Valencian Coast Research Articles

The role of the Holocene transgression in the environmental changes of lagoons and marshes of the Mediterranean coast

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the position of the Holocene transgression on the coast of the Valencia Gulf. To achieve this goal, a sedimentological and micropaleontological analysis of samples of fossil benthic foraminifera in cores from six boreholes drilled in three different wetlands (Almenara marsh, Moro marsh and Valencia lagoon) was carried out. In order to assess the extent of sea level change, at least three factors must be taken into account: 1) eustatic rise (global scale) 2) neotectonics (regional scale) and 3) the sedimentary factor (local and regional scale). Regarding the first factor, some authors have noted that the Holocene transgression reached +1 m above the current sea level in this area. As for the second factor, while the Valencia lagoon is located on a subsiding coast the northernmost marshes are located on a tectonically stable coast. Finally, sedimentation rates are highly variable depending on the area; whereas in the Valencia lagoon the shoreline generally shifts seawards (progradation) in the northernmost areas the coast is currently undergoing retrogradation, although the anthropic factor clearly interferes with this pattern. One of the main conclusions is that in the Valencian coast the Holocene maximum relative sea level did not exceed the present-day one, except in the case of the subsiding area of the Valencia lagoon. The calculation of sedimentation rates, the relative sea-level curve and the evolution of the water column in the different wetlands seem to corroborate it. Radiocarbon and AAR analyses allowed us to date the maximum extent of the Holocene transgression on the Valencian coast at around 5500 cal yr BP in all cases. Despite the different subsidence the three studied wetlands reflected the predominant marine influence until 5500–5200 BP, which was later followed by a growing fluvial or continental incidence, when glacioeustatic adjustments defined the patterns of coastal progradation.

SETTING AN EFFECTIVE USER REPORTING PROCEDURE TO ASSESS THE BUILDING PERFORMANCE

The importance of acquiring information from users to support the phases of the building process (design, construction, management and dismantling) is widely recognized by the scientific and technical community. In addition, in the era of the “Digital Transition” in building construction, participatory-sensing systems leveraging smart devices offer unprecedented observational capacity at the scale of the individual. On the other hand, data acquired by the users are typically characterized by multiple actors, many and often conflicting values and views, a wealth of possible outcomes and high uncertainty. Despite the widespread use of “user data acquisition” techniques, there are no procedures and guidelines to create effective user reported-based data acquisition in the building construction sector. This paper proposes eight steps to set an effective User Reporting and overcome the classical drawbacks of data acquired by users for the inspection of technical and factual features. In particular, steps 1-2 a priori identify clusters of stakeholders and users to improve data homogeneity; steps 3-4 select technological tools, questionnaires and guidelines to independently acquire data from different clusters of users; steps 5-8 define the information flow, the validation approach and diagnostics. In order to show the potentiality of the proposed approach, the User Re-porting is applied to the building diagnostics of 131 RC buildings located in the Valencian coast (Spain).

Enrichment and contamination level of trace metals in the Mediterranean marine sediments of Spain

Coastal ecosystems are heavily polluted by human activities. These pollutants reach the aquatic environment and accumulate in the sediment. Among the chemical pollutants, metals represent a notable hazard since they are not biodegradable and have the capability to bioaccumulate, resulting in toxic effects in both the short and long term. In this study, the content of metals and As in marine sediments of the Spanish Mediterranean coast was determined. A total of four annual sampling campaigns were carried out along the Valencian Community coastline, where the presence of eight trace elements (Cr, Cd, Ni, Pb, Cu, Hg, Zn and As) was determined. In this area, the presence of the contaminants is due to both natural and anthropogenic sources. The results obtained allowed, first, to establish nearness Reference Values of the area under study, second, to use several pollution indices (Contamination Factor, Enrichment Factor, Geoaccumulation Factor, Nemerow Pollution Index, and Modified Pollution Index) to determine contamination levels in the area, and finally to select the best index to apply in this coastal zone. The best indices to use in this region are EF and MPI since both take into consideration the natural contributions of the elements studied. The results revealed that according to the index used only two studied zones are classified as Heavily and Severely polluted. The remaining zones (between 25 and 29%) were classified as Moderately or Moderately to Heavily polluted and most of the zones (63% to 100%) were classified as Unpolluted/Low Polluted and Unpolluted/Slightly Polluted. The outcomes obtained with this work indicate that in general, the Valencian coast does not present significant levels of pollution due to the studied trace elements.

