Mass Circulation Research Articles

The middle Toarcian cold snap: Trigger of mass extinction and carbonate factory demise

The Pliensbachian and Toarcian (Early Jurassic) ages are characterised by several, relatively short-lived carbon cycle perturbations, climate change and faunal turnover. The cause(s) of biotic and abiotic disturbances remain unclear but most probably involved increased magmatic activity in the Karoo–Ferrar large igneous province. The Toarcian oceanic anoxic event (T-OAE) might represent the most extreme of these events, and as such, is becoming increasingly well documented worldwide. So far, other critical time intervals of the Pliensbachian–Toarcian have received considerably less attention. Here, the effects of the Middle Toarcian Variabilis event on the neritic–epeiric realm are explored making use of three well-exposed and extended stratigraphic sections in the Central High Atlas, Morocco. The carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of 112 bulk micrite samples were analysed and placed against 39 data points from carefully screened brachiopod valves in order to differentiate between palaeo-environmental and diagenetic patterns. Additionally, the phosphorus concentrations of 109 micrite samples were determined to evaluate the P-cycling. In all studied sections, an upper middle Toarcian major change from carbonate- to clastics-dominated sedimentation is recorded, pointing to a first-order carbonate production crisis. Our results reveal that these major sedimentological patterns coincide with an increase of oxygen-isotope ratios as well as a decrease of phosphorous accumulation rates. This suggests that the late middle Toarcian carbonate ramp crisis was related to a transient cooling event, potentially triggered by pulsed massive SO4 exhalation events in the context of the Karoo large igneous province. Short-term cooling was likely amplified by the drawdown of atmospheric CO2 levels related to the coeval decline of neritic carbonate precipitation and the warm water mass circulation disruption between the Tethys and the continental shelf. The data shown here provide the first evidence for coupled changes in carbon cycling, continental weathering and neritic systems in the aftermath of the T-OAE.

Modernity, femininity and Hollywood fashions: Women’s cinephilia in 1930s French fan magazines

Abstract My broad aim in this article is to explore the reception of Hollywood fashions in French mass circulation film magazines of the 1930s as it intersects with specific ideals of modernity, femininity and national identity. These magazines allow for a case study exploring the nexus between the global and the local in the construction of particular models of modern femininity in consumer culture. I want to suggest that these publications offered a key site for French women’s negotiation of modernity and were a key locus of a popular, feminine cinephilia neglected in existing accounts of cinephilia.

Water mass evolution of the Greenland Sea since late glacial times

Abstract. Four sediment cores from the central and northern Greenland Sea basin, a crucial area for the renewal of North Atlantic deep water, were analyzed for planktic foraminiferal fauna, planktic and benthic stable oxygen and carbon isotopes as well as ice-rafted debris to reconstruct the environmental variability in the last 23 kyr. During the Last Glacial Maximum, the Greenland Sea was dominated by cold and sea-ice bearing surface water masses. Meltwater discharges from the surrounding ice sheets affected the area during the deglaciation, influencing the water mass circulation. During the Younger Dryas interval the last major freshwater event occurred in the region. The onset of the Holocene interglacial was marked by an increase in the advection of Atlantic Water and a rise in sea surface temperatures (SST). Although the thermal maximum was not reached simultaneously across the basin, benthic isotope data indicate that the rate of overturning circulation reached a maximum in the central Greenland Sea around 7 ka. After 6–5 ka a SST cooling and increasing sea-ice cover is noted. Conditions during this so-called "Neoglacial" cooling, however, changed after 3 ka, probably due to enhanced sea-ice expansion, which limited the deep convection. As a result, a well stratified upper water column amplified the warming of the subsurface waters in the central Greenland Sea, which were fed by increased inflow of Atlantic Water from the eastern Nordic Seas. Our data reveal that the Holocene oceanographic conditions in the Greenland Sea did not develop uniformly. These variations were a response to a complex interplay between the Atlantic and Polar water masses, the rate of sea-ice formation and melting and its effect on vertical convection intensity during times of Northern Hemisphere insolation changes.

