains a value comparable to that of the total available daily driving energy. At that point, accidental, or stochastic disturbances of this species' energy ("error") can significantly disrupt the daily driving mechanism.

Biospheres and solar system exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paine, Thomas O.

1990-01-01

The implications of biosphere technology is briefly examined. The exploration status and prospects of each world in the solar system is briefly reviewed, including the asteroid belt, the moon, and comets. Five program elements are listed as particularly critical for future interplanetary operations during the coming extraterrestrial century. They include the following: (1) a highway to Space (earth orbits); (2) Orbital Spaceports to support spacecraft assembly, storage, repair, maintenance, refueling, launch, and recovery; (3) a Bridge Between Worlds to transport cargo and crews to the moon and beyond to Mars; (4) Prospecting and Resource Utilization Systems to map and characterize the resources of planets, moons, and asteroids; and (5) Closed Ecology Biospheres. The progress in these five field is reviewed.

Spanish methodological approach for biosphere assessment of radioactive waste disposal.

PubMed

Agüero, A; Pinedo, P; Cancio, D; Simón, I; Moraleda, M; Pérez-Sánchez, D; Trueba, C

2007-10-01

The development of radioactive waste disposal facilities requires implementation of measures that will afford protection of human health and the environment over a specific temporal frame that depends on the characteristics of the wastes. The repository design is based on a multi-barrier system: (i) the near-field or engineered barrier, (ii) far-field or geological barrier and (iii) the biosphere system. Here, the focus is on the analysis of this last system, the biosphere. A description is provided of conceptual developments, methodological aspects and software tools used to develop the Biosphere Assessment Methodology in the context of high-level waste (HLW) disposal facilities in Spain. This methodology is based on the BIOMASS "Reference Biospheres Methodology" and provides a logical and systematic approach with supplementary documentation that helps to support the decisions necessary for model development. It follows a five-stage approach, such that a coherent biosphere system description and the corresponding conceptual, mathematical and numerical models can be built. A discussion on the improvements implemented through application of the methodology to case studies in international and national projects is included. Some facets of this methodological approach still require further consideration, principally an enhanced integration of climatology, geography and ecology into models considering evolution of the environment, some aspects of the interface between the geosphere and biosphere, and an accurate quantification of environmental change processes and rates.

Gender and climate change in the Indian Himalayas: global threats, local vulnerabilities, and livelihood diversification at the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogra, M. V.; Badola, R.

2015-08-01

Global climate change has numerous implications for members of mountain communities who feel the impacts in both physical and social dimensions. In the western Himalayas of India, a majority of residents maintain a livelihood strategy that includes a combination of subsistence or small-scale agriculture, livestock rearing, seasonal or long-term migration, and localized natural resource extraction. While warming temperatures, irregular patterns of precipitation and snowmelt, and changing biological systems present challenges to the viability of these traditional livelihood portfolios in general, we find that climate change is also undermining local communities' livelihood assets in gender-specific ways. In this paper, we present a case study from the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (Uttarakhand, India) that both outlines the implications of climate change for women farmers in the area and highlights the potential for ecotourism (as a form of livelihood diversification) to strengthen both key livelihood assets of women and local communities' adaptive capacity more broadly. The paper intentionally employs a categorical focus on women but also addresses issues of inter-group and gender diversity. With this special issue in mind, suggestions for related research are proposed for consideration by climate scientists and social systems and/or policy modelers seeking to support gender justice through socially transformative perspectives and frameworks.

Using remote-sensing and the Simple Biosphere model (SiB4) to analyze the seasonality and productivity of the terrestrial biosphere.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheeseman, M.; Denning, S.; Baker, I. T.

2017-12-01

Understanding the variability and seasonality of carbon fluxes from the terrestrial biosphere is integral to understanding the mechanisms and drivers of the global carbon cycle. However, there are many regions across the globe where in situ observations are sparse, such as the Amazon rainforest and the African Sahel. The latest version of the Simple-Biosphere model (SiB4) predicts a suite of biophysical variables such as terrestrial carbon flux (GPP), solar induced fluorescence (SIF), fraction of photosynthetically active radiation (FPAR), and leaf area index (LAI). By comparing modeled values to a suite of satellite and in situ observations we produce a robust analysis of the seasonality and productivity of the terrestrial biosphere in a variety of biome types across the globe.

Astro Chile | CTIO

Science.gov Websites

Program PIA Program GO-FAAR Program Other Opportunities Tourism Visits to Tololo Astro tourism in Chile Tourism in Chile Information for travelers Visit Tololo Media Relations News Press Release Publications

The Role of Biosphere Reserves in Environmental Education and Training = Le Role des reserves de la biosphere dans l'education et la formation environnementales. Report of the Unesco/MAB Symposium Held During the Unesco/UNEP International Congress on Environmental Education and Training (Moscow, USSR, August 17-21, 1987). Report 20.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Francis, George, Ed.

Environmental education and training have been key elements of Unesco's Program on Man and the Biosphere (MAB) since its inception in 1971. The MAB Program is an intergovernmental program of research, training, demonstration and distribution of information, aimed at providing the scientific background and the trained personnel to deal with…

Carbon 13 exchanges between the atmosphere and biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fung, I.; Field, C. B.; Berry, J. A.; Thompson, M. V.; Randerson, J. T.; MalmströM, C. M.; Vitousek, P. M.; Collatz, G. James; Sellers, P. J.; Randall, D. A.; Denning, A. S.; Badeck, F.; John, J.

1997-12-01

We present a detailed investigation of the gross 12C and 13C exchanges between the atmosphere and biosphere and their influence on the δ13C variations in the atmosphere. The photosynthetic discrimination Δ against 13C is derived from a biophysical model coupled to a general circulation model [Sellers et al., 1996a], where stomatal conductance and carbon assimilation are determined simultaneously with the ambient climate. The δ13C of the respired carbon is calculated by a biogeochemical model [Potter et al., 1993; Randerson et al., 1996] as the sum of the contributions from compartments with varying ages. The global flux-weighted mean photosynthetic discrimination is 12-16‰, which is lower than previous estimates. Factors that lower the discrimination are reduced stomatal conductance and C4 photosynthesis. The decreasing atmospheric δ13C causes an isotopic disequilibrium between the outgoing and incoming fluxes; the disequilibrium is ˜0.33‰ for 1988. The disequilibrium is higher than previous estimates because it accounts for the lifetime of trees and for the ages rather than turnover times of the biospheric pools. The atmospheric δ13C signature resulting from the biospheric fluxes is investigated using a three-dimensional atmospheric tracer model. The isotopic disequilibrium alone produces a hemispheric difference of ˜0.02‰ in atmospheric δ13C, comparable to the signal from a hypothetical carbon sink of 0.5 Gt C yr-1 into the midlatitude northern hemisphere biosphere. However, the rectifier effect, due to the seasonal covariation of CO2 fluxes and height of the atmospheric boundary layer, yields a background δ13C gradient of the opposite sign. These effects nearly cancel thus favoring a stronger net biospheric uptake than without the background CO2 gradient. Our analysis of the globally averaged carbon budget for the decade of the 1980s indicates that the biospheric uptake of fossil fuel CO2 is likely to be greater than the oceanic uptake; the

Ciliates and the rare biosphere: a review.

PubMed

Dunthorn, Micah; Stoeck, Thorsten; Clamp, John; Warren, Alan; Mahé, Frédéric

2014-01-01

Here we provide a brief review of the rare biosphere from the perspective of ciliates and other microbial eukaryotes. We trace research on rarity from its lack of much in-depth focus in morphological and Sanger sequencing projects, to its central importance in analyses using high throughput sequencing strategies. The problem that the rare biosphere is potentially comprised of mostly errors is then discussed in the light of asking community-comparative, novel-diversity, and ecosystem-functioning questions. © 2014 The Author(s) Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology © 2014 International Society of Protistologists.

An Estimate of the Total DNA in the Biosphere

PubMed Central

Landenmark, Hanna K. E.; Forgan, Duncan H.; Cockell, Charles S.

2015-01-01

Modern whole-organism genome analysis, in combination with biomass estimates, allows us to estimate a lower bound on the total information content in the biosphere: 5.3 × 1031 (±3.6 × 1031) megabases (Mb) of DNA. Given conservative estimates regarding DNA transcription rates, this information content suggests biosphere processing speeds exceeding yottaNOPS values (1024 Nucleotide Operations Per Second). Although prokaryotes evolved at least 3 billion years before plants and animals, we find that the information content of prokaryotes is similar to plants and animals at the present day. This information-based approach offers a new way to quantify anthropogenic and natural processes in the biosphere and its information diversity over time. PMID:26066900

An Estimate of the Total DNA in the Biosphere.

PubMed

Landenmark, Hanna K E; Forgan, Duncan H; Cockell, Charles S

2015-06-01

Modern whole-organism genome analysis, in combination with biomass estimates, allows us to estimate a lower bound on the total information content in the biosphere: 5.3 × 1031 (±3.6 × 1031) megabases (Mb) of DNA. Given conservative estimates regarding DNA transcription rates, this information content suggests biosphere processing speeds exceeding yottaNOPS values (1024 Nucleotide Operations Per Second). Although prokaryotes evolved at least 3 billion years before plants and animals, we find that the information content of prokaryotes is similar to plants and animals at the present day. This information-based approach offers a new way to quantify anthropogenic and natural processes in the biosphere and its information diversity over time.

[Microbes on the edge of global biosphere].

PubMed

Naganuma, T

2000-12-01

The search for life on the edge of global biosphere is a frontier to bridge conventional bio/ecology and exo/astrobiology. This communication reviews the foci of microbiological studies on the inhabitants of the selected "edges", i.e., deep-sea, deep subsurface and Antarctic habitats. The deep-sea is characterized as the no-light (non-photosynthetic) habitat, and the primary production is mostly due to the chemosynthetic autotrophy at the hydrothermal vents and methane-rich seeps. Formation of the chemosynthesis-dependent animal communities in the deep leads to the idea that such communities may be found in "ocean" of the Jovian satellite, Europa. The oxygen minimal layer (OML) in mid-water provides another field of deep-sea research. Modern OML is a relatively thin layer, found between the water depth of 200 and 1000 m, but was much thicker during the periods of oceanic anoxia events (OAEs) in the past. The history of oceanic biosphere is regarded as the cycle of OAE and non-OAE periods, and the remnants of the past OAEs may be seen in the modem OML. Anoxic (no-O2) condition is also characteristic of deep subsurface biosphere. Microorganisms in deep subsurface biosphere exploit every available oxidant, or terminal electron acceptor (TEA), for anaerobic respiration. Sulfate, nitrate, iron (III) and CO2 are the representative TEAs in the deep subsurface. Subsurface of hydrothermal vents, or sub-vent biosphere, may house brine (high salt) habitats and halophilic microorganisms. Some sub-vent halophiles were phylogenetically closely similar to the ones found in the Antarctic habitats which are extremely dry by the liophilizing climate. Below the 3000-4000 m-thick glacier on Antarctica, there have been >70 lakes with liquid water located. One of such sub-glacial lakes, Lake Vostok, has been a target of "life in extreme environments" and is about to be drill-penetrated for microbiological studies. These 'microbiological platforms' will provide new knowledge about the

Green Chile Pepper Harvest Mechanization

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Pungent green chile (genus /Capsicum/, also spelled chili) is a large, fragile fruit growing on berry shrubs. Chile is harvested by hand to maximize yields and minimize fruit damage. Labor for hand harvesting chile is increasingly costly and difficult to obtain. Harvest mechanization is viewed as...

Protecting Dark Skies in Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, R. Chris; Sanhueza, Pedro; Phillips, Mark

2018-01-01

Current projections indicate that Chile will host approximately 70% of the astronomical collecting area on Earth by 2030, augmenting the enormous area of ALMA with that of three next-generation optical telescopes: LSST, GMTO, and E-ELT. These cutting-edge facilities represent billions of dollars of investment in the astronomical facilities hosted in Chile. The Chilean government, Chilean astronomical community, and the international observatories in Chile have recognized that these investments are threatened by light pollution, and have formed a strong collaboration to work at managing the threats. We will provide an update on the work being done in Chile, ranging from training municipalities about new lighting regulations to exploring international recognition of the dark sky sites of Northern Chile.

Fires in Chile

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

On February 5, 2002, the dense smoke from numerous forest fires stretched out over the Pacific Ocean about 400 miles south of Santiago, Chile. This true-color Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image shows the fires, which are located near the city of Temuco. The fires are indicated with red dots (boxes in the high-resolution imagery). The fires were burning near several national parks and nature reserves in an area of the Chilean Andes where tourism is very popular. Southeast of the fires, the vegetation along the banks of the Rio Negro in Argentina stands out in dark green. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC

Group dynamics challenges: Insights from Biosphere 2 experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, Mark; Gray, Kathelin; Allen, John P.

2015-07-01

Successfully managing group dynamics of small, physically isolated groups is vital for long duration space exploration/habitation and for terrestrial CELSS (Controlled Environmental Life Support System) facilities with human participants. Biosphere 2 had important differences and shares some key commonalities with both Antarctic and space environments. There were a multitude of stress factors during the first two year closure experiment as well as mitigating factors. A helpful tool used at Biosphere 2 was the work of W.R. Bion who identified two competing modalities of behavior in small groups. Task-oriented groups are governed by conscious acceptance of goals, reality-thinking in relation to time and resources, and intelligent management of challenges. The opposing unconscious mode, the "basic-assumption" ("group animal") group, manifests through Dependency/Kill the Leader, Fight/Flight and Pairing. These unconscious dynamics undermine and can defeat the task group's goal. The biospherians experienced some dynamics seen in other isolated teams: factions developing reflecting personal chemistry and disagreements on overall mission procedures. These conflicts were exacerbated by external power struggles which enlisted support of those inside. Nevertheless, the crew evolved a coherent, creative life style to deal with some of the deprivations of isolation. The experience of the first two year closure of Biosphere 2 vividly illustrates both vicissitudes and management of group dynamics. The crew overrode inevitable frictions to creatively manage both operational and research demands and opportunities of the facility, thus staying 'on task' in Bion's group dynamics terminology. The understanding that Biosphere 2 was their life support system may also have helped the mission to succeed. Insights from the Biosphere 2 experience can help space and remote missions cope successfully with the inherent challenges of small, isolated crews.

Biosphere as a complex life-support system (LSS) for human civilization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pechurkin, Nickolay

As a continuously growing link of the Biosphere, we should keep in mind that biotic cycles induced by flows of a solar energy are the source of Biosphere and ecosystems functioning. Our pressure on the Biosphere which is connected with biotic cycle’s alterations and damages is menacingly growing. There are innumerable examples of atmosphere, water and soil pollution. We have contaminated even Earth-Space orbits with different uncontrolled debris. Ecological Footprint (EF) is a proper quantitative measure of anthropogenic impact on the Biosphere and ecosystems functioning. The comparative dynamics of the United Nations’ Human Development Index (HDI) and Ecological Footprint (EF) is discussed in the paper. The main call of sustainable development of mankind: all humans can have opportunity to fulfill their lives without degrading the Biosphere. To support sustainability, we should make an effort to develop each nation and the mankind as a whole with a high HDI and with a low ecological footprint. It means: to have high level of HDI at low level of EF. But current tendency of economical and social development shows: the higher HDI, the bigger EF. EF of mankind is rising threateningly. Now actual pressure of the human civilization of our planet (2014) upon 60 % exceeds its potential possibilities (biological capacity, measured as the area of "global" green hectares). It means that now we require more than 1.5 planets of the Earth’s type for sustainable development. It leads to ecological incident in the scale of Biosphere. Our Biosphere is the large, multilevel, hierarchically organized system, and our civilization is only a part of it. This part is not central; it can disappear for ever, if we do not cope to be included in the Biosphere as a great complex system. An example of Krasnoyarsk region as a representative region with high level of industry and technological energy production is considered in the paper. This work was supported by the Russian Foundation

Rewiring food systems to enhance human health and biosphere stewardship

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gordon, Line J.; Bignet, Victoria; Crona, Beatrice; Henriksson, Patrik J. G.; Van Holt, Tracy; Jonell, Malin; Lindahl, Therese; Troell, Max; Barthel, Stephan; Deutsch, Lisa; Folke, Carl; Jamila Haider, L.; Rockström, Johan; Queiroz, Cibele

2017-10-01

Food lies at the heart of both health and sustainability challenges. We use a social-ecological framework to illustrate how major changes to the volume, nutrition and safety of food systems between 1961 and today impact health and sustainability. These changes have almost halved undernutrition while doubling the proportion who are overweight. They have also resulted in reduced resilience of the biosphere, pushing four out of six analysed planetary boundaries across the safe operating space of the biosphere. Our analysis further illustrates that consumers and producers have become more distant from one another, with substantial power consolidated within a small group of key actors. Solutions include a shift from a volume-focused production system to focus on quality, nutrition, resource use efficiency, and reduced antimicrobial use. To achieve this, we need to rewire food systems in ways that enhance transparency between producers and consumers, mobilize key actors to become biosphere stewards, and re-connect people to the biosphere.

Ecology and exploration of the rare biosphere.

PubMed

Lynch, Michael D J; Neufeld, Josh D

2015-04-01

The profound influence of microorganisms on human life and global biogeochemical cycles underlines the value of studying the biogeography of microorganisms, exploring microbial genomes and expanding our understanding of most microbial species on Earth: that is, those present at low relative abundance. The detection and subsequent analysis of low-abundance microbial populations—the 'rare biosphere'—have demonstrated the persistence, population dynamics, dispersion and predation of these microbial species. We discuss the ecology of rare microbial populations, and highlight molecular and computational methods for targeting taxonomic 'blind spots' within the rare biosphere of complex microbial communities.

Growth and metabolic characteristics of oleaginous microalgal isolates from Nilgiri biosphere Reserve of India.

PubMed

Thangavel, Kalaiselvi; Radha Krishnan, Preethi; Nagaiah, Srimeena; Kuppusamy, Senthil; Chinnasamy, Senthil; Rajadorai, Jude Sudhagar; Nellaiappan Olaganathan, Gopal; Dananjeyan, Balachandar

2018-01-03

Renewable energy for sustainable development is a subject of a worldwide debate since continuous utilization of non-renewable energy sources has a drastic impact on the environment and economy; a search for alternative energy resources is indispensable. Microalgae are promising and potential alternate energy resources for biodiesel production. Thus, our efforts were focused on surveying the natural diversity of microalgae for the production of biodiesel. The present study aimed at identification, isolation, and characterization of oleaginous microalgae from shola forests of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR), the biodiversity hot spot of India, where the microalgal diversity has not yet been systematically investigated. Overall the higher biomass yield, higher lipid accumulation and thermotolerance observed in the isolated microalgal strains have been found to be the desirable traits for the efficient biodiesel production. Species composition and diversity analysis yielded ten potential microalgal isolates belonging to Chlorophyceae and Cyanophyceae classes. The chlorophytes exhibited higher growth rate, maximum biomass yield, and higher lipid accumulation than Cyanophyceae. Among the chlorophytes, the best performing strains were identified and represented by Acutodesmus dissociatus (TGA1), Chlorella sp. (TGA2), Chlamydomonadales sp. (TGA3) and Hindakia tetrachotoma (PGA1). The Chlamydomonadales sp. recorded with the highest growth rate, lipid accumulation and biomass yield of 0.28 ± 0.03 day -1 (μ exp ), 29.7 ± 0.69% and 134.17 ± 16.87 mg L -1  day -1 , respectively. It was also found to grow well at various temperatures, viz., 25 °C, 35 °C, and 45 °C, indicating its suitability for open pond cultivation. The fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis of stationary phase cultures of selected four algal strains by tandem mass spectrograph showed C16:0, C18:1 and C18:3 as dominant fatty acids suitable for biodiesel production. All the three

Detecting Biosphere anomalies hotspots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guanche-Garcia, Yanira; Mahecha, Miguel; Flach, Milan; Denzler, Joachim

2017-04-01

The current amount of satellite remote sensing measurements available allow for applying data-driven methods to investigate environmental processes. The detection of anomalies or abnormal events is crucial to monitor the Earth system and to analyze their impacts on ecosystems and society. By means of a combination of statistical methods, this study proposes an intuitive and efficient methodology to detect those areas that present hotspots of anomalies, i.e. higher levels of abnormal or extreme events or more severe phases during our historical records. Biosphere variables from a preliminary version of the Earth System Data Cube developed within the CAB-LAB project (http://earthsystemdatacube.net/) have been used in this study. This database comprises several atmosphere and biosphere variables expanding 11 years (2001-2011) with 8-day of temporal resolution and 0.25° of global spatial resolution. In this study, we have used 10 variables that measure the biosphere. The methodology applied to detect abnormal events follows the intuitive idea that anomalies are assumed to be time steps that are not well represented by a previously estimated statistical model [1].We combine the use of Autoregressive Moving Average (ARMA) models with a distance metric like Mahalanobis distance to detect abnormal events in multiple biosphere variables. In a first step we pre-treat the variables by removing the seasonality and normalizing them locally (μ=0,σ=1). Additionally we have regionalized the area of study into subregions of similar climate conditions, by using the Köppen climate classification. For each climate region and variable we have selected the best ARMA parameters by means of a Bayesian Criteria. Then we have obtained the residuals by comparing the fitted models with the original data. To detect the extreme residuals from the 10 variables, we have computed the Mahalanobis distance to the data's mean (Hotelling's T^2), which considers the covariance matrix of the joint

Modeling the impact of climate change in Germany with biosphere models for long-term safety assessment of nuclear waste repositories.

PubMed

Staudt, C; Semiochkina, N; Kaiser, J C; Pröhl, G

2013-01-01

Biosphere models are used to evaluate the exposure of populations to radionuclides from a deep geological repository. Since the time frame for assessments of long-time disposal safety is 1 million years, potential future climate changes need to be accounted for. Potential future climate conditions were defined for northern Germany according to model results from the BIOCLIM project. Nine present day reference climate regions were defined to cover those future climate conditions. A biosphere model was developed according to the BIOMASS methodology of the IAEA and model parameters were adjusted to the conditions at the reference climate regions. The model includes exposure pathways common to those reference climate regions in a stylized biosphere and relevant to the exposure of a hypothetical self-sustaining population at the site of potential radionuclide contamination from a deep geological repository. The end points of the model are Biosphere Dose Conversion factors (BDCF) for a range of radionuclides and scenarios normalized for a constant radionuclide concentration in near-surface groundwater. Model results suggest an increased exposure of in dry climate regions with a high impact of drinking water consumption rates and the amount of irrigation water used for agriculture. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Data management at Biosphere 2 center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCreary, Leone F.

1997-01-01

Throughout the history of Biosphere 2, the collecting and recording of biological data has been sporadic. Currently no active effort to administer and record regular biological surveys is being made. Also, there is no central location, such as an on-site data library, where all records from various studies have been archived. As a research institute, good, complete data records are at the core of all Biosphere 2's scientific endeavors. It is therefore imperative that an effective data management system be implemented within the management and research departments as soon as possible. Establishing this system would require three general phases: (1) Design/implement a new archiving/management program (including storage, cataloging and retrieval systems); (2) Organize and input baseline and intermediate data from existing archives; and (3) Maintain records by inputting new data.

Astro Tourism in Chile | CTIO

Science.gov Websites

Program PIA Program GO-FAAR Program Other Opportunities Tourism Visits to Tololo Astro tourism in Chile Tourism in Chile Information for travelers Visit Tololo Media Relations News Press Release Publications ‹› You are here CTIO Home » Outreach » Tourism » Astro Tourism in Chile Astro Tourism in

Application of Biosphere Compatibility Indicator for Assessment of the Effectiveness of Environmental Protection Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bakaeva, N. V.; Vorobyov, S. A.; Chernyaeva, I. V.

2017-11-01

The article is devoted to the issue of using the biosphere compatibility indicator to assess the effectiveness of environmental protection methods. The indicator biosphere compatibility was proposed by the vice-president of RAASN (Russian Academy of Architecture and Building Sciences), Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor V.I. Ilyichev. This indicator allows one to assess not only qualitatively but also quantitatively the degree of urban areas development from the standpoint of preserving the biosphere in urban ecosystems while performing the city’s main functions. The integral biosphere compatibility indicator allows us to assess not only the current ecological situation in the territory under consideration but also to plan the forecast of its changes for the new construction projects implementation or for the reconstruction of the existing ones. The biosphere compatibility indicator, which is a mathematical expression of the tripartite balance (technosphere, biosphere and population of this area), allows us to quantify the effectiveness degree of different methods for environment protection to choose the most effective one under these conditions.

Use of the method of biosphere compatibility for the assessment of environmental protection methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vorobyov, Sergey

2018-01-01

The article is devoted to the question of using the indicator of biosphere compatibility for assessing the effectiveness of environmental protection methods. The indicator of biosphere compatibility was proposed by the vice-president of RAASN (Russian Academy of Architecture and Building Sciences), Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor V.I. Ilyichev. This indicator is allows not only qualitatively but also quantitatively to assess the degree of development of urban urban areas, from the standpoint of preserving the biosphere in urban ecosystems while realizing the city’s main functions. The integral indicator of biosphere compatibility is allows us to assess not only the current ecological situation in the territory under consideration, but also to plan the forecast of its changes for building the new construction projects, or for reconstructing existing ones. The indicator of biosphere compatibility, which is a mathematical expression of the tripartite balance (technosphere, biosphere and population of this area), is allows us to quantify the degree of effectiveness of different method of protecting the environment for choose the most effective for these conditions.

Self-organization of the earth's biosphere-geochemical or geophysiological?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwartzman, David W.; Shore, Steven N.; Volk, Tyler; Mcmenamin, Mark

1994-01-01

We explore the implications of indicating the biosphere's self-organization by the trend over time of the net entropic flow from the Earth's surface, the actual physical boundary of virtually all biotic mass. This flow, derived from the radiative surface entropy budget, is approximately inversely related to the surface temperature when the solar incident flux remains constant. In the geophysiological ('gaian') interpretation, biospheric self-organization has increased with the progressive colonization of the continents and evolutionary developments in the land biota, as a result of surface cooling arising from biotic enhancement of weathering. The key site for this self-organization is at the interface between land and atmosphere, the soil, where carbon is sequestered by its reaction (as carbonic and organic acids) with calcium magnesium silicates. Along with disequilibrium (steady-state) levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the occurrence of differentiated soil is the critical material evidence for biospheric self-organization, whether it be geophysiological or geochemical (ie., purely result of inorganic reactions). The computed equilibrium levels of carbon dioxide and corresponding equilibrium temperatures in the past are dramatically different from the steady-state levels. With future solar luminosity increase, the biospheric capacity for climatic regulation will decrease, leading to the ending of self-organization some two billion years from now. The Earth's surface will then approach chemical equilibrium with respect to the carbonate-silicate cycle.

Wild leafy vegetables: A study of their subsistence dietetic support to the inhabitants of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, India

PubMed Central

Misra, Shalini; Maikhuri, RK; Kala, CP; Rao, KS; Saxena, KG

2008-01-01

Consumption of greens is a major source of vitamins and micro-nutrients for people using only vegetarian diets rich in carbohydrates. In remote rural settlements where vegetable cultivation is not practiced and market supplies are not organized, local inhabitants depend on indigenous vegetables, both cultivated in kitchen gardens and wild, for enriching the diversity of food. Knowledge of such foods is part of traditional knowledge which is largely transmitted through participation of individuals of households. A total of 123 households in six villages of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve buffer zone was surveyed using a schedule to assess the knowledge, availability and consumption pattern of wild leafy vegetables. Quantity estimations were done using regular visits with informants from 30 sample households of the six study villages during the collections. Monetization was used to see the value of wild leafy vegetables harvested during a year. The diversity of wild leafy vegetables being use by the local inhabitants is 21 species belonging to 14 genera and 11 families. This is far less than that being reported to be used by the communities from Western Ghats in India and some parts of Africa. Irrespective of social or economic status all households in the study villages had the knowledge and used wild leafy vegetables. The number of households reported to consume these wild leafy vegetables is greater than the number of households reporting to harvest them for all species except for Diplazium esculentum and Phytolacca acinosa. The availability and use period varied for the species are listed by the users. The study indicated that the knowledge is eroding due to changing social values and non participation of younger generation in collection and processing of such wild leafy vegetables. PMID:18510780

Exploring frontiers of the deep biosphere through scientific ocean drilling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inagaki, F.; D'Hondt, S.; Hinrichs, K. U.

2015-12-01

Since the first deep biosphere-dedicated Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 201 using the US drill ship JOIDES Resolution in 2002, scientific ocean drilling has offered unique opportunities to expand our knowledge of the nature and extent of the deep biosphere. The latest estimate of the global subseafloor microbial biomass is ~1029cells, accounting for 4 Gt of carbon and ~1% of the Earth's total living biomass. The subseafloor microbial communities are evolutionarily diverse and their metabolic rates are extraordinarily slow. Nevertheless, accumulating activity most likely plays a significant role in elemental cycles over geological time. In 2010, during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 329, the JOIDES Resolutionexplored the deep biosphere in the open-ocean South Pacific Gyre—the largest oligotrophic province on our planet. During Expedition 329, relatively high concentrations of dissolved oxygen and significantly low biomass of microbial populations were observed in the entire sediment column, indicating that (i) there is no limit to life in open-ocean sediment and (ii) a significant amount of oxygen reaches through the sediment to the upper oceanic crust. This "deep aerobic biosphere" inhabits the sediment throughout up to ~37 percent of the world's oceans. The remaining ~63 percent of the oceans is comprised of higher productivity areas that contain the "deep anaerobic biosphere". In 2012, during IODP Expedition 337, the Japanese drill ship Chikyu explored coal-bearing sediments down to 2,466 meters below the seafloor off the Shimokita Peninsula, Japan. Geochemical and microbiological analyses consistently showed the occurrence of methane-producing communities associated with the coal beds. Cell concentrations in deep sediments were notably lower than those expected from the global regression line, implying that the bottom of the deep biosphere is approached in these beds. Taxonomic composition of the deep coal-bearing communities profoundly

Viral infections as controlling factors for the deep biosphere? (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engelen, B.; Engelhardt, T.; Sahlberg, M.; Cypionka, H.

2009-12-01

The marine deep biosphere represents the largest biotope on Earth. Throughout the last years, we have obtained interesting insights into its microbial community composition. However, one component that was completely overlooked so far is the viral inventory of deep-subsurface sediments. While viral infections were identified to have a major impact on the benthic microflora of deep-sea surface sediments (Danavaro et al. 2008), no studies were performed on deep-biosphere samples, so far. As grazers probably play only a minor role in anoxic and highly compressed deep sediments, viruses might be the main “predators” for indigenous microorganisms. Furthermore, the release of cell components, called “the viral shunt”, could have a major impact on the deep biosphere in providing labile organic compounds to non-infected microorganisms in these generally nutrient depleted sediments. However, direct counting of viruses in sediments is highly challenging due to the small size of viruses and the high background of small particles. Even molecular surveys using “universal” PCR primers that target phage-specific genes fail due to the vast phage diversity. One solution for this problem is the lysogenic viral life cycle as many bacteriophages integrate their DNA into the host genome. It is estimated that up to 70% of cultivated bacteria contain prophages within their genome. Therefore, culture collections (Batzke et al. 2007) represent an archive of the viral composition within the respective habitat. These prophages can be induced to become free phage particles in stimulation experiments in which the host cells are set under certain stress situations such as a treatment with UV exposure or DNA-damaging antibiotics. The study of the viral component within the deep biosphere offers to answer the following questions: To which extent are deep-biosphere populations controlled by viral infections? What is the inter- and intra-specific diversity and the host-specific viral

Sensory properties of chile pepper heat - and its importance to food quality and cultural preference.

PubMed

Guzmán, Ivette; Bosland, Paul W

2017-10-01

Chile peppers are one of the most important vegetable and spice crops in the world. They contain capsaicinoids that are responsible for the characteristic burning (pungency) sensation. Currently, there are 22 known naturally occurring capsaicinoids that can cause the heat sensation when consumed. Each produces a different heat sensation effect in the mouth. A need exists for a standard and new terminology to describe the complex heat sensation one feels when eating a chile pepper. A comprehensive set of descriptors to describe the sensory characteristics of chile pepper heat was developed. It was validated with trained panelists tasting samples representing the five domesticated species and 14 pod-types within these species. Five key attributes that define and reference a lexicon for describing the heat sensation of chile peppers were determined to describe the heat sensation in any product, and importantly, can be used in the food industry worldwide. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Geographical distribution and phylogenetic analysis of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato in northern and central Chile.

PubMed

Díaz, Fabián E; Martínez-Valdebenito, Constanza; López, Javier; Weitzel, Thomas; Abarca, Katia

2018-05-01

The presented study analyzed the presence and geographical distribution of the tropical and temperate lineages of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato in Chile. R. sanguineus s.l. ticks were collected from dogs at 14 sites in northern and central Chile for morphological and genetic analysis based on the 16S rDNA gene. Phylogenetic studies proved the existence of both, the tropical and the temperate lineages. The former was represented by a single haplotype and occurred in the far north; the latter included four haplotypes and was observed from the Tarapacá Region southwards. In four sites at latitudes from 20°S to 22°S, both lineages were found to coexist. Our study discovered for the first time the existence of the tropical lineage in Chile and demonstrated that distributions of the tropical and temperate lineages overlap, forming a transitional zone of approximately 200 km in northern coastal Chile. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Closed ecological systems: From test tubes to Earth's biosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frye, Robert J.; Mignon, George

1992-01-01

Artificially constructed closed ecological systems (CES) have been researched both experimentally and theoretically for over 25 years. The size of these systems have varied from less than one liter to many thousands of cubic meters in volume. The diversity of the included components has a similarly wide range from purely aquatic systems to soil based systems that incorporate many aspects of Earth's biosphere. While much has been learned about the functioning of these closed systems, much remains to be learned. In this paper, we compare and contrast the behavior of closed ecological systems of widely different sizes through an analysis of their atmospheric composition. In addition, we will compare the performance of relatively small CES with the behavior of Earth's biosphere. We address the applicability of small CES as replicable analogs for planetary biospheres and discuss the use of small CES as an experimental milieu for an examination of the evolution of extra-terrestrial colonies.

27 CFR 9.154 - Chiles Valley.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... Chiles Valley. (a) Name. The name of the viticultural area described in this section is “Chiles Valley... viticultural area are four 1:24,000 Scale U.S.G.S. topography maps. They are titled: (1) St. Helena, CA 1960 photorevised 1980; (2) Rutherford, CA 1951 photorevised 1968; (3) Chiles Valley, CA 1958 photorevised 1980; (4...

Snowball Earth: Response of the biosphere?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Runnegar, B.

2001-05-01

Snowball Earth is a script for global catastrophe that rivals giant impact theories in the likely severity of its environmental effects. This is particularly true for the "hard" version of the hypothesis, which requires the atmosphere to be effectively isolated from the ocean so that its carbon dioxide concentration can build up to the level ( ~100 PAL) ultimately required to melt the ice. However, coupled GCM-EMB models (Hyde et al. Nature 405, 425-430; Crowley & Hyde, GRL 28, 283-286) allow equatorial open water solutions under plausible Neoproterozoic conditions. These "softer" scenarios are more appealing if one considers the possible effects of snowball Earth episodes on the global biosphere. The meager Neoproterozoic fossil record makes it difficult to observe the biospheric response directly, but we know from evolutionary trees constructed from aligned protein and DNA sequences from living organisms, calibrated by the fossil record, that many lines of descent passed through the Cryogenian glacial periods. They include various kinds of prokaryotic and eukaryotic algae, a range of protists, and probably, a number of different kinds of animals and fungi. In addition, most of the microbial groups shown on comprehensive 16S rRNA trees have molecular clock ages that predate the snowball episodes. As the global environmental perturbations associated with the "hard" snowball hypothesis (freezing temperatures; huge and rapid changes in temperature; sudden carbon dioxide overload) are thought to have been biologically limiting during the Phanerozoic, the inferred response of the biosphere to Neoprotereozic glaciations may, indeed, provide a way of testing alternative snowball Earth scenarios.

Chile Country Analysis Brief

EIA Publications

2016-01-01

Chile is the only member of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in South America. It is the fifth-largest consumer of energy on the continent, but unlike most other large economies in the region, it is only a minor producer of fossil fuels. Therefore, Chile is heavily dependent on energy imports.

Estimating the seasonal carbon source-sink geography of a natural, steady-state terrestrial biosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Box, Elgene O.

1988-01-01

The estimation of the seasonal dynamics of biospheric-carbon sources and sinks to be used as an input to global atmospheric CO2 studies and models is discussed. An ecological biosphere model is given and the advantages of the model are examined. Monthly maps of estimated biospheric carbon source and sink regions and estimates of total carbon fluxes are presented for an equilibrium terrestrial biosphere. The results are compared with those from other models. It is suggested that, despite maximum variations of atmospheric CO2 in boreal latitudes, the enormous contributions of tropical wet-dry regions to global atmospheric CO2 seasonality can not be ignored.

Area Handbook Series: Chile: A Country Study

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-05-01

de Educaci6n en Chile a Partir de 1973." (Paper presented at workshop "Six...34Salud en Chile : El Problema de Fondo," Mensaje [Santiago], 28, No. 282, September 1979, 558-66. Goldrich, Daniel, Raymond B. Pratt, and C. R. Schuller...Transforma- ciones del Sistema de Ateni6n M6dica en Chile ." (Paper pre- sented at workshop "Six Years of Military Rule in Chile ," sponsored by

Maternity protection vs. maternity rights for working women in Chile: a historical review.

PubMed

Casas, Lidia; Herrera, Tania

2012-12-01

Maternity leave in Chile has been a social right since 1919, when the International Labour Organization set the first global standards. From its inception, Chile's labour legislation focused on protecting motherhood and the family. The length of maternity leave has been extended several times since then but its main aim remains the protection of infant health. In 1931, Chile's first Labour Code required anyone employing 20 or more women to provide day care services and facilitate childcare and paid breastfeeding time for all mothers of children under one. Labour laws began to play an important role in accommodating the care of infants within working conditions, though not always effectively. In spite of job protection during pregnancy and breastfeeding, women can be dismissed on grounds other than pregnancy. It was only under Salvador Allende and again in the past two decades that Chile has enfranchised women as holders of health rights. However, many unresolved tensions remain. Chile promotes motherhood, but often considers that working women who demand employment protection abuse the system. Motherhood is a magic wand that represents the selflessness of women, but society throws a blanket of mistrust over women who wish to exercise their maternity rights and to determine the number and spacing of their children. Copyright © 2012 Reproductive Health Matters. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Global redox cycle of biospheric carbon: Interaction of photosynthesis and earth crust processes.

PubMed

Ivlev, Alexander A

2015-11-01

A model of the natural global redox cycle of biospheric carbon is introduced. According to this model, carbon transfer between biosphere and geospheres is accompanied by a conversion of the oxidative forms, presented by CO2, bicarbonate and carbonate ions, into the reduced forms, produced in photosynthesis. The mechanism of carbon transfer is associated with two phases of movement of lithospheric plates. In the short-term orogenic phase, CO2 from the subduction (plates' collisions) zones fills the "atmosphere-hydrosphere" system, resulting in climate warming. In the long-term quiet (geosynclynal) phase, weathering and photosynthesis become dominant depleting the oxidative forms of carbon. The above asymmetric periodicity exerts an impact on climate, biodiversity, distribution of organic matter in sedimentary deposits, etc. Along with photosynthesis expansion, the redox carbon cycle undergoes its development until it reaches the ecological compensation point, at which CO2 is depleted to the level critical to support the growth and reproduction of plants. This occurred in the Permo-Carboniferous time and in the Neogene. Shorter-term perturbations of the global carbon cycle in the form of glacial-interglacial oscillations appear near the ecological compensation point. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Explaining variations in the diversity of parasitoid assemblages in a biosphere reserve of Mexico: evidence from vegetation, land management and seasonality.

PubMed

González-Moreno, A; Bordera, S; Leirana-Alcocer, J; Delfín-González, H; Ballina-Gómez, H S

2017-11-23

Insect fauna biodiversity in natural protected areas has not been thoroughly studied. Therefore, the aim of this work was to assess whether and how vegetation types, land management and seasonality influence the diversity of Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera) in the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve (Mexico). A sampling programme was conducted using Malaise traps from 2008 to 2009 in three vegetation types, each with two conservation zones (core and buffer zones). Three seasons were considered: rainy, dry and north-winds (isolated storms from November to February). A total of 336 species were identified. Rarefaction and Generalized Linear Model indicated higher species richness and abundance, respectively, in the buffer zone of the dry forest; possible explanations for this finding include the intermediate disturbance hypothesis, wherein diversity can be higher in sites where disturbance is not very frequent or very intense, and the 'enemies hypothesis', wherein structural complexity and high plant diversity favour increased predators or, in this case, parasitoids. Diversity was higher during the rainy season, which may have been due to the higher availability of resources. Vegetation and management had a positive impact on the Coc (attack cocoons and pupae) and Myc (attack concealed larvae living in the fruiting bodies of mushrooms) parasitoid guilds. Members of the Coc guild are generalist parasitoids, which may be favoured in complex vegetation with a high richness of potential hosts and non-hosts. The Myc guild requires certain environmental conditions that promote fungal growth, such as humidity, that is absent in the other vegetation types of savannah and coastal dune scrubland.

Importance of dung incorporation activity by three species of coprophagous beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) macrofauna in pastureland on "La Michilía" biosphere reserve in Durango, Mexico.

PubMed

Anduaga, Sofía; Huerta, Carmen

2007-06-01

The dung incorporation activity of three species of coprophagous beetle macrofauna (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae), Dichotomius colonicus (Say), Phanaeus quadridens (Say), and Copris klugi sierrensis Matthews, was studied on a hectare of pastureland on "La Michilía" Biosphere Reserve. In total, 223 specimens of the three species were recorded. On the basis of abundance, the dominant species was D. colonicus. A substantial percentage (31% in September and 51% in October) of dung pats remained on the surface, untouched by beetles. Most of the specimens observed (92%) were found amassing dung in galleries. The dung accumulation capacity of D. colonicus varied from 5 to 135 g of dung (dry weight)/pair, whereas C. klugi sierrensis amassed an average of 24.3 +/- 8.5 g/pair and P. quadridens amassed an average of 12 +/- 2.5 g/pair. Based on dung burying efficiency, D. colonicus was considered the most beneficial of the three species in the study area. It dug deeper, wider galleries and incorporated the largest amount of dung into the soil.

Implementation of the Biosphere Compatibility Principle in Urban Planning: How to Train Next-Generation Specialists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ivanova, Zinaida Ilyinichna; Yudenkova, Olga Valeryevna; Ishkov, Aleksandr Dmitrievich; Shnyrenkov, Evgeny Anatolyevich

2015-01-01

The co-authors address the relevant issues concerning the need to implement the principle of the biosphere compatibility as the core prerequisite for the symbiotic co-existence of man and nature. Caring treatment of the biosphere, termination of its excessive exploitation, analysis of the ratio between the biospheric potential of specific areas…

Chile Earthquake: U.S. and International Response

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-11

5 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “Chile Earthquake: Situation Report #2,” March 1, 2010; Gobierno de Chile...U.S. Department of State, March 2, 2010. 6 “Bachelet decreta primer Estado de Catástrofe desde terremoto de 1985,” El Mercurio (Chile), March 1...2010; “Amplían toque de queda en zonas más afectadas por terremoto en Chile,” Agence France Presse, March 1, 2010; “160 detained, one killed during

The World Campaign for the Biosphere.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barman, Charles R.

1984-01-01

Lists and discusses goals of The World Campaign for the Biosphere and strategies designed to achieve these goals. Also lists eight suggestions for science teachers to help incorporate the goals into school curricula and programs. These include organizing assemblies which present information about environmental problems and presenting environmental…

An Investigation of the Critical Events and Influential Factors to the Evolution of the U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomsen, Jennifer M.

2018-04-01

The UNESCO Man and the Biosphere program has operated for 45 years as an international program that started in the 1970s to conserve biotic communities and provide areas for research, education, and training. The program later evolved in the 1990s to address social and environmental issues in a sustainable manner across a landscape. This program was one of the first efforts that recognized the importance of working beyond park and protected area boundaries and the need to sustain livelihoods as much as the resources. In the MAB program's infancy, the United States (U.S.) was a major advocate and leader with more than 45 biosphere reserves, most of them established in or around 1976. Yet, many political, economic, and other external factors influenced the U.S. MAB involvement in subsequent years. Consequently, the U.S. has remained largely inactive in the international MAB network for the past fifteen years until a recent push to revive the program under the leadership of the State Department and the National Park Service. Through in-depth research on two longterm U.S. biosphere reserves, this paper provides a description of the key events impacting the U.S. MAB program over the past several decades and discusses the influential role of politics, a public image, and the perceptions of international designations. Through the lessons presented in this paper, recommendations are provided to support the revival of the MAB program in the U.S.

An Investigation of the Critical Events and Influential Factors to the Evolution of the U.S. Man and the Biosphere Program.

PubMed

Thomsen, Jennifer M

2018-04-01

The UNESCO Man and the Biosphere program has operated for 45 years as an international program that started in the 1970s to conserve biotic communities and provide areas for research, education, and training. The program later evolved in the 1990s to address social and environmental issues in a sustainable manner across a landscape. This program was one of the first efforts that recognized the importance of working beyond park and protected area boundaries and the need to sustain livelihoods as much as the resources. In the MAB program's infancy, the United States (U.S.) was a major advocate and leader with more than 45 biosphere reserves, most of them established in or around 1976. Yet, many political, economic, and other external factors influenced the U.S. MAB involvement in subsequent years. Consequently, the U.S. has remained largely inactive in the international MAB network for the past fifteen years until a recent push to revive the program under the leadership of the State Department and the National Park Service. Through in-depth research on two longterm U.S. biosphere reserves, this paper provides a description of the key events impacting the U.S. MAB program over the past several decades and discusses the influential role of politics, a public image, and the perceptions of international designations. Through the lessons presented in this paper, recommendations are provided to support the revival of the MAB program in the U.S.

Rule of Repression in Chile.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Indian Journal, 1979

1979-01-01

This report on the current condition of the Mapuche Indians of Chile is edited from a document on the "Situation of Human Rights in Chile" and details the repressive and inhumane treatment of the largest indigenous ethnic minority in the country. (Author/RTS)

The Earth's Biosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

In the last five years, scientists have been able to monitor our changing planet in ways never before possible. The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS), aboard the OrbView-2 satellite, has given researchers an unprecedented view of the biological engine that drives life on Earth-the countless forms of plants that cover the land and fill the oceans. 'There is no question the Earth is changing. SeaWiFS has enabled us, for the first time, to monitor the biological consequences of that change-to see how the things we do, as well as natural variability, affect the Earth's ability to support life,' said Gene Carl Feldman, SeaWiFS project manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. SeaWiFS data, based on continuous daily global observations, have helped scientists make a more accurate assessment of the oceans' role in the global carbon cycle. The data provide a key parameter in a number of ecological and environmental studies as well as global climate-change modeling. The images of the Earth's changing land, ocean and atmosphere from SeaWiFS have documented many previously unrecognized phenomena. The image above shows the global biosphere from June 2002 measured by SeaWiFS. Data in the oceans is chlorophyll concentration, a measure of the amount of phytoplankton (microscopic plants) living in the ocean. On land SeaWiFS measures Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, an indication of the density of plant growth. For more information and images, read: SeaWiFS Sensor Marks Five Years Documenting Earth'S Dynamic Biosphere Image courtesy SeaWiFS project and copyright Orbimage.

Evidence for an active rare biosphere within freshwater protists community.

PubMed

Debroas, Didier; Hugoni, Mylène; Domaizon, Isabelle

2015-03-01

Studies on the active rare biosphere at the RNA level are mainly focused on Bacteria and Archaea and fail to include the protists, which are involved in the main biogeochemical cycles of the earth. In this study, the richness, composition and activity of the rare protistan biosphere were determined from a temporal survey of two lakes by pyrosequencing. In these ecosystems, the always rare OTUs represented 77.2% of the total OTUs and 76.6% of the phylogenetic diversity. From the various phylogenetic indices computed, the phylogenetic units (PUs) constituted exclusively by always rare OTUs were discriminated from the other PUs. Therefore, the rare biosphere included mainly taxa that are distant from the reference databases compared to the dominant ones. In addition, the rarest OTUs represented 59.8% of the active biosphere depicted by rRNA and the activity (rRNA:rDNA ratio) increased with the rarity. The high rRNA:rDNA ratio determined in the rare fraction highlights that some protists were active at low abundances and contribute to ecosystem functioning. Interestingly, the always rare and active OTUs were characterized by seasonal changes in relation with the main environmental parameters measured. In conclusion, the rare eukaryotes represent an active, dynamic and overlooked fraction in the lacustrine ecosystems. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The socioeconomic impact of drug-related crimes in Chile.

