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The paper describes formation and spreading of dense shelf waters in the Adriatic Sea (North Adriatic Dense Water, NAdDW) during the winter of 2012 as a consequence of an intense and long cold air outbreak of northeasterly Bora winds. As a result, during February 2012 northern Adriatic Sea water temperature dropped to about 6 degrees C and density exceeded 1030 kg/m(3), most likely the maximum value since 1929. NAdDW dynamics has been investigated by means of a 3-D ocean-wave coupled model running on a high resolution and eddy-permitting grid. The numerical experiments have relied on the Coupled-Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment-Transport (COAWST) system forced one-way with atmospheric forcings provided by the model COSMO-17. A suite of observational data has been used to characterize the Bora event and evaluate numerical model performance. At sub-basin scales, the newly formed waters flowing southerly have produced a water renewal of the northern Adriatic, as more than 50% of water volumes have left the basin. Dense waters volume transports, evaluated through different Adriatic cross-sections, have been modulated by tides (damped for the densest water masses) and reached about 1 Sv. The contribution of wave-induced forcings has been quantified and examined, indicating that these represent a major driving mechanism during NAdDW production and spreading phases. This work provides evidence that NAdDW is spread accordingly with two different mechanisms: at early stages of its formation, the wind-driven ocean circulation pushes newly formed waters to leave the northern basin with relatively high speeds (about 0.30 m/s). Later on, remaining NAdDW leaks slowly out (0.09 m/s as average) from the production site. Residence times of dense waters in the north, middle, and south Adriatic Sea are also documented. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Available methods for measuring the impact of ocean acidification (OA) and leakage from carbon capture and storage (CCS) on marine sedimentary pH profiles are unsuitable for replicated experimental setups. To overcome this issue, a novel optical sensor application is presented, using off-the-shelf optode technology (MOPP). The application is validated using microprofiling, during a CCS leakage experiment, where the impact and recovery from a high CO2 plume was investigated in two types of natural marine sediment. MOPP offered user-friendliness, speed of data acquisition, robustness to sediment type, and large sediment depth range. This ensemble of characteristics overcomes many of the challenges found with other pH measuring methods, in OA and CCS research. The impact varied greatly between sediment types, depending on baseline pH variability and sediment permeability. Sedimentary pH profile recovery was quick, with profiles close to control conditions 24 h after the cessation of the leak. However, variability of pH within the finer sediment was still apparent 4 days into the recovery phase. Habitat characteristics need therefore to be considered, to truly disentangle high CO2 perturbation impacts on benthic systems. Impacts on natural communities depend not only on the pH gradient caused by perturbation, but also on other processes that outlive the perturbation, adding complexity to recovery.

Madrepora oculata and Lophelia pertusa are the two main ecosystem engineering, scleractinian cold-water corals (CWC) found in Mediterranean canyons. Factors controlling CWC distribution in the Mediterranean Sea are not yet fully understood in spite of such ecosystems being recognized as sensitive habitats by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean. As they are threatened by fishery activity, they are subject to management and protection measures. In order to contribute towards identifying the major drivers governing CWC distribution at local scale, which is a prerequisite for proper management, we focused our attention on two canyons: (1) the Cassidaigne canyon, located in the eastern part of the Gulf of Lion, in which CWC ecosystems have settled in an upwelling environment and form large colonies, and (2) the Bari Canyon System, in the southwestern Adriatic, a site of coral growth that has been hypothesized to respond to hydrographic processes, including the cascading of North Adriatic Dense Water. The objective of our study was to combine several ecological variables to describe the environmental conditions in favor of CWC settlement and growth: (1) CWC observations, extracted from geo-referenced underwater videos, (2) seafloor characteristics derived from high-resolution bathymetry, (3) data on local hydrodynamic conditions (from high resolution hydrodynamic models). Habitat suitability models were used to identify the main variables driving CWC distribution. Models based on presence-only data (Maxent and ENFA) and on presence-absence data (GLMs) were fitted and compared. Seafloor ruggedness was identified to be the major factor driving CWC distribution in both canyons with the three methods. Two hydrodynamic variables (mean temperature and current velocity) were the second most important predictors for explaining CWC settlement and growth. Suitable areas for CWC habitat occurrence were mapped for both canyons. Spatial distributions were generally predicted at the same locations, although the GLM gave less realistic results in the Bari canyon system probably due to the limited range cover of the entire environmental conditions by the absence points, suggesting that the Maxent and ENFA models were more efficient. These theoretical distributions will help in the assessment of potential habitat extent in the deep-sea and also in the scheme of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).

