Download Part 1 - Ecosystem Sciences

Ecosystem Sciences
Science, Planning, Design
www.ecosystemsciences.com
01 ECOSYSTEM SCIENCES
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3 000 acres of Wetlands
Design, development, and enhancement of
landscape-scale wetland and riparian habitats
Restoration of the Lower Owens River
Eastern Sierras, Owens Valley, California
Ecosystem Sciences
Science, Planning, Design
www.ecosystemsciences.com
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02 ECOSYSTEM SCIENCES
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THE CLIMATE TODAY
Nocturnal Inversion Layer
Abu Dhabi’s climate behaviour is largely the result of variations in surface
pressure and the movement of air, both vertically and horizontally. In general,
annual air circulation over the UAE can be grouped into two main periods,
winter and summer. Volatile atmospheric conditions characterise the two
transitional periods, autumn and spring, that separate the two main seasons.
At night, as the Earth’s surface cools, the
air next to it also cools. This cool moist air
(sometimes laden with dust) becomes
trapped beneath a layer of warmer air
overhead, resulting in fog in the early
morning, when maximum cooling takes
place. This surface inversion will start to
break down soon after sunrise, allowing
the fog to dissipate.
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The Indian
Monsoon system
fluctuated in
strength, influence
and geographic extent
The highest rainfall occurs during the
winter, the result of cyclonic cloud bands
that pass over the UAE driven by the
westerly troughs. The average rainfall in
Abu Dhabi is less than 100 mm annually,
although this varies across the Emirate
geographically and from year to year; e.g.
one day’s precipitation could exceed the
total rainfall of two or three years.
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Palaeoclimate and Climate Change
The Gulf region has experienced climatic changes throughout both
geological and human history. The overall trend or cycle of climatic change
basically comprises warmer and wetter interglacial periods alternating
with much cooler and drier glacial episodes, often spanning many
thousands of years. Historical evidence indicates conclusively that such
environmental transitions are sometimes quite rapid and sudden.
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Two hundred years ago, the last climate
disruption occurred, known as the ‘Little Ice
Age’ and, although there have been warmer
periods prior to this disruption, the world
has since been experiencing a persistent
and accelerating warming phase.
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Seabed (Benthic) Productivity T
Benthic, or sea bed, productivity in the
Gulf is one of the highest in the world.
Due to the shallowness of the Gulf
basin, sunlight penetrates and reaches
much of the sea floor. Consequently,
the lower waters support abundant
marine flora, including extensive
seagrasses, macro-algal beds and
cyanobacterial mats, which support
rich benthic communities. Extensive
mudflats contain abundant infaunal
organisms such as polychaete worms
and molluscs that inhabit the soft
substrate. These, in turn, support
organisms higher in the food chain
including crustaceans and fish species
that sustain important fisheries.
Temperature and CO2 T
Sea Grass Abundance X
During the past 400,000 years, studies show that global temperatures have
risen when CO2 levels increase. Sudden increases in global CO2
concentrations, coinciding with the Industrial Revolution, have led scientists
to believe with greater than 90% probability that most of the global warming
witnessed in the last 50 years is the result of human activities.
As annual marine plants, seagrasses
complete their life cycle by July and
August, although this timing varies by
location and species. By September
and October in Abu Dhabi’s coastal
waters, new leaves (lamina) appear
and the productivity of seagrass
increases over the winter. During this
period, dugongs (Dugong dugon)
congregate in larger numbers to mate
and to graze on the rich beds of
vegetation. Calves are born during
February in time to graze on the
abundant vegetation. Green turtles
(Chelonia mydas) also increase in
numbers during this period, taking
advantage of this seasonal bounty.
Carbon Dioxide Variations
145
50 cartographic maps
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Design of high resolution and illustrative
mapping and visualizations
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Timeless and Restless: What Lies Beneath?
Since the early days of oil and gas exploration, the
technologies available to explore beneath the Earth’s
surface have improved dramatically. Seismic surveying
transmits pulses of energy into the Earth to create
images of the rock layers below the surface.
Geoscientists study the properties of these rock layers
to determine if they are likely to contain water, oil or
gas. Geoscientists also lower various devices down
boreholes to directly measure the physical and
chemical properties of rocks. They may also extract
rock sample cores. All of these analyses are used to
200 pages
Design and production of a national
environmental atlas, including scientific
narrative, statistics and research
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Design, development, and implementation of
geographic information system
Saudi Arabia
develop detailed computer-based reservoir models
and to plan the development of the oil or gas fields.
These technologies allow a better understanding of
the complex geology beneath the surface, allowing
the development of efficient cost-effective methods for
oil and gas extraction.
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ABU DHABI
Environmental Atlas and Cartography
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Ecosystem Sciences
Science, Planning, Design
www.ecosystemsciences.com
131
RESTLESS EARTH
Iranian Fold Belt
Volcanism
FORMATIVE FORCES AND PROCESSES
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Arabian Gulf
From its earliest beginnings, the physical geography of Abu Dhabi displays the
consequences of plate tectonics as a fundamental formative process. Although
the movements of the Earth’s plates are incredibly slow, the sheer scale and
massive forces involved over millions of years have come together to form the
geological foundations and dramatic features of the landscape we see today.