Optical properties of long-range transported volcanic ash over Romania and Poland during Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010

After Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption on 14 April 2010, due to a complex air mass circulation, Romania was exposed to volcanic ash and its mixture with continental aerosols. Ash particles with an average Angstrom (UV-VIS) exponent of 1.4 ± 0.2 and (VIS-IR) of 1.2 ± 0.3, a color ratio (VIS-UV) of 0.54 and (IR-VIS) of 0.49, an average particle depolarization value ∼9.4%, and a lidar ratio of 50 sr were retrieved on 18 April from multiwavelength Raman lidar measurements in Bucharest. Mixed volcanic ash with mineral dust particles advected from Sahara, depolarization ∼12%, Angstrom (UV-VIS) exponent of 1.25 ± 0.25 and (VIS-IR) of 1.45 ± 0.25, an increased color ratio (VIS-UV) of 0.61, (IRVIS) of 0.39 and lidar ratio of 53 sr were identified on 28 April. From observations in Poland conducted by an elastic lidar at 532 nm and a ceilometer at 1064 nm we retrieved an average backscatter related Angstrom (VIS-IR) exponent of 1.25 ± 0.35, and a color ratio (IR-VIS) of 0.53 in the layer at about 5.5 km during the night of 16/17 April, indicating fresh ash over Warsaw.

Lives and Afterlives Of José María Silva's Gardel Portraits

Uruguayan photographer José María Silva's studio portraits of Carlos Gardel immortalized the early 20th-century tango singer as the first Latin American superstar, and consecrated the cameraman as el fotógrafo de Gardel. His ‘stock’ photos of Gardel from 1917 to 1933 coincided with the evolution of tango from a dance and music form based on payador and other oral traditions, to a polished and urbane performance genre exploited by the mass media. Armed with the Silva photos, the singer presided over tango's move from working class porteño settings to top billing as a vocal genre on the world's stages and on the silver screen. I argue that the mass circulation and resulting ubiquity of the 1933 Silva shots contributed to the domestication and canonization of Argentine tango for a global public, and, like the famous Korda photos of Ernesto Che Guevara, have been crucial to the promotion and continuation of their subject's popular sainthood since his death. For nearly a century, the Silva portraits have continued to exert a powerful pull for later photographers and visual artists negotiating the visual evocation of tango and its most famous interpreter.

The evolution of Late Cretaceous deep‐ocean circulation in the Atlantic basins: Neodymium isotope evidence from South Atlantic drill sites for tectonic controls

The South Atlantic basins during the Late Cretaceous were characterized by overall expansion and the opening of deep‐water connections, eventually permitting deep‐ocean circulation with the Indian and North Atlantic basins. However, the evolving pattern of deep‐ocean circulation through the Late Cretaceous, particularly the timing of the connection between various basins, is not well constrained. Here we present new neodymium isotope data from five sites in the South Atlantic to reconstruct water mass chemistry and circulation patterns. The new data combined with previously published data indicate deep‐water formation occurred in the high‐latitude South Atlantic throughout the Late Cretaceous. Tectonic boundaries restricted the circulation of Southern Component Water until the opening of the Equatorial Atlantic Gateway and the subsidence of Rio Grande Rise between ∼79 and 75 Ma. Subsidence of these features permitted the northward flow of Southern Component Water, which then ventilated the deep North Atlantic. Nd isotope data indicate that the South Atlantic water column during the Cenomanian to Santonian was vertically stratified between intermediate and deep waters, with increased mixing evident during the Campanian and Maastrichtian.

Biogeochemical implications from dissolved rare earth element and Nd isotope distributions in the Gulf of Alaska

Dissolved rare earth element (REE) concentrations and Nd isotope compositions were measured for surface waters and full water column profiles of the Gulf of Alaska (GoA), and compared to water mass properties and circulation in order to better understand the mechanisms controlling the input and transport of REEs in the ocean. The REEs display a typical open-ocean range of concentrations (i.e., La: 12–66pM; Lu: 0.2–2.5pM) and depth distributions (i.e., surface ocean depletion and enrichment with water depth). Nd isotope signatures are highly radiogenic, as expected for the North Pacific margin (ranging from −3.8 to +0.2εNd). The most radiogenic values were found in the coastal waters but also in the cores of eddies, indicating efficient export of REEs from the margins and across the mixed layer. This is the first time that distinct Nd isotope distributions in near surface waters can be directly assigned to offshore eddy transport. A distinct mid-depth (∼2200m) Nd isotope signal was found that most likely reflects advection of a water mass that formed through past down-welling in the Northern Pacific. Subsurface Nd isotope compositions appear to behave conservatively and can be explained through a REE distribution model proposed here. This model is based on multivariate analysis of the REEs and invokes two distinct “pools” of dissolved REEs: a “passive pool” complexed by carbonate ions, and a “bio-reactive pool” that is microbially manipulated. The latter “pool” is only significant in the upper water column and most likely reflects the indirect effects of microbial cycling of iron. Our model of the open ocean REE distribution contributes to explaining the conservative nature of Nd isotopes and provides a mechanism linking surface ocean and pore water REE dynamics.

