Zeitschriftenartikel zum Thema „Coastal Gas Link (CGL)“

Abstract. A model of iodine chemistry in the marine boundary layer (MBL) has been used to investigate the impact of daytime coastal emissions of molecular iodine (I2). The model contains a full treatment of gas-phase iodine chemistry, combined with a description of the nucleation and growth, by condensation and coagulation, of iodine oxide nano-particles. In-situ measurements of coastal emissions of I2 made by the broadband cavity ring-down spectroscopy (BBCRDS) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP/MS) techniques are presented and compared to long path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) observations of I2 at Mace Head, Ireland. Simultaneous measurements of enhanced I2 emissions and particle bursts show that I2 is almost certainly the main precursor of new particles at this coastal location. The ratio of IO to I2 predicted by the model indicates that the iodine species observed by the DOAS are concentrated over a short distance (about 8% of the 4.2 km light path) consistent with the intertidal zone, bringing them into good agreement with the I2 measurements made by the two in-situ techniques. The model is then used to investigate the effect of iodine emission on ozone depletion, and the production of new particles and their evolution to form stable cloud condensation nuclei (CCN).

Abstract. A model of iodine chemistry in the marine boundary layer (MBL) has been used to investigate the impact of daytime coastal emissions of molecular iodine (I2). The model contains a full treatment of gas-phase iodine chemistry, combined with a description of the nucleation and growth, by condensation and coagulation, of iodine oxide nano-particles. In-situ measurements of coastal emissions of I2 made by the broadband cavity ring-down spectroscopy (BBCRDS) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP/MS) techniques are presented and compared to long path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) observations of I2 at Mace Head, Ireland. Simultaneous measurements of enhanced I2 emissions and particle bursts show that I2 is almost certainly the main precursor of new particles at this coastal location. The ratio of IO to I2 predicted by the model indicates that the iodine species observed by the DOAS are concentrated over a short distance (about 8% of the 4.2 km light path) consistent with the intertidal zone, bringing them into good agreement with the I2 measurements made by the two in-situ techniques. The model is then used to investigate the effect of iodine emission on ozone depletion, and the production of new particles and their evolution to form stable cloud condensation nuclei (CCN).

The Bacton Sandscaping scheme is a large-scale beach nourishment, designed to protect the Bacton Gas Terminal from cliff and beach erosion while also reducing flood and erosion risk to the communities of Bacton and Walcott, buying the time they need for adaptation to coastal change. The scheme was inspired by the even larger Dutch Zandmotor project, translating the concept to the different geography and governance setting of the UK - it can be seen as the Zandmotor's 'little nephew'. The term 'Sandscaping' was introduced to illustrate the large-scale and ambitious nature of the concept: work at a large scale, designing to work with natural processes and to achieve multiple objectives.Recorded Presentation from the vICCE (YouTube Link): https://youtu.be/FA3DjdCgKrk

Environmental Context.Bursts of ultra-fine particles (diameter < 10 nm) in the daytime coastal marine boundary layer at low tide coincide with the observation of iodine oxide radicals. The detection of iodine in the particles suggests a direct link between the biogenic emission of iodine-containing vapours and subsequent particle nucleation and growth. These coastal aerosols are therefore most likely iodine oxide polymers. However, the reaction pathways leading to the homogeneous nucleation of these particles are currently an area of uncertainty, as is their final composition. These ultra-fine particles are potentially important as a source of cloud condensation nuclei, and as a major pathway for enriching iodine in marine aerosol. Abstract.Iodine oxide nanoparticles were generated photochemically from I2 in the presence of O3, and their morphology and composition analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The particles exhibit fractal morphologies consistent with agglomerative coagulation, and have an O/I ratio of 2.45 ± 0.08, indicating that they are composed of I2O5. Quantum calculations show that gas-phase I2O5 could be formed by a series of exothermic reactions involving the oxidation of I2O2, I2O3 and I2O4 by O3. In order to form pure I2O5 particles, modelling calculations indicate that the rate coefficients for these reactions probably need to be faster than 6 × 10−13 cm3 molecule−1 s−1 at 295 K. Applying this model to the atmosphere shows that ultra-fine iodine oxide particles formed in the coastal marine boundary layer would then consist of I2O5.

In a changing climate, understanding how soil hydrology impacts greenhouse gas dynamics will be important for the future management of the soils in the forests on the Canadian Pacific west coast. In a laboratory study, the impact of soil hydrology on potential net methane (CH4) exchange rates and the abundance of methanotrophs (CH4oxidation) and methanogens (CH4production) in upland and water-saturated wet soils were investigated. CH4oxidation and production rates were highest in the wet soils, which corresponded to higher numbers of methanotrophs and methanogens, indicating a link between the microbial abundance and CH4exchange rates. Also, CH4production was induced in the upland soils, indicating the presence of methanogens. The optimum soil moisture content for CH4oxidation was highest in upland soils and the wet soils sustained higher CH4oxidation rates over a broader range of soil moisture. These results underline the importance of the soil hydrological controls of CH4oxidation in contrasting soils and forest types, which deserves further attention in field-based studies.

The problem of global warming is becoming more and more serious. N2O is a potent greenhouse gas. Most current studies on dissolved N2O concentration have focused on inland freshwater and seawater while paying less attention to coastal agricultural catchment areas. The coastal agricultural catchment area is the link between the farmland ecosystem and the aquatic ecosystem, which is shallow in water depth. Moreover, due to the high salt content and obvious periodic change, it is highly sensitive to environmental changes and human activities and has strong potential for N2O emission. Therefore, it is of great significance to understand the characteristics of the changes in the dissolved N2O concentration in the shallow-water ecosystem under the saline-alkali environment of the coastal reclamation area and to identify the main controlling factors. The soil of Yudong reclamation area in Rudong County, Jiangsu Province was collected to carry out the submerged cultivation experiment. In order to simulate the saline-alkali situation of the coastal reclamation area, four salt gradients (S1–S4), four alkali gradients (A1–A4), and three levels of exogenous nitrogen concentration (N1–N3). In addition, the experiment set a control treatment (CK) without salt and alkali addition. After 2 weeks of cultivation in a shallow water layer of about 5 cm, the dissolved N2O concentration and its influencing factors were measured and analyzed by collecting the overlying water sample and sediment after 24 h of fertilization. The results showed that changes in the saline-alkali environment in shallow-water ecosystems significantly affected the changes in dissolved N2O concentration. The saline-alkali indicators (EC and pH of the overlying water and sediment), DO of the overlying water, and the microbial genes nirS, nirK, and nosZ were the key influencing factors of N2O production in shallow-water systems. The correlation between nirS gene abundance and the dissolved N2O concentration was the highest. The BP neural network model can be used to simulate and predict the dissolved N2O concentration in overlying water under saline-alkali environment. Based on the experimental results, this study can provide a scientific basis for understanding the nitrogen cycling process in shallow-water ecosystems in the coastal reclamation area, improving the absorption of non-point-source nitrogen and reducing N2O emissions in shallow-water wetlands.

AbstractThree ice cores drilled in the central part of the Antarctic continent extend back to the last glacial period: one from West Antarctica (Byrd) and two from East Antarctica (Vostok and Dome C). This period is also partly covered by a few cores from the coastal areas. In these cores, climatic information is mostly derived from the isotopic profiles (δD or δ18O) from which surface temperature and, more indirectly, precipitation rate can be estimated. The main objective has been to compare thoroughly the three deep ice cores for the main part of the last glacial period (from ca. 65,000–15,000 yr B.P.). The time scales have been examined in detail and a new 40,000 yr chronology for the Dome C core adopted. Special emphasis is placed on the link between the concentration of 10Be and past accumulation changes and on the use of peaks in the concentration of this cosmogenic isotope as stratigraphic markers. Elevation changes of the ice sheet, derived from gas content and isotopic data, bear directly on interpretations of past temperature and precipitation rate changes.

