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On Friday, 7 March 2009, a 200 m-long section of the tourist pier in Puerto Colombia collapsed under the impact of the waves generated by a cold front in the area. The aim of this study is to determine the contribution and importance of cold fronts and storms on extreme 5 waves in different areas of the Colombian Caribbean to determine the degree of the threat posed by the flood processes to which these coastal populations are exposed and the actions to which coastal engineering constructions should be subject. In the calculation of maritime constructions, the most important parameter is the wave's height; therefore, it is necessary to definitively know the design wave height to which a coastal engineering structure should be resistant. This wave height varies according to the return period considered. Using Gumbel's extreme value methodology, the significant height values for the study area were calculated. The methodology was evaluated using data from the re-analysis of the spectral NOAA Wavewatch III (WW3) model for points along the 1600km of the Colombia Caribbean coast (continental and insu15 lar) of the last 15 years. The results demonstrated that the extreme waves caused by tropical cyclones and cold fronts have different effects along the Colombian Caribbean coast. Storms and hurricanes are of greater importance in the Guajira Peninsula (Alta Guajira). In the central area formed by Baja Guajira, Santa Marta, Barranquilla, and Cartagena, the strong influence of cold fronts on extreme waves is evident. On the other hand, in the southern region of the Colombian Caribbean coast, from the Gulf of Morrosquillo to the Gulf of Urabá, even though extreme waves are lower than in the previous regions, extreme waves are dominated mainly by the passage of cold fronts. Extreme waves in the San Andrés and Providencia insular region present a different dynamic from that in the continental area due to its geographic location. The wave heights in the extreme regime are similar in magnitude to those found in Alta Guajira, but the extreme waves associated with the passage of cold fronts in this region have lower return periods than the extreme waves associated with hurricane season. These results are of great importance when evaluating the threat of extreme waves in the coastal and port infrastructure, for purposes of the design of new constructions, and in the coastal flood processes due to run-up because, according to the site of interest in the coast, the forces that shape extreme waves are not the same. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Dimensión Empresarial is the property of Universidad Autonoma del Caribe, Departamento del Atlantico and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Boletín Científico Centro de Museos de Historia Natural is the property of Universidad de Caldas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Over the last 50 years, coastal erosion has become a serious problem, rising in magnitude and dominance along the Caribbean coastline of Colombia. Circa 50% of this important area for the country is undergoing serious erosion problems related to a multiplicity of factors contrasted by their degree of influence and magnitude, e.g. sedimentary imbalances, extreme waves, ecosystems destruction and sea level rise. Coastal protection related with hard structures has been the first, and in some cases, the only management strategy for these erosion problems. At the beginning of 2016, at least 1484 hard structures (both cross and longshore, such as, groins, seawalls, breakwaters, amongst others) have been built along the Colombian Caribbean coast, the highest concentrations being found in tourist cities. A significant percentage (close to 90%) of these hard structures have not been very successful or have failed in their purpose. These hard structures have altered the natural conditions of the study area, producing impacts such as i) coastal armoring, ii) reduced sediment supplies to downdrift areas, iii) intensification of erosion processes, iv) generation of nearby new erosion hot spots, v) deterioration of coastal scenery quality, among others. This paper describes and evaluates the functionality of coastal protection strategies used up to the present and delves into management aspects of coastal protection in the Caribbean coast of Colombia. It also indicates the current and future coastal protection scene for the region and highlights major trends and challenges faced by users, land owners, and coastal managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty-six beaches belonging to Atlántico department, Caribbean coast of Colombia, were surveyed to determine magnitudes, sources, and management of litter. Beach litter was observed along the entire coastline, and a total of 7,597 items weighing 412 kg were collected from all 26 beaches surveyed. The average abundance of litter found along the study area was 2.9 items m −1 . Vegetation debris and plastic items dominated the samples respectively with 59% (Avg: 1.72 items m −1 ) and 27% (Avg: 0.82 items m −1 ). Other litter groups were polystyrene 3% (Avg: 0.1 items m −1 ), rubber 3% (Avg: 0.08 items m −1 ) and glass 2% (Avg: 0.04 items m −1 ). Metal, organic, processed wood, paper and biohazards items reached 5%, while textiles and miscellaneous represented less than 1%. Concerning buoyancy characteristics, the most represented litter category was persistent buoyant litter (with 91% of items), followed by short-term (6%) and non-buoyant litter (3%). The primary source of litter corresponds