The role of department stores in the evolution of marketing

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present historical research on marketing practices in department stores of the 1880-1930 period using primary source records from Australia. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws from primary records including retail trade journals, mass circulation newspapers, and other contemporary sources, but mainly from the archives of The Master Retailers' Association (MRA). The MRA was the dominant industry employers' organisation in Australia, and possibly the first retail association of its kind in the Western world. Secondary sources have also been used to supplement the primary records, and to provide context, and cross-cultural comparisons. Findings – The findings demonstrate the antecedents of a range of marketing practices that today we presume are modern, including sales promotion, trade promotion, direct mail, destination retailing, advertising, and consumer segmentation. This supports other scholars' research into marketing's long history. Originality/value – This paper contributes original knowledge to the neglected field of Australian marketing history and connects the pioneering practices of retailers to the broader field of marketing. While some outstanding retail histories exist for the USA, UK, and France, the Australian story has remained largely uncovered.

Source apportionment of submicron organic aerosol at an urban background and a road site in Barcelona (Spain) during SAPUSS

Abstract. This study investigates the contribution of potential sources to the submicron (PM1) organic aerosol (OA) simultaneously detected at an urban background (UB) and a road site (RS) in Barcelona during the 30 days of the intensive field campaign of SAPUSS (Solving Aerosol Problems by Using Synergistic Strategies, September–October 2010). A total of 103 filters at 12 h sampling time resolution were collected at both sites. Thirty-six neutral and polar organic compounds of known emission sources and photo-chemical transformation processes were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The concentrations of the trace chemical compounds analyzed are herein presented and discussed. Additionally, OA source apportionment was performed by multivariate curve resolution–alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) and six OA components were identified at both sites: two were of primary anthropogenic OA origin and three of secondary OA origin, while a sixth one was not clearly defined. Primary organics from emissions of local anthropogenic activities (urban primary organic aerosol, or POA Urban), mainly traffic emissions but also cigarette smoke, contributed 43% (1.5 μg OC m−3) and 18% (0.4 μg OC m−3) to OA at RS and UB, respectively. A secondary primary source – biomass burning (BBOA) – was found in all the samples (average values 7% RS; 12% UB; 0.3 μg OC m−3), but this component was substantially contributing to OA only when the sampling sites were under influence of regional air mass circulation (REG.). Three secondary organic aerosol (SOA) components (describing overall 60% of the variance) were observed in the urban ambient PM1. Products of isoprene oxidation (SOA ISO) – i.e. 2-methylglyceric acid, C5 alkene triols and 2-methyltetrols – showed the highest abundance at both sites when the city was under influence of inland air masses. The overall concentrations of SOA ISO were similar at both sites (0.4 and 0.3 μg m−3, or 16% and 7%, at UB and RS, respectively). By contrast, a SOA biogenic component attributed to α-pinene oxidation (SOA BIO PIN) presented average concentrations of 0.5 μg m−3 at UB (24% of OA) and 0.2 μg m−3 at RS (7%), respectively, suggesting that this SOA component did not impact the two monitoring sites at the same level. A clear anti-correlation was observed between SOA ISO and SOA PIN during nucleation days, surprisingly suggesting that some of the growth of urban freshly nucleating particles may be driven by biogenic α-pinene oxidation products but inhibited by isoprene organic compounds. A third SOA component was formed by a mixture of aged anthropogenic and biogenic secondary organic compounds (SOA Aged) that accumulated under stagnant atmospheric conditions, contributing for 12% to OA at RS (0.4 μg OC m−3) and for 18% at UB (0.4 μg OC m−3). A sixth component, formed by C7–C9 dicarboxylic acids and detected especially during daytime, was called "urban oxygenated organic aerosol" (OOA Urban) due to its high abundance at urban RS (23%; 0.8 μg OCm−3) vs. UB (10%; 0.2 μg OCm−3), with a well-defined daytime maximum. This temporal trend and geographical differentiation suggests that local anthropogenic sources were determining this component. However, the changes of these organic molecules were also influenced by the air mass trajectories, indicating that atmospheric conditions have an influence on this component, although the specific origin on this component remains unclear. It points to a secondary organic component driven by primary urban sources including cooking and traffic (mainly gasoline) activities.