Environmental context Halocarbons are trace gases important in atmospheric ozone chemistry whose biogenic production – among other factors – depends on light-induced stress of marine algae. Several studies have confirmed this effect in laboratory experiments but knowledge in natural systems remains sparse. In mesocosm experiments, which are a link between field and laboratory studies, we observed that the influence of natural levels of ultraviolet radiation on halocarbon dynamics in the marine surface waters was either insignificant or concealed by the complex interactions in the natural systems. Abstract The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of different light quality, especially ultraviolet radiation (UVR), on the dynamics of volatile halogenated organic compounds (VHOCs) at the sea surface. Short term experiments were conducted with floating gas-tight mesocosms of different optical qualities. Six halocarbons (CH3I, CHCl3, CH2Br2, CH2ClI, CHBr3 and CH2I2), known to be produced by phytoplankton, together with a variety of biological and environmental variables were measured in the coastal southern Baltic Sea and in the Raunefjord (North Sea). These experiments showed that ambient levels of UVR have no significant influence on VHOC dynamics in the natural systems. We attribute it to the low radiation doses that phytoplankton cells receive in a normal turbulent surface mixed layer. The VHOC concentrations were influenced by their production and removal processes, but they were not correlated with biological or environmental parameters investigated. Diatoms were most likely the dominant biogenic source of VHOCs in the Baltic Sea experiment, whereas in the Raunefjord experiment macroalgae probably contributed strongly to the production of VHOCs. The variable stable carbon isotope signatures (δ13C values) of bromoform (CHBr3) also indicate that different autotrophic organisms were responsible for CHBr3 production in the two coastal environments. In the Raunefjord, despite strong daily variations in CHBr3 concentration, the carbon isotopic ratio was fairly stable with a mean value of –26‰. During the declining spring phytoplankton bloom in the Baltic Sea, the δ13C values of CHBr3 were enriched in 13C and showed noticeable diurnal changes (–12‰ ±4). These results show that isotope signature analysis is a useful tool to study both the origin and dynamics of VHOCs in natural systems.

This study aimed to investigate the volatile flavor compounds and tastes of six kinds of sauced pork from the southwest and eastern coastal areas of China using gas chromatography–ion mobility spectroscopy (GC-IMS) combined with an electronic nose (E-nose) and electronic tongue (E-tongue). The results showed that the combined use of the E-nose and E-tongue could effectively identify different kinds of sauced pork. A total of 52 volatile flavor compounds were identified, with aldehydes being the main flavor compounds in sauced pork. The relative odor activity value (ROAV) showed that seven key volatile compounds, including 2-methylbutanal, 2-ethyl-3, 5-dimethylpyrazine, 3-octanone, ethyl 3-methylbutanoate, dimethyl disulfide, 2,3-butanedione, and heptane, contributed the most to the flavor of sauced pork (ROAV ≥1). Multivariate data analysis showed that 13 volatile compounds with the variable importance in projection (VIP) values > 1 could be used as flavor markers to distinguish six kinds of sauced pork. Pearson correlation analysis revealed a significant link between the E-nose sensor and alcohols, aldehydes, terpenes, esters, and hetero-cycle compounds. The results of the current study provide insights into the volatile flavor compounds and tastes of sauced pork. Additionally, intelligent sensory technologies can be a promising tool for discriminating different types of sauced pork.

Abstract. Measurements of individual NOy components were carried out at Halley station in coastal Antarctica. The measurements were made as part of the CHABLIS campaign (Chemistry of the Antarctic Boundary Layer and the Interface with Snow) and cover over half a year, from austral winter 2004 through to austral summer 2005. They are the longest duration and most extensive NOy budget study carried out to date in polar regions. Results show clear dominance of organic NOy compounds (PAN and MeONO2) during the winter months, with low concentrations of inorganic NOy, but a reversal of this situation towards summer when the balance shifts in favour of inorganic NOy. Multi-seasonal measurements of surface snow nitrate correlate strongly with inorganic NOy species. One case study in August suggested that particulate nitrate was the dominant source of nitrate to the snowpack, but this was not the consistent picture throughout the measurement period. An analysis of NOx production rates showed that emissions of NOx from the snowpack dominate over gas-phase sources of "new NOx", suggesting that, for certain periods in the past, the flux of NOx into the boundary layer can be calculated from ice core nitrate data.

Traditionally, underwater acoustic modems and positioning systems were developed for military and Oil & Gas industries, that require deep water deployments and extremely reliable systems, focusing on high power expensive systems and leaving the use of low-cost devices only attractive for academic studies. Conversely, recent developments of low-cost unmanned vehicles, such as remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), suitable for shallow water coastal missions, and the need of sensors network deployments for measuring water quality and studying the effect of climate change in coastal areas, called to the need of low-cost and low-power acoustic modems and positioning systems that are gaining more and more momentum to date. The use of these devices can enable a wide set of applications, often based on low-cost AUV swarm formations, where an acoustic link between the vehicles is required to coordinate the mission, perform the maneuvers, and maintain the formation along the time. Moreover, they can make environmental wireless sensor deployment cost effective by substituting wired systems. Underwater positioning systems, usually used in large-scale operations, can be finally applied to small-scale application thanks to the reduction in costs, at the price of a lower transmission and positioning range and precision. While in open-sea application this performance reduction is a huge limitation, in river, lagoon, port and lake deployments this is not an issue, given that the extremely shallow water and the presence of many obstacles would deteriorate the acoustic signal anyway, not allowing long range transmissions even with expensive and sophisticated acoustic devices. In this paper, we review the recent developments of low-cost and low-power acoustic communication and positioning systems, both analyzing University prototypes and new commercial devices available in the market, identifying advantages and limitations of these devices, and we describe potential new applications that can be enabled by these systems.

Abstract. Measurements of a suite of individual NOy components were carried out at Halley station in coastal Antarctica as part of the CHABLIS campaign (Chemistry of the Antarctic Boundary Layer and the Interface with Snow). Conincident measurements cover over half a year, from austral winter 2004 through to austral summer 2005. Results show clear dominance of organic NOy compounds (PAN and MeONO2) during the winter months, with low concentrations of inorganic NOy. During summer, concentrations of inorganic NOy compounds are considerably greater, while those of organic compounds, although lower than in winter, are nonetheless significant. The relative concentrations of the alkyl nitrates, as well as their seasonality, are consistent with an oceanic source. Multi-seasonal measurements of surface snow nitrate correlate strongly with inorganic NOy species (especially HNO3) rather than organic. One case study in August suggested that, on that occasion, particulate nitrate was the dominant source of nitrate to the snowpack, but this was not the consistent picture throughout the measurement period. An analysis of NOx production rates showed that emissions of NOx from the snowpack overwhelmingly dominate over gas-phase sources. This result suggests that, for certain periods in the past, the flux of NOx into the Antarctic boundary layer can be calculated from ice core nitrate data.

Continental aquatic systems from rivers to the coastal zone are considered within two perspectives: (i) as a major link between the atmosphere, pedosphere, biosphere and oceans within the Earth system with its Holocene dynamics, and (ii) as water and aquatic biota resources progressively used and transformed by humans. Human pressures have now reached a state where the continental aquatic systems can no longer be considered as being controlled by only Earth system processes, thus defining a new era, the Anthropocene. Riverine changes, now observed at the global scale, are described through a first set of syndromes (flood regulation, fragmentation, sediment imbalance, neo–arheism, salinization, chemical contamination, acidification, eutrophication and microbial contamination) with their related causes and symptoms. These syndromes have direct influences on water uses, either positive or negative. They also modify some Earth system key functions such as sediment, water, nutrient and carbon balances, greenhouse gas emissions and aquatic biodiversity. Evolution of river syndromes over the past 2000 years is complex: it depends upon the stages of regional human development and on natural conditions, as illustrated here for the chemical contamination syndrome. River damming, eutrophication and generalized decrease of river flow due to irrigation are some of the other global features of river changes. Future management of river systems should also consider these long–term impacts on the Earth system.

