Areas Of Western Europe Research Articles

Vegetation response in NW Mediterranean borderlands to the millennial-scale climate variability of the last glacial period

Deep-sea pollen records from the Western European margin show that during the Last Glacial period (115-27 ka), regional vegetation oscillated between steppe and open forest in response to the millennial scale climate variability, Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) cycles and Heinrich events (HE), and that the magnitude of the forest expansions during D-O warming events was modulated by orbital parameters. However, little is known about the vegetation response in the northwestern Mediterranean region. Here, we present a new well-chronologically constrained high-resolution marine pollen record from the Gulf of Lion documenting the NW Mediterranean vegetation response during Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 4 and 3. The pollen record highlights the strongest forest expansions during D-O 17-16 and D-O 8 in NW Mediterranean borderlands, likely driven by minima in precession. In this region, Heinrich Stadials (HS) 5 and 4 are marked by steppe landscapes while temperate forest surprisingly characterized HS 6. We hypothesize that the combination of minima in precession and local atmospheric and marine processes allows the development of the temperate forest in NW Mediterranean while the expansion of open environments occurred in other areas of Western Europe. In addition, our results support the hypothesis of Picea survival in NW Mediterranean during MIS 4 to 3.

A survey of Phlebotomine sand flies across their northern distribution range limit in Western Europe

Abstract Sand flies are vectors of Leishmania spp. protozoa, phleboviruses and Bartonella bacilliformis. In this study we surveyed areas of central-western Europe, encompassing the northern limit of the known sand fly distribution, and investigated the relationship between their presence and environmental variables. In this area, very limited occurrence data exists, none of them recent. Sampling was performed in July and August 2023 using CDC-light traps, sticky traps and human landing captures, at 179 selected sites in 48 municipalities. A total of 55 sand fly specimens were collected at 11% (20/179) of the sites sampled – including 16 sites in France, 2 in Luxembourg and 1 in Germany – comprising the first published records for Luxembourg and the Trier-Saarburg County of Germany. No sand flies were detected in Belgium or in the Netherlands. Two species were captured: Phlebotomus mascittii (37 females, 2 males) and Ph. perniciosus (1 female, 15 males). The latter species was only found in Savoie, the southernmost region sampled in France, while the former species was detected as far north as latitude 50°N. Logistic regression modelling indicated that the probability of sand fly presence gradually decreased with increasing latitude and altitude (P < 0.05), and it was not associated to other analysed landscape features in the proximity of the traps. The study confirms and provides new evidence for the presence of sand flies in areas of Western Europe and highlights the need to be aware of potential autochthonous transmission of sand fly-borne pathogens in these areas.

Retrofitting the Bow of a General Cargo Vessel Andevaluating Energy Efficiency Operational Index

Abstract This report examines the feasibility and impact of retrofitting the bulbous bow on a general cargo ship, in terms of the energy efficiency operational index (EEOI), in the areas of Western Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. Three ship forms were developed and analysed: with a bulbous bow, without a bulbous bow, and with a modified bulbous bow. The goal in developing the ship forms and conducting the analysis was to achieve minimal differences in the ship’s characteristics with the same volumetric displacement, aided by PolyCAD software. A route was selected between two ports: Varna and Rotterdam. The labour intensity of the bulbous bow retrofitting process was evaluated and approximate values of labours costs and cost for the task were determined. The results obtained for resistance during ship motion, EEOI, and fuel consumption reductions, or increases, were compared against the retrofitting values. The return cost of retrofitting is evaluated and measured in terms of fuel saved.

Anthropogenic warming has exacerbated droughts in southern Europe since the 1850s

Widespread and frequent droughts have affected most parts of Europe over recent years, but it remains unclear when this synchronous drying trend began and how it has been influenced by anthropogenic forcing. Here we reconstruct and explore the history of drought in southern Europe over the past 300 years using an annual record of tree-ring oxygen isotopes from a site in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The reconstruction suggests that the onset of the drying trend in southern Europe occurred around the 1850s, which is consistent with previous studies demonstrating the extensive and long-lasting drying across central and western European areas. The evidence from CMIP6 model and reanalysis data demonstrates that anthropogenic warming has enhanced the strength of land–atmosphere coupling and exacerbated the widespread drying trend since the 1850s.