CFSv2 prediction skill of stratospheric temperature anomalies

This study evaluates the prediction skill of stratospheric temperature anomalies by the Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2) reforecasts for the 12-year period from January 1, 1999 to December 2010. The goal is to explore if the CFSv2 forecasts for the stratosphere would remain skillful beyond the inherent tropospheric predictability time scale of at most 2 weeks. The anomaly correlation between observations and forecasts for temperature field at 50 hPa (T50) in winter seasons remains above 0.3 over the polar stratosphere out to a lead time of 28 days whereas its counterpart in the troposphere at 500 hPa drops more quickly and falls below the 0.3 level after 12 days. We further show that the CFSv2 has a high prediction skill in the stratosphere both in an absolute sense and in terms of gain over persistence except in the equatorial region where the skill would mainly come from persistence of the quasi-biennial oscillation signal. We present evidence showing that the CFSv2 forecasts can capture both timing and amplitude of wave activities in the extratropical stratosphere at a lead time longer than 30 days. Based on the mass circulation theory, we conjecture that as long as the westward tilting of planetary waves in the stratosphere and their overall amplitude can be captured, the CFSv2 forecasts is still very skillful in predicting zonal mean anomalies even though it cannot predict the exact locations of planetary waves and their spatial scales. This explains why the CFSv2 has a high skill for the first EOF mode of T50, the intraseasonal variability of the annular mode while its skill degrades rapidly for higher EOF modes associated with stationary waves. This also explains why the CFSv2’s skill closely follows the seasonality and its interannual variability of the meridional mass circulation and stratosphere polar vortex. In particular, the CFSv2 is capable of predicting mid-winter polar stratosphere warming events in the Northern Hemisphere and the timing of the final polar stratosphere warming in spring in both hemispheres 3–4 weeks in advance.

Energy security in the news: North/South perspectives

Analysis of newspaper reporting on the topic of energy security in eight countries – four from the global North (France, Germany, the UK, and the United States) and four from the global South (China, India, Brazil, and South Africa) – produces no support for the thesis that news is disseminated from core countries to the periphery and semi-periphery. There is an important difference between China and the other three fast-developing countries and a highly asymmetric flow of news not aligned to old core-periphery boundaries. In general, energy security is mainly covered in trade and business outlets and less in newspapers with mass circulation, indicating that the topic is still an elite concern. In some instances, attention has surged at the same time in different countries. But very few of these instances show a homogenous coverage across countries. Despite increasingly globalised media, news is created and consumed at a national level.

A screening procedure for selecting the most suitable dredged material placement site at the sea. The case of the South Euboean Gulf, Greece

The selection of the best site for the placement of dredged sedimentary material (∼7,000 m(3)) from the Aliveri coastal area in the adjacent South Euboean Gulf (Greece) was accomplished through a screening procedure. The initial stage comprised the determination of physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the dredged sediment before the commencement of any dredging operation. Grain size measurements, geochemical analyses together with the use of pollution/toxicity indices and empirical sediment quality guidelines, and the conduct of an acute toxicity test showed that the dredged material consisted of "unpolluted to slightly polluted" silty sands and sandy silts. However, the local authorities planned to place this sediment in the neighboring open sea area, i.e., the South Euboean Gulf, due to the absence of any beneficial use or alternative dumping option (i.e., dumping on public lands). Therefore, the next stage of the screening procedure, based on criteria such as the national legislation, seabed and seawater column characteristics, influence of the water mass circulation pattern on the post-placement migration of dredged sediment, impact on living resources and human activities (i.e., aquaculture and fishing), effect on significant marine sites (i.e., sites of scientific, ecological, and historical importance, navigation routes, military zones), and seafloor engineering uses, led to the evaluation of the suitability of the South Euboean Gulf as a potential dumping area. Then, the identification of the appropriate dredged material placement sites in the South Euboean Gulf was based on a cluster analysis, which tested the physicochemical resemblance of the dredged material and the surface sediments of 19 potential placement locations in the gulf. After the statistical process, only four sites situated near the north shoreline of the South Euboean Gulf were qualified as the best dredged material placement locations.