SUMMARYThe results of research on the water relations and irrigation needs of olive are collated and summarised in an attempt to link fundamental studies on crop physiology to irrigation practices. Background information on the ecology of the olive (it is native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean) and on crop development processes are presented, followed by reviews of the influence of water stress on gas exchange (stomatal conductance, photosynthesis and transpiration), crop water requirements, water productivities and irrigation systems. The olive has many attributes that help to protect it against drought, including the morphology of the leaf, and the capacity to conserve water under conditions of high evaporative demand through stomatal closure, osmotic regulation and resistance to cavitation. The concept of ‘deficit irrigation’ has been the subject of much research. Although vegetative growth is restricted, there is no convincing evidence that ‘sustained deficit irrigation’ or ‘regulated deficit irrigation’ or ‘partial root zone drying’ offer any advantages over conventional practices. Water productivities are very variable and difficult to reconcile due, in part, to biennial bearing, tree-to-tree variability and differences in tree population densities. Similarly, no clear consensus has emerged on how best to exploit the sensitivity of trunk expansion to water availability in irrigation scheduling. As production methods for this historical crop are intensified (high-density hedgerows, irrigated and mechanized orchards), so will the need to understand the role that water plays in the production processes become ever more critical.

Abstract. "Single-point" in situ measurements of molecular iodine (I2) were carried out in the coastal marine boundary layer (MBL) using diffusion denuders in combination with a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method. Comparison measurements were taken at Mace Head and Mweenish Bay, on the West Coast of Ireland. The observed mixing ratios of I2 at Mweenish Bay are much higher than that at Mace Head, indicating the emissions of I2 are correlated with the local algal biomass density and algae species. The concentration levels of I2 were found to correlate inversely with tidal height and correlate positively with the concentration levels of O3 in the surrounding air. However, the released I2 can also lead to O3 destruction via the reaction of O3 with iodine atoms that are formed by the photolysis of I2 during the day and via the reaction of I2 with NOx at night. IO and OIO were measured by long-path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (LP-DOAS). The results show that the concentrations of both daytime and nighttime IO are correlated with the mixing ratios of I2. OIO was observed not only during the day but also, for the first time at both Mace Head and Mweenish Bay, at night. In addition, I2 was measured simultaneously by the LP-DOAS technique and compared with the "single-point" in situ measurement. The results suggest that the local algae sources dominate the inorganic iodine chemistry at Mace Head and Mweenish Bay.

<p>South Africa hosts Africa's most advanced form of the new Blue Economy, named 'Operation Phakisa: Oceans.' In 2014, the McKinsey-designed project was formally launched by now-disgraced President Jacob Zuma with vibrant state and corporate fanfare. Financially, its most important elements were anticipated to come from corporations promoting shipping investments and port infrastructure, a new generation of offshore oil and gas extraction projects and seabed mining. However, these already conflict with underlying capitalist crisis tendencies associated with overaccumulation (overcapacity), globalization and financialization, as they played out through uneven development, commodity price volatility and excessive extraction of resources. Together this metabolic intensification of capital-nature relations can be witnessed when South Africa recently faced the Blue Economy's ecological contradictions: celebrating a massive offshore gas discovery at the same time as awareness rises about extreme coastal weather events, ocean warming and acidification (with profound threats to fast-bleaching coral reefs), sea-level rise, debilitating drought in Africa's main seaside tourist city (Cape Town), and plastic infestation of water bodies, the shoreline and vulnerable marine life. Critics of the capitalist ocean have demanded a greater state commitment to Marine Protected Areas, support for sustainable subsistence fishing and eco-tourism. But they are losing, and so more powerful resistance is needed, focusing on shifting towards post-fossil energy and transport infrastructure, agriculture and spatial planning. Given how climate change has become devastating to vulnerable coastlines – such as central Mozambique's, victim of two of the Southern Hemisphere's most intense cyclones in March-April 2019 – it is essential to better link ocean defence mechanisms to climate activism: global youth Climate Strikes and the direct action approach adopted by the likes of Dakota Access Pipe Line resistance in the US, Extinction Rebellion in Britain, and Ende Gelände in Germany. Today, as the limits to capital's crisis-displacement tactics are becoming more evident, it is the interplay of these top-down and bottom-up processes that will shape the future Blue Economy narrative, giving it either renewed legitimacy, or the kind of illegitimacy already experienced in so much South African resource-centric capitalism.</p><p><strong>Keywords: </strong>Blue Economy, capitalist crisis, Oceans Phakisa, resistance, South Africa</p>

Environmental contextDimethylsulfide is a biogeochemically important sulfur gas emitted from the oceans that can lead to aerosol formation, thereby affecting earth albedo and climate. Studies on the biogeochemistry of dimethylsulfide and its precursors and oxidation products in coastal waters can link the atmospheric chemistry of dimethylsulfide with the bioavailable organic sulfur pool in the oceans. The ensuing information is essential for understanding the biogeochemical dynamics of sulfur and its global cycles. AbstractThe spatiotemporal distribution patterns of dimethylsulfide (DMS), dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and chlorophyll a (Chl-a), as well as the oceanographic parameters influencing the concentrations of DMS, DMSP and DMSO, were measured in the Changjiang Estuary and its adjacent area during two cruises from 21 February to 10 March 2014 and from 10 to 22 July 2014. The concentrations of DMS and DMSP showed significant seasonal variation, i.e. higher values in summer than in winter. This result corresponded well with the seasonal change in Chl-a in the study area. The distribution of dissolved DMSO (DMSOd) decreased significantly with distance from shore, suggesting a primary source of terrestrial and riverine inputs. The seasonal variations of both DMSOd and particulate DMSO (DMSOp) were weaker than other sulfur compounds. Significant relationships were observed between DMS, particulate DMSP (DMSPp), DMSOp and Chl-a, suggesting that phytoplankton biomass plays an important role in controlling the distributions of DMS, DMSP and DMSO in the study area. The positive relationship between DMSPp and DMSOp suggested similar sources and cellular functions in algae, whereas the oxidation of DMS to DMSOd appeared to be a predominant source of DMSOd in winter in the area adjacent to the river mouth. The average sea-to-air fluxes of DMS in the Changjiang Estuary and its adjacent area were 0.37 and 1.70 µmol m–2 day–1 in winter and summer respectively; these values are much lower than those in other continental shelf seas.

