The Tremarctinae are a subfamily of bears endemic to the New World, including two of the largest terrestrial mammalian carnivores that have ever lived: the giant, short-faced bears Arctodus simus from North America and Arctotherium angustidens from South America (greater than or equal to 1000 kg). Arctotherium angustidens became extinct during the Early Pleistocene, whereas Arctodus simus went extinct at the very end of the Pleistocene. The only living tremarctine is the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus), a largely herbivorous bear that is today only found in South America. The relationships among the spectacled bears (Tremarctos), South American short-faced bears (Arctotherium) and North American shortfaced bears (Arctodus) remain uncertain. In this study, we sequenced a mitochondrial genome from an Arctotherium femur preserved in a Chilean cave. Our molecular phylogenetic analyses revealed that the South American short-faced bears were more closely related to the extant South American spectacled bear than to the North American short-faced bears. This result suggests striking convergent evolution of giant forms in the two groups of short-faced bears (Arctodus and Arctotherium), potentially as an adaptation to dominate competition for megafaunal carcasses.

Jamaica, the third largest island in the Caribbean, has been affected significantly by flooding and flood-related damage. Hence assessing the probability of flooding and susceptibility of a place to flood hazard has become a vital part of planning and development. In addition to heavy rainfall from tropical storms and Atlantic hurricanes, several terrestrial factors play significant roles in flooding, including local geology, geomorphology, hydrology and land-use. In this study, a GIS-based multi-criteria statistical methodology was developed to quantify hazard potential and to map flood characteristics. Fourteen factors potentially responsible for flooding were identified and used as initial input in a hybrid model that combined principal component analysis with logistic regression and frequency distribution analysis. Of these factors, seven explained 65 % of the variation in the data: elevation, slope angle, slope aspect, flow accumulation, a topographic wetness index, proximity to a stream network, and hydro-stratigraphic units. These were used to prepare the island’s first map of flood hazard potential. Hazard potential was classified from very low to very high, nearly one-fifth (19.4 %) of the island was included within high or very high flood hazard zones. Further analysis revealed that areas prone to flooding are often low-lying and flat, or have shallow north- or northwest-facing slopes, are in close proximity to the stream network, and are situated on underlying impermeable lithology. The multi-criteria hybrid approach developed could classify 86.8 % of flood events correctly and produced a satisfactory validation result based on the receiver operating characteristic curve. The statistical method can be easily repeated and refined upon the availability of additional or higher quality data such as a high resolution digital elevation model. Additionally, the approach used in this study can be adopted to evaluate flood hazard in countries with similar characteristics, landscapes and climatic conditions, such as other Caribbean or Pacific Small Island Developing States.

This study investigates gully erosion on an east Tennessee hillslope in a humid subtropical climate. The study area is deeply gullied in Ultisols (Acrisol, according to the World Reference Base for Soil), with thirty years of undisturbed erosional history with no efforts to correct or halt the erosion. The objectives are (1) to examine how different gully morphologies (channel, sidewall, and interfluve) behave in response to precipitation-driven erosion, and (2) to identify an appropriate temporal scale at which precipitation-driven erosion can be measured to improve soil loss prediction. Precipitation parameters (total accumulation, duration, average intensity, maximum intensity) extracted from data collected at an on-site weather station were statistically correlated with erosion data. Erosion data were collected from erosion pins installed in four gully systems at 78 locations spanning three different morphological settings: interfluves, channels, and sidewalls. Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric tests and Mann-Whitney U-tests indicated that different morphological settings within the gully system responded differently to precipitation (p<0.00). For channels and sidewalls, regression models relating erosion and precipitation parameters retained antecedent precipitation and precipitation accumulation or duration (R2=0.50, p<0.00 for channels, R2=0.28, p<0.00 for sidewalls) but precipitation intensity variables were not retained in the models. For interfluves, less than 20% of variability in erosion data could be explained by precipitation parameters. Precipitation duration and accumulation (including antecedent precipitation accumulation) were more important than precipitation intensity in initiating and propagating erosion in this geomorphic and climatic setting, but other factors including mass wasting and eolian erosion are likely contributors to erosion. High correlation coefficients between aggregate precipitation parameters and erosion indicate that a suitable temporal scale to relate precipitation to soil erosion is the synoptic time-scale. This scale captures natural precipitation cycles and corresponding measurable soil erosion.

Maximum sustained and peak gust winds from eighteen European windstorms over the last 25 years were analyzed previously to develop surface-level wind predictions across a large and topographically varied landscape based on an anisotropic kriging interpolation methodology for meteorological station data. Results suggested that coastal and mountainous areas experience the highest wind speeds and highest variability over short distances, resulting in the highest errors across concurrent interpolated surfaces. This study utilizes covariates in conjunction with cokriging to investigate the use of cokriging as a method of improvement through the interpolation of five windstorms that impacted both the Alps region and the topographically-varied coastal regions of Western Europe. Results show that cokriging improves isotach interpolation for windstorms in 8 out of 10 models by reducing root mean square error and the total number of high-error stations, primarily in coastal and mountainous areas. Land cover alone contributed to the greatest model improvement in a majority of the models, while aspect and elevation (singularly and collectively) also improved models when compared to original kriging models. Improved surface interpolation is critical for improved understanding of macro-scale windstorm patterns and resulting damage, thus improving risk and vulnerability estimates.

