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Hawaiian Forest Birds: The Past, Present And Future Status Of An Endangered Avifauna, Dennis A. Lapointe, Carter T. Atkinson, Paul C. Banko, Richard J. Camp, P. Marcos Gorresen, James D. Jacobi, Thane K. Pratt, Michael D. Samuel

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The Hawaiian forest birds are among the most endangered avifauna of the world. Entire bird groups have disappeared from the Hawaiian Islands, and of the more than fifty, historically-known species of Hawaiian honeycreeper, only 17 remain. Due to the extreme geographical isolation, few birds colonized the Hawaiian Islands but, released from direct competition, predation, and disease, these founders flourished and evolved amid the heterogeneous geography of the archipelago. This process of colonization and speciation is best characterized by the honeycreepers; the largest radiation of endemic forest birds in the Hawaiian Islands, or for that matter, birds on any oceanic archipelago. …

Carbon Capture And Storage Policy In China, Yan Gu

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This paper examines the current state of Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage technology (CCUS) in China as well as the related climate change policy, laws, and initiatives that might be used to encourage the large-scale deployment of carbon sequestration in China. The paper is organized in six sections. Section I examines the overall status of CCUS development in China, including CCUS research activities and demonstration project deployment. Section II discusses the broader environment of national climate change policies issued by the State Council (namely the Central People’s Government) and how it accommodates CCUS development policy. Section III reviews China’s technology …

Alluvial Fans In The Mcmurdo Dry Valleys: A Proxy For Melting Along Terrestrial Margins Of The East Antarctic Ice Sheet, Felix Zamora

Environmental and Conservation Sciences

Surface melting along Antarctic ice sheet margins is the most poorly understood input in models of future sea level rise. Alluvial fans in the McMurdo Dry Valleys originate from meltwater produced from high-elevation glaciers and snowbanks along these margins but many show no evidence for recent melting. These fans could serve as a record of past melting along terrestrial ice sheet margins, which would help quantify inputs to sea-level rise.To describe how melting has taken place in the past, five representative fans were examined. Fans are composed of thin, planar-bedded gravelly sands deposited by sheetflooding. Geospatial analsysis suggests the distance …

Geomechanics And Elastic Anisotropy Of The Bakken Formation, Williston Basin, Mehdi Ostadhassan

Theses and Dissertations

Many of the earth’s rocks exhibit anisotropic characteristics. Anisotropy is particularly common in many sedimentary rocks, such as shales. Anisotropy is defined as the spatial alignment of mineral grains, layers, fractures and stresses which causes elastic wave velocity and other elastic properties to vary with direction. There are two types of anisotropy: intrinsic and stress-induced. Intrinsic anisotropy is caused by beddings, microstructures or aligned fractures formed during deposition. Stress-induced anisotropy is caused by strain associated with external stresses. Intrinsic anisotropy originates in the absence of external stresses, while stress-induced anisotropy results from tectonic and overburden stresses. The style of earth …

Chapter 5 Biotic Interactions And Temporal Patterns Forlandslide Ecology, Lawrence R. Walker, Aaron B. Shiels

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

1. Landslide succession is the sequential replacement of plant communities following landslide creation. It is affected by biotic interactions and abiotic conditions and occurs in the intervals between recurrent erosion events.

2. Plant species can facilitate or inhibit landslide succession by direct species interactions or indirectly by the alteration of resources including light levels, soil stability, soil moisture, or soil nutrients. Species replacements may also occur due to differences in the life histories of landslide colonizers.

3. Herbivores, pathogens, and non-native species influence landslide succession and contribute to the variety of successional trajectories found on landslides, potentially with long-term consequences. …