This paper is meant to study the apocalyptic scenario of the at the perspectives of the Great Acceleration. the apocalyptic scenario is not a pure imagination of the literature works. Instead, scientific evidences are in favour of dramatic change in the climatic conditions related to the climax of Man actions. the modelling of the future climate leads to horrible situations including intolerable temperatures, dryness, tornadoes, and noticeable sear level rise evading coastal regions. Going far from these scientific claims, Homo Sapiens Sapiens extended his imagination through the Climate-Fiction (cli-fi) to propose a dramatic end. Climate Fiction is developed into a recording machine containing every kind of fictions that depict environmental condition events and has consequently lost its true significance. Introduction The Great Acceleration may be considered as the Late Anthropocene in which Man actions reached their climax to lead to dramatic climatic changes paving the way for a possible apocalyptic scenario threatening the existence of the humanity. So, the apocalyptic scenario is not a pure imagination of the literature works. Instead, many scientific arguments especially related to climate change are in favour of the apocalypse1. As a matter of fact, the modelling of the future climate leads to horrible situations including intolerable temperatures (In 06/07/2021, Kuwait recorded the highest temperature of 53.2 °C), dryness, tornadoes, and noticeable sear level rise evading coastal regions. These conditions taking place during the Great Acceleration would have direct repercussions on the human species. Considering that the apocalyptic extinction had really caused the disappearance of many stronger species including dinosaurs, Homo Sapiens Sapiens extended his imagination though the Climate-Fiction (cli-fi) to propose a dramatic end due to severe climate conditions intolerable by the humankind. The mass extinction of animal species has occurred several times over the geological ages. Researchers have a poor understanding of the causes and processes of these major crises1. Nonetheless, whatever the cause of extinction, the apocalyptic scenario has always been present in the geological history. For example, dinosaurs extinction either by asteroids impact or climate changes could by no means denies the apocalyptic aspect2.At the same time as them, many animal and plant species became extinct, from marine or flying reptiles to marine plankton. This biological crisis of sixty-five million years ago is not the only one that the biosphere has suffered. It was preceded and followed by other crises which caused the extinction or the rarefaction of animal species. So, it is undeniable that many animal groups have disappeared. It is even on the changes of fauna that the geologists of the last century have based themselves to establish the scale of geological times, scale which is still used. But it is no less certain that the extinction processes, extremely complex, are far from being understood. We must first agree on the meaning of the word "extinction", namely on the apocalyptic aspect of the concept. It is quite understood that, without disappearances, the evolution of species could not have followed its course. Being aware that the apocalyptic extinction had massacred stronger species that had dominated the planet, Homo Sapiens Sapiens has been aware that the possibility of apocalyptic end at the perspective of the Anthropocene (i.e., Great Acceleration) could not be excluded. This conviction is motivated by the progressive defaunation in some regions3and the appearance of alien species in others related to change of mineralogy and geochemistry4 leading to a climate change during the Anthropocene. These scientific claims fed the vast imagination about climate change to set the so-called cli-fi. The concept of the Anthropocene is the new geological era which begins when the Man actions have reached a sufficient power to modify the geological processes and climatic cycles of the planet5. The Anthropocene by no means excludes the possibility of an apocalyptic horizon, namely in the perspectives of the Great Acceleration. On the contrary, two scenarios do indeed seem to dispute the future of the Anthropocene, with a dramatic cross-charge. The stories of the end of the world are as old as it is, as the world is the origin of these stories. However, these stories of the apocalypse have evolved over time and, since the beginning of the 19th century, they have been nourished particularly by science and its advances. These fictions have sometimes tried to pass themselves off as science. This is the current vogue, called collapsology6. This end is more than likely cli-fi driven7and it may cause the extinction of the many species including the Homo Sapiens Sapiens. In this vein, Anthropocene defaunation has become an ultimate reality8. More than one in eight birds, more than one in five mammals, more than one in four coniferous species, one in three amphibians are threatened. The hypothesis of a hierarchy within the living is induced by the error of believing that evolution goes from the simplest to the most sophisticated, from the inevitably stupid inferior to the superior endowed with an intelligence giving prerogative to all powers. Evolution goes in all directions and pursues no goal except the extension of life on Earth. Evolution certainly does not lead from bacteria to humans, preferably male and white. Our species is only a carrier of the DNA that precedes us and that will survive us. Until we show a deep respect for the biosphere particularly, and our planet in general, we will not become much, we will remain a predator among other predators, the fiercest of predators, the almighty craftsman of the Anthropocene. To be in the depths of our humanity, somehow giving back to the biosphere what we have taken from it seems obvious. To stop the sixth extinction of species, we must condemn our anthropocentrism and the anthropization of the territories that goes with it. The other forms of life also need to keep their ecological niches. According to the first, humanity seems at first to withdraw from the limits of the planet and ultimately succumb to them, with a loss of dramatic meaning. According to the second, from collapse to collapse, it is perhaps another humanity, having overcome its demons, that could come. Climate fiction is a literary sub-genre dealing with the theme of climate change, including global warming. The term appears to have been first used in 2008 by blogger and writer Dan Bloom. In October 2013, Angela Evancie, in a review of the novel Odds against Tomorrow, by Nathaniel Rich, wonders if climate change has created a new literary genre. Scientific basis of the apocalyptic scenario in the perspective of the Anthropocene Global warming All temperature indices are in favour of a global warming (Fig.1). According to the different scenarios of the IPCC9, the temperatures of the globe could increase by 2 °C to 5 °C by 2100. But some scientists warn about a possible runaway of the warming which can reach more than 3 °C. Thus, the average temperature on the surface of the globe has already increased by more than 1.1 °C since the pre-industrial era. The rise in average temperatures at the surface of the globe is the first expected and observed consequence of massive greenhouse gas emissions. However, meteorological surveys record positive temperature anomalies which are confirmed from year to year compared to the temperatures recorded since the middle of the 19th century. Climatologists point out that the past 30 years have seen the highest temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere for over 1,400 years. Several climatic centres around the world record, synthesize and follow the evolution of temperatures on Earth. Since the beginning of the 20th century (1906-2005), the average temperature at the surface of the globe has increased by 0.74 °C, but this progression has not been continuous since 1976, the increase has clearly accelerated, reaching 0.19 °C per decade according to model predictions. Despite the decline in solar activity, the period 1997-2006 is marked by an average positive anomaly of 0.53 °C in the northern hemisphere and 0.27 °C in the southern hemisphere, still compared to the normal calculated for 1961-1990. The ten hottest years on record are all after 1997. Worse, 14 of the 15 hottest years are in the 21st century, which has barely started. Thus, 2016 is the hottest year, followed closely by 2015, 2014 and 2010. The temperature of tropical waters increased by 1.2 °C during the 20th century (compared to 0.5 °C on average for the oceans), causing coral reefs to bleach in 1997. In 1998, the period of Fort El Niño, the prolonged warming of the water has destroyed half of the coral reefs of the Indian Ocean. In addition, the temperature in the tropics of the five ocean basins, where cyclones form, increased by 0.5 °C from 1970 to 2004, and powerful cyclones appeared in the North Atlantic in 2005, while they were more numerous in other parts of the world. Recently, mountains of studies focused on the possible scenario of climate change and the potential worldwide repercussions including hell temperatures and apocalyptic extreme events10 , 11, 12. Melting of continental glaciers As a direct result of the global warming, melting of continental glaciers has been recently noticed13. There are approximately 198,000 mountain glaciers in the world; they cover an area of approximately 726,000 km2. If they all melted, the sea level would rise by about 40 cm. Since the late 1960s, global snow cover has declined by around 10 to 15%. Winter cold spells in much of the northern half of the northern hemisphere are two weeks shorter than 100 years ago. Glaciers of mountains have been declining all over the world by an average of 50 m per decade for 150 years. However, they are also subject to strong multi-temporal variations which make forecasts on this point difficult according to some specialists. In the Alps, glaciers have been losing 1 meter per year for 30 years. Polar glaciers like those of Spitsbergen (about a hundred km from the North Pole) have been retreating since 1880, releasing large quantities of water. The Arctic has lost about 10% of its permanent ice cover every ten years since 1980. In this region, average temperatures have increased at twice the rate of elsewhere in the world in recent decades. The melting of the Arctic Sea ice has resulted in a loss of 15% of its surface area and 40% of its thickness since 1979. The record for melting arctic sea ice was set in 2017. All models predict the disappearance of the Arctic Sea ice in summer within a few decades, which will not be without consequences for the climate in Europe. The summer melting of arctic sea ice accelerated far beyond climate model predictions. Added to its direct repercussions of coastal regions flooding, melting of continental ice leads to radical climatic modifications in favour of the apocalyptic scenario. Fig.1 Evolution of temperature anomaly from 1880 to 2020: the apocalyptic scenario Sea level rise As a direct result of the melting of continental glaciers, sea level rise has been worldwide recorded14 ,15. The average level of the oceans has risen by 22 cm since 1880 and 2 cm since the year 2000 because of the melting of the glaciers but also with the thermal expansion of the water. In the 20th century, the sea level rose by around 2 mm per year. From 1990 to 2017, it reached the relatively constant rate of just over 3mm per year. Several sources contributed to sea level increase including thermal expansion of water (42%), melting of continental glaciers (21%), melting Greenland glaciers (15%) and melting Antarctic glaciers (8%). Since 2003, there has always been a rapid rise (around 3.3 mm / year) in sea level, but the contribution of thermal expansion has decreased (0.4 mm / year) while the melting of the polar caps and continental glaciers accelerates. Since most of the world’s population is living on coastal regions, sea level rise represents a real threat for the humanity, not excluding the apocalyptic scenario. Multiplication of extreme phenomena and climatic anomalies On a human scale, an average of 200 million people is affected by natural disasters each year and approximately 70,000 perish from them. Indeed, as evidenced by the annual reviews of disasters and climatic anomalies, we are witnessing significant warning signs. It is worth noting that these observations are dependent on meteorological survey systems that exist only in a limited number of countries with statistics that rarely go back beyond a century or a century and a half. In addition, scientists are struggling to represent the climatic variations of the last two thousand years which could serve as a reference in the projections. Therefore, the exceptional nature of this information must be qualified a little. Indeed, it is still difficult to know the return periods of climatic disasters in each region. But over the last century, the climate system has gone wild. Indeed, everything suggests that the climate is racing. Indeed, extreme events and disasters have become more frequent. For instance, less than 50 significant events were recorded per year over the period 1970-1985, while there have been around 120 events recorded since 1995. Drought has long been one of the most worrying environmental issues. But while African countries have been the main affected so far, the whole world is now facing increasingly frequent and prolonged droughts. Chile, India, Australia, United States, France and even Russia are all regions of the world suffering from the acceleration of the global drought. Droughts are slowly evolving natural hazards that can last from a few months to several decades and affect larger or smaller areas, whether they are small watersheds or areas of hundreds of thousands of square kilometres. In addition to their direct effects on water resources, agriculture and ecosystems, droughts can cause fires or heat waves. They also promote the proliferation of invasive species, creating environments with multiple risks, worsening the consequences on ecosystems and societies, and increasing their vulnerability. Although these are natural phenomena, there is a growing understanding of how humans have amplified the severity and impacts of droughts, both on the environment and on people. We influence meteorological droughts through our action on climate change, and we influence hydrological droughts through our management of water circulation and water processes at the local scale, for example by diverting rivers or modifying land use. During the Anthropocene (the present period when humans exert a dominant influence on climate and environment), droughts are closely linked to human activities, cultures, and responses. From this scientific overview, it may be concluded apocalyptic scenario is not only a literature genre inspired from the pure imagination. Instead, many scientific arguments are in favour of this dramatic destiny of Homo Sapiens Sapiens. Fig.2. Sea level rise from 1880 to 2020: a possible apocalyptic scenario (www.globalchange.gov, 2021) Apocalyptic genre in recent writing As the original landmark of apocalyptic writing, we must place the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in 587 BC and the Exile in Babylon. Occasion of a religious and cultural crossing with imprescriptible effects, the Exile brought about a true rebirth, characterized by the maintenance of the essential ethical, even cultural, of a national religion, that of Moses, kept as pure as possible on a foreign land and by the reinterpretation of this fundamental heritage by the archaic return of what was very old, both national traditions and neighbouring cultures. More precisely, it was the place and time for the rehabilitation of cultures and the melting pot for recasting ancient myths. This vast infatuation with Antiquity, remarkable even in the vocabulary used, was not limited to Israel: it even largely reflected a general trend. The long period that preceded throughout the 7th century BC and until 587, like that prior to the edict of Cyrus in 538 BC, was that of restorations and rebirths, of returns to distant sources and cultural crossings. In the biblical literature of this period, one is struck by the almost systematic link between, on the one hand, a very sustained mythical reinvestment even in form and, on the other, the frequent use of biblical archaisms. The example of Shadday, a word firmly rooted in the Semites of the Northwest and epithet of El in the oldest layers of the books of Genesis and Exodus, is most eloquent. This term reappears precisely at the time of the Exile as a designation of the divinity of the Patriarchs and of the God of Israel; Daily, ecological catastrophes now describe the normal state of societies exposed to "risks", in the sense that Ulrich Beck gives to this term: "the risk society is a society of catastrophe. The state of emergency threatens to become a normal state there1”. Now, the "threat" has become clearer, and catastrophic "exceptions" are proliferating as quickly as species are disappearing and climate change is accelerating. The relationship that we have with this worrying reality, to say the least, is twofold: on the one hand, we know very well what is happening to us; on the other hand, we fail to draw the appropriate theoretical and political consequences. This ecological duplicity is at the heart of what has come to be called the “Anthropocene”, a term coined at the dawn of the 21st century by Eugene Stoermer (an environmentalist) and Paul Crutzen (a specialist in the chemistry of the atmosphere) in order to describe an age when humanity would have become a "major geological force" capable of disrupting the climate and changing the terrestrial landscape from top to bottom. If the term “Anthropocene” takes note of human responsibility for climate change, this responsibility is immediately attributed to overpowering: strong as we are, we have “involuntarily” changed the climate for at least two hundred and fifty years. Therefore, let us deliberately change the face of the Earth, if necessary, install a solar shield in space. Recognition and denial fuel the signifying machine of the Anthropocene. And it is precisely what structures eco-apocalyptic cinema that this article aims to study. By "eco-apocalyptic cinema", we first mean a cinematographic sub-genre: eco-apocalyptic and post-eco-apocalyptic films base the possibility (or reality) of the end of the world on environmental grounds and not, for example, on damage caused by the possible collision of planet Earth with a comet. Post-apocalyptic science fiction (sometimes abbreviated as "post-apo" or "post-nuke") is a sub-genre of science fiction that depicts life after a disaster that destroyed civilization: nuclear war, collision with a meteorite, epidemic, economic or energy crisis, pandemic, alien invasion. Conclusion Climate and politics have been linked together since Aristotle. With Montesquieu, Ibn Khaldûn or Watsuji, a certain climatic determinism is attributed to the character of a nation. The break with modernity made the climate an object of scientific knowledge which, in the twentieth century, made it possible to document, despite the controversies, the climatic changes linked to industrialization. Both endanger the survival of human beings and ecosystems. Climate ethics are therefore looking for a new relationship with the biosphere or Gaia. For some, with the absence of political agreements, it is the beginning of inevitable catastrophes. For others, the Anthropocene, which henceforth merges human history with natural history, opens onto technical action. The debate between climate determinism and human freedom is revived. The reference to the biblical Apocalypse was present in the thinking of thinkers like Günther Anders, Karl Jaspers or Hans Jonas: the era of the atomic bomb would mark an entry into the time of the end, a time marked by the unprecedented human possibility of 'total war and annihilation of mankind. The Apocalypse will be very relevant in describing the chaos to come if our societies continue their mad race described as extra-activist, productivist and consumerist. In dialogue with different theologians and philosophers (such as Jacques Ellul), it is possible to unveil some spiritual, ethical, and political resources that the Apocalypse offers for thinking about History and human engagement in the Anthropocene. What can a theology of collapse mean at a time when negative signs and dead ends in the human situation multiply? What then is the place of man and of the cosmos in the Apocalypse according to Saint John? Could the end of history be a collapse? How can we live in the time we have left before the disaster? Answers to such questions remain unknown and no scientist can predict the trajectory of this Great Acceleration taking place at the Late Anthropocene. When science cannot give answers, Man tries to infer his destiny for the legend, religion and the fiction. Climate Fiction is developed into a recording machine containing every kind of fictions that depict environmental condition events and has consequently lost its true significance. Aware of the prospect of ecological collapse additionally as our apparent inability to avert it, we tend to face geology changes of forceful proportions that severely challenge our ability to imagine the implications. Climate fiction ought to be considered an important supplement to climate science, as a result, climate fiction makes visible and conceivable future modes of existence inside worlds not solely deemed seemingly by science, however that area unit scientifically anticipated. Hence, this chapter, as part of the book itself, aims to contribute to studies of ecocriticism, the environmental humanities, and literary and culture studies. References David P.G. Bondand Stephen E. Grasby. "Late Ordovician mass extinction caused by volcanism, warming, and anoxia, not cooling and glaciation: REPLY." Geology 48, no. 8 (Geological Society of America2020): 510. Cyril Langlois.’Vestiges de l'apocalypse: ‘le site de Tanis, Dakota du Nord 2019’. Accessed June, 6, 2021, https://planet-terre.ens-lyon.fr/pdf/Tanis-extinction-K-Pg.pdf NajouaGharsalli,ElhoucineEssefi, Rana Baydoun, and ChokriYaich. ‘The Anthropocene and Great Acceleration as controversial epoch of human-induced activities: case study of the Halk El Menjel wetland, eastern Tunisia’. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research 18(3) (Corvinus University of Budapest 2020): 4137-4166 Elhoucine Essefi, ‘On the Geochemistry and Mineralogy of the Anthropocene’. International Journal of Water and Wastewater Treatment, 6(2). 1-14, (Sci Forschen2020): doi.org/10.16966/2381-5299.168 Elhoucine Essefi. ‘Record of the Anthropocene-Great Acceleration along a core from the coast of Sfax, southeastern Tunisia’. Turkish journal of earth science, (TÜBİTAK,2021). 1-16. Chiara Xausa. ‘Climate Fiction and the Crisis of Imagination: Alexis Wright’s Carpentaria and The Swan Book’. Exchanges: The Interdisciplinary Research Journal 8(2), (WARWICK 2021): 99-119. Akyol, Özlem. "Climate Change: An Apocalypse for Urban Space? An Ecocritical Reading of “Venice Drowned” and “The Tamarisk Hunter”." Folklor/Edebiyat 26, no. 101 (UluslararasıKıbrısÜniversitesi 2020): 115-126. Boswell, Suzanne F. "The Four Tourists of the Apocalypse: Figures of the Anthropocene in Caribbean Climate Fiction.". Paradoxa 31, (Academia 2020): 359-378. Ayt Ougougdal, Houssam, Mohamed YacoubiKhebiza, Mohammed Messouli, and Asia Lachir. "Assessment of future water demand and supply under IPCC climate change and socio-economic scenarios, using a combination of models in Ourika Watershed, High Atlas, Morocco." Water 12, no. 6 (MPDI 2020): 1751.DOI:10.3390/w12061751. Wu, Jia, Zhenyu Han, Ying Xu, Botao Zhou, and Xuejie Gao. "Changes in extreme climate events in China under 1.5 C–4 C global warming targets: Projections using an ensemble of regional climate model simulations." Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 125, no. 2 (Wiley2020): e2019JD031057.https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD031057 Khan, Md Jamal Uddin, A. K. M. Islam, Sujit Kumar Bala, and G. M. Islam. "Changes in climateextremes over Bangladesh at 1.5° C, 2° C, and 4° C of global warmingwith high-resolutionregionalclimate modeling." Theoretical&AppliedClimatology 140 (EBSCO2020). Gudoshava, Masilin, Herbert O. Misiani, Zewdu T. Segele, Suman Jain, Jully O. Ouma, George Otieno, Richard Anyah et al. "Projected effects of 1.5 C and 2 C global warming levels on the intra-seasonal rainfall characteristics over the Greater Horn of Africa." Environmental Research Letters 15, no. 3 (IOPscience2020): 34-37. Wang, Lawrence K., Mu-Hao Sung Wang, Nai-Yi Wang, and Josephine O. Wong. "Effect of Global Warming and Climate Change on Glaciers and Salmons." In Integrated Natural Resources Management, ed.Lawrence K. Wang, Mu-Hao Sung Wang, Yung-Tse Hung, Nazih K. Shammas(Springer 2021), 1-36. Merschroth, Simon, Alessio Miatto, Steffi Weyand, Hiroki Tanikawa, and Liselotte Schebek. "Lost Material Stock in Buildings due to Sea Level Rise from Global Warming: The Case of Fiji Islands." Sustainability 12, no. 3 (MDPI 2020): 834.doi:10.3390/su12030834 Hofer, Stefan, Charlotte Lang, Charles Amory, Christoph Kittel, Alison Delhasse, Andrew Tedstone, and Xavier Fettweis. "Greater Greenland Ice Sheet contribution to global sea level rise in CMIP6." 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Geoscience Visual Presentation G14 The Shipwreck and Sherbrook supersequences together constitute the upper Cretaceous succession in the Otway Basin that was deposited during an extensional basin phase. In the Shipwreck Trough, where the upper Cretaceous succession is well explored, gas fields are hosted by the Shipwreck Supersequence (SS). Elsewhere, the upper Cretaceous interval is lightly explored, and the deep-water area is considered an exploration frontier. We present regional gross depositional environment (RGDE) maps for the LC1.1 and LC1.2 sequences of the Shipwreck SS, and the LC2 Sherbrook SS. Fluvial Plain, Coastal-Delta Plain and Shelf RGDEs were interpreted from wireline logs, cores, and seismic facies. The Fluvial Plain and Coastal-Delta Plain RGDEs are mostly restricted to the inboard platform areas and the inner Morum Sub-basin. The mud-prone Shelf RGDE is widespread across the deep-water Morum and Nelson depocentres. The extent of the Fluvial and Coastal-Delta Plain belts progressively increases up-section, imparting a regressive aspect to the succession, and delineating a large fluvial-deltaic complex in the north-west of the basin. Thick seal development across the greater Shipwreck Trough, potentially mature source rocks in the deep-water basin, and thick reservoir development in the hanging wall of growth faults in the inner Morum Sub-basin are insights derived from this study, and will inform area selection for detailed gross depositional environment mapping, formulation of new hydrocarbon and carbon dioxide storage plays, and inputs for petroleum systems modelling. To access the Visual Presentation click the link on the right. To read the full paper click here