PubMed

Fernández, Matías

2012-11-01

Illegal drug use and trafficking are closely connected to crime. This article estimates the socioeconomic impact of this connection in Chile. Goldstein's tripartite model was applied quantifying drug-crime connections and then using those estimates to measure the socioeconomic impact of drug-related crimes. This was estimated in terms of both the monetary cost of law enforcement, and lost productivity due to incarceration. This socioeconomic impact can be divided into: (a) the direct costs arising from infractions to Chile's Drug Law, and the indirect costs originated by crimes linked only partially to drug consumption and trafficking; (b) is measured in productivity losses, as well as in costs to the three branches of Chile's criminal justice system (police, judiciary, and prisons); and (c) is attributed to the three illicit drugs most prevalent in Chile: cannabis, cocaine hydrochloride (CH) and cocaine base paste (CBP). The socioeconomic impact of Chile's drug-crime relationship in 2006 is estimated to be USD 268 million. Out of this amount, 36% is spent on national Drug Law enforcement, and the remaining 64% comes from the connection of drug use and trafficking with non-Drug-Law-related crimes. The police bear the largest share of drug enforcement costs (32%), followed by penitentiaries (25%). Productivity losses due to incarceration for drug-related crimes represent 29% of the total impact. 53% of the costs are attributable to CBP, 29% to CH, and the remaining 18% to cannabis. The impact of CBP is greater when indirect costs are taken into account, although direct costs are primarily associated with CH. The majority of costs is attributed to the trafficking and consumption of CBP, a drug with a relatively low prevalence. Based on the results, this study suggests reviewing drug enforcement policies to differentiate them according to the social and individual harm caused by each drug. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exploring global carbon turnover and radiocarbon cycling in terrestrial biosphere models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graven, H. D.; Warren, H.

2017-12-01

The uptake of carbon into terrestrial ecosystems through net primary productivity (NPP) and the turnover of that carbon through various pathways are the fundamental drivers of changing carbon stocks on land, in addition to human-induced and natural disturbances. Terrestrial biosphere models use different formulations for carbon uptake and release, resulting in a range of values in NPP of 40-70 PgC/yr and biomass turnover times of about 25-40 years for the preindustrial period in current-generation models from CMIP5. Biases in carbon uptake and turnover impact simulated carbon uptake and storage in the historical period and later in the century under changing climate and CO2 concentration, however evaluating global-scale NPP and carbon turnover is challenging. Scaling up of plot-scale measurements involves uncertainty due to the large heterogeneity across ecosystems and biomass types, some of which are not well-observed. We are developing the modelling of radiocarbon in terrestrial biosphere models, with a particular focus on decadal 14C dynamics after the nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s-60s, including the impact of carbon flux trends and variability on 14C cycling. We use an estimate of the total inventory of excess 14C in the biosphere constructed by Naegler and Levin (2009) using a 14C budget approach incorporating estimates of total 14C produced by the weapons tests and atmospheric and oceanic 14C observations. By simulating radiocarbon in simple biosphere box models using carbon fluxes from the CMIP5 models, we find that carbon turnover is too rapid in many of the simple models - the models appear to take up too much 14C and release it too quickly. Therefore many CMIP5 models may also simulate carbon turnover that is too rapid. A caveat is that the simple box models we use may not adequately represent carbon dynamics in the full-scale models. Explicit simulation of radiocarbon in terrestrial biosphere models would allow more robust evaluation of biosphere

Density variations and their influence on carbon stocks: case-study on two Biosphere Reserves in the Democratic Republic of Congo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Ridder, Maaike; De Haulleville, Thalès; Kearsley, Elizabeth; Van den Bulcke, Jan; Van Acker, Joris; Beeckman, Hans

2014-05-01

It is commonly acknowledged that allometric equations for aboveground biomass and carbon stock estimates are improved significantly if density is included as a variable. However, not much attention is given to this variable in terms of exact, measured values and density profiles from pith to bark. Most published case-studies obtain density values from literature sources or databases, this way using large ranges of density values and possible causing significant errors in carbon stock estimates. The use of one single fixed value for density is also not recommended if carbon stock increments are estimated. Therefore, our objective is to measure and analyze a large number of tree species occurring in two Biosphere Reserves (Luki and Yangambi). Nevertheless, the diversity of tree species in these tropical forests is too high to perform this kind of detailed analysis on all tree species (> 200/ha). Therefore, we focus on the most frequently encountered tree species with high abundance (trees/ha) and dominance (basal area/ha) for this study. Increment cores were scanned with a helical X-ray protocol to obtain density profiles from pith to bark. This way, we aim at dividing the tree species with a distinct type of density profile into separate groups. If, e.g., slopes in density values from pith to bark remain stable over larger samples of one tree species, this slope could also be used to correct for errors in carbon (increment) estimates, caused by density values from simplified density measurements or density values from literature. In summary, this is most likely the first study in the Congo Basin that focuses on density patterns in order to check their influence on carbon stocks and differences in carbon stocking based on species composition (density profiles ~ temperament of tree species).

Biosphere 2: a prototype project for a permanent and evolving life system for Mars base.

PubMed

Nelson, M; Allen, J P; Dempster, W F

1992-01-01

As part of the ground-based preparation for creating long-term life systems needed for space habitation and settlement, Space Biospheres Ventures (SBV) is undertaking the Biosphere 2 project near Oracle, Arizona. Biosphere 2, currently under construction, is scheduled to commence its operations in 1991 with a two-year closure period with a crew of eight people. Biosphere 2 is a facility which will be essentialy materially-closed to exchange with the outside environment. It is open to information and energy flow. Biosphere 2 is designed to achieve a complex life-support system by the integration of seven areas or "biomes"--rainforest, savannah, desert, marsh, ocean, intensive agriculture and human habitat. Unique bioregenerative technologies, such as soil bed reactors for air purification, aquatic waste processing systems, real-time analytic systems and complex computer monitoring and control systems are being developed for the Biosphere 2 project. Its operation should afford valuable insight into the functioning of complex life systems necessary for long-term habitation in space. It will serve as an experimental ground-based prototype and testbed for the stable, permanent life systems needed for human exploration of Mars.

Wildfires in Chile: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Úbeda, Xavier; Sarricolea, Pablo

2016-11-01

This paper reviews the literature examining the wildfire phenomenon in Chile. Since ancient times, Chile's wildfires have shaped the country's landscape, but today, as in many other parts of the world, the fire regime - pattern, frequency and intensity - has grown at an alarming rate. In 2014, > 8000 fires were responsible for burning c. 130,000 ha, making it the worst year in Chile's recent history. The reasons for this increase appear to be the increment in the area planted with flammable species; the rejection of these landscape modifications on the part of local communities that target these plantations in arson attacks; and, the adoption of intensive forest management practices resulting in the accumulation of a high fuel load. These trends have left many native species in a precarious situation and forest plantation companies under considerable financial pressure. An additional problem is posed by fires at the wildland urban interface (WUI), threatening those inhabitants that live in Chile's most heavily populated cities. The prevalence of natural fires in Chile; the relationship between certain plant species and fire in terms of seed germination strategies and plant adaptation; the relationship between fire and invasive species; and, the need for fire prevention systems and territorial plans that include fire risk assessments are some of the key aspects discussed in this article. Several of the questions raised will require further research, including just how fire-dependent the ecosystems in Chile are, how the forest at the WUI can be better managed to prevent human and material damage, and how best to address the social controversy that pits the Mapuche population against the timber companies.

Lunar subsurface architecture enhanced by artificial biosphere concepts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klassi, Jason D.; Rocha, Carlos J.; Carr, Charles A.

1992-01-01

The integration of artificial biosphere technology with subselene architecture can create a life-enhancing, productive habitat that is safe from solar radiation and extreme temperature fluctuations while maximizing resources brought from Earth and derived from lunar regolith. In the short term, the resulting biotectural (biosphere and architectural) designs will not only make the structures more habitable, productive, and manageable, but will ultimately provide the self-sufficiency factors necessary for the mature lunar settlement. From a long-term perspective, this biotecture approach to astronautics and extraterrestrial development (1) helps reduce mass lift requirements, (2) contributes to habitat self-sufficiency, and (3) actualizes at least one philosophy of solar system exploration, which is to exploit nonterrestrial resources in an effort to conserve our natural resources on this planet.

The 2015 Chile-U.S. Astronomy Education Outreach Summit in Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Preston, Sandra Lee; Arnett, Dinah; Hardy, Eduardo; Cabezón, Sergio; Spuck, Tim; Fields, Mary Sue; Smith, R. Chris

2015-08-01

The first Chile-U.S. Astronomy Education Outreach Summit occurred March 22-28, 2015. The Summit was organized and supported by the U.S. Embassy in Chile, Associated Universities Inc., Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, the Carnegie Institution for Science, the Image of Chile Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and La Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica. The Summit brought together a team of leading experts and officials from Chile and the U.S. to share best practices in astronomy education and outreach. In addition, Summit participants discussed enhancing existing partnerships, and building new collaborations between U.S. Observatories and astronomy education outreach leaders in Chile.The Summit was an exciting and intense week of work and travel. Discussions opened in Santiago on March 22 with a variety of astronomy education and public outreach work sessions, a public forum, and on March 23 the U.S. Embassy sponsored a Star Party. On Tuesday, March 24, the Summit moved to San Pedro de Atacama, where activities included work sessions, a visit to the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array telescope facilities, and a second public forum. From San Pedro, the team traveled to La Serena for additional work sessions, visits to Gemini and Cerro Tololo, a third public forum, and the closing session. At each stop, authorities and the broader community were invited to participate and provide valuable input on the current state, and the future, of astronomy education and public outreach.Following the Summit a core working committee has continued meeting to draft a “roadmap document” based on findings from the Summit. This document will help to identify potential gaps in astronomy outreach efforts, and how the U.S. facilities and Chilean institutions might work together strategically to address these needs. The first draft of this “roadmap document” will be made available for comment in both Spanish and

Studies to Control Endemic Typhoid Fever in Chile

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-01-29

de las colecistopatias en Chile . Rev.Med.Chile 100:1376- 1381, 1972. 8. Medina, E., Kaempffer, A.M., DeCroizet, V.A., Yrrazaval, Toporowicz, M...Epidemoologia de las colecistopatias en Chile . II. Factores de importancia en estudios de autopsia. Rev.Med.Chile 100:1382-1389, 1972. 9. Marinovio, I...necesario ef ec tuar previamente ex5menes bactereol.’gicos de inocuidad y potencia_ de la vacuna en el Instituto de Salud Priblica de

Water: the bloodstream of the biosphere.

PubMed

Ripl, Wilhelm

2003-12-29

Water, the bloodstream of the biosphere, determines the sustainability of living systems. The essential role of water is expanded in a conceptual model of energy dissipation, based on the water balance of whole landscapes. In this model, the underlying role of water phase changes--and their energy-dissipative properties--in the function and the self-organized development of natural systems is explicitly recognized. The energy-dissipating processes regulate the ecological dynamics within the Earth's biosphere, in such a way that the development of natural systems is never allowed to proceed in an undirected or random way. A fundamental characteristic of self-organized development in natural systems is the increasing role of cyclic processes while loss processes are correspondingly reduced. This gives a coincidental increase in system efficiency, which is the basis of growing stability and sustainability. Growing sustainability can be seen as an increase of ecological efficiency, which is applicable at all levels up to whole landscapes. Criteria for necessary changes in society and for the design of the measures that are necessary to restore sustainable landscapes and waters are derived.

Water: the bloodstream of the biosphere.

PubMed Central

Ripl, Wilhelm

2003-01-01

Water, the bloodstream of the biosphere, determines the sustainability of living systems. The essential role of water is expanded in a conceptual model of energy dissipation, based on the water balance of whole landscapes. In this model, the underlying role of water phase changes--and their energy-dissipative properties--in the function and the self-organized development of natural systems is explicitly recognized. The energy-dissipating processes regulate the ecological dynamics within the Earth's biosphere, in such a way that the development of natural systems is never allowed to proceed in an undirected or random way. A fundamental characteristic of self-organized development in natural systems is the increasing role of cyclic processes while loss processes are correspondingly reduced. This gives a coincidental increase in system efficiency, which is the basis of growing stability and sustainability. Growing sustainability can be seen as an increase of ecological efficiency, which is applicable at all levels up to whole landscapes. Criteria for necessary changes in society and for the design of the measures that are necessary to restore sustainable landscapes and waters are derived. PMID:14728789

The past, present and future supernova threat to Earth's biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beech, Martin

2011-12-01

A brief review of the threat posed to Earth's biosphere via near-by supernova detonations is presented. The expected radiation dosage, cosmic ray flux and expanding blast wave collision effects are considered, and it is argued that a typical supernova must be closer than ˜10-pc before any appreciable and potentially harmful atmosphere/biosphere effects are likely to occur. In contrast, the critical distance for Gamma-ray bursts is of order 1-kpc. In spite of the high energy effects potentially involved, the geological record provides no clear-cut evidence for any historic supernova induced mass extinctions and/or strong climate change episodes. This, however, is mostly a reflection of their being numerous possible (terrestrial and astronomical) forcing mechanisms acting upon the biosphere and the difficulty of distinguishing between competing scenarios. Key to resolving this situation, it is suggested, is the development of supernova specific extinction and climate change linked ecological models. Moving to the future, we estimate that over the remaining lifetime of the biosphere (˜2 Gyr) the Earth might experience 1 GRB and 20 supernova detonations within their respective harmful threat ranges. There are currently at least 12 potential pre-supernova systems within 1-kpc of the Sun. Of these systems IK Pegasi is the closest Type Ia pre-supernova candidate and Betelgeuse is the closest potential Type II supernova candidate. We review in some detail the past, present and future behavior of these two systems. Developing a detailed evolutionary model we find that IK Pegasi will likely not detonate until some 1.9 billion years hence, and that it affords absolutely no threat to Earth's biosphere. Betelgeuse is the closest, reasonably well understood, pre-supernova candidate to the Sun at the present epoch, and may undergo detonation any time within the next several million years. The stand-off distance of Betelgeuse at the time of its detonation is estimated to fall

Biospheric Cooling and the Emergence of Intelligence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwartzman, David; Middendorf, George

The long-term cooling history of the Earth's biosphere implies a temperature constraint on the timing of major events in biologic evolution, e.g., emergence of cyanobacteria, eucaryotes and Metazoa apparently occurred at times when temperatures were near their upper growth limits. Could biospheric cooling also have been a necessary condition for the emergence of veterbrates and their encephalization? The upper temperature limit for vertebrate growth is about 10 degrees below the limit for Metazoa (50 degrees C). Heterothermy followed by full homeothermy was likely a necessary condition for greater encephalization because of the energy requirement of larger brains. The temperature differential between an animal and a cooler environment, all other factors equal, will increase the efficiency of heat loss from the brain, but too large a differential will shift metabolic energy away from the brain to the procurement of food. Encephalization has also entailed the evolution of internal cooling mechanisms to avoid overheating the brain. The two periods of pronounced Phanerozoic cooling, the PermoCarboniferous and late Cenozoic, corresponded to the emergence of mammal-like reptiles and hominids respectively, with a variety of explanations offered for the apparent link. The origin of highly encephalized whales, dolphins and porpoises occurred with the drop in ocean temperatures 25-30 mya. Of course, other possible paths to encephalization are conceivable, with radically different solutions to the problem of heat dissipation. But the intrinsic requirements for information processing capacity necessary for intelligence suggest our terrestrial pattern may resemble those of alien biospheres given similar histories.

Relevance of the Paraná River hydrology on the fluvial water quality of the Delta Biosphere Reserve.

PubMed

Puig, Alba; Olguín Salinas, Héctor F; Borús, Juan A

2016-06-01

The increasing frequency of extreme events in large rivers may affect not only their flow, but also their water quality. In the present study, spatial and temporal changes in fluvial physico-chemical variables were analyzed in a mega-river delta during two extreme hydrological years (La Niña-El Niño) and related to potential explanatory factors. Basic water variables were evaluated in situ at 13 points (distant 2-35 km from each other) in watercourses of the Delta Biosphere Reserve (890 km(2)) in the Lower Paraná River (Argentina) in nine surveys (October 2008-July 2010) without meteorological tides. Samples for laboratory analyses were collected from each main river. Multivariate tests by permutations were applied. The period studied was influenced by a drought, within a long period dominated by low flows combined with dry weather and wildfires, and a large (10 years of recurrence) and prolonged (7 months) flood. The hydrological phase, followed by the season and the hydrological year (according to the ENSO event) were the principal explanatory factors of the main water quality changes, whereas the drainage sub-basin and the fluvial environment (river or stream) were secondary explanatory factors. During the drought period, conductivity, turbidity, and associated variables (e.g., major ions, silicon, and iron concentrations) were maximal, whereas real color was minimal. In the overbanking flood phase, pH and dissolved oxygen concentration were minimal, whereas real color was maximal. Dissolved oxygen saturation was also low in the receding flood phase and total major ion load doubled after the arrival of the overbanking stage. The water quality of these watercourses may be affected by the combination of several influences, such as the Paraná River flow, the pulses with sediments and solutes from the Bermejo River, the export of the Delta floodplain properties mainly by the flood, the season, and the saline tributaries to the Lower Paraná River. The high

WEB-DHM: A distributed biosphere hydrological model developed by coupling a simple biosphere scheme with a hillslope hydrological model

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The coupling of land surface models and hydrological models potentially improves the land surface representation, benefiting both the streamflow prediction capabilities as well as providing improved estimates of water and energy fluxes into the atmosphere. In this study, the simple biosphere model 2...

[Papillomavirus and cervical cancer in Chile].

PubMed

O'Ryan, Miguel; Valenzuela, María Teresa

2008-11-01

Molecular, clinical and epidemiological studies have established beyond doubt that human papiloma viruses (HPV) cause cervical cancer. The virus is also associated with genital warts and other less common cancers in oropharynx, vulva, vagina and penis. Worldwide, VPH genotypes 16 and 18 are the most common high risk genotypes, detected in near 70% of women with cervical cancer. The discovery of a cause-effect relationship between several carcinogenic microorganisms and cancer open avenues for new diagnostic, treatment and prevention strategies. In this issue of Revista Médica de Chile, two papers on HPV are presented. Guzman and colleagues demonstrate that HPV can be detected in 66% to 77% of healthy male adolescents bypolymerase chain reaction and that positivity depends on the site of the penis that is sampled. These results support the role of male to female transmission of high risk HPVs in Chile and should lead to even more active educational campaigns. The second paper provides recommendations for HPV vaccine use in Chile, generated by the Immunization Advisory Committee of the Chilean Infectious Disease Society. To issue these recommendations, the Committee analyzes the epidemiological information available on HPV infection and cervical cancer in Chile, vaccine safety and effectiveness data, and describes cost-effectiveness studies. Taking into account that universal vaccination is controversial, the Committee favors vaccine use in Chile and it's incorporation into a national program. However, there is an indication that the country requires the implementation of an integrated surveillance approach including cross matching of data obtained from HPV genotype surveillance, monitoring of vaccination coverage, and surveillance of cervical cancer. The final decision of universal vaccine use in Chile should be based on a through analysis of information.ev Mid Chile

Chile: Civil-Military Relations and Democratic Consolidation

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-12-01

Publishers, 1992), 41. 26 Javier Martinez and Alvaro Diaz , Chile The Great Transformation (Harrisonburg, Virginia: The Brookings Institution, 1996...the world economy, by means of technological advancements, makes it necessary to reduce 32 Javier Martinez and Alvaro Diaz , Chile the Great...disapproves the executive’s budget. There is no 60 Alicia Frohman, "Chile: External Actors and the Transition to Democracy," in Beyond Sovereignty

Putting the Deep Biosphere on the Map for Oceanography Courses: Gas Hydrates As a Case Study for the Deep Biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sikorski, J. J.; Briggs, B. R.

2014-12-01

The ocean is essential for life on our planet. It covers 71% of the Earth's surface, is the source of the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the food we eat. Yet, the exponential growth in human population is putting the ocean and thus life on our planet at risk. However, based on student evaluations from our introductory oceanography course it is clear that our students have deficiencies in ocean literacy that impact their ability to recognize that the ocean and humans are inextricably connected. Furthermore, life present in deep subsurface marine environments is also interconnected to the study of the ocean, yet the deep biosphere is not typically covered in undergraduate oceanography courses. In an effort to improve student ocean literacy we developed an instructional module on the deep biosphere focused on gas hydrate deposits. Specifically, our module utilizes Google Earth and cutting edge research about microbial life in the ocean to support three inquiry-based activities that each explore different facets of gas hydrates (i.e. environmental controls, biologic controls, and societal implications). The relevant nature of the proposed module also makes it possible for instructors of introductory geology courses to modify module components to discuss related topics, such as climate, energy, and geologic hazards. This work, which will be available online as a free download, is a solid contribution toward increasing the available teaching resources focused on the deep biosphere for geoscience educators.

Earth's Early Biosphere and the Biogeochemical Carbon Cycle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DesMarais, David

2004-01-01

Our biosphere has altered the global environment principally by influencing the chemistry of those elements most important for life, e g., C, N, S, O, P and transition metals (e.g., Fe and Mn). The coupling of oxygenic photosynthesis with the burial in sediments of photosynthetic organic matter, and with the escape of H2 to space, has increased the state of oxidation of the Oceans and atmosphere. It has also created highly reduced conditions within sedimentary rocks that have also extensively affected the geochemistry of several elements. The decline of volcanism during Earth's history reduced the flow of reduced chemical species that reacted with photosynthetically produced O2. The long-term net accumulation of photosynthetic O2 via biogeochemical processes has profoundly influenced our atmosphere and biosphere, as evidenced by the O2 levels required for algae, multicellular life and certain modem aerobic bacteria to exist. When our biosphere developed photosynthesis, it tapped into an energy resource that was much larger than the energy available from oxidation-reduction reactions associated with weathering and hydrothermal activity. Today, hydrothermal sources deliver globally (0.13-1.1)x10(exp l2) mol yr(sup -1) of reduced S, Fe(2+), Mn(2+), H2 and CH4; this is estimated to sustain at most about (0.2-2)xl0(exp 12)mol C yr(sup -1) of organic carbon production by chemautotrophic microorganisms. In contrast, global photosynthetic productivity is estimated to be 9000x10(exp 12) mol C yr(sup -1). Thus, even though global thermal fluxes were greater in the distant geologic past than today, the onset of oxygenic photosynthesis probably increased global organic productivity by some two or more orders of magnitude. This enormous productivity materialized principally because oxygenic photosynthesizers unleashed a virtually unlimited supply of reduced H that forever freed life from its sole dependence upon abiotic sources of reducing power such as hydrothermal emanations

Forensic psychiatry in Chile.

PubMed

St Denis, Emily E; Sepúlveda, Enrique; Téllez, Carlos; Arboleda-Flórez, Julio; Stuart, Heather; Lam, Miu

2012-01-01

Mental disorders are among the most prevalent of chronic disorders, and a high prevalence of these disorders has been consistently found in jails and prisons. This study was a retrospective case series that described the population of adults charged with a criminal offense who were court ordered to undergo a psychiatric assessment within the Medical Legal Service in Santiago, Chile from 2005 to 2006. Characteristics were explored in order to better understand this population in light of the recent reforms in the judicial and health systems of Chile. Ninety percent of sampled individuals were male, primarily between the ages of 18-39 years. Seventy percent of the evaluations came from the pre-reformed judicial system and 30% were from the reformed system. Approximately 63% of evaluated offenders were considered to have a psychiatric pathology, the most common being the personality disorders. Of the evaluated offenders, approximately 84% were considered by a psychiatrist to be criminally responsible for their crime, 7% were regarded as having diminished criminal responsibility, 4% were considered to be not criminally responsible for their crime, and 4% were cases where criminal responsibility was not applicable. Profession status, municipality of residence, type of residence, ICD-10 diagnosis, treatment recommendation, and criminal responsibility were found to be significantly different between male and female evaluated offenders. Results from this investigation will contribute to knowledge about forensic psychiatry and mental health in Latin America, and will hopefully pave the way for more research and international comparisons. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing the Importance of Prior Biospheric Fluxes on Inverse Model Estimates of CO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Philip, S.; Johnson, M. S.; Potter, C. S.; Genovese, V. B.

2017-12-01

Atmospheric mixing ratios of carbon dioxide (CO2) are largely controlled by anthropogenic emissions and biospheric sources/sinks. The processes controlling terrestrial biosphere-atmosphere carbon exchange are currently not fully understood, resulting in models having significant differences in the quantification of biospheric CO2 fluxes. Currently, atmospheric chemical transport models (CTM) and global climate models (GCM) use multiple different biospheric CO2 flux models resulting in large differences in simulating the global carbon cycle. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2) satellite mission was designed to allow for the improved understanding of the processes involved in the exchange of carbon between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere, and therefore allowing for more accurate assessment of the seasonal/inter-annual variability of CO2. OCO-2 provides much-needed CO2 observations in data-limited regions allowing for the evaluation of model simulations of greenhouse gases (GHG) and facilitating global/regional estimates of "top-down" CO2 fluxes. We conduct a 4-D Variation (4D-Var) data assimilation with the GEOS-Chem (Goddard Earth Observation System-Chemistry) CTM using 1) OCO-2 land nadir and land glint retrievals and 2) global in situ surface flask observations to constrain biospheric CO2 fluxes. We apply different state-of-the-science year-specific CO2 flux models (e.g., NASA-CASA (NASA-Carnegie Ames Stanford Approach), CASA-GFED (Global Fire Emissions Database), Simple Biosphere Model version 4 (SiB-4), and LPJ (Lund-Postdam-Jena)) to assess the impact of "a priori" flux predictions to "a posteriori" estimates. We will present the "top-down" CO2 flux estimates for the year 2015 using OCO-2 and in situ observations, and a complete indirect evaluation of the a priori and a posteriori flux estimates using independent in situ observations. We will also present our assessment of the variability of "top-down" CO2 flux estimates when using different

[A scientometric view of Revista Médica de Chile].

PubMed

Krauskopf, Manuel; Krauskopf, Erwin

2008-08-01

During the last decade Revista Médica de Chile increased its visibility, measured on citations and impact factor. To perform a scientometric analysis to assess the performance of Revista Médica de Chile. Thomson's-ISI Web of Science and Journal Citation Reports QCR) were consulted for performance indicators of Revista Médica de Chile and Latin American journals whose subject is General and Internal Medicine. We also report the h-index of the journal, which infers quality linked to the quantity of the output. According to the h-index, Revista Médica de Chile ranks 4 among the 36 journals indexed and published by Argentina, Brazil, Chile and México. The top ten articles published by Revista Médica de Chile and the institutions with the higher contribution to the journal, were identified using citations. In the Latin American region, Brazil relevantly increased its scientific output. However, Argentina, Chile and México maintain a plateau during the last decade. Revista Médica de Chile increased notoriously its performance. Its contribution to the Chilean scientific community dedicated to Medicine appears to be of central value.

A comparison between the example reference biosphere model ERB 2B and a process-based model: simulation of a natural release scenario.

PubMed

Almahayni, T

2014-12-01

The BIOMASS methodology was developed with the objective of constructing defensible assessment biospheres for assessing potential radiological impacts of radioactive waste repositories. To this end, a set of Example Reference Biospheres were developed to demonstrate the use of the methodology and to provide an international point of reference. In this paper, the performance of the Example Reference Biosphere model ERB 2B associated with the natural release scenario, discharge of contaminated groundwater to the surface environment, was evaluated by comparing its long-term projections of radionuclide dynamics and distribution in a soil-plant system to those of a process-based, transient advection-dispersion model (AD). The models were parametrised with data characteristic of a typical rainfed winter wheat crop grown on a sandy loam soil under temperate climate conditions. Three safety-relevant radionuclides, (99)Tc, (129)I and (237)Np with different degree of sorption were selected for the study. Although the models were driven by the same hydraulic (soil moisture content and water fluxes) and radiological (Kds) input data, their projections were remarkably different. On one hand, both models were able to capture short and long-term variation in activity concentration in the subsoil compartment. On the other hand, the Reference Biosphere model did not project any radionuclide accumulation in the topsoil and crop compartments. This behaviour would underestimate the radiological exposure under natural release scenarios. The results highlight the potential role deep roots play in soil-to-plant transfer under a natural release scenario where radionuclides are released into the subsoil. When considering the relative activity and root depth profiles within the soil column, much of the radioactivity was taken up into the crop from the subsoil compartment. Further improvements were suggested to address the limitations of the Reference Biosphere model presented in this paper

Where Do Mexico and Chile Stand on Inclusive Education? Short Title: Inclusion in Mexico and Chile

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

García-Cedillo, Ismael; Romero-Contreras, Silvia; Ramos-Abadie, Liliana

2015-01-01

This paper discusses the background, current situation and challenges of educational integration and inclusive education in Mexico and Chile. These countries obtained similar low results on the academic achievement of their students (Mexico last and Chile second last) among OECD countries; and above average scores, among Latin-American countries.…

Counternarcotic Efforts in the Southern Cone: Chile

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-06-30

deportation is simply not practical . Statistics of cocaine coming into Chile by "ant smuggling" do not exist. Carabineros mentions that according to...existing evidence is contradictory. A recent report ordered by the Ministry of Foreign 10 Affairs does not support the allegation that Chile is being used...Gugliotta and Jeff Leen, Kings of Cocaine (New York: Harper and Row, 1989) p.23. 11 industry based in Chile and controlled by a few refiners who bought

Comparing Amazon Basin CO2 fluxes from an atmospheric inversion with TRENDY biosphere models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diffenbaugh, N. S.; Alden, C. B.; Harper, A. B.; Ahlström, A.; Touma, D. E.; Miller, J. B.; Gatti, L. V.; Gloor, M.

2015-12-01

Net exchange of carbon dioxide (CO2) between the atmosphere and the terrestrial biosphere is sensitive to environmental conditions, including extreme heat and drought. Of particular importance for local and global carbon balance and climate are the expansive tracts of tropical rainforest located in the Amazon Basin. Because of the Basin's size and ecological heterogeneity, net biosphere CO2 exchange with the atmosphere remains largely un-constrained. In particular, the response of net CO2 exchange to changes in environmental conditions such as temperature and precipitation are not yet well known. However, proper representation of these relationships in biosphere models is a necessary constraint for accurately modeling future climate and climate-carbon cycle feedbacks. In an effort to compare biosphere response to climate across different biosphere models, the TRENDY model intercomparison project coordinated the simulation of CO2 fluxes between the biosphere and atmosphere, in response to historical climate forcing, by 9 different Dynamic Global Vegetation Models. We examine the TRENDY model results in the Amazon Basin, and compare this "bottom-up" method with fluxes derived from a "top-down" approach to estimating net CO2 fluxes, obtained through atmospheric inverse modeling using CO2 measurements sampled by aircraft above the basin. We compare the "bottom-up" and "top-down" fluxes in 5 sub-regions of the Amazon basin on a monthly basis for 2010-2012. Our results show important periods of agreement between some models in the TRENDY suite and atmospheric inverse model results, notably the simulation of increased biosphere CO2 loss during wet season heat in the Central Amazon. During the dry season, however, model ability to simulate observed response of net CO2 exchange to drought was varied, with few models able to reproduce the "top-down" inversion flux signals. Our results highlight the value of atmospheric trace gas observations for helping to narrow the

Antimicrobial, Anthelmintic, and Antiviral Activity of Plants Traditionally Used for Treating Infectious Disease in the Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Odisha, India

PubMed Central

Panda, Sujogya K.; Padhi, Laxmipriya; Leyssen, Pieter; Liu, Maoxuan; Neyts, Johan; Luyten, Walter

2017-01-01

In the present study, we tested in vitro different parts of 35 plants used by tribals of the Similipal Biosphere Reserve (SBR, Mayurbhanj district, India) for the management of infections. From each plant, three extracts were prepared with different solvents (water, ethanol, and acetone) and tested for antimicrobial (E. coli, S. aureus, C. albicans); anthelmintic (C. elegans); and antiviral (enterovirus 71) bioactivity. In total, 35 plant species belonging to 21 families were recorded from tribes of the SBR and periphery. Of the 35 plants, eight plants (23%) showed broad-spectrum in vitro antimicrobial activity (inhibiting all three test strains), while 12 (34%) exhibited narrow spectrum activity against individual pathogens (seven as anti-staphylococcal and five as anti-candidal). Plants such as Alangium salviifolium, Antidesma bunius, Bauhinia racemosa, Careya arborea, Caseria graveolens, Cleistanthus patulus, Colebrookea oppositifolia, Crotalaria pallida, Croton roxburghii, Holarrhena pubescens, Hypericum gaitii, Macaranga peltata, Protium serratum, Rubus ellipticus, and Suregada multiflora showed strong antibacterial effects, whilst Alstonia scholaris, Butea monosperma, C. arborea, C. pallida, Diospyros malbarica, Gmelina arborea, H. pubescens, M. peltata, P. serratum, Pterospermum acerifolium, R. ellipticus, and S. multiflora demonstrated strong antifungal activity. Plants such as A. salviifolium, A. bunius, Aporosa octandra, Barringtonia acutangula, C. graveolens, C. pallida, C. patulus, G. arborea, H. pubescens, H. gaitii, Lannea coromandelica, M. peltata, Melastoma malabathricum, Millettia extensa, Nyctanthes arbor-tristis, P. serratum, P. acerifolium, R. ellipticus, S. multiflora, Symplocos cochinchinensis, Ventilago maderaspatana, and Wrightia arborea inhibit survival of C. elegans and could be a potential source for anthelmintic activity. Additionally, plants such as A. bunius, C. graveolens, C. patulus, C. oppositifolia, H. gaitii, M. extensa, P

Antimicrobial, Anthelmintic, and Antiviral Activity of Plants Traditionally Used for Treating Infectious Disease in the Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Odisha, India.

PubMed

Panda, Sujogya K; Padhi, Laxmipriya; Leyssen, Pieter; Liu, Maoxuan; Neyts, Johan; Luyten, Walter

2017-01-01

In the present study, we tested in vitro different parts of 35 plants used by tribals of the Similipal Biosphere Reserve (SBR, Mayurbhanj district, India) for the management of infections. From each plant, three extracts were prepared with different solvents (water, ethanol, and acetone) and tested for antimicrobial ( E. coli, S. aureus, C. albicans ); anthelmintic ( C. elegans ); and antiviral ( enterovirus 71 ) bioactivity. In total, 35 plant species belonging to 21 families were recorded from tribes of the SBR and periphery. Of the 35 plants, eight plants (23%) showed broad-spectrum in vitro antimicrobial activity (inhibiting all three test strains), while 12 (34%) exhibited narrow spectrum activity against individual pathogens (seven as anti-staphylococcal and five as anti-candidal). Plants such as Alangium salviifolium, Antidesma bunius, Bauhinia racemosa, Careya arborea, Caseria graveolens, Cleistanthus patulus, Colebrookea oppositifolia, Crotalaria pallida, Croton roxburghii, Holarrhena pubescens, Hypericum gaitii, Macaranga peltata, Protium serratum, Rubus ellipticus , and Suregada multiflora showed strong antibacterial effects, whilst Alstonia scholaris, Butea monosperma, C. arborea, C. pallida, Diospyros malbarica, Gmelina arborea, H. pubescens, M. peltata, P. serratum, Pterospermum acerifolium, R. ellipticus , and S. multiflora demonstrated strong antifungal activity. Plants such as A. salviifolium, A. bunius, Aporosa octandra, Barringtonia acutangula, C. graveolens, C. pallida, C. patulus, G. arborea, H. pubescens, H. gaitii, Lannea coromandelica, M. peltata, Melastoma malabathricum, Millettia extensa, Nyctanthes arbor-tristis, P. serratum, P. acerifolium, R. ellipticus, S. multiflora, Symplocos cochinchinensis, Ventilago maderaspatana , and Wrightia arborea inhibit survival of C. elegans and could be a potential source for anthelmintic activity. Additionally, plants such as A. bunius, C. graveolens, C. patulus, C. oppositifolia, H. gaitii, M. extensa

[Beginning of the Microbiology education in Chile: formation centers].

PubMed

Osorio, Carlos

2015-08-01

The first Chair of Microbiology in Chile was created in the School of Medicine of the Cañadilla at the University of Chile in 1892. Dr. Alejandro del Río Soto Aguilar was its first Professor. For almost three decades it was the only educational center for microbiologists in Chile. Among them were the first Professors of the new School of Medicine of the Catholic University of Chile and of the University of Concepción.

Quantifying the influence of the terrestrial biosphere on glacial-interglacial climate dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies-Barnard, Taraka; Ridgwell, Andy; Singarayer, Joy; Valdes, Paul

2017-10-01

The terrestrial biosphere is thought to be a key component in the climatic variability seen in the palaeo-record. It has a direct impact on surface temperature through changes in surface albedo and evapotranspiration (so-called biogeophysical effects) and, in addition, has an important indirect effect through changes in vegetation and soil carbon storage (biogeochemical effects) and hence modulates the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The biogeochemical and biogeophysical effects generally have opposite signs, meaning that the terrestrial biosphere could potentially have played only a very minor role in the dynamics of the glacial-interglacial cycles of the late Quaternary. Here we use a fully coupled dynamic atmosphere-ocean-vegetation general circulation model (GCM) to generate a set of 62 equilibrium simulations spanning the last 120 kyr. The analysis of these simulations elucidates the relative importance of the biogeophysical versus biogeochemical terrestrial biosphere interactions with climate. We find that the biogeophysical effects of vegetation account for up to an additional -0.91 °C global mean cooling, with regional cooling as large as -5 °C, but with considerable variability across the glacial-interglacial cycle. By comparison, while opposite in sign, our model estimates of the biogeochemical impacts are substantially smaller in magnitude. Offline simulations show a maximum of +0.33 °C warming due to an increase of 25 ppm above our (pre-industrial) baseline atmospheric CO2 mixing ratio. In contrast to shorter (century) timescale projections of future terrestrial biosphere response where direct and indirect responses may at times cancel out, we find that the biogeophysical effects consistently and strongly dominate the biogeochemical effect over the inter-glacial cycle. On average across the period, the terrestrial biosphere has a -0.26 °C effect on temperature, with -0.58 °C at the Last Glacial Maximum. Depending on

Characterizing biospheric carbon balance using CO2 observations from the OCO-2 satellite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, Scot M.; Michalak, Anna M.; Yadav, Vineet; Tadić, Jovan M.

2018-05-01

NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2) satellite launched in summer of 2014. Its observations could allow scientists to constrain CO2 fluxes across regions or continents that were previously difficult to monitor. This study explores an initial step toward that goal; we evaluate the extent to which current OCO-2 observations can detect patterns in biospheric CO2 fluxes and constrain monthly CO2 budgets. Our goal is to guide top-down, inverse modeling studies and identify areas for future improvement. We find that uncertainties and biases in the individual OCO-2 observations are comparable to the atmospheric signal from biospheric fluxes, particularly during Northern Hemisphere winter when biospheric fluxes are small. A series of top-down experiments indicate how these errors affect our ability to constrain monthly biospheric CO2 budgets. We are able to constrain budgets for between two and four global regions using OCO-2 observations, depending on the month, and we can constrain CO2 budgets at the regional level (i.e., smaller than seven global biomes) in only a handful of cases (16 % of all regions and months). The potential of the OCO-2 observations, however, is greater than these results might imply. A set of synthetic data experiments suggests that retrieval errors have a salient effect. Advances in retrieval algorithms and to a lesser extent atmospheric transport modeling will improve the results. In the interim, top-down studies that use current satellite observations are best-equipped to constrain the biospheric carbon balance across only continental or hemispheric regions.

[The ways in which variations in space and atmospheric factors act upon the biosphere and humans].

PubMed

Chernogor, L F

2010-01-01

The system analysis is validated to be an efficient means for studying the channels through which variations in space and tropospheric weather affect the biosphere (humans). The basics of the system analysis paradigm are presented. The causes of variations in space and tropospheric weather are determined, and the interrelations between them are demonstrated. The ways in which these variations affect the biosphere (humans) are discussed. Aperiodic and quasi-periodic disturbances in the physical fields that influence the biosphere (humans) are intercompared.

Preliminary Feasibility Study of a Hybrid Solar and Modular Pumped Storage Hydro System at Biosphere 2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lansey, Kevin; Hortsman, Chris

2016-10-01

In this study, the preliminary feasibility of a hybrid solar and modular pumped storage system designed for high energy independence at Biosphere 2 is assessed. The system consists of an array of solar PV panels that generate electricity during the day to power both Biosphere 2 and a pump that sends water through a pipe to a tank at a high elevation. When solar power is not available, the water is released back down the pipe towards a tank at a lower elevation, where it passes through a hydraulic water turbine to generate hydroelectricity to power Biosphere 2. The hybridmore » system is sized to generate and store enough energy to enable Biosphere 2 to operate without a grid interconnection on an average day.« less

What are the Outstanding Questions in Biosphere-Atmosphere Exchange?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katul, G.; Finnigan, J.

2002-12-01

Our answer to this question has three parts. At the highest level human population is now so large (and will grow to 10-12 million by 2050 before stabilizing and reversing) and our capacity to influence the biosphere is so profound that we must now treat human, biophysical and geophysical processes as a single interacting system: the Anthroposphere. The Anthroposphere is a complex adaptive system (CAS) in the sense that action of humans individually or in groups (as large as nations) are a response to an environment that includes not just the geosphere and biosphere but the sum of human interactions as well. These actions, in turn, will change this system that provides critical ecosystem services that we are just now realizing are finite and threatened. At present we lack the tools and understanding even to frame key questions about the Anthroposphere although the emerging discipline of Complex System Science is hinting at ways this might be done. At the next level we address the problems posed by cross-scale interactions central to the state and function of the geosphere and biosphere, where processes at the cellular level, (e.g. photosynthesis and respiration), have consequences on the global level and vice-versa through a sequence of non-linear upscale and downscale interactions. Currently there are large gaps in our understanding of this scale cascade that inhibit our ability to parameterize, model and predict phenomena such as the rapid shifts in climate that recent studies of the paleo record have revealed. In short, we need to quantify the risk that our current actions may cause abrupt climate changes that may then feed upon the Anthrosphere. Unless we can reduce the uncertainty with which we describe quantitatively the non-human parts of the Anthroposphere, the injection of models of human interaction, initially tentative, may reduce our predictive ability to unusable levels. Finally we can detail a set of key processes that are themselves critical to

Swansong biospheres II: the final signs of life on terrestrial planets near the end of their habitable lifetimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Malley-James, Jack T.; Cockell, Charles S.; Greaves, Jane S.; Raven, John A.

2014-07-01

The biosignatures of life on Earth do not remain static, but change considerably over the planet's habitable lifetime. Earth's future biosphere, much like that of the early Earth, will consist of predominantly unicellular microorganisms due to the increased hostility of environmental conditions caused by the Sun as it enters the late stage of its main sequence evolution. Building on previous work, the productivity of the biosphere is evaluated during different stages of biosphere decline between 1 and 2.8 Gyr from present. A simple atmosphere-biosphere interaction model is used to estimate the atmospheric biomarker gas abundances at each stage and to assess the likelihood of remotely detecting the presence of life in low-productivity, microbial biospheres, putting an upper limit on the lifetime of Earth's remotely detectable biosignatures. Other potential biosignatures such as leaf reflectance and cloud cover are discussed.

The current situation for gastric cancer in Chile

PubMed Central

Caglevic, Christian; Silva, Shirley; Mahave, Mauricio; Rolfo, Christian; Gallardo, Jorge

2016-01-01

Gastric cancer is a neoplasm with a high incidence and mortality rate in Chile where more than 3000 people die every year from this type of cancer. This study shows the clinical and epidemiological considerations of this disease, information about translational research on this pathology in Chile, the contribution of Chilean doctors to the development of gastric cancer management awareness and the general situation of gastric cancer in Chile. PMID:28105078

The current situation for gastric cancer in Chile.

PubMed

Caglevic, Christian; Silva, Shirley; Mahave, Mauricio; Rolfo, Christian; Gallardo, Jorge

2016-01-01

Gastric cancer is a neoplasm with a high incidence and mortality rate in Chile where more than 3000 people die every year from this type of cancer. This study shows the clinical and epidemiological considerations of this disease, information about translational research on this pathology in Chile, the contribution of Chilean doctors to the development of gastric cancer management awareness and the general situation of gastric cancer in Chile.

Using observations to evaluate biosphere-atmosphere interactions in models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Green, Julia; Konings, Alexandra G.; Alemohammad, Seyed H.; Gentine, Pierre

2017-04-01

Biosphere-atmosphere interactions influence the hydrologic cycle by altering climate and weather patterns (Charney, 1975; Koster et al., 2006; Seneviratne et al., 2006), contributing up to 30% of precipitation and radiation variability in certain regions (Green et al., 2017). They have been shown to contribute to the persistence of drought in Europe (Seneviratne et al., 2006), as well as to increase rainfall in the Amazon (Spracklen et al., 2012). Thus, a true representation of these feedbacks in Earth System Models (ESMs) is crucial for accurate forecasting and planning. However, it has been difficult to validate the performance of ESMs since often-times surface and atmospheric flux data are scarce and/or difficult to observe. In this study, we use the results of a new global observational study (using remotely sensed solar-induced fluorescence to represent the biosphere flux) (Green et al., 2017) to determine how well a suite of 13 ESMs capture biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks. We perform a Conditional Multivariate Granger Causality analysis in the frequency domain with radiation, precipitation and temperature as atmospheric inputs and GPP as the biospheric input. Performing the analysis in the frequency domain allows for separation of feedbacks at different time-scales (subseasonal, seasonal or interannual). Our findings can be used to determine whether there is agreement between models, as well as, to pinpoint regions or time-scales of model bias or inaccuracy, which will provide insight on potential improvement. We demonstrate that in addition to the well-known problem of convective parameterization over land in models, the main issue in representing feedbacks between the land and the atmosphere is due to the misrepresentation of water stress. These results provide a direct quantitative assessment of feedbacks in models and how to improve them. References: Charney, J.G. Dynamics of deserts and drought in the Sahel. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological

The Impact of Prior Biosphere Models in the Inversion of Global Terrestrial CO2 Fluxes by Assimilating OCO-2 Retrievals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Philip, Sajeev; Johnson, Matthew S.

2018-01-01

Atmospheric mixing ratios of carbon dioxide (CO2) are largely controlled by anthropogenic emissions and biospheric fluxes. The processes controlling terrestrial biosphere-atmosphere carbon exchange are currently not fully understood, resulting in terrestrial biospheric models having significant differences in the quantification of biospheric CO2 fluxes. Atmospheric transport models assimilating measured (in situ or space-borne) CO2 concentrations to estimate "top-down" fluxes, generally use these biospheric CO2 fluxes as a priori information. Most of the flux inversion estimates result in substantially different spatio-temporal posteriori estimates of regional and global biospheric CO2 fluxes. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2) satellite mission dedicated to accurately measure column CO2 (XCO2) allows for an improved understanding of global biospheric CO2 fluxes. OCO-2 provides much-needed CO2 observations in data-limited regions facilitating better global and regional estimates of "top-down" CO2 fluxes through inversion model simulations. The specific objectives of our research are to: 1) conduct GEOS-Chem 4D-Var assimilation of OCO-2 observations, using several state-of-the-science biospheric CO2 flux models as a priori information, to better constrain terrestrial CO2 fluxes, and 2) quantify the impact of different biospheric model prior fluxes on OCO-2-assimilated a posteriori CO2 flux estimates. Here we present our assessment of the importance of these a priori fluxes by conducting Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSE) using simulated OCO-2 observations with known "true" fluxes.

Rising Expectations in Brazil and Chile

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elacqua, Gregory; Alves, Fatima

2014-01-01

Two themes connect Brazil and Chile: one is economic success; the other is social unrest. Protests rocked cities across Brazil in June 2013, and in Chile, recent student protests turned violent. Yet living conditions in both nations are better now than they've ever been. Successful economic and social reforms over the last two decades have led to…

ESO and Chile: 10 Years of Productive Scientific Collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2006-06-01

ESO and the Government of Chile launched today the book "10 Years Exploring the Universe", written by the beneficiaries of the ESO-Chile Joint Committee. This annual fund provides grants for individual Chilean scientists, research infrastructures, scientific congresses, workshops for science teachers and astronomy outreach programmes for the public. In a ceremony held in Santiago on 19 June 2006, the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO) and the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs marked the 10th Anniversary of the Supplementary Agreement, which granted to Chilean astronomers up to 10 percent of the total observing time on ESO telescopes. This agreement also established an annual fund for the development of astronomy, managed by the so-called "ESO-Chile Joint Committee". ESO PR Photo 21/06 ESO PR Photo 21/06 Ten Years ESO-Chile Agreement Ceremony The celebration event was hosted by ESO Director General, Dr. Catherine Cesarsky, and the Director of Special Policy for the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Luis Winter. "ESO's commitment is, and always will be, to promote astronomy and scientific knowledge in the country hosting our observatories", said ESO Director General, Dr. Catherine Cesarsky. "We hope Chile and Europe will continue with great achievements in this fascinating joint adventure, the exploration of the universe." On behalf of the Government of Chile, Ambassador Luis Winter outlined the historical importance of the Supplementary Agreement, ratified by the Chilean Congress in 1996. "Such is the magnitude of ESO-Chile Joint Committee that, only in 2005, this annual fund represented 8 percent of all financing sources for Chilean astronomy, including those from Government and universities", Ambassador Winter said. The ESO Representative and Head of Science in Chile, Dr. Felix Mirabel, and the appointed Chilean astronomer for the ESO-Chile Joint Committee, Dr. Leonardo Bronfman, also took part in the

An intragenic approach to confer glyphosate resistance in chile (Capsicum annuum) by introducing an in vitro mutagenized chile EPSPS gene encoding for a glyphosate resistant EPSPS protein

PubMed Central

Bagga, Suman; Apodaca, Kimberly; Lucero, Yvonne

2018-01-01

Chile pepper (Capsicum annuum) is an important high valued crop worldwide, and when grown on a large scale has problems with weeds. One important herbicide used is glyphosate. Glyphosate inactivates the enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS), a key enzyme in the synthesis of aromatic amino acids. A transgenic approach towards making glyphosate resistant plants, entails introducing copies of a gene encoding for glyphosate-resistant EPSPS enzyme into the plant. The main objective of our work was to use an intragenic approach to confer resistance to glyphosate in chile which would require using only chile genes for transformation including the selectable marker. Tobacco was used as the transgenic system to identify different gene constructs that would allow for the development of the intragenic system for chile, since chile transformation is inefficient. An EPSPS gene was isolated from chile and mutagenized to introduce substitutions that are known to make the encoded enzyme resistant to glyphosate. The promoter for EPSPS gene was isolated from chile and the mutagenized chile EPSPS cDNA was engineered behind both the CaMV35S promoter and the EPSPS promoter. The leaves from the transformants were checked for resistance to glyphosate using a cut leaf assay. In tobacco, though both gene constructs exhibited some degree of resistance to glyphosate, the construct with the CaMV35S promoter was more effective and as such chile was transformed with this gene construct. The chile transformants showed resistance to low concentrations of glyphosate. Furthermore, preliminary studies showed that the mutated EPSPS gene driven by the CaMV35S promoter could be used as a selectable marker for transformation. We have shown that an intragenic approach can be used to confer glyphosate-resistance in chile. However, we need a stronger chile promoter and a mutated chile gene that encodes for a more glyphosate resistant EPSPS protein. PMID:29649228

[New medical schools in Chile].