Characterizing beach changes using high-frequency Sentinel-2 derived shorelines on the Valencian coast (Spanish Mediterranean).

Shoreline position can be efficiently extracted with subpixel accuracy from mid-resolution satellite imagery using tools as SHOREX. However, it is necessary to develop procedures for deriving descriptors of the beach morphology and its changes in order to become truly useful data for characterizing the coastal dynamism. A new approach is proposed based on a spatiotemporal model of the beach widths. Divided into 80m analysis segments, it offers a robust and detailed characterization of the beach state along large micro-tidal regions, with continuous information through time and space. Geographical and temporal differences can be recognized and measured, making it possible to study the beach response both to general factors (as wave conditions) and to punctual anthropic actions (as small sand nourishments). Widths were defined throughout two and a half years from 60 shorelines (3.04m RMSE) covering 50km of the Gulf of Valencia. Important width contrasts appeared along the study site associated with sediment imbalances motivated by sediment traps and other anthropic actions. Segments too narrow for maintaining the recreational function were located and mapped (16% narrower than 30m). Short-term width changes appeared linked to storm events, with fast retreatments and slow recoveries. Punctually, even small-magnitude nourishments created perceptible changes in width (12,830m3 were associated with a 4m increase). This novel description of the beach state and its changes from Satellite-Derived Shorelines is useful for coastal management, especially considering the global coverage of these free satellite images. It may improve the comprehension of coastal processes as well as monitor human interventions on the coast, helping in the decision-making.

Patterns of spatial distribution of Callinectes sapidus in invaded environments of the Valencian coast (Spain)

Patterns of spatial distribution of Callinectes sapidus in invaded environments of the Valencian coast (Spain)

Green infrastructure on the mediterranean valencian coast

Green infrastructure on the mediterranean valencian coast

Assessment of the effects of Percnon gibbesi in taxocenosis decapod crustaceans in the Iberian southeast (Alicante, Spain).

Assessment of the effects of Percnon gibbesi in taxocenosis decapod crustaceans in the Iberian southeast (Alicante, Spain).

Conservación y distribución de las accesiones del Banco de Germoplasma de la Flora Silvestre Valenciana en la colección CIEF

The Germplasm Bank of Valencia Wild Flora is a network of collections for conservation of taxa listed in Valencia Catalog Endangered Species of Flora (VCESF). CIEF germplasm collection belongs to Generalitat Valenciana´s Forest Research and Experimentation Centre, and in addition to forest species, seeds of singular plants of VCESF are also preserved by the Wildlife Service team. From 1990 until now, in bank´s installations is preserved 2447 lots from 1445 species. It is conserved germplasm from 92% of the Endangered species and 94% as Vulnerable species according to VCESF. These data indicate that 67,6% of monitoring populations currently known for species listed as Endangered are preserved in the collection and 50% in the case of Vulnerable species. High-density areas of harvesting are the north and northwest of Alicante (dianic area and “Sierra de Aitana”), the southeast quadrant of Valencia (setabense zone), the Valencian coast (“El Saler”, “Sagunto”, etc.), and Castellon (“Islas Columbretes”, “Macizo del Penyagolosa”, “Cabanes”, “Peniscola”). The aim to short-medium term is to keep up at least one accession of each monitoring population from VCESF species capable to be conserved in a genebank.

Living scaphopods from the Valencian coast (E Spain) and description of Antalis caprottii n. sp. (Dentaliidae)

This paper reports on eight scaphopod species found at 128 sampling stations near the coast of Valencia (Spain) during the campaigns of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/CE) 2005, 2006 and 2008. Samples deposited in several Valencian institutions and private collections are also described. The identified species belong to four families: Dentaliidae (Antalis dentalis, A. inaequicostata, A. novemcostata, A. vulgaris, and A. caprottii n. sp., a new species described from material found on the coasts of the province of Castellón), Fustiariidae (Fustiaria rubescens), Entalinidae (Entalina tetragona) and Gadilidae (Dischides politus). We describe the characteristics and conchiological variations for each species and give geographic distribution maps on the Valencian coast for each species.