ABSTRACTMethane is a primary greenhouse gas which is responsible for global warming. The sulfate-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (S-AOM) process catalyzed byanaerobicmethanotrophic (ANME) archaea and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) is a vital link connecting the global carbon and sulfur cycles, and it is considered to be the overriding methane sink in marine ecosystem. However, there have been few studies regarding the role of S-AOM process and the distribution of ANME archaea in intertidal ecosystem. The intertidal zone is a buffer zone between sea and land and plays an important role in global geochemical cycle. In the present study, the abundance, potential methane oxidation rate, and community structure of ANME archaea in the intertidal zone were studied by quantitative PCR, stable isotope tracing method and high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that the potential S-AOM activity ranged from 0 to 0.77 nmol13CO2g−1(dry sediment) day−1. The copy number of 16S rRNA gene of ANME archaea reached 106∼ 107copies g−1(dry sediment). The average contribution of S-AOM to total anaerobic methane oxidation was up to 34.5%, while denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation accounted for the rest, which implied that S-AOM process was an essential methane sink that cannot be overlooked in intertidal ecosystem. The simulated column experiments also indicated that ANME archaea were sensitive to oxygen and preferred anaerobic environmental conditions. This study will help us gain a better understanding of the global carbon-sulfur cycle and greenhouse gas emission reduction and introduce a new perspective into the enrichment of ANME archaea.IMPORTANCEThe sulfate-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (S-AOM) process catalyzed byanaerobicmethanotrophic (ANME) archaea and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) is a vital link connecting the global carbon and sulfur cycles. We conducted a research into the spatial-temporal pattern of S-AOM process and the distribution of ANME archaea in coastal sediments collected from the intertidal zone. The results implied that S-AOM process was a methane sink that cannot be overlooked in the intertidal ecosystem. We also found that ANME archaea were sensitive to oxygen and preferred anaerobic environmental conditions. This study will help us gain a better understanding of the global carbon-sulfur cycle and greenhouse gas emission reduction and introduce a new perspective into the enrichment of ANME archaea.