The correlations between skeletal parameters (bulk density, micro-density and porosity), coral age and sea surface temperature were assessed along a latitudinal gradient in the zooxanthellate coral Balanophyllia europaea and in the azooxanthellate coral Leptopsammia pruvoti. In both coral species, the variation of bulk density was more influenced by the variation of porosity than of micro-density. With increasing polyp age, B. europaea formed denser and less porous skeletons while L. pruvoti showed the opposite trend, becoming less dense and more porous. B. europaea skeletons were generally less porous (more dense) than those of L. pruvoti, probably as a consequence of the different habitats colonized by the two species. Increasing temperature had a negative impact on the zooxanthellate species, leading to an increase of porosity. In contrast, micro-density increased with temperature in the azooxanthellate species. It is hypothesized that the increase in porosity with increasing temperatures observed in B. europaea could depend on an attenuation of calcification due to an inhibition of the photosynthetic process at elevated temperatures, while the azooxanthellate species appears more resistant to variations of temperature, highlighting possible differences in the sensitivity/tolerance of these two coral species to temperature changes in face of global climate change.

Thermo-mechanical process simulation of an industrially pultruded rectangular hollow profile is presented. Glass/polyester is used for the continuous filament mat (CFM) and the uni-directional (UD) layers. The process induced residual distortions together with the temperature and degree of cure are predicted using a three dimensional (3D) thermo-chemical model sequentially coupled with a 2D quasi-static generalized plane strain mechanical model. The predicted deformation pattern at the end of the process is found to agree quite well with the one observed for the real pultruded parts in a commercial pultrusion company. In addition, the predicted warpage behaviour is further analysed by adjusting the mandrel length as well as including the mandrel heating. Using the proposed process model, the effect of the mandrel configurations on the quality of the pultrusion is investigated in terms of temperature, degree of cure and distortions.These unwanted residual distortions may lead to not meeting the desired geometrical tolerances e.g. warpage of pultruded window frames and hollow profiles as well as spring-in of L-shaped profiles, etc.

Estuaries are among the most valuable aquatic systems by their services to human welfare. However, increasing human activities at the watershed along with the pressure of climate change are fostering the co-occurrence of multiple environmental drivers, and warn of potential negative impacts on estuaries resources. At present, no clear understanding of how coastal ecosystems will respond to the non-stationary effect of multiple drivers. Here we analysed the temporal interaction among multiple environmental drivers and their changing priority on shaping phytoplankton response in the Bahía Blanca Estuary, SW Atlantic Ocean. The interaction among environmental drivers and the number of significant direct and indirect effects on chlorophyll concentration increased over time in concurrence with enhanced anthropogenic stress, changing winter climate and wind patterns. Over the period 1978-1993, proximal variables such as nutrients, water temperature and salinity, showed a dominant effect on chlorophyll, whereas in more recent years (1993-2009) climate signals (SAM and ENSO) boosted indirect effects through its influence on precipitation, wind, water temperature and turbidity. Turbidity emerged as the dominant driver of chlorophyll while in recent years acted synergistically with the concentration of dissolved nitrogen. As a result, chlorophyll concentration showed a significant negative trend and a loss of seasonal peaks reflecting a pronounced reorganisation of the phytoplankton community. We stress the need to account for the changing priority of drivers to understand, and eventually forecast, biological responses under projected scenarios of global anthropogenic change.