West Europe Research Articles

THE MENTALITY ASPECTS OF UKRAINE'S EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

The article examines the mentality closeness of Ukraine with Western European civilization. The geopolitical position of Ukraine on the border of Europe (West) and Asia (East) complicates the civilizational self-identification of Ukrainians is emphasized. Such features are due, on the one hand, to strong ties with European countries and de facto geographical affiliation with Europe, and on the other – proximity to Eastern civilization and long-term influence of Russia, which led to involvement in Asian civilization. Ukraine has been a part of the European space since the adoption of Christianity is substantiated. Its European essence has been historically shaped by geographical location, inclusion in European civilization by economic and cultural ties. The basic values and features of the Ukrainian mentality were correlated with the mental principles of the peoples of European countries and it was found that the greatest similarity between Ukraine and European states at the mental level are Ukrainian freedom, individualism and desire for democracy as opposed to Russian despotism and authoritarianism. These features of the Ukrainian mentality have enabled the historical preservation and revival of the Ukrainian nation, help to develop further and become a developed European country not only geographically and economically, but also spiritually is claimed . After all, it is not enough to achieve high economic standards and decent material life as an external form, to integrate into Europe is important at the internal level – values, spiritual and cultural, increase the number of active educated citizens, which is the core of development and progress – actively build civil society. In case of Ukraine's accession to the EU, Europeans will be able to discover Ukraine not only as an arena of political scandals and national upheavals, but also to discover positive mentality traits of Ukrainians – peace and tolerance, emotionality, creativity, high receptivity to new ideas, ability to adapt to different conditions is noted. Keywords: mentality, Ukraine, Europe, civilization theory, European civilization, Eurasian civilization, value system European integration, national identity, civil society.

Speed structure of the mantle of the border of the Eastern European and West European platforms

This work is devoted to studying the velocity structure of the mantle of the border area of the East European and West European platforms in the crust separated by the Teiserre-Tornquist zone. The mantle under the territory of Poland and Western Ukraine is being investigated. The work uses a three-dimensional P-velocity model of the mantle, constructed using the Taylor approximation method developed by V. S. Geyko. The method’s advantages are independent of the initial approximation (reference model) and the best approximation of nonlinearity. In this area, the exploration depth is 2500 km south of 50 °NL and 1700 km north of 50 °NL. A detailed analysis of horizontal sections of a 3D P-velocity model of the mantle up to a depth of 850 km with a step of 50 km has been carried out. The change in the spatial distribution of the zero seismic velocity boundary is analyzed throughout the depths. This boundary separates the high-velocity upper mantle of the East European Platform and the low-velocity upper mantle of the West European Platform. At the depths of the transition zone of the upper mantle, this boundary separates the low-velocity upper mantle of the East European platform and the high-velocity upper mantle of the West European platform (in this geosphere, a velocity inversion has occurred with respect to the upper mantle). In latitudinal sections, two inclined layers are distinguished. One of them is associated with the upper mantle under the DDV and reaches the mantle under the Carpathians, where it begins to plunge into the high-velocity transition zone of the upper mantle. The second layer is associated with the mantle under the northwestern end of the Baltic syneclise, which extends to the mantle under the Presudet monocline, where it also plunges into the high-velocity transition zone of the upper mantle. In longitudinal sections, inclined layers are distinguished, extending from the mantle under the South Scandinavian megablock of the Baltic Shield to the mantle under the Bohemian massif and the Carpathians, where they plunge into the high-velocity transition zone of the upper mantle. In the study area, three super-deep fluids were identified, characterized by increased stratification of the medium (alternation of higher and lower velocities). The first includes the well-known oil and gas fields of the Central European oil and gas basin (Pomorie and Presudet monocline (Poland)). The second is associated with oil and gas fields of the North Ciscarpathian oil and gas basin (southeastern Poland) and the Carpathian oil and gas basin (Western Ukraine). The extracted super-deep fluid in the mantle of the Baltic Sea corresponds to both the Gdansk Gulf of the Baltic Sea and the Kaliningrad fields (southeast of the Baltic Sea).

