The cause of atmospheric CO 2 change during the recent ice ages remains a first order question in climate science. Most mechanisms have invoked carbon exchange with the deep ocean, due to its large size and relatively rapid exchange time with the atmosphere 1 . The Southern Ocean is thought to play a key role in this exchange, as much of the deep ocean is ventilated to the atmosphere in this region 2 . However reconstructing changes in deep Southern Ocean carbon storage is challenging, so few direct tests of this hypothesis exist. Here we present new deep-sea coral boron isotope data that track the pH -and thus CO 2 chemistry -of the deep Southern Ocean over the last 40,000 years. At sites closest to the Antarctic continental margin, and most influenced by the deep Southern waters that form the ocean's lower overturning cell, we find a close relationship between ocean pH and atmospheric CO 2 : during intervals of low CO 2 ocean pH is low, reflecting enhanced ocean carbon storage; during intervals of rising CO 2 ocean pH rises, reflecting loss of carbon from the ocean to the atmosphere. Correspondingly, at shallower sites we find rapid (millennial to centennial-scale) pH decreases during abrupt CO 2 rise, reflecting the rapid transfer of carbon from the deep to the upper
Roads can disrupt the population processes of vertebrate wildlife species through habitat fragmentation and vehicle collision. The aims of this review were to synthesise the recent literature on road impacts on wildlife, to identify gaps in our understanding of this topic and to guide future research and management in Australia. We reviewed 244 published studies from the last decade on road and vehicle impacts on wildlife conducted worldwide. A geographic bias was evident among the studies, with 51% conducted in North America, 25% in Europe, 17% in Australia and 7% across several other countries. A taxonomic bias was evident towards mammals (53%), with far fewer studies on birds (10%), amphibians (9%) and reptiles (8%), and some (20%) included multiple taxonomic groups. Although this bias is partly explained by large insurance and medical costs associated with collisions involving large mammals, it is also evident in Australia and signals that large components of biodiversity are being neglected. Despite a prevalence of studies on wildlife road mortality (34%), population impacts are poorly described, although negative impacts are implicated for many species. Barrier effects of roads were examined in 44 studies, with behavioural aversion leading to adverse genetic consequences identified for some species. The installation of road-crossing structures for wildlife has become commonplace worldwide, but has largely outpaced an understanding of any population benefits. Road underpasses appear to be an important generic mitigation tool because a wide range of taxa use them. This knowledge can guide management until further information becomes available. Global concern about the decline of amphibians should lead to a greater focus on road impacts on this group. Priorities for research in Australia include (1) genetic studies on a range of taxa to provide an understanding of life-history traits that predispose species to barrier effects from roads, (2) studies that examine whether crossing structures alleviate population impacts from roads and (3) studies that describe the behavioural response of frogs to crossing structures and that identify factors that may promote the use of suitable structures. A national strategy to mitigate the impacts of roads on wildlife populations is long overdue and must ensure that research on this topic is adequately funded.
The interplay between ocean circulation and biological productivity affects atmospheric CO2 levels and marine oxygen concentrations. During the warming of the last deglaciation, the North Pacific experienced a peak in productivity and widespread hypoxia, with changes in circulation, iron supply, and light limitation all proposed as potential drivers. Here we use the boron-isotope composition of planktic foraminifera from a sediment core in the western North Pacific to reconstruct pH and dissolved CO2 concentrations from 24,000 to 8,000 years ago. We find that the productivity peak during the Bølling-Allerød warm interval, 14,700 to 12,900 years ago, was associated with a 2 decrease in near-surface pH and an increase in pCO2, and must therefore have been driven by increased supply of nutrient and CO2-rich waters. In a climate model ensemble (PMIP3), the presence of large ice sheets over North America results in high rates of wind-driven upwelling within the subpolar North Pacific. We suggest that this process, combined with collapse of North Pacific Intermediate Water formation at the onset of the Bølling-Allerød, led to high rates of upwelling of water rich in nutrients and CO2, and supported the peak in productivity. The respiration of this organic matter, along with poor ventilation, likely caused the regional hypoxia. We suggest that CO2 outgassing from the North Pacific helped to maintain high atmospheric CO2 concentrations during the Bølling-Allerød and contributed to the deglacial CO2 rise. The balance between the supply of nutrients and carbon to surface waters via ocean circulation and their removal via biological productivity is a first order control on atmospheric CO2. This is particularly important at high latitudes 1,2 , where Ekman suction, driven by cyclonic wind stress, and winter mixing supply CO2 from the deep ocean to the surface. Depending on the availability of light and micronutrients, such as iron, this CO2 may be captured by photosynthesis and returned to the deep ocean (the "biological pump"), or may escape to the atmosphere. The balance between circulation and biological productivity is also crucial for determining the ocean's dissolved oxygen content. Ventilation of the ocean at high latitudes mixes oxygen-rich waters from the surface into the ocean's interior, where oxygen is consumed
This project aimed to: identify work-related problems to assist mental health nurses to locate the sources and effects of carer fatigue and burnout, set up a dialogue between the participants and the identified sources of stress in the workplace to address the identified problems, and make recommendations to a local Area Health Service to prevent and manage stressors in the practice of mental health nursing. In total, 20 experienced registered nurses working as mental health nurses were enlisted through a snowballing method of recruitment, and convenience sampling was used to intentionally target those research participants who were interested in identifying sources of carer fatigue and burnout in their work. Data collection was via semistructured interviews which used questions reflecting the first stage of White and Epston's (1990) method of narrative therapy, in which relative influence questioning is used to externalize the problem. The research questions related to the effect of burnout in mental health nursing across various interfaces, through the dominant story of emotional stress and fatigue. The sources of work-related problems for mental health nurses that contribute towards their experiences of carer fatigue and burnout were: employment insecurity and casualization of the work-force; issues with management and the system; difficulties with the nature of the work, inadequate resources and services, problems with doctors, aggressive and criminal consumers, undervaluing consumers and nurses, physical and emotional constraints of the work setting, and nurse-nurse relationships and horizontal violence. The effects of stress were shown in dealing with and reacting to work place stressors.
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