Plate tectonics can be viewed as a ‘mega-formative’ process resulting in
large-scale features such as mountain ranges, rift valleys and basins, fault
escarpments and visibly folded, warped and faulted surface and sub-surface
rock formations. These physical features are not static; rather they are dynamic
and continually changing over time. They are not only subjected to additional
formative forces but influence the processes themselves, which, in turn,
continue to reshape the landscape and constituent landforms of Abu Dhabi
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27
Zagros Mountains
and of the rest of the region. While these continual and relative Earth
movements generally go largely unnoticed, except by scientists and only
involve millimetres per year, there remains, though, the potential for bigger
dislocations. The Arabian Plate, on which Abu Dhabi is located, is gradually
being subducted (moving underneath) the Eurasian Plate in the area of the
Zagros Mountains in southern Iran. Sudden jolts cause small-scale earthquakes,
such as one which caused the evacuation of some tall buildings in Abu Dhabi
City in 2008, and much more destructive earthquakes remain ever present
hazard across the region, especially in Iran. These sudden and violent
movements can cause changes to the natural landscape, as well as damage to
man-made structures, including bridges and buildings.
Abu Dhabi
Melting
of Subducted
Oceanic Crust
Sediments
Continental Crust
Lithosphere
Anthenosphere
S
The Consequences of Collision T
Oman
Saudi Arabia
The movement and collision of the Earth’s
plates has had profound impacts on the
physical geography of Abu Dhabi and the
wider region. As noted earlier, during the
Cretaceous, the South Atlantic oceanic
basin formed, forcing the Afro-Arabia
Plate north-eastwards. By the Late
Cretaceous (about 100-70 million years
ago) this movement was so rapid that it
overwhelmed the capacity of subduction
to effectively swallow the plate margins
in a process whereby denser oceanic
crust sinks below lighter continent crust.
changes in sea level for at least the past
350,000 years and probably longer.
Consequently, the oceanic crust and
overlying sediments of the ancient
Tethys Sea were thrust upwards onto the
north-east margins of the Arabian Plate to
form the unique geological structures of
the Semail Ophiolite and the underlying
Hawasina Nappes. The collision between
the smaller Arabian and massive Eurasian
Plates buckled and uplifted the plate
margins to form the Zagros Mountains.
Today, the Arabian Plate with Abu Dhabi
as its ‘passenger’ continues its ancient
journey northwards relative to the Africa
Plate at 5–14 millimetres per year and to
Eurasia at 27 millimetres per year.
This caused alternating flooding and
drying episodes, creating the unique
landforms of the sabkhas and extensive
dune fields blown southwards by winds
like the shamal (northerly wind). While the
geological building blocks of the Emirate
have remained fairly stable for the past
500 million years, powerful tectonic
forces continue to re-shape the geology
and landscape.
157
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Ra’s Sadar
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Dalma
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This movement received a powerful push
in a north-easterly direction about four to
five million years ago. Opposing forces
down-warped the Gulf area, although
it is unclear when it was first flooded
by ocean waters. What is certain is that
the Gulf has been subjected to cyclical
Basaltic Volcanism
Less
Erosion
Continental Crust
Crust Uplifted
and Thinned
Lithosphere
Asthenosphere
Continental Shelf
Red Sea
Arabian Plate
Red Sea
Mirfa
Ophiolite
Erosion Over Time
Sila’a
What Lies beneath? - Ophiolite Formation S
African Plate
Continental Crust
Oceanic Crust
Lithosphere
Asthenosphere
Ophiolites are rare sequences of rocks where a section of
the Earth’s upper mantle, oceanic crust and overlying
sediments have been thrust upwards by tectonic forces.
The Hajar Mountains include the world’s largest and best
exposed ophiolite complex which can be seen outcropping
between Dhaid and Dibba. It provides a unique
opportunity to examine rocks from deep within the Earth
and to understand plate tectonics and related processes.
Ophiolite
Obduction &
Deposition
Geographic Inheritance
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More recently, in the Oligo-Miocene,
the opening of the Gulf of Aden and
Red Sea split the Arabian Plate away
from the African Plate, continuing its
journey alone. The forces associated
with this resulted in further uplift along
the north-eastern margin to produce the
Hajar Mountains, which are still rising,
depending on location, at 2–6 millimetres
per year.
03 ECOSYSTEM SCIENCES
Award Winning Design
National Honor Award - American Society of
Landscape Architects
Urban Ecology and Boise River
Illustrations, mapping, statistical analysis
and narrative describing Boise River ecology,
water quality and environmental conditions.
Ecological Design
Design planning and studies for sustainable
and low impact urban growth
Urban Ecology , Design and Planning
Lower Boise River, Idaho
Ecosystem Sciences
Science, Planning, Design
www.ecosystemsciences.com
BOISE RIVER