Global, region and national trends and age-period-cohort effects in colorectal cancer burden from 1990 to 2019, with predictions to 2039.

Nowadays, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer deaths and contributes to a gradually increasing disease burden. We aimed to estimate the secular trends of global CRC burden, the effect of age, period, and birth cohort, and project the global burden over time. Based on the epidemiological CRC data from 1990 to 2019 in 204 countries and territories from GBD 2019, the estimated annual percentage change (EAPC), was calculated from a linear model and joinpoint regression model. We utilized an age-period-cohort model to reckon age, period, and birth cohort effects on CRC age-standardized rate. The burden of CRC was projected by conducting the BAPC model. Globally, there was a slight decline in the age-standardized DALY rate, which was more apparent in females, with high SDI regions and in Australia and Western Europe areas. Meanwhile, our model predicts a weaker increase in morbidity (EAPC of 0.37) and a speedier reduction in mortality (EAPC of -0.66) by the next 20 years. The relative risk of period for high SDI regions decreased from 1.08 (95%UI: 1.06-1.1) in 1990-1994 to 0.85 (95%UI:0.83-0.88) in 2015-2019, but worsens in low and middle SDI regions. The local drifts were more than 1 in the 30-34 and 35-39 age groups, indicating the rising tide of early-onset CRC. Given the gender and region-specific CRC, targeted efforts to reduce the prevalence of risk factors, improve screening coverage rates, and strengthen foundational medical facilities are necessary.

First clear evidence of Anoplotherium (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) in the Iberian Peninsula: an update on the Iberian anoplotheriines.

Anoplotheriines (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) were enigmatic, medium- to large-sized ungulates that lived in Western Europe from the late middle Eocene to the earliest Oligocene. The unusual dental and postcranial specializations of these Paleogene mammals have no equivalent in other Cenozoic or contemporaneous artiodactyls on Holarctic landmasses. They appeared abruptly on the Central European Island around the middle to late Eocene transition, but their origin and dispersal through the different areas of the Eocene European archipelago are uncertain. The Iberian fossil record of anoplotheriines is not as well-known as that of other Western European areas. This study examined anoplotheriine artiodactyl fossils from late Eocene (Priabonian) beds at the Zambrana site (Miranda-Treviño Basin, Araba/Álava, Spain). We assign them to at least two different species of anoplotheriines, one in the genus Anoplotherium and the other tentatively assigned to the genus Diplobune. In addition, we described the first cranial and dental elements of Anoplotherium from the Iberian Peninsula. These fossils are crucial for establishing the chronological framework of the Iberian site of Zambrana and understanding the biodiversity and paleobiogeography of the European Eocene artiodactyl fauna.

Dealing with Multisource Information for Estuarine Flood Risk Appraisal in Two Western European Coastal Areas

Estuaries are usually affected by compound flooding triggers that cause diverse territorial damages. While fluvial flood risk assessment frameworks are well established in the literature, integrated management instruments that deal with estuarine flood risk remain incomplete and often lacking. This research presents a methodology to extract relevant information from multiple sources post-event and a database building process that is applied to two contrasting estuaries (the Tagus River estuary in Portugal, and the Shannon River estuary in Ireland) in the Western European coastal area. Overall, a total of 274 documents were analyzed and the information was stored in two databases. Multiple correspondence analysis was applied to extract the most informative and relevant estuarine flood indicators. An integrated estuarine flood risk assessment framework is presented and discussed based on the extracted indicators. The framework is driven by two distinct dimensions (oceanic and hydrographic) and revealed the transversal position of triggers of estuarine floods, reflecting the compounding effects usually present in these areas. The results also highlight two levels of flood risk mostly based on damage typology.