A NEW CYSTIDICOLID NEMATODE FROM MULLUS SURMULETUS (PERCIFORMES: MULLIDAE) FROM THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN

Ascarophis valentina n. sp. is described from Mullus surmuletus off the Valencian coast of Spain on the basis of both light and scanning electron microscopy. It can be distinguished from the other members of the genus by the length of the left (long) spicule of the males and by egg morphology. An updated grouping of the species of Ascarophis considered valid is provided with respect to these characters. The new species resembles Ascarophis capelanus, belonging to the group of species possessing eggs with a single polar knob with filaments, but is distinguished by the size of the body, the length of the esophagus (especially in relation to body length), the position of the vulva, and the size of the left spicule. The new species also shows substantial morphological differences compared with the 3 species, Ascarophis mullusi, Ascarophis upenei, and Ascarophis parupenei, previously described from mullid hosts.

Multiresidue determination of persistent organochlorine and organophosphorus compounds in whale tissues using automated liquid chromatographic clean up and gas chromatographic–mass spectrometric detection

A multiresidue method based on normal-phase LC for the sample clean up of whale tissues extracts prior to GC–MS determination of residues of polychlorinated biphenyls, organochlorine pesticides and derivatives and lipophylic organophosphorus pesticides has been developed. Pesticides were extracted from blubber by fusing and dissolving the fat in n-hexane and from liver and kidney by reflux in n-hexane. Hexanic extracts were directly injected on the silicagel column of the automated LC clean up system, using n-hexane as mobile phase. Diode array detection allowed the on-line monitoring of lipids elution from the LC system. Purified extracts were analysed by GC using mass selective detection. The developed procedure was applied to different tissues from a whale specimen appeared in the Valencian coast, finding high concentrations of OCs (up to 7.3 μg g −1 pp’-DDE, and 7.2 μg g −1 PCBs). The method was validated by means of recovery tests for all the compounds detected in the whale and also for some other OCs and OPs studied in this paper. The method improves other current methods for the analysis of persistent organochlorines in marine mammals with regard to time of analysis, solvent expend and automation; solvent exchanges are not necessary before GC analysis, and it allows the simultaneous determination of organophosphorus pesticides.

The Valencian coast (Western Mediterranean): Neotectonics and geomorphology

An analysis of terrestrial and marine data has shown the coastal fringe of the emerged continent to be naturally divided into five distinct morphosedimentary sectors, whereas three clearly different large domains are visible in the submarine shelf. This geographic coastal space corresponds to an area of wide tectonic activity where the internal and external units of Betic Ranges meet, showing a morphological expression of the substratum structure. On the contrary, the continental shelf located to the North, in the Gulf of Valencia, is subsiding and has important accumulations of sediments as a consequence of the influence of units linked to the Iberic orogeny. The detailed analysis of the tectonic and geomorphic elements illustrated a correlation between the morphosedimentary sectors of the emerged coastal area and the corresponding ones in the inner and middle continental shelf. This reveals that the littoral is affected by a general increase in structural and morphological complexity from North to South.

Parasite community diversity in two Mediterranean labrid fishes Symphodus tinea and Labrus merula

Examination of 111 peacock wrasse [Symphodus tinea (L.)] and 97 brown wrasse (Labrus merula L.) from the Valencian coast (Spain) yielded 24 metazoan parasite species (11 Digenea, three Cestoda, four Nematoda. one Acanlhocephala, five Crustacea). Eighteen species were from 5. tinea and 17 from L. merula; 11 of the 24 species were common to both hosts. Brillouin's diversity index, was applied to fully censused parasite infracommunities. This is the first time that all the metazoan parasites (internal and external) in any position in the host have been analysed for diversity. High values of prevalence, intensity, and diversity parameters indicate that these labrid fishes support diverse parasite communities. This may be due to their diverse diet, mainly marine invertebrates which are possible intermediate hosts; they also support certain netnatodes and crustaceans which have direct life‐cycle.