What Kind of Electoral Outcome do People Think is Good for Democracy?

There is perennial debate in comparative politics about electoral institutions, but what characterizes this debate is the lack of consideration for citizens’ perspective. In this paper, we report the results of an original survey conducted on representative samples in 15 West European countries ( N = 15,414). We implemented an original instrument to elicit respondents’ views by asking them to rate “real but blind” electoral outcomes. With this survey instrument, we aimed to elicit principled rather than partisan preferences regarding the kind of electoral outcomes that citizens think is good for democracy. We find that West Europeans do not clearly endorse a majoritarian or proportional vision of democracy. They tend to focus on aspects of the government rather than parliament when they pass a judgment. They want a majority government that has few parties and enjoys wide popular support. Finally, we find only small differences between citizens of different countries.

Unknown sides of Utricularia (Lentibulariaceae) diversity in East Europe and North Asia or how hybridization explained old taxonomical puzzles

Most of Utricularia taxa in temperate Eurasia are poorly distinguished by vegetative characters, while flowering is rare in some of them. Thus, we aimed to clarify the taxonomy and distribution of temperate Eurasian Utricularia. We supplemented the existing results of intensive morphological and genetic studies of Utricularia mainly from West and Central Europe with our data from East Europe and North Asia. We combined molecular barcoding (nuclear ITS and plastid rps16 regions) and fingerprinting (ISSR) techniques (74 collection localities) with morphological analysis of herbarium collections (more than 1800 specimens from 16 herbaria) and numerous natural populations with a special focus on hardly accessible Siberian and Far Eastern regions of Russia.We demonstrated that temperate Eurasian Utricularia taxa could be easily discriminated with barcoding approach if the hybridization is taken into account. Genetic and morphological variation of U. macrorhiza in comparison with U. vulgaris supported the treatment of the former as a separate species. We have revealed U. tenuicaulis previously treated as fertile lineage of U. australis and its sterile hybrid with U. macrorhiza (U. × japonica) in the Russian Far East and the latter additionally in southwestern East Siberia, outside their known distribution. For the first time we evidenced hybridization between U. tenuicaulis and U. vulgaris. The sterile hybrid (U. × neglecta) is widely distributed in Europe and West Siberia. In the Northern Hemisphere, plants initially referred to as sterile U. australis represent in fact U. × japonica and U. × neglecta, and the name U. australis should not be applied to any of them. Utricularia ochroleuca and U. stygia represent a complex of sterile forms with continuous morphological variation (U. × ochroleuca) originated from hybridization between U. intermedia and U. minor. Almost forgotten Japanese species U. multispinosa appeared to be sister to all temperate Eurasian species, and it was revealed for the first time in the southern Russian Far East. We have refined the distributions of Utricularia species in East Europe and North Asia and have shown that extant areas of U. macrorhiza and U. vulgaris are explained by the temperature regime – an important insight in context of global climate change.

Far‐right protest mobilisation in Europe: Grievances, opportunities and resources

AbstractWhat explains far‐right mobilisation in the protest arena? After decades of growing electoral support and policy influence, the far right is experiencing an increase in grassroots mobilisation. Scholars of social movements and political parties have devoted little attention to the determinants of far‐right protest mobilisation in Europe. In this article, we bridge previous research on the far right and social movements to advance hypotheses on the drivers of far‐right protest mobilisation based on grievances, opportunities and resource mobilisation models. We use an original dataset combining novel data on 4,845 far‐right protest events in 11 East and West European countries (2008–2018), with existing measures accounting for the (political, economic and cultural) context of mobilisation. We find that classical approaches to collective action can be fruitfully applied to the study of the far right. Cultural grievances, notably concerns about immigration, as well as the availability of institutional access points in contexts characterised by divided government increase far‐right protest mobilisation. But far‐right protest mobilisation also rests on the organisational resources available to nativist collective actors, that is, the network in which they are embedded, their visibility in the media and elected officials. These findings have important implications to understand far‐right success in advanced democracies. They show that far‐right mobilisation in the protest arena not only rests on favourable circumstances, but also on whether far‐right actors can profit from them. More broadly, the study links party politics and social movement research to grasp the far right's modes of political contestation, locating research on this phenomenon at the intersection of political sociology and comparative politics.