МІЖНАРОДНО-ПРАВОВІ СТАНДАРТИ ЕФЕКТИВНОГО ПОЛІТИЧНОГО ПРЕДСТАВНИЦТВА ЕТНІЧНИХ МЕНШИН: ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКІ ПРАКТИКИ ТА ДОСВІД УКРАЇНИ

Починаючи з 1990-х років питання захисту прав етнічних, мовних і релігійних меншин активно впроваджується в міжнародно-правову практику на рівні ООН та Ради Європи. Однією з важливих постала проблема політичного представництва інтересів меншин, яка починає регулюватися на рівні ОБСЄ з запровадженням посади Верховного Комісара у справах національних меншин. На рівні цієї інституції за участі міжнародних експертів вироблені Лундські рекомендації про ефективну участь національних меншин у суспільно-політичному житті (1999), Варшавські рекомендації щодо сприяння участі національних меншин у виборчому процесі (2001), Больцанські/Боценські рекомендації щодо національних меншин у міждержавних відносинах (2008), Люблянські рекомендації щодо інтеграції різноманітних суспільств (2012), Грацькі рекомендації щодо доступу до правосуддя і національних меншин (2017) та ін.Метою статті є висвітлення міжнародно-правового формату забезпечення ефективного політичного представництва інтересів етнічних меншин та практики їх застосування в європейських країнах. Автор розглядає три рівні політичного представництва міноритарних етнічних груп: 1) центральний (загальнодержавний); 2) регіональний та локальний (самоврядування); 3) дорадчий (консультативний).У контексті аналізу політичного представництва етнічних меншин важливу роль займає інститут етнополітичної партії. Впродовж XX – початку XXI ст. він розширив свій ареал із поліетнічних регіонів Західної Європи до країн Центральної та Південо-Східної Європи. Справедливому представництву етнічних меншин у органах влади сприяє створення одномандатних округів (Італія, Албанія та ін.), пропорційна виборча система (Фінляндія, Словаччина та ін.), преференційне голосування (Австралія), зниження відсоткового бар’єру для проходження до парламенту етнополітичних партій (Польща, Сербія та ін.). Ряд країн Європи (Боснія і Герцеговина, Косово, Хорватія, Словенія, Румунія, Угорщина) застосовують практику резервування місць у парламенті для організацій етнічних громад. Представництво меншин на рівні уряду реалізується шляхом створення спеціальних органів центральної виконавчої влади, які зазвичай представлені в структурі міністерств культури та освіти. До роботи в цих урядових інституціях залучаються представники етнічних груп. Позитивний досвід репрезентації етнічних меншин у судових і правоохоронних органах має Республіка Хорватія.Ефективна політична участь та представництво у владі етнічних меншин реалізується через функціональну систему місцевого самоврядування, яка створюється на екстериторіальній та територіальній основі. Корпоративна модель екстериторіальної автономії меншин представлена так званими саамськими парламентами на півночі Норвегії, Швеції, Фінляндії та Росії. Найбільш розповсюджна у світі персональна модель екстериторіальної автономії етнічних меншин забезпечується шляхом створення неурядових організацій. Завдяки процесам регіоналізації та децентралізації ряд етнічних громад Європи мають статус національно-територіальних автономій (Італія, Іспанія, Франція, Данія, Фінляндія, Молдова). Дорадчі (консультативні) органи слугують каналами для діалогу між державною владою та етнічними громадами в питаннях використання земельних ресурсів, житла, захисту освітніх, мовних і культурних прав. Вони формуються як на рівні уряду (Австрія), так на рівні президентської влади (Україна).Враховуючи досвід цих держав, потребують вдосконалення наступні аспекти політичної репрезентації етнічних меншин: 1) відновлення адміністративних меж угорськомовного та румунськомовного виборчих одномандатних округів; 2) перегляд законодавчої норми щодо принципів інституціоналізації етнополітичних партій; 3) застосування на регіональному та локальному рівнях пропорційної системи відкритих списків із можливістю репрезентації партій меншин у регіонах України з поліетнічним складом населення.

Rapid spread and population genetics of Aedes japonicus japonicus (Diptera: Culicidae) in southeastern Europe (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia).