to litter transported by rivers, mainly the Magdalena River, together with human activities related to beach use ( i.e. tourism). Litter produced poor scenic scores along the Atlántico department coastline and improvement can easily upgrade scenic beach quality scores. Results such as those given are necessary to identify, improve and conserve beaches standards together with the contribution that they make to the environmental, social and economic, well-being of local communities. Beach litter management along the study area (as well along the Caribbean coast of Colombia) must be based on strategies to reduce or eliminate litter sources. For that, it is necessary to consider beach types to define the intensity and periodicity of actions to be implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides the location, scenery and litter evaluation of 35 Colombian Caribbean beaches (9 remote, 9 village, 14 urban and 3 resort). Four litter grades were found. A: excellent (5); B: good (8); C: fair (19) and D: poor (3). A Decision Value parameter (D), for scenery gave: Class I – extremely attractive/natural, D > 0.85, 6 sites; Class II – attractive/natural sites, D = 0.85 –0.65, 2 sites; Class III – mainly natural sites, few outstanding features, D = 0.65–0.4, 1 site; Class IV – mainly unattractive sites, D = 0.4 to zero, 6 sites; Class V – very unattractive sites, D = <0, 20 sites. Litter amounts placed most beaches into a poor scenic category and many scenic beaches could jump a grade by means of clean-ups. A graphic methodology highlighted beaches with contradictory results for litter/scenic grades. Tourists abhor littered beaches and clean-ups would improve scenery scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper a methodology is applied to generate synthetic wave series during mean and extreme conditions. An analysis is carried out that describes mean and extreme wave behavior for several climatic conditions along the Colombian Caribbean Coast. During mean conditions, the most energetic ocean waves are observed during the DJF season for both ENSO phases (El Niño and La Niña) for most of the Caribbean Sea. During the Niño years, there is a reduction in the speed of the north-east trade winds and their associated waves, but only in the DJF and MAM seasons. However, during the JJA season, this situation is reversed with the highest values occurring during El Niño and low values appearing during La Niña. Toward the east around the Guajira region, this general pattern is shown to change significantly. For extreme conditions, the results show a significant influence of extreme events toward the northwest, around La Guajira and the insular zones of San Andres and Providence when compared with other regions along the coast. All of these results (including the synthetic wave series) provide a design and management tool for the successful implementation of any coastal project (scientific or consulting) in Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“Sun, Sea and Sand” tourism is one of the fastest increasing activities in Colombia. The coast, specifically the Caribbean coast, represents the favourite destination for national and foreign visitors. However, over the last 30 years while tourism activities increased, coastal erosion became a serious problem rising in magnitude and dominance. This paper deals with a historic overview of Colombian Caribbean coastal erosion, the calculus of associated magnitudes and deepens knowledge and understanding of the different factors that control this process in this location. Coastal change in terms of erosion-sedimentation was determined by comparatives analysis of satellite images for the 1980–2014 period, as well as field surveys. Results showed circa 50% of the Colombian Caribbean coast is undergoing serious erosion. In detail, 48.3% (1182 km) of the investigated coast is experiencing erosion; 33.2% (812.6 km) can be considered stable, and 18.4% (450.5 km) is accreting. Coastal erosion can be associated with a diversity of factors contrasting in their degree of magnitude and influence, such as, amongst others: sedimentary imbalance, extreme waves, ecosystem destruction and sea level rise. These processes are often multiplied by human activities e.g. inappropriate building of coastal infrastructures, e.g. groins, illegal mining of sand and destruction of mangroves. Currently, coastal erosion produces not only beach loss but also deterioration of scenic quality and further significant financial investments for hard shore protection structures (groins and breakwaters, principally). Therefore, coastal erosion has become an obstacle that hinders the economic growth of Colombia. Results obtained can be used in the correct application of coastal management policies in order to preserve socio-economic activities, such tourism. Specifically, stronger management laws in line with Marine Spatial Planning attributes need to be implemented and enforced; more sustainable funding found for legislation and a better support network for decision making with the over riding objective of increased sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