Wave Regime and Wave‐Current Coupling in an Upwelling–Driven Bay: Seasonal and Inter‐Annual Variability

AbstractData from an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP), a wave‐gauge, a met‐ocean buoy and model results provide new insights into the wave regime in a partially sheltered upwelling‐driven bay, the Ría de Vigo (NW Iberia), and the adjacent continental shelf from June 2013 to August 2014. Swell on the NW‐Iberian shelf comes mainly from NW directions, while wind sea comes from the NW under upwelling conditions, and from the SW under downwelling conditions. As the ria is protected from the NW and exposed to the SW, swell is almost always attenuated when entering the bay, and wave height inside the ria depends mostly on shelf wind sea variability. During the upwelling season, swell and wind sea barely enter the ria and wave heights inside the ria are small (0.21 m). During the downwelling season, shelf wind sea directly enters the ria, contributing more to the total wave height which achieves its maximum values (0.46 m). There is a cumulative action of wave and currents (wave current coupling, WCC) that is stronger during the downwelling season. The WCC entails an increase in the seabed energy which could reinforce bottom remineralization. The inter‐annual variability (2009–2016) of winter wave height and WCC in the ria is associated with the combined role played by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and West Europe Pressure Anomaly (WEPA) indices. The highest waves and strongest WCC occur during the coincidence of negative NAO and positive WEPA phases and can have potentially relevant repercussions on the ecosystem services of the ria.

Bituminous deposits of Azerbaijan

In view of expansion of mineral resources and mineral reserves recently, Azerbaijan pays increasingly much attention to exploration and development of natural bitumen. The main bituminous deposits in the Republic adjoin oil and gas provinces (Absheron, Shamakhy–Gobustan and Lower Kuria) and zones of mud volcanism. Bitumen is genetically connected with oil and forms as a result of supergene transformations in outflow from exposed reservoirs or shallow impregnated fractures, lenses etc. Natural bitumen and bitumen produced in processing of high-viscous oil are widely used in road construction in USA, Canada and in West Europe. The current conditions and prospects for the development of commercial-value bitumen deposits in Azerbaijan are discussed. The types and classification of bitumen are described in detail. Molten bitumen resources are mostly concentrated in Klych, Kirkishlag and Airantokan deposits, and alsphaltite bitumen mostly occurs in Binagadi, Shubany and Zygilpiri deposits. The distribution and composition of bitumen are reflective of their essentially different types and qualities, which should be taken into account in feasibility study of different technologies. The most promising bitumen mining projects in Azerbaijan are Kirmaki, Binagadi, Cheildere and Shubany. Azerbaijan also holds smaller bitumen deposits such as Fatmai, Siyanshor, Baku, Digyakh, Pirallakhi, Eldaroyugu and other. These deposits are geochemically similar to the major bitumen occurrences.

Well-being Messaging for Mammalian Milks: A Scoping Review.