The Asian bush mosquito, Aedes japonicus japonicus (Theobald, 1901), a potential vector of several pathogens, has recently established in North America and Central Europe. In 2013, it was found on the Slovenian-Croatian border, and during the following years, it emerged in more and more counties of northwestern Croatia. Surveillance of Ae. j. japonicus and other invasive mosquito species was subsequently extended both spatially and temporally in Croatia and neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. Mosquito collections were conducted in 2017 and 2018, based on adult trapping through dry ice-baited CDC traps and BG-Lure-baited BG-Sentinel traps, larval sampling through dippers and nets, and ovitrapping. Aedes j. japonicus specimens from collected samples were subjected to population genetic analysis by comparing microsatellite signatures and nad4 DNA sequences between sampled locations and with data previously obtained from more western European distribution areas. Aedes j. japonicus immature stages were found at 19 sites in Croatia, two sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one site in Serbia. In Croatia, four new counties were found colonised, two in the east and two in the south of the previously known distribution area. A spread of 250 km could thus be documented within five years. The findings in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia represent the first records of Ae. j. japonicus in these countries. Genetic analysis suggests at least two introduction events into the surveyed area. Among the locations analysed, Orahovica can be considered a genetic border. The individuals collected west of this point were found to be similar to samples previously collected in the border regions of Southeast Germany/Austria and Austria/Slovenia, while the specimens from more eastern Croatian localities, together with those from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, were genetically different and could not be assigned to a probable origin. Thus, introduction from Central Europe, possibly by vehicular traffic, into the study area is likely, but other origins, transportation routes and modes of entry appear to contribute. Further dispersal of Ae. j. japonicus to other parts of southeastern Europe is anticipated.

Poverty and mental health: policy, practice and research implications.

This article examines the relationship between poverty and mental health problems. We draw on the experience of Glasgow, our home city, which contains some of Western Europe's areas of greatest concentrated poverty and poorest health outcomes. We highlight how mental health problems are related directly to poverty, which in turn underlies wider health inequalities. We then outline implications for psychiatry.

Comparison of Pessimistic Character of Spasse’s Jon Zaveri and Goethe’s Werther

This paper aims to compare the pessimistic character of Spasse’s Jon Zaveri and Goethe's Werther. Although the novels were written in different periods, “Why?!” (Albanian: Pse?!) by the Albanian author Sterjo Spasse, in the thirties of the twentieth century, and “The Sorrows of Young Werther” (German: Die Leiden des jungen Werthers), by the German author Johan Wolfgang Goethe, in the seventies of the seventeenth century, they have their similarities and contradictions, which is natural given the fact of the social and economic circumstances of both the Western European and European Balkan areas. Goethe's Werther, although much earlier in time than Spasse’s Jon, lived in an environment that bears no resemblance to the environment in which Jon was born, raised, and formed. Werther, was traditionally rich, educated, and wandered around different places. His social circle was of an intellectual and artistic level. There is talk of ballrooms, pianos, music, novels, drawing, travel, and great writers...while, in Jon's social circle, especially where we deal with family and social conventionalism, it is completely different even though we are almost in the second half of the twentieth century. Jon is the only villager who leaves the village and goes to the city to get educated, while all the villagers are not only in mentality, but also in their clothes they wear still traditional. This is also beautifully portrayed at the time of John's wedding, when his family arrange a marriage getting him married to his wife Aferdita! She is a bride in traditional village style clothes, as described by Jon, just like all the wedding guests, with the exception of Jon, who had changed his dressing style, getting dressed as a citizen. The most obvious commonality in the characters of the novels “Why?!” and “The Sorrows of Young Werther”, is the pessimism of both and the suicide of both. John commits suicide in the lake by disagreeing with the marriage and fails to understand love, while Werther is madly in love, a love that leads him to suicide. So, Jon commits suicide by not finding the WHY of life and young love, which he never managed to understand or experience, while Werther fails to find the WHY of not making true the dream of his love, love which blinds him and takes him to the peak of pessimism, to suicide! Goethe's Werther is influenced as a personality by the world of art, while Spasse’s Jon is influenced by the world of philosophers.