En este artículo presentamos los primeros resultados del trabajo de campo realizado en el marco de la investigación Narrativas de la violencia sexual en la guerra irregular en el Caribe colombiano: voces de homosexuales, transexuales, intersexuales, bisexuales y lesbianas, cuyo objetivo es narrar literariamente casos de violencia sexual perpetrados por los grupos paramilitares arraigados en esta zona del país contra la población LGTBI del Caribe colombiano. Para desarrollar nuestro propósito, en la introducción presentamos una breve reseña de los fundamentos teóricos de nuestra investigación; luego, en la sección "Una aguja en un pajar" narramos la difícil búsqueda de víctimas decididas a dar testimonio; en la sección "El territorio, el viaje y la música" describimos el contexto en el cual se realizaron las entrevistas que dieron lugar a las narraciones literarias que presentamos en la sección "Voces vivas y voces ausentes", para finalmente mostrar algunas de las conclusiones de esta segunda fase de nuestra investigación. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the case of the Colombian Caribbean Coast implementing the new alternatives of manumission established during the period of Independence. The complex social situation, the prolonged effect of the war, the continuing fiscal crisis, cumbersome administrative procedures, lack of political will and resistance from some conservatives, were factors that prevented the prompt and massive access to free life. Somehow, these early setbacks announced the slow development that characterized the process of manumission during Republican times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ingeniería y Universidad is the property of Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Champeta is music from around the Black Atlantic played by large sound systems called picós in the cities of Colombia’s Caribbean coast. I argue that champeta is comprised of the mutual co-constitution of a system of exchange (through which music, technological devices and material artefacts circulate), a social system (in which local and transnational networks of people are organised around particular picós to participate in that system of exchange) and an aesthetic system (which dramatises the social networks’ access to the system of exchange by encoding those processes into sound). In doing so, I suggest that the entanglement of these three fields might be understood through economic anthropology, materiality, informal economies and Manuel DeLanda’s interpretation of the assemblage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Boletín Científico Centro de Museos de Historia Natural is the property of Universidad de Caldas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Semestre Económico is the property of Sello Editorial de la Universidad de Medellin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract  All clinical manifestations of leishmaniasis exist in Colombia, the cutaneous form being the most frequent in the department of Sucre, where the Leishmania species associated with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is unknown. This study was carried out to determine which Leishmania species was responsible for CL in Sucre, based on amplification and sequencing of the Cyt b gene. Isolates of Leishmania were obtained after CL diagnosis of eight patients who received attention in several health care centers of the study area. The nucleotide sequences obtained from patients were compared to Leishmania reference strains and six of the isolates identified as Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis, the remaining two being identified as Leishmania (Viannia) panamensis and Leishmania (Viannia) guyanensis. This represents the first report of the presence of L. (V.) guyanensis on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six genera and 13 species of red algae, characteristic of sand-plain habitats between 10 and 28 m depths, are reported for the first time for the Caribbean coast of Colombia. They are Amphiroa beauvoisii Lamouroux, Halymenia pseudofloresia Collins et Howe, Dudresnaya bermudensis Setchell, D. crassa Howe, Sebdenia flabellata (J. Agardh) Parkinson, Agardhiella subulata (C. Agardh) Kraft et Wynne, Sarcodiotheca dichotoma (Howe) Dawson, S. divaricata W. R. Taylor, Chrysymenia enteromorpha (Harvey) Farlow, Lomentaria corallicola Børgesen, Dictyurus occidentalis J. Agardh, Laurencia brongniartii J. Agardh, and Micropeuce mucronata (Harvey) Kylin ex E. C. Oliveira. Agardhiella subulata differs from Solieria filiformis (Kützing) Gabrielson both in morphology and in habitat. Sarcodiotheca caribaea from the Caribbean Sea is considered to be conspecific with S. dichotoma from the Gulf of California (Mexico), and it is reported for the second time for the Atlantic Ocean. Sarcodiotheca divaricata is reported for the second time for the Atlantic Ocean and for the first time for the Caribbean Sea. Lomentaria rawitscheri Joly (1957) from Brazil is considered here to be conspecific with L. corallicola Børgesen (1939) from the Gulf of Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This note describes some of the safety and security concerns posed by the transportation of highly enriched uranium (HEU) from a nuclear research reactor located in Bogota (Colombia) to a port on the Colombian Caribbean coast. The operation was made at a moment of extremely high guerilla activity in Colombia, so that the decision-problem belongs in the extension of risk analysis known as threat analysis. By invoking a principle of dispreference for probability based on the concept of stochastic dominance, a qualitative risk comparison was made between the road and air alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study on the sexual reproduction of the reef-binding coral Montastrea cavernosa in the Santa Marta area, Caribbean coast of Colombia from October 1990 to October 1991. Period of the onset of spermatogenesis; Effect of sea-water temperatures; Gonad index of fully mature female colonies.