Having a holistic understanding of research on well-being messaging for milk is vital to allow the optimal communication of the association between milk consumption and various nutritional, physical, and psychological benefits to the consumer. This work is a unique interdisciplinary, scoping review of existing research on well-being messaging for milk. Well-being messages are ways to communicate the broad well-being benefits of specific products to the consumer through information on food content or statements that link a product with favourable components, functions, or well-being outcomes. Leveraging this broad definition, and by proposing a guiding theoretical model that considers well-being messaging as a form of communication, milk well-being messaging literature has been mapped across time, geographical locations, disciplines, and product types. Two hundred forty-six were records included in this review, of which 177 were empirical studies. Studies were disseminated between 1954 and 2019, with 54.9% published after 2011. Food, Agriculture, and Biological Sciences (N = 109), Nutrition and Dietetics (N = 78), and Medicine, Public Health, and Health Professions (N = 69) disciplines have attracted the most publications, with numbers generally increasing in most recent years. The majority of included non-empirical records (69.6%) provide lists of commercially available products carrying well-being messaging and/or regulations on the use of particular well-being messages for milk according to various legislative authorities. Most of the empirical studies were conducted in North America (N = 71), West Europe (N = 52), and Oceania (N = 22), and on plain (i.e., unflavoured) milk (N = 152). Whereas, most studied elements of well-being messaging for milk across time, i.e., message (N = 169), product (N = 141), receiver (N = 101), and context (N = 72) have seen an increasing number of studies in recent years; sender (N = 51) and medium (N = 27) have been even less studied in the past four years. A more detailed analysis of research trends in each element of well-being messaging is reported. The research highlights immediate and strategic knowledge gaps that need further attention from researchers and/or policymakers in order to improve the “messaging” of well-being benefits of milk consumption to the consumer.

Impact of Gene Flow and Introgression on the Range Wide Genetic Structure of Quercus robur (L.) in Europe

As for most other temperate broadleaved tree species, large-scale genetic inventories of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) have focused on the plastidial genome, which showed the impact of post-glacial recolonization and manmade seed transfer. However, how have pollen mediated gene flow and introgression impacted the large-scale genetic structure? To answer these questions, we did a genetic inventory on 1970 pedunculate oak trees from 197 locations in 13 European countries. All samples were screened with a targeted sequencing approach on a set of 381 polymorphic loci (356 nuclear SNPs, 3 nuclear InDels, 17 chloroplast SNPs, and 5 mitochondrial SNPs). In a former analysis with additional 1763 putative Quercus petraea trees screened for the same gene markers we obtained estimates on the species admixture of all pedunculate oak trees. We identified 13 plastidial haplotypes, which showed a strong spatial pattern with a highly significant autocorrelation up to a range of 1250 km. Significant spatial genetic structure up to 1250 km was also observed at the nuclear loci. However, the differentiation at the nuclear gene markers was much lower compared to the organelle gene markers. The matrix of genetic distances among locations was partially correlated between nuclear and organelle genomes. Bayesian clustering analysis revealed the best fit to the data for a sub-division into two gene pools. One gene pool is dominating the west and the other is the most abundant in the east. The western gene pool was significantly influenced by introgression from Quercus petraea in the past. In Germany, we identified a contact zone of pedunculate oaks with different introgression intensity, likely resulting from different historical levels of introgression in glacial refugia or during postglacial recolonization. The main directions of postglacial recolonization were south to north and south to northwest in West and Central Europe, and for the eastern haplotypes also east to west in Central Europe. By contrast, the pollen mediated gene flow and introgression from Q. petraea modified the large-scale structure at the nuclear gene markers with significant west–east direction.

The Effect of Water Vapor Originating from Land on the 2018 Drought Development in Europe

