National Research and Development Institute for Marine Geology and Geoecology

ABSTRACT Aim Illuminating the evolutionary history of Austropotamobius crayfish by uncovering patterns of biodiversity and biogeographical processes, thereby providing a foundation for accurate taxonomy and targeted conservation strategies. Location Europe. Time Period Miocene to present. Major Taxa Studied The crayfish genus Austropotamobius . Methods We synthesised existing knowledge and conducted additional analyses to resolve uncertainties in lineage divergence and distribution. Genetic variation across geographical regions was assessed using mitochondrial COI haplotypes, paired with accurate geolocation data from literature. Divergence times were estimated using a genus‐specific molecular clock calibrated to the tectonic‐driven separation of Austropotamobius bihariensis from its Dinaric relatives, based on 936 base pairs of concatenated COI and 16S mitochondrial sequences. To reconstruct historical connectivity and gene flow direction among regional populations, we applied coalescent‐based models comparing alternative scenarios. Results Our analysis suggests the common ancestor of Austropotamobius diverged ~30 Ma, coinciding with the temporary fragmentation of Balkanatolia from Western Europe, forming two major evolutionary lineages. In the west, between the Alps and Pyrenees, A. pallipes showed low genetic diversity and broad distribution. From this lineage, A. fulcisianus emerged around 14 Ma during an Alpine embayment, colonising the forming Italian Peninsula and later expanding into the southern Dinarides during the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Human‐mediated translocations further extended its range into Western and Northern Europe. The second major lineage, A. torrentium , spans Central and Eastern Europe and includes eight ancient, monophyletic and endemic lineages concentrated in the north‐central Dinarides (NCD), except for the most basal branch, A. bihariensis , located in the Apuseni Mountains. Two younger lineages expanded across the Balkans and Central Europe, likely beginning around 6.8 Ma with the formation of the Palaeo‐Danube system. Main Conclusions This study refines the evolutionary trajectory of Austropotamobius , highlights taxonomic clarification and underscores the need to reassess several lineages to support genuine, evolutionarily informed conservation strategies.

ABSTRACT The deposition and mixing of carbonates and siliciclastics in the Cisco Group of the Eastern Shelf of the Permian Basin are complicated by the temporal overlap between icehouse eustatic sea-level oscillations and fluctuations in sediment influx due to the rejuvenation of the Ouachita fold belt. Previous investigators have used well-log correlation as the primary tool in their interpretations of the area’s reciprocal depositional model, but well-log correlation alone cannot explain the full range of spatial lithology variations in the system. To better understand the lithology variation in the area, we use an integrated technique that combines wireline log information from 17 wells with 625 km2 3D seismic data through poststack seismic inversion, probabilistic neural networks (PNNs), and Bayesian classification. We use deterministic matrix inversion to derive lithology classes from well logs. Crossplot analyses reveal that the acoustic impedance and neutron porosity log pair can be used to differentiate lithologies. We perform model-based poststack inversion to generate a P-impedance volume and use PNNs to generate a neutron porosity volume. We combine these volumes through supervised Bayesian classification to generate lithology probability volumes for each lithology and a most probable lithology volume throughout the seismic data. The lithology volumes highlight the dominant lithologies (carbonate, shale, sand, and mixed) that allowed the interpretation of major carbonate platforms, sand-to-shale ratio variations, carbonate buildups between wells, and channel fill lithologies. Our semiautomated lithology detection workflow applies to regional studies and is also valid for reservoir-scale studies to determine variations in lithologies.