PubMed

Castillo, P

1994-03-01

In Chile there are six established medical schools at public (Chile, Valparaiso and Temuco) or private (Catholic, Concepción and Austral) universities created between 1833 and 1971. Since 1990, three new medical schools (two private) were created and a fourth is projected, concerning the chilean medical corps. We present three position articles on the subject written by Dean Pedro Rosso, from the Catholic University, Dr Pedro Castillo, Chief of Human Resources of the Ministry of Health and Dean Alejandro Goic from the University of Chile. Dean Rosso emphasizes the need to have assessment procedures that guarantee quality standards in the new medical schools. Dr Castillo attracts attention on preserving the compromise with the society, inherent to chilean medicine. Dean Goic analyzes systematically the reasons to prevent the proliferation of medical schools in the country, maintaining an equilibrium between freedom of teaching and public faith protection.

On the edge of a deep biosphere: Real animals in extreme environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Childress, James J.; Fisher, Charles F.; Felbeck, Horst; Girguis, Peter

This paper considers the possibility of animals living in a subsurface environment on the global mid-ocean ridge system. It considers the possible environments and looks at the possibilities of animal inhabitants of the subsurface biosphere based on adaptations of animals to other extreme habitats. We conclude that there are known bridging inhabitants of the subsurface biosphere, that part-time inhabitants are extremely likely, and that there could be full-time inhabitants if conditions are stable within the tolerance limits of metazoans for time periods of months.

Central Chile

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

The beginning of spring in central Chile looked like this to SeaWiFS. The snow-covered Andes mark the country's eastern border, and phytoplankton blooms and river sediment plumes fill the waters off its west coast. A large eddy due west of Concepcion is highlighted by the phytoplankton it contains.

Palaeoecological data as a tool to predict possible future vegetation changes in the boreal forest zone of European Russia: a case study from the Central Forest Biosphere Reserve

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novenko, E. Yu; Tsyganov, A. N.; Olchev, A. V.

2018-01-01

New multi-proxy records (pollen, testate amoebae, and charcoal) were applied to reconstruct the vegetation dynamics in the boreal forest area of the southern part of Valdai Hills (the Central Forest Biosphere Reserve) during the Holocene. The reconstructions of the mean annual temperature and precipitation, the climate moisture index (CMI), peatland surface moisture, and fire activity have shown that climate change has a significant impact on the boreal forests of European Russia. Temperature growth and decreased moistening during the warmest phases of the Holocene Thermal Maximum in 7.0-6.2 ka BP and 6.0-5.5 ka BP and in the relatively warm phase in 3.4-2.5 ka BP led to structural changes in plant communities, specifically an increase in the abundance of broadleaf tree species in forest stands and the suppression of Picea. The frequency of forest fires was higher in that period, and it resulted in the replacement of spruce forests by secondary stands with Betula and Pinus. Despite significant changes in the climatic parameters projected for the 21st century using even the optimistic RCP2.6 scenario, the time lag between climate changes and vegetation responses makes any catastrophic vegetation disturbances (due to natural reasons) in the area in the 21st century unlikely.

Estimation of Pre-industrial Nitrous Oxide Emission from the Terrestrial Biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, R.; Tian, H.; Lu, C.; Zhang, B.; Pan, S.; Yang, J.

2015-12-01

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is currently the third most important greenhouse gases (GHG) after methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Global N2O emission increased substantially primarily due to reactive nitrogen (N) enrichment through fossil fuel combustion, fertilizer production, and legume crop cultivation etc. In order to understand how climate system is perturbed by anthropogenic N2O emissions from the terrestrial biosphere, it is necessary to better estimate the pre-industrial N2O emissions. Previous estimations of natural N2O emissions from the terrestrial biosphere range from 3.3-9.0 Tg N2O-N yr-1. This large uncertainty in the estimation of pre-industrial N2O emissions from the terrestrial biosphere may be caused by uncertainty associated with key parameters such as maximum nitrification and denitrification rates, half-saturation coefficients of soil ammonium and nitrate, N fixation rate, and maximum N uptake rate. In addition to the large estimation range, previous studies did not provide an estimate on preindustrial N2O emissions at regional and biome levels. In this study, we applied a process-based coupled biogeochemical model to estimate the magnitude and spatial patterns of pre-industrial N2O fluxes at biome and continental scales as driven by multiple input data, including pre-industrial climate data, atmospheric CO2 concentration, N deposition, N fixation, and land cover types and distributions. Uncertainty associated with key parameters is also evaluated. Finally, we generate sector-based estimates of pre-industrial N2O emission, which provides a reference for assessing the climate forcing of anthropogenic N2O emission from the land biosphere.

Methane Production and Transport within the Marsh Biome of Biosphere 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Molnar, Jennifer; Goodridge, Kelven

1997-01-01

In recent decades, the concentration of methane in the earth's atmosphere increased 1-2% annually. It's rate of increases, combined with methane's effectiveness as a greenhouse gas, has led to an intensive research effort to determine the sources and sinks of the gas in the environment. Biosphere 2 offers a unique opportunity to contribute to the effort because it lacks a major photochemical sink present in the Earth's atmosphere. Researchers can therefore concentrate on biological processes involved in methane cycles. Wetlands are a large source of atmospheric methane, due to anoxic conditions in the sediments and the abundance of organic materials. In order to determine if these conditions in Biosphere 2 also promote methane production, this study looked for the fluxes of methane and methods of transport of the gas from from the water and sediments to the atmosphere in the Marsh Biome. Fluxes of methane from the sediments and waters were measured using static chambers, peepers, and leaf bags. Fluxes and vertical profiles of methane in the sediments show that substantial amounts of methane are being produced in the marsh and are being transported into the Biosphere 2 environment.

Expedition Atacama - project AMOS in Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tóth, J.; Kaniansky, S.

2016-01-01

The Slovak Video Meteor Network operates since 2009 (Tóth et al., 2011). It currently consists of four semi-automated all-sky video cameras, developed at the Astronomical Observatory in Modra, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. Two new generations of AMOS (All-sky Meteor Orbit System) cameras operate fully automatically at the Canary Islands, Tenerife and La Palma, since March 2015 (Tóth et al., 2015). As a logical step, we plan to cover the southern hemisphere from Chile. We present observational experiences in meteor astronomy from the Atacama Desert and other astronomical sites in Chile. This summary of the observations lists meteor spectra records (26) between Nov.5-13, 2015 mostly Taurid meteors, single and double station meteors as well as the first light from the permanent AMOS stations in Chile.

SeaWiFS Third Anniversary Global Biosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

September 18,2000 is the third anniversary of the start of regular SeaWiFS operations of this remarkable planet called Earth. This SeaWiFS image is of the Global Biosphere depicting the ocean's long-term average phytoplankton chlorophyll concentration acquired between September 1997 and August 2000 combined with the SeaWiFS-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) over land during July 2000.

OECD Reviews of School Resources: Chile 2017

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santiago, Paulo; Fiszbein, Ariel; Jaramillo, Sandra García; Radinger, Thomas

2017-01-01

This country review report for Chile provides, from an international perspective, an independent analysis of major issues facing the use of school resources in Chile, current policy initiatives, and possible future approaches. The report serves three purposes: i) to provide insights and advice to Chilean education authorities; ii) to help other…

A Partnership for a Community College in Chile

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCrink, Carmen L.; Whitford, Heidi

2017-01-01

This chapter describes the results of case study research on a partnership between a community college in the United States and a university in Chile that attempted to develop the first community college system in Chile.

Radiological risk assessment and biosphere modelling for radioactive waste disposal in Switzerland.

PubMed

Brennwald, M S; van Dorp, F

2009-12-01

Long-term safety assessments for geological disposal of radioactive waste in Switzerland involve the demonstration that the annual radiation dose to humans due to the potential release of radionuclides from the waste repository into the biosphere will not exceed the regulatory limit of 0.1 mSv. Here, we describe the simple but robust approach used by Nagra (Swiss National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste) to quantify the dose to humans as a result to time-dependent release of radionuclides from the geosphere into the biosphere. The model calculates the concentrations of radionuclides in different terrestrial and aquatic compartments of the surface environment. The fluxes of water and solids within the environment are the drivers for the exchange of radionuclides between these compartments. The calculated radionuclide concentrations in the biosphere are then used to estimate the radiation doses to humans due to various exposure paths (e.g. ingestion of radionuclides via drinking water and food, inhalation of radionuclides, external irradiation from radionuclides in soils). In this paper we also discuss recent new achievements and planned future work.

Documents from Chile Public Participation Training – Chile – January 2013

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA delivered a two-day workshop in Chile, on public participation. The course intended to enable students to increase the level of public impact through the levels of public participation, found on EPA’s Public Participation Guide.

Application of the Spanish methodological approach for biosphere assessment to a generic high-level waste disposal site.

PubMed

Agüero, A; Pinedo, P; Simón, I; Cancio, D; Moraleda, M; Trueba, C; Pérez-Sánchez, D

2008-09-15

A methodological approach which includes conceptual developments, methodological aspects and software tools have been developed in the Spanish context, based on the BIOMASS "Reference Biospheres Methodology". The biosphere assessments have to be undertaken with the aim of demonstrating compliance with principles and regulations established to limit the possible radiological impact of radioactive waste disposals on human health and on the environment, and to ensure that future generations will not be exposed to higher radiation levels than those that would be acceptable today. The biosphere in the context of high-level waste disposal is defined as the collection of various radionuclide transfer pathways that may result in releases into the surface environment, transport within and between the biosphere receptors, exposure of humans and biota, and the doses/risks associated with such exposures. The assessments need to take into account the complexity of the biosphere, the nature of the radionuclides released and the long timescales considered. It is also necessary to make assumptions related to the habits and lifestyle of the exposed population, human activities in the long term and possible modifications of the biosphere. A summary on the Spanish methodological approach for biosphere assessment are presented here as well as its application in a Spanish generic case study. A reference scenario has been developed based on current conditions at a site located in Central-West Spain, to indicate the potential impact to the actual population. In addition, environmental change has been considered qualitatively through the use of interaction matrices and transition diagrams. Unit source terms of (36)Cl, (79)Se, (99)Tc, (129)I, (135)Cs, (226)Ra, (231)Pa, (238)U, (237)Np and (239)Pu have been taken. Two exposure groups of infants and adults have been chosen for dose calculations. Results are presented and their robustness is evaluated through the use of uncertainty and

Response of the rare biosphere to environmental stressors in a highly diverse ecosystem (Zodletone spring, OK, USA)

PubMed Central

Coveley, Suzanne; Elshahed, Mostafa S.

2015-01-01

Within highly diverse ecosystems, the majority of bacterial taxa are present in low abundance as members of the rare biosphere. The rationale for the occurrence and maintenance of the rare biosphere, and the putative ecological role(s) and dynamics of its members within a specific ecosystem is currently debated. We hypothesized that in highly diverse ecosystems, a fraction of the rare biosphere acts as a backup system that readily responds to environmental disturbances. We tested this hypothesis by subjecting sediments from Zodletone spring, a sulfide- and sulfur-rich spring in Southwestern OK, to incremental levels of salinity (1, 2, 3, 4, and 10% NaCl), or temperature (28°, 30°, 32°, and 70 °C), and traced the trajectories of rare members of the community in response to these manipulations using 16S rRNA gene analysis. Our results indicate that multiple rare bacterial taxa are promoted from rare to abundant members of the community following such manipulations and that, in general, the magnitude of such recruitment is directly proportional to the severity of the applied manipulation. Rare members that are phylogenetically distinct from abundant taxa in the original sample (unique rare biosphere) played a more important role in the microbial community response to environmental disturbances, compared to rare members that are phylogenetically similar to abundant taxa in the original sample (non-unique rare biosphere). The results emphasize the dynamic nature of the rare biosphere, and highlight its complexity and non-monolithic nature. PMID:26312178

Response of the rare biosphere to environmental stressors in a highly diverse ecosystem (Zodletone spring, OK, USA).

PubMed

Coveley, Suzanne; Elshahed, Mostafa S; Youssef, Noha H

2015-01-01

Within highly diverse ecosystems, the majority of bacterial taxa are present in low abundance as members of the rare biosphere. The rationale for the occurrence and maintenance of the rare biosphere, and the putative ecological role(s) and dynamics of its members within a specific ecosystem is currently debated. We hypothesized that in highly diverse ecosystems, a fraction of the rare biosphere acts as a backup system that readily responds to environmental disturbances. We tested this hypothesis by subjecting sediments from Zodletone spring, a sulfide- and sulfur-rich spring in Southwestern OK, to incremental levels of salinity (1, 2, 3, 4, and 10% NaCl), or temperature (28°, 30°, 32°, and 70 °C), and traced the trajectories of rare members of the community in response to these manipulations using 16S rRNA gene analysis. Our results indicate that multiple rare bacterial taxa are promoted from rare to abundant members of the community following such manipulations and that, in general, the magnitude of such recruitment is directly proportional to the severity of the applied manipulation. Rare members that are phylogenetically distinct from abundant taxa in the original sample (unique rare biosphere) played a more important role in the microbial community response to environmental disturbances, compared to rare members that are phylogenetically similar to abundant taxa in the original sample (non-unique rare biosphere). The results emphasize the dynamic nature of the rare biosphere, and highlight its complexity and non-monolithic nature.

An extensive phase space for the potential martian biosphere.

PubMed

Jones, Eriita G; Lineweaver, Charles H; Clarke, Jonathan D

2011-12-01

We present a comprehensive model of martian pressure-temperature (P-T) phase space and compare it with that of Earth. Martian P-T conditions compatible with liquid water extend to a depth of ∼310 km. We use our phase space model of Mars and of terrestrial life to estimate the depths and extent of the water on Mars that is habitable for terrestrial life. We find an extensive overlap between inhabited terrestrial phase space and martian phase space. The lower martian surface temperatures and shallower martian geotherm suggest that, if there is a hot deep biosphere on Mars, it could extend 7 times deeper than the ∼5 km depth of the hot deep terrestrial biosphere in the crust inhabited by hyperthermophilic chemolithotrophs. This corresponds to ∼3.2% of the volume of present-day Mars being potentially habitable for terrestrial-like life.

Implications of Biospheric Energization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budding, Edd; Demircan, Osman; Gündüz, Güngör; Emin Özel, Mehmet

2016-07-01

Our physical model relating to the origin and development of lifelike processes from very simple beginnings is reviewed. This molecular ('ABC') process is compared with the chemoton model, noting the role of the autocatalytic tuning to the time-dependent source of energy. This substantiates a Darwinian character to evolution. The system evolves from very simple beginnings to a progressively more highly tuned, energized and complex responding biosphere, that grows exponentially; albeit with a very low net growth factor. Rates of growth and complexity in the evolution raise disturbing issues of inherent stability. Autocatalytic processes can include a fractal character to their development allowing recapitulative effects to be observed. This property, in allowing similarities of pattern to be recognized, can be useful in interpreting complex (lifelike) systems.

[Health inequality gap in inmigrant versus local children in Chile].

PubMed

Cabieses, Baltica; Chepo, Macarena; Oyarte, Marcela; Markkula, Niina; Bustos, Patricia; Pedrero, Víctor; Delgado, Iris

2017-12-01

Children and young international migrants face different health challenges compa red with the local population, particularly if they live in insecure environments or adverse social conditions. This study seeks to identify gaps in health outcomes of children between immigrant and local population in Chile. This study analyses data from three sources: (i) Born in Chile: Electronic records of antenatal visits from all municipal antenatal clinics of Recoleta in 2012; (ii) Growing up in Chile: Population survey "National Socioeconomic Characterization" (CASEN) from 2013 and (iii) Getting sick in Chile: Data of all hospital discharges in 2012, provided by the department of statistics and health information (DEIS) of the Ministry of Health. (I) Born in Chile: Im migrants more frequently have psychosocial risk (62.3% vs 50.1% in Chileans) and enter later into the program (63.1% vs 33.4% enter later than 14 weeks of pregnancy). All birth outcomes were better among immigrants (e.g. caesarean sections rates: 24.2% immigrants vs % Chileans). (ii) Growing up in Chile: A higher proportion of migrant children is outside the school system and lives in multidi mensional poverty (40% immigrants vs 23.2% Chileans). (iii) Getting sick in Chile: Injuries and other external causes were more frequent cause of hospitalisation among migrants (23.6%) than the local population (16.7%) aged between 7 and 14 years. Addressing the needs of the children in Chile, regardless of their immigration status, is an ethical, legal and moral imperative.

Documents from Chile Public Participation Training – Chile – March 2011

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA delivered a two-day workshop in Santiago, Chile, on public participation. The course intended to enable students to increase the level of public impact through the levels of public participation, found on EPA’s Public Participation Guide.

The deep, hot biosphere: Twenty-five years of retrospection.

PubMed

Colman, Daniel R; Poudel, Saroj; Stamps, Blake W; Boyd, Eric S; Spear, John R

2017-07-03

Twenty-five years ago this month, Thomas Gold published a seminal manuscript suggesting the presence of a "deep, hot biosphere" in the Earth's crust. Since this publication, a considerable amount of attention has been given to the study of deep biospheres, their role in geochemical cycles, and their potential to inform on the origin of life and its potential outside of Earth. Overwhelming evidence now supports the presence of a deep biosphere ubiquitously distributed on Earth in both terrestrial and marine settings. Furthermore, it has become apparent that much of this life is dependent on lithogenically sourced high-energy compounds to sustain productivity. A vast diversity of uncultivated microorganisms has been detected in subsurface environments, and we show that H 2 , CH 4 , and CO feature prominently in many of their predicted metabolisms. Despite 25 years of intense study, key questions remain on life in the deep subsurface, including whether it is endemic and the extent of its involvement in the anaerobic formation and degradation of hydrocarbons. Emergent data from cultivation and next-generation sequencing approaches continue to provide promising new hints to answer these questions. As Gold suggested, and as has become increasingly evident, to better understand the subsurface is critical to further understanding the Earth, life, the evolution of life, and the potential for life elsewhere. To this end, we suggest the need to develop a robust network of interdisciplinary scientists and accessible field sites for long-term monitoring of the Earth's subsurface in the form of a deep subsurface microbiome initiative.

A solar radiation database for Chile.

PubMed

Molina, Alejandra; Falvey, Mark; Rondanelli, Roberto

2017-11-01

Chile hosts some of the sunniest places on earth, which has led to a growing solar energy industry in recent years. However, the lack of high resolution measurements of solar irradiance becomes a critical obstacle for both financing and design of solar installations. Besides the Atacama Desert, Chile displays a large array of "solar climates" due to large latitude and altitude variations, and so provides a useful testbed for the development of solar irradiance maps. Here a new public database for surface solar irradiance over Chile is presented. This database includes hourly irradiance from 2004 to 2016 at 90 m horizontal resolution over continental Chile. Our results are based on global reanalysis data to force a radiative transfer model for clear sky solar irradiance and an empirical model based on geostationary satellite data for cloudy conditions. The results have been validated using 140 surface solar irradiance stations throughout the country. Model mean percentage error in hourly time series of global horizontal irradiance is only 0.73%, considering both clear and cloudy days. The simplicity and accuracy of the model over a wide range of solar conditions provides confidence that the model can be easily generalized to other regions of the world.

Technical Review of the Laboratory Biosphere Closed Ecological System Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dempster, W.; van Thillo, M.; Alling, A.; Allen, J.; Silverstone, S.; Nelson, M.

The "Laboratory Biosphere", a new closed ecological system facility in Santa Fe, New Mexico (USA) has been constructed and became operational in May 2002. Built and operated by the Global Ecotechnics consortium (Biosphere Technologies and Biosphere Foundation with Biospheric Design Inc., and the Institute of Ecotechnics), the research apparatus for intensive crop growth, biogeochemical cycle dynamics and recycling of inedible crop biomass comprises a sealed cylindrical steel chamber and attached variable volume chamber (lung) to prevent pressures caused by the expansion and contraction of the contained air. The cylindrical growing chamber is 3.7m (12 feet) long and 3.7m (12 foot) diameter, giving an internal volume of 34 m3 (1200 ft 3 ). The two crop growth beds cover 5.5 m2, with a soil depth of 0.3m (12 inches), with 12 x 1000 watt high-pressure sodium lights capable of variable lighting of 40-70 mol per m2 per day. A small soil bed reactor in the chamber can be activated to help with metabolism of chamber trace gases. The volume of the attached variable volume chamber (lung) can range between 0-11 m3 (0-400 ft 3 ). Evapotranspired and soil leachate water are collected, combined and recycled to water the planting beds. Sampling ports enable testing of water quality of leachate, condensate and irrigation water. Visual inspection windows provide views of the entire interior and growing beds. The chamber is also outfitted with an airlock to minimize air exchange when people enter and work in the chamber. Continuous sensors include atmospheric CO2 and oxygen, temperature, humidity, soil moisture, light level and water levels in reservoirs. Both "sniffer" (air ports) and "sipper" (water ports) will enable collection of water or air samples for detailed analysis. This paper reports on the development of this new soil-based bioregenerative life support closed system apparatus and its technical challenges and capabilities.

Cosmic Rays as a Factor of Biospheric Evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miroshnichenko, L. I.

2014-10-01

There are no doubts that the Earth's space environment in the past inevitably has exerted direct and/or indirect influence [1-4] on the conditions of terrestrial life and biospheric evolution. Well-known space factors are usually the fluxes of cosmic dust and gas, comets and asteroids, cosmic rays (energetic particles of galactic and/or solar origin), interplanetary plasma (solar wind) and electromagnetic radiation of different energies, wave lengths, or frequencies. Of great interest are radiation conditions and their variations, especially in the remote past (over the geological time scales). The Sun, the most important and indispensable condition for the existence of the Earth's biosphere, is also a potential source of dangerous emissions. In continuation of (and in addition to) our review paper [3], below we summarize the observational data and results of theoretical works that have been carried out and/or published mainly after 2012. These studies are actually in the frontier region between the Astrobiology and Space Weather. Our main attention is paid to cosmic rays (CR) of galactic and solar origin (GCR and SCR, respectively).

Cosmic Rays as a Factor of Biosphere Evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miroshnichenko, L. I.

2014-11-01

There are no doubts that the Earth's space environment in the past inevitably exerted direct and/or indirect influence [1--4] on the conditions of terrestrial life and biospheric evolution. Well-known cosmic factors are usually streams of cosmic dust and gas, comets and asteroids, cosmic rays (energetic particles of galactic and/or solar origin), interplanetary plasma (solar wind), and electromagnetic radiation of different energies, wavelengths, or frequencies. Of great interest are radiation conditions and their variations, especially in the remote past (over the geological time scales). The Sun, the most important and indispensable condition for the existence of the Earth's biosphere, is also a potential source of dangerous emissions. In continuation of (and in addition to) our review paper [3], below we summarize the observational data and results of theoretical works that have been carried out and/or published mainly after 2012. These studies are actually in the frontier region between the Astrobiology and Space Weather. Our main attention is paid to cosmic rays (CR) of galactic and solar origin (GCR and SCR, respectively).

Is there a shadow biosphere of silicon utilizing organisms on earth?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, P.; Das, S.

2012-12-01

The idea of shadow biosphere was first visualized by Carol Cleland and Shelley Copley of the University of Colorado in 2005. Since that time many scientists were interested in this subject and the basis of this paper is also correlated with this novel idea. A shadow biosphere essentially consists of self replicating bodies utilizing one or more chemicals which are not exploited to such extent by organisms of the real biosphere. Silicon-utilizing organisms mainly belong to the diatoms, some other algae, sponges, monocotyledon plants in this category are classified by us. They can survive in extremes of temperature, pressure, radiation, pH, salinity and nutrient conditions and this unusual tolerance to stress depends on their silicon biomineralization occurring either as a biologically controlled process or as a biologically induced process. In the control process silicate is sequestered and transferred to the intracellular silica deposition vesicle by energy driven pump mechanism in presence of specific transporter protein. In induced silicon mineralization, initial amorphous nucleation of silicon is gradually transformed to a crystalline phase. Besides these two methods, there are also other processes in which formation of silanol and siloxane can occur from oligomers of silica originating from monomers by Hydrogen bonding, cation bridging and direct electrostatic interactions. The structure of the silica biomineralised cell wall in silicon utilizing organisms is very complex, but this may explain their ability to stress tolerance and their possible coordinating role with other essential bioactive elements in nature. When electropositive elements are less, then polymerization of silicon-oxygen excess may occur easily, particularly in carbon and nitrogen paucity in the environment. Thus all these features indicate possibility of a shadow biosphere of these organisms on earth.

Cytonuclear genetics of experimental fish hybrid zones inside Biosphere 2

USGS Publications Warehouse

Scribner, K.T.; Avise, John C.

1994-01-01

Two species of mosquitofish (family Poeciliidae) known to hybridize in nature were introduced into freshwater habitats inside Biosphere 2, and their population genetics were monitored after 2 years. Within four to six generations, nuclear and cytoplasmic markers characteristic of Gambusia holbrooki had risen greatly in frequency, although some Gambusia affinis alleles and haplotypes were retained primarily in recombinant genotypes, indicative of introgressive hybridization. The temporal cytonuclear dynamics proved similar to population genetic changes observed in replicated experimental hybrid populations outside of Biosphere 2, thus indicating strong directional selection favoring G. holbrooki genotypes across the range of environments monitored. When interpreted in the context of species-specific population demographies observed previously, results suggest that the extremely rapid evolution in these zones of secondary contact is attributable primarily to species differences in life-history traits.

Evaluating the effect of synchronized sea lice treatments in Chile.

PubMed

Arriagada, G; Stryhn, H; Sanchez, J; Vanderstichel, R; Campistó, J L; Rees, E E; Ibarra, R; St-Hilaire, S

2017-01-01

The sea louse is considered an important ectoparasite that affects farmed salmonids around the world. Sea lice control relies heavily on pharmacological treatments in several salmon-producing countries, including Chile. Among options for drug administration, immersion treatments represent the majority of antiparasitic control strategies used in Chile. As a topical procedure, immersion treatments do not induce a long lasting effect; therefore, re-infestation from neighbouring farms may undermine their efficacy. Synchronization of treatments has been proposed as a strategy to improve immersion treatment performance, but it has not been evaluated so far. Using a repeated-measures linear mixed-effect model, we evaluated the impact of treatment synchronization of neighbouring farms (within 10km seaway distance) on the adult lice mean abundance from weeks 2 to 8 post-treatment on rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon farms in Chile, while controlling for external and internal sources of lice before the treatments, and also for environmental and fish-related variables. Results indicate that treatment synchronization was significantly associated with lower adult lice levels from weeks 5 to 7 after treatment. This relationship appeared to be linear, suggesting that higher levels of synchronization may result in lower adult sea lice levels during these weeks. These findings suggest that synchronization can improve the performance of immersion delousing treatments by keeping sea lice levels low for a longer period of time. Our results may be applicable to other regions of the world where immersion treatments are widely used. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Status of market, regulation and research of genetically modified crops in Chile.

PubMed

Sánchez, Miguel A; León, Gabriel

2016-12-25

Agricultural biotechnology and genetically modified (GM) crops are effective tools to substantially increase productivity, quality, and environmental sustainability in agricultural farming. Furthermore, they may contribute to improving the nutritional content of crops, addressing needs related to public health. Chile has become one of the most important global players for GM seed production for counter-season markets and research purposes. It has a comprehensive regulatory framework to carry out this activity, while at the same time there are numerous regulations from different agencies addressing several aspects related to GM crops. Despite imports of GM food/feed or ingredients for the food industry being allowed without restrictions, Chilean farmers are not using GM seeds for farming purposes because of a lack of clear guidelines. Chile is in a rather contradictory situation about GM crops. The country has invested considerable resources to fund research and development on GM crops, but the lack of clarity in the current regulatory situation precludes the use of such research to develop new products for Chilean farmers. Meanwhile, a larger scientific capacity regarding GM crop research continues to build up in the country. The present study maps and analyses the current regulatory environment for research and production of GM crops in Chile, providing an updated overview of the current status of GM seeds production, research and regulatory issues. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In situ Detection of Microbial Life in the Deep Biosphere in Igneous Ocean Crust

PubMed Central

Salas, Everett C.; Bhartia, Rohit; Anderson, Louise; Hug, William F.; Reid, Ray D.; Iturrino, Gerardo; Edwards, Katrina J.

2015-01-01

The deep biosphere is a major frontier to science. Recent studies have shown the presence and activity of cells in deep marine sediments and in the continental deep biosphere. Volcanic lavas in the deep ocean subsurface, through which substantial fluid flow occurs, present another potentially massive deep biosphere. We present results from the deployment of a novel in situ logging tool designed to detect microbial life harbored in a deep, native, borehole environment within igneous oceanic crust, using deep ultraviolet native fluorescence spectroscopy. Results demonstrate the predominance of microbial-like signatures within the borehole environment, with densities in the range of 105 cells/mL. Based on transport and flux models, we estimate that such a concentration of microbial cells could not be supported by transport through the crust, suggesting in situ growth of these communities. PMID:26617595

In situ Detection of Microbial Life in the Deep Biosphere in Igneous Ocean Crust.

PubMed

Salas, Everett C; Bhartia, Rohit; Anderson, Louise; Hug, William F; Reid, Ray D; Iturrino, Gerardo; Edwards, Katrina J

2015-01-01

The deep biosphere is a major frontier to science. Recent studies have shown the presence and activity of cells in deep marine sediments and in the continental deep biosphere. Volcanic lavas in the deep ocean subsurface, through which substantial fluid flow occurs, present another potentially massive deep biosphere. We present results from the deployment of a novel in situ logging tool designed to detect microbial life harbored in a deep, native, borehole environment within igneous oceanic crust, using deep ultraviolet native fluorescence spectroscopy. Results demonstrate the predominance of microbial-like signatures within the borehole environment, with densities in the range of 10(5) cells/mL. Based on transport and flux models, we estimate that such a concentration of microbial cells could not be supported by transport through the crust, suggesting in situ growth of these communities.

[Isolation of Sporothrix pallida complex in clinical and environmental samples from Chile].

PubMed

Cruz Choappa, Rodrigo M; Vieille Oyarzo, Peggy I; Carvajal Silva, Laura C

2014-01-01

The isolation of S. pallida complex from medical samples and home garden soil of a patient in Chile is here in reported. Fungi of the Sporothrix schenckii complex can cause various infections. In Chile, the medical and environmental isolates of these this complex are rare. The aim of this study was to identify an unusual agent in a case of onychomycosis and to detect its presence in the patient's home garden. For this purpose, clinical samples were obtained by scraping the patient's subungueal first right toe nail as well as by taking soil samples from different areas of her home garden. Species identification was performed by morphophysiology and one of the strains isolated from the patient's toe nail was sent to CBS for molecular confirmation (14.062). S. pallida complex was identified both from the patient's toe nail and samples taken from her home garden. Copyright © 2014 Asociación Argentina de Microbiología. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

Chile: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-02

until 1818. By 1932, Chile had established a mass electoral democracy, which endured until 1973. During much of this period, Chile was governed by...served as “senators-for-life” and nine senators were designated by the armed forces and other bodies. 14 Peter M. Siavelis, “ Electoral System...Course in Democracy,” Washington Post , November 25, 2006. 24 “Chile: Pinochet-era Education Law Finally Replaced,” Latin News Weekly Report, August 20

Studies to Control Endemic Typhoid Fever in Chile

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-09-01

Society for Microbiology, Chapter 16. 10. Medina E, Yrarrazaval M. (1983) Fiebre tifoidea en Chile: Consideraciones epideniologicas. Revista Medica de...epidesiologia de la fiebre tifoidea . Boletin de !a Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia universidad catolica de Chile. 30:113-119. 14. Reyes H, Olea M, Hernandez

75 FR 3756 - Preserved Mushrooms from Chile, China, India, and Indonesia

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-22

...)] Preserved Mushrooms from Chile, China, India, and Indonesia AGENCY: United States International Trade... preserved mushrooms from Chile, China, India, and Indonesia. SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives notice of... mushrooms from Chile, China, India, and Indonesia would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of...

Impact craters as biospheric microenvironments, Lawn Hill Structure, Northern Australia.

PubMed

Lindsay, John; Brasier, Martin

2006-04-01

Impact craters on Mars act as traps for eolian sediment and in the past may have provided suitable microenvironments that could have supported and preserved a stressed biosphere. If this is so, terrestrial impact structures such as the 18-km-diameter Lawn Hill Structure, in northern Australia, may prove useful as martian analogs. We sampled outcrop and drill core from the carbonate fill of the Lawn Hill Structure and recorded its gamma-log signature. Facies data along with whole rock geochemistry and stable isotope signatures show that the crater fill is an outlier of the Georgina Basin and was formed by impact at, or shortly before, approximately 509-506 million years ago. Subsequently, it was rapidly engulfed by the Middle Cambrian marine transgression, which filled it with shallow marine carbonates and evaporites. The crater formed a protected but restricted microenvironment in which sediments four times the thickness of the nearby basinal succession accumulated. Similar structures, common on the martian surface, may well have acted as biospheric refuges as the planet's water resources declined. Low-pH aqueous environments on Earth similar to those on Mars, while extreme, support diverse ecologies. The architecture of the eolian crater fill would have been defined by long-term ground water cycles resulting from intermittent precipitation in an extremely arid climate. Nutrient recycling, critical to a closed lacustrine sub-ice biosphere, could be provided by eolian transport onto the frozen water surface.

Toward Reducing Uncertainties in Biospheric Carbon Uptake in the American West: An Atmospheric Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, J. C.; Stephens, B. B.; Mallia, D.; Wu, D.; Jacobson, A. R.

2015-12-01

Despite the need for an understanding of terrestrial biospheric carbon fluxes to account for carbon cycle feedbacks and predict future CO2 concentrations, knowledge of such fluxes at the regional scale remains poor. This is particularly true in mountainous areas, where lack of observations combined with difficulties in their interpretation lead to significant uncertainties. Yet mountainous regions are also where significant forest cover and biomass are found—areas that have the potential to serve as carbon sinks. In particular, understanding carbon fluxes in the American West is of critical importance for the U.S. carbon budget, as the large area and biomass indicate potential for carbon sequestration. However, disturbances such as drought, insect outbreak, and wildfires in this region can introduce significant perturbations to the carbon cycle and thereby affect the amount of carbon sequestered by vegetation in the Rockies. To date, there have been few atmospheric CO2 observations in the American Rockies due to a combination of difficulties associated with logistics and interpretation of the measurements in the midst of complex terrain. Among the few sites are those associated with NCAR's Regional Atmospheric Continuous CO2 Network in the Rocky Mountains (Rocky RACCOON). As CO2 observations in mountainous areas increase in the future, it is imperative that they can be properly interpreted to yield information about biospheric carbon fluxes. In this paper, we will present CO2 observations from RACCOON, along with atmospheric simulations that attempt to extract information about biospheric carbon fluxes in the Western U.S. from these observations. We show that atmospheric models can significantly misinterpret the CO2 observations, leading to large errors in the retrieved biospheric fluxes, due to erroneous atmospheric flows. Recommendations for ways to minimize such errors and properly link the CO2 concentrations to biospheric fluxes are discussed.

Sequential optimization of a terrestrial biosphere model constrained by multiple satellite based products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ichii, K.; Kondo, M.; Wang, W.; Hashimoto, H.; Nemani, R. R.

2012-12-01

Various satellite-based spatial products such as evapotranspiration (ET) and gross primary productivity (GPP) are now produced by integration of ground and satellite observations. Effective use of these multiple satellite-based products in terrestrial biosphere models is an important step toward better understanding of terrestrial carbon and water cycles. However, due to the complexity of terrestrial biosphere models with large number of model parameters, the application of these spatial data sets in terrestrial biosphere models is difficult. In this study, we established an effective but simple framework to refine a terrestrial biosphere model, Biome-BGC, using multiple satellite-based products as constraints. We tested the framework in the monsoon Asia region covered by AsiaFlux observations. The framework is based on the hierarchical analysis (Wang et al. 2009) with model parameter optimization constrained by satellite-based spatial data. The Biome-BGC model is separated into several tiers to minimize the freedom of model parameter selections and maximize the independency from the whole model. For example, the snow sub-model is first optimized using MODIS snow cover product, followed by soil water sub-model optimized by satellite-based ET (estimated by an empirical upscaling method; Support Vector Regression (SVR) method; Yang et al. 2007), photosynthesis model optimized by satellite-based GPP (based on SVR method), and respiration and residual carbon cycle models optimized by biomass data. As a result of initial assessment, we found that most of default sub-models (e.g. snow, water cycle and carbon cycle) showed large deviations from remote sensing observations. However, these biases were removed by applying the proposed framework. For example, gross primary productivities were initially underestimated in boreal and temperate forest and overestimated in tropical forests. However, the parameter optimization scheme successfully reduced these biases. Our analysis

Estudio del campo ocupacional del traductor en Santiago de Chile (A Study of Opportunities for Professional Translators in Santiago, Chile).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cabrera, Ileana; And Others

A study of translation as a profession in Chile covered two areas: a diagnostic study of the real need for literary, scientific, and technical translations, and a followup study of graduates of the translation degree program at the Catholic Pontifical University of Chile (Santiago). The analysis considered the relationship between the need for…

Publications of the biospheric research program: 1981-1987

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wallace, Janice S. (Editor)

1988-01-01

Presented is a list of publications of investigators supported by the Biospheric Research Program of the Biological Systems Research Branch, Life Sciences Division, and the Office of Space Science and Applications. It includes publications dated as of December 31, 1987 and entered into the Life Sciences Bibliographic Database at the George Washington University. Publications are organized by the year published.

The Death of Socialism in Chile

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-06-05

Frank S. Smallwood, M.A. •. Member Accepted this 5th day of June 1992 by: 9 4-A1 %/ Director, Graduate Philip J . Brookes, Ph.D. Degree Programs The...P. 2. 2 Jorge Palacios, CHILE: An Attempt at "Historic Compromise". (Chicago: Banner Press, 1979), p. 79. 3 David J . Bowen, The Land and People of...Washington, D. C. American University Press, 1982), p. 35. 6 Robert J . Alexander, The Tragedy of Chile. (London: Greenwood Press, 1978), p. 314. CHAPTER

New record of Scedosporium dehoogii from Chile: Phylogeny and susceptibility profiles to classic and novel putative antifungal agents.

PubMed

Alvarez, Eduardo; Sanhueza, Camila

Scedosporium species are considered emerging agents causing illness in immunocompromised patients. In Chile, only Scedosporium apiospermum, Scedosporium boydii and Lomentospora prolificans haven been reported previously. The study aimed to characterize genetically Scedosporium dehoogii strains from Chilean soil samples, and assessed the antifungal susceptibility profile to classic and novel putative antifungal molecules. In 2014, several samples were obtained during a survey of soil fungi in urban areas from Chile. Morphological and phylogenetic analyses of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), tubulin (TUB), and calmodulin (CAL) sequences were performed. In addition, the susceptibility profiles to classic antifungal and new putative antifungal molecules were determined. Four strains of Scedosporium dehoogii were isolated from soil samples. The methodology confirmed the species (reported here as a new record for Chile). Antifungal susceptibility testing demonstrates the low activity of terpenes (α-pinene and geraniol) against this species. Voriconazole (VRC), posaconazole (PSC), and the hydroxyquinolines (clioquinol, and 5,7-dibromo-8-hydroxyquinoline) showed the best antifungal activity. Our results demonstrate that Scedosporium dehoogii is present in soil samples from Chile. This study shows also that hydroxyquinolines have potential as putative antifungal molecules. Copyright © 2016 Asociación Española de Micología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

The Revolutionary Left and Terrorist Violence in Chile.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-06-01

Fraude Electoral Designada por la Facultad de Derecho de la Pontifica Universidad de Chile," in Libro Blanco del Cambio de Gobierno de Chile, Editorial...Chilean law, could not be invaded by the police. The MIR never became a formal political party. It completely rejected the electoral process

Morphodynamic evolution of Laida beach (Oka estuary, Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve, southeastern Bay of Biscay) in response to supratidal beach nourishment actions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monge-Ganuzas, M.; Gainza, J.; Liria, P.; Epelde, I.; Uriarte, A.; Garnier, R.; González, M.; Nuñez, P.; Jaramillo, C.; Medina, R.

2017-12-01

Laida beach, located at the Oka estuary mouth (Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve) in the southeastern region of the Bay of Biscay, suffered the impact of a severe succession of storms during the first months of 2014. As a result of the erosion induced by these events, the beach lost its supratidal zone almost completely. The absence of a supratidal beach generated an impact on the recreational use of the beach during the summer 2014, and represented a potential impact for the coming summer 2015. Furthermore, it resulted in an overexposure and damage of adjacent infrastructures due to impinging strong waves. Therefore, the competent authorities, in coordination, decided to take action in order to nourish the supratidal zone of this beach. The solution adopted combined two different actions. The first one accomplished in spring of 2015, consisted in the mobilization of 44,800 m3 of sand from an area of 35,200 m2 equal to the 7% of the intertidal zone of Laida beach interpreted as the existing surface between the average low and high tidal limits, to the zone next to the eastern rocky beach contour. This action successfully resulted in an increase of the supratidal beach for the entire summer 2015 without negatively perturbing the morphological system. The second action was somewhat experimental and consisted in the mechanical plough of the previously existing intertidal low-amplitude ridges with the aim of increasing the sand transport toward the supratidal beach. Although this action did not lead to the increase of the supratidal beach, it seems to have resulted in an acceleration of the natural onshore migration of the bars. The objective of this contribution is to describe the morphodynamical response of the estuarine mouth after the performed actions with special emphasis on the evolution of extracted sites and the supratidal Laida beach area. The information here presented represents an innovative step in the understanding of the complex mechanisms driving the

Baseline study of morphometric traits of wild Capsicum annuum growing near two biosphere reserves in the Peninsula of Baja California for future conservation management.

PubMed

Murillo-Amador, Bernardo; Rueda-Puente, Edgar Omar; Troyo-Diéguez, Enrique; Córdoba-Matson, Miguel Víctor; Hernández-Montiel, Luis Guillermo; Nieto-Garibay, Alejandra

2015-05-10

Despite the ecological and socioeconomic importance of wild Capsicum annuum L., few investigations have been carried out to study basic characteristics. The peninsula of Baja California has a unique characteristic that it provides a high degree of isolation for the development of unique highly diverse endemic populations. The objective of this study was to evaluate for the first time the growth type, associated vegetation, morphometric traits in plants, in fruits and mineral content of roots, stems and leaves of three wild populations of Capsicum in Baja California, Mexico, near biosphere reserves. The results showed that the majority of plants of wild Capsicum annuum have a shrub growth type and were associated with communities consisting of 43 species of 20 families the most representative being Fabaceae, Cactaceae and Euphorbiaceae. Significant differences between populations were found in plant height, main stem diameter, beginning of canopy, leaf area, leaf average and maximum width, stems and roots dry weights. Coverage, leaf length and dry weight did not show differences. Potassium, sodium and zinc showed significant differences between populations in their roots, stems and leaves, while magnesium and manganese showed significant differences only in roots and stems, iron in stems and leaves, calcium in roots and leaves and phosphorus did not show differences. Average fruit weight, length, 100 fruits dry weight, 100 fruits pulp dry weight and pulp/seeds ratio showed significant differences between populations, while fruit number, average fruit fresh weight, peduncle length, fruit width, seeds per fruit and seed dry weight, did not show differences. We concluded that this study of traits of wild Capsicum, provides useful information of morphometric variation between wild populations that will be of value for future decision processes involved in the management and preservation of germplasm and genetic resources.

Dioscorea spp. (A Wild Edible Tuber): A Study on Its Ethnopharmacological Potential and Traditional Use by the Local People of Similipal Biosphere Reserve, India

PubMed Central

Kumar, Sanjeet; Das, Gitishree; Shin, Han-Seung; Patra, Jayanta Kumar

2017-01-01

A number of wild crops remain unexplored in this world and among them some have excellent medicinal and nutritional properties. India is a harbor of biodiversity in general and phytodiversity in particular. The plant diversity is distributed from the Western Ghats to Eastern Ghats, along with the North-Eastern region and from the Greater Himalayas to the plain of Ganga. Among these distributed floral regions of the country, the Eastern Ghats are important due to their rich floral diversity. The forests of Odisha form a major part of Eastern Ghats in general and the Similipal Biosphere Reserve (SBR) in particular. The SBR is inhabited by many local communities. The food and medicinal habits of these communities are not fully explored even today. They are dependent on the forests of SBR for their food and medicine. Among their collections from forests, root and tuberous plants play a significant role. The local communities of SBR use about 89 types of tuberous plants for various purposes. Dioscorea is one such tuber, having maximum use among the local of SBR. However, less documentation and no specific reports are available on the food and medicinal values of the species available in this part of the World. Dioscorea species, popularly known as Yam worldwide and as Ban Aalu in Odisha, India, is a prime staple medicinal-food substitute for the majority of rural and local people of the state of India. Of the 13 Dioscorea species available in SBR, 10 species are known to be bitter in taste and unpalatable when taken raw. Since less documentation is available on the Dioscorea species of SBR and their traditional uses, the present study was focused on the ethnobotany, nutritional and pharmacological values of these species along its nutraceutical importance. PMID:28261094

Dioscorea spp. (A Wild Edible Tuber): A Study on Its Ethnopharmacological Potential and Traditional Use by the Local People of Similipal Biosphere Reserve, India.

PubMed

Kumar, Sanjeet; Das, Gitishree; Shin, Han-Seung; Patra, Jayanta Kumar

2017-01-01

A number of wild crops remain unexplored in this world and among them some have excellent medicinal and nutritional properties. India is a harbor of biodiversity in general and phytodiversity in particular. The plant diversity is distributed from the Western Ghats to Eastern Ghats, along with the North-Eastern region and from the Greater Himalayas to the plain of Ganga. Among these distributed floral regions of the country, the Eastern Ghats are important due to their rich floral diversity. The forests of Odisha form a major part of Eastern Ghats in general and the Similipal Biosphere Reserve (SBR) in particular. The SBR is inhabited by many local communities. The food and medicinal habits of these communities are not fully explored even today. They are dependent on the forests of SBR for their food and medicine. Among their collections from forests, root and tuberous plants play a significant role. The local communities of SBR use about 89 types of tuberous plants for various purposes. Dioscorea is one such tuber, having maximum use among the local of SBR. However, less documentation and no specific reports are available on the food and medicinal values of the species available in this part of the World. Dioscorea species, popularly known as Yam worldwide and as Ban Aalu in Odisha, India, is a prime staple medicinal-food substitute for the majority of rural and local people of the state of India. Of the 13 Dioscorea species available in SBR, 10 species are known to be bitter in taste and unpalatable when taken raw. Since less documentation is available on the Dioscorea species of SBR and their traditional uses, the present study was focused on the ethnobotany, nutritional and pharmacological values of these species along its nutraceutical importance.

[Consumption of antidepressants in Chile from 1992 to 2004].

PubMed

Jirón, Marcela; Machado, Márcio; Ruiz, Inés

2008-09-01

Data from the Ministry of Health show that in Chile in 2004, 17% of the population had some form of depression, and mood disorders are the tenth cause of disability-adjusted life years (DALY) loss. To determine consumption of antidepressants (ADs) in Chile from 1992 to 2004. National sales data were obtained from the company IMS Health Chile and converted into defined daily doses (DDDs) per 1,000 inhabitants per day. Available ADs were classified in four pharmacological groups (i.e., serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, SNRLs; selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitors, SSRLs; tricyclic antidepressants, TCAs; and others). Total economic burden of ADs utilization and cost per DDDs were also calculated. Trends over time were analyzed using Pearson-R2. Total ADs consumption in Chile measured by DDDs per 1,000 inhabitants per day (DHD) increased linearly (y =0.901x + 1.9129; R2 =0.9296; p <0.001) from 2.5 in 1992 to 11.7 in 2004 (total growth of 470.2%). SSRLs were the drug class with higher consumption, and fluoxetine the most commonly consumed antidepressant. SSRLs were the drugs that dominated the market representing 79% of the total drug consumption throughout the years. Total economic burden of ADs in Chile (total cost of DDDs consumed) increased from US$65.4 million in 2001 to US$74.6 million in 2004 (14% increase). Average cost per DDD of all AD increased linearly, however not significantly from US$ 0.94 in 2001 to US$ 1.04 in 2004 (y =0.0362x + 0.8784; R2 =0.7382; p =0,262). DDDs per 1,000 inhabitants per day increased linearly over 470% from 1992-2004. SSRLs were the most commonly consumed drugs in Chile. Future research should evaluate the cost-effectiveness of antidepressants in Chile, comparing the results with drug utilization, and determining if unnecessary expenditures have been paid out.