The 2018 summer drought in Europe was particularly extreme in terms of intensity and impact due to the combination of low rainfall and high temperatures. However, it remains unclear how this drought developed in time and space in such an extreme way. In this study we aimed to get a better understanding of the role of land–atmosphere interactions. More specifically, we investigated whether there was a change in water vapor originating from land, if that caused a reduction in rainfall, and by this mechanism possibly the propagation and intensification of the drought in Europe. Our first step was to use remote sensing products for soil moisture content (SMC) and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) to see where the 2018 drought started and how it developed in time and space. Our SMC and NDVI analysis showed that the 2018 drought started to impact the soil and vegetation state in June in Scandinavia and the British Isles. After that it moved towards the west of Europe where it intensified in July and August. In September, it started to decay. In October, drought was observed in Southeast Europe as well. Based on the observed patterns we divided Europe into six regions of similar spatiotemporal characteristics of SMC and NDVI. Then, we used a global gridded dataset of the fate of land evaporation (i.e., where it ends up as precipitation) to investigate whether the drought intensification and propagation was impacted by the reduction in water vapor transported from the regions that first experienced the drought. This impact was investigated by identifying the anomalies in the water vapor originating from land recycling, imports, and exports within Europe during the spring, summer, and autumn seasons. From these regions we identified four drought regions and investigated the changes in water vapor originating from source regions on the development of drought in those regions. It was found that during the onset phase of the 2018 drought in Europe that the water vapor originating from land played an important role in mitigating the precipitation anomalies as, for example, the share of land evaporation contributing to precipitation increased from 27% (normal years) to 38% (2018) during July in the west of Europe. Land evaporation played a minor role in amplifying it during the intensification phase of the drought as the share of land evaporation contribution to precipitation decreased from 23% (normal years) to 21% (2018) during August in the west of Europe. These findings are somewhat in contrast to similar studies in other continents that found the land surface to play a strong amplifying role for drought development. Subsequently, we found that the relative increase in the amount of land water vapor originating from eastern half of Europe played a role in delaying the onset and accelerating the decay of the 2018 drought in the west of Europe.

Decolonizing White Care: Relational Reckoning with the Violence of Coloniality in Welfare

ABSTRACT This paper contributes to debates on potential connections between care ethics and decoloniality from within Global North West European whiteness. It adopts a feminist psychosocial position which understands everyday lived realities as shifting dynamic entanglements, produced relationally though complicated spatially and temporally expansive material, discursive and affective practices. First, it situates the liberal welfare state as part of a global project of North Western European colonisation which violently establishes a fantasy of whiteness as the human ideal rooted in individual sovereignty and rights to possession (Moreton-Robinson, 2015). Next it unpacks how the historical institutionalisation of care via state welfare sustains ‘white ignorance’; (Mills, 2007) in the face of the contemporary reality of ongoing systematised racial violence of coloniality. Finally, it offers the idea of ‘relational choreography’ (Hunter, 2015a; 2015b) as a way into resisting binary liberal individualist self-understanding underpinning this possessive logic of whiteness.

Assessing Extreme Environmental Loads on Offshore Structures in the North Sea from High-Resolution Ocean Currents, Waves and Wind Forecasting

The fast development of the offshore energy industry becomes an essential component of resilient economies in most of the countries around the North Sea, addressing an increasing demand for cost-efficient and environmentally safe energy sources. Offshore wind farms are planned to be installed further away from the coasts to ensure stronger and more stable wind resources in this region. Oil and gas extraction infrastructures are also planned to move into deeper areas of the continental shelf and continental shelf slopes to explore new fields. These deeper areas of the ocean are characterised by harsh environmental conditions: stronger winds, larger waves and strong shelf slope currents, inducing considerably larger loads on offshore structures. This study brings together operational physical oceanography and the mathematics of fluid-structure interactions to estimate the likelihood of extreme environmental loads on offshore structures in the North Sea. We use the state-of-the-art Met Office high resolution ocean forecasting system, which provides high-frequency data on ocean and tidal currents, wave heights and periods and winds at a ~7 km horizontal resolution grid, spanning the North–West European Shelf. The Morison equation framework is used to calculate environmental loads on various types of offshore structures that are typically employed by the offshore industries in the North Sea. We use hourly data for a 2-year period to analyse the spatio-temporal variability of mean and extreme hydrodynamic loads and derive the relative contributions of currents, waves and winds in the region. The results indicate that waves dominate extreme hydrodynamic forces on the shallow shelf, whereas the current contribution is important at the shelf break and in the English Channel.

