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Protected areas (PA) often adopt buffer zone program to share PA benefit with local people and improve community support for conservation. However, the effectiveness of such policies is still unknown. By utilizing household survey data from six PAs (n = 2,121), we assessed contribution of Nepal's Buffer Zone Program in conservation and sustainable development. While the residents showed limited knowledge about the program's specific details and perceived that the funds were too minimal to have a substantial development impact, those who were aware valued the program. Perceived effect was greater on increasing conservation awareness and improving park-people relationships than reducing human-wildlife conflict or funding development projects. Trust, satisfaction, and perception of the program's contribution varied significantly relative to proximity to PA, history of wildlife damage, PA income, minority status, gender and education. Effectiveness of such programs may be enhanced by investing the fund in mitigating wildlife damage than funding development projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonides (COSC) project focuses on processes related to the closure of the Iapetus Ocean, causing the OrdovicianâSilurian continentâcontinent collision between Baltica and Laurentia. The rock succession in the second drill core (COSC-2) from the Jämtland County, central Sweden, provides the base for detailed sedimentological, stratigraphic, geophysical, geochemical, geothermal and structural studies. The basement, comprising 1.66â1.65 Ga Transscandinavian Igneous Belt porphyries intruded by 1.47 Ga and 1.27â1.26 Ga mafic dykes and sills, is heavily weathered towards the top. Here it grades into typical saprock and saprolite (including immature soil reflecting the sub-Cambrian peneplain). The overlying sedimentary sequence starts with basal conglomerates and heterogeneous sediments with shell fragments, indicating an early Cambrian rather than a Neoproterozoic age for the marine transgression in the area. The developing early Cambrian basin was rapidly filled, initially by mostly coarse-grained sediment gravity flows. These strata are covered by sandstone turbidites that show an upward transition into the Alum Shale Formation, representing a tectonically quieter period (mid-Cambrian/Maolingian to Early Ordovician/Tremadocian). The upper part of the Alum Shale Formation is overlain by a late Early Ordovician turbidite succession. Local sources of sediments below the Alum Shale Formation and the extended deposition period may indicate continuous sedimentation in a pull-apart basin preserved in a window beneath the Caledonian thrust sheets.

In interface coupled dissolution-precipitation systems, the dynamics of the mineral-fluid interface depends on two intertwining processes: the dissolution of the primary mineral that is needed for subsequent precipitation and the passivation of the dissolution reaction as a result of secondary mineral precipitation. The resulting thickness and texture of the precipitating coating layer will affect the progression of geochemical reactions, flow and transport processes at the macroscopic scale. Understanding the interplay between macroscopic flow regimes and microscopic reaction mechanisms (e.g., nucleation and crystal growth pathways) in controlling the dynamics of the mineral-fluid interface has important implications for predicting natural weathering processes, scaling in the subsurface energy production systems, etc. In this study, we use a micro-continuum pore-scale reactive transport model to investigate the feedback loop between reaction rate and solute transport with explicit consideration of the surface passivation and the diffusion process through the coating layer, as well as the impacts of saturation-dependent nucleation rate on the textures of precipitates that will largely dictate the diffusion properties of the coating layer. Our model results highlight that the drastically different coating behaviors at the macroscopic scale and their dependence on solution supersaturation observed in previous column experiments are primarily controlled by the interplay between mineral reaction rates, advective flow, and diffusion through the dynamically forming coating layer. The diffusion properties of the coating layer also play a secondary but non-negligible role in shaping the evolution of the co-dissolution and precipitation system. The probabilistic nucleation model building on the framework of classical nucleation theory highlights the complex dependence of precipitates’ texture on solution chemistry and substrate properties, which can affect the diffusion process within the precipitates. The modeling observations also underscore the necessity of further investigations to better characterize the properties of the coating layer and to improve modeling descriptions of the nucleation processes.

Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDPs) are widely used in countries of the Global South to link conservation with rural socio-economic advances. Notwithstanding, ICDPs face much criticism. A dominant complaint is that ICDPs fail to provide evidence concerning the very purpose they were established for, namely, to erase poverty and institutional capacity barriers, which invariably lead to the reduction of adverse human impacts on nature. Here, I explore the challenges that ICDPs face in seeking to provide empirical proof for positive long-term effects at the local level. I highlight certain specific difficulties in monitoring and evaluating ICDPs, and also examine the role that performance evaluation may play for ICDPs as instruments leading to transformative change. Besides the fact that a diverse set of stakeholders, through negotiations of power, constantly challenge the implementation of ICDPs, I argue that the goals and values of donor parties ultimately drive the overall evaluation and long-term sustainability of ICDPs and will govern transformative change. Future research is needed to explore this relationship more fully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation projects in developing countries that depend on international donors or international capacity building partnerships often have to bridge a gap between donors' or experts' ideas of best practice and local ideas of best practice. We examine how this gap may be successfully bridged by examining the case of the Wangchuck Centennial National Park (WCNP) in Bhutan. This protected area was attracting considerable outside investment but presented an unusual situation in 2013: it was largely viewed positively by local communities living in the park, even though, five years after it was gazetted, it had no clear boundaries, and its management was identical to management outside the park. Why did the WCNP have this form, and why was it viewed favorably by local people? Our interviews and survey reveal that this may be due to practical and favourable integrated conservation and development projects implemented by the park management, more people-friendly rules adopted by the Bhutanese government, and a cultural ethos of sustainable development and environmentalist Buddhist sentiments. Applying the tacit working models of conservation framework, we argue that although the protected area as a form of conservation normally is designed to fit the 'uniformity model' of a bounded area with specific rules and management, the WCNP has been culturally re-designed to fit the more culturally suitable 'normative model' that is territorially extensive and values-based. We suggest that this adaptation of global conservation concepts to local cultural perspectives may be a factor in Bhutanese conservation success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial life in the deep subsurface occupies rock surfaces as attached communities and biofilms. Previously, epilithic Fennoscandian deep subsurface bacterial communities were shown to host genetic potential, especially for heterotrophy and sulfur cycling. Acetate, methane, and methanol link multiple biogeochemical pathways and thus represent an important carbon and energy source for microorganisms in the deep subsurface. In this study, we examined further how a short pulse of low-molecular-weight carbon compounds impacts the formation and structure of sessile microbial communities on mica schist surfaces over an incubation period of ~3.5 years in microcosms containing deep subsurface groundwater from the depth of 500 m, from Outokumpu, Finland. The marker gene copy counts in the water and rock phases were estimated with qPCR, which showed that bacteria dominated the mica schist communities with a relatively high proportion of epilithic sulfate-reducing bacteria in all microcosms. The dominant bacterial phyla in the microcosms were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria, whereas most fungal genera belonged to Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Dissimilarities between planktic and sessile rock surface microbial communities were observed, and the supplied carbon substrates led to variations in the bacterial community composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• BrGMGTs are abundant in the Lake Chala sequence, with average %brGMGT of 19%. • %brGMGT responds to lake hydrology changes, contrasting proposed sedimentary origin. • Temporal variation in aquatic vs sedimentary brGMGTs overprints temperature signal. Branched glycerol monoalkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGMGTs), a relatively understudied group of bacterial membrane lipids structurally similar to branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs), appear to be strongly influenced by temperature in terrestrial settings. In surficial bottom sediments of East African lakes, the abundance of brGMGTs relative to the sum of brGMGTs and brGDGTs (%brGMGT) and brGMGT distribution are strongly related to local mean annual air temperature (MAAT), stimulating development of new paleothermometers. However, applications of these methods to lake-sediment records are currently lacking. Here we investigate brGMGT concentrations and distributions in 916 samples throughout the 250,000-year (250-kyr) sediment sequence from Lake Chala, a presently fresh and permanently stratified (meromictic) tropical crater lake. All seven previously identified brGMGTs occur abundantly, reflected in a relatively high average %brGMGT of 19%. BrGMGTs and brGDGTs concentrations throughout the sequence are strongly correlated (R = 0.83, p < 0.001), suggesting that their producers and/or associated ecological niches substantially overlap. Clear distinction can be made between brGMGTs produced predominantly in the bottom sediments (H1034a and H1034c) versus the anoxic lower water column (H1020a-c and H1034b). Although a 17-month monitoring study of Lake Chala suggested brGMGTs are primarily produced in the sediments, down-core data assign greater importance to aquatic production than previously estimated. Instead of reflecting temperature, %brGMGT variations showed greatest similarity to GDGT proxies reflecting lake depth and/or mixing regime. BrGMGT-based temperature models produce ambiguous reconstructions, showing little similarity to known global temperature trends or the brGDGT-based mean summer temperature (MST) reconstruction from the same sediments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial life in the deep subsurface occupies rock surfaces as attached communities and biofilms. Previously, epilithic Fennoscandian deep subsurface bacterial communities were shown to host genetic potential, especially for heterotrophy and sulfur cycling. Acetate, methane, and methanol link multiple biogeochemical pathways and thus represent an important carbon and energy source for microorganisms in the deep subsurface. In this study, we examined further how a short pulse of low-molecular-weight carbon compounds impacts the formation and structure of sessile microbial communities on mica schist surfaces over an incubation period of ∼3.5 years in microcosms containing deep subsurface groundwater from the depth of 500 m, from Outokumpu, Finland. The marker gene copy counts in the water and rock phases were estimated with qPCR, which showed that bacteria dominated the mica schist communities with a relatively high proportion of epilithic sulfate-reducing bacteria in all microcosms. The dominant bacterial phyla in the microcosms were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria, whereas most fungal genera belonged to Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Dissimilarities between planktic and sessile rock surface microbial communities were observed, and the supplied carbon substrates led to variations in the bacterial community composition.