Presented on Thursday 19 May: Session 21 The geothermal potential of the Kingia aquifer in the northern Perth Basin has been identified. In order to further assess resource potential, the occurrence, conditions, and properties of the Kingia Sandstone have been considered further. A new regional correlation supports the Kingia Sandstone being a regionally extensive unit deposited along the northern margin of the syn-depositional Dandaragan Trough. The unit is part of a falling-stage to lowstand system containing lower and upper shoreface, coastal, beach, and estuarine sands. Gross Kingia Sandstone thickness varies from 16 m on flanking terraces to at least 71 m in the basin depocenter. At depth, reservoir properties are preserved where iron-rich clay grain coatings inhibit cementation and preserve primary porosity. In such cases, net reservoir ranges from 3 to 58 m thick (18 m mean) and net porosity range is 12–19 p.u. (15 p.u. mean). The prevailing geothermal gradient is ~37°C/km with heat flow in excess of 90 mW/m2. Resultant Kingia aquifer temperatures exceed 115°C. Given the presence of hot, porous Kingia aquifer, the potential for geothermal power generation is strong. Production of Kingia brine to surface facilities allows for power conversion via established binary Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) technology. A scalable Kingia opportunity could help to meet Western Australia’s decarbonisation aspirations by contributing to the replacement of coal-fired and gas-fired power plants, plus supply of low-carbon power to local urea, hydrogen, and gas projects. An enhanced understanding of Kingia porosity distribution, reservoir compartmentalisation, flow performance, and ultimate energy delivery remain key uncertainties subject to future de-risking activities. To access the presentation click the link on the right. To read the full paper click here