How will climate change impact North Atlantic storms?

North Atlantic storms present one of the major weather risks for North West (NW) Europe. Their associated strong winds and heavy precipitation can result in wind damage and both coastal and inland flooding. Notable recent examples include the St Jude's Day storm of October 2013 which brought hurricane-force winds to NW Europe, including record-strong winds in Denmark and the loss of 17 lives. In November and December of that year, intense rainfall associated with a series of storms led to widespread UK flooding which was particularly severe over the Somerset Levels, and the timing of storm Xaver on 5 December 2013 generated a storm surge which led to coastal flooding around both the North and Irish Seas. Understanding and predicting how North Atlantic storms might respond to climate change is therefore essential for assessing future weather risks and informing climate change adaptation strategies. This briefing focuses on the North Atlantic storm track which traverses the North Atlantic Ocean and extends over NW Europe, with the strongest impacts usually occurring in autumn and winter. Over most of the Northern Hemisphere, climate models project that the midlatitude storm tracks will, on average, shift further poleward under climate change. Coupled with the shift is a general decrease in the number of storms. If this pattern occurred in the North Atlantic, one might expect a reduction in the number of storms impacting NW Europe. This is indeed the case in summer, but the wintertime North Atlantic storm track does not follow this simple picture; instead, it is projected to extend more strongly eastward over NW Europe resulting in an enhanced storm risk in this region. Comprehensive analyses of wintertime North Atlantic storms across a wide range of global climate models suggest an increase in storm occurrence of 2–4% by the end of the century (Zappa et al., 2013). The quoted range represents scenario uncertainty associated with two different future greenhouse gas emissions pathways, corresponding to global warming levels of approximately 2–4 degC respectively. There are additional uncertainties not accounted for, particularly due to internal variability of the climate system. A full analysis of North Atlantic storms in the most recent generation of climate models (CMIP6) has yet to be completed, but initial studies indicate broadly similar changes per degree of global warming (Harvey et al., 2020). On the level of individual storms, substantial and robust increases in precipitation are expected. The same suite of global climate model simulations quoted above project a 9–18% increase in the average precipitation per storm from wintertime storms impacting NW Europe. Although the strongest winds associated with storms are expected to weaken, wintertime North Atlantic storms again do not follow the simple picture with a modest 0.4–0.9% increase in the strongest near-surface wind speeds expected by the end of the century. Increases in the occurrence and severity of coastal flooding are also expected, predominantly due to rising sea levels (Murphy et al., 2018). North Atlantic storms are generated by the large-scale contrast in temperature that exists between the tropics and the Arctic. Climate change is expected to warm the Arctic more than the tropics through a process known as polar amplification, acting to generally reduce storminess in the midlatitudes. However, the intensification of the wintertime North Atlantic storm track over NW Europe bucks this trend and the reasons for this are not fully understood. It may partly arise from a region of slower ocean warming in the central North Atlantic, associated with changes in the ocean circulation, resulting is a local increase of the north–south temperature gradient over the ocean surface and stronger potential for storm growth there (Gervais et al., 2019). Alternatively, more hemispheric-scale dynamical changes may be playing a role (Ciasto et al., 2016). On the level of individual storms, the projected increases in precipitation are consistent with the increased availability of moisture associated with increased air temperatures. One key research question currently being addressed is the extent to which the current generation of climate models accurately represent North Atlantic storms. For example, small-scale atmospheric processes not fully resolved by these models, including sting jets and embedded convective precipitation, have the potential to locally amplify both precipitation and wind impacts in a manner not currently captured by global climate projections.

KASP Markers Reveal Established and Novel Sources of Resistance to Pea Seedborne Mosaic Virus in Pea Genetic Resources.