Behavioral problems and tobacco use among adolescents in Chile.

PubMed

Caris, Luis; Varas, Marianela; Anthony, Christopher B; Anthony, James C

2003-08-01

To examine the association between behavioral problems and tobacco smoking among adolescent students in Chile. Data were drawn from a study that included questionnaire surveys of 46 907 school-attending adolescents in all 13 of the administrative regions of Chile. Assessments were based on an adapted, Spanish-language version of the Drug Use Screening Inventory. The conditional form of the logistic regression model was used for analysis, with matching of students on individual schools, and with further statistical adjustments for sex, age, and selected risk factors. The prevalence of tobacco smoking among the adolescents was very high across all of Chile, with a level between 56% and 65% in each of the 13 regions. The estimated odds of tobacco use in youths at the highest level of behavioral problems was about twice that for youths at the lowest levels, both before and after controlling for sex, age, lack of participation in recreational activities, level of irritability, and levels of problems with school, family attention, and mental health. These findings help to complement and complete the evidence of prior studies on tobacco smoking among adolescents with behavior problems, including recent research on Central American youths. Although the magnitude of observed associations in Chile was not as great as that for the associations found in Central America, both the strength of these associations and their statistical significance were observed throughout Chile. This is the first study in Chile on potentially causal relationships such as these.

Feeding profile of Mepraia spinolai, a sylvatic vector of Chagas disease in Chile.

PubMed

Chacón, F; Bacigalupo, A; Quiroga, J F; Ferreira, A; Cattan, P E; Ramírez-Toloza, G

2016-10-01

American trypanosomiasis is a chronic disease transmitted mainly by vectors. The hematophagous triatomine vectors transmit Trypanosoma cruzi to a wide variety of mammals, which usually are their food source. This study determined the feeding profile of Mepraia spinolai, a sylvatic triatomine vector, present in endemic areas of Chile. Vectors were captured in the north-central area of Chile. Samples of intestinal contents were analyzed by an Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that identifies and discriminates the presence of serum antigens from Homo sapiens and nine animal species (Canis familiaris, Felis catus, Capra hircus, Mus musculus, Gallus gallus, Octodon degus, Thylamys elegans, Phyllotis darwini and Oryctolagus cuniculus). Our data indicate the most frequent feeding source in this area was P. darwini, followed by O. degus, O. cuniculus, M. musculus, G. gallus, T. elegans, C. familiaris, F. catus and C. hircus. Mixed food sources were also identified. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Initial experimental results from the Laboratory Biosphere closed ecological system facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alling, A.; Allen, J.; Dempster, W.; Nelson, M.; Silverstone, S.; van Thillo, M.

Results from the closure and initial closed ecological system research in the "Laboratory Biosphere" facility in Santa Fe, New Mexico (USA) will be presented. The facility was initially sealed in April 2002; and the first crop experiments with soybeans commenced in May 2002. The Laboratory Biosphere was created by the team which invented, built and operated Biosphere 2 during its years of closed ecological system functioning (1991-94) and is a testbed to build upon the lessons learned. It is an opportunity to continue experiments with a sustainable soil based agriculture system unlike most bioregenerative systems which use hydroponic systems dependent on a supply of nutrient solution. Because of the small volume of the system (34-45 m3), developing mechanisms to keep parameters like carbon dioxide within acceptable limits will be critical. Recycle of nutrients within the system to maintain soil fertility; and the ability of the inherent complex ecology of soils and a soil bed reactor to handle trace gas buildups are primary research goals. Other research goals are determination of short and long-term exchanges between soil, plants and atmosphere, especially for carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, NOX, and methane, impact of cultivation (tillage) on soil/atmospheric exchanges., investigation and development of strategies to return nutrients to the soil to maintain fertility, e.g. shredding biomass vs. composting, impact on soil chemistry of returning leachate water to the soil as irrigation water. The microbiological status of soils prior to experiments and over time will allow measurement of changes in microbial diversity and the determination of the role of soil microbes in biogeochemical cycles. Integration of automated sensor and control in the system with real-time modeling has importance for operation, research and educational outreach programs. The Laboratory Biosphere is intended to test and develop a "cybersphere" (network of shared intelligence) that may be

Earth applications of closed ecological systems: Relevance to the development of sustainability in our global biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, M.; Allen, J.; Ailing, A.; Dempster, W. F.; Silverstone, S.

The parallels between the challenges facing bioregenerative life support in artificial closed ecological systems and those in our global biosphere are striking. At the scale of the current global technosphere and expanding human population, it is increasingly obvious that the biosphere can no longer safely buffer and absorb technogenic and anthropogenic pollutants. The loss of biodiversity, reliance on non-renewable natural resources, and conversion of once wild ecosystems for human use with attendant desertification/soil erosion, has led to a shift of consciousness and the widespread call for sustainability of human activities. For researchers working on bioregenerative life support in closed systems, the small volumes and faster cycling times than in the Earth's biosphere make it starkly clear that systems must be designed to ensure renewal of water and atmosphere, nutrient recycling, production of healthy food, and safe environmental methods of maintaining technical systems. The development of technical systems that can be fully integrated and supportive of living systems is a harbinger of new perspectives as well as technologies in the global environment. In addition, closed system bioregenerative life support offers opportunities for public education and consciousness changing of how to live with our global biosphere.

[Main characteristics of current biomedical research, in Chile].

PubMed

Valdés S, Gloria; Armas M, Rodolfo; Reyes B, Humberto

2012-04-01

Biomedical research is a fundamental tool for the development of a country, requiring human and financial resources. To define some current characteristics of biomedical research, in Chile. Data on entities funding bio-medical research, participant institutions, and the number of active investigators for the period 2007-2009 were obtained from institutional sources; publications indexed in PubMed for 2008-2009 were analysed. Most financial resources invested in biomedical research projects (approximately US$ 19 million per year) came from the "Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica" (CONICYT), a state institution with 3 independent Funds administering competitive grant applications open annually to institutional or independent investigators in Chile. Other sources and universities raised the total amount to US$ 26 million. Since 2007 to 2009, 408 investigators participated in projects funded by CONICYT. The main participant institutions were Universidad de Chile and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, both adding up to 84% of all funded projects. Independently, in 2009,160 research projects -mainly multi centric clinical trials- received approximately US$ 24 million from foreign pharmaceutical companies. Publications listed in PubMed were classified as "clinical research" (n = 879, including public health) or "basic biomedical research" (n = 312). Biomedical research in Chile is mainly supported by state funds and university resources, but clinical trials also obtained an almost equivalent amount from foreign resources. Investigators are predominantly located in two universities. A small number of MD-PhD programs are aimed to train and incorporate new scientists. Only a few new Medical Schools participate in biomedical research. A National Registry of biomedical research projects, including the clinical trials, is required among other initiatives to stimulate research in biomedical sciences in Chile.

[Dermatophyte colonization on guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) kept in pet stores. First report from Santiago, Chile].

PubMed

Thomson, Pamela; Monsalves, Pamela; Maier, Liliana; Silva, Víctor

2015-01-01

Dermatophytes are pathogenic fungi that can be present in the flora of mammals, such as dogs, cats and rodents, which can be a source and transmission vehicle to other hosts, including humans. In Chile, there is a steady increase of acquiring guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) as pets, with no local studies on their colonization by dermatophytes. To determine the presence of dermatophytes on clinically healthy guinea pigs, kept in pet stores in Santiago, Chile. A total of 52 clinically healthy animals were studied using the method by Mariat and Tapia (1966). The specimen culture and identification of the dermatophytes were performed using classical mycological procedures. Four guinea pigs (7.7%) out of 52 were colonized by dermatophytes, and were identified as Trichophyton mentagrophytes (3 cases) and Trichophyton verrucosum (one case). This study shows, for the first time in Chile, that guinea pigs can be colonized by dermatophytes, which should alert administrators of pet stores, veterinarians and physicians, to keep this in mind when purchasing or looking after this type of pet in a veterinary office. Copyright © 2013 Revista Iberoamericana de Micología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Coastal Chile Perspective View

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-03-04

This perspective view from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission of coastal Chile indicates the epicenter red marker of the 8.8 earthquake on Feb. 27, 2010, just offshore of the Maule region in the Bahia de Chanco.

La atencion preescolar en Chile: desafios para la redemocratizacion (Preschool Care in Chile: Challenges for Redemocratization. Discussion Paper No. 13).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Filp, Johanna; Undurrage, Consuelo

This paper examines the current status of programs for preschool children in Chile. Section 1 of the paper provides an overview of the situation of preschool children in Chile. The country's population includes more than 1.6 million children between the ages of 0 and 5 years 11 months, and in urban areas, 18.4 percent of children between the ages…

Virtual Borders Between Chile and Its Neighbors: Argentina, Peru and Bolivia

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-30

Estadísticas, “ Inmigrantes en Chile ”, Santiago Census, 2002 20 ...Studies and Research Center, 1998), 13 22 Military Studies and Research Center, Chile en la Region. CESIM. 2001; available from <http...Estatuto de Inversiones Extranjeras en Chile ”, ( Santiago: 1974), Capitulo I,19 35 The International Center for Adjustment of Disputes of Investment

Nutrition and national development: the case of Chile.

PubMed

Solimano, G; Hakim, P

1979-01-01

This study is an historical analysis of food consumption and nutrition in Chile emphasizing the influence of political and economic factors on nutritional standards. It attempts to document and explain the persistence of malnutrition as a widespread social problem in Chile even as the country achieved a relatively advanced state of economic development and boasted an unusually progressive record of social legislation. The major findings of the study were: (a) Chile's pattern of development, social reform efforts notwithstanding, consistently discriminated against low-income groups, and (b) this discrimination perpetuated low standards of nutrition and low levels of food consumption among the country's poor and undermined the effectiveness of specific measures to alleviate malnutrition.

10 CFR 63.305 - Required characteristics of the reference biosphere.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... the region surrounding the Yucca Mountain site. (b) DOE should not project changes in society, the biosphere (other than climate), human biology, or increases or decreases of human knowledge or technology... vary factors related to the geology, hydrology, and climate based upon cautious, but reasonable...

10 CFR 63.305 - Required characteristics of the reference biosphere.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... the region surrounding the Yucca Mountain site. (b) DOE should not project changes in society, the biosphere (other than climate), human biology, or increases or decreases of human knowledge or technology... vary factors related to the geology, hydrology, and climate based upon cautious, but reasonable...

10 CFR 63.305 - Required characteristics of the reference biosphere.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... the region surrounding the Yucca Mountain site. (b) DOE should not project changes in society, the biosphere (other than climate), human biology, or increases or decreases of human knowledge or technology... vary factors related to the geology, hydrology, and climate based upon cautious, but reasonable...

10 CFR 63.305 - Required characteristics of the reference biosphere.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... the region surrounding the Yucca Mountain site. (b) DOE should not project changes in society, the biosphere (other than climate), human biology, or increases or decreases of human knowledge or technology... vary factors related to the geology, hydrology, and climate based upon cautious, but reasonable...

Concentrating Solar Power Projects in Chile | Concentrating Solar Power |

Science.gov Websites

;alphabetical by project name. You can browse a project profile by clicking on the project name. Atacama-1 NREL Chile Concentrating solar power (CSP) projects in Chile are listed belowâ€"

Ocean Drilling Program Contributions to the Understanding of the Deep Subsurface Biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fisk, M. R.

2003-12-01

Tantalizing evidence for microbes in oceanic basalts has been reported for a few decades, but it was from rocks cored on Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 148 in 1993 that the first clear-cut evidence of microbial invasion of ocean basalts was obtained. (Work on ODP legs, starting with Leg 112 in 1986, had already revealed the presence of significant microbial biomass in sediments.) In 1997 ODP created the Deep Biosphere Program Planning Group to promote the investigation of the microbiology of the ocean crust. In 1999 ODP built a microbiology lab on the JOIDES Resolution, and used the lab that year (Legs 185 and 187) to test the amount of microbial contamination introduced into rocks during drilling and to establish cultures from cored basalts. These experiments have been repeated on several legs since then. The development of CORKs has permitted long-term sampling of subseafloor fluids, and microorganisms have been recovered from CORKed holes. Thus, ODP made it possible for the scientific community to address major questions about the biology of the igneous crust, such as, (1) What microbes are present? (2) How abundant are they? (3) How are they distributed? DNA from basalts and subseafloor fluids reveal what types of organisms are present. Cell abundance and biomass have been estimated based on cell counts and on organic content of basalts. Surveys of basalts in DSDP/ODP repositories indicate that microorganisms are ubiquitous in the igneous crust. Microorganisms are found in rocks that are close to 100° C. They are found as deep as 1500 m below the sea floor, and in rocks as young as a few years and as old as 170 million years. Because of the vast size of the habitat, microorganism, even if present in small numbers, could be a significant fraction of the Earth's biomass. In a short time ODP contributed to advances in our understanding of the oceanic subsurface biosphere. Answers to other significant questions such as: (1) How do the microorganisms live?, (2

Ecosystem engineering by invasive exotic beavers reduces in-stream diversity and enhances ecosystem function in Cape Horn, Chile.

PubMed

Anderson, Christopher B; Rosemond, Amy D

2007-11-01

Species invasions are of global significance, but predicting their impacts can be difficult. Introduced ecosystem engineers, however, provide an opportunity to test the underlying mechanisms that may be common to all invasive engineers and link relationships between changes in diversity and ecosystem function, thereby providing explanatory power for observed ecological patterns. Here we test specific predictions for an invasive ecosystem engineer by quantifying the impacts of habitat and resource modifications caused by North American beavers (Castor canadensis) on aquatic macroinvertebrate community structure and stream ecosystem function in the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve, Chile. We compared responses to beavers in three habitat types: (1) forested (unimpacted) stream reaches, (2) beaver ponds, and (3) sites immediately downstream of beaver dams in four streams. We found that beaver engineering in ponds created taxonomically simplified, but more productive, benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages. Specifically, macroinvertebrate richness, diversity and number of functional feeding groups were reduced by half, while abundance, biomass and secondary production increased three- to fivefold in beaver ponds compared to forested sites. Reaches downstream of beaver ponds were very similar to natural forested sections. Beaver invasion effects on both community and ecosystem parameters occurred predominantly via increased retention of fine particulate organic matter, which was associated with reduced macroinvertebrate richness and diversity (via homogenization of benthic microhabitat) and increased macroinvertebrate biomass and production (via greater food availability). Beaver modifications to macroinvertebrate community structure were largely confined to ponds, but increased benthic production in beaver-modified habitats adds to energy retention and flow for the entire stream ecosystem. Furthermore, the effects of beavers on taxa richness (negative) and measures of

Evaluation of simulated biospheric carbon dioxide fluxes and atmospheric concentrations using global in situ observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Philip, S.; Johnson, M. S.; Potter, C. S.; Genovese, V. B.

2016-12-01

Atmospheric mixing ratios of carbon dioxide (CO2) are largely controlled by anthropogenic emission sources and biospheric sources/sinks. Global biospheric fluxes of CO2 are controlled by complex processes facilitating the exchange of carbon between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. These processes which play a key role in these terrestrial ecosystem-atmosphere carbon exchanges are currently not fully understood, resulting in large uncertainties in the quantification of biospheric CO2 fluxes. Current models with these inherent deficiencies have difficulties simulating the global carbon cycle with high accuracy. We are developing a new modeling platform, GEOS-Chem-CASA by integrating the year-specific NASA-CASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Carnegie Ames Stanford Approach) biosphere model with the GEOS-Chem (Goddard Earth Observation System-Chemistry) chemical transport model to improve the simulation of atmosphere-terrestrial ecosystem carbon exchange. We use NASA-CASA to explicitly represent the exchange of CO2 between terrestrial ecosystem and atmosphere by replacing the baseline GEOS-Chem land net CO2 flux and forest biomass burning CO2 emissions. We will present the estimation and evaluation of these "bottom-up" land CO2 fluxes, simulated atmospheric mixing ratios, and forest disturbance changes over the last decade. In addition, we will present our initial comparison of atmospheric column-mean dry air mole fraction of CO2 predicted by the model and those retrieved from NASA's OCO-2 (Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2) satellite instrument and model-predicted surface CO2 mixing ratios with global in situ observations. This evaluation is the first step necessary for our future work planned to constrain the estimates of biospheric carbon fluxes through "top-down" inverse modeling, which will improve our understanding of the processes controlling atmosphere-terrestrial ecosystem greenhouse gas exchanges, especially over regions which lack in

10 CFR 63.305 - Required characteristics of the reference biosphere.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

....305 Section 63.305 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) DISPOSAL OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE... biosphere (other than climate), human biology, or increases or decreases of human knowledge or technology... factors remain constant as they are at the time of submission of the license application. (c) DOE must...

A brief description of the simple biosphere model (SiB)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sellers, P. J.; Mintz, Y.; Sud, Y. C.

1986-01-01

A biosphere model for calculating the transfer of energy, mass, and momentum between the atmosphere and the vegetated surface of the Earth was designed for atmospheric general circulation models. An upper vegetation layer represents the perennial canopy of trees or shrubs, a lower layer represents the annual ground cover of grasses and other herbacious species. The local coverage of each vegetation layer may be fractional or complete but as the individual vegetation elements are considered to be evenly spaced, their root systems are assumed to extend uniformly throughout the entire grid-area. The biosphere has seven prognostic physical-state variables: two temperatures (one for the canopy and one for the ground cover and soil surface); two interception water stores (one for the canopy and one for the ground cover); and three soil moisture stores (two of which can be reached by the vegetation root systems and one underlying recharge layer into and out of which moisture is transferred only by hydraulic diffusion).

Exploration and protection of Europa's biosphere: implications of permeable ice.

PubMed

Greenberg, Richard

2011-03-01

Europa has become a high-priority objective for exploration because it may harbor life. Strategic planning for its exploration has been predicated on an extreme model in which the expected oceanic biosphere lies under a thick ice crust, buried too deep to be reached in the foreseeable future, which would beg the question of whether other active satellites might be more realistic objectives. However, Europa's ice may in fact be permeable, with very different implications for the possibilities for life and for mission planning. A biosphere may extend up to near the surface, making life far more readily accessible to exploration while at the same time making it vulnerable to contamination. The chances of finding life on Europa are substantially improved while the need for planetary protection becomes essential. The new National Research Council planetary protection study will need to go beyond its current mandate if meaningful standards are to be put in place. © Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

Comparison of six green chile (capsicum annum) cultivars for efficiency of Etgar® machine harvest

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

As U.S. demand for fresh market green chile rises green chile acreage in the U.S. is declining due to limited availability and high cost of hand labor to harvest it. Many farmers are opting to grow crops other than green chile. Green chile is a New Mexican pod-type chile that is harvested when the...

Tracing the microbial biosphere into the Messinian Salinity Crisis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Natalicchio, Marcello; Dela Pierre, Francesco; Birgel, Daniel; Lozar, Francesca; Peckmann, Jörn

2016-04-01

The Messinian salinity crisis (MSC), one of the largest environmental crises in Earth history, occurred in the Mediterranean Basin about 6 Ma ago. The isolation of the Mediterranean from the Atlantic Ocean caused the transformation of the Mediterranean sea into a giant salina. The establishment of harsh conditions (hypersalinity and anoxia) in the water mass had a strong impact on the aquatic biosphere, resulting in the apparent disappearance of many marine biota. This aspect is however controversial, mostly because of the finding of fossils of biota that actually survived the onset of the MSC. To trace the response of life to this catastrophic event, we studied the microbial biosphere (both body fossils and molecular fossils) archived in the sediments straddling the MSC onset (shales, carbonates and sulphates) from marginal subbasins (Piedmont Basin, northern Italy, and Nijar Basin, southern Spain). Despite the significant reduction of calcareous plankton, the progressive rise of other microorganisms (prokaryotes and eukaryotes) is documented in the studied sediments at the MSC onset. These microorganisms include remains of euryhaline and stenohaline diatoms and filamentous microfossils interpreted as vacuolated sulphide-oxidizing bacteria. This fossil assemblage, which typifies both marginal (gypsum) and more distal (carbonates and shale) deposits, indicates conditions of high primary productivity in the surface waters, favoured by increased nutrient influx in the course of high riverine runoff. Molecular fossils allow tracing of the microbial biosphere into the geological past. The rise of algal compounds (e.g. dinosterol) in the basal MSC deposits (gypsum, carbonate and shales), accompanied by the simultaneous increase of terrigenous organic material (n-alkanes), agree with the eutrophication of the basin. In addition, the MSC deposits show an instant and significant increase of archaeal biomarkers, including the archaeal membrane lipids archaeol and extended

75 FR 19658 - Preserved Mushrooms From Chile, China, India, and Indonesia; Determinations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-15

... Mushrooms From Chile, China, India, and Indonesia; Determinations On the basis of the record \\1\\ developed... antidumping duty orders on preserved mushrooms from Chile, China, India, and Indonesia would be likely to lead... Mushrooms from Chile, China, India, and Indonesia: Investigation Nos. 731-TA-776-779 (Second Review). By...

Managing hazardous pollutants in Chile: arsenic.

PubMed

Sancha, Ana María; O'Ryan, Raul

2008-01-01

Chile is one of the few countries that faces the environmental challenge posed by extensive arsenic pollution, which exists in the northern part of the country. Chile has worked through various options to appropriately address the environmental challenge of arsenic pollution of water and air. Because of cost and other reasons, copying standards used elsewhere in the world was not an option for Chile. Approximately 1.8 million people, representing about 12% of the total population of the country, live in arsenic-contaminated areas. In these regions, air, water, and soil are contaminated with arsenic from both natural and anthropogenic sources. For long periods, water consumed by the population contained arsenic levels that exceeded values recommended by the World Health Organization. Exposure to airborne arsenic also occurred near several large cities, as a consequence of both natural contamination and the intensive mining activity carried out in those areas. In rural areas, indigenous populations, who lack access to treated water, were also exposed to arsenic by consuming foods grown locally in arsenic-contaminated soils. Health effects in children and adults from arsenic exposure first appeared in the 1950s. Such effects included vascular, respiratory, and skin lesions from intake of high arsenic levels in drinking water. Methods to remove arsenic from water were evaluated, developed, and implemented that allowed significant reductions in exposure at a relatively low cost. Construction and operation of treatment plants to remove arsenic from water first began in the 1970s. Beginning in the 1990s, epidemiological studies showed that the rate of lung and bladder cancer in the arsenic-polluted area was considerably higher than mean cancer rates for the country. Cancer incidence was directly related to arsenic exposure. During the 1990s, international pressure and concern by Chile's Health Ministry prompted action to regulate arsenic emissions from copper smelters. A

The oxygen side of sulfate constrains global biospheric productivity in the mid-Phanerozoic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wing, B. A.

2009-12-01

Recent work has read in the oxygen side of sulfate a record of CO2 concentrations and extreme environments on Neoproterozoic Earth [1, 2]. The connection between CO2 levels and total isotopic composition of mineral proxies for marine sulfate was motivated by an empirical correlation between CO2 concentrations and in 17O anomalies in samples of atmospheric gases preserved as bubbles in ice cores [3,4]. The 17O anomaly in atmospheric O2 has been interpreted to originate primarily from stratospheric photochemical cycles of O3, O2, and CO2 [3, 4]. Both CO2 and O3 form the 17O-enriched partners for the 17O-depleted O2 and, given a fixed atmospheric lifetime for O2, isotopic mass balance dictates that increasing CO2 levels will drive larger relative 17O deficits in O2. With a photochemically-calibrated relationship between the relative 17O anomaly in atmospheric O2 and atmospheric CO2 levels [1], the amount of CO2 in an ancient atmosphere can be directly estimated from the isotopic record of atmospheric O2 bound up in the oxygen side of sulfate. Although they are correlated, the relative 17O anomaly in atmospheric O2 is not only a function of atmospheric CO2 levels. Photosynthetic O2 is characterized by isotopically ‘normal’ oxygen sourced from the global hydrosphere [3]. Increased photosynthetic O2 production, therefore, dilutes the isotopic anomaly found in atmospheric O2. Measurements of the 17O anomaly in O2 from ice cores allow global changes in global biosphere productivity to be traced back to 60 ka ago [3, 4]. Applying similar analysis to recent datasets of the 17O anomaly in marine sulfates [1] and atmospheric CO2 levels [5] produces quantitative global biospheric productivity estimates for the time interval from 310 to 240 Ma ago. Although the time resolution is coarse, much of the mid-Phanerozoic was characterized by global biospheric productivity similar in magnitude to the average global biospheric productivity for the last 10 ka. Counterintuitively

CHILE: An Evidence-Based Preschool Intervention for Obesity Prevention in Head Start

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Sally M.; Sanders, Sarah G.; FitzGerald, Courtney A.; Keane, Patricia C.; Canaca, Glenda F.; Volker-Rector, Renee

2013-01-01

Background: Obesity is a major concern among American Indians and Hispanics. The Child Health Initiative for Lifelong Eating and Exercise (CHILE) is an evidence-based intervention to prevent obesity in children enrolled in 16 Head Start (HS) Centers in rural communities. The design and implementation of CHILE are described. Methods: CHILE uses a…

Spatial phylogenetics of the vascular flora of Chile.

PubMed

Scherson, Rosa A; Thornhill, Andrew H; Urbina-Casanova, Rafael; Freyman, William A; Pliscoff, Patricio A; Mishler, Brent D

2017-07-01

Current geographic patterns of biodiversity are a consequence of the evolutionary history of the lineages that comprise them. This study was aimed at exploring how evolutionary features of the vascular flora of Chile are distributed across the landscape. Using a phylogeny at the genus level for 87% of the Chilean vascular flora, and a geographic database of sample localities, we calculated phylogenetic diversity (PD), phylogenetic endemism (PE), relative PD (RPD), and relative PE (RPE). Categorical Analyses of Neo- and Paleo-Endemism (CANAPE) were also performed, using a spatial randomization to assess statistical significance. A cluster analysis using range-weighted phylogenetic turnover was used to compare among grid cells, and with known Chilean bioclimates. PD patterns were concordant with known centers of high taxon richness and the Chilean biodiversity hotspot. In addition, several other interesting areas of concentration of evolutionary history were revealed as potential conservation targets. The south of the country shows areas of significantly high RPD and a concentration of paleo-endemism, and the north shows areas of significantly low PD and RPD, and a concentration of neo-endemism. Range-weighted phylogenetic turnover shows high congruence with the main macrobioclimates of Chile. Even though the study was done at the genus level, the outcome provides an accurate outline of phylogenetic patterns that can be filled in as more fine-scaled information becomes available. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Children as ethnobotanists: methods and local impact of a participatory research project with children on wild plant gathering in the Grosses Walsertal Biosphere Reserve, Austria.

PubMed

Grasser, Susanne; Schunko, Christoph; Vogl, Christian R

2016-10-10

Ethically sound research in applied ethnobiology should benefit local communities by giving them full access to research processes and results. Participatory research may ensure such access, but there has been little discussion on methodological details of participatory approaches in ethnobiological research. This paper presents and discusses the research processes and methods developed in the course of a three-year research project on wild plant gathering, the involvement of children as co-researchers and the project's indications for local impact. Research was conducted in the Grosses Walsertal Biosphere Reserve, Austria, between 2008 and 2010 in four research phases. In phase 1, 36 freelist interviews with local people and participant observation was conducted. In phase 2 school workshops were held in 14 primary school classes and their 189 children interviewed 506 family members with structured questionnaires. In phase 3, 27 children and two researchers co-produced participatory videos. In phase 4 indications for the impact of the project were investigated with questionnaires from ten children and with participant observation. Children participated in various ways in the research process and the scientific output and local impact of the project was linked to the phases, degrees and methods of children's involvement. Children were increasingly involved in the project, from non-participation to decision-making. Scientific output was generated from participatory and non-participatory activities whereas local impact - on personal, familial, communal and institutional levels - was mainly generated through the participatory involvement of children as interviewers and as co-producers of videos. Creating scientific outputs from participatory video is little developed in ethnobiology, whereas bearing potential. As ethnobotanists and ethnobiologists, if we are truly concerned about the impact and benefits of our research processes and results to local communities, the

The Beagle Channel Dispute between Argentina and Chile: An Historical Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-11-22

DTICr--1’ ’-’CTE~l THETSIS APPROVAL. TITLE OF THESIS: The Beagle Channel Dispute Between Argentina and Chile : An istorical Analysis " AME OF...85, subject: Security Review of Student Papers. 1. The enclosed thesis entitled "The Beagle Channel Dispute Between Argentina and Chile : An Historical...Title of Thesis: The Beagle Channel Dispute Between Argentina and Chile : An Historical Analysis David Robert Struthers, Master of Science in Strategic

Protection of Existing and Potential Astronomical Sites in Chile - an Update.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, M. G.; Sanhueza, P.; Norman, D.; Schwarz, H.; Orellana, D.

2002-12-01

The IAU's Working Group on Controlling Light Pollution (iauwg) has declared Mauna Kea and a wide strip of Northern Chile between Antofagasta and Chajnanator as top priorities for its efforts to protect existing and potential sites in the Northern and Southern hemispheres respectively. This report provides an update on the iauwg's co-ordinated efforts to protect areas around the major international optical observatories in Chile, as well as the "Chilean Special Zone" (CSZ) mentioned above. This zone is of current and potential interest for the installation of extremely large optical telescopes and includes the ALMA radio-astronomy site. The CSZ is potentially vulnerable to adverse effects of mining in the region. Progess has been made in demonstrating to local mining interests within the CSZ the economic advantages of quality lighting. Educational and outreach activities to a variety of target audiences are building on legislation covering dark skies - itself part of work by the Chilean government to protect the natural heritage of Chile. Substantial good will was generated by an international, bilingual conference held last March in Chile. Just in the region around AURA's Observatory in Chile (Gemini South, CTIO and SOAR), a portable planetarium has been used to reach out to over 600 teachers and 65,000 pupils in the RedLaSer schools network within the last three years. This has attracted the direct interest of Chile's Ministry of Education. Videoconferencing over Internet2 is being used for educational purposes between Chile and various sites in the US. The NSF- initiated Mamalluca municipal observatory now receives more visitors than all the international observatories in Chile combined and is the focus of an expanding local industry of astronomical eco-tourism. Most of this work was supported by funding from, or via, the US NSF through CTIO and Gemini, and from ESO, OCIW, CONAMA and the IDA.

Non university sources of science in Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soto, Leopoldo

2016-05-01

The following ideas are widely accepted in Chile with respect to scientific activity: is carried out mainly in universities and science is considered a naturally university activity, that was developed in a period of more than 150 years by isolated individual efforts, c) it was transformed into an institutionalized activity at the universities after the university reform movement at the end of the 1960 decade, d) the activity is finally institutionalized in the country with the creation of the “Comisión Nacional de Investigatión Científica y Tecnológica, CONICYT (National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research) in 1967. This work presents preliminary findings showing that there are other institutional initiatives, different to the efforts from universities and directly dependent of the Chilean Government, in order to produce science and technology in Chile. This governmental initiatives start at the beginning of the Republic of Chile circa of 1810.

Pilot Institute on Global Change on Trace Gases and the Biosphere, 1988

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eddy, J. A.; Moore, B.

1998-01-01

Table of Contents: Summary; Background; General Framework for a Series of Institutes on Global Change; The 1988 Pilot Institute on Global Changes: Trace Gases and the Biosphere; Budget; List of Acronyms; and Attachments.

Delving into the Deep Biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grim, S. L.; Sogin, M. L.; Boetius, A.; Briggs, B. R.; Brazelton, W. J.; D'Hondt, S. L.; Edwards, K. J.; Fisk, M. R.; Gaidos, E.; Gralnick, J.; Hinrichs, K.; Lazar, C.; Lavalleur, H.; Lever, M. A.; Marteinsson, V.; Moser, D. P.; Orcutt, B.; Pedersen, K.; Popa, R.; Ramette, A.; Schrenk, M. O.; Sylvan, J. B.; Smith, A. R.; Teske, A.; Walsh, E. A.; Colwell, F. S.

2013-12-01

The Census of Deep Life organized an international survey of microbial community diversity in terrestrial and marine deep subsurface environments. Habitats included subsurface continental fractured rock aquifers, volcanic and metamorphic subseafloor sedimentary units from the open ocean, subsurface oxic and anoxic sediments and underlying basaltic oceanic crust, and their overlying water columns. Our survey employed high-throughput pyrosequencing of the hypervariable V4-V6 16S rRNA gene of bacteria and archaea. We detected 1292 bacterial genera representing 40 phyla, and 99 archaeal genera from 30 phyla. Of these, a core group of thirteen bacterial genera occurred in every environment. A genus of the South African Goldmine Group (Euryarchaeota) was always present whenever archaea were detected. Members of the rare biosphere in one system often represented highly abundant taxa in other environments. Dispersal could account for this observation but mechanisms of transport remain elusive. Ralstonia (Betaproteobacteria) represented highly abundant taxa in marine communities and terrestrial rock, but generally low abundance organisms in groundwater. Some of these taxa could represent sample contamination, and their extensive distribution in several systems requires further assessment. An unknown Sphingobacteriales (Bacteroidetes) genus, Stenotrophomonas (Gammaproteobacteria), Acidovorax and Aquabacterium (both Betaproteobacteria), a Chlorobiales genus, and a TM7 genus were in the core group as well but more prevalent in terrestrial environments. Similarly, Bacillus (Firmicutes), a new cyanobacterial genus, Bradyrhizobium and Sphingomonas (both Alphaproteobacteria), a novel Acidobacteriaceae genus, and Variovorax (Betaproteobacteria) frequently occurred in marine systems but represented low abundance taxa in other environments. Communities tended to cluster by biome and material, and many genera were unique to systems. For example, certain Rhizobiales

Biospheric feedback effects in a synchronously coupled model of human and Earth systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thornton, Peter E.; Calvin, Katherine; Jones, Andrew D.

Fossil fuel combustion and land-use change are the first and second largest contributors to industrial-era increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, which is itself the largest driver of present-day climate change1. Projections of fossil fuel consumption and land-use change are thus fundamental inputs for coupled Earth system models (ESM) used to estimate the physical and biological consequences of future climate system forcing2,3. While empirical datasets are available to inform historical analyses4,5, assessments of future climate change have relied on projections of energy and land use based on energy economic models, constrained using historical and present-day data and forced with assumptionsmore » about future policy, land-use patterns, and socio-economic development trajectories6. Here we show that the influence of biospheric change – the integrated effect of climatic, ecological, and geochemical processes – on land ecosystems has a significant impact on energy, agriculture, and land-use projections for the 21st century. Such feedbacks have been ignored in previous ESM studies of future climate. We find that synchronous exposure of land ecosystem productivity in the economic system to biospheric change as it develops in an ESM results in a 10% reduction of land area used for crop cultivation; increased managed forest area and land carbon; a 15-20% decrease in global crop price; and a 17% reduction in fossil fuel emissions for a low-mid range forcing scenario7. These simulation results demonstrate that biospheric change can significantly alter primary human system forcings to the climate system. This synchronous two-way coupling approach removes inconsistencies in description of climate change between human and biosphere components of the coupled model, mitigating a major source of uncertainty identified in assessments of future climate projections8-10.« less

The Mass Media and Political Socialization: Chile, 1970-2000

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walter, Amy R.

2005-01-01

This project seeks to determine the effect of the mass media on political attitudes and behaviors in Chile between the years 1970 and 2000. The relationship between the media and "political socialization" is just now gaining recognition in scholarly research, and Chile offers an excellent case study. This paper traces these two variables…

Patterns of new versus recycled primary production in the terrestrial biosphere

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) availability regulate plant productivity throughout the terrestrial biosphere, influencing the patterns and magnitude of net primary production (NPP) by land plants both now and into the future. These nutrients enter ecosystems via geologic and atmospheric pathways, a...

[Public health infrastructure investment difficulties in Chile: concessions and public tenders].

PubMed

Goyenechea, Matías

2016-05-12

This paper seeks to highlight the problems of gaps in health infrastructure in Chile, and to analyze the mechanisms by which it is provided. In Chile this is done in two ways: the first is through competitive bidding or sector-wide modality. The second way is through hospital concessions. Both mechanisms have had difficulties in recent years, which are reported. Finally, we propose ways to improve the provision of health infrastructure in Chile.

Probabilistic biosphere modeling for the long-term safety assessment of geological disposal facilities for radioactive waste using first- and second-order Monte Carlo simulation.

PubMed

Ciecior, Willy; Röhlig, Klaus-Jürgen; Kirchner, Gerald

2018-10-01

In the present paper, deterministic as well as first- and second-order probabilistic biosphere modeling approaches are compared. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the influence of the probability distribution function shape (empirical distribution functions and fitted lognormal probability functions) representing the aleatory uncertainty (also called variability) of a radioecological model parameter as well as the role of interacting parameters are studied. Differences in the shape of the output distributions for the biosphere dose conversion factor from first-order Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis using empirical and fitted lognormal distribution functions for input parameters suggest that a lognormal approximation is possibly not always an adequate representation of the aleatory uncertainty of a radioecological parameter. Concerning the comparison of the impact of aleatory and epistemic parameter uncertainty on the biosphere dose conversion factor, the latter here is described using uncertain moments (mean, variance) while the distribution itself represents the aleatory uncertainty of the parameter. From the results obtained, the solution space of second-order Monte Carlo simulation is much larger than that from first-order Monte Carlo simulation. Therefore, the influence of epistemic uncertainty of a radioecological parameter on the output result is much larger than that one caused by its aleatory uncertainty. Parameter interactions are only of significant influence in the upper percentiles of the distribution of results as well as only in the region of the upper percentiles of the model parameters. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Egoistic, altruistic, and biospheric environmental concerns: a path analytic investigation of their determinants.

PubMed

Swami, Viren; Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas; Snelgar, Rosemary; Furnham, Adrian

2010-04-01

Previous studies have shown that environmental concerns (ECs) can be reduced to a three-factor model - comprising altruistic, biospheric, and egoistic concerns - but there have been few studies examining individual difference predictors of ECs. In this study with 203 individuals from a British community sample, we show that biospheric concern was significantly associated with participants' age, political orientation, Machiavellianism, and the Big Five personality traits of Agreeableness, Emotional Stability, and Conscientiousness. Altruistic concern was significantly associated with sex, age, political orientation, and Machiavellianism, but not the Big Five traits, whereas egoistic concern was not significantly associated with any of these predictors except sex. These results are discussed in relation to previous work on ECs and pro-environmental behavior.

Life in a dark biosphere: a review of circadian physiology in "arrhythmic" environments.

PubMed

Beale, Andrew David; Whitmore, David; Moran, Damian

2016-12-01

Most of the life with which humans interact is exposed to highly rhythmic and extremely predictable changes in illumination that occur with the daily events of sunrise and sunset. However, while the influence of the sun feels omnipotent to surface dwellers such as ourselves, life on earth is dominated, in terms of biomass, by organisms isolated from the direct effects of the sun. A limited understanding of what life is like away from the sun can be inferred from our knowledge of physiology and ecology in the light biosphere, but a full understanding can only be gained by studying animals from the dark biosphere, both in the laboratory and in their natural habitats. One of the least understood aspects of life in the dark biosphere is the rhythmicity of physiology and what it means to live in an environment of low or no rhythmicity. Here we describe methods that may be used to understand rhythmic physiology in the dark and summarise some of the studies of rhythmic physiology in "arrhythmic" environments, such as the poles, deep sea and caves. We review what can be understood about the adaptive value of rhythmic physiology on the Earth's surface from studies of animals from arrhythmic environments and what role a circadian clock may play in the dark.

A biosphere modeling methodology for dose assessments of the potential Yucca Mountain deep geological high level radioactive waste repository.

PubMed

Watkins, B M; Smith, G M; Little, R H; Kessler, J

1999-04-01

Recent developments in performance standards for proposed high level radioactive waste disposal at Yucca Mountain suggest that health risk or dose rate limits will likely be part of future standards. Approaches to the development of biosphere modeling and dose assessments for Yucca Mountain have been relatively lacking in previous performance assessments due to the absence of such a requirement. This paper describes a practical methodology used to develop a biosphere model appropriate for calculating doses from use of well water by hypothetical individuals due to discharges of contaminated groundwater into a deep well. The biosphere model methodology, developed in parallel with the BIOMOVS II international study, allows a transparent recording of the decisions at each step, from the specification of the biosphere assessment context through to model development and analysis of results. A list of features, events, and processes relevant to Yucca Mountain was recorded and an interaction matrix developed to help identify relationships between them. Special consideration was given to critical/potential exposure group issues and approaches. The conceptual model of the biosphere system was then developed, based on the interaction matrix, to show how radionuclides migrate and accumulate in the biosphere media and result in potential exposure pathways. A mathematical dose assessment model was specified using the flexible AMBER software application, which allows users to construct their own compartment models. The starting point for the biosphere calculations was a unit flux of each radionuclide from the groundwater in the geosphere into the drinking water in the well. For each of the 26 radionuclides considered, the most significant exposure pathways for hypothetical individuals were identified. For 14 of the radionuclides, the primary exposure pathways were identified as consumption of various crops and animal products following assumed agricultural use of the contaminated

Comets, Carbonaceous Meteorites, and the Origin of the Biosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoover, Richard B.

2005-01-01

The biosphere comprises the Earth s crust, atmosphere, oceans, and ice caps and the living organisms that survive within this habitat. The discoveries of barophilic chemolithoautotrophic thermophiles living deep within the crust and in deep-sea hydrothermal vents, and psychrophiles in permafrost and deep within the Antarctic Ice Sheet indicate the Earth s biosphere is far more extensive than previously recognized. Molecular biomarkers and Bacterial Paleontology provide evidence that life appeared very early on the primitive Earth and the origin of the biosphere is closely linked with the emergence of life. The role of comets, meteorites, and interstellar dust in the delivery of water, organics and prebiotic chemicals has long been recognized. Deuterium enrichment of seawater and comets indicates that comets delivered oceans to the early Earth. Furthermore, the similarity of the D/H ratios and the chemical compositions of CI carbonaceous meteorites and comets indicate that the CI meteorites may be remnants of cometary nuclei with most volatiles removed. Comets, meteorites, and interstellar dust also contain complex organic chemicals, amino acids, macromolecules, and kerogen-like biopolymers and may have played a crucial role in the delivery of complex organics and prebiotic chemicals during the Hadean (4.5-3.8 Gyr) period of heavy bombardment. The existence of indigenous microfossils of morphotypes of cyanobacteria in the CI and CM carbonaceous meteorites suggests that the paradigm that life originated endogenously in the primitive oceans of early Earth may require re-consideration. Recent data on the hot (300-400 K) black crust on comet P/Halley and Stardust images of P/Wild 2 showing depressions, tall cliffs, and pinnacles, indicate the presence of thick, durable, dark crusts on comets. If cavities within the ice and crust sustain vapor pressures in excess of 10 millibar, then localized pools of liquid water and brines could exist within the comet. Since life

A terrestrial biosphere model optimized to atmospheric CO2 concentration and above ground woody biomass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saito, M.; Ito, A.; Maksyutov, S. S.

2013-12-01

This study documents an optimization of a prognostic biosphere model (VISIT; Vegetation Integrative Similator for Trace gases) to observations of atmospheric CO2 concentration and above ground woody biomass by using a Bayesian inversion method combined with an atmospheric tracer transport model (NIES-TM; National Institute for Environmental Studies / Frontier Research Center for Global Change (NIES/FRCGC) off-line global atmospheric tracer transport model). The assimilated observations include 74 station records of surface atmospheric CO2 concentration and aggregated grid data sets of above ground woody biomass (AGB) and net primary productivity (NPP) over the globe. Both the biosphere model and the atmospheric transport model are used at a horizontal resolution of 2.5 deg x 2.5 deg grid with temporal resolutions of a day and an hour, respectively. The atmospheric transport model simulates atmospheric CO2 concentration with nine vertical levels using daily net ecosystem CO2 exchange rate (NEE) from the biosphere model, oceanic CO2 flux, and fossil fuel emission inventory. The models are driven by meteorological data from JRA-25 (Japanese 25-year ReAnalysis) and JCDAS (JMA Climate Data Assimilation System). Statistically optimum physiological parameters in the biosphere model are found by iterative minimization of the corresponding Bayesian cost function. We select thirteen physiological parameter with high sensitivity to NEE, NPP, and AGB for the minimization. Given the optimized physiological parameters, the model shows error reductions in seasonal variation of the CO2 concentrations especially in the northern hemisphere due to abundant observation stations, while errors remain at a few stations that are located in coastal coastal area and stations in the southern hemisphere. The model also produces moderate estimates of the mean magnitudes and probability distributions in AGB and NPP for each biome. However, the model fails in the simulation of the terrestrial

Terrestrial Biosphere Dynamics in the Climate System: Past and Future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Overpeck, J.; Whitlock, C.; Huntley, B.

2002-12-01

The paleoenvironmental record makes it clear that climate change as large as is likely to occur in the next two centuries will drive change in the terrestrial biosphere that is both large and difficult to predict, or plan for. Many species, communities and ecosystems could experience rates of climate change, and "destination climates" that are unprecedented in their time on earth. The paleorecord also makes it clear that a wide range of possible climate system behavior, such as decades-long droughts, increases in large storm and flood frequency, and rapid sea level rise, all occurred repeatedly in the past, and for poorly understood reasons. These types of events, if they were to reoccur in the future, could have especially devastating impacts on biodiversity, both because their timing and spatial extent cannot be anticipated, and because the biota's natural defenses have been compromised by land-use, reductions in genetic flexibility, pollution, excess water utilization, invasive species, and other human influences. Vegetation disturbance (e.g., by disease, pests and fire) will undoubtedly be exacerbated by climate change (stress), but could also speed the rate at which terrestrial biosphere change takes place in the future. The paleoenvironmental record makes it clear that major scientific challenges include an improved ability to model regional biospheric change, both past and future. This in turn will be a prerequisite to obtaining realistic estimates of future biogeochemical and biophysical feedbacks, and thus to obtaining better assessments of future climate change. These steps will help generate the improved understanding of climate variability that is needed to manage global biodiversity. However, the most troubling message from the paleoenvironmental record is that unchecked anthropogenic climate change could make the Earth's 6th major mass extinction unavoidable.

The Anthropocene: a conspicuous stratigraphical signal of anthropogenic changes in production and consumption across the biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, Mark; Zalasiewicz, Jan; Waters, Colin N.; Edgeworth, Matt; Bennett, Carys; Barnosky, Anthony D.; Ellis, Erle C.; Ellis, Michael A.; Cearreta, Alejandro; Haff, Peter K.; Ivar do Sul, Juliana A.; Leinfelder, Reinhold; McNeill, John R.; Odada, Eric; Oreskes, Naomi; Revkin, Andrew; Richter, Daniel deB; Steffen, Will; Summerhayes, Colin; Syvitski, James P.; Vidas, Davor; Wagreich, Michael; Wing, Scott L.; Wolfe, Alexander P.; Zhisheng, An

2016-03-01

Biospheric relationships between production and consumption of biomass have been resilient to changes in the Earth system over billions of years. This relationship has increased in its complexity, from localized ecosystems predicated on anaerobic microbial production and consumption to a global biosphere founded on primary production from oxygenic photoautotrophs, through the evolution of Eukarya, metazoans, and the complexly networked ecosystems of microbes, animals, fungi, and plants that characterize the Phanerozoic Eon (the last ˜541 million years of Earth history). At present, one species, Homo sapiens, is refashioning this relationship between consumption and production in the biosphere with unknown consequences. This has left a distinctive stratigraphy of the production and consumption of biomass, of natural resources, and of produced goods. This can be traced through stone tool technologies and geochemical signals, later unfolding into a diachronous signal of technofossils and human bioturbation across the planet, leading to stratigraphically almost isochronous signals developing by the mid-20th century. These latter signals may provide an invaluable resource for informing and constraining a formal Anthropocene chronostratigraphy, but are perhaps yet more important as tracers of a biosphere state that is characterized by a geologically unprecedented pattern of global energy flow that is now pervasively influenced and mediated by humans, and which is necessary for maintaining the complexity of modern human societies.