A Postcard to an Anonymous Reader: Lima Barreto’s Brazilian Diction in the Magazine Careta

This article analyses Lima Barreto’s Brazilian diction as suggested by Manuel Bandeira in 1929. I focus on the period between 1915 and 1922 when Lima Barreto collaborated to the magazine Careta, one of the most popular publications in that period, circulating widely within Brazil and abroad. I argue that Lima Barreto’s Brazilian diction goes beyond grammar and collocation issues and can be regarded as connected to the emerging visual culture of the period. In Careta he was able to reach a nationwide audience in a context of great advance of images over belletrism. In this context, I point out that Lima Barreto did not react against this process and indeed incorporated pictorial strategies into his pieces of mass circulation.

Assessment of Southern Ocean water mass circulation and characteristics in CMIP5 models: Historical bias and forcing response

The ability of the models contributing to the fifth Coupled Models Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) to represent the Southern Ocean hydrological properties and its overturning is investigated in a water mass framework. Models have a consistent warm and light bias spread over the entire water column. The greatest bias occurs in the ventilated layers, which are volumetrically dominated by mode and intermediate layers. The ventilated layers have been observed to have a strong fingerprint of climate change and to impact climate by sequestrating a significant amount of heat and carbon dioxide. The mode water layer is poorly represented in the models and both mode and intermediate water have a significant fresh bias. Under increased radiative forcing, models simulate a warming and lightening of the entire water column, which is again greatest in the ventilated layers, highlighting the importance of these layers for propagating the climate signal into the deep ocean. While the intensity of the water mass overturning is relatively consistent between models, when compared to observation‐based reconstructions, they exhibit a slightly larger rate of overturning at shallow to intermediate depths, and a slower rate of overturning deeper in the water column. Under increased radiative forcing, atmospheric fluxes increase the rate of simulated upper cell overturning, but this increase is counterbalanced by diapycnal fluxes, including mixed‐layer horizontal mixing, and mostly vanishes.

Environmental factors that define the spawning and nursery areas for Percophis brasiliensis (Teleostei: Percophididae) in a multispecific reproductive coastal zone, El Rincón (39°–41°S), Argentina

The spatial distribution of Percophis brasiliensis at different maturity stages and its relationship to environmental factors was evaluated in the El Rincon area (39°–41°S) between 1994 and 2008 during eight cruises carried out in spring. For this, a canonical correspondence analysis was used. Results indicate that bottom temperature and bottom salinity horizontal gradient (BSHG) were the most important variables affecting the spatial distribution of P. brasiliensis maturity stages. Juveniles were mainly located in shallow waters with low salinity, high temperatures and vertical stratification. Conversely, gravid and running individuals were found in high BSHG and low temperatures. This link suggests that adults spawn in a well-defined area of hydrographic conditions that would tend to retain pelagic eggs and larvae, thus minimizing dispersal, and ensuring their transport from the spawning to nursery areas. On the coastal shelf of El Rincon, the water mass circulation shows an anti-cyclonic gyre whose recirculation cell during spring and summer is more constrained to inshore areas than during winter. Maximum reproductive activity of P. brasiliensis coincides with the highest retention period; therefore, dispersal of early-life stages (eggs) depends on the circulation pattern and transport pathway which would contribute importantly to its recruitment variability.

