International audienceHigh-frequency (HF) coastal radars measure current velocity at the ocean surface with a 30-100 km range and 1-3 km resolution, every 0.25-1 h. HF radars are well suited to many applications, such as search and rescue (SaR), oil-spill mitigation and ecosystem management. Here we present a first organized core of 12 HF radars installed in five sites in four countries (Greece, Italy, France and Spain) within the European MED project, the Tracking Oil Spill and Coastal Awareness (TOSCA) network. Dedicated experiments tested radar capabilities to estimate transport driven by currents, which is the key feature for all the above applications. Experiments involved the deployment of drifters, i.e., floating buoys, acting as proxies for substances passively advected by currents. Using HF radars the search range is reduced by a factor of 1.6 to 5.3 after 24 h. The paper also underlines the importance of sharing common tools for HF radar data processing and the need to mitigate radio frequency interference. The effort can be regarded as an initial step toward the creation of a Mediterranean or European HF radar network, crucial for any European integrated ocean observing system (IOOS)
[1] Temperature and salinity data, collected by conductivity-temperature-depth cruises over the Gulf of Trieste during 1991-2003, were analyzed using different methods. In the first analysis, the evolution within a year of monthly temperatures and salinities at the sea surface and at 10 m depth was examined. Temperature at the surface varies with an annual amplitude of 8.1 ± 0.4°C around 16.5°C, while at a depth of 10 m it varies with an amplitude of 7.0 ± 0.3°C around 15.5°C, the variation being delayed with respect to that at the surface for about 0.4 months. In the second analysis, the interannual variations of seasonal temperatures and salinities were examined.
The bacterial community, both in terms of community structure (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis fingerprinting) and activity (exoenzymatic hydrolysis of proteins, polysaccharides and phosphorylated molecules and leucine uptake), was investigated seasonally for 3 years (2004-2006) in a large-scale grid in the northern Adriatic Sea. A high variability characterized the spatial structure of bacterial assemblages and a scarce seasonality was found in all the nine studied stations. Bacterial communities were substantially diverse in the same season of the 3 years, in contrast to what was reported previously for oceanic sites. Assemblages were in general strongly affected by river inputs, especially in spring, when freshwater loads were higher. Finally, a close relationship was found between given assemblages and their patterns of degradation/production activities by applying a multivariate analysis (linear discriminant analysis) to the dataset. The high variability of bacterial community structures and patterns of activity may indicate an ecological response to the high dynamism that characterizes the basin both on a physical and on a biological basis.
Objective: To verify presence and severity of muscular and/or intravascular damage during a subterranean exploration of long duration. Methods: We measured serum levels of creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) as markers of muscular damage. We also measured haptoglobin as a marker of intravascular haemolysis, and platelets and leucocytes as markers of inflammation. Results: We found in all the participants an increase in CK, LDH, and platelets and leucocytes (mainly due to neutrophilia and monocytosis), and a decrease in the level of haptoglobin and circulating lymphocytes. Conclusions: The observed data suggest that continuous effort during long alpine subterranean explorations, environmental conditions, sleep deprivation, multiple impacts on rocks, and compression caused by bindings of the caving harness cause muscle damage, intravascular haemolysis, inflammation response, and immunological changes.
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