Turnover of microbial lipids in the deep biosphere and growth of benthic archaeal populations

PubMed Central

Xie, Sitan; Lipp, Julius S.; Wegener, Gunter; Ferdelman, Timothy G.; Hinrichs, Kai-Uwe

2013-01-01

Deep subseafloor sediments host a microbial biosphere with unknown impact on global biogeochemical cycles. This study tests previous evidence based on microbial intact polar lipids (IPLs) as proxies of live biomass, suggesting that Archaea dominate the marine sedimentary biosphere. We devised a sensitive radiotracer assay to measure the decay rate of ([14C]glucosyl)-diphytanylglyceroldiether (GlcDGD) as an analog of archaeal IPLs in continental margin sediments. The degradation kinetics were incorporated in model simulations that constrained the fossil fraction of subseafloor IPLs and rates of archaeal turnover. Simulating the top 1 km in a generic continental margin sediment column, we estimated degradation rate constants of GlcDGD being one to two orders of magnitude lower than those of bacterial IPLs, with half-lives of GlcDGD increasing with depth to 310 ky. Given estimated microbial community turnover times of 1.6–73 ky in sediments deeper than 1 m, 50–96% of archaeal IPLs represent fossil signals. Consequently, previous lipid-based estimates of global subseafloor biomass probably are too high, and the widely observed dominance of archaeal IPLs does not rule out a deep biosphere dominated by Bacteria. Reverse modeling of existing concentration profiles suggest that archaeal IPL synthesis rates decline from around 1,000 pg⋅mL−1 sediment⋅y−1 at the surface to 0.2 pg⋅mL−1⋅y−1 at 1 km depth, equivalent to production of 7 × 105 to 140 archaeal cells⋅mL−1 sediment⋅y−1, respectively. These constraints on microbial growth are an important step toward understanding the relationship between the deep biosphere and the carbon cycle. PMID:23530229

Turnover of microbial lipids in the deep biosphere and growth of benthic archaeal populations.

PubMed

Xie, Sitan; Lipp, Julius S; Wegener, Gunter; Ferdelman, Timothy G; Hinrichs, Kai-Uwe

2013-04-09

Deep subseafloor sediments host a microbial biosphere with unknown impact on global biogeochemical cycles. This study tests previous evidence based on microbial intact polar lipids (IPLs) as proxies of live biomass, suggesting that Archaea dominate the marine sedimentary biosphere. We devised a sensitive radiotracer assay to measure the decay rate of ([(14)C]glucosyl)-diphytanylglyceroldiether (GlcDGD) as an analog of archaeal IPLs in continental margin sediments. The degradation kinetics were incorporated in model simulations that constrained the fossil fraction of subseafloor IPLs and rates of archaeal turnover. Simulating the top 1 km in a generic continental margin sediment column, we estimated degradation rate constants of GlcDGD being one to two orders of magnitude lower than those of bacterial IPLs, with half-lives of GlcDGD increasing with depth to 310 ky. Given estimated microbial community turnover times of 1.6-73 ky in sediments deeper than 1 m, 50-96% of archaeal IPLs represent fossil signals. Consequently, previous lipid-based estimates of global subseafloor biomass probably are too high, and the widely observed dominance of archaeal IPLs does not rule out a deep biosphere dominated by Bacteria. Reverse modeling of existing concentration profiles suggest that archaeal IPL synthesis rates decline from around 1,000 pg⋅mL(-1) sediment⋅y(-1) at the surface to 0.2 pg⋅mL(-1)⋅y(-1) at 1 km depth, equivalent to production of 7 × 10(5) to 140 archaeal cells⋅mL(-1) sediment⋅y(-1), respectively. These constraints on microbial growth are an important step toward understanding the relationship between the deep biosphere and the carbon cycle.

Prospects for the study of evolution in the deep biosphere.

PubMed

Biddle, Jennifer F; Sylvan, Jason B; Brazelton, William J; Tully, Benjamin J; Edwards, Katrina J; Moyer, Craig L; Heidelberg, John F; Nelson, William C

2011-01-01

Since the days of Darwin, scientists have used the framework of the theory of evolution to explore the interconnectedness of life on Earth and adaptation of organisms to the ever-changing environment. The advent of molecular biology has advanced and accelerated the study of evolution by allowing direct examination of the genetic material that ultimately determines the phenotypes upon which selection acts. The study of evolution has been furthered through examination of microbial evolution, with large population numbers, short generation times, and easily extractable DNA. Such work has spawned the study of microbial biogeography, with the realization that concepts developed in population genetics may be applicable to microbial genomes (Martiny et al., 2006; Manhes and Velicer, 2011). Microbial biogeography and adaptation has been examined in many different environments. Here we argue that the deep biosphere is a unique environment for the study of evolution and list specific factors that can be considered and where the studies may be performed. This publication is the result of the NSF-funded Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI) theme team on Evolution (www.darkenergybiosphere.org).

Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence: A new approach to spatially model wildfire risk potential in central Chile.

PubMed

González, Cristián; Castillo, Miguel; García-Chevesich, Pablo; Barrios, Juan

2018-02-01

A spatial modeling was applied to Chilean wildfire occurrence, through the Dempster-Shafer's evidence theory and considering the 2006-2010 period for the Valparaiso Region (central Chile), a representative area for this experiment. Results indicate strong spatial correlation between documented wildfires and cumulative evidence maps, resulting in a powerful tool for future wildfire risk prevention programs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Building Long-Term Care Policies in Latin America: New Programs in Chile.

PubMed

Matus-Lopez, Mauricio; Cid Pedraza, Camilo

2015-10-01

Little is known about long-term care policies in developing regions. Latin America is one of those regions. In less than 20 years, it will surpass Europe's elderly population. At that point, Chile will be the country with the largest share of elderly population in the region. For that reason, long-term care pilot programs have been implemented in recent years. This article describes the long-term care policy in Chile, analyzed according to the international experience. National directors of these programs were asked to complete questionnaires with a description of each, and the results of the past year. This information was compared with interviews to experts and official information available online. Programs follow the international trends, although they are underfinanced and lack the necessary mechanisms to control service quality. It is suggested that budgets should be increased, and there should be higher requirements for caregiver training. Also, mechanisms for quality control should be established, and policies should be evaluated for formal direct hiring through a cash-for-care system. Copyright © 2015 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hydrothermal Exploration at the Chile Triple Junction - ABE's last adventure?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

German, C. R.; Shank, T. M.; Lilley, M. D.; Lupton, J. E.; Blackman, D. K.; Brown, K. M.; Baumberger, T.; Früh-Green, G.; Greene, R.; Saito, M. A.; Sylva, S.; Nakamura, K.; Stanway, J.; Yoerger, D. R.; Levin, L. A.; Thurber, A. R.; Sellanes, J.; Mella, M.; Muñoz, J.; Diaz-Naveas, J. L.; Inspire Science Team

2010-12-01

In February and March 2010 we conducted preliminary exploration for hydrothermal plume signals along the East Chile Rise where it intersects the continental margin at the Chile Triple Junction (CTJ). This work was conducted as one component of our larger NOAA-OE funded INSPIRE project (Investigation of South Pacific Reducing Environments) aboard RV Melville cruise MV 1003 (PI: Andrew Thurber, Scripps) with all shiptime funded through an award of the State of California to Andrew Thurber and his co-PI's. Additional support came from the Census of Marine Life (ChEss and CoMarge projects). At sea, we conducted a series of CTD-rosette and ABE autonomous underwater vehicle operations to prospect for and determine the nature of any seafloor venting at, or adjacent to, the point where the the East Chile Rise subducts beneath the continental margin. Evidence from in situ sensing (optical backscatter, Eh) and water column analyses of dissolved CH4, δ3He and TDFe/TDMn concentrations document the presence of two discrete sites of venting, one right at the triple junction and the other a further 10km along axis, north of the Triple Junction, but still within the southernmost segment of the East Chile Rise. From an intercomparison of the abundance of different chemical signals we can intercompare likely characteristics of these differet source sites and also differentiate between them and the high methane concentrations released from cold seep sites further north along the Chile Margin, both with the CTJ region and also at the Concepcion Methane Seep Area (CMSA). This multi-disciplinary and international collaboration - involving scientists from Chile, the USA, Europe and Japan - can serve as an excellent and exciting launchpoint for wide-ranging future investigations of the Chile Triple Junction area - the only place on Earth where an oceanic spreading center is being actively subducted beneath a continent and also the only place on Earth where all known forms of deep

A modern earth narrative: What will be the fate of the biosphere?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Williams, R.S.

2000-01-01

The modern Earth Narrative is the scientific description of the natural and human history of the Earth, and it is based on two fundamental concepts: Deep (or Geologic) Time and Biological Evolution. Changes in the Earth's biosphere and geosphere are discussed from the perspective of natural variability and impacts of the rapid increase in the human population. The failure of humans to comprehend and understand the Earth Narrative, especially the place of humans in it, presages dire consequences for the Earth's biosphere. The actions humans take, individually and collectively, during the 21st century will likely determine the fate of many millions of species, including our own. It is argued that we must quickly establish an Earth System-based conservation ethic that has the objective of complete preservation of the Earth's biotic inheritance. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Remote sensing of the biosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1986-01-01

The current state of understanding of the biosphere is reviewed, the major scientific issues to be addressed are discussed, and techniques, existing and in need of development, for the science are evaluated. It is primarily concerned with developing the scientific capabilities of remote sensing for advancing the subject. The global nature of the scientific objectives requires the use of space-based techniques. The capability to look at the Earth as a whole was developed only recently. The space program has provided the technology to study the entire Earth from artificial satellites, and thus is a primary force in approaches to planetary biology. Space technology has also permitted comparative studies of planetary atmospheres and surfaces. These studies coupled with the growing awareness of the effects that life has on the entire Earth, are opening new lines of inquiry in science.

Sensitivity properties of a biosphere model based on BATS and a statistical-dynamical climate model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhang, Taiping

1994-01-01

A biosphere model based on the Biosphere-Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS) and the Saltzman-Vernekar (SV) statistical-dynamical climate model is developed. Some equations of BATS are adopted either intact or with modifications, some are conceptually modified, and still others are replaced with equations of the SV model. The model is designed so that it can be run independently as long as the parameters related to the physiology and physiognomy of the vegetation, the atmospheric conditions, solar radiation, and soil conditions are given. With this stand-alone biosphere model, a series of sensitivity investigations, particularly the model sensitivity to fractional area of vegetation cover, soil surface water availability, and solar radiation for different types of vegetation, were conducted as a first step. These numerical experiments indicate that the presence of a vegetation cover greatly enhances the exchanges of momentum, water vapor, and energy between the atmosphere and the surface of the earth. An interesting result is that a dense and thick vegetation cover tends to serve as an environment conditioner or, more specifically, a thermostat and a humidistat, since the soil surface temperature, foliage temperature, and temperature and vapor pressure of air within the foliage are practically insensitive to variation of soil surface water availability and even solar radiation within a wide range. An attempt is also made to simulate the gradual deterioration of environment accompanying gradual degradation of a tropical forest to grasslands. Comparison with field data shows that this model can realistically simulate the land surface processes involving biospheric variations.

Co-evolution of land use changes, water quality deterioration and social conflicts in arid Northern Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zang, Carina; Dame, Juliane

2017-04-01

Water scarcity concerns not only the limited availability of water but also water of inadequate quality in terms of its designated purposes. Arid regions, such as found in Northern Chile, are especially vulnerable to water contamination, owing to missing dilution. Additionally, the national government of Chile's goal to make the country a globally important food exporter has led to the widespread expansion of agricultural surfaces over the last 20 years, thereby increasing pressure on limited water resources and water quality. Mining, being one of the most important economic sectors in Chile, threatens both surface and groundwater quality. This scenario increases the potential for water use conflicts, which is further compounded by the demand for potable water provided by rivers and groundwater. In order to better understand the role of both physical and human dimensions of water quality, this research uses a socio-hydrological conceptual framework. This approach is used in order to broaden the scope of hydrology to include the anthropogenic impact on the environment. It therefore focuses on human and natural interactions and two-sided feedback loops, instead of purely hydrological cycles. Using the case study of the Rio Huasco watershed changes in water quality, which originate at the nexus of physical parameters, social conflicts and changing land use regimes in Northern Chile, are discussed. This region was chosen as an exemplary case for the development of Chile's arid regions: the valley is located at the southern edge of the Atacama Desert, where water scarcity is a major problem. At present, the watershed is predominantly used for agriculture. Many small farmers still practise strip cultivation, but are pressured to shift towards an international export-orientated future with monocultures. International companies are planning to mine the Pascua Lama Mine, one of the world's biggest gold reserves located in the headwaters of the Rio Huasco. Meanwhile, the

Comparative mechanical harvest efficiency of New Mexico green chile cultivars

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

New Mexico-type green chile (Capsicum annuum) is one of New Mexico’s leading horticultural commodities. The crop is harvested when fruit are fully sized, but in the physiologically immature green stage, for fresh and processed markets. Cultivated acreage of green chile in New Mexico is threatened du...

International Summer School on Astronomy and Space Science in Chile, first experience.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stepanova, M.; Arellano-Baeza, A. A.

I International Summer School on Astronomy and Space Science took place in the Elqui Valley Chile January 15-29 2005 Eighty 12-17 year old students from Chile Russia Venezuela and Bulgaria obtained a valuable experience to work together with outstanding scientists from Chile and Russia and with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Balandine They also had opportunity to visit the main astronomical observatories and to participate in workshops dedicated to the telescope and satellite design and remote sensing This activity was supported by numerous institutions in Chile including the Ministry of Education the European Southern Observatory Chilean Space Agency Chilean Air Force Latin American Association of Space Geophysics the principal Chilean universities and the First Lady Mrs Luisa Duran

Chile Informed Question Paper - Military

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-01-01

superior military strength and regional economic integration. Internally, Chile also faces little threat; however, militants from the Mapuche ...considered a significant threat.11 The most significant internal security concern is the ongoing campaign by Mapuche indigenous community militants to

Relations Between Chile and ESO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1994-06-01

As announced in an earlier Press Release (PR 08/94 of 6 May 1994), a high-ranking ESO delegation visited Santiago de Chile during the week of 24 - 28 May 1994 to discuss various important matters of mutual interest with the Chilean Government. It consisted of Dr. Peter Creola (President of ESO Council), Dr. Catherine Cesarsky (Vice-President of ESO Council), Dr. Henrik Grage (Former Vice-President of ESO Council) and Professor Riccardo Giacconi (ESO Director General), the latter accompanied by his advisers. THE SUPPLEMENTARY TREATY BETWEEN CHILE AND ESO Following a meeting with the ambassadors to Chile of the eight ESO member countries, the ESO delegation was received by the Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Carlos Figueroa, and members of his staff. The ESO delegation was pleased to receive assurances that the present Chilean Government, like its predecessors, will continue to honour all contractual agreements, in particular the privileges and immunities of this Organisation, which were laid down in the Treaty between ESO and Chile that was signed by the parties in 1963 and ratified the following year. The discussions covered some aspects of the proposed Supplementary Treaty which has been under preparation during the past year. This included in particular the desire of the Chilean side to further increase the percentage of guaranteed time for Chilean astronomers at the future ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) and also the rules governing the installation by ESO member countries of additional telescopes at the ESO observatories in Chile. ESO invited a Chilean delegation to visit the ESO Headquarters in Garching (Germany) later this year for the final adjustment of the text of the Supplementary Treaty, after which it should be possible to proceed rapidly with the signing and ratification by the Chilean Parliament and the ESO Council. THE SITUATION AROUND PARANAL The ESO delegation expressed its deep concern to the Chilean Government about the continuing legal

[Who finances medical research in Chile?].

PubMed

Reyes, H; Kauffmann, R; Goic, A

1995-10-01

To identify those institutions granting medical research in Chile, every issue of Revista Médica de Chile published between 1987 and 1994 was reviewed, under the assumption that a vast majority (over 70%) of papers released by Chilean authors in topics of internal medicine and related subspecialties would have been submitted for publication in this journal. This assumption was based in the solid prestige of Revista Médica de Chile among Chilean physicians and investigators: it is one of the oldest medical journals in the world (founded in 1872) and its inclusion in the most important international indexes (e.g. Index Medicus, Current Contents) qualifies it in the "mainstream literature". Papers classified as "Original Articles", "Clinical Experiences", "Review Articles", "Public Health", "Case Reports", "Clinical Laboratory", "Special Articles" and "Medical Education" were screened for acknowledgment of financial support beyond the resources needed for routine clinical work. Among 1,528 manuscripts published, 344 were "Original Articles" and 61.3% of them acknowledged special financial support. Five hundred and one manuscripts were "Clinical Experiences" and 21.5% of them received special financial support; similar proportions were detected in "Review Articles" and "Public Health" topics. The institution ranked as providing support most often was the "Fondo Nacional de Ciencias y Tecnología" (FONDECYT), a governmental fund that assigns resources to research in all areas of science and technology through a peer-reviewed nationwide annual contest. FONDECYT was identified as provider of financial support to 45.2% of the "Original Articles" and "Clinical Experiences"; Chilean universities were mentioned by 33.6% and other entities (including pharmaceutical companies, other national and foreign organizations) by 23.1%. The University of Chile was the main Chilean university mentioned in the acknowledgments. The proportion of papers receiving special financial support

Abortion in Chile: the practice under a restrictive regime.

PubMed

Casas, Lidia; Vivaldi, Lieta

2014-11-01

This article examines, from a human rights perspective, the experience of women, and the practices of health care providers regarding abortion in Chile. Most abortions, as high as 100,000 a year, are obtained surreptitiously and clandestinely, and income and connections play a key role. The illegality of abortion correlates strongly with vulnerability, feelings of guilt and loneliness, fear of prosecution, physical and psychological harm, and social ostracism. Moreover, the absolute legal ban on abortion has a chilling effect on health care providers and endangers women's lives and health. Although misoprostol use has significantly helped to prevent greater harm and enhance women's agency, a ban on sales created a black market. Against this backdrop, feminists have taken action in aid of women. For instance, a feminist collective opened a telephone hotline, Linea Aborto Libre (Free Abortion Line), which has been crucial in informing women of the correct and safe use of misoprostol. Chile is at a crossroads. For the first time in 24 years, abortion law reform seems plausible, at least when the woman's life or health is at risk and in cases of rape and fetal anomalies incompatible with life. The political scenario is unfolding as we write. Congressional approval does not mean automatic enactment of a new law; a constitutional challenge is highly likely and will have to be overcome. Copyright © 2014 Reproductive Health Matters. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Differences in infant temperament between Chile and the US.

PubMed

Farkas, Chamarrita; Vallotton, Claire

2016-08-01

Temperament refers to individual differences in reactivity and self-regulation and is influenced by genetic and experiential variation and maturation. Temperament reflects biologically based individual differences that emerge in early life and remain relatively stable thereafter. Given the growing interest in cultural variation in infant temperament, this study examined the temperament of 12-month-old children in Chile and the US. The aims were to validate a version of the Infant Behavior Questionnaire - Revised - Very Short Form in Spanish for Chile and to compare Chilean and US infants' temperament. For the first aim, 150 Chilean infants aged 10-15 months were assessed, and 73 US infants aged 10-15 months were examined for the second aim. The children's parents completed a demographic questionnaire and the IBQ-R-VSF, which measures three dimensions of temperament: Surgency, Negative Affectivity, and Effortful Control. The reliability of each dimension for the Chilean sample was between 0.70 and 0.75, and significant differences between Chilean and US infants emerged. Parents of Chilean infants reported higher levels of Effortful Control, whereas US parents reported that their infants exhibited higher levels of Negative Affectivity. A relationship between parents' higher educational level and infants' higher levels of Surgency was found for both countries. No gender or age differences were observed for any of the three temperament dimensions. These results and their implications for cultural studies are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Medical specialization in Chile. A centralized vision].

PubMed

Clouet-Huerta, Diego E; González, Bárbara; Correa, Katherine

2017-11-01

Medical graduates face different postgraduate training options, but their priority is to obtain a primary medical specialty, defined as a specialty that does not derive from other. There are different specialty training programs in Chile, which can be dependent or independent of the Ministry of Health. The information about these programs is available in different Internet sites. However a centralized information service that groups and synthetize these programs is lacking, hampering graduate choice decisions. This article aims to review all specialization program modalities, providing a general vision of the institutional structure and implications that govern the specialization process in Chile.

Multiple greenhouse-gas feedbacks from the land biosphere under future climate change scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stocker, Benjamin D.; Roth, Raphael; Joos, Fortunat; Spahni, Renato; Steinacher, Marco; Zaehle, Soenke; Bouwman, Lex; Xu-Ri; Prentice, Iain Colin

2013-07-01

Atmospheric concentrations of the three important greenhouse gases (GHGs) CO2, CH4 and N2O are mediated by processes in the terrestrial biosphere that are sensitive to climate and CO2. This leads to feedbacks between climate and land and has contributed to the sharp rise in atmospheric GHG concentrations since pre-industrial times. Here, we apply a process-based model to reproduce the historical atmospheric N2O and CH4 budgets within their uncertainties and apply future scenarios for climate, land-use change and reactive nitrogen (Nr) inputs to investigate future GHG emissions and their feedbacks with climate in a consistent and comprehensive framework. Results suggest that in a business-as-usual scenario, terrestrial N2O and CH4 emissions increase by 80 and 45%, respectively, and the land becomes a net source of C by AD 2100. N2O and CH4 feedbacks imply an additional warming of 0.4-0.5°C by AD 2300; on top of 0.8-1.0°C caused by terrestrial carbon cycle and Albedo feedbacks. The land biosphere represents an increasingly positive feedback to anthropogenic climate change and amplifies equilibrium climate sensitivity by 22-27%. Strong mitigation limits the increase of terrestrial GHG emissions and prevents the land biosphere from acting as an increasingly strong amplifier to anthropogenic climate change.

Atribacteria from the Subseafloor Sedimentary Biosphere Disperse to the Hydrosphere through Submarine Mud Volcanoes.

PubMed

Hoshino, Tatsuhiko; Toki, Tomohiro; Ijiri, Akira; Morono, Yuki; Machiyama, Hideaki; Ashi, Juichiro; Okamura, Kei; Inagaki, Fumio

2017-01-01

Submarine mud volcanoes (SMVs) are formed by muddy sediments and breccias extruded to the seafloor from a source in the deep subseafloor and are characterized by the discharge of methane and other hydrocarbon gasses and deep-sourced fluids into the overlying seawater. Although SMVs act as a natural pipeline connecting the Earth's surface and subsurface biospheres, the dispersal of deep-biosphere microorganisms and their ecological roles remain largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the microbial communities in sediment and overlying seawater at two SMVs located on the Ryukyu Trench off Tanegashima Island, southern Japan. The microbial communities in mud volcano sediments were generally distinct from those in the overlying seawaters and in the well-stratified Pacific margin sediments collected at the Peru Margin, the Juan de Fuca Ridge flank off Oregon, and offshore of Shimokita Peninsula, northeastern Japan. Nevertheless, in-depth analysis of different taxonomic groups at the sub-species level revealed that the taxon affiliated with Atribacteria , heterotrophic anaerobic bacteria that typically occur in organic-rich anoxic subseafloor sediments, were commonly found not only in SMV sediments but also in the overlying seawater. We designed a new oligonucleotide probe for detecting Atribacteria using the catalyzed reporter deposition-fluorescence in situ hybridization (CARD-FISH). CARD-FISH, digital PCR and sequencing analysis of 16S rRNA genes consistently showed that Atribacteria are abundant in the methane plumes of the two SMVs (0.58 and 1.5 × 10 4 cells/mL, respectively) but not in surrounding waters, suggesting that microbial cells in subseafloor sediments are dispersed as "deep-biosphere seeds" into the ocean. These findings may have important implications for the microbial transmigration between the deep subseafloor biosphere and the hydrosphere.

Atribacteria from the Subseafloor Sedimentary Biosphere Disperse to the Hydrosphere through Submarine Mud Volcanoes

PubMed Central

Hoshino, Tatsuhiko; Toki, Tomohiro; Ijiri, Akira; Morono, Yuki; Machiyama, Hideaki; Ashi, Juichiro; Okamura, Kei; Inagaki, Fumio

2017-01-01

Submarine mud volcanoes (SMVs) are formed by muddy sediments and breccias extruded to the seafloor from a source in the deep subseafloor and are characterized by the discharge of methane and other hydrocarbon gasses and deep-sourced fluids into the overlying seawater. Although SMVs act as a natural pipeline connecting the Earth’s surface and subsurface biospheres, the dispersal of deep-biosphere microorganisms and their ecological roles remain largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the microbial communities in sediment and overlying seawater at two SMVs located on the Ryukyu Trench off Tanegashima Island, southern Japan. The microbial communities in mud volcano sediments were generally distinct from those in the overlying seawaters and in the well-stratified Pacific margin sediments collected at the Peru Margin, the Juan de Fuca Ridge flank off Oregon, and offshore of Shimokita Peninsula, northeastern Japan. Nevertheless, in-depth analysis of different taxonomic groups at the sub-species level revealed that the taxon affiliated with Atribacteria, heterotrophic anaerobic bacteria that typically occur in organic-rich anoxic subseafloor sediments, were commonly found not only in SMV sediments but also in the overlying seawater. We designed a new oligonucleotide probe for detecting Atribacteria using the catalyzed reporter deposition-fluorescence in situ hybridization (CARD-FISH). CARD-FISH, digital PCR and sequencing analysis of 16S rRNA genes consistently showed that Atribacteria are abundant in the methane plumes of the two SMVs (0.58 and 1.5 × 104 cells/mL, respectively) but not in surrounding waters, suggesting that microbial cells in subseafloor sediments are dispersed as “deep-biosphere seeds” into the ocean. These findings may have important implications for the microbial transmigration between the deep subseafloor biosphere and the hydrosphere. PMID:28676800

Coastal Chile Shaded Relief View

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-03-04

This color-coded shaded relief view from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission of coastal Chile indicates the epicenter red marker of the 8.8 earthquake on Feb. 27, 2010, just offshore of the Maule region in the Bahia de Chanco.

Landsat View: Santiago, Chile

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

Santiago, Chile, ranks among the world's fastest growing cities. Chile is South America's fifth largest economy with strong export and tourism markets. More than a third of Chile's population lives in Santiago as of 2009. Taken on January 9, 1985, and January 30, 2010, this pair of images from the Landsat 5 satellite illustrates the city's steady growth. The images were made with infrared and visible light (Landsat bands 4, 3, and 2) so that plant-covered land is red. Bare or sparsely vegetated land is tan, and the city is dark silver. In the fifteen years that elapsed between 1985 and 2010, the city expanded away from the Andes Mountains along spoke-like lines, which are major roads. ---- NASA and the U.S. Department of the Interior through the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) jointly manage Landsat, and the USGS preserves a 40-year archive of Landsat images that is freely available over the Internet. The next Landsat satellite, now known as the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) and later to be called Landsat 8, is scheduled for launch in 2013. In honor of Landsat’s 40th anniversary in July 2012, the USGS released the LandsatLook viewer – a quick, simple way to go forward and backward in time, pulling images of anywhere in the world out of the Landsat archive. NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Recent climate variations in Chile: constraints from borehole temperature profiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pickler, Carolyne; Gurza Fausto, Edmundo; Beltrami, Hugo; Mareschal, Jean-Claude; Suárez, Francisco; Chacon-Oecklers, Arlette; Blin, Nicole; Cortés Calderón, Maria Teresa; Montenegro, Alvaro; Harris, Rob; Tassara, Andres

2018-04-01

We have compiled, collected, and analyzed 31 temperature-depth profiles from boreholes in the Atacama Desert in central and northern Chile. After screening these profiles, we found that only nine profiles at four different sites were suitable to invert for ground temperature history. For all the sites, no surface temperature variations could be resolved for the period 1500-1800. In the northern coastal region of Chile, there is no perceptible temperature variation at all from 1500 to present. In the northern central Chile region, between 26 and 28° S, the data suggest a cooling from ≈ 1850 to ≈ 1980 followed by a 1.9 K warming starting ≈ 20-40 years BP. This result is consistent with the ground surface temperature histories for Peru and the semiarid regions of South America. The duration of the cooling trend is poorly resolved and it may coincide with a marked short cooling interval in the 1960s that is found in meteorological records. The total warming is greater than that inferred from proxy climate reconstructions for central Chile and southern South America, and by the PMIP3-CMIP5 surface temperature simulations for the north-central Chile grid points. The differences among different climate reconstructions, meteorological records, and models are likely due to differences in spatial and temporal resolution among the various data sets and the models.

[Eugenic abortion could explain the lower infant mortality in Cuba compared to that in Chile].

PubMed

Donoso S, Enrique; Carvajal C, Jorge A

2012-08-01

Cuba and Chile have the lower infant mortality rates of Latin America. Infant mortality rate in Cuba is similar to that of developed countries. Chilean infant mortality rate is slightly higher than that of Cuba. To investigate if the lower infant mortality rate in Cuba, compared to Chile, could be explained by eugenic abortion, considering that abortion is legal in Cuba but not in Chile. We compared total and congenital abnormalities related infant mortality in Cuba and Chile during 2008, based on vital statistics of both countries. In 2008, infant mortality rates in Chile were significantly higher than those of Cuba (7.8 vs. 4.7 per 1,000 live born respectively, odds ratio (OR) 1.67; 95% confidence intervals (Cl) 1.52-1.83). Congenital abnormalities accounted for 33.8 and 19.2% of infant deaths in Chile and Cuba, respectively. Discarding infant deaths related to congenital abnormalities, infant mortality rate continued to be higher in Chile than in Cuba (5.19 vs. 3.82 per 1000 live born respectively, OR 1.36; 95%CI 1.221.52). Considering that antenatal diagnosis is widely available in both countries, but abortion is legal in Cuba but not in Chile, we conclude that eugenic abortion may partially explain the lower infant mortality rate observed in Cuba compared to that observed in Chile.

Clustering XCO2 temporal change to assess CO2 exchanging strength of biosphere-atmosphere with GOSAT observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Zhonghua; Lei, Liping; Bie, Nian; Yang, Shaoyuan; Wu, Changjiang; Zeng, Zhao-Cheng

2017-04-01

The temporal change of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, greatly related to the local activities of CO2 uptake and emission, including biospheric exchange and anthropogenic emission, is one of important information for regions identification of carbon source and sink. Satellite observations of CO2 has been used for detecting the change of CO2 concentration for a long time. In this study, we used the grid data of column-averaged CO2 dry air mole fraction (XCO2) with the spatial resolution of 1 degree and the temporal resolution of 3 days from 1 June 2009 to 31 May 2014 over the land area of 30° - 60° N to implement a clustering of temporal changing characteristics for the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) XCO2 retrievals. Grid data is derived using the gap filling method of spatio-temporal geostatistics. The clustering method is one adjusted K-mean for the gap existed time-series data. As a result, types and number of clusters are specified based on the temporal characteristic of XCO2 by using the optimal clustering parameters. The biospheric absorption and surface emission of atmospheric CO2 is discussed through the analysis of the different yearly increase and seasonal amplitude of XCO2 each cluster combined with correlation analysis with vegetation index from the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and fossil fuel CO2 emission data from Open-source Data Inventory for Anthropogenic CO2 (Odiac). Regions of strong or weak biosphere-atmosphere exchange, or significant disturbance from anthropogenic activities can be identified. In conclusion, gap filled XCO2 from satellite observations can help us to take an analysis of atmospheric CO2, results of the coupled biosphere-atmosphere, by their spatio-temporal characteristics as well as the relationship with the other remote sensing parameters e.g. MODIS related with biospheric photosynthetic or respiration activities.

Recent changes (1973-2014 versus 1903-1972) in the flow regime of the Lower Paraná River and current fluvial pollution warnings in its Delta Biosphere Reserve.

PubMed

Puig, Alba; Olguín Salinas, Héctor F; Borús, Juan A

2016-06-01

Alterations in flow regimes of large rivers may originate or increase risks to ecosystems and humans. The Paraná River basin (South America) undergoes human pressures (e.g., heavy damming in the upper basin, deforestation, and mixed pollution) that may affect the water quantity and quality of its terminal Delta (Argentina). In this study, after applying univariate and multivariate change-point detection and trend analyses to the daily data series of flows incoming to the Delta (Paraná-Santa Fe section), flow characteristics were compared by Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) and Environmental Flow Components (EFC). Some flood characteristics were also compared from hydrometric levels in the middle Delta (San Pedro station). Chemical and microbiological water variables in the main rivers of the "Paraná Delta" Biosphere Reserve were examined during two extreme hydrologic years (October 2008 to July 2010) to detect potential risk factors in association with hydrologic conditions. In the Lower Paraná River, a historical period (1903-1972) and two more altered periods (1973-1999 wet period and 2000-2014 dry period) were identified. Flow duration curves evidenced different changes in both altered periods, reflecting the joint effect of climatic variability and human influence. The most evident alterations in the flow regime were the lack of record of the extreme-low-flow component, the attenuation of monthly flow seasonality, and the increase in the number of reversals (dry period) and in the variability of maximum and minimum flow dates. These alterations are consistent with the monthly and daily flow regulation by upstream dams evidenced by available data from the current dry period. In the middle Delta, the marked monthly seasonality in flood days decreased only in the wet period. The proportion between the number of flood days exceeding the evacuation level and that of those exceeding the warning level doubled in the wet period but decreased only

Recent changes (1973-2014 versus 1903-1972) in the flow regime of the Lower Paraná River and current fluvial pollution warnings in its Delta Biosphere Reserve

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puig, Alba; Olguín Salinas, Héctor F.; Borús, Juan A.

2016-06-01

Alterations in flow regimes of large rivers may originate or increase risks to ecosystems and humans. The Paraná River basin (South America) undergoes human pressures (e.g., heavy damming in the upper basin, deforestation, and mixed pollution) that may affect the water quantity and quality of its terminal Delta (Argentina). In this study, after applying univariate and multivariate change-point detection and trend analyses to the daily data series of flows incoming to the Delta (Paraná-Santa Fe section), flow characteristics were compared by Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) and Environmental Flow Components (EFC). Some flood characteristics were also compared from hydrometric levels in the middle Delta (San Pedro station). Chemical and microbiological water variables in the main rivers of the "Paraná Delta" Biosphere Reserve were examined during two extreme hydrologic years (October 2008 to July 2010) to detect potential risk factors in association with hydrologic conditions. In the Lower Paraná River, a historical period (1903-1972) and two more altered periods (1973-1999 wet period and 2000-2014 dry period) were identified. Flow duration curves evidenced different changes in both altered periods, reflecting the joint effect of climatic variability and human influence. The most evident alterations in the flow regime were the lack of record of the extreme-low-flow component, the attenuation of monthly flow seasonality, and the increase in the number of reversals (dry period) and in the variability of maximum and minimum flow dates. These alterations are consistent with the monthly and daily flow regulation by upstream dams evidenced by available data from the current dry period. In the middle Delta, the marked monthly seasonality in flood days decreased only in the wet period. The proportion between the number of flood days exceeding the evacuation level and that of those exceeding the warning level doubled in the wet period but decreased only slightly

Assessing the Potential for Interstate Conflict Between Chile and Peru: A Political Economy Approach

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-01

Militares Peru-Chile no Se Han Afectado por Diferendo,” El Comercio , April 6, 2008. 329 Chile/Peru: Tensions Flare on Maritime Border Change.” 330 “FF...Relaciones Militares Peru-Chile no Se Han Afectado por Diferendo.” El Comercio , April 6, 2008. “Relations Falter for Peru, Chile.” Chicago Tribune...América Latina y el Mediterráneo (Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones Militares: Santiago, 2000), 82. 129 “A. P. Bureau Chief in Peru is Ordered out of

Honors in Chile: New Engagements in the Higher Education System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skewes, Juan Carlos; Sampaio, Carlos Alberto Cioce; Conway, Frederick J.

2012-01-01

Honors programs are rare in Latin America, and in Chile they were unknown before 2003. At the Universidad Austral de Chile, an interdisciplinary group of scholars linked to environmental studies put forward a pilot project for implementing a new experience in higher education. Challenged by an educational environment where (i) apathy and…

Agricultural conversion reduces biospheric vegetation productivity in the absence of external inputs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, W. K.; Cleveland, C. C.; Reed, S.; Running, S. W.

2013-12-01

Increasing global population, energy demand, and standard of living has driven humanity to co-opt a growing share of the planet's natural resources resulting in many well-known environmental trade-offs. Here, we explored the impact of global-scale agricultural production on a basic resource fundamental to life on Earth: global terrestrial vegetation growth (net primary production; NPP). First, we compared current rates of agricultural NPP - derived from crop-specific agricultural statistics - with rates of natural NPP - derived from satellite measurements. Next, we disaggregated our results by climate zone, conversion type, crop type, management intensity, and region to identify where agricultural conversion has driven significant degradation of biospheric NPP. At the global-scale, our data indicate that agricultural conversion has resulted in a ~7% reduction in biospheric NPP (ΔNPP), although the impact varied widely at the pixel level. Positive ΔNPP values, signifying an increase in NPP due to agricultural conversion, occurred only in areas receiving significant external water and nutrient inputs (i.e., intensively managed areas). Conversely, negative ΔNPP values, signifying a reduction in NPP due to agricultural conversion, occurred over ~90% of agricultural lands globally, with the largest reductions in areas formerly occupied by tropical forests and savannas (71% and 66% reductions in NPP, respectively). Without new global-scale policies that explicitly consider changes in NPP due to land cover conversion, future demand-driven increases in agricultural output - likely dependent on some level of expansion into natural ecosystems - could continue to drive net declines in biospheric NPP, with potential detrimental consequences for global carbon storage. A spatially explicit estimate of the effect of agricultural land cover conversion on natural primary production for 20 staple crops. ΔNPP was estimated independently for a) irrigated, b) high input, c) low

Deep Biosphere Secrets of the Mediterranean Salt Giant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aloisi, Giovanni; Lugli, Stefano; McGenity, Terry; Kuroda, Junichiro; Takai, Ken; Treude, Tina; Camerlenghi, Angelo

2015-04-01

One component of the IODP multi-platform drilling proposal called DREAM (Deep-Sea Record of Mediterranean Messisnian Events), plans to investigate the deep biosphere associated to the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) Salt Giant. We propose that the MSC Salt Giant, because of the variety of chemical environments it produces, has the potential to harbour an unprecedented diversity of microbial life with exceptional metabolic activity. Gypsum and anhydrite deposits provide a virtually unlimited source of sulphate at depths where oxidants are a rarity in other sedimentary environments. When reduced organic carbon comes into contact with these minerals there is the potential for a dynamic deep biosphere community of sulphate reducers to develop, with implications for sedimentary biogeochemical cycles and the souring of cruide oil. But the thickness of the Messinian evaporites and the range of chemical environments it harbours poses fundamental questions: will the interaction of several extreme conditions of temperature, salinity, pressure and chemical composition limit the ability of microbes to take advantage of such favourable thermodynamic conditions? And has such a diverse set of physical and chemical environments fostered microbal diversity, rather than phylogenetic specialization, as recent research into deep Mediterranean brine systems seems to indicate ? Over three kilometres in thickness, approaching the known temperature limits of life and with fluids precipitating carbonate, sulphate, halite and potash salts, microbes living within and around the MSC Salt Giant will be subject to the most exotic combinations of extremes, and have likely evolved yet unknown adaptations. Gypsum and Halite crystals contain fluid inclusions that are a micro-habitat in which microbes survive for tens of thousands, to possibly millions, of years, posing the fundamental question of cells devoting nearly all of their energy flow to somatic maintenance needs, rather than growth and

[Penicillin production in Chile between 1944 and 1954].

PubMed

Ibarra, Cecilia; Parada, Mirtha

2015-02-01

Penicillin production in Chile was a pioneering development; however there is not much information to learn about it. The Chilean Institute for Bacteriology (Instituto Bacteriológico de Chile) produced penicillin between 1944 and 1973. The stage starting in 1953 is better known since there was an agreement with United Nations. Our research focused on building a story about production between 1944 and 1954 based on archival information and the national and international historic context. Our results place Chile amongst the pioneer countries in the successful industrialization of the drug. Our conclusions are that this was a proper industrial production as opposite to a pilot plant - a name commonly used to call the early factory. We explain the production plant trajectory by making relations between technological change and governance. Finally, we believe the later expansion of the plant, in the context of the agreement with the United Nations, took place under unpromising governance conditions, which called for passive innovation and technology management.

Rainfall erosivity in Central Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonilla, Carlos A.; Vidal, Karim L.

2011-11-01

SummaryOne of the most widely used indicators of potential water erosion risk is the rainfall-runoff erosivity factor ( R) of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). R is traditionally determined by calculating a long-term average of the annual sum of the product of a storm's kinetic energy ( E) and its maximum 30-min intensity ( I30), known as the EI30. The original method used to calculate EI30 requires pluviograph records for at most 30-min time intervals. Such high resolution data is difficult to obtain in many parts of the world, and processing it is laborious and time-consuming. In Chile, even though there is a well-distributed rain gauge network, there is no systematic characterization of the territory in terms of rainfall erosivity. This study presents a rainfall erosivity map for most of the cultivated land in the country. R values were calculated by the prescribed method for 16 stations with continuous graphical record rain gauges in Central Chile. The stations were distributed along 800 km (north-south), and spanned a precipitation gradient of 140-2200 mm yr -1. More than 270 years of data were used, and 5400 storms were analyzed. Additionally, 241 spatially distributed R values were generated by using an empirical procedure based on annual rainfall. Point estimates generated by both methods were interpolated by using kriging to create a map of rainfall erosivity for Central Chile. The results show that the empirical procedure used in this study predicted the annual rainfall erosivity well (model efficiency = 0.88). Also, an increment in the rainfall erosivities was found as a result of the rainfall depths, a regional feature determined by elevation and increasing with latitude from north to south. R values in the study area range from 90 MJ mm ha -1 h -1 yr -1 in the north up to 7375 MJ mm ha -1 h -1 yr -1 in the southern area, at the foothills of the Andes Mountains. Although the map and the estimates could be improved in the future by

Searching for a shadow biosphere on Earth as a test of the 'cosmic imperative'.

PubMed

Davies, P C W

2011-02-13

Estimates for the number of communicating civilizations in the galaxy, based on the so-called Drake equation, are meaningless without a plausible estimate for the probability that life will emerge on an Earth-like planet. In the absence of a theory of the origin of life, that number can be anywhere from 0 to 1. Distinguished scientists have been known to argue that life on Earth is a freak accident, unique in the observable universe and, conversely, that life is almost bound to arise in the course of time, given Earth-like conditions. De Duve, adopting the latter position, coined the phrase that 'life is a cosmic imperative'. De Duve's position would be immediately verified if we were to discover a second sample of life that we could be sure arose from scratch independently of known life. Given the current absence of evidence for life beyond Earth, the best way to test the hypothesis of the cosmic imperative is to see whether terrestrial life began more than once. If it did, it is possible that descendants of a second genesis might be extant, forming a sort of 'shadow biosphere' existing alongside, or perhaps interpenetrating, the known biosphere. I outline a strategy to detect the existence of such a shadow biosphere.

Impact of typhoon disturbance on the diversity of key ecosystem engineers in a monoculture mangrove forest plantation, Can Gio Biosphere Reserve, Vietnam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diele, K.; Tran Ngoc, D. M.; Geist, S. J.; Meyer, F. W.; Pham, Q. H.; Saint-Paul, U.; Tran, T.; Berger, U.

2013-11-01

Mangrove crabs as key ecosystem engineers may play an important role in the recovery process of storm-damaged forests. Yet, their response to storm disturbance is largely unknown. Here we compare the ground-dwelling brachyuran crab community of intact mangrove stands with that of typhoon gaps having experienced 100% tree mortality. Field work was conducted in two adjacent areas in Can Gio Biosphere Reserve, southern Vietnam. In each area, an 18-20 yr old monoculture Rhizophora apiculata stand served as control and was compared with typhoon gaps where downed stems had been removed or left on-site. The gaps were 14 and 20 months old when studied in the dry and rainy season 2008, respectively. Time-based sampling of ground-dwelling crabs with hand or shovel was conducted by 4 persons inside 100 m2 plots for 30 min (7 replicate plots per area, treatment and month). Abiotic (sediment pH, salinity, temperature, grain size, water content, carbon and nitrogen content), and biotic measures (e.g. canopy coverage, woody debris, number of trees, leaf litter) were also taken. Despite complete canopy loss, total crab abundance has not changed significantly (in contrast to biomass) and all 12 species found in the forest were also found in the gaps, demonstrating their robustness. Another 9 gap-exclusive species were recorded and average species number and Shannon diversity were thus higher in the gaps. Perisesarma eumolpe was the most abundant species, both in the forest and in the gaps, and a shift from sesarmids (typical forest species) to ocypodids (generally more prominent in open areas) has not occurred. The persistence of litter-feeding sesarmid crabs prior to the re-establishment of a mangrove canopy is likely to depend on the availability of woody debris on the ground of the gaps, fuelling a mangrove detritus based food web, rather than one based on microphytobenthos and deposit-feeding ocypodids. The presence of burrowing crabs in the gaps suggests that important

Chile: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-02-18

electoral democracy, which endured until 1973. During much of this period, Chile was governed by presidents who pursued import-substitution...the armed forces and other bodies. 6 Peter M. Siavelis, “ Electoral System, Coalitional Disintegration, and the Future of Chile’s Concertación...Course in Democracy,” Washington Post , November 25, 2006. 16 “Chile: Pinochet-era Education Law Finally Replaced,” Latin News Weekly Report, August 20

Prospects for the Study of Evolution in the Deep Biosphere

PubMed Central

Biddle, Jennifer F.; Sylvan, Jason B.; Brazelton, William J.; Tully, Benjamin J.; Edwards, Katrina J.; Moyer, Craig L.; Heidelberg, John F.; Nelson, William C.

2012-01-01

Since the days of Darwin, scientists have used the framework of the theory of evolution to explore the interconnectedness of life on Earth and adaptation of organisms to the ever-changing environment. The advent of molecular biology has advanced and accelerated the study of evolution by allowing direct examination of the genetic material that ultimately determines the phenotypes upon which selection acts. The study of evolution has been furthered through examination of microbial evolution, with large population numbers, short generation times, and easily extractable DNA. Such work has spawned the study of microbial biogeography, with the realization that concepts developed in population genetics may be applicable to microbial genomes (Martiny et al., 2006; Manhes and Velicer, 2011). Microbial biogeography and adaptation has been examined in many different environments. Here we argue that the deep biosphere is a unique environment for the study of evolution and list specific factors that can be considered and where the studies may be performed. This publication is the result of the NSF-funded Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI) theme team on Evolution (www.darkenergybiosphere.org). PMID:22319515

Microbial activity in the marine deep biosphere: progress and prospects.

PubMed

Orcutt, Beth N; Larowe, Douglas E; Biddle, Jennifer F; Colwell, Frederick S; Glazer, Brian T; Reese, Brandi Kiel; Kirkpatrick, John B; Lapham, Laura L; Mills, Heath J; Sylvan, Jason B; Wankel, Scott D; Wheat, C Geoff

2013-01-01

The vast marine deep biosphere consists of microbial habitats within sediment, pore waters, upper basaltic crust and the fluids that circulate throughout it. A wide range of temperature, pressure, pH, and electron donor and acceptor conditions exists-all of which can combine to affect carbon and nutrient cycling and result in gradients on spatial scales ranging from millimeters to kilometers. Diverse and mostly uncharacterized microorganisms live in these habitats, and potentially play a role in mediating global scale biogeochemical processes. Quantifying the rates at which microbial activity in the subsurface occurs is a challenging endeavor, yet developing an understanding of these rates is essential to determine the impact of subsurface life on Earth's global biogeochemical cycles, and for understanding how microorganisms in these "extreme" environments survive (or even thrive). Here, we synthesize recent advances and discoveries pertaining to microbial activity in the marine deep subsurface, and we highlight topics about which there is still little understanding and suggest potential paths forward to address them. This publication is the result of a workshop held in August 2012 by the NSF-funded Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI) "theme team" on microbial activity (www.darkenergybiosphere.org).

Influence of the biosphere and circulation on atmospheric CO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corbett, A.; Jiang, X.; La, J.; Olsen, E. T.; Licata, S. J.; Yung, Y. L.

2017-12-01

Using multiple satellite CO2 retrievals (e.g., AIRS, GOSAT, and OCO-2), we have investigated seasonal changes of CO2 as a function of latitudes and altitudes. The annual cycle of atmospheric CO2 is closely related to the exchange of CO2 between the biosphere and the atmosphere, so we also examine solar-induced fluorescence (SIF). High SIF value means more CO2 uptake by photosynthesis, which will lead to lower atmospheric CO2 concentrations. The satellite data demonstrate a negative correlation between atmospheric CO2 and SIF. SIF can be influenced by precipitation and evaporation. We have found a positive correlation between SIF and the difference of precipitation and evaporation, suggesting there is more CO2 uptake by vegetation when more water is available. In addition to the annual cycle, large-scale circulation, such as South Atlantic Walker Circulation, can also modulate atmospheric CO2 concentrations. As seen from AIRS, GOSAT, and OCO-2 CO2 retrievals, there is less CO2 over the South Atlantic Ocean than over South America from December to March. Results in this study will help us better understand interactions between the biosphere, circulation, and atmospheric CO2.