Attitudes toward and Knowledge about Wolves in SW German Secondary School Pupils from within and outside an Area Occupied by Wolves (Canis lupus).

Simple SummaryThe wolf (Canis lupus) was extinct from large parts of Europe, but during the last decades, wolves re-entered their previous distribution area in Germany. The federal state of Baden-Württemberg has delineated a wolf area where some individuals are roaming around. We compared secondary school students from within and outside the wolf area, and analysed gender, age, and residency effects on attitude and knowledge. A total of 254 students from secondary schools participated in this study with a mean age of 12.63 ± 2.17. We asked for basic attitudes toward wolves and for knowledge about wolves. In detail, age was related to the subscale interest to learn, with lower interest scores related to an increasing age. Girls reported a higher level of fear of wolves, and, concerning residency, conservation attitudes were lower within the wolf area compared to outside. Boys had a higher level of knowledge than girls. A higher level of knowledge was related to a greater conservation attitude, a greater interest to learn, a lower level of fear/harm, and a lower acceptance of hunting.Wolves (Canis lupus) were exterminated from most areas of western Europe during the last two centuries, but, during the last decades, wolves re-entered their previous distribution area in Germany. We compared secondary school students from within and outside a delineated wolf area, and analysed gender, age, and residency. A total of 254 students participated in this study (age: M = 12.63 ± 2.17). We used a measurement introduced which consisted of three parts, demographics, attitudes and knowledge. There was a significant overall effect of age, gender, and residency in attitudes toward wolves. More specifically, age was related to the subscale interest to learn, with lower interest scores related to an increasing age. Girls reported a higher level of fear. Conservation was lower within the wolf area than outside. Boys had a higher level of knowledge than girls. A higher level of knowledge was related to greater conservation, a greater interest to learn, a lower level of fear, and a lower acceptance of hunting. Hence, in order to improve students’ conservation attitudes, it would be useful to foster learning about wolves at school. Special attention should be paid to ensuring that girls also internalize the content of these lessons.

DNA analysis of Castanea sativa(sweet chestnut) in Britain and Ireland: Elucidating European origins and genepool diversity.

Castanea sativa is classified as non-indigenous in Britain and Ireland. It was long held that it was first introduced into Britain by the Romans, until a recent study found no corroborative evidence of its growing here before c. AD 650. This paper presents new data on the genetic diversity of C. sativa in Britain and Ireland and potential ancestral sources in continental Europe. Microsatellite markers and analytical methods tested in previous European studies were used to genotype over 600 C. sativa trees and coppice stools, sampled from ancient semi-natural woodlands, secondary woodlands and historic cultural sites across Britain and Ireland. A single overall genepool with a diverse admixture of genotypes was found, containing two sub groups differentiating Wales from Ireland, with discrete geographical and typological clusters. C. sativa genotypes in Britain and Ireland were found to relate predominantly to some sites in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Romania, but not to Greece, Turkey or eastern parts of Europe. C. sativa has come to Britain and Ireland from these western European areas, which had acted as refugia in the Last Glacial Maximum; we compare its introduction with the colonization/translocation of oak, ash, beech and hazel into Britain and Ireland. Clones of C. sativa were identified in Britain, defining for the first time the antiquity of some ancient trees and coppice stools, evincing both natural regeneration and anthropogenic propagation over many centuries and informing the chronology of the species’ arrival in Britain. This new evidence on the origins and antiquity of British and Irish C. sativa trees enhances their conservation and economic significance, important in the context of increasing threats from environmental change, pests and pathogens.

Population of Wieliczka in 1788 — Household Size and Structure

The article attempts to establish basic demographic parameters for the inhabitants of Wieliczka in the 18th century. The aim of the research is to investigate whether the nature of Wieliczka family farms was similar to the results obtained in other cities and regions located in Polish lands and areas of western Europe. The research was based on the 1788 census of the inhabitants of St. Clemens parish in Wieliczka, and the Wieliczka register books.