Pea seed-borne mosaic virus (PSbMV) is both seedborne and aphid-transmitted and can cause economic losses for pea (Pisum sativum L.) production by reducing yield through decreased seed weight and number. The P1 pathotype is especially virulent, affecting this important vegetable crop across the United States and internationally in regions of West Asia, North Africa, Europe, and Australia. Previously, two kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) genotyping markers (eIF4E resistant 1 and 2) were developed and validated on P. sativum accessions identifying two PSbMV pathotype P1 resistance alleles in the eukaryotic translation initiation factor gene, eIF4E. The current study utilized these novel markers to rapidly evaluate 318 genetic resource accessions maintained as part of the United States Department of Agriculture National Plant Germplasm System's Pea Single Plant Collection (PSPC). The evaluations also included 58 commercial and other plant introduction (PI) lines that were assessed for the two eIF4E resistance alleles. All genotyping results were validated in greenhouse assays by confirmation of observable disease symptoms after inoculations and by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The eIF4E resistant 1 and 2 alleles were found in 18 accessions from the PSPC, five commercial lines, and 14 other PI accessions. A single PSPC accession showed resistance to PSbMV pathotype P1 that is believed to be a novel source of resistance based on sequencing analysis of eIF4E. Sources of resistance were identified in the PSPC and in commercial cultivars that can be introgressed into breeding lines using traditional techniques to reduce the time and cost required to generate germplasm with superior disease-resistant traits.

Initial developmental rate delay in modern highly productive cultivars of winter bread wheat from West Europe

Aim. To evaluate the vernalization requirement duration and sensitivity to photoperiod in the set of modern high yielding winter bread wheat cultivars from West Europe which are proposed for production in Ukraine. Methods. Planting in natural and shortened photoperiods followed by artificial vernalizing variants of 5-days green seedlings have been used for heading dates registration. Results. Many foreign cultivars revealed the durable vernalization requirement and strong photosensitivity. Few stocks were characterized by the week analogous physiological reactions, which are typical in most modern Ukrainian cultivars and breeding lines. Conclusions. Reveled data confirmed the adaptive value of discussed properties for specific environment which are similar to Ukrainian one in many zones of winter wheat cultivation. And they refute the assertion that strong photosensitivity and durable vernalization requirement limit the improvement of yield potential by selection.
 Keywords: winter bread wheat, vernalization requirement, photosensitivity, modern cultivars from West Europe.

Towards Winter Seasonal Predictability of the North West European Shelf Seas

We investigate the winter predictability of the North West European shelf seas (NWS), using the Met Office seasonal forecasting system GloSea5 and the Copernicus NWS reanalysis. We assess GloSea5’s representation of NWS climatological winter and its skill at forecasting winter conditions on the NWS. We quantify NWS winter persistence and compare this to the forecast skill. GloSea5 simulates the winter climatology adequately. We find important errors in the residual circulation (particularly in the Irish Sea) that introduce temperature and salinity biases in the Irish Sea, English Channel, and southern North Sea. The GloSea5 winter skill is significant for SST across most of the NWS but is lower in the southern North Sea. Salinity skill is not significant in the regions affected by the circulation errors. There is considerable NWS winter temperature and salinity persistence. GloSea5 exhibits significant predictive skill above this over ∼20% of the NWS, but for most of the NWS this is not the case. Dynamical downscaling is one method to improve the GloSea5 simulation of the NWS and its circulation, which may reduce biases and increase predictive skill. We investigate this approach with a pair of case studies, comparing the winters of 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 (with contrasting temperature and salinity anomalies, and NAO state). While 2 years are insufficient to assess skill, the differences in the simulations are evaluated, and their implications for the NWS winter predictability are considered. The NWS circulation is improved (where it was poor in the GloSea5), allowing more realistic advective pathways for salinity (and temperature) and enhancing their climatological spatial distributions. However, as the GloSea5 SST anomaly is already well simulated, downscaling does not substantially improve this – in other seasons or for other variables, downscaling may add more value. We show that persistence of early winter values provides some predictive skill for the NWS winter SST, and that the GloSea5 system adds modestly to this skill in certain regions. Such information will allow prospective end-users to consider how seasonal forecasts might be useful for their sector, providing the foundation on which marine environmental seasonal forecasts service and community may be developed for the NWS.