CHILE: An Evidence-Based Preschool Intervention for Obesity Prevention in Head Start

PubMed Central

Sanders, Sarah G.; FitzGerald, Courtney A.; Keane, Patricia C.; Canaca, Glenda F.; Volker-Rector, Renee

2012-01-01

BACKGROUND Obesity is a major concern among American Indians and Hispanics. The Child Health Initiative for Lifelong Eating and Exercise (CHILE) is an evidence-based intervention to prevent obesity in children enrolled in 16 Head Start (HS) Centers in rural communities. The design and implementation of CHILE are described. METHODS CHILE uses a socio-ecological approach to improve dietary intake and increase physical activity. The intervention includes: a classroom curriculum; teacher and food service training; family engagement; grocery store participation; and health care provider support. RESULTS Lessons learned from CHILE include: the need to consider availability of recommended foods; the necessity of multiple training sessions for teachers and food service; the need to tailor the family events to local needs; consideration of the profit needs of grocery stores; and sensitivity to the time constraints of health care providers. CONCLUSIONS HS can play an important role in preventing obesity in children. CHILE is an example of a feasible intervention that addresses nutrition and physical activity for preschool children that can be incorporated into HS curricula and aligns with HS national performance standards. PMID:23343323

Sensitivity properties of a biosphere model based on BATS and a statistical-dynamical climate model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, T.

A biosphere model based on the Biosphere-Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS) and the Saltzman-Vernekar (SV) statistical-dynamical climate model is developed. Some equations of BATS are adopted either intact or with modifications, some are conceptually modified, and still others are replaced with equations of the SV model. The model is designed so that it can be run independently as long as the parameters related to the physiology and physiognomy of the vegetation, the atmospheric conditions, solar radiation, and soil conditions are given. With this stand-alone biosphere model, a series of sensitivity investigations, particularly the model sensitivity to fractional area of vegetation cover,more » soil surface water availability, and solar radiation for different types of vegetation, were conducted as a first step. These numerical experiments indicate that the presence of a vegetation cover greatly enhances the exchanges of momentum, water vapor, and energy between the atmosphere and the surface of the earth. An interesting result is that a dense and thick vegetation cover tends to serve as an environment conditioner or, more specifically, a thermostat and a humidistat, since the soil surface temperature, foliage temperature, and temperature and vapor pressure of air within the foliage are practically insensitive to variation of soil surface water availability and even solar radiation within a wide range. An attempt is also made to simulate the gradual deterioration of environment accompanying gradual degradation of a tropical forest to grasslands. Comparison with field data shows that this model can realistically simulate the land surface processes involving biospheric variations. 46 refs., 10 figs., 6 tabs.« less

Development of a distributed biosphere hydrological model and its evaluation with the Southern Great Plains Experiments (SGP97 and SGP99)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A distributed biosphere hydrological model, the so called water and energy budget-based distributed hydrological model (WEB-DHM), has been developed by fully coupling a biosphere scheme (SiB2) with a geomorphology-based hydrological model (GBHM). SiB2 describes the transfer of turbulent fluxes (ener...

Novel N4 Bacteriophages Prevail in the Cold Biosphere.

PubMed

Zhan, Yuanchao; Buchan, Alison; Chen, Feng

2015-08-01

Coliphage N4 is a lytic bacteriophage discovered nearly half a century ago, and it was considered to be a "genetic orphan" until very recently, when several additional N4-like phages were discovered to infect nonenteric bacterial hosts. Interest in this genus of phages is stimulated by their unique genetic features and propagation strategies. To better understand the ecology of N4-like phages, we investigated the diversity and geographic patterns of N4-like phages by examining 56 Chesapeake Bay viral communities, using a PCR-clone library approach targeting a diagnostic N4-like DNA polymerase gene. Many new lineages of N4-like phages were found in the bay, and their genotypes shift from the lower to the upper bay. Interestingly, signature sequences of N4-like phages were recovered only from winter month samples, when water temperatures were below 4°C. An analysis of existing metagenomic libraries from various aquatic environments supports the hypothesis that N4-like phages are most prolific in colder waters. In particular, a high number of N4-like phages were detected in Organic Lake, Antarctica, a cold and hypersaline system. The prevalence of N4-like phages in the cold biosphere suggests these viruses possess yet-to-be-determined mechanisms that facilitate lytic infections under cold conditions. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

First description of Echinococcus ortleppi and cystic echinococcosis infection status in Chile.

PubMed

Corrêa, Felipe; Stoore, Caroll; Horlacher, Pamina; Jiménez, Mauricio; Hidalgo, Christian; Alvarez Rojas, Cristian A; Figueiredo Barros, Guilherme; Bunselmeyer Ferreira, Henrique; Hernández, Marcela; Cabrera, Gonzalo; Paredes, Rodolfo

2018-01-01

Cystic echinococcosis (CE), a parasitic disease caused by the cestode Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s.l.), is a worldwide zoonotic infection. Although endemic in Chile, information on the molecular characteristics of CE in livestock remains scarce. Therefore we aimed to describe the status of infection with E. granulosus s.l. in cattle from central Chile and also to contribute to the study of the molecular epidemiology of this parasite. According to our results, the prevalence of CE is 18.84% in cattle, similar to previous reports from Chile, suggesting that the prevalence in Santiago Metropolitan area has not changed in the last 30 years. Most of the cysts were found only in lungs (51%), followed by concurrent infection in liver and lungs (30%), and only liver (19%). Molecular characterization of the genetic diversity and population structure of E. granulosus s.l. from cattle in central Chile was performed using a section of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) mitochondrial gene. E. granulosus sensu stricto (s.s.) (G1-G3 genotypes) was confirmed by RFLP-PCR to be the dominant species affecting cattle (284 samples/290 samples); we also report for the first time in Chile the presence of E. ortleppi (G5 genotype) (2 samples/61 samples). The Chilean E. granulosus s.s. parsimony network displayed 1 main haplotype. Additional studies using isolates from many locations across Chile and different intermediate hosts will provide more data on the molecular structure of E. granulosus s.s. within this region. Likewise, investigations of the importance of E. ortleppi in human infection in Chile deserve future attention.

Eso's Situation in Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1995-02-01

ESO, the European Southern Observatory, in reply to questions raised by the international media, as well as an ongoing debate about the so-called "Paranal case" in Chilean newspapers, would like to make a number of related observations concerning its status and continued operation in that country [1]. THE ESO OBSERVATORY SITES IN CHILE The European Southern Observatory, an international organisation established and supported by eight European countries, has been operating more than 30 years in the Republic of Chile. Here ESO maintains one of the world's prime astronomical observatories on the La Silla mountain in the southern part of the Atacama desert. This location is in the Fourth Chilean Region, some 600 km north of Santiago de Chile. In order to protect the La Silla site against dust and light pollution from possible future mining industries, roads and settlements, ESO early acquired the territory around this site. It totals about 825 sq. km and has effectively contributed to the preservation of its continued, excellent "astronomical" quality. Each year, more than 500 astronomers from European countries, Chile and elsewhere profit from this when they come to La Silla to observe with one or more of the 15 telescopes now located there. In 1987, the ESO Council [2] decided to embark upon one of the most prestigious and technologically advanced projects ever conceived in astronomy, the Very Large Telescope (VLT). It will consist of four interconnected 8.2-metre telescopes and will become the largest optical telescope in the world when it is ready. It is safe to predict that many exciting discoveries will be made with this instrument, and it will undoubtedly play a very important role in our exploration of the distant universe and its many mysteries during the coming decades. THE VLT AND PARANAL In order to find the best site for the VLT, ESO performed a thorough investigation of many possible mountain tops, both near La Silla and in Northern Chile. They showed

[Geographical distribution of physicians in Chile].

PubMed

Goic, A

1995-03-01

In 1994, Chile had 15,451 active physicians (less than 70 years old) for a population of 14,027,344 with a ratio of 1 physician per 908 inhabitants, a satisfactory figure compared to other countries of similar socio-economical development. Ratios of 1:880 and 1:843 are projected for 1999 and 2004 respectively. The annual rate of physician's population growth (2.2%), that is superior to the general population's growth rate (1.6%), will increase to about 2.5% per annum in 2001 as a consequence of the creation of three new medical schools. However, the distribution of physicians along the country is unsatisfactory. While the capital (Metropolitan Region) has a ratio of 1 physician per 629 inhabitants, the figure for the Region of Maule is 1:2,113. Only two of ten regions, excepting the capital, have a ratio lower than 1:1,000. Sixty percent of physicians live in Santiago while only 40% of the general population does so, illustrating their high concentration. Median ratio in Chile, that better reflects the reality than the mean, is 1:1,280. The heterogeneous distribution of physicians in Chile is a sign of social inequity that must be corrected. In a free society a better physician distribution is achieved with economical and professional incentives given by health institutions.

Complexity in Size, Recurrence and Source of Historical Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Central Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cisternas, M.

2013-05-01

Central Chile has a 470-year-long written earthquake history, the longest of any part of the country. Thanks to the early and continuous Spanish settlement of this part of Chile (32°- 35° S), records document destructive earthquakes and tsunamis in 1575, 1647, 1730, 1822, 1906 and 1985. This sequence has promoted the idea that central Chile's large subduction inter-plate earthquakes recur at regular intervals of about 80 years. The last of these earthquakes, in 1985, was even forecast as filling a seismic gap on the thrust boundary between the subducting Nazca Plate and the overriding South America Plate. Following this logic, the next large earthquake in metropolitan Chile will not occur until late in the 21st century. However, here I challenge this conclusion by reporting recently discovered historical evidence in Spain, Japan, Peru, and Chile. This new evidence augments the historical catalog in central Chile, strongly suggests that one of these earthquakes previously assumed to occur on the inter-plate interface in fact occurred elsewhere, and forces the conclusion that another of these earthquakes (and its accompanying tsunami) dwarfed the others. These findings complicate the task of assessing the hazard of future earthquakes in Chile's most populated region.

Bottlenecks in Geospatial Data-Driven Decision-Making for Natural Disaster Management: A Case Study of Forest Fire Prevention and Control in Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berenter, J. S.; Mueller, J. M.; Morrison, I.

2016-12-01

Annual forest fires are a source of great economic and environmental cost in the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR), a region of high ecological and historical value in Guatemala's department of Petén. Scarce institutional resources, limited local response capacity, and difficult terrain place a premium on the use of Earth observation data for forest fire management in the MBR, but also present significant institutional barriers to optimizing the value of this data. Drawing upon key informant interviews and a contingent valuation survey of national and local actors conducted during a three-year performance evaluation of the USAID/NASA Regional Visualization and Monitoring System (SERVIR), this paper traces the flow of SERVIR data from acquisition to decision in order to assess the institutional and contextual factors affecting the value of Earth observation data for forest fire management in the MBR. Findings indicate that the use of satellite data for forest fire management in the MBR is widespread and multi-dimensional: historical assessments of land use and land cover, fire scarring, and climate data help central-level fire management agencies identify and regulate fire-sensitive areas; regular monitoring and dissemination of climate data enables coordination between agricultural burning activities and fire early warning systems; and daily satellite detection of thermal anomalies in land surface temperature permits first responders to monitor and react to "hotspot" activity. Findings also suggest, however, that while the decentralized operations of Petén's fire management systems foster the use of Earth observation data, systemic bottlenecks, including budgetary constraints, inadequate data infrastructure and interpretation capacity, and obstacles to regulatory enforcement, impede the flow of information and use of technology and thus impact the value of that data, particularly in remote and under-resourced areas of the MBR. A geographic expansion and fortification

77 FR 12903 - Suggestions for Environmental Cooperation Pursuant to the United States-Chile Environmental...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-02

... the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement; and (4) the Environmental Review of the U.S.-Chile Free Trade....- Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The Commission is to meet every two years to advance environmental... granting of money is directly associated with this request for suggestions for the Work Program. There is...

[Health research and health technology assessment in Chile].

PubMed

Espinoza, Manuel Antonio; Cabieses, Báltica; Paraje, Guillermo

2014-01-01

Health research is considered an essential element for the improvement of population health and it has been recommended that a share of the national health budget should be allocated to develop this field. Chile has undertaken efforts in the last decades in order to improve the governmental structure created to promote the development of health research, which has increased human resources and funding opportunities. On the other hand, the sustained economic growth of Chile in the last decades suggests that the health expenditure will maintain its increasing trend in the following years. This additional funding could be used to improve coverage of current activities performed in the health system, but also to address the incorporation of new strategies. More recently, health technology assessment (HTA) has been proposed as a process to support decisions about allocation of resources based on scientific evidence. This paper examines the relationship between the development of health research and the HTA process. First, it presents a brief diagnosis of the situation of health research in Chile. Second, it reviews the conceptual basis and the methods that account for the relationship between a HTA process and the development of health research. In particular, it emphasizes the relevance of identifying information gaps where funding additional research can be considered a good use of public resources. Finally, it discusses the challenges and possible courses of action that Chile could take in order to guarantee the continuous improvement of an articulated structure for health research and HTA.

Integrating Biodiversity into Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions Using Individual-Based Models (IBM)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, B.; Shugart, H. H., Jr.; Lerdau, M.

2017-12-01

A key component regulating complex, nonlinear, and dynamic biosphere-atmosphere interactions is the inherent diversity of biological systems. The model frameworks currently widely used, i.e., Plant Functional Type models) do not even begin to capture the metabolic and taxonomic diversity found in many terrestrial systems. We propose that a transition from PFT-based to individual-based modeling approaches (hereafter referred to as IBM) is essential for integrating biodiversity into research on biosphere-atmosphere interactions. The proposal emerges from our studying the interactions of forests with atmospheric processes in the context of climate change using an individual-based forest volatile organic compounds model, UVAFME-VOC. This individual-based model can explicitly simulate VOC emissions based on an explicit modelling of forest dynamics by computing the growth, death, and regeneration of each individual tree of different species and their competition for light, moisture, and nutrient, from which system-level VOC emissions are simulated by explicitly computing and summing up each individual's emissions. We found that elevated O3 significantly altered the forest dynamics by favoring species that are O3-resistant, which, meanwhile, are producers of isoprene. Such compositional changes, on the one hand, resulted in unsuppressed forest productivity and carbon stock because of the compensation by O3-resistant species. On the other hand, with more isoprene produced arising from increased producers, a possible positive feedback loop between tropospheric O3 and forest thereby emerged. We also found that climate warming will not always stimulate isoprene emissions because warming simultaneously reduces isoprene emissions by causing a decline in the abundance of isoprene-emitting species. These results suggest that species diversity is of great significance and that individual-based modelling strategies should be applied in studying biosphere-atmosphere interactions.

The General Laws of Chemical Elements Composition Dynamics in the Biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korzh, Vyacheslav D.

2013-04-01

The key point of investigation of the specificity of the biosphere elemental composition formation is determination of patterns of redistribution of elemental average concentrations among various phases, like solid - liquid ( the lithosphere - the hydrosphere), which occurs as a result of a global continuous processing of inert matter by living substances. Our task here is to investigate this process in the system "lithosphere - hydrosphere" in view of the integrated involvement of living material in it. This process is most active in biogeochemical barriers, i.e. in places of "the life condensation" and runs under a nonlinear regularity that has been unknown before. It is established that this process results in a general relative increase in concentrations of chemical elements in the solid phase in proportion as their prevalence in the environment is reduced. This process running in various natural systems has practically the same parameter of nonlinearity (v) approximately equal to 0.7. For proto-lithosphere -"living material" - soil v = 0.75. For river - "living material" - ocean v = 0.67. For the contemporary factual awareness level these estimations of nonlinearity indices are practically negligible. Hence, it is for the first time that the existence of a universal constant of nonlinearity of elemental composition evolution in the biosphere has been proved and its quantitative evaluation has been made. REFERENCES 1. Korzh V.D. 1974. Some general laws governing the turnover of substance within the ocean-atmosphere-continent-ocean cycle. // Journal de Recherches Atmospheriques. Vol. 8. P. 653-660. 2. Korzh V.D. 2008. The general laws in the formation of the elemental composition of the Hydrosphere and Biosphere.// J. Ecologica, Vol. XV, P. 13-21. 3. Korzh V.D. 2012. Determination of general laws of elemental composition in Hydrosphere // Water: chemistry & ecology, Journal of water science and its practical application. # 1, P.56-62.

The International Plate Boundary Observatory Chile (IPOC) in the northern Chile seismic gap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schurr, B.; Asch, A.; Sodoudi, F.; Manzanares, A.; Ritter, O.; Klotz, J.; Chong-Diaz, G.; Barrientos, S.; Villotte, J.-P.; Oncken, O.

2009-04-01

Fast convergence between the oceanic Nazca and the continental South American plate is accommodated by recurrent rupture of large segments of the two plates' interface. The resulting earthquakes are among the largest and, for their sizes, most frequent on Earth. Along the Chilean and southern Peruvian margin, all segments have ruptured at least once in the past 150 years for which there exist historic and/or instrumental records. The one segment that is most mature for re-rupture stretches for more than 500 km along the northernmost Chilean coast between roughly -23° and -18° latitude. It last broke in 1877 in a magnitude ~8.8 earthquake, triggering a major Tsunami. From the historical record, it has been known to have a recurrence cycle of approximately 110 years. The adjoining segments to the north and south broke rather recently in 1995 and 2001 in M>8 earthquakes and an M 7.7 earthquake encroached the southern part of the gap in 2007. The IPOC project intends to investigate this segment of the Nazca-South American plate boundary, on which a strong to devastating earthquake is expected to occur within the next years, by monitoring at a variety of time-scales deformation, seismicity, and magnetotelluric fields in the subduction zone at the closing stages of the interseismic cycle before and possibly during occurrence of a big earthquake. For that purpose, installation of long-term observatories in Northern Chile started in 2006 in a close cooperation of the Universidad de Chile (Santiago, Chile), the Universidad Catolica del Norte (Antofagasta, Chile), the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (Paris, France), and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ, Potsdam, Germany). Currently we are operating 14 modern seismological stations equipped with STS-2 broadband seismometers and accelerometers (EPI sensor). At least two more stations will be installed in the near future. To cope with the high resolution and dynamic of the sensors and data acquisition

Contributions of Planetary Science to Studies of Early Biosphere Evolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farmer, Jack D.; Chang, Sherwood (Technical Monitor)

1995-01-01

The history of impact cratering on the Moon, and extrapolations of crater chronologies to the inner planets, suggests that the late accretionary history of the Earth overlapped with other crucial events in the its history, including the origin of terrestrial life. This evidence, acquired from studies of other planetary bodies in the inner solar system, has profoundly affected how we view the early history of the Earth and evolution of the biosphere. Pre-biotic chemical evolution and the origin of life would have been delayed by the probable existence of a global magma ocean until -4.2 Ga. The early crust was largely destroyed by recycling, thus accounting for the sparse Archean record on Earth. Once life had developed, large impacts may have extinguished it several times before it finally gained a foothold. Potentially sterilizing impacts could have occurred as late as 3.7 Ga. At the very least, large impacts would have forced the biosphere through major environmental "bottlenecks" thereby canalizing its subsequent evolution. One legacy of these early events may be the structure of the present RNA-tree which indicates that extreme thermophiles are primitive within the Archaea, and may be the last common ancestors of life. By 3.5 Ga, marine sedimentary sequences contain unequivocal microbial fossils that attest to the presence of a terrestrial biosphere. The diversity of microbial forms present in these earliest fossil assemblages implies a preceding interval of evolution during which major evolutionary advances (e.g. photosynthesis) could have taken place. Evidence cited above places the origin of life within the interval 3.5 and 4.2 Ga, a period of 700 Ma. Thus, it appears that terrestrial life not only evolved rapidly, but perhaps more than once. This expands the possibilities that life may have also developed elsewhere. Of the other planets in our solar system, Mars holds the greatest chance of having developed life. But, the present surface of Mars is hostile

[Mental disorders among immigrants in Chile].

PubMed

Rojas, Graciela; Fritsch, Rosemarie; Castro, Ariel; Guajardo, Viviana; Torres, Pamela; Díaz, Berta

2011-10-01

Chile is receiving immigrant populations coming from other Latin-American countries. To determine the prevalence of Common Mental Disorders (CMD) among immigrants who live in Independencia, a quarter in Santiago, Chile. A cross sectional study was carried out in the primary health care clinic and in the state-funded school of Independencia. A representative sample of 282 adults and 341 children were interviewed. Mental disorders were diagnosed using CIS-R and MINI structured interviews. The interviewed immigrants came mostly from Peru. The prevalence of mental disorders in the adult population was 17.8% and among children, it was 29.3%. The adult immigrants have a lower prevalence of mental disorders than the Chilean population but it increases among children. Barriers of access to health services, that should be solved, were detected.

[Risk groups for tuberculosis in Chile].

PubMed

Herrera, Tania

2015-02-01

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global and national problem. In Chile the incidence rate has remained at 13 per 100,000 inhabitants for several years without tendency to the expected decline that would allow their elimination by 2020. As a low prevalence country, TB cases have been concentrated in risk groups, reaching 33% in 2013, and this proportion increases as younger people are analyzed. The main risk groups in Chile are HIV co-infection, foreigners and population of prisons. By 2013, the proportion of cases for these three groups was 8.7%, 8.4% and 3.9% respectively, and these percentages vary significantly when regional situation is analyzed. In addition, many of these patients have more than one risk factor, demons-rating the existence of clusters more vulnerable to TB.

[Illegitimate patients: Undocumented immigrants' access to health care in Chile].

PubMed

Concha, Nanette Liberona; Mansilla, Miguel Ángel

2017-01-01

In recent decades, Chile has become a destination for immigrants from other South American countries, which has significantly impacted public services - particularly the public health system - at the economic, social, and cultural levels. The aim of this paper is to provide substantiated information on issues concerning undocumented immigrants' access to health care in Chile. A qualitative methodology, fundamentally an ethnography of the clinical setting, was used. Results were then analyzed in relation to theories of power asymmetries and interethnic relations. The research results highlight the lack of compliance with existing regulations and the exercise of discretionary personal judgment as barriers to access. It is concluded that in Chile immigrants in general, and undocumented immigrants in particular, are considered to be illegitimate patients.

Chile: Una Vision Politica, Economica y Social (Chile: A Political, Economic, and Social View).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cortes-Hwang, Adriana

1972-01-01

This address seeks to explain in brief the historical background and political, economic, and social conditions leading to the democratic election of a Marxist president in Chile. A historical sketch of Chilean government from independence in 1810 is provided with a description of the situation just before Salvador Allende's election in 1969. Some…

Transpiration Rate for Chile Peppers Irrigated with Brackish Groundwater and ro Concentrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shukla, M. K.; Baath, G.

2016-12-01

Fresh water availability is declining in most of the semi-arid and arid regions across the world including southwestern United States. Use of marginal quality groundwater has been increasing for sustaining agriculture in these arid regions. Reverse Osmosis (RO) can treat brackish groundwater but the possibility of using RO concentrate for irrigation needs further exploration. This greenhouse study evaluates the transpiration rate, water use, leaching fraction and yield responses of five selected chile pepper (Capsicum annuum) cultivars irrigated with natural brackish groundwater and RO concentrate. The four saline water treatments used for irrigation were tap water of EC 0.6 (control), ground water of EC 3 and 5 dS/m and RO concentrate of EC 8 dS/m. The transpiration of all chile peppers cultivars decreased and leaching fraction increased with increasing irrigation water salinity. Based on the water use efficiency (WUEY) of selected chile pepper cultivars, brackish water of EC ≤ 3 dS/m can be used for irrigation. The average yield of chile peppers was stable up to a saturated soil paste extract electrical conductivity (ECe) of about 2 dS/m, although further increases in ECe resulted in an exponential yield decline. This study showed that yield reductions in chile peppers irrigated with Ca rich brackish groundwater were less than those reported using NaCl dominant saline solution studies. Environmentally safe reuse of RO concentrate could stimulate implementation of inland desalination in water scarce areas and increase greenhouse chile pepper cultivation.

Human domination of the biosphere: Rapid discharge of the earth-space battery foretells the future of humankind

PubMed Central

Schramski, John R.; Gattie, David K.; Brown, James H.

2015-01-01

Earth is a chemical battery where, over evolutionary time with a trickle-charge of photosynthesis using solar energy, billions of tons of living biomass were stored in forests and other ecosystems and in vast reserves of fossil fuels. In just the last few hundred years, humans extracted exploitable energy from these living and fossilized biomass fuels to build the modern industrial-technological-informational economy, to grow our population to more than 7 billion, and to transform the biogeochemical cycles and biodiversity of the earth. This rapid discharge of the earth’s store of organic energy fuels the human domination of the biosphere, including conversion of natural habitats to agricultural fields and the resulting loss of native species, emission of carbon dioxide and the resulting climate and sea level change, and use of supplemental nuclear, hydro, wind, and solar energy sources. The laws of thermodynamics governing the trickle-charge and rapid discharge of the earth’s battery are universal and absolute; the earth is only temporarily poised a quantifiable distance from the thermodynamic equilibrium of outer space. Although this distance from equilibrium is comprised of all energy types, most critical for humans is the store of living biomass. With the rapid depletion of this chemical energy, the earth is shifting back toward the inhospitable equilibrium of outer space with fundamental ramifications for the biosphere and humanity. Because there is no substitute or replacement energy for living biomass, the remaining distance from equilibrium that will be required to support human life is unknown. PMID:26178196

Human domination of the biosphere: Rapid discharge of the earth-space battery foretells the future of humankind.

PubMed

Schramski, John R; Gattie, David K; Brown, James H

2015-08-04

Earth is a chemical battery where, over evolutionary time with a trickle-charge of photosynthesis using solar energy, billions of tons of living biomass were stored in forests and other ecosystems and in vast reserves of fossil fuels. In just the last few hundred years, humans extracted exploitable energy from these living and fossilized biomass fuels to build the modern industrial-technological-informational economy, to grow our population to more than 7 billion, and to transform the biogeochemical cycles and biodiversity of the earth. This rapid discharge of the earth's store of organic energy fuels the human domination of the biosphere, including conversion of natural habitats to agricultural fields and the resulting loss of native species, emission of carbon dioxide and the resulting climate and sea level change, and use of supplemental nuclear, hydro, wind, and solar energy sources. The laws of thermodynamics governing the trickle-charge and rapid discharge of the earth's battery are universal and absolute; the earth is only temporarily poised a quantifiable distance from the thermodynamic equilibrium of outer space. Although this distance from equilibrium is comprised of all energy types, most critical for humans is the store of living biomass. With the rapid depletion of this chemical energy, the earth is shifting back toward the inhospitable equilibrium of outer space with fundamental ramifications for the biosphere and humanity. Because there is no substitute or replacement energy for living biomass, the remaining distance from equilibrium that will be required to support human life is unknown.

[The 140th anniversary of Revista Médica de Chile].

PubMed

Reyes, B Humberto; Andresen, H Max; Palma, H Joaquín

2012-01-01

Revista Médica de Chile was founded in 1872 and thus is one of the oldest medical journals being published since the 19th Century. The sponsoring institution--"Sociedad Médica de Santiago", founded in 1869--initially was the only scientific society in Chile, gathering medical doctors from every existing specialty. With the splitting of independent organizations representing specific specialties, including subspecial-ties of internal medicine, Sociedad Médica de Santiago focused its scope of action to become the "Chilean Society of Internal Medicine". Its official journal -Revista Médica de Chile--is currently a general and internal medicine journal that also publishes articles on scientific and technological advances in many fields of medicine and health sciences. While initially all authors were Chilean, the journal is now open to submissions from abroad and since the year 2000 articles are published in English when the local language of authors is not Spanish. The number of articles received determines an increasing administrative and editorial burden and, together with the high cost of publishing, will require changes in publication policies. The journal will participate in continuing medical education programs as soon as reaccreditation of medical specialties becomes officially organized in Chile.

Experimental impacts of a teacher professional development program in Chile on preschool classroom quality and child outcomes.

PubMed

Yoshikawa, Hirokazu; Leyva, Diana; Snow, Catherine E; Treviño, Ernesto; Barata, M Clara; Weiland, Christina; Gomez, Celia J; Moreno, Lorenzo; Rolla, Andrea; D'Sa, Nikhit; Arbour, Mary Catherine

2015-03-01

We assessed impacts on classroom quality and on 5 child language and behavioral outcomes of a 2-year teacher professional-development program for publicly funded prekindergarten and kindergarten in Chile. This cluster-randomized trial included 64 schools (child N = 1,876). The program incorporated workshops and in-classroom coaching. We found moderate to large positive impacts on observed emotional and instructional support as well as classroom organization in prekindergarten classrooms after 1 year of the program. After 2 years of the program, moderate positive impacts were observed on emotional support and classroom organization. No significant program impacts on child outcomes were detected at posttest (1 marginal effect, an increase in a composite of self-regulation and low problem behaviors, was observed). Professional development for preschool teachers in Chile can improve classroom quality. More intensive curricular approaches are needed for these improvements to translate into effects on children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Rubella outbreaks following virus importations: the experience of Chile.

PubMed

Gallegos, Doris; Olea, Andrea; Sotomayor, Viviana; González, Claudia; Muñoz, Juan Carlos; Ramos, Mónica; Espinoza, M Cecilia; Mendoza, Gladys; Torres, Graciela; Espiñeira, Emilio; Andrade, Winston; Fernández, Jorge; Fasce, Rodrigo

2011-09-01

Strategies for accelerated control of rubella and congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) in Chile included mass vaccination of women of childbearing age in 1999 but did not include vaccination of adult men. We reviewed data from Chile's integrated surveillance system for measles, rubella, and CRS from 2004 through 2009 and describe the epidemiology of rubella outbreaks and implementation of control measures in 2005 and 2007 following mass vaccination of women. Population estimates from census data were used to calculate rubella incidence rates. The age distribution of rubella cases during 2007 was compared with rubella vaccination opportunities by birth cohort to orient mass vaccination of adult men. In 2005, an institutional outbreak of rubella occurred among male naval recruits 18-22 years of age, with 46 confirmed cases over a 5-month period. Beginning in March 2007, rubella outbreaks among young adults in the capital of Santiago spread throughout Chile, resulting in >4000 confirmed rubella cases. Delayed control measures and rapid dissemination among young adults led to widespread transmission. From 2007 through 2009, rubella incidence was highest among adult men not included in previous vaccination strategies. Mass vaccination of men 19-29 years of age was conducted in November 2007 to interrupt rubella transmission. Chile's experience suggests that vaccination strategies for rubella and CRS elimination need to include both men and women.

[Availability of physicians and specialists in Chile].

PubMed

Guillou, Michèle; Carabantes C, Jorge; Bustos F, Verónica

2011-05-01

The availability and planning of Human Resources are important issues in many countries, as it is a key factor to cope with the critical challenges of Health Care Systems. In Chile, the Ministry of Health has undertaken several studies in order to improve knowledge about the medical workforce both in public and private sectors. The aim of this paper is to update and systematize the existing data on physicians and specialists availability in Chile. Several information sources were crossed to obtain new and more precise figures about this topic. According to the Internal Revenue System, 29.996 physicians practice medicine in the country, 43% of them hired in public services, part or full time. There is a high concentration of professionals in the central regions of Chile. Being the overall density of physicians of one per 559 inhabitants, the figures in the central region is one per 471 and one per more than 800 in the South and North. Between 2004 and 2008, the public sector increased its physician workforce by more than 80% in primary health care and more than 20% in the secondary and tertiary levels. This paper presents a method for a more rigorous identification of the categories of general practitioner and specialist respectively, and the results obtained from the databases used.

Microbial activity in the marine deep biosphere: progress and prospects

PubMed Central

Orcutt, Beth N.; LaRowe, Douglas E.; Biddle, Jennifer F.; Colwell, Frederick S.; Glazer, Brian T.; Reese, Brandi Kiel; Kirkpatrick, John B.; Lapham, Laura L.; Mills, Heath J.; Sylvan, Jason B.; Wankel, Scott D.; Wheat, C. Geoff

2013-01-01

The vast marine deep biosphere consists of microbial habitats within sediment, pore waters, upper basaltic crust and the fluids that circulate throughout it. A wide range of temperature, pressure, pH, and electron donor and acceptor conditions exists—all of which can combine to affect carbon and nutrient cycling and result in gradients on spatial scales ranging from millimeters to kilometers. Diverse and mostly uncharacterized microorganisms live in these habitats, and potentially play a role in mediating global scale biogeochemical processes. Quantifying the rates at which microbial activity in the subsurface occurs is a challenging endeavor, yet developing an understanding of these rates is essential to determine the impact of subsurface life on Earth's global biogeochemical cycles, and for understanding how microorganisms in these “extreme” environments survive (or even thrive). Here, we synthesize recent advances and discoveries pertaining to microbial activity in the marine deep subsurface, and we highlight topics about which there is still little understanding and suggest potential paths forward to address them. This publication is the result of a workshop held in August 2012 by the NSF-funded Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI) “theme team” on microbial activity (www.darkenergybiosphere.org). PMID:23874326

Earth Applications of Closed Ecological Systems: Relevance to the Development of Sustainability in our Global Biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dempster, W.; van Thillo, M.; Alling, A.; Allen, J.; Silverstone, S.; Nelson, M.

The parallels between the challenges facing bioregenerative life support and closed ecological systems and those in our global biosphere are striking. At the scale of the current global technosphere and human population, it is increasingly obvious that the biosphere can no longer be counted on to be vast enough to safely buffer and absorb technogenic and anthropogenic pollutants. With an increasing percentage of the world's natural resources and primary productivity being dictated by, and directed to, humans, our species is starting to appreciate its survival and quality of life depends on regulating its activities, and insuring that crucial biogeochemical cycles continue to function. This shift of consciousness has led to the widespread call for moving towards the sustainability of human activities. For researchers working on bioreenerative life support, the small volumes and faster cycling times have made it obvious that systems must be created in to ensure renewal of water and atmosphere, nutrient recycling, and where all technical systems can be safely integrated with the maintenance of safe environmental conditions. The development of technical systems that can be fully integrated with the living systems that they support should be a harbinger of new perspectives in the global environment. The paper will review some of these environmental technologies which are emerging from bioregenerative life support system research such as high-yield intensive agricultural methods, waste treatment and nutrient recycling, air purification, modeling, sensor and control systems and their potential applications in the global biosphere. In addition, a review of the human experience in closed ecological systems shows that these can offer opportunities for public education and consciousness-changing of how humans regard our global biosphere.

The Bulimulidae (Mollusca: Pulmonata) from the Región de Atacama, northern Chile

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

The bulimulid genus Bostryx Troschel, 1847 is the most species-rich genus of land snails found in Chile, with the majority of its species found only in the northern part of the country, usually in arid coastal zones. This genus has been sparsely studied in Chile and there is little information on their distribution, diversity or ecology. Here, for the first time, a formal analysis of the diversity of bulimulids in the Región de Atacama, northern Chile, is reported. Of the seventeen species recorded for the area, most of them were efectively found in the field collections and one record was based on literature. Five taxa are described as new: Bostryx ancavilorum sp. nov., Bostryx breurei sp. nov., Bostryx calderaensis sp. nov., Bostryx ireneae sp. nov. and Bostryx valdovinosi sp. nov., and the known geographic distribution of seven species is extended. Results reveal that the Región de Atacama is the richest region in terrestrial snails in Chile, after the Juan Fernández Archipelago. All of the terrestrial molluscan species occurring in the area are endemic to Chile, most of them with restricted geographic distributions along the coastal zones, and none of them are currently protected by law. Further sampling in northern Chile will probably reveal more snail species to be discovered and described. PMID:26587346

The Bulimulidae (Mollusca: Pulmonata) from the Región de Atacama, northern Chile.

PubMed

Araya, Juan Francisco

2015-01-01

The bulimulid genus Bostryx Troschel, 1847 is the most species-rich genus of land snails found in Chile, with the majority of its species found only in the northern part of the country, usually in arid coastal zones. This genus has been sparsely studied in Chile and there is little information on their distribution, diversity or ecology. Here, for the first time, a formal analysis of the diversity of bulimulids in the Región de Atacama, northern Chile, is reported. Of the seventeen species recorded for the area, most of them were efectively found in the field collections and one record was based on literature. Five taxa are described as new: Bostryx ancavilorum sp. nov., Bostryx breurei sp. nov., Bostryx calderaensis sp. nov., Bostryx ireneae sp. nov. and Bostryx valdovinosi sp. nov., and the known geographic distribution of seven species is extended. Results reveal that the Región de Atacama is the richest region in terrestrial snails in Chile, after the Juan Fernández Archipelago. All of the terrestrial molluscan species occurring in the area are endemic to Chile, most of them with restricted geographic distributions along the coastal zones, and none of them are currently protected by law. Further sampling in northern Chile will probably reveal more snail species to be discovered and described.

The Unexpected Awakening of Chaitén Volcano, Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carn, Simon A.; Pallister, John S.; Lara, Luis; Ewert, John W.; Watt, Sebastian; Prata, Alfred J.; Thomas, Ronald J.; Villarosa, Gustavo

2009-06-01

On 2 May 2008, a large eruption began unexpectedly at the inconspicuous Chaitén volcano in Chile's southern volcanic zone. Ash columns abruptly jetted from the volcano into the stratosphere, followed by lava dome effusion and continuous low-altitude ash plumes [Lara, 2009]. Apocalyptic photographs of eruption plumes suffused with lightning were circulated globally. Effects of the eruption were extensive. Floods and lahars inundated the town of Chaitén, and its 4625 residents were evacuated. Widespread ashfall and drifting ash clouds closed regional airports and cancelled hundreds of domestic flights in Argentina and Chile and numerous international flights [Guffanti et al., 2008]. Ash heavily affected the aquaculture industry in the nearby Gulf of Corcovado, curtailed ecotourism, and closed regional nature preserves. To better prepare for future eruptions, the Chilean government has boosted support for monitoring and hazard mitigation at Chaitén and at 42 other highly hazardous, active volcanoes in Chile.

The Unexpected Awakening of Chaitén Volcano, Chile

USGS Publications Warehouse

Carn, Simon A.; Zogorski, John S.; Lara, Luis; Ewert, John W.; Watt, Sebastian; Prata, Alfred J.; Thomas, Ronald J.; Villarosa, Gustavo

2009-01-01

On 2 May 2008, a large eruption began unexpectedly at the inconspicuous Chaitén volcano in Chile's southern volcanic zone. Ash columns abruptly jetted from the volcano into the stratosphere, followed by lava dome effusion and continuous low-altitude ash plumes [Lara, 2009]. Apocalyptic photographs of eruption plumes suffused with lightning were circulated globally. Effects of the eruption were extensive. Floods and lahars inundated the town of Chaitén, and its 4625 residents were evacuated. Widespread ashfall and drifting ash clouds closed regional airports and cancelled hundreds of domestic flights in Argentina and Chile and numerous international flights [Guffanti et al., 2008]. Ash heavily affected the aquaculture industry in the nearby Gulf of Corcovado, curtailed ecotourism, and closed regional nature preserves. To better prepare for future eruptions, the Chilean government has boosted support for monitoring and hazard mitigation at Chaitén and at 42 other highly hazardous, active volcanoes in Chile.

Chiquicamata Mine, Chile

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-08-24

Chuquicamata, in Chile's Atacama Desert, is the largest open pit copper mine in the world, by excavated volume. The copper deposits were first exploited in pre-Hispanic times. Open pit mining began in the early 20th century when a method was developed to work low grade oxidized copper ores. The image was acquired September 2, 2007, covers an area of 19.5 by 29.3 km, and is located at 22.1 degrees south, 68.9 degrees west. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20973

The biosphere as a driver of global atmospheric change

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levine, Joel S.

1991-01-01

The effects of the biosphere on the evolution of atmospheric oxygen and ozone, and the consequences of that development for global atmospheric change, are discussed. Attention is given to the impact of oxygen and ozone on atmospheric photolysis rates, the effect of oxygen on the biogenic production of nitrous oxide and nitric oxide, and the effects of the evolution of atmospheric oxygen on fires and biomass burning. The influence of the latter on atmospheric processes, particularly the production of methane, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide, is considered.

Forest nursery management in Chile

Treesearch

Rene Escobar R.; Manuel Sanchez O.; Guillermo Pereira C.

2002-01-01

The forest economy in Chile is based on products from artificial reforestation efforts on approximately 2 million ha. From these, about 1.5 million ha (75%) are planted with Pinus radiata, 400,000 ha (20%) with species of Eucalyptus, principally E. globulus and E. nitens, and the rest (5%) composed by other...

New University Law Decreed in Chile.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh, John

1981-01-01

Describes Chile's restructuring of higher education which emphasizes professional preparation in the universities and conforms to market-oriented economic theories of the government. Many of the social sciences and some natural science degree programs will be banished under this restructuring. (DS)

Early Child Care Education: Evidence from the New Law in Chile

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castillo, Felipe Aravena; Lobos, Marta Quiroga

2017-01-01

In the last decade, Chile has focused on early childhood education and care (ECEC) as a key opportunity to increase student-learning outcomes and decrease socio-economic inequalities. The creation of Chile's Under-Secretariat of ECEC in 2015 highlights the relevance of this educational stage. The purpose of this study is to analyse the new law…

Do canopy disturbances drive forest plantations into more natural conditions? — A case study from Can Gio Biosphere Reserve, Viet Nam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vogt, Juliane; Kautz, Markus; Fontalvo Herazo, Martha Liliana; Triet, Tran; Walther, Denny; Saint-Paul, Ulrich; Diele, Karen; Berger, Uta

2013-11-01

Large areas of mangrove forests were devastated in South Viet Nam during the second Indochina war. After its end in 1975, extensive reforestation with monocultures took place. Can Gio, one of the biggest replanted sites with about 20,000 ha of mangroves mainly Rhizophora apiculata, was declared a biosphere reserve by the UNESCO in 2000. Although this status now enables progressive forest dynamics, there are still drawbacks resulting from the unnatural character of the plantations. For example, the homogeneous size and age structure as well as the regular arrangement of the planted trees make larger forest stands more vulnerable to synchronized collapsing which can be triggered by stronger winds and storms. A transformation into a more natural forest characterized by a heterogeneous age and size structure and a mixed species composition is of urgent need to avoid a synchronized dieback. In this study we test the capability of natural canopy disturbances (e.g. lightning strikes) to facilitate this transformation.Canopy gaps created by lightning strikes were detected and quantified by remote sensing techniques. SPOT satellite images from the years 2003, 2005 and 2007 provided information about the spatial distribution, size, shape, and formation frequency of the gaps. Lightning strike gaps were identified based on their shape and size. They form small openings (mean: 0.025 ha) and their yearly probability of occurrence was determined to be approximately 0.012 per hectare. Selected gaps were surveyed in the field in 2008 to complement the remote sensing data and to provide information upon forest structure and regeneration.Simulation experiments were carried out with the individual-based KiWi mangrove model for quantifying the influence of different lightning regimes on the vertical and horizontal structure of the R. apiculata plantation. In addition, we conducted simulations with a natural and thus randomly generated forest to compare the structure of the two

Deep-biosphere consortium of fungi and prokaryotes in Eocene subseafloor basalts.

PubMed

Bengtson, S; Ivarsson, M; Astolfo, A; Belivanova, V; Broman, C; Marone, F; Stampanoni, M

2014-11-01

The deep biosphere of the subseafloor crust is believed to contain a significant part of Earth's biomass, but because of the difficulties of directly observing the living organisms, its composition and ecology are poorly known. We report here a consortium of fossilized prokaryotic and eukaryotic micro-organisms, occupying cavities in deep-drilled vesicular basalt from the Emperor Seamounts, Pacific Ocean, 67.5 m below seafloor (mbsf). Fungal hyphae provide the framework on which prokaryote-like organisms are suspended like cobwebs and iron-oxidizing bacteria form microstromatolites (Frutexites). The spatial inter-relationships show that the organisms were living at the same time in an integrated fashion, suggesting symbiotic interdependence. The community is contemporaneous with secondary mineralizations of calcite partly filling the cavities. The fungal hyphae frequently extend into the calcite, indicating that they were able to bore into the substrate through mineral dissolution. A symbiotic relationship with chemoautotrophs, as inferred for the observed consortium, may be a pre-requisite for the eukaryotic colonization of crustal rocks. Fossils thus open a window to the extant as well as the ancient deep biosphere. © 2014 The Authors. Geobiology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

75 FR 22369 - Certain Preserved Mushrooms From Chile, India, Indonesia, and the People's Republic of China...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-28

...-851] Certain Preserved Mushrooms From Chile, India, Indonesia, and the People's Republic of China... orders on certain preserved mushrooms (mushrooms) from Chile, India, Indonesia, and the People's Republic... reviews of the antidumping duty orders on mushrooms from Chile, India, Indonesia, and the PRC, pursuant to...

Meningococcal carriage prevalence in university students, 1824 years of age in Santiago, Chile.

PubMed

Rodriguez, P; Alvarez, I; Torres, M T; Diaz, J; Bertoglia, M P; Carcamo, M; Seoane, M; Araya, P; Russo, M; Santolaya, M E

2014-09-29

Neisseria meningitidis invasive disease is a major public health problem. Pharyngeal carriage is considered a prerequisite for invasive infection. Prevalence reaches 10% in general population and up to 30% in the 20-24 years age group. The aim of this study was to asses pharyngeal carriage prevalence in healthy subjects aged 18-24 years, and as secondary endpoints evaluate known risk factors, to identify serogroups and sequence in the isolated strains. Cross-sectional study in 500 healthy subjects; students from Universidad de Chile aged 18-24 years, Santiago, Chile, October 2012. Each subject underwent a risk factor survey prior to throat culture sampling. Samples were processed in one central Microbiology Laboratory of Hospital Luis Calvo Mackenna and serogrouping and sequencing was performed at Instituto de Salud Pública de Chile. We obtained throat samples from 500 healthy subjects, 20 (4%) positive for N. meningitidis. Of positive strains 20% were serogroup B, 15% W and the rest non groupable. The median age was 20 years, 50% were men. Of the risk factors evaluated, 24% were current smokers, 16% shared a room, 72% had kissed someone during the last month, 64% had gone to pub and 76% had consumed alcohol in the same period of time. Literatures meningococcal carriage prevalence reaches up to 30% in people aged 18-24 years. Prevalence in our study was 4%. Different interpretations could be given; one could be the absence of overcrowding in our students because of the lack of dorms in our scholar system and also the characteristics of our enrolled group. Our results suggest the necessity to extend the study to other age groups and to other cities, to better understand the Chilean reality, as well as others regions of America, considering that these results cannot be extrapolated to another countries. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Brucellosis in Chile: Description of a series of 13 cases].

PubMed

Olivares, Roberto; Vidal, Pamela; Sotomayor, Camila; Norambuena, Mackarenna; Luppi, Mario; Silva, Francisco; Cifuentes, Marcela

2017-06-01

Brucellosis is a zoonosis caused by Brucella spp. It may be acquired by consuming unpasteurized dairy products. Brucellosis has a low incidence in Chile, thus, we have a scarce data. To report and to characterize the first series of clinical cases of adult patients diagnosed with brucellosis in Chile. We describe a series of 13 clinical cases in patients diagnosed between 2000 and 2016 in three different centers in the Metropolitan Region, Chile. A retrospective analysis was performed on clinical presentation, laboratory, antibiotic treatment, morbidity and mortality. The mean age was 50 years old. Eight cases had a record of consumption of unpasteurized dairy products. The most frequently reported complaints were fever. The most frequent focal point involved was the spine. Only one patient had a positive blood culture, while the diagnosis was made using serological techniques in the other part of the group. The most indicated antibiotic regimens were doxycycline-rifampicin and doxycycline-gentamicin. The hospital stay was 20 days approximately as an average. Clinical cure was achieved in all cases. Brucellosis is an infrequent zoonosis in Chile, and it produces a nonspecific clinical picture, so it is necessary to have high suspicion to make the diagnosis based in the antecedent of consumption of unpasteurized dairy or raw meat.

Impact disruption and recovery of the deep subsurface biosphere.

PubMed

Cockell, Charles S; Voytek, Mary A; Gronstal, Aaron L; Finster, Kai; Kirshtein, Julie D; Howard, Kieren; Reitner, Joachim; Gohn, Gregory S; Sanford, Ward E; Horton, J Wright; Kallmeyer, Jens; Kelly, Laura; Powars, David S

2012-03-01

Although a large fraction of the world's biomass resides in the subsurface, there has been no study of the effects of catastrophic disturbance on the deep biosphere and the rate of its subsequent recovery. We carried out an investigation of the microbiology of a 1.76 km drill core obtained from the ∼35 million-year-old Chesapeake Bay impact structure, USA, with robust contamination control. Microbial enumerations displayed a logarithmic downward decline, but the different gradient, when compared to previously studied sites, and the scatter of the data are consistent with a microbiota influenced by the geological disturbances caused by the impact. Microbial abundance is low in buried crater-fill, ocean-resurge, and avalanche deposits despite the presence of redox couples for growth. Coupled with the low hydraulic conductivity, the data suggest the microbial community has not yet recovered from the impact ∼35 million years ago. Microbial enumerations, molecular analysis of microbial enrichment cultures, and geochemical analysis showed recolonization of a deep region of impact-fractured rock that was heated to above the upper temperature limit for life at the time of impact. These results show how, by fracturing subsurface rocks, impacts can extend the depth of the biosphere. This phenomenon would have provided deep refugia for life on the more heavily bombarded early Earth, and it shows that the deeply fractured regions of impact craters are promising targets to study the past and present habitability of Mars.

Impact disruption and recovery of the deep subsurface biosphere

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cockell, Charles S.; Voytek, Mary A.; Gronstal, Aaron L.; Finster, Kai; Kirshtein, Julie D.; Howard, Kieren; Reitner, Joachim; Gohn, Gregory S.; Sanford, Ward E.; Horton, J. Wright; Kallmeyer, Jens; Kelly, Laura; Powars, David S.