Ancient tin production: Slags from the Iron Age Carvalhelhos hillfort (NW Iberian Peninsula)

Provenance and production of tin in the Ancient World has since long been a major topic of discussion among archaeologists. In Western Europe, where significant tin ore (cassiterite) deposits are known, only a few remains of ancient tin production, such as tin slags, have been detected. In the present work, elemental and microstructural analyses by WDXRF, SEM-EDS and XRD were performed on recently recognised tin slags from the Iron Age Carvalhelhos hillfort located in NW Iberia, a territory that represents the largest extension with tin mineralisation in Western Europe. Elemental and microstructural characterisation of cassiterite collected in a pilot field survey in the region of the hillfort are presented and discussed, as well as two ceramic fragments that could be part of a smelting structure and an iron slag from the settlement. Results show that the tin slags have variable but high contents in Sn, similarly to Pre-Medieval tin slags found in other Western European areas, but also high contents of Ta and Nb, which specifically distinguish them from other tin slags, such as those found in SW Britain. Tin ores from the hillfort region frequently have Ta and Nb in cassiterite solid solution or as inclusions of columbite group minerals, relating well with the Carvalhelhos tin slags. Up to present, the Carvalhelhos slags are amongst the very few ancient tin slags known in Western Europe, and their study can contribute to a better knowledge on ancient tin sources and trade routes.

Social Transformation and Human Mobility: Reflections on the Past, Present and Future of Migration

ABSTRACTThis article examines the development of international migration in the context of broader changes in global economic and political formations since the late 1940s. It also reflects on changing official policies and public attitudes to migration, as well as on the emergence of migration studies as a special interdisciplinary area of the social sciences. Four phases are discussed: 1. The period of concentration of investment in the old industrial areas of Western Europe up to the mid- 1960s , which led to attraction of mainly lower-skilled labour as ‘guestworkers’ or post-colonial migrants. Prejudice against newcomers was interpreted mainly in social-psychological terms as a ‘natural reaction’ against newcomers. 2. The beginnings of a new wave of globalisation in the 1970s and 1980s. Manufacturing employment in old core industrial areas fell, while new industrial economies (based largely on low pay and anti-union policies) burgeoned. Western European governments tried to send home the ‘guestworkers’. The failure of such policies led to the emergence of multicultural societies. At the same time, the growing economies of the Gulf oil states and some Asian ‘tigers’ pulled in millions of workers, bound by very strict and often discriminatory contracts. 3. From the late 1980s to the recession of 2008 the globalisation of investment and production reached new heights. Cheaper transport and the growth of new media supported the growth of international migration at all skill levels. Developed countries cut back on education costs by importing human capital from countries like India and China, while denying the need for low-skilled workers. Yet the lack of nationals willing to take such jobs fuels the growth of temporary contract migration and irregular movement. Increasingly, migrants have come to be seen as a threat to jobs for low-skilled nationals and as a danger to national security. 4. The article argues that a new phase in global change is emerging following the 2008 crisis, and examines possible trends and their meaning for human mobility in the 21st century.

Europe as a model for large carnivores conservation: Is the glass half empty or half full?

At first sight, the increasing trend of many large mammal populations in EU Member States are the results from successful application of EU environmental legislation. In this perspective a ‘rewilding’ Europe appears as a laudable conservation goal. It has been therefore suggested that the EU model of carnivores-humans coexistence could be of interest to several other regions of the Planet. In the present paper we critically review alleged successes of the EU conservation policies. Our conclusions suggest that some optimistic reports should be taken cautiously. Firstly, one should not lose sight of the heterogeneity of ‘Europe’ and the different histories and socio-ecological situations of the 28 Member States. Furthermore, we doubt whether the positive status of large carnivores in Eastern Europe is attributable exclusively to EU conservation policies. Long time spans necessary for demographic recovery in large carnivores sharply contradict the quite recent entry of these countries into the EU. The EU model is possible owing to the unique socio-economic development that Western Europe experienced after the Second World War. Economic growth, urbanization, rural abandonment and reforestation are the main forces behind the increase of large mammals in some areas of Western Europe. Yet this has been possible only through a considerable input of natural resources from outside EU (food, raw materials, oil, gas etc.). Therefore, although there are examples that could be considered good experiences, we are of the opinion that the EU policies as a general model is unlikely to be exportable world-wide and may have negative consequences for wildlife, even in Eastern Europe.