Seasonal variation of oxygen-18 in precipitation and surface water of the Poyang Lake Basin, China

Based on the monthly δ18O value measured over a hydrology period in precipitation, runoff of five tributaries and the main lake of the Poyang Lake Basin, combined with hydrological and meteorological data, the characteristics of δ18O in precipitation (δ18OPPT) and runoff (δ18OSUR) are discussed. The δ18OPPT and δ18OSUR values range from−2.75 to−14.12 ‰ (annual mean value=−7.13 ‰ ) and from−2.30 to−8.56 ‰, respectively. The seasonal variation of δ18OPPT is controlled by the air mass circulation in this region, which is dominated by the Asian summer monsoon and the Siberian High during winter. The correlation between the wet seasonal averages of δ18OSUR in runoff of the rivers and δ18OPPT of precipitation at the corresponding stations shows that in the Poyang Lake catchment area the river water consists of 23% direct runoff (precipitation) and 77% base flow (shallow groundwater). This high proportion of groundwater in the river runoff points to the prevalence of wetland conditions in the Poyang Lake catchment during rainy season. Considering the oxygen isotopic composition of the main body of Poyang Lake, no isotopic enrichment relative to river inflow was found during the rainy season with maximum expansion of the lake. Thus, evaporation causing isotopic enrichment is a minor component of the lake water balance in the rainy period. During dry season, a slight isotopic enrichment has been observed, which suggests a certain evaporative loss of lake water in that period.

Geochemical signatures of sediments documenting Arctic sea-ice and water mass export through Fram Strait since the Last Glacial Maximum

Elemental (Ca, Zr, Th, etc.) and radiogenic isotope (Pb, Nd, Sr) measurements in leachates and residues from deep-sea sediments of core MC16 (WarmPast Program) in central Fram Strait were used to document the geochemical signatures of outflowing Arctic water masses and ice rafted debris (IRD) since the Last Glacial Maximum. In addition, the elemental distribution among the three main sedimentary fractions (terrigenous, biogenic and authigenic) was quantified. Elements dominated by the terrigenous fraction display a change at ∼13 ka assigned to an early Younger Dryas (YD) event. In the authigenic fraction, migration of the redox front, perhaps spurred by discontinuous delivery of organic matter to the sediment, has led to the mobility of elements such as Mn. Fe contents display lesser variability within the sediment suggesting that Fe experienced only minor redox-related redistribution. Authigenic Pb and Nd, thought to be hosted primarily by Fe-oxyhydroxides, also show little evidence of mobility, suggesting that their isotopic compositions should reliably record the isotopic compositions of past bottom water.We have broadly identified the isotopic signatures of the three major source areas of IRD, the Russian, Canadian and Greenland margins. The elemental and isotopic residue records from core MC16 display distinct trends prior to and after the YD. The pre-YD interval, with ɛNd values between −10.1 and −13.2, and 87Sr/86Sr ratios from 0.715 to 0721, reflects a mixture of IRD from the Russian and Canadian margins. The YD episode stands out with sediments originating mostly from the Canadian end-member, displaying the lowest ɛNd values and highest 87Sr/86Sr ratios. This suggests enhanced sea-ice production and/or drifting along the Beaufort Gyre at that time. The post-YD interval, i.e. the Holocene, is characterized by a less variable mixture of IRD material, with ɛNd values and 87Sr/86Sr ratios centred at −12.2 and 0.718 respectively. This material was derived from several sources including northwestern Canada (Mackenzie River), the western Arctic, the East Siberian/Chukchi Seas, and the more proximal Greenland margin.The isotopic compositions of leachates are mostly linked to boundary exchange processes near major meltwater and freshwater source areas. Due to its longer residence time relative to Pb, Nd preserves the isotopic signature of more distal areas where high-density particulate fluxes may occur. In the studied core, Nd-isotope leachate data illustrate the influence of the western Russian margins prior to the YD event and that of the East Siberian and Chukchi Sea margins following this event. This study illustrates that complementary information on IRD sources and water-mass histories can be obtained from isotopic analyses of inherited (residual) and exchangeable (leachable) fractions in deep Arctic Ocean sediments. Higher resolution cores are now needed to illustrate more rapid variations of paleo sea-ice and water mass circulation.

Isotopic estimation of the evapo-transpiration flux in a plain agricultural region (Po plain, Northern Italy)