This study used variables from the Protective Action Decision Model to guide data collection about 262 residents' responses to the 2009 Samoa M8.1 earthquake and tsunami. The results show that earthquake shaking, combined with knowledge that this can cause a tsunami, was the most common source of first awareness about a possible tsunami and that broadcast media were the most common first social sources of warnings. Radio was an important source of additional information, as were face-to-face contacts and phone calls. Contrary to previous research, few of the recommended elements of a warning message were communicated to those at risk and none of these message elements was significantly correlated with evacuation. Nonetheless, two thirds of coastal residents and half of inland residents began evacuations within 15. min after the earthquake. Those who had participated in earthquake hazard awareness meetings had higher risk perceptions but were no more likely to evacuate to higher ground or evacuate promptly. This study's results are broadly consistent with previous findings on disaster response but raise a number of unresolved questions about behavioral response to rapid onset disasters.

The extinct taxon Dasypus bellus has long been considered identical to the extant Dasypus novemcinctus osteologically when disregarding allometric differences. In this study, we undertake a preliminary investigation into this extinct taxon and an extant relative D. novemcinctus, by comparing the calcanea of these two dasypodids. Clear osteological differences are observed including a mediolaterally-reduced facet region, an anteriorly-shortened calcaneal head, a reduced peroneal process, and a curved and dorsoventrally-shortened calcaneal foot in D. bellus. Such characters are not allometric and likely correlate to distinct behavioral differences. Specifically, we suggest that D. novemcinctus maintains a more fossorial lifestyle, while the larger D. bellus was likely more terrestrial, with potentially little digging behavior. Such lifestyle differences could not only explain the osteological differences present, but also why fossils of D. bellus have been recovered farther north than the present range of D. novemcinctus. Fossils of Dasypus may need to be re-evaluated to determine how these two taxa relate temporally and geographically, which may have further implications regarding some past interpretations and provide new details on the behavior and potential relationships between these (and other) xenarthrans.

Here, we describe saber-toothed cat remains from the early Early Pleistocene (~2.0Ma) of Yanliang Cave, Fusui County, Guangxi Province, South China. Specimens, including a complete left dentary and right m1, are identified as Megantereon based on mandibular and dental characters. The Yanliang Megantereon is the smallest representative of the genus from Asia. Overall size, p4 and m1 dental proportions, the disposition of the p3, and dentary measurements align it with characters attributed to Megantereon whitei, a taxon not recorded from eastern Asia or China. Megantereon whitei is thought to be the most derived member of the genus. If the remains are M.whitei, or a closely related form, this represents an early occurrence of the group outside Africa. Other Megantereon specimens from China, that are roughly the same geologic age, or even younger, are considered to have a more primitive dentition than M.whitei. The Yanliang Megantereon, and our review, further demonstrates uncertainty in the evolutionary history of the group, the overall need for tighter chronologic control, and a systematic revision of the genus that includes discrete morphological characters.

Increasing use of rock materials like shale in building, roofing, embankment filling, brick manufacturing, and in other civil structure application makes it an important rock to consider in construction engineering. Knowledge of thermal and physical properties of shale as building material is required to predict the rock's strength and permanence against weathering. Inconsistent heat capacity of anisotropic rock can result in differential heat flow. This tendency can expand the building materials leading to reduction in strength and initiate disintegration. Authors have studied various thermo-physical properties of anisotropic shale from Tennessee, which is commonly used as building stones and bricks. Experiment was designed to measure the basic thermal property, 'heat capacity' of shale. Series of laboratory tests including durability, strength, specific gravity, moisture content, and porosity were conducted to determine the physical and mechanical behavior of the samples. Results indicated that properties like porosity, strength and heat capacity varied significantly within samples, where as specific gravity and moisture content yielded steady values. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to evaluate possible correlations among the tested properties. Strong positive relationship was evident between heat capacity, and porosity. Heat capacity and Unconfined Compressive Strength of shale were inversely related. This study emphasized that physical and thermal properties of shale are directly linked with strength and durability of the rock mass.

The Gray Fossil Site (GFS) of northeastern Tennessee has yielded a diverse salamander fossil assemblage for the southern Appalachian Mio-Pliocene. This assemblage includes at least five taxa (Ambsytoma sp.; Plethodon sp., Spelerpinae, gen. et sp. indet., Desmognathus sp.; and Notophthalmus sp.) from three families (Ambystomatidae, Plethodontidae, and Salamandridae, respectively). All taxa are present in the area today and support a woodland-pond interpretation of the site. Reported specimens represent the earliest record of their families in the Appalachian Mountains (and the earliest record of Plethodontidae and Ambystomatidae east of the Mississippi River); with the Notophthalmus sp. vertebrae being the only Mio-Pliocene body fossil known for the Salamandridae in North America. The Desmognathus sp. specimens may help shed light on the evolutionary origins of the genus Desmognathus, which purportedly has its roots in this region during the Mio-Pliocene.

A sequence of siliceous dolomite and magnesian limestone, known as Knox group rock are prevalent in karst landforms of Southern Appalachians. Thick blanket of clay-rich red soils (terra rossa) are common along fractures, cavities, and between bedding planes of these calcareous, cavernous rocks. The red soil causes serious environmental and geotechnical hazards, hence proper understanding of the soil's pedology, geochemistry and engineering behavior can lead to better site characterization for safer development. Twenty four terra rossa samples were collected and laboratory analysis was performed such as: geochemistry (mineral content using X-Ray diffraction, and geotechnical characterization (grain size distribution, porosity, hydraulic conductivity, and shrink-swell potential). The soil profile above Knox rock exhibits distinct vertical variation in geochemical and geotechnical characteristics. The soils are well drained in the upper horizon and exhibit slight reduction in porosity and hydraulic conductivity with depth. The analysis indicate that these soils overall are good foundation materials, however proper drainage should be installed to prevent foundation damage, soil erosion and landslides in slopes.