Background: Planted forests with low fertility soils are likely to require increased inputs of nitrogen (N) to satisfy increasing productivity demands. The use of N fertilisers will become more challenging due to their increasing cost and the risk of unwanted environmental impacts. Nitrogen-fixing plants may provide an alternative option to chemical fertilisers that is not only cheaper but has a lower greenhouse gas footprint. Methods: Information on N-fixing plants was collated from available literature, focusing on species previously associated with planted forests as well as other exotic N-fixing trees and New Zealand native plants not used in commercial planted forests. Results: Benefits to planted forest growth in New Zealand by N-fixing plants have been proven in only a few cases. Lupinus arboreus Sims was used in the 1970s and 1980s to increase N inputs in a planted Pinus radiata D.Don coastal forest, and improved P. radiata productivity was demonstrated. Productivity gains ceased when a blight disease infected the lupin population. Many N-fixing plants have been shown to tolerate low fertility soils and establish in planted forests, but there is limited information on their N contribution to the soil, and whether this N contribution increases P. radiata productivity. Such N-fixing plants include Lotus species, clover (Trifolium species) and weeds such as gorse (Ulex europaeus L.) and broom (Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link), which are commonly found in association with P. radiata forests. New Zealand native N-fixing shrubs may be suitable but there is limited information available describing N-fixation or forestry management for native plant species. Conclusions: Nitrogen-fixing plants are a valuable resource, which when managed properly could be used for enhancing productivity. Issues with pests and disease, and limited knowledge regarding the management of N-fixing species, restricts adoption in planted forests. Well-designed research is needed to assess impacts on whole forest system N cycling as well as selection of appropriate plant species for use in planted forests without unintended consequences such as competition for soil moisture or light. This research needs to be integrated with forest management and delivered as practical options to ensure success.