2012-01-01

Although a large fraction of the world's biomass resides in the subsurface, there has been no study of the effects of catastrophic disturbance on the deep biosphere and the rate of its subsequent recovery. We carried out an investigation of the microbiology of a 1.76 km drill core obtained from the ~35 million-year-old Chesapeake Bay impact structure, USA, with robust contamination control. Microbial enumerations displayed a logarithmic downward decline, but the different gradient, when compared to previously studied sites, and the scatter of the data are consistent with a microbiota influenced by the geological disturbances caused by the impact. Microbial abundance is low in buried crater-fill, ocean-resurge, and avalanche deposits despite the presence of redox couples for growth. Coupled with the low hydraulic conductivity, the data suggest the microbial community has not yet recovered from the impact ~35 million years ago. Microbial enumerations, molecular analysis of microbial enrichment cultures, and geochemical analysis showed recolonization of a deep region of impact-fractured rock that was heated to above the upper temperature limit for life at the time of impact. These results show how, by fracturing subsurface rocks, impacts can extend the depth of the biosphere. This phenomenon would have provided deep refugia for life on the more heavily bombarded early Earth, and it shows that the deeply fractured regions of impact craters are promising targets to study the past and present habitability of Mars.

B33C-0612: Evaluation of Simulated Biospheric Carbon Dioxide Fluxes and Atmospheric Concentrations Using Global in Situ Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Philip, Sajeev; Johnson, Matthew S.; Potter, Christopher S.; Genovese, Vanessa

2016-01-01

Atmospheric mixing ratios of carbon dioxide (CO2) are largely controlled by anthropogenic emission sources and biospheric sources/sinks. Global biospheric fluxes of CO2 are controlled by complex processes facilitating the exchange of carbon between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. These processes which play a key role in these terrestrial ecosystem-atmosphere carbon exchanges are currently not fully understood, resulting in large uncertainties in the quantification of biospheric CO2 fluxes. Current models with these inherent deficiencies have difficulties simulating the global carbon cycle with high accuracy. We are developing a new modeling platform, GEOS-Chem-CASA by integrating the year-specific NASA-CASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Carnegie Ames Stanford Approach) biosphere model with the GEOS-Chem (Goddard Earth Observation System-Chemistry) chemical transport model to improve the simulation of atmosphere-terrestrial ecosystem carbon exchange. We use NASA-CASA to explicitly represent the exchange of CO2 between terrestrial ecosystem and atmosphere by replacing the baseline GEOS-Chem land net CO2 flux and forest biomass burning CO2 emissions. We will present the estimation and evaluation of these "bottom-up" land CO2 fluxes, simulated atmospheric mixing ratios, and forest disturbance changes over the last decade. In addition, we will present our initial comparison of atmospheric column-mean dry air mole fraction of CO2 predicted by the model and those retrieved from NASA's OCO-2 (Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2) satellite instrument and model-predicted surface CO2 mixing ratios with global in situ observations. This evaluation is the first step necessary for our future work planned to constrain the estimates of biospheric carbon fluxes through "top-down" inverse modeling, which will improve our understanding of the processes controlling atmosphere-terrestrial ecosystem greenhouse gas exchanges, especially over regions which lack in

How Close Are We to the Temperature Tipping Point of the Biosphere?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duffy, K. H.

2017-12-01

All biological processes accelerate rapidly with increasing temperature (Tinf); reaching a maximum rate (Tmax), after which they decline. However different biological processes may not be synchronised in their response to increasing temperatures resulting in major dis-equilibria of ecosystem processes. Particularly, the linked processes of photosynthesis and respiration have different curvature that is determined by their inherent sensitivity to temperature. Constraining the difference in temperature curves between photosynthesis and respiration allows us to quantify changes to global carbon metabolism and the land sink of carbon as a whole. During the last century the biosphere has acted as a sink of carbon from the atmosphere partly mitigating accumulation of CO2 derived from burning of fossil fuels Here we ask the following questions: As global temperature increases will photosynthesis and respiration become de-coupled and when? What is Tmax for the land sink, and where is current mean temperature range in regard to this important threshold? At what global and regional temperatures do we expect the biosphere to become a source of carbon to the atmosphere? To address these questions we used the recently released FLUXNET2015 dataset comprised of 212 eddy covariance flux tower sites which concurrently measure land-atmosphere carbon exchange along with micro-meteorological variables. Here, we illustrate our results for Tinf and Tmax of the land sink by biome and for the biosphere as a whole. Our results suggest that recent warming has already pushed us past the inflection point of photosynthesis, and that any additional warming will increase the cumulative annual dose of time spent past Tmax for the land sink. Even under moderate climate projections, we expect to see a slowing of the terrestrial carbon sink by as early as 2040.

Historical and recent large megathrust earthquakes in Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruiz, S.; Madariaga, R.

2018-05-01

Recent earthquakes in Chile, 2014, Mw 8.2 Iquique, 2015, Mw 8.3 Illapel and 2016, Mw 7.6 Chiloé have put in evidence some problems with the straightforward application of ideas about seismic gaps, earthquake periodicity and the general forecast of large megathrust earthquakes. In northern Chile, before the 2014 Iquique earthquake 4 large earthquakes were reported in written chronicles, 1877, 1786, 1615 and 1543; in North-Central Chile, before the 2015 Illapel event, 3 large earthquakes 1943, 1880, 1730 were reported; and the 2016 Chiloé earthquake occurred in the southern zone of the 1960 Valdivia megathrust rupture, where other large earthquakes occurred in 1575, 1737 and 1837. The periodicity of these events has been proposed as a good long-term forecasting. However, the seismological aspects of historical Chilean earthquakes were inferred mainly from old chronicles written before subduction in Chile was discovered. Here we use the original description of earthquakes to re-analyze the historical archives. Our interpretation shows that a-priori ideas, like seismic gaps and characteristic earthquakes, influenced the estimation of magnitude, location and rupture area of the older Chilean events. On the other hand, the advance in the characterization of the rheological aspects that controlled the contact between Nazca and South-American plate and the study of tsunami effects provide better estimations of the location of historical earthquakes along the seismogenic plate interface. Our re-interpretation of historical earthquakes shows a large diversity of earthquakes types; there is a major difference between giant earthquakes that break the entire plate interface and those of Mw 8.0 that only break a portion of it.

Deuterobiosphere the chemosynthetic second biosphere of the globe. A first review.

PubMed

Por, Francis D

2008-06-01

With the discovery of Ophel, a chemosynthesis-based continental subterranean environment (Por 2007), it became evident that such environments, previously known only from the sea, are spanning the world as a parallel biosphere, the deuterobiosphere. In this preliminary contribution the different known biomes of the deuterobiosphere are reviewed and some general and comparative features are listed. © 2008 ISZS, Blackwell Publishing and IOZ/CAS.

Impact of Biomass Burning Aerosols on the Biosphere over Amazonia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malavelle, F.; Haywood, J.; Mercado, L.; Folberth, G.; Bellouin, N.

2014-12-01

Biomass burning (BB) smoke from deforestation and the burning of agricultural waste emit a complex cocktail of aerosol particles and gases. BB emissions show a regional hotspot over South America on the edges of Amazonia. These major perturbations and impacts on surface temperature, surface fluxes, chemistry, radiation, rainfall, may have significant consequent impacts on the Amazon rainforest, the largest and most productive carbon store on the planet. There is therefore potential for very significant interaction and interplay between aerosols, clouds, radiation and the biosphere in the region. Terrestrial carbon production (i.e. photosynthesis) is intimately tied to the supply of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR - i.e. wavelengths between 300-690 nm). PAR in sufficient intensity and duration is critical for plant growth. However, if a decrease in total radiation is accompanied by an increase in the component of diffuse radiation, plant productivity may increase due to higher light use efficiency per unit of PAR and less photosynthetic saturation. This effect, sometimes referred as diffuse light fertilization effect, could have increased the global land carbon sink by approximately one quarter during the global dimming period and is expected to be a least as important locally. By directly interacting with radiation, BB aerosols significantly reduce the total amount of PAR available to plant canopies. In addition, BB aerosols also play a centre role in cloud formation because they provide the necessary cloud condensation nuclei, hence indirectly altering the water cycle and the components and quantity of PAR. In this presentation, we use the recent observations from the South American Biomass Burning Analysis (SAMBBA) to explore the impact of radiation changes on the carbon cycle in the Amazon region caused by BB emissions. A parameterisation of the impact of diffuse and direct radiation upon photosynthesis rates and net primary productivity in the

On the design of an interactive biosphere for the GLAS general circulation model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mintz, Y.; Sellers, P. J.; Willmott, C. J.

1983-01-01

Improving the realism and accuracy of the GLAS general circulation model (by adding an interactive biosphere that will simulate the transfers of latent and sensible heat from land surface to atmosphere as functions of the atmospheric conditions and the morphology and physiology of the vegetation) is proposed.

Immigrant health workers in Chile: is there a Latin American "brain drain"?

PubMed

Cabieses, Baltica; Tunstall, Helena

2012-08-01

Most research on the phenomenon of "brain drain" (one-way flow of highly skilled/educated individuals) has focused on movement between the least developed and most highly developed countries. Therefore, the significance of patterns of migration to middle-income countries such as those in Latin America is less clear. The aim of this study was to outline key features of international health worker "brain drain" to Chile to promote discussion and further research on this phenomenon as it pertains to the Latin American region. The study compared immigrant health workers living in Chile to both Chilean-born health workers and other immigrants living in Chile using a qualitative nationwide dataset (the results of Chile's 2009 National Socioeconomic Characterization Survey). Demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related variables were included in the analyses, which were weighted by population to obtain nationally representative estimates. In 2009, immigrant health workers represented 2.2% of all health personnel and 2.6% of all resident immigrants in the country. While most immigrant health workers had a universitylevel education, about 25% had only a high school-level education or less. There was no statistically significant difference between the distribution of immigrant health workers' household income and that of Chilean-born health workers. A significantly higher proportion of the immigrant group reported no entitlement to health care provision. While the results of this study do not indicate a significant international health worker "brain drain" to Chile, they do suggest distinctive patterns of migration within the Latin American region. Future studies in Chile could confirm the validity of these results, using a larger sample of immigrant health workers.

[Burden of mortality due to diabetes mellitus in Latin America 2000-2011: the case of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico.

PubMed

Agudelo-Botero, Marcela; Dávila-Cervantes, Claudio Alberto

2015-03-05

To analyze trends in mortality in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico, between 2000 and 2011, by sex and 5-year age groups (between 20 and 79 years of age). Mortality vital statistics and census data or projected population estimates were used for each country. Age-specific mortality rates and the years of life lost were calculated. Among the countries analyzed, Mexico had the highest mortality rate and lost the most years of life due to diabetes. Between 2000 and 2011, Mexicans lost an average of 1.13 years of life, while Colombia (0.24), Argentina (0.21) and Chile (0.18) lost considerably fewer life years. In general, deaths from diabetes were higher in men than in women except in Colombia. Nearly 80% of years of life lost due to diabetes occurred between 50 and 74 years of age in the four countries. Diabetes is a huge challenge for Latin America, especially in Mexico where mortality due to diabetes is accelerating. Even though the proportion of deaths due to diabetes in Argentina, Chile and Colombia is smaller, this disease figures among the main causes of death in these countries. Copyright © 2014 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Between land and sea: divergent data stewardship practices in deep-sea biosphere research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cummings, R.; Darch, P.

2013-12-01

Data in deep-sea biosphere research often live a double life. While the original data generated on IODP expeditions are highly structured, professionally curated, and widely shared, the downstream data practices of deep-sea biosphere laboratories are far more localized and ad hoc. These divergent data practices make it difficult to track the provenance of datasets from the cruise ships to the laboratory or to integrate IODP data with laboratory data. An in-depth study of the divergent data practices in deep-sea biosphere research allows us to: - Better understand the social and technical forces that shape data stewardship throughout the data lifecycle; - Develop policy, infrastructure, and best practices to improve data stewardship in small labs; - Track provenance of datasets from IODP cruises to labs and publications; - Create linkages between laboratory findings, cruise data, and IODP samples. In this paper, we present findings from the first year of a case study of the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI), an NSF Science and Technology Center that studies life beneath the seafloor. Our methods include observation in laboratories, interviews, document analysis, and participation in scientific meetings. Our research uncovers the data stewardship norms of geologists, biologists, chemists, and hydrologists conducting multi-disciplinary research. Our research team found that data stewardship on cruises is a clearly defined task performed by an IODP curator, while downstream it is a distributed task that develops in response to local need and to the extent necessary for the immediate research team. IODP data are expensive to collect and challenging to obtain, often costing $50,000/day and requiring researchers to work twelve hours a day onboard the ships. To maximize this research investment, a highly trained IODP data curator controls data stewardship on the cruise and applies best practices such as standardized formats, proper labeling, and

Constraints on a potential aerial biosphere on Venus: I. Cosmic rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dartnell, Lewis R.; Nordheim, Tom Andre; Patel, Manish R.; Mason, Jonathon P.; Coates, Andrew J.; Jones, Geraint H.

2015-09-01

While the present-day surface of Venus is certainly incompatible with terrestrial biology, the planet may have possessed oceans in the past and provided conditions suitable for the origin of life. Venusian life may persist today high in the atmosphere where the temperature and pH regime is tolerable to terrestrial extremophile microbes: an aerial habitable zone. Here we argue that on the basis of the combined biological hazard of high temperature and high acidity this habitable zone lies between 51 km (65 °C) and 62 km (-20 °C) altitude. Compared to Earth, this potential venusian biosphere may be exposed to substantially more comic ionising radiation: Venus has no protective magnetic field, orbits closer to the Sun, and the entire habitable region lies high in the atmosphere - if this narrow band is sterilised there is no reservoir of deeper life that can recolonise afterwards. Here we model the propagation of particle radiation through the venusian atmosphere, considering both the background flux of high-energy galactic cosmic rays and the transient but exceptionally high-fluence bursts of extreme solar particle events (SPE), such as the Carrington Event of 1859 and that inferred for AD 775. We calculate the altitude profiles of both energy deposition into the atmosphere and the absorbed radiation dose to assess this astrophysical threat to the potential high-altitude venusian biosphere. We find that at the top of the habitable zone (62 km altitude; 190 g/cm2 shielding depth) the radiation dose from the modelled Carrington Event with a hard spectrum (matched to the February 1956 SPE) is over 18,000 times higher than the background from GCR, and 50,000 times higher for the modelled 775 AD event. However, even though the flux of ionising radiation can be sterilizing high in the atmosphere, the total dose delivered at the top of the habitable zone by a worst-case SPE like the 775 AD event is 0.09 Gy, which is not likely to present a significant survival challenge

Environmental Consequences of an Emerging Biosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DesMarais, David J.

2003-01-01

It seems feasible to detect biological signatures ("biosignatures") in other planetary systems using the tools of astronomy. There are at least two types of biosignatures; spectral and/or polarization features created by biological products, and electromagnetic signals created by technology. The latter example of a biosignature requires SETI-like searches. This presentation addresses only spectral signatures of biological products and properties of habitable planets. Spectral biosignatures are indeed promising targets for near-term exploration. They can arise from organic constituents (e.g., vegetation) and/or inorganic products (e.g., atmospheric O2). Features originating from a planet's surface are likely to be localized in specific regions, whereas gaseous biosignatures can become globally distributed by atmospheric circulation. Biosignatures should be most abundant within environments that are, or once were, habitable. We currently believe that habitable environments necessarily provide Liquid water and biochemically useful energy. However, we do not yet fully comprehend the diversity of features that might arise within these environments that are non-biological in origin, yet mimic biosignatures. For example, atmospheres reflect the events leading to their origins as well as a host of ongoing planetary processes that might include biological activity. We are persuaded that abundant atmospheric oxygen in an environment with abundant liquid water constitutes definitive evidence of life. However, our own early biosphere thrived for more than a billion years in the absence of abundant atmospheric oxygen. The production of other, more reduced, gaseous biomarkers of "young" and/or anaerobic biospheres has not been systematically studied. Biological gas production is strongly controlled by the structure and function of microbial ecosystems. Investigations of microbial ecosystems that are close analogs of ancient communities offer multiple benefits. Such studies can

An empirical analysis of primary and secondary pharmaceutical patents in Chile.

PubMed

Abud, María José; Hall, Bronwyn; Helmers, Christian

2015-01-01

We analyze the patent filing strategies of foreign pharmaceutical companies in Chile distinguishing between "primary" (active ingredient) and "secondary" patents (patents on modified compounds, formulations, dosages, particular medical uses, etc.). There is prior evidence that secondary patents are used by pharmaceutical originator companies in the U.S. and Europe to extend patent protection on drugs in length and breadth. Using a novel dataset that comprises all drugs registered in Chile between 1991 and 2010 as well as the corresponding patents and trademarks, we find evidence that foreign originator companies pursue similar strategies in Chile. We find a primary to secondary patents ratio of 1:4 at the drug-level, which is comparable to the available evidence for Europe; most secondary patents are filed over several years following the original primary patent and after the protected active ingredient has obtained market approval in Chile. This points toward effective patent term extensions through secondary patents. Secondary patents dominate "older" therapeutic classes like anti-ulcer and anti-depressants. In contrast, newer areas like anti-virals and anti-neoplastics (anti-cancer) have a much larger share of primary patents.

An Empirical Analysis of Primary and Secondary Pharmaceutical Patents in Chile

PubMed Central

Abud, María José; Hall, Bronwyn; Helmers, Christian

2015-01-01

We analyze the patent filing strategies of foreign pharmaceutical companies in Chile distinguishing between “primary” (active ingredient) and “secondary” patents (patents on modified compounds, formulations, dosages, particular medical uses, etc.). There is prior evidence that secondary patents are used by pharmaceutical originator companies in the U.S. and Europe to extend patent protection on drugs in length and breadth. Using a novel dataset that comprises all drugs registered in Chile between 1991 and 2010 as well as the corresponding patents and trademarks, we find evidence that foreign originator companies pursue similar strategies in Chile. We find a primary to secondary patents ratio of 1:4 at the drug-level, which is comparable to the available evidence for Europe; most secondary patents are filed over several years following the original primary patent and after the protected active ingredient has obtained market approval in Chile. This points toward effective patent term extensions through secondary patents. Secondary patents dominate “older” therapeutic classes like anti-ulcer and anti-depressants. In contrast, newer areas like anti-virals and anti-neoplastics (anti-cancer) have a much larger share of primary patents. PMID:25915050

The Avalanche Catastrophe of El Teniente-chile: August 8 of 1944.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vergara, J.; Baros, M.

The avalanche of El Teniente-Chile (~34S) August 8 of 1944, was the most serious avalanche accident in Chile of the last 100 years. On the night of August 8, 1944, a major avalanche impacted a The Sewell, a worked village of the Copper Mine of El Teniente, there were 102 fatalities, 8 building, one school and one bridged de- stroyed. Due to a storm over the central part of Chile where intense precipitation fall over the Andes mountains during nine days. Historical precipitation records near to Sewell shows that total rainfall during the storms was 299mm (La Rufina) and 349mm (Bullileo), and the day before of avalanche the 24 hours rain intensity was 93mm. The Weilbull statistical analysis of monthly snowfall (water equivalent) record in Sewell from 1912-2001 show that the total August 1944 snowfall (621mm) was the larger of the all historical records and the return period is close one events in 180 years, and the annual snowfall during 1944 was 1140mm and return periods was 3.8 years. KEYWRODS: Chile, Avalanches, Andes Mountains, Avalanche Disaster, Historical Snow Records.

Different Seed Selection and Conservation Practices for Fresh Market and Dried Chile Farmers in Aguascalientes, Mexico

PubMed Central

de Jesús Luna-Ruíz, José; Gepts, Paul

2010-01-01

Different Seed Selection and Conservation Practices for Fresh Market and Dried Chile Farmers in Aguascalientes, Mexico. The process of selecting and saving seed is the most basic and oldest of agricultural practices. In today’s modern and highly capital-intensive agriculture, seeds are often treated like another chemical input. This study sought to examine seed selection and saving practices among chile farmers in Aguascalientes, Mexico, where both industrial and traditional agriculture are practiced. We observed a clear division among farmers who plant chile peppers commercially. Sixty-eight chile pepper farmers were surveyed in order to document seed selection and saving practices. Fifteen respondents (22%) planted chile peppers destined for the fresh market and all utilized purchased commercial seed of F1 hybrid varieties. Fifty-three farmers (78%) planted chiles to be dried and either saved their own or purchased seeds that others had saved and selected. Farmers who saved their own seed sought to maintain an ideotype, rather than directionally select for certain traits, much like Cleveland et al. (2000) chronicled in central Mexican maize farmers. Farmers would benefit from a participatory plant-breeding program in order to maintain productive seed stock for the continued cultivation of dried chile pepper in the state. PMID:21212817

Different Seed Selection and Conservation Practices for Fresh Market and Dried Chile Farmers in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

PubMed

Kraft, Kraig H; de Jesús Luna-Ruíz, José; Gepts, Paul

2010-12-01

Different Seed Selection and Conservation Practices for Fresh Market and Dried Chile Farmers in Aguascalientes, Mexico. The process of selecting and saving seed is the most basic and oldest of agricultural practices. In today's modern and highly capital-intensive agriculture, seeds are often treated like another chemical input. This study sought to examine seed selection and saving practices among chile farmers in Aguascalientes, Mexico, where both industrial and traditional agriculture are practiced. We observed a clear division among farmers who plant chile peppers commercially. Sixty-eight chile pepper farmers were surveyed in order to document seed selection and saving practices. Fifteen respondents (22%) planted chile peppers destined for the fresh market and all utilized purchased commercial seed of F1 hybrid varieties. Fifty-three farmers (78%) planted chiles to be dried and either saved their own or purchased seeds that others had saved and selected. Farmers who saved their own seed sought to maintain an ideotype, rather than directionally select for certain traits, much like Cleveland et al. (2000) chronicled in central Mexican maize farmers. Farmers would benefit from a participatory plant-breeding program in order to maintain productive seed stock for the continued cultivation of dried chile pepper in the state.

Glacial Hazards in Chile: Processes, Assessment, Mitigation and Risk Management Strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glasser, N. F.; Wilson, R.; Casassa, G., Sr.; Reynolds, J.; Harrison, S.; Shannon, S. R.; Schaefer, M.; Iribarran, P.

2017-12-01

Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) are capable of travelling considerable distances from their source and they represent one of the most important glacial hazards. In line with observations in other parts of the world, the frequency of GLOF events in Chile has increased in recent decades highlighting the need to quantify the flood risk posed to downstream areas. This poster presents the work of the `Glacial Hazards in Chile' project which aims to (1) better understand the processes that govern the development of GLOFs in Chile, (2) estimate the socio-economic effects of GLOFs in Chile, and (3) provide a GLOF risk assessment framework that can be applied to Chile and other lower income countries globally. As an initial step towards the completion of these aims, we have recently compiled the first glacial lake inventory for the central and Patagonian Andes, which details the temporal development of glacial lakes in this region over the past three decades. This analysis was used to identify two lakes of interest that were visited during a fieldwork expedition in February 2017. The first of these, Lago Chileno in Patagonia, has recently produced a large GLOF causing significant damage to the downstream floodplain, whilst the second was identified as one of the fastest growing lakes in the central Andes. Both these lakes were surveyed using aerial imagery acquired with a drone and a custom-built bathymetry boat, data from which will help to improve our understanding of the physical processes associated with glacial lake development and failure within the Chilean Andes.

Soil water content effects on net ecosystem CO2 exchange and actual evapotranspiration in a Mediterranean semiarid savanna of Central Chile.

PubMed

Meza, Francisco J; Montes, Carlo; Bravo-Martínez, Felipe; Serrano-Ortiz, Penélope; Kowalski, Andrew S

2018-06-05

Biosphere-atmosphere water and carbon fluxes depend on ecosystem structure, and their magnitudes and seasonal behavior are driven by environmental and biological factors. We studied the seasonal behavior of net ecosystem CO 2 exchange (NEE), Gross Primary Productivity (GPP), Ecosystem Respiration (RE), and actual evapotranspiration (ETa) obtained by eddy covariance measurements during two years in a Mediterranean Acacia savanna ecosystem (Acacia caven) in Central Chile. The annual carbon balance was -53 g C m -2 in 2011 and -111 g C m -2 in 2012, showing that the ecosystem acts as a net sink of CO 2 , notwithstanding water limitations on photosynthesis observed in this particularly dry period. Total annual ETa was of 128 mm in 2011 and 139 mm in 2012. Both NEE and ETa exhibited strong seasonality with peak values recorded in the winter season (July to September), as a result of ecosystem phenology, soil water content and rainfall occurrence. Consequently, the maximum carbon assimilation rate occurred in wintertime. Results show that soil water content is a major driver of GPP and RE, defining their seasonal patterns and the annual carbon assimilation capacity of the ecosystem, and also modulating the effect that solar radiation and air temperature have on NEE components at shorter time scales.

Atmospheric dynamics and bioregenerative technologies in a soil-based ecological life support system: Initial results from biosphere 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, M.; Dempster, W.; Alvarez-Romo, N.; MacCallum, T.

1994-11-01

Biosphere 2 is the first man-made, soil-based, bioregenerative life support system to be developed and tested. The utilization and amendment of local space resources, e.g. martian soil or lunar regolith, for agricultural and other purposes will be necesary if we are to minimize the requirement for Earth materials in the creation of long-term off-planet bases and habitations. Several of the roles soil plays in Biosphere 2 are 1) for air purification 2) as a key component in created wetland systems to recycle human and animal wastes and 3) as nutrient base for a sustainable agricultural cropping program. Initial results from the Biosphere 2 closure experiment are presented. These include the accelerated cycling rates due to small reservoir sizes, strong diurnal and seasonal fluxes in atmospheric CO2, an unexpected and continuing decline in atmospheric oxygen, overall maintenance of low levels of trace gases, recycling of waste waters through biological regeneration systems, and operation of an agriculture designed to provide diverse and nutritionally adequate diets for the crew members.

[Haiti, new immigrant community in Chile].

PubMed

Sánchez P, Katherin; Valderas J, Jaime; Messenger C, Karen; Sánchez G, Carolina; Barrera Q, Francisco

2018-04-01

Migration is a growing phenomenon in Latin America influenced by several factors such as economic stability, employment, social welfare, education and health system. Currently Chile has a positive migration flow rate. Particularly, a significant number of Haitian immigrants has been observed du ring the last years, especially after earthquake of 2010. These immigrants present a different cultural background expressed in relevant aspects of living including parenting and healthcare. Knowing the Haitian culture and its health situation is relevant for a better understanding of their health needs. Haitian people come to Chile looking for a cordial reception and willing to find a place with better perspectives of wellbeing in every sense. Immigration represents a major challenge for Chilean health system that must be embraced. Integration efforts in jobs, health, education system and community living should be enhanced to ensure a prosper settlement in our country. A new immigration law is crucial to solving major problems derived from current law created in 1975.

Monitoring the northern Chile megathrust with the Integrated Plate boundary Observatory Chile (IPOC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schurr, Bernd; Asch, Günter; Cailleau, Beatrice; Diaz, Guillermo Chong; Barrientos, Sergio; Vilotte, Jean-Pierre; Oncken, Onno

2010-05-01

The oceanic Nazca plate subducts beneath the continental South American plate by recurrent rupture of large segments of its interface. The resulting earthquakes are among the largest and most frequent on Earth. Along the Chilean and southern Peruvian margin, all sizeable segments have ruptured at least once in the past 150 years for which there exist historic and/or instrumental records. The one segment that is most mature for re-rupture stretches for more than 500 km along the northernmost Chilean coast between roughly -23° and -18° latitude. It last broke in 1877 in a magnitude ~8.5 earthquake, triggering a major Tsunami. From the historical record, it has been known to have a recurrence cycle of approximately 110 years. The adjoining segments to the south and north broke rather recently in 1995 and 2001 in M>8 earthquakes and an M 7.7 earthquake intruded into the southern part of the seismic gap in 2007 between Antofagasto and Tocopilla. This makes northern Chile a unique natural laboratory to observe a subduction megathrust at various stages of its seismic cycle. For that purpose, installation of long-term observatories started in 2006 in a close cooperation of the Universidad de Chile (Santiago, Chile), the Universidad Catolica del Norte (Antofagasta, Chile), the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (France), and the GFZ German research Centre for Geosciences (Germany). Currently we are operating 17 modern seismological stations equipped with STS-2 broadband seismometers and accelerometers (EPI sensor). At least two more stations will be installed in the near future. Continuous GPS, tilt, creep, climate and magnetotellurics measurements are complementing the seismological part. A majority of the sites provide data near real-time. We will present results of seismic monitoring including analysis of the 2007 M7.7 Tocopilla earthquake sequence that was recorded during the installation stage of the observatory. We relocated the mainshock and about a one

The deep, hot biosphere: Twenty-five years of retrospection

PubMed Central

Colman, Daniel R.; Poudel, Saroj; Stamps, Blake W.; Boyd, Eric S.; Spear, John R.

2017-01-01

Twenty-five years ago this month, Thomas Gold published a seminal manuscript suggesting the presence of a “deep, hot biosphere” in the Earth’s crust. Since this publication, a considerable amount of attention has been given to the study of deep biospheres, their role in geochemical cycles, and their potential to inform on the origin of life and its potential outside of Earth. Overwhelming evidence now supports the presence of a deep biosphere ubiquitously distributed on Earth in both terrestrial and marine settings. Furthermore, it has become apparent that much of this life is dependent on lithogenically sourced high-energy compounds to sustain productivity. A vast diversity of uncultivated microorganisms has been detected in subsurface environments, and we show that H2, CH4, and CO feature prominently in many of their predicted metabolisms. Despite 25 years of intense study, key questions remain on life in the deep subsurface, including whether it is endemic and the extent of its involvement in the anaerobic formation and degradation of hydrocarbons. Emergent data from cultivation and next-generation sequencing approaches continue to provide promising new hints to answer these questions. As Gold suggested, and as has become increasingly evident, to better understand the subsurface is critical to further understanding the Earth, life, the evolution of life, and the potential for life elsewhere. To this end, we suggest the need to develop a robust network of interdisciplinary scientists and accessible field sites for long-term monitoring of the Earth’s subsurface in the form of a deep subsurface microbiome initiative. PMID:28674200

A typology of female sex work in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile.

PubMed

Belmar, Julieta; Stuardo, Valeria; Folch, Cinta; Carvajal, Bielka; Clunes, Maria José; Montoliu, Alexandra; Casabona, Jordi

2018-04-01

In Chile, sex work takes place covertly in a variety of venues and locations. Formative research using time-location sampling methods is important in order to understand the nature of this diversity. This study used qualitative methods to develop a typology of female sex work in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile, using semi-structured interviews, focus groups and ethnographic fieldwork during visits to sex work venues. The study identified seven types of venue, which reflect the context and regulatory framework of the country and the structural vulnerabilities that affect female sex workers in Chile. These venues and locations include: cafés con piernas (coffee with legs); nightclubs, topless bars and cabarets; brothels; hotels; street and highway soliciting; massage parlours; and private residences. Formative research methods were helpful in identifying and characterising the venues and locations in which sex work occurred. Barriers to accessing and mapping specific locations were also identified. Recommendations for addressing these barriers include working with non-governmental organisations to map venues and initiate contact with the populations of interest. A comprehensive typology of sex work in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile, is an essential element for future time-location sampling and bio-behavioural research in the context of second-generation surveillance for HIV and sexually transmitted infections in Chile.

Modeling of interactions between biosphere and atmosphere on the global scale

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baer, Ferdinand; Mintz, Y.

1990-01-01

Simulations of weather and climate with general circulation models show that the circulation and rainfall are sensitive to the transfers of radiation, sensible heat, water vapor, and momentum across the atmosphere land surface interface. Because, in nature, these transfers depend in large measure on the morphological and physiological characteristics of the surface vegetation, an interactive biosphere is needed for GCM's. The simple model of the biosphere (SiB) that the authors have constructed is based on the recognized difference between ground cover vegetation (grasses and other herbaceous plants) and canopy vegetation (trees and shrubs), where the latter act like elevated blocks of porous material which efficiently extract momentum from the air that flows through them; by a large number of multiple reflections enhance the absorption of the incident solar radiation; when the canopy is wet, act like well ventilated psychrometers which extract sensible heat from the air and produce a negative Bowen ratio; and, in all of these ways, behave differently from ground cover vegetation. The complete set of governing equations of SiB, whereby the various allowable combinations of trees, ground covers, and bare ground, in interaction with the atmosphere, determine all of the vegetation dependent transfers at the land surface, have been presented and described.

[Weltanschauung aspects of the problem of man, the biosphere and space].

PubMed

Agadzhanian, N A

1979-01-01

The paper discusses philosophic approaches to the problem of man-environment interplay. Many important problems humanity faces today are associated with biology. Biomedical and astrophysical studies are being carried out to gain a better insight into the laws governing evolution and further development of the Universe. The emergence of a human society started a qualitatively new stage in the evolution of organic matter. A rapid progress of science and engineering is accompanied by a significant rearrangement of the natural environment and, particularly, of living beings. The biosphere is transforming into the sphere of intelligence, i.e. noosphere. However, natural phenomena are still more powerful than man-made productive forces. Man's excursion into outer space allowed him to look at himself as if from the outside and to evaluate critically his actual role, position and responsibility in the infinite Universe as compared with other forms of life and intelligence. The Universe may be boundlessly great but for human beings there is nothing better than the Earth. Our planet will long remain the base for the existence and development of humanity. Today man ought to take the streering-wheel of evolution and fate of the biosphere into his hands, in order to preserve, through the efforts of many generations, our planet as the gem of the Universe.

Xenopus laevis and Emerging Amphibian Pathogens in Chile.

PubMed

Soto-Azat, Claudio; Peñafiel-Ricaurte, Alexandra; Price, Stephen J; Sallaberry-Pincheira, Nicole; García, María Pía; Alvarado-Rybak, Mario; Cunningham, Andrew A

2016-12-01

Amphibians face an extinction crisis with no precedence. Two emerging infectious diseases, ranaviral disease caused by viruses within the genus Ranavirus and chytridiomycosis due to Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), have been linked with amphibian mass mortalities and population declines in many regions of the globe. The African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) has been indicated as a vector for the spread of these pathogens. Since the 1970s, this species has been invasive in central Chile. We collected X. laevis and dead native amphibians in Chile between 2011 and 2013. We conducted post-mortem examinations and molecular tests for Ranavirus and Bd. Eight of 187 individuals (4.3 %) tested positive for Ranavirus: seven X. laevis and a giant Chilean frog (Calyptocephallela gayi). All positive cases were from the original area of X. laevis invasion. Bd was found to be more prevalent (14.4 %) and widespread than Ranavirus, and all X. laevis Bd-positive animals presented low to moderate levels of infection. Sequencing of a partial Ranavirus gene revealed 100 % sequence identity with Frog Virus 3. This is the first report of Ranavirus in Chile, and these preliminary results are consistent with a role for X. laevis as an infection reservoir for both Ranavirus and Bd.

A Simplified Biosphere Model for Global Climate Studies.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Y.; Sellers, P. J.; Kinter, J. L.; Shukla, J.

1991-03-01

The Simple Biosphere Model (SiB) as described in Sellers et al. is a bio-physically based model of land surface-atmosphere interaction. For some general circulation model (GCM) climate studies, further simplifications are desirable to have greater computation efficiency, and more important, to consolidate the parametric representation. Three major reductions in the complexity of SiB have been achieved in the present study.The diurnal variation of surface albedo is computed in SiB by means of a comprehensive yet complex calculation. Since the diurnal cycle is quite regular for each vegetation type, this calculation can be simplified considerably. The effect of root zone soil moisture on stomatal resistance is substantial, but the computation in SiB is complicated and expensive. We have developed approximations, which simulate the effects of reduced soil moisture more simply, keeping the essence of the biophysical concepts used in SiB.The surface stress and the fluxes of heat and moisture between the top of the vegetation canopy and an atmospheric reference level have been parameterized in an off-line version of SiB based upon the studies by Businger et al. and Paulson. We have developed a linear relationship between Richardson number and aero-dynamic resistance. Finally, the second vegetation layer of the original model does not appear explicitly after simplification. Compared to the model of Sellers et al., we have reduced the number of input parameters from 44 to 21. A comparison of results using the reduced parameter biosphere with those from the original formulation in a GCM and a zero-dimensional model shows the simplified version to reproduce the original results quite closely. After simplification, the computational requirement of SiB was reduced by about 55%.

Evidence for the effectiveness of a national school-based mental health program in Chile.

PubMed

Guzmán, Javier; Kessler, Ronald C; Squicciarini, Ana Maria; George, Myriam; Baer, Lee; Canenguez, Katia M; Abel, Madelaine R; McCarthy, Alyssa; Jellinek, Michael S; Murphy, J Michael

2015-10-01

Skills for Life (SFL) is the largest school-based mental health program in the world, screening and providing services to more than 1,000,000 students in Chile over the past decade. This is the first external evaluation of the program. Of the 8,372 primary schools in Chile in 2010 that received public funding, one-fifth (1,637) elected to participate in SFL. Each year, all first- and third-grade students in these schools are screened with validated teacher- and parent-completed measures of psychosocial functioning (the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Re-Revised [TOCA-RR] and the Pediatric Symptom Checklist-Chile [PSC-CL]). Students identified as being at risk on the TOCA-RR in first grade are referred to a standardized 10-session preventive intervention in second grade. This article explores the relationships between workshop participation and changes in TOCA-RR and PSC-CL scores, attendance, and promotion from third to fourth grades. In all, 16.4% of students were identified as being at-risk on the TOCA-RR. Statistically significant relationships were found between the number of workshop sessions attended and improvements in behavioral and academic outcomes after controlling for nonrandom selection into exposure and loss to follow-up. Effect sizes for the difference between attending most (7-10) versus fewer (0-6) sessions ranged from 0.08 to 0.16 standard deviations. This study provides empirical evidence that a large-scale mental health intervention early in schooling is significantly associated with improved behavioral and academic outcomes. Future research is needed to implement more rigorous experimental evaluation of the program, to examine longer-term effects, and to investigate possible predictors of heterogeneity of treatment response. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

HLA-A, -B, -DRB1 allele and haplotype frequencies of 920 cord blood units from Central Chile.

PubMed

Schäfer, Christian; Sauter, Jürgen; Riethmüller, Tobias; Kashi, Zahra Mehdizadeh; Schmidt, Alexander H; Barriga, Francisco J

2016-08-01

We present human leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotype and allele/antigenic group frequencies derived from a data set of 920 umbilical cord blood units collected in Central Chile. HLA-A and -B genotypes were typed using sequence specific oligonucleotide probe methods while HLA-DRB1 genotypes were obtained from sequencing-based typing. The most frequent haplotype is A*29~B*44~DRB1*07:01 with an estimated frequency of 2.1%. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

To trade or not to trade: firm-level analysis of emissions trading in Santiago, Chile.

PubMed

Coria, Jessica; Löfgren, Asa; Sterner, Thomas

2010-11-01

Whether tradable permits are appropriate for use in transition and developing economies--given special social and cultural circumstances, such as the lack of institutions and lack of expertise with market-based policies--is much debated. We conducted interviews and surveyed a sample of firms subject to emissions trading programs in Santiago, Chile, one of the first cities outside the OECD that has implemented such trading. The information gathered allows us to study what factors affect the performance of the trading programs in practice and the challenges and advantages of applying tradable permits in less developed countries. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Regulating self-selection into private health insurance in Chile and the United States.

PubMed

Vargas Bustamante, Arturo; Méndez, Claudio A

2016-07-01

In the 1980s, Chile adopted a mixed (public and private) model for health insurance coverage similar to the one recently outlined by the Affordable Care Act in the United States (US). In such a system, a mix of public and private health plans offer nearly universal coverage using a combined approach of managed competition and subsidies for low-income individuals. This paper uses a "most different" case study design to compare policies implemented in Chile and the US to address self-selection into private insurance. We argue that the implementation of a mixed health insurance system in Chile without the appropriate regulations was complex, and it generated a series of inequities and perverse incentives. The comparison of Chile and the US healthcare reforms examines the different approaches that both countries have used to manage economic competition, address health insurance self-selection and promote solidarity. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Protecting the Local Dark-Sky Areas around the International Observatories in Chile.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, M. G.

2001-12-01

This report covers efforts by IAU Commission 50's new Working Group on Light Pollution to slow or halt the spread of incipient light pollution near the VLT, the Magellan 6.5m telescopes, Gemini South, SOAR, Blanco and many smaller telescopes in Chile. An effort has just begun to protect the ALMA site in Northern Chile from RFI. Such work includes extensive outreach programs to the local population, schools and industry as well as to local, regional and national levels of government in Chile. The group is working internationally with such organizations as the IDA; one member has recently led the production of "The first world atlas of the artificial night-sky brightness". These efforts have resulted in the first national-level environmental legislation covering dark skies as part of a government effort to protect the environment. Chilean manufacturers are now producing competitive, full-cut-off, street lighting designed specifically to comply with the new legislation. The Chilean national tourism agency is supporting "Astronomical Tourism" based on the dark, clear skies of Chile. An international conference on Controlling Light Pollution and RFI will be held in La Serena, Chile on 5-7 March, 2002, backed up by a parallel meeting of Chilean amateur astronomers. Much work remains to be done. Most of this work is supported by funding from the US National Science Foundation through CTIO, and from ESO, OCIW and CONAMA.

Characterizing land processes in the biosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Erickson, J. D.; Tuyahov, A. J.

1984-01-01

NASA long-term planning for the satellite remote sensing of land areas is discussed from the perspective of a holistic interdisciplinary approach to the study of the biosphere. The earth is characterized as a biogeochemical system; the impact of human activity on this system is considered; and the primary scientific goals for their study are defined. Remote-sensing programs are seen as essential in gaining an improved understanding of energy budgets, the hydrological cycle, other biogeological cycles, and the coupling between these cycles, with the construction of a global data base and eventually the development of predictive simulation models which can be used to assess the impact of planned human activities. Current sensor development at NASA includes a multilinear array for the visible and IR and the L-band Shuttle Imaging Radar B, both to be flown on Shuttle missions in the near future; for the 1990s, a large essentially permanent man-tended interdisciplinary multisensor platform connected to an advanced data network is being planned.

Mortality outcomes in hospitals with public, private not-for-profit and private for-profit ownership in Chile 2001-2010.

PubMed

Cid Pedraza, Camilo; Herrera, Cristian A; Prieto Toledo, Lorena; Oyarzún, Felipe

2015-03-01

Public, private not-for-profit (PNFP) and private for-profit (PFP) hospitals may have different behaviour and performance in different indicators such as health outcomes, cost-efficiency and quality. Chile has a mixed healthcare system both in financing and service delivery. The public National Health Fund (Fondo Nacional de Salud) covers 76% of the population-poorer and with higher health risks-whereas private health insurers cover 16% of the population-richer and with lower health risks. The aim of the study was to analyse the in-patient mortality outcomes by hospital ownership in Chile. We use hospital discharge data in Chile for the period 2001-10 with a total of 16,205,314 discharges in 20 public, 6 PNFP and 15 PFP hospitals. We analyse in-patient mortality considering all diagnoses and a subsample considering only myocardial infarction and stroke diagnoses. Using a probit regression, we estimate how hospital ownership explains in-patient mortality controlling for other confounding variables like health and socioeconomic status, and hospital characteristics. The discharge condition was reported as death in 3.5% of the public hospitals' discharges, 1.3% in PNFP and 0.7% in PFP. PNFP and PFP hospitals show a lower risk of in-hospital mortality for all diagnoses, myocardial infarction and stroke in comparison with public hospitals. The question about which type of hospital ownership performs better in Chile remains open. Policy decisions regarding health service provision requires more evidence explaining differences by ownership. Better controls for health risk and hospital characteristics are suggested to address these differences in hospital performance. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2015; all rights reserved.

Exploration of a Subsurface Biosphere in a Volcanic Massive Sulfide: Results of the Mars Analog Rio Tinto Drilling Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stoker, C. R.; Stevens, T.; Amils, R.; Fernandez, D.

2005-12-01

Biological systems on Earth require three key ingredients-- liquid water, an energy source, and a carbon source, that are found in very few extraterrestrial environments. Previous examples of independent subsurface ecosystems have been found only in basalt aquifers. Such lithotrophic microbial ecosystems (LME) have been proposed as models for steps in the early evolution of Earth's biosphere and for potential biospheres on other planets where the surface is uninhabitable, such as Mars and Europa.. The Mars Analog Rio Tinto Experiment (MARTE) has searched in a volcanic massive sulfide deposit in Rio Tinto Spain for a subsurface biosphere capable of living without sunlight or oxygen and found a subsurface ecosystem driven by the weathering of the massive sulfide deposit (VMS) in which the rock matrix provides sufficient resources to support microbial metabolism, including the vigorous production of H2 by water-rock interactions. Microbial production of methane and sulfate occurred in the sulfide orebody and microbial production of methane and hydrogen sulfide continued in an anoxic plume downgradient from the sulfide ore. Organic carbon concentrations in the parent rock were too low to support microbes. The Rio Tinto system thus represents a new type of subsurface ecosystem with strong relevance for exobiological studies. Commercial drilling was used to reach the aquifer system at 100 m depth and conventional laboratory techniques were used to identify and characterize the biosphere. Then, the life search strategy that led to successful identification of this biosphere was applied to the development of a robotic drilling, core handling, inspection, subsampling, and life detection system built on a prototype planetary lander that was deployed in Rio Tinto Spain in September 2005 to test the capability of a robotic drilling system to search for subsurface life. A remote science team directed the simulation and analyzed the data from the MARTE robotic drill. The results

CHILES Con Pol: An ultra-deep JVLA survey probing galaxy evolution and cosmic magnetism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hales, Christopher A.; Momjian, Emmanuel; van Gorkom, Jacqueline; Rupen, Michael P.; Greiner, Maksim; Ensslin, Torsten A.; Bonzini, Margherita; Padovani, Paolo; Harrison, Ian; Brown, Michael L.; Gim, Hansung; Yun, Min S.; Maddox, Natasha; Stewart, Adam; Fender, Rob P.; Tremou, Evangelia; Chomiuk, Laura; Peters, Charee; Wilcots, Eric M.; Lazio, Joseph

2015-08-01

We are undertaking a 1000 hour campaign with the Karl G. Jansky VLA to survey 0.2 square degrees of the COSMOS field in full polarization continuum at 1.4 GHz. Our observations are part of a joint program with the spectral line COSMOS HI Large Extragalactic Survey (CHILES). When complete, we expect our CHILES Continuum Polarization (CHILES Con Pol) survey to reach an SKA-era sensitivity of 500 nJy per 4 arcsecond resolving beam, the deepest view of the radio sky yet. CHILES Con Pol will open new and fertile parameter space, with sensitivity to star formation rates of 10 Msun per year out to an unprecedented redshift of z=2, and ultra-luminous infrared galaxies and sub-millimeter galaxies out to redshifts of z=8 and beyond. This rich resource will extend the utility of radio band studies beyond the usual radio quasar and radio galaxy populations, opening sensitivity to the starforming and radio-quiet AGN populations that form the bulk of extragalactic sources detected in the optical, X-ray, and infrared bands. In this talk I will outline the key science of CHILES Con Pol, including galaxy evolution and novel measurements of intergalactic magnetic fields. I will present initial results from the first 180 hours of the survey and describe our forthcoming Data Release 1. I invite the astronomical community to consider unique science that can be pursued with CHILES Con Pol radio data.

Genetic diversity and structure in semiwild and domesticated chiles (Capsicum annuum; Solanaceae) from Mexico.

PubMed

Aguilar-Meléndez, Araceli; Morrell, Peter L; Roose, Mikeal L; Kim, Seung-Chul

2009-06-01

The chile of Mesoamerica, Capsicum annuum, is one of five domesticated chiles in the Americas. Among the chiles, it varies the most in size, form, and color of its fruits. Together with maize, C. annuum is one of the principal elements of the neotropical diets of Mesoamerican civilizations. Despite the great economic and cultural importance of C. annuum both worldwide and in Mexico, however, very little is known about its geographic origin and number of domestications. Here we sampled a total of 80 accessions from Mexico (58 semiwild and 22 domesticated) and examined nucleotide sequence diversity at three single- or low-copy nuclear loci, Dhn, G3pdh, and Waxy. Across the three loci, we found an average reduction of ca. 10% in the diversity of domesticates relative to semiwild chiles and geographic structure within Mexican populations. The Yucatan Peninsula contained a large number of haplotypes, many of which were unique, suggesting an important region of chile domestication and center of diversity. The present sampling of loci did not conclusively resolve the number and location of domestications, but several lines of evidence suggest multiple independent domestications from widely distributed progenitor populations.

Biosphere model simulations of interannual variability in terrestrial 13C/12C exchange

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Velde, I. R.; Miller, J. B.; Schaefer, K.; Masarie, K. A.; Denning, S.; White, J. W. C.; Tans, P. P.; Krol, M. C.; Peters, W.