<p>1. The interim regional scalability plans (RSP) are the next step on the roadmap to upscale freshwater ecosystem restoration after the optimisation strategies (MERLIN Deliverable 2.1). They offer visions for upscaling restoration across wider areas by 2050.<br>\n2. A template has been designed for collecting input using the manual "Scaling up - From vision to Large-Scale Change. A Management Framework for Practitioners" (Management Systems International 2016).<br>\n3. Seventeen case studies have prepared their interim RSPs answering questions related to the 'what, 'why', 'where', 'how', and 'who' of scaling up restoration initiatives.<br>\n4. Further dialogue between cases from each cluster will provide inspiration and feedback to work towards a final RSP at the end of the MERLIN project.<br>\n5. The upscaling in the RSPs has a time horizon towards 2050, and recommendations have been made to strengthen this visioning. This long-term visioning should be linked with stepwise implementation, for which the use of adaptive pathway thinking can be used as inspiration.<br>\n6. The term 'restoration' of freshwater ecosystems might put people on the wrong page in the light of changing climate and land use and the time horizon of the RSP. Improving freshwater ecosystems should take these shifting conditions into account to define realistic targets both for biodiversity and delivering ecosystem services.<br>\n7. The formation of multidisciplinary teams that cover the bio-physical, socio-economic and legal/financial aspects of the RSPs is beneficial for the overarching success of the plans. A well embedded monitoring strategy across all these disciplines is needed.<br>\n8. The interim RSPs have been prepared by each case study without interaction with the other case studies. The other interactions are with the financial expertise within MERLIN, the outcomes of the sector roundtables and with the case study board. These interactions will be the main actions to improve the RSPs.<br>\n9. RSPs are designed within the MERLIN project. The implementation of the RSP will be a process to start once the MERLIN project has ended in 2025. During MERLIN, it is essential to define the consortium to adopt and implement the RSP.</p>

The paper refers to the paleo-ichnology of the Miocene Molasse deposits in the Romanian Carpathians. The principles of systematics and nomenclature of the vertebrate traces from these deposits are briefly presented. Follows a review of the ichno-fossiliferous points in the Carpathians, with a complete inventory of the traces discovered in each ichno-fossiliferous region. In the next chapter, the vertebrate tracks are described and each ichno-species is illustrated. In the end, the article presents a hypothesis regarding the formation of the flish-like Miocene Molasse deposits having footprints of vertebrates coexisting with mechanical traces generated by strong currents (scour - and tool-marks) but also with wave ripple-marks and traces of rain drops. The present article is actually a synthesis of the papers published in 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1968 by N. Panin and N. Panin in collaboration with other researchers.

The MICS platform prototype for period 2 presents the initial, live, version of the MICS system and its user interfaces that are made available to the public. It is intended to be a demonstration of the technology involved, the impact assessment process and the output and guidance supplied through the MICS assessment tools. It involves and operationalises the assessment methodologies and support derived in WP2, and shows the responses to the validation activities of WP4.

Coastal wetlands are dynamic bio-physical systems in which vegetation affects the movement of water and sediment, which in turn build and maintain the landform and ecosystem. Wetlands are an effective buffer against coastal erosion and flooding, enhance water quality and human health and wellbeing. Numerous field and laboratory experiments have quantified the reduction of waves by coastal ecosystems. Numerical models, however, are only able to capture observed reduction in wave energy when calibration coefficients are obtained by comparison with measured dissipation rates. A deeper understanding of how wave attenuation varies over time, with local flow conditions and ecosystem properties, is still lacking and should be acquired from a greater range of ecosystem types and geographical settings. Few studies have observed the detailed seasonal variations in how coastal wetlands function as wave buffers and how such seasonal variations might be explained. Equally, few studies have focused on the effect of coastal reed beds on wave dynamics. This study addresses both: i) seasonal variability in wave dissipation through reed vegetation and ii) intricate connections between reed vegetation and the physical context (meteorological and topographical) that might explain such variability. We present observations of wind generated wave transformation through two Phragmites australis reed beds in the Razelm-Sinoe Lagoon System, Danube Delta, Romania. We find that seasonal changes in vegetation density and biomass, as well as meteorological conditions, affect observed wave conditions within the first few meters of the reed beds. Our results also show a preferential reduction of higher frequency waves, irrespective of reed stem diameter or density and suggest the potential importance of seasonal vegetation debris to observed wave dissipation. Such complex and non-linear biogeomorphic effects on wave dissipation are not currently well understood or captured in the parameterisation of vegetation-induced wave dissipation. Our study highlights the importance of an accurate and temporally granular quantification of nearshore bathymetry, wetland topography, and vegetation to fully understand, model, and manage bio-physical interactions in coastal wetlands. More specifically, our results point towards the need for spatially and temporally explicit wave decay functions in emergent reed vegetation. This is particularly critical where the accurate evaluation of the flood and erosion risk contribution of any wetland is required as part of nature-based coastal protection solutions.