Samples of water vapour and monthly precipitation were collected in Pavia, located 50km south of Milan (Western Po plain, Northern Italy), over a period of 19months, from March 2006 to September 2007. Results are interpreted in relation to the local climatic factors (temperature and precipitation rates), and to air mass circulation patterns, derived from sea level pressure maps, geopotential maps and satellite images. Since most water vapour samples represent a mixture of continental air masses and local evapo-transpiration fluxes, a computational method based on the stable isotope content (EMMA) has been used to evaluate the percentage of the different components and to quantify the local vapour fraction. The regression line equation for rainwater samples is: δ2Hvs.VSMOW=8.8(±0.5)·δ18Ovs.SMOW+14.5(±3.5)‰(R2=0.96;n=17)The slope of the line is extremely high and probably related to the dataset used, which includes two summer seasons and one winter season. In addition, the latter was somewhat anomalous, with recorded average temperatures higher than the average calculated for the years 1970–2002. The mean annual weighted δ18O in rainwater samples is equal to −6.90±2.2‰. The regression line equation for water vapour samples is: δ2Hvs.VSMOW=6.8(±0.3)·δ18Ovs.SMOW-7.4(±4.9)‰(R2=0.92;n=37).The two regression lines meet at δ18O=−10.82±13.97‰. This value appears more depleted than the mean annual weighted precipitation value, but is close to the isotope composition of the phreatic aquifer (δ18O=−9.0±0.5 to −10.4±0.3‰). In addition, the slope of the water vapour regression line (6.8) indicates evaporation under high relative humidity (Rh=95%).The isotope composition of the water vapour in the Pavia area results from three main components: moisture carried by continental cold circulation, by maritime (Atlantic and Mediterranean) circulations and by the local evapo-transpiration flux. The latter is more intense in late spring and summer, due the maximum vegetation activity but also to irrigation and rice field flooding, and to the consequent maximum rise of the water table level. The turbulence due to the dynamic nature of the troposphere mixes local atmospheric moisture with water vapour carried by advection from other regions. Even in the most obvious situations of no circulation, phenomena of exclusive local evapo-transpiration are seldom observed. Circulation of air masses from the Mediterranean and the Atlantic carry the major part of atmospheric moisture towards the Po plain, while only cold and dry air masses from the NE, which are not found in the summer, are able to completely lower the local isotopic signal of the vapour, because of the substitution effect caused by their higher density. The expected correlation between the evapo-transpiration flux intensity and the precipitation amount is significant, and little difference in the local evapo-transpiration flux is observed between 2006 and 2007. On the other hand, the isotope composition of water vapour testifies to the importance of irrigation as a source of local vapour, evidencing, even at mid-latitudes, a regional scale feedback between land use and climate.

A POSTCARD TO AN ANONYMOUS READER: LIMA BARRETO’S BRAZILIAN DICTION IN THE MAGAZINE CARETA

This article analyses Lima Barreto’s Brazilian diction as suggested by Manuel Bandeira in 1929. I focus on the period between 1915 and 1922 when Lima Barreto collaborated to the magazine Careta, one of the most popular publications in that period, circulating widely within Brazil and abroad. I argue that Lima Barreto’s Brazilian diction goes beyond grammar and collocation issues and can be regarded as connected to the emerging visual culture of the period. In Careta he was able to reach a nationwide audience in a context of great advance of images over belletrism. In this context, I point out that Lima Barreto did not react against this process and indeed incorporated pictorial strategies into his pieces of mass circulation.

Variability in the Deep Western Boundary Current: Local versus remote forcing

Horizontal velocity, temperature and salinity measurements from the Line W array for the period 2004–2008 show large changes in the water mass structure and circulation of the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC). Fluctuations in the flow with periods from 10 to 60 days are bottom intensified: signals most likely associated with topographic Rossby waves (TRW). A fraction (∼15%) of the DWBC transport variability is caused by Gulf Stream rings and meanders. These flow anomalies are surface intensified and fluctuate at frequencies lower than the TRW. Interannual variability in the velocity field appears to be related to changes in the hydrographic properties. The dominant mode of variability is characterized by an overall freshening, cooling, a potential vorticity (PV) increase in the deep Labrador Sea Water (dLSW) and a PV decrease in the Overflow Water (OW). The variability in the flow associated with these property changes is not spatially homogeneous. Offshore (water depths larger than 3500 m) changes in the velocity are in phase with PV changes in the OW: a decrease in the OW PV is accompanied by an increase in the southward (negative) transport. Conversely, variations of the inshore flow are in phase with changes in the dLSW PV (increasing PV and decreasing transport). This trend, true for most of the record, reverses after the winter of 2007–2008. A sudden decrease of the dLSW PV is observed, with a corresponding intensification of the flow in the inner DWBC as well as a northward shift in the Gulf Stream axis.