2013-09-01

Previous studies suggest that a large part of the variability in the atmospheric ratio of 13CO2/12CO2originates from carbon exchange with the terrestrial biosphere rather than with the oceans. Since this variability is used to quantitatively partition the total carbon sink, we here investigate the contribution of interannual variability (IAV) in biospheric exchange to the observed atmospheric 13C variations. We use the Simple Biosphere - Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach biogeochemical model, including a detailed isotopic fractionation scheme, separate 12C and 13C biogeochemical pools, and satellite-observed fire disturbances. This model of 12CO2 and 13CO2 thus also produces return fluxes of 13CO2from its differently aged pools, contributing to the so-called disequilibrium flux. Our simulated terrestrial 13C budget closely resembles previously published model results for plant discrimination and disequilibrium fluxes and similarly suggests that variations in C3 discrimination and year-to-year variations in C3and C4 productivity are the main drivers of their IAV. But the year-to-year variability in the isotopic disequilibrium flux is much lower (1σ=±1.5 PgC ‰ yr-1) than required (±12.5 PgC ‰ yr-1) to match atmospheric observations, under the common assumption of low variability in net ocean CO2 fluxes. This contrasts with earlier published results. It is currently unclear how to increase IAV in these drivers suggesting that SiBCASA still misses processes that enhance variability in plant discrimination and relative C3/C4productivity. Alternatively, 13C budget terms other than terrestrial disequilibrium fluxes, including possibly the atmospheric growth rate, must have significantly different IAV in order to close the atmospheric 13C budget on a year-to-year basis.

Improved Carbon Flux Observations over Urban Areas Using Carbonyl Sulfide (COS) to Differentiate Contributions from Biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whelan, M.; LaFranchi, B. W.; Bambha, R.; Michelsen, H. A.; Fischer, M. L.; Graven, H. D.; Baker, I. T.; Guilderson, T.; Campbell, J. E.

2016-12-01

Direct measurement and attribution of carbon exchange over urban areas is challenging because of the heterogeneity of the landscape and errors introduced by flux source partitioning. One important contribution to uncertainty is the influence of the urban biosphere on the regional carbon budget. Atmospheric observations of carbonyl sulfide (COS) are an emerging tool for estimating gross primary productivity: COS is consumed in plant leaves by parallel pathways to CO2 uptake, without the additional complexity of an analogous respiration term. This study makes use of COS measurements to better understand fluctuations in total CO2 concentrations over an urban region due to the balance of photosynthesis and respiration. In situ ground-based observations of trace gas concentrations were made from a tower in Livermore, CA, USA, and interpreted with WRF-STILT back trajectories and gridded data sets (e.g. VULCAN, a new anthropogenic COS inventory), supplemented with biosphere models (SiB, CASA-GFED3). CO2, 14CO2, and CO observations were used to first parse the contribution of fossil fuel emissions to total CO2. Changes in the remainder CO2 was differentiated as the sum of biosphere components with associated uncertainties. This approach could be used to better validate carbon emissions reduction measures and ecosytem-based carbon capture projects on the regional scale.

Education of the Televiewer in Chile.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reyes, Miguel T.

This paper begins with a discussion of the origins of Chilean television, including its channels, programs, and transmission times, and how education for television has arisen in Chile as a defense against its influence. The initial concern of sociologists' about this influence and later development of ideas and programs by a number of…

Factors related to unmet oral health needs in older adults living in Chile.

PubMed

Mariño, Rodrigo; Giacaman, Rodrigo A

2014-01-01

To assess the oral health status and treatment needs of an ambulant population of older adults, living in the Maule Region, Chile, and provide descriptive information on its distribution by selected socio-demographic characteristics. The source of primary data was the Regional Oral Health Survey. A stratified random sample of 438 older adults, aged 65-74 years, living independently in the community was orally examined, and underwent an oral health interview. The sample was largely a dentate one (74.9%); with a mean DMFT score of 25.7 (s.d. 6.5) and an average number of missing teeth of 22.4 (s.d. 5.8). Dentate participants had 41% of their restorative care needs unmet, and 68.4% needed oral hygiene instruction plus removal of calculus on their teeth. Almost 30.1% required complex periodontal therapy. 21% of those fully edentulous were in need of full dentures. Comparing these findings with existing data on the oral health of older adults in Chile, participants in this study appear to have lower missing teeth scores and less need for complex periodontal treatment. Inequities were apparent in the proportion of unmet restorative and prosthetics needs. Community-based preventive care programs specifically tailored to older adults are needed to address this challenge. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Effects of Recreation Experience, Environmental Attitude, and Biospheric Value on the Environmentally Responsible Behavior of Nature-Based Tourists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Tsung Hung; Jan, Fen-Hauh

2015-07-01

The scientific understanding of the recreation experience and the environmentally responsible behavior of nature-based tourists is limited. This study examines the relationship among the recreation experience, environmental attitude, biospheric value, and the general and site-specific environmentally responsible behavior of nature-based tourists in Taomi, Liuqiu Island, and Aowanda and Najenshan in Taiwan. A total of 1342 usable questionnaires were collected for this study. The empirical results indicate that the recreation experience influences biospheric value and environmental attitude; subsequently, it then indirectly influences the general and site-specific environmentally responsible behavior of nature-based tourists. Our theoretical behavioral model elucidates previously proposed but unexamined behavioral models among nature-based tourists, and it offers a theoretical framework for researchers, decision makers, managers, and tourists in the field of nature-based tourism. We conclude that when an individual participates in nature-based tourism as described here, these recreation experiences strengthen their environmental attitude and biospheric value, and consequently increase their engagement in both general and site-specific environmentally responsible behaviors.

The effects of recreation experience, environmental attitude, and biospheric value on the environmentally responsible behavior of nature-based tourists.

PubMed

Lee, Tsung Hung; Jan, Fen-Hauh

2015-07-01

The scientific understanding of the recreation experience and the environmentally responsible behavior of nature-based tourists is limited. This study examines the relationship among the recreation experience, environmental attitude, biospheric value, and the general and site-specific environmentally responsible behavior of nature-based tourists in Taomi, Liuqiu Island, and Aowanda and Najenshan in Taiwan. A total of 1342 usable questionnaires were collected for this study. The empirical results indicate that the recreation experience influences biospheric value and environmental attitude; subsequently, it then indirectly influences the general and site-specific environmentally responsible behavior of nature-based tourists. Our theoretical behavioral model elucidates previously proposed but unexamined behavioral models among nature-based tourists, and it offers a theoretical framework for researchers, decision makers, managers, and tourists in the field of nature-based tourism. We conclude that when an individual participates in nature-based tourism as described here, these recreation experiences strengthen their environmental attitude and biospheric value, and consequently increase their engagement in both general and site-specific environmentally responsible behaviors.

Arsenic exposure and its impact on health in Chile.

PubMed

Ferreccio, Catterina; Sancha, Ana María

2006-06-01

The problem of arsenic in Chile was reviewed. In Chile, the population is exposed to arsenic naturally via drinking-water and by air pollution resulted from mining activities. The sources of arsenic were identified to estimate the exposure of population to arsenic through air, water, and food. Health effects, particularly early effects, observed in children and adults, such as vascular diseases (premature cardiac infarct), respiratory illnesses (bronchiectasis), and skin lesions have been described. Chronic effects, such as lung and bladder cancers, were reported 20 years after peak exposure and persisted 27 years after mitigation measures for removing arsenic from drinking surface water were initiated. Although the effects of arsenic are similar in different ethnic and cultural groups (e.g. Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Bangladeshi, American, and Taiwanese), variations could be explained by age at exposure, the dose received, smoking, and nutrition. Since health effects were observed at arsenic levels of 50 microg/L in drinking-water, it is advised that Chile follows the World Health Organization's recommendation of 10 microg/L. The Chilean experience in removal of arsenic suggests that it is feasible to reach this level using the conventional coagulation process.

Assessing the environmental sustainability of electricity generation in Chile.

PubMed

Gaete-Morales, Carlos; Gallego-Schmid, Alejandro; Stamford, Laurence; Azapagic, Adisa

2018-09-15

Around 40% of electricity in Chile is supplied by renewables and the rest by fossil fuels. Despite the growing electricity demand in the country, its environmental impacts are as yet unknown. To address this gap, the current study presents the first comprehensive assessment of the life cycle environmental sustainability of electricity generation in Chile. Both the individual sources and the electricity mix over the past 10 years are considered. The following sources present in the electricity mix are evaluated: coal, oil, natural gas, biogas, biomass, wind, solar photovoltaics (PV) and hydropower. In total, 10 electricity technologies and 174 power plants installed across the country have been considered. Eleven environmental impacts have been estimated, including global warming, human toxicity, ecotoxicities, as well as resource and ozone layer depletion. The results reveal that hydropower is environmentally the most sustainable option across the impacts, followed by onshore wind and biogas. Electricity from natural gas has 10%-84% lower impacts than biomass for seven categories. It is also 13%-98% better than solar PV for six impacts and 17%-66% than wind for four categories. Solar PV has the highest abiotic depletion potential due to the use of scarce elements in the manufacture of panels. While electricity generation has grown by 44% in the past 10 years, all the impacts except ozone layer depletion have increased by 1.6-2.7 times. In the short term, environmental regulations should be tightened to improve the emissions control from coal and biomass plants. In the medium term, the contribution of renewables should be ramped up, primarily increasing the hydro, wind and biogas capacity. Coal and oil should be phased out, using natural gas as a transitional fuel to help the stability of the grid with the increasing contribution of intermittent renewables. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Microbial metagenomes from three aquifers in the Fennoscandian shield terrestrial deep biosphere reveal metabolic partitioning among populations

PubMed Central

Wu, Xiaofen; Holmfeldt, Karin; Hubalek, Valerie; Lundin, Daniel; Åström, Mats; Bertilsson, Stefan; Dopson, Mark

2016-01-01

Microorganisms in the terrestrial deep biosphere host up to 20% of the earth's biomass and are suggested to be sustained by the gases hydrogen and carbon dioxide. A metagenome analysis of three deep subsurface water types of contrasting age (from <20 to several thousand years) and depth (171 to 448 m) revealed phylogenetically distinct microbial community subsets that either passed or were retained by a 0.22 μm filter. Such cells of <0.22 μm would have been overlooked in previous studies relying on membrane capture. Metagenomes from the three water types were used for reconstruction of 69 distinct microbial genomes, each with >86% coverage. The populations were dominated by Proteobacteria, Candidate divisions, unclassified archaea and unclassified bacteria. The estimated genome sizes of the <0.22 μm populations were generally smaller than their phylogenetically closest relatives, suggesting that small dimensions along with a reduced genome size may be adaptations to oligotrophy. Shallow ‘modern marine' water showed community members with a predominantly heterotrophic lifestyle. In contrast, the deeper, ‘old saline' water adhered more closely to the current paradigm of a hydrogen-driven deep biosphere. The data were finally used to create a combined metabolic model of the deep terrestrial biosphere microbial community. PMID:26484735

Microbial metagenomes from three aquifers in the Fennoscandian shield terrestrial deep biosphere reveal metabolic partitioning among populations.

PubMed

Wu, Xiaofen; Holmfeldt, Karin; Hubalek, Valerie; Lundin, Daniel; Åström, Mats; Bertilsson, Stefan; Dopson, Mark

2016-05-01

Microorganisms in the terrestrial deep biosphere host up to 20% of the earth's biomass and are suggested to be sustained by the gases hydrogen and carbon dioxide. A metagenome analysis of three deep subsurface water types of contrasting age (from <20 to several thousand years) and depth (171 to 448 m) revealed phylogenetically distinct microbial community subsets that either passed or were retained by a 0.22 μm filter. Such cells of <0.22 μm would have been overlooked in previous studies relying on membrane capture. Metagenomes from the three water types were used for reconstruction of 69 distinct microbial genomes, each with >86% coverage. The populations were dominated by Proteobacteria, Candidate divisions, unclassified archaea and unclassified bacteria. The estimated genome sizes of the <0.22 μm populations were generally smaller than their phylogenetically closest relatives, suggesting that small dimensions along with a reduced genome size may be adaptations to oligotrophy. Shallow 'modern marine' water showed community members with a predominantly heterotrophic lifestyle. In contrast, the deeper, 'old saline' water adhered more closely to the current paradigm of a hydrogen-driven deep biosphere. The data were finally used to create a combined metabolic model of the deep terrestrial biosphere microbial community.

[Early child development inequalities and associated factors between public and private providers at metropolitan region in Chile].

PubMed

Bedregal, Paula; Hernández, Viviana; Mingo, M Verónica; Castañón, Carla; Valenzuela, Patricia; Moore, Rosario; de la Cruz, Rolando; Castro, Daniela

Early child development is a population determinant of physical, mental and social health. To know the base line situation prior to the implementation of "Chile grows with you" (Chile Crece Contigo) is key to its evaluation. To compare early child development and associated factors at baseline in pre-school children from public and private health sectors. The sample consisted of 1045 children aged 30-58 months, 52% male, and 671 from the public and 380 from the private sector of the metropolitan region in Chile were evaluated using Battelle Developmental Inventory-1 and a household interview of primary carer. Abnormal child development was found in 14.4% of children in the private sector compared to 30.4% in the public sector. There were no differences in adaptive area (26.3% vs 29.2%), but there were statistically significant differents in cognitive (8.8% vs 12.1%), social-personal (13.2% vs 32.5%), motor (19.2% vs 35.3%), and communication (19% vs 36.8%) development. The logistic regression showed that, independent of socioeconomic level, the risk factors are: Apgar<7 (OR: 5.4; 95% CI: 1.24-23.84); having childhood chronic diseases (OR: 1.3; 95% CI: 1.11-1.42). Protective factor is: home with resources to learn and play (OR: 0.8; 95% CI: 0.76-0.89). These results are another input about early child development situation and its importance for paediatric social policy. Copyright © 2016 Sociedad Chilena de Pediatría. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

The Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia: Analyzing Regional Land Use Change Effects.

Treesearch

Michael Keller; Maria Assunção Silva-Dias; Daniel C. Nepstad; Meinrat O. Andreae

2004-01-01

The Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA) is a multi-disciplinary, multinational scientific project led by Brazil. LBA researchers seek to understand Amazonia in its global context especially with regard to regional and global climate. Current development activities in Amazonia including deforestation, logging, cattle ranching, and agriculture...

[Eating habits and subjective well-being among university students in southern Chile].

PubMed

Schnettler, Berta; Denegri, Marianela; Miranda, Horacio; Sepúlveda, José; Orellana, Ligia; Paiva, Galo; Grunert, Klaus G

2013-11-01

To distinguish typologies of university students in southern Chile on the basis of their level of satisfaction with life and food-related life, and to characterize them according to their eating habits inside and outside the place of residence, aspects associated with health and demographic characteristics. A structured questionnaire was applied to a non-probabilistic sample of 347 students at the Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile. The instruments for collecting information included the SWLS (Satisfaction with Life Scale), SWFL (Satisfaction with Food-related Life) and the HRQOL (Health-related Quality of Life Index). Questions were asked about eating habits inside and outside the place of residence, weight and approximate height, and variables for demographic classification. Using a cluster analysis, three student typologies were distinguished, with significant differences in the SWLS and SWFL scores. The typologies differed in the number of days affected by emotional health problems, classification of their nutritional status (BMI), self-perception of their state of health, importance of food to personal well-being, place of residence during the period of studies, frequency of eating in the place of residence and frequency of meals at inconvenient times. The possibility of living with parents during the period of university studies is associated with better eating habits, better emotional health and self-perception of health, lower prevalence of overweight and obesity, and greater satisfaction with the life and food-related life. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2013. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

New records for millipedes from southern Chile (Polydesmida: Dalodesmidae; Polyzoniida: Siphonotidae).

PubMed

Mesibov, Robert Evan

2017-01-01

Millipedes from 1983 collections by the author in southern Chile have been identified and registered as specimen lots at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG) in Launceston, Tasmania. Collection and specimen data from the new QVMAG specimen lots have been archived in Darwin Core format together with a KML file of occurrences. The 31 occurrence records in the Darwin Core Archive list 13 millipede taxa from 16 sites in Llanquihue and Osorno provinces, Chile.

Aerosols Observations with a new lidar station in Punta Arenas, Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barja, Boris; Zamorano, Felix; Ristori, Pablo; Otero, Lidia; Quel, Eduardo; Sugimoto, Nobuo; Shimizu, Atsushi; Santana, Jorge

2018-04-01

A tropospheric lidar system was installed in Punta Arenas, Chile (53.13°S, 70.88°W) in September 2016 under the collaboration project SAVERNET (Chile, Japan and Argentina) to monitor the atmosphere. Statistical analyses of the clouds and aerosols behavior and some cases of dust detected with lidar, at these high southern latitude and cold environment regions during three months (austral spring) are discussed using information from satellite, modelling and solar radiation ground measurements.

HIV ISSUES AND MAPUCHES IN CHILE

PubMed Central

Cianelli, Rosina; Ferrer, Lilian; Cabieses, Báltica; Araya, Alejandra; Matsumoto, Cristina; Miner, Sarah

2015-01-01

Chile is a country with an incipient HIV epidemic. Just as in other countries, disadvantaged groups in Chile are contributing to the increased incidence of the disease. The Mapuche indigenous population is one such group that has been affected by the spread of HIV. However, no prevention programs are tailored to the culturally specific needs of this community. In recognition of this discrepancy, an academic-community partnership was formed to develop an HIV educational module for a Mapuche community. The module was developed for use as part of an already established health-related program. The aims of the module were to identify perceptions about HIV among Mapuches and present information specific to HIV and its prevention. Focus was placed on cultural sensitivity. The module was carried out in connection with a first-aid course in an attempt to increase effectiveness of the intervention by working jointly with an established community program. Sixteen (16) Mapuches participated voluntarily and demonstrated some knowledge regarding HIV, but they lacked an overall understanding as to how it is transmitted and why prevention strategies are affective. Participants correctly identified sexual contact as a means of transmission, but when asked why, one person stated, “I just know it, I read it.” There were significant barriers to communication within the group, secondary to cultural practices related to age and gender. Major obstacles in controlling HIV are the lack of prevention strategies targeted to disadvantaged groups. The module developed for this intervention was the first effort of the Academic Community Partnership established between the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and the Mapuche group around HIV prevention. Continued collaboration between academia and affected communities as well as incorporating HIV information into established programs are effective strategies for delivering prevention information to disadvantaged populations and for

Measuring the distribution of adolescent births among 15-19-year-olds in Chile: an ecological study.

PubMed

Velarde, Marissa; Zegers-Hochschild, Fernando

2017-10-01

Although within Latin America Chile has one of the lowest birth rates among adolescents, it has a high rate in comparison to other developed nations. To explore trends in birth rates among adolescents by selected demographics in Chile. The national trend in birth rates was examined for women aged 15-19 years between 1992 and 2012. The birth rates for regions and communes were calculated using birth and census data and were analysed to determine its relationship to the regional or communal poverty rate, which were obtained from the Casen Survey. Differences in educational attainment were explored among adolescents with first-order and second-order or higher births using the Chi-square test. The birth rate among adolescents has experienced a 25% decline in the past 20 years. Cross-regional variance in birth rates could not be explained by poverty rates. Within the Metropolitan Region, there is a positive correlation between poverty and adolescent birth rates. Among adolescents giving birth, 67% had completed 10-12 years of school at birth, but there is a significant difference in educational attainment between girls with a first-order and those with a higher-order birth. In Chile, the adolescent birth rate varies greatly among regions and communes. This study found that urban and wealthy areas had lower birth rates than poor and rural ones, and that girls with a first-order birth had completed more years of school than girls with higher-order births. © Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Trends and correlates of cystic echinococcosis in Chile: 2001–2012

PubMed Central

Gelaw, Fkadu; Antillon, Marina; Fuentes, Rodrigo; Weinberger, Daniel Martin

2017-01-01

Echinococcosis is a neglected zoonotic disease affecting over 1 million people worldwide at any given time. It is the leading cause of hospital admissions for parasitic diseases in Chile. We conducted a retrospective investigation of hospitalized cases to describe the epidemiological trends of echinococcosis in Chile. We also examined the potential environmental risk factors for echinococcosis hospitalization rates. Through nation-wide hospital discharge data, a total of 11,516 hospitalized patients with cystic echinococcosis were identified between January 2001 and December 2012. The mean age of hospitalization was 40 years, with notable gender difference in pediatric patients. The hospitalization rate was found to be overall steadily decreasing from 2001 (7.02 per 100,000) to 2012 (4.53 per 100,000) with a 5% decrease per year (rate ratio = 0.95 [95% CI: 0.94, 0.96]). The hospitalization rate was higher in the south of Chile compared to the north. Goat density and intermediate precipitation were found to be significantly positively associated with the hospitalization rate while annual average temperature was found to be significantly negatively associated with the hospitalization rate. Findings of this study indicate that echinococcosis is still an important public health burden in Chile related to interaction with livestock and climate. Efforts should be placed on targeted prevention measures for farmers and raising awareness of echinococcosis among health care workers. PMID:28915247

Social Well-Being Among Colombian and Peruvian Immigrants in Northern Chile.

PubMed

Urzúa Morales, Alfonso; Delgado-Valencia, Eric; Rojas-Ballesteros, Mariela; Caqueo-Urízar, Alejandra

2017-10-01

In recent years, northern Chile has received a large number of immigrants attracted mainly by mining and related services. The last population census revealed that 70.5 % of foreigners in Chile came from South America, and were mainly Peruvians (30.5 %), Argentines (16.8 %), and Colombians (8.1 %). The aim of this cross-sectional study is to describe the social well-being levels reported by Colombian and Peruvian immigrants in northern Chile, as well as their connection to socio-demographic and relational factors. The Spanish version of the Scale of Social Well-being (Keyes in Soc Psychol Q 61:121-140, 1998) was administered to 431 men and women over 18 years old, with a minimum residence of 6 months in the city of Antofagasta. The highest-rated aspect was Social Contribution, and the lowest-rated aspect was Social Acceptance. The relational variables that show statistically significant differences in both populations relate to who the subject lives with, the degree of contact that the subject has with people from Chile, and the subject's relationship status. There are no differences that indicate a higher level of social well-being in one population more than the other; however, it appears that the Peruvian population has a greater perception of Social Coherence, while Colombians show a greater perception of Social Contribution.

Blood donation in Chile: Replacement and volunteer donors.

PubMed

Herrera, Claudia; Martínez, Cristina; Armanet, Leonor; Cárcamo, Amalia; Boye, Patricia; Lyng, Cecilia

2010-01-01

In recent years, the Chilean Health Ministry has developed a strategy in order to improve the safety and opportunity of the blood supply through the creation of a nationally co-ordinated blood transfusion service, centralizing collection management, production and testing in three Blood Centers along the country and promoting voluntary, regular, blood donation. In 2007, a comprehensive study of the situation of Blood Transfusion Services in Chile concluded that several critical factors make it difficult to achieve a safe and adequate access to blood and blood components in the country. For example there is a low donation rate (14.3/1000 inhabitants), very low percentage of voluntary donors (10%), excessive amount of blood banks collecting, processing and testing blood revealing an atomized non-centralized system, lack of a national IT system and insufficient national standards. There are two regions in the country, Bio Bio and Valparaíso, where Regional Blood Centers are located, that have put in place several strategies in order to obtain better results. Copyright 2009 The International Association for Biologicals. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stakeholder participation within the public environmental system in Chile: major gaps between theory and practice.

PubMed

Lostarnau, Carla; Oyarzún, Jorge; Maturana, Hugo; Soto, Guido; Señoret, Michelle; Soto, Manuel; Rötting, Tobias S; Amezaga, Jaime M; Oyarzún, Ricardo

2011-10-01

The main objective of this paper is to present a critical analysis of the stakeholder participation process within the Environmental Impact Assessment System in Chile, after ca. 14 years of being enforced. This analysis is sustained by the description and analysis of the stakeholder participation possibilities in a representative rural area of North-Central Chile. The Environmental Basis Act 19300, enacted in 1994, considers the participation of the local community in the environmental impact assessment of new projects. However, this possibility is very limited and difficult to exert, often resulting in frustration for the participants. This is due to a number of reasons, such as the imbalance of resources and knowledge among the majority of participating communities and project proponents, the complexity and administrative and legal constraints to participation, and the dominant interest of the Central Government in approving investments, specifically in energy and natural resources related projects, which generate wealth and jobs. Also, the State's rush to develop Internet-based communication and management systems has built a barrier for poor, traditional communities. This factor is clearly reflected in the case study considered. Results show that there is generally a significant lack of knowledge about institutions and participation tools. From this base, we intend to raise concern on these selected aspects that could be addressed to improve the effectiveness of the existing framework, both in Chile and in other developing countries, where immature environmental impact assessment and public management systems face similar pressures in relation to the sustainable use of their natural resources. Finally, some basic steps are proposed in order to make the community participation an effective tool for sustainable development. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Epidemiological description of the sea lice (Caligus rogercresseyi) situation in southern Chile in August 2007.

PubMed

Hamilton-West, Christopher; Arriagada, Gabriel; Yatabe, Tadaishi; Valdés, Pablo; Hervé-Claude, Luis Pablo; Urcelay, Santiago

2012-05-01

Salmon sea lice represent one of the most important threats to salmon farming throughout the world. Results of private monitoring efforts have shown an increase in the number of positive cages and cage-level abundance of sea lice in southern Chile since 2004. As a consequence, the Chilean Fisheries Service implemented an Official Surveillance Program in the main salmon production area of southern Chile to assess the situation of sea lice in fish farms. Results showed that the prevalence of sea lice in the fish farms was 53.4%, ranging from 3.5% in Puerto Aysén to 100% in the Seno de Reloncaví zone. The average sea lice abundance was 11.8 per fish (Geometrical mean (GM)=8.61, 95% CI (2.1-6.9)). The highest levels were found in Seno de Reloncaví (GM=24.99, 95% CI (15.9-39.2)), Hornopirén (GM=14.7, 95% CI (10.4-20.8)) and Chiloé norte (GM=9.75, 95% CI (1-1.9)), and the lowest loads were observed in Puerto Aysén (GM=1.35, 95%CI (1-1.9)) and Puerto Cisnes (GM=1.67, 95%CI (1.1-2.6)). Salmo salar and Oncorhynchus mykiss had the highest abundance levels (GM=6.93, 95% CI (5.7-8.5), and (GM=5.55, 95% CI (3.6-8.5), respectively). O. kisutch showed lower levels (GM=1.34, 95% CI (1-1.7)), apparently being more resistant to infestation. Sea lice in farmed salmon are widely distributed in different zones of southern Chile, and are becoming a serious threat to this industry. Prevalence and abundance levels were found to be generally high, decreasing in southern zones. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Rubber finger stripper harvester for green chile

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Harvest mechanization as a system requires modifying or creating new components including cultivars, production practices, and harvest, transportation and processing plant machinery. New Mexican chile is one of the last segments of the pepper industry to still rely on hand labor. This paper reports ...

Calbuco Volcano Erupts in Southern Chile

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-04-24

Calbuco Volcano in southern Chile has erupted for the first time since 1972, with the last major eruption occurring in 1961 that sent ash columns 12-15 kilometers high. This image was taken by the Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument in a high resolution infrared channel around 0515Z on April 23, 2015. Credit: NOAA/NASA/NPP/VIIRS

7 CFR 319.56-38 - Citrus from Chile.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... NPPO of Chile after the post-harvest processing. A biometric sample will be drawn and examined from... fruit is released for entry into the United States. (ii) A biometric sample of boxes from each...

7 CFR 319.56-38 - Citrus from Chile.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... NPPO of Chile after the post-harvest processing. A biometric sample will be drawn and examined from... fruit is released for entry into the United States. (ii) A biometric sample of boxes from each...

7 CFR 319.56-38 - Citrus from Chile.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... NPPO of Chile after the post-harvest processing. A biometric sample will be drawn and examined from... fruit is released for entry into the United States. (ii) A biometric sample of boxes from each...

["Revista Médica de Chile": 120 years (July 1872-July 1992)].

PubMed

Costa-Casaretto, C

1992-07-01

The "Revista Medica de Chile" founded in 1872 is the second oldest medical journal in Latin America after the "Gaceta Medica de Mexico" (1864). Among medical journals in the world it is placed 24. It has been published monthly without interruption, except for the period January through December 1891, due to the revolution taking place at that time. The first Editor was German Schneider, a German physician from Bonn who came to Chile in 1850 with the immigrants that settled in the South.

Temporal variation in Trypanosoma cruzi lineages from the native rodent Octodon degus in semiarid Chile.

PubMed

Botto-Mahan, Carezza; Rojo, Gemma; Sandoval-Rodríguez, Alejandra; Peña, Fabiola; Ortiz, Sylvia; Solari, Aldo

2015-11-01

Chagas disease is a zoonosis caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and transmitted by triatomine insects to several mammalian species acting as reservoir hosts. In the present study, we assess T. cruzi-prevalence and DTU composition of the endemic rodent Octodon degus from a hyper-endemic area of Chagas disease in Chile. Parasite detection is performed by PCR assays on blood samples of individuals captured in the austral summers of 2010-2013. The infection level in rodents differed in the summers of these four years between 18% and 70%. Overall, infected O. degus showed similar T. cruzi-DTU composition (TcI, TcII, TcV and TcVI lineages) among years, corresponding to single and mixed infection, but the relative importance of each DTU changed among years. In 2013, we detected that only three out of the four T. cruzi-DTU found in O. degus were present in the endemic triatomine Mepria spinolai. We suggest that O. degus, an abundant long-lived rodent, is an important native reservoir of T. cruzi in the wild transmission cycle of Chagas disease and it is able to maintain all the T. cruzi-DTUs described in semiarid Chile. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ecology, genetic diversity, and phylogeographic structure of andes virus in humans and rodents in Chile.

PubMed

Medina, Rafael A; Torres-Perez, Fernando; Galeno, Hector; Navarrete, Maritza; Vial, Pablo A; Palma, R Eduardo; Ferres, Marcela; Cook, Joseph A; Hjelle, Brian

2009-03-01

Andes virus (ANDV) is the predominant etiologic agent of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) in southern South America. In Chile, serologically confirmed human hantavirus infections have occurred throughout a wide latitudinal distribution extending from the regions of Valparaíso (32 to 33 degrees S) to Aysén (46 degrees S) in southern Patagonia. In this study, we found seropositive rodents further north in the Coquimbo region (30 degrees S) in Chile. Rodent seroprevalence was 1.4%, with Oligoryzomys longicaudatus displaying the highest seroprevalence (5.9%), followed by Abrothrix longipilis (1.9%) and other species exhibiting Chile. Phylogenetic analyses showed two major ANDV South (ANDV Sout) clades, congruent with two major Chilean ecoregions, Mediterranean (Chilean matorral [shrubland]) and Valdivian temperate forest. Human and rodent samples grouped according to geographic location. Phylogenetic comparative analyses of portions of S and medium segments (encoding glycoproteins Gn and Gc) from a subset of rodent specimens exhibited similar topologies, corroborating two major ANDV Sout clades in Chile and suggesting that yet unknown factors influence viral gene flow and persistence throughout the two Chilean ecoregions. Genetic algorithms for recombination detection identified recombination events within the S segment. Molecular demographic analyses showed that the virus is undergoing purifying selection and demonstrated a recent exponential growth in the effective number of ANDV Sout infections in Chile that correlates with the increased number of human cases reported. Although we determined virus sequences from four rodent species, our results confirmed O. longicaudatus as the primary ANDV Sout reservoir in Chile. While evidence of geographic differentiation

CHILE: Outcomes of a group randomized controlled trial of an intervention to prevent obesity in preschool Hispanic and American Indian children.

PubMed

Davis, Sally M; Myers, Orrin B; Cruz, Theresa H; Morshed, Alexandra B; Canaca, Glenda F; Keane, Patricia C; O'Donald, Elena R

2016-08-01

We examined the outcomes of the Child Health Initiative for Lifelong Eating and Exercise (CHILE) study, a group randomized controlled trial to design, implement, and test the efficacy of a trans-community intervention to prevent obesity in children enrolled in Head Start centers in rural American Indian and Hispanic communities in New Mexico. CHILE was a 5-year evidence-based intervention that used a socioecological approach to improving dietary intake and increasing physical activity of 1898 children. The intervention included a classroom curriculum, teacher and food service training, family engagement, grocery store participation, and healthcare provider support. Height and weight measurements were obtained four times (fall of 2008, spring and fall of 2009, and spring of 2010), and body mass index (BMI) z-scores in the intervention and comparison groups were compared. At baseline, demographic characteristics in the comparison and intervention groups were similar, and 33% of all the children assessed were obese or overweight. At the end of the intervention, there was no significant difference between the two groups in BMI z-scores. Obesity prevention research among Hispanic and AI preschool children in rural communities is challenging and complex. Although the CHILE intervention was implemented successfully, changes in overweight and obesity may take longer than 2years to achieve. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Worthy Women of Chile: What Role Did They Play? Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar Abroad Program 1995 (Chile).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hertzberg, Ruth A.

This paper describes the lives of some notable women in the history of Chile from the time of the conquistadors to the present. The significant women described in the paper include: (1) Ines de Suarez (accompanied Pedro de Validivia in 1544); (2) Micaela Bastidas Puyucahua (wife of Incan leader Jose Gabriel Tupac Amaru, about 1780); (3) Gabriela…

Benthic δ13C stacks: Metrics for deglacial changes in deep ocean carbon storage and the terrestrial biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, C.; Lisiecki, L. E.

2016-12-01

Across the deglaciation, atmospheric CO2 and global temperatures rise while the deep ocean ventilates carbon to the atmosphere and terrestrial biosphere. As the terrestrial biosphere expands, the mean global ocean δ13C signature increases in response. How well constrained is the global mean benthic δ13C from 20-6 ka? Are the atmosphere and terrestrial biosphere signals in benthic δ13C coupled across the deglaciation? Improved understanding of deglacial carbon cycle interactions can help close the gap between data-based and model-based estimates of global mean benthic δ13C and deep ocean carbon storage changes. Here we present a 118-record compilation of Cibicides wuellerstorfi δ13C time series that span 20-6 kyr. The δ13C records with a resolution better than 3 kyr and gaps between data smaller than 4 kyr are aligned to age models that are constrained by planktic 14C ages (Stern and Lisiecki, 2014). The δ13C records are stacked within nine regions. Then these regional stacks are combined using volume-weighted averages to create intermediate, deep and whole ocean δ13C stacks. The δ13C gradient between the intermediate and deep stacks covaries with atmospheric CO2 change. Meanwhile the deglacial global ocean mean δ13C rise tracks the expansion of the global terrestrial biosphere from 19-6 ka. From this volume-weighted global δ13C stack, the LGM-Holocene mean δ13C change is 0.35±0.10‰ similar to previous estimates (Curry et al., 1988; Duplessy et al., 1988; Peterson et al., 2015; Gebbie et al., 2015). The δ13C stacks and this 4D δ13C compilation are ideal for model-data comparisons and time-stepping 3D visualizations.

Influence of 1,3-Dichloropropene, Fenamiphos, and Carbofuran on Meloidogyne incognita Populations and Yield of Chile Peppers

PubMed Central

Thomas, S. H.

1994-01-01

Field trials were conducted during 1986, 1988, 1989, and 1991 to compare the effects of 1,3-dichloropropene, fenamiphos, and carbofuran on yield and quality of chile peppers (Capsicum annuum) in soil infested with Meloidogyne incognita. When compared with untreated plots, numbers of M. incognita juveniles recovered from soil 60 and(or) 90 days after chile pepper emergence were reduced (P = 0.05) following 1,3-D treatment every year except 1986. Nematode numbers were also reduced (P = 0.05) by fenamiphos in 1989. Chile pepper yields were significantly higher than those in untreated control plots (P = 0.05) all 4 years in plots treated with 1,3-D and in 1989 in plots treated with fenamiphos. Use of carbofuran did not significantly reduce nematode numbers or enhance yields in these experiments. Green chile pepper fruit quality was enhanced (P = 0.05) following 1,3-D treatments in 1988 and 1989 but was unaffected by fenamiphos or carbofuran application. Increasing placement depth of 1,3-D from 28 to 48 cm increased (P = 0.05) red chile pepper yield compared with that obtained with conventional placement in 1988 only, and did not affect green chile pepper yield. PMID:19279948

Decentralization and equity of resource allocation: evidence from Colombia and Chile.

PubMed Central

Bossert, Thomas J.; Larrañaga, Osvaldo; Giedion, Ursula; Arbelaez, José Jesus; Bowser, Diana M.

2003-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relation between decentralization and equity of resource allocation in Colombia and Chile. METHODS: The "decision space" approach and analysis of expenditures and utilization rates were used to provide a comparative analysis of decentralization of the health systems of Colombia and Chile. FINDINGS: Evidence from Colombia and Chile suggests that decentralization, under certain conditions and with some specific policy mechanisms, can improve equity of resource allocation. In these countries, equitable levels of per capita financial allocations at the municipal level were achieved through different forms of decentralization--the use of allocation formulae, adequate local funding choices and horizontal equity funds. Findings on equity of utilization of services were less consistent, but they did show that increased levels of funding were associated with increased utilization. This suggests that improved equity of funding over time might reduce inequities of service utilization. CONCLUSION: Decentralization can contribute to, or at least maintain, equitable allocation of health resources among municipalities of different incomes. PMID:12751417

[Work absenteeism in Chile according to the type of work place].

PubMed

Mesa, Francisco R; Kaempffer, Ana María

2004-09-01

The issue of medically justified work absenteeism has a great relevance in Chile at the present moment. To analyze sick leaves among people working in hospitals, mines, automotive industry and universities. Analysis of 14 thesis and research papers about absenteeism in Chile. The incapacity rate (number of days with sick leave per worker per year, the frequency rate (number of sick leaves per year per worker) and the severity rate (mean duration of sick leaves) were calculated. The diseases causing the highest rates of absenteeism were also recorded. The mean age of the studied populations was 36 years old and the most common diseases causing absenteeism were respiratory, rheumatologic and trauma. Hospital workers had the highest incapacity rate with 14.3 days of sick leave per worker per year, followed by mining industry with 12 days, automotive industry with 7.1 days and universities with 6 days. In Chile, respiratory diseases are the main cause of sick leaves and hospital workers have the highest incapacity rate.

Diffusion of Technical Agricultural Information in Chile.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Marion Ray

This study examined current thought concerning the role of mass communication in economic development in developing nations; analyzed existing efforts to diffuse agricultural technology in Chile; assessed the effectiveness of various approaches; and tested the effects (primarily on knowledge levels) of an experimental technical information service…

[Public financing of health research in Chile].

PubMed

Paraje, Guillermo

2010-01-01

In Chile, researchers can apply to public research funds through specific research projects and must compete with other professionals of other disciplines. To perform a critical assessment of the allocation of public funds for health research in Chile by a public institution called CONICYT. A database was constructed with health projects financed by CONICYT, between 2002 and 2006. Projects were classified (according to their titles) in three methodological categories and nine topics. Age, gender and region where the main researcher is based, were also recorded. 768 research projects were analyzed. Biomedical, clinical and public health research projects accounted for 66, 24 and 10% of allocated funds, respectively. Main researchers were female in 31 % of projects, their mean age was 52 years and 76% worked in the Metropolitan region. These results show that some objectives of the National Research System lead by CONICYT, such as using research as a tool for regional development and allocating funds for conditions with a large burden, are not been met.

Design of a Teacher Professional Development Program for International Collaborative Astronomy Research in Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pompea, S. M.; Seguel, J.; Sparks, R.; Opazo, L.; Walker, C. E.

2011-12-01

We have designed (but not yet implemented) a program where five US teachers will team with five Chilean teachers to conduct high-quality astronomical research in Chile that can be brought back to their classrooms and shared with their students. This project will introduce US teachers to four research projects at the Observatorio Cruz del Sur, one the largest municipal observatories in South America. The program would operate over the course of a year or more, with a month of observing and conducting research in Chile. The observatory is located in the small town of Combarbalá (Limari Province, IV Región de Coquimbo) in a region rich in archeological, historical, and cultural heritage. Teachers will use high-sensitivity digital detectors to take data through telescopes and with cameras as part of four research projects- light pollution research, digital photography of dark large areas of the sky using wide angle cameras, asteroid photometry, and exoplanet photometric studies. The project partners the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (Tucson, Arizona and La Serena, Chile), the Municipality of the town of Combarbalá, the National Observatory of Chile/University of Chile, and REUNA, an internet communication alliance that serves Chilean universities and observatories. Since the US teachers will have their astronomy classes running while they are in Chile, the teachers will be communicating with their classes on a regular basis. The teachers will also be providing long-term access to southern sky data for other teachers and students in the US while establishing the basis for long-term collaborative research. We expect the program to establish long-term international research collaborations among US and Chilean teachers and students.

7 CFR 319.56-38 - Citrus from Chile.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... if the fruit is fumigated either in Chile or at the port of first arrival in the United States with methyl bromide for B. chilensis in accordance with part 305 of this chapter. An APHIS inspector will...

7 CFR 319.56-38 - Citrus from Chile.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... if the fruit is fumigated either in Chile or at the port of first arrival in the United States with methyl bromide for B. chilensis in accordance with part 305 of this chapter. An APHIS inspector will...

Network Analysis of Earth's Co-Evolving Geosphere and Biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hazen, R. M.; Eleish, A.; Liu, C.; Morrison, S. M.; Meyer, M.; Consortium, K. D.

2017-12-01

A fundamental goal of Earth science is the deep understanding of Earth's dynamic, co-evolving geosphere and biosphere through deep time. Network analysis of geo- and bio- `big data' provides an interactive, quantitative, and predictive visualization framework to explore complex and otherwise hidden high-dimension features of diversity, distribution, and change in the evolution of Earth's geochemistry, mineralogy, paleobiology, and biochemistry [1]. Networks also facilitate quantitative comparison of different geological time periods, tectonic settings, and geographical regions, as well as different planets and moons, through network metrics, including density, centralization, diameter, and transitivity.We render networks by employing data related to geographical, paragenetic, environmental, or structural relationships among minerals, fossils, proteins, and microbial taxa. An important recent finding is that the topography of many networks reflects parameters not explicitly incorporated in constructing the network. For example, networks for minerals, fossils, and protein structures reveal embedded qualitative time axes, with additional network geometries possibly related to extinction and/or other punctuation events (see Figure). Other axes related to chemical activities and volatile fugacities, as well as pressure and/or depth of formation, may also emerge from network analysis. These patterns provide new insights into the way planets evolve, especially Earth's co-evolving geosphere and biosphere. 1. Morrison, S.M. et al. (2017) Network analysis of mineralogical systems. American Mineralogist 102, in press. Figure Caption: A network of Phanerozoic Era fossil animals from the past 540 million years includes blue, red, and black circles (nodes) representing family-level taxa and grey lines (links) between coexisting families. Age information was not used in the construction of this network; nevertheless an intrinsic timeline is embedded in the network topology. In

A comparative radiological assessment of five European biosphere systems in the context of potential contamination of well water from the hypothetical disposal of radioactive waste.

PubMed

Olyslaegers, G; Zeevaert, T; Pinedo, P; Simon, I; Pröhl, G; Kowe, R; Chen, Q; Mobbs, S; Bergström, U; Hallberg, B; Katona, T; Eged, K; Kanyar, B

2005-12-01

In the framework of the BioMoSA project for the development of biosphere assessment models for radioactive waste disposal the Reference Biosphere Methodology developed in the IAEA programme BIOMASS was applied to five locations, situated in different European countries. Specific biosphere models were applied to assess the hypothetical contamination of a range of agricultural and environmental pathways and the dose to individuals, following contamination of well water. The results of these site-specific models developed by the different BioMoSA partners, and the individual normalised dose to the exposure groups were compared against each other. Ingestion of drinking water, fruit and vegetables were found to be among the most important pathways for almost all radionuclides. Stochastic calculations revealed that consumption habits, transfer factors, irrigation rates and distribution coefficients (Kd(s)) were the most important parameters that influence the end results. Variations in the confidence intervals were found to be higher for sorbing elements (e.g. (36)Cl, (237)Np, (99)Tc, (238)U, (129)I) than for mobile elements (e.g. (226)Ra, (79)Se, (135)Cs, (231)Pa, (239)Pu). The influence of daughter products, for which the distribution into the biosphere was calculated individually, was also shown to be important. This paper gives a brief overview of the deterministic and stochastic modelling results and the parameter sensitivity. A screening methodology was introduced to identify the most important pathways, simplify a generic biosphere tool and refine the existing models.

[Chile's experience with developing abalone (Haliotis spp.) farming: opportunities and challenges].

PubMed

Enríquez, R; Villagrán, R

2008-04-01

Intensive abalone farming--specifically of the red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) and the green (or Japanese) abalone (Haliotis discus hannai)--has expanded rapidly in Chile since the late 1990s, and this article presents an overview of the challenges facing the industry and the factors which favour its development. At present, 100% of Chile's abalone enterprises farm the H. rufescens species, owing to its suitability for full-cycle culture. In the analysis of factors that facilitate the development of abalone farming in Chile, those that stand out include the characteristics of the aquatic ecosystem, existing entrepreneurial and professional skills, decisive government support in co-financing scientific and technological projects, infrastructure and associated services to support these development initiatives and a market where prices have remained stable and demand for abalone products has been steady. The greatest challenges facing intensive abalone farming in Chile are providing a constant supply of macroalgae for abalone feed and developing complementary feed, as well as updating current legislation on intensive abalone farming, strengthening producer associations and establishing health certification. The article discusses examples of the impact that native organisms can have on animals introduced into an aquatic ecosystem and the international transmission of agents such as withering syndrome and sabellid polychaete infestation disease, associated with the movement of abalone seeds and broodstock. The article also emphasises the importance of implementing the recommendations of the World Organisation for Animal Health.

Manuel de Espanol para Profesores del Cuerpo de Paz--Chile (Peace Corps Teacher's Manual for Spanish--Chile). Second Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polanco, Patricia

This teaching manual is designed for the Spanish language training of Peace Corps volunteers serving in Chile, and focuses on daily communication skills needed in that context. It contains 12 topical lessons outlining targeted language and communication competencies, suggested classroom activities, phrase and vocabulary lists, grammar and usage…

Toward an understanding of global change: Initial priorities for US contributions to the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

A limited number of high-priority research initiatives are recommended for early implementation as part of the U.S. contribution to the preparatory phase of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program. The recommendations are based on the committee's analysis of the most critical gaps in the scientific knowledge needed to understand the changes that are occurring in the earth system not being addressed by existing programs. The report articulates a number of important key issues and interactions that characterize global change in the geosphere-biosphere system on time scales of decades to centuries; identifies the knowledge that is the most urgently needed to improve understanding of those issues and interactions; and formulates initial priorities for initial U.S. contributions to the IGBP, recognizing the contributions of other ongoing and proposed programs.

The GNSS Component of the Seismic Monitoring System in Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barrientos, S. E.

2016-12-01

Chile is amongst the most seismically active countries in the world. Since mid-XVI Century, a magnitude 8 or more earthquake has taken place every dozen of years, as an average. In the last 100 years, more than ten events with magnitudes around 8 or larger have taken place in this part of world. Three events with M>8 have taken place only in the last six years. The largest earthquake ever recorded took place in May, 1960, in southern Chile. Such extreme seismic activity is the result of the interaction of the Nazca, Antarctic, Scotia and South American plates in southwestern South America where Chile is located. These megathrust earthquakes exhibit long rupture regions reaching several hundreds of km with fault displacements of several tens of meters. At least eighteen of these earthquakes have generated local tsunamis with runups larger than 4 m -including events in 2010, 2014 and 2015- therefore it is mandatory to establish a system with capabilities to rapidly evaluate the tsunamigenic potential of these events. In 2013, the newly created National Seismological Center (CSN) of the University of Chile was tasked to upgrade the countrýs seismic network by increasing the numbers of real-time monitoring stations. The most important change to previous practices is the establishment of a GNSS network composed by 130 devices, in addition to the incorporation of 65 new collocated broadband and strong motion instruments. Additional 297 strong motion instruments for engineering purposes complement the system. Forty units -of the 130 devices- present an optional RTX capability, where satellite orbits and clock corrections are sent to the field device producing a 1-Hz position stream at 4-cm level. First records of ground displacement -using this technology-were recorded at the time of the largest aftershock (Mw=7.6) of the sequence that affected northern Chile in 2014. The CSN is currently developing automatic detectors and amplitude estimators of displacement from the

Indigenous, colonist, and government Impacts on Nicaragua's Bosawas Reserve.

PubMed

Stocks, Anthony; McMahan, Benjamin; Taber, Peter

2007-12-01

We studied the impacts of colonists, two groups of indigenous residents (Miskitu and Mayangna), and management by the Nicaraguan Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA) on the forest of the Bosawas International Biosphere Reserve. Indigenous people and colonists subsist on the natural resources of the reserve, and MARENA is responsible for protecting the area from colonization and illicit exploitation. Using geostatistical procedures and Landsat images at three different time periods, we compared per capita deforestation and boundary stabilization in areas with colonists and areas with indigenous peoples. We also examined whether the Mayangna deforested less than the Miskitu and whether the Nicaraguan government has effectively defended the Bosawas boundary against the advance of the agricultural frontier. In addition, we analyzed the current distribution of land uses within the reserve and its contiguous indigenous areas with a supervised classification of current land cover. Indigenous demarcations protected the forest successfully, whereas the Bosawas boundary itself did not inhibit colonization and consequent deforestation. Indigenous farmers deforested significantly less per capita than colonists, and the two indigenous groups in Bosawas did not differ significantly in their effects on the forest. Our results show that indigenous common-property institutions and indigenous defense of homeland have been powerful factors in protecting the forests of Bosawas and that the difficult evolution of a nested cross-scale governance system in Bosawas-under pressure from indigenous peoples-is probably the key to the forest's survival thus far.