First report of <em>Symphoromyia immaculata</em> (Diptera: Rhagionidae) from Italy, with the description of its attack and blood-feeding behaviour on human hosts

Specimens from a swarm of Symphoromyia immaculata (Meigen, 1820) were collected in the act of biting people in a farmhouse in Central Italy. The species is distributed in West and Central Europe and eastwards in Northwest Russia. This is the first record of S. immaculata in Italy, with a documented case of humans suffering from bites of this species.

The Dmanisi Equus: Systematics, biogeography, and paleoecology

The Equus datum has been established as a geochronologic ‘instantaneous’ migratory event of a North American Equus species into Eurasia at the beginning of the Pleistocene (2.58 Ma). A remarkable radiation of Equus followed across Eurasia and Africa. Dmanisi includes excellent remains of Equus, well calibrated between 1.85 and 1.76 Ma. Our morphologic and morphometric analyses of the augmented Dmanisi Equus sample support the co-occurrence of Equus stenonis and Equus altidens in the sequence. Dmanisi E. stenonis is found to be morphologically similar to the European E. stenonis populations and represents the best well-dated easternmost occurrence of this species in Eurasia. The Dmanisi E. altidens represents the oldest well-calibrated occurrence of this species in Western Eurasia. Our analyses demonstrate that E. altidens extended its range westward from west Asia to Greece, Germany, Italy, Spain, and possibly France. Our results do not support distinguishing multiple subspecies of E. altidens, including E. altidens altidens, E. altidens granatensis and E. stenonis mygdoniensis. The Dmanisi cranial and postcranial samples exhibit morphologies close both to extant hemiones and zebras. Equus altidens is believed to have been well adapted to newly emergent arid environments in western Eurasia during the late Early and early Middle Pleistocene. The first occurrence of E. altidens at Dmanisi marks an important turnover in the horse communities of the late Early Pleistocene, with a dispersion of this species from West Asia to West Europe ca. 1.8 Ma.

Shelf Seas Baroclinic Energy Loss: Pycnocline Mixing and Bottom Boundary Layer Dissipation

AbstractObservations of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate () from a range of historical shelf seas data sets are viewed from the perspective of their forcing and dissipation mechanisms: barotropic to baroclinic tidal energy conversion, and pycnocline and bottom boundary layer (BBL) dissipation. The observations are placed in their geographical context using a high resolution numerical model (NEMO AMM60) in order to compute relevant maps of the forcing (conversion). We analyze, in total, 18 shear microstructure surveys undertaken over a 17 year period from 1996 to 2013 on the North West European shelf, consisting of 3,717 vertical profiles of shear microstructure: 2,013 from free falling profilers and 1,704 from underwater gliders. A robust positive relationship is found between model‐derived barotropic to baroclinic conversion, and observed pycnocline integrated . A fitted power law relationship of approximately one‐third is found, giving a simple new parameterization. We discuss reasons for this apparent power law and where the “missing” dissipation may be occurring. We conclude that internal wave related dissipation in the bottom boundary layer provides a robust explanation and is consistent with a commonly used fine‐scale pycnocline dissipation parameterization.

The Contemporary Labor Market Integration of Vietnamese Refugees in Canada

Decades after the arrival of the Vietnamese boat people (1979-1981), we reassess their economic integration, along with that of a second wave (1982-1990). We compare current occupational locations and weekly earnings across the two waves and between the Vietnamese and immigrants born in China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and North and West Europe (arriving 1979-1990). Occupational and earnings profiles document that the second Vietnamese wave has done less well than the first. Birthplace differences in demographic characteristics and educational attainments help explain labor market inequalities between the two waves and between the Vietnamese and other groups. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2021.1957190 .