Adaptation, interaction and urgency: a complex evolutionary economic geography approach to leisure

ABSTRACTLocal and regional governments in western European peripheral areas aim to spur leisure-led regional development. We explore planning for leisure by applying an evolutionary economic geography (EEG) approach from a complexity perspective. We identify conditions which enable and constrain leisure development and its effects on the region as a whole. This means combining the local level of individual adaptations with the institutional setting and with the regional scale. We examine the Dutch province of Fryslân and explore by means of case study analysis how current leisure development processes can be explained in a complex evolutionary manner. We explore economic novelty as a result of individual adaptations; how such adaptations through interactions create emerging spatial patterns; how these spatial patterns form self-organizing new types of order; and the way this process is dependent on previous paths whilst also creating new pathways. Our findings show that although development is dependent on individual adaptations often stemming from a few actors, for such adaptations to have an effect on the region requires a connectivity between actors and a sense of urgency amongst those actors. Using a complex EEG approach allows us to explain leisure-led regional development as the product of these conditions. This can help planners deal with the complexity and unpredictability of this process, focusing not on a desired end goal as such, but on creating the conditions in which a more autonomous development can take place.

A world avoided: impacts of changes in anthropogenic emissions on the burden and effects of air pollutants in Europe and North America.

Emissions from anthropogenic activity are known to have deleterious impacts on human and ecosystem health and as such a significant amount of time, effort and money has been spent developing legislation to minimise their effects. Here we use a state of the art coupled chemistry-climate model HadGEM2-ES, with extended tropospheric chemistry, to assess the impacts that changes in emissions from anthropogenic activity have had on the burden and impacts of air pollutants over the last three decades. We use HadGEM2-ES to assess an alternative trajectory in air pollutant emissions to that which we have seen, with a regional focus on the contiguous United States and areas of Western Europe. This alternative trajectory can be considered to reflect a world avoided. In this world avoided, the significant levels of air pollution legislation imposed over the last three decades are simulated to not have come into effect in the contiguous United States and Western Europe. Rather a business as usual emission scenario is followed from 1970 to the present day. By combining the results of simulations of the world avoided with a base case present day atmosphere our model runs demonstrate that as a result of air pollution legislation, over 500 000 early mortalities a year have been mitigated owing to extensive reduction in sulfate aerosol and up to 8000 early mortalities a year have been mitigated as a result of improvements in ozone and nitrogen dioxide pollution. These results highlight the important role of legislation in reducing air pollution related mortality in these areas of the globe and highlight a compelling case for developing regions to follow.

Temps et réseaux de l’art paléolithique : la grotte de La Covaciella (Asturies, Espagne)

The study of graphic convergences and divergences in Palaeolithic art is used to understand the culture, territories and interaction systems of human groups. La Covaciella cave has fifteen animal representations and other linear, dots and geometric motifs. The bison stands out; some were executed with complex technical procedures. Two of them were dated by C14 AMS, obtaining a result of 14,260±130BP (17,733–16,973cal BP) and 14,060±140BP (17,503–16,260cal BP). These correspond chronologically with the beginning of the middle Magdalenian or the very end of the lower Magdalenian. Similar depictions to the bison at La Covaciella are located in other areas of Western Europe. The repertoire of parietal bison displaying graphic similarities with those at La Covaciella is very large; both of the Pyrenean model (Niaux morphotype) and of the Perigordian model (Font-de-Gaume morphotype). A first consideration derived from the search for comparisons involves a new interpretation of the territorial value implied by the term Pyrenean style (Asturias, Cantabria, Basque Country, Navarre, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Haute-Garonne, Ariège, Dordogne, Lot, Ardèche and Vienne). The Font-de-Gaume parietal morphotype is most common in Dordogne. In addition, in some cases, spatial complementariness has been found, with both graphic morphotypes. This article proposes different chronological and anthropological hypothesis to explain the distribution and coexistence of the two graphic models.