Understanding the dynamics and fate of methane (CH4) release from oceanic seepages on margins and shelves into the water column, and quantifying the budget of its total discharge at different spatial and temporal scales, currently represents a major scientific undertaking. Previous works on the fate of methane escaping from the seafloor underlined the challenge in both, estimating its concentration distribution and identifying gradients. In April 2019, the Envri Methane Cruise has been conducted onboard the R/V Mare Nigrum in the Western Black Sea to investigate two shallow methane seep sites at ∼120 m and ∼55 m water depth. Dissolved CH4 measurements were conducted with two continuous in-situ sensors: a membrane inlet laser spectrometer (MILS) and a commercial methane sensor (METS) from Franatech GmbH. Additionally, discrete water samples were collected from CTD-Rosette deployment and standard laboratory methane analysis was performed by gas chromatography coupled with either purge-and-trap or headspace techniques. The resulting vertical profiles (from both in situ and discrete water sample measurements) of dissolved methane concentration follow an expected exponential dissolution function at both sites. At the deeper site, high dissolved methane concentrations are detected up to ∼45 m from the seabed, while at the sea surface dissolved methane was in equilibrium with the atmospheric concentration. At the shallower site, sea surface CH4 concentrations were four times higher than the expected equilibrium value. Our results seem to support that methane may be transferred from the sea to the atmosphere, depending on local water depths. In accordance with previous studies, the shallower the water, the more likely is a sea-to-atmosphere transport of methane. High spatial resolution surface data also support this hypothesis. Well localized methane enriched waters were found near the surface at both sites, but their locations appear to be decoupled with the ones of the seafloor seepages. This highlights the need of better understanding the processes responsible for the transport and transformation of the dissolved methane in the water column, especially in stratified water masses like in the Black Sea.

In order to assess the origin and contribution of the autochthonous and allochthonous material to the recent natural sedimentation, analyses of the main lithological components, i.e., total organic matter (TOM%), total carbonates (CAR%) and minerogenic fraction (SIL%), were performed on several bottom sediment samples, gathered from five lakes. These lakes represent different environmental situations (i.e., deltaic, lagoon and littoral/coastal environment), but they are all influenced by the river/rivulet input of water and sediments. Sampling techniques take into consideration an undisturbed substratum (0 – 30 cm) from surface and subsurface bottom sediment samples, that were collected, using Van Veen Grab Sampler, from 141 stations, along the selected longitudinal and latitudinal transects of the lakes. Loss On Drying and, respectively, Loss On Ignition Methods were used to estimate the percentage contents of TOM%, CAR% and SIL%. The main physical processes that influence the sediment deposition within these lakes are generally related to hydrodynamics and sediment transport, climatic conditions, and environmental variables within the depositional areas. The results reveal a similar alternating lithology between organic-rich sediments (low energy environmental conditions), mineral-rich sediments (higher energy environmental conditions) and ”transitional”/mixed sediments (mixed sediment environments). In complex environments, like the study area, with both fluvial input and high in situ productivity, separating and quantifying the two constituents is not straight forward. Further investigations are required to corroborate the findings of this paper for recent sediment accumulations in environments with mixed sedimentary processes.