This article makes a case for the everyday while on tour and argues that the ability to continue with everyday routines and social relationships, while at the same time moving through and staying in liminal or atypical zones of tourist locales, is a key part of some kinds of tourist experience. Based on ethnographic field research with grey nomads (retirees who take extended tours of Australia in caravans and motorhomes) everyday life while on tour is examined, specifically the overlap and intersection between the out-of-the-ordinary “tourist zone” and the ordinariness of the “everyday zone.” The “everyday zone” and “tourist zone” can be readily differentiated by their obvious geospatial boundaries (being at home or being away on holiday). More specifically, the “everyday zone” refers to the routines of quotidian life, or the mundane practices which make up our daily, at-home lives. These practices are closely connected with the domestic realm and include consumption practices (clothing, cooking, mass media) and everyday social interactions. The “tourist zone” is similarly concerned with consumption. In this zone, however, tourists are seen to consume places; the culture, landscape, and peoples of exotic or out-of-the-ordinary tourist locales. Needless to say this consumption of place also includes the consumption of services and objects available in the tourist destinations (Urry, “The Consuming of Place” 220). The notion of tourists being away from home has often been contrasted with constructions of home—with the dull routines of everyday life—by social scientists and tourist marketers alike in an effort to illuminate the difference between being “away” and being at “home.” Scott McCabe and Elizabeth Stokoe suggest that peoples’ notion of “home” takes into account the meaning of being away (602). That is to say that when people are away from home, as tourists for example, they often compare and contrast this with the fundamental aspects of living at home. Others, however, argue that with the widespread use of mobile communication technologies, the distinction between the notion of being at “home” and being “away” becomes less clear (White and White 91). In this sense, the notion of home or the everyday is viewed with an eye towards social relationships, rather than any specific geographical location (Jamal and Hill 77–107; Massey 59–69; Urry, “The Tourist Gaze” 2–14; White and White 88–104). It can be argued, therefore, that tourism entails a fusion of the routines and relationships associated with the everyday, as well as the liminal or atypical world of difference. This article is based on semi-structured interviews with 40 grey nomads, as well as four months of ethnographic fieldwork carried out in rural and remote Australia—in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and South Australia. Grey nomads have been part of Australian senior culture for at least four decades. They are a relatively heterogeneous group of tourists encompassing a range of socio-economic backgrounds, preferred activities, health status, and favoured destinations (Davies et al. 40–1; Economic Development Committee 4; Holloway 117–47), as well age cohorts—including the frugal generation (1910–1932), the silent generation (1931–1946), and the baby boomer generation (1946–65). Grey nomads usually tour as spousal couples (Tourism Research Australia 26; Onyx and Leonard 387). Some of these couples live solely on government pensions while others are obviously well-resourced—touring in luxury motorhomes costing well over half a million dollars. Some prefer to bush camp in national parks and other isolated locations, and some choose to stay long term in caravan parks socialising with other grey nomads and the local community. All grey nomads, nonetheless, maintain a particularly close link with the everyday while touring. Mobile communication technologies anchor grey nomads (and other tourists) to the everyday—allowing for ready contact with existing family and friends while on tour. Grey nomads’ mobile dwellings, their caravans and motorhomes, integrate familiar domestic spaces with a touring life. The interior and exterior spaces of these mobile dwellings allow for easy enactment of everyday, domestic routines and the privatised world of adult spousal relationships. This peripatetic form of dwelling, where the dwelling itself accommodates both travel and an everyday domestic life further blurs the distinctions between the “everyday zone” and the “tourist zone”. In this sense grey nomads carry out a lifestyle that is both anchored and mobile; anchored in the everyday domestic life while at the same time being nomadic or geographically unstable. This blurring of the boundaries between the “everyday zone” and “tourist zone” is attractive to senior tourists, offering them a relatively safe and comfortable incursion into tourist locales, where established routines and patterns of everyday life can be maintained. Other homes-away-from-homes such as serviced apartments, holiday homes and house swaps also offer greater connection to the everyday, but are geographically anchored to specific tourism spaces. The caravan or motorhome allows this at-home connection for the peripatetic tourist offsets the relative rigours of outback touring in remote and rural Australia. Everyday Social Relationships in the “Tourist Zone” When tourists go away from home, they are usually thought of as being away from both place (home) and relationships (family and friends). Nowadays, however, being away from home does not necessarily mean being away from family and friends. This is because the ease and speed of today’s telecommunication technologies allows for instantaneous contact with family and friends back home—or the virtual co-presence of family and friends while being away on tour. In the past, those friends and relations who were geographically isolated from each other still enjoyed social contact via letters and telegrams. Such contacts, however, occurred less frequently and message delivery took time. Long distance telephone calls were also costly and therefore used sparingly. These days, telecommunication technologies such as mobile phones and the Internet, as well as the lower cost of landline phone calls, mean that everyday social contact does not need to be put on hold. Keeping in contact is now a comparatively fast, inexpensive, and effortless activity and socialising with distant friends and relatives is now a routine activity (Larsen 24). All grey nomads travel with a mobile phone device, either a digital mobile, Next G or satellite phone (Obst, Brayley and King 8). These phones are used to routinely keep in contact with family and friends, bringing with them everyday familial relationships while on tour. “We ring the girls. We’ve got two daughters. We ring them once a week, although if something happens Debbie [daughter] will ring us” (Teresa). Grey nomads also take advantage of special deals or free minutes when they scheduled weekly calls to family or friends. “I mainly [use] mobile, then I ring, because I’ve got that hour, free hour” (Helen). E-mail is also a favoured way of keeping in contact with family and friends for some grey nomads. This is because the asynchronicity of e-mail interaction is very convenient as they can choose the times when they pick up and send messages. “Oh, thank goodness for the e-mail” (Pat). Maintaining social contact with family and friends at a distance is not necessarily as straightforward as when grey nomads and other tourists are at home. According to discussants in this study and the Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee, mobile phone coverage within Australia is still rather patchy when outside major metropolitan areas. Consequently, the everyday task of kin keeping via the phone can be somewhat intermittent, especially for those grey nomads who spend a great deal of time outside major towns in rural and remote Australia. “You can never get much [reception] but [...] they can just ring the mobile and just leave a message and we will get that message [later]” (Rena). Similarly, using the Internet to e-mail family and friends and catch up with online banking can only be carried out when passing through larger towns. “I do it [using the Internet] like every major town we went through. I’d stop and do a set of e-mails and I used to do my banking” (Maureen). The intermittent phone coverage in remote and rural Australia was not always viewed as an inconvenience by discussants in this study. This is because continuing engagement with family and friends while on tour may leave little respite from the ongoing obligations or any difficulties associated with family and friends back home, and encroach on the leisure and relaxation associated with grey nomad touring. “I don’t want the phone to ring […] That’s one thing I can do without, the phone ringing, especially at 4:00 in the morning” (Rena). In this way, too much co-presence, in the form of mobile phone calls from family and friends, can be just as much a nuisance when away from home as when at home—and impinge on the feeling of “being away from it all.” Naomi White and Peter White also suggest that “being simultaneously home and away is not always experienced in a positive light” (98) and at times, continued contact (via the phone) with friends and family while touring is not satisfying or enjoyable because these calls reiterate the “dynamics evident in those that are [usually] geographically proximate” (100). Thus, while mobile communication technologies are convenient tools for grey nomads and other tourists which blur the boundaries between the “everyday zone” and “tourist zones” in useful and pleasurable ways, their overuse may also encroach on tourists’ away time, thus interfering with their sense of solitude and quiescence when touring in remote or rural Australia. The “Everyday Zone” of the Caravan or Motorhome Being a tourist involves “everyday practices, ordinary places and significant others, such as family members and friends, but co-residing and at-a-distance” (Larsen 26). While tourism involves some sense of liminality, in reality, it is interspersed with the actuality of the everyday routines and sociabilities enacted while touring. Tim Edensor notes that; Rather than transcending the mundane, most forms of tourism are fashioned by culturally coded escape attempts. Moreover, although suffused with notions of escape from normativity, tourists carry quotidian habits and responses with them: they are part of the baggage. (61) Grey nomads go further than this by bringing on tour with them a domestic space in which everyday routines and sociabilities are sustained. Travelling in this manner “makes possible, and probably encourages, greater continuity with everyday routine than many other kinds of holiday making” (Southerton et al. 6). To be able to sleep in your own bed with your own pillow and linen, or perhaps travel with your dogs, makes caravanning and motorhoming an attractive touring option for many people. Thus, the use of caravans or motorhomes when travelling brings with it a great deal of mobile domesticity while on tour. The caravan or motorhome is furnished with most of the essentially-domestic objects and technologies to enable grey nomads to sleep, eat, relax, and be entertained in a manner similar to that which they enjoy in the family home, albeit within smaller dimensions. Lorna: We have shower, toilet. We had microwave, stereo. We have air conditioning and heating.Eric: Yeah, reverse cycle air conditioning.Lorna: Reverse cycle. What else do we have?Eric: Hot water service. Gas or 240 volt. 12 volt converter in that, which is real good, it runs your lights, runs everything like that. You just hook it into the main power and it converts it to 12 volt. Roll out awning plus the full annex.Lorna: Full annex. What else do we have? There’s a good size stove in it. The size of caravans and motorhomes means that many domestic tasks often take less time or are simplified. Cleaning the van takes a lot less time and cooking often becomes simplified, due to lack of bench and storage space. Women in particular like this aspect of grey nomad travel. “It is great. Absolutely. You don’t have toilets to clean, you don’t have bathrooms to clean. Cooking your meals are easier because everything is all […] Yeah. It’s more casual” (Sonya). This touring lifestyle also introduces new domestic routines, such as emptying chemical toilets, filling water tanks, towing and parking the van and refilling gas tanks, for example. Nonetheless grey nomads, spend significantly less time on these domestic tasks when they are touring. In this sense, the caravan or motorhome brings with it the comforts and familiarity of home, while at the same time minimising the routine chores involved in domestic life. With the core accoutrements of everyday life available, everyday activities such as doing the dishes, watching television, preparing and eating a meal—as well as individual hobbies and pastimes—weave themselves into a daily life that is simultaneously home and away. This daily life, at home in the caravan or motorhome, brings with it possibilities of a domestic routinised lifestyle—one that provides welcome comfort and familiarity when travelling and a retreat from the demands of sightseeing. On the farm I used to make jam and cakes, so I do it again [in the caravan]. I make jam, I made marmalade a couple of weeks ago. We’d often stay home [in the caravan], I’d just clean or do a bit of painting. (Jenny) Touring in a caravan or motorhome allows for some sense of predictability: that you own and control the private spaces of your own mobile dwelling, and can readily carry out everyday domestic routines and sociabilities. “We go for a long walk. We come back and we see friends and we stop and have a coffee with them, and then you come home in the caravan at 2.30 and you can still have lunch” (Yvonne). Touring in a caravan or motorhome also frees grey nomads from dependence on prearranged tourist experiences such as organised tours or hotel meal times where much of the tourist experience can be regimented. We always went in hotels and you always had to dress up, and you had to eat before a certain time, and you had your breakfast before a certain time. And after 2.30 you can’t have lunch anymore and sometimes we have lunch at 2 o’clock. I like the caravan park [better]. (Donald) Despite the caravan or motorhome having close links with everyday life and the domestic realm, its ready mobility offers a greater sense of autonomy while touring: that you are unfettered, not bound to any specific place or timetable, and can move on at whim. Grey nomads often cross paths with other tourists dependent on guided bus tours. “They go in [to Kakadu] on a bus trip. All they do is go in on the main road, they’re in there for the day and there’re back. That’s absolutely ridiculous” (Vance). This autonomy, or freedom to structure their own tourist experiences, allows grey nomads the opportunity to travel at a leisurely pace. Even those grey nomads who travel to the same northern destination every year take their time and enjoy other tourist locations along the way. We take our time. This time, last time, we did three weeks before we got in [to] Broome. We spent a lot [of time] in Karratha but also in Geraldton. And when we came back, in Kalbarri, [we had] a week in Kalbarri. But it’s nice going up, you know. You go all through the coast, along the coast. (John) Caravan or motorhome use, therefore, provides for a routinised everyday life while at the same time allowing a level of autonomy not evident in other forms of tourism—which rely more heavily on pre-booking accommodation and transport options. These contradictory aspects of grey nomad travel, an everyday life of living in a caravan or motorhome coupled with freedom to move on in an independent manner, melds the “everyday zone” and the “tourist zone” in a manner appealing to many grey nomads. Conclusion Theories of tourism tend to pay little attention to the aspects of tourism that involve recurrent activities and an ongoing connectedness with everyday life. Tourism is often defined: by contrasting it to home geographies and everydayness: tourism is what they are not. [...] The main focus in such research is on the extraordinary, on places elsewhere. Tourism is an escape from home, a quest for more desirable and fulfilling places. (Larsen 21) Nonetheless, tourism involves everyday routines, everyday spaces and an everyday social life. Grey nomads find that mobile phones and the Internet make possible the virtual co-presence of family and friends allowing everyday relationships to continue while touring. Nonetheless, the pleasure of ongoing contact with distant family and friends while touring may at times encroach on the quietude or solitude grey nomads experienced when touring remote and rural Australia. In addition to this, grey nomads’ caravans and motorhomes are equipped with the many comforts and domestic technologies of home, making for the continuance of everyday domiciliary life while on tour, further obfuscating the boundaries between the “tourist zone” and the “everyday zone.” In this sense grey nomads lead a lifestyle that is both anchored and mobile. This anchoring involves dwelling in everyday spaces, carrying out everyday domestic and social routines, as well as maintaining contact with friends and family via mobile communication technologies. This anchoring allows for some sense of predictability: that you own and control the private spaces of your own mobile dwelling, and can readily carry out everyday domestic routines and sociabilities. Conversely, the ready mobility of the caravan or motorhome offers a sense of autonomy: that you are unfettered, not bound to any specific place and can move on at whim. 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