This cross‐sectional and mixed‐methods study uses Self‐Determination Theory and the Theory of Basic Human Values to investigate changes in motivations, attitudes, beliefs and values following the establishment of community‐based marine protected areas (MPAs).Open‐ended and retrospective questions, as well as survey instruments, were used in six communities with different‐aged (new: 1–3 years old, medium‐aged: 5–11 years old and old: 20–25 years old) MPAs in the Philippines. Respondents included both community members either involved (n = 101) or not involved (n = 108) in MPA management.Respondents reported increased appreciation for the benefits of MPAs and more positive attitudes about MPAs over time. In comparison to respondents from communities with new MPAs, respondents in communities with medium‐aged and old MPAs identified a wider range of MPA impacts on themselves (e.g. new friendships, learning and greater pro‐environmental values), their community (e.g. increased fish catch, social capital), and on ecosystems (e.g. different species and ecosystems‐types). Similarly, respondents from medium‐aged and old MPAs had fewer non‐autonomous motivations (i.e. motivations arising externally, such as social status or pay) to engage in MPA management and also had higher self‐transcendence values, such as caring for nature.These results suggest that community‐based MPAs may encourage psychological shifts in communities such as greater autonomous motivation to care for nature and enhanced self‐transcendence values, both of which may support conservation. By developing a more holistic approach to assessing the multi‐faceted impacts of community‐based conservation, this type of psychological research helps to identify and prioritize timely actions in the establishment and maintenance of resilient and sustainable community‐based MPAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eastern Africa has been a prime target for scientific drilling because it is rich in key paleoanthropological sites as well as in paleolakes, containing valuable paleoclimatic information on evolutionary time scales. The Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project (HSPDP) explores these paleolakes with the aim of reconstructing environmental conditions around critical episodes of hominin evolution. Identification of biological taxa based on their sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) traces can contribute to understand past ecological and climatological conditions of the living environment of our ancestors. However, sedaDNA recovery from tropical environments is challenging because high temperatures, UV irradiation, and desiccation result in highly degraded DNA. Consequently, most of the DNA fragments in tropical sediments are too short for PCR amplification. We analyzed sedaDNA in the upper 70 m of the composite sediment core of the HSPDP drill site at Chew Bahir for eukaryotic remnants. We first tested shotgun high throughput sequencing which leads to metagenomes dominated by bacterial DNA of the deep biosphere, while only a small fraction was derived from eukaryotic, and thus probably ancient, DNA. Subsequently, we performed cross-species hybridization capture of sedaDNA to enrich ancient DNA (aDNA) from eukaryotic remnants for paleoenvironmental analysis, using established barcoding genes (cox1 and rbcL for animals and plants, respectively) from 199 species that may have had relatives in the past biosphere at Chew Bahir. Metagenomes yielded after hybridization capture are richer in reads with similarity to cox1 and rbcL in comparison to metagenomes without prior hybridization capture. Taxonomic assignments of the reads from these hybridization capture metagenomes also yielded larger fractions of the eukaryotic domain. For reads assigned to cox1, inferred wet periods were associated with high inferred relative abundances of putative limnic organisms (gastropods, green algae), while inferred dry periods showed increased relative abundances for insects. These findings indicate that cross-species hybridization capture can be an effective approach to enhance the information content of sedaDNA in order to explore biosphere changes associated with past environmental conditions, enabling such analyses even under tropical conditions.

The aim of this study was to explore whether the classroom implementation of the International Child Development Programme (ICDP) for secondary school students (grade 9) was linked to better school achievement. The goal of the ICDP is to increase school achievement by promoting positive teacher-student relationships. The study, performed in Sweden, applied a pre–post design (four years) with matched intervention and control schools (N = 148). The post-intervention assessments showed that there were significant differences in school achievement in Grade 9 between the intervention school and the control school. Specifically, a greater proportion of students at the intervention school demonstrated improvement in school subjects and achieved the competency requirements to enter an upper secondary school programme. Based on the results, the ICDP can be considered an important intervention to promote student learning by promoting positive teacher-student relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As threats to the world's ecosystems continue to escalate, the demand for evidence-based conservation approaches from conservation scientists, practitioners, policy-makers and donors is growing. Wild meat hunting represents one of the biggest threats to tropical forest ecosystems and various conservation strategies have been employed with the aim of reducing hunting impacts. Alternative livelihood projects have been implemented at the community level to reduce hunting through the provision of protein and income substitutes to wild meat. However, there is scant evidence of these projects' impact on hunting practices and wildlife populations. This study addresses this knowledge gap, focusing on alternative livelihood projects in West Africa and Central Africa. A comprehensive literature review and call for information identified 155 past and current projects, of which 19 were analysed in detail through key informant interviews. The study found that a range of different livelihood alternatives are being offered. Most projects are run by local and national non-governmental organisations, and project managers acknowledged the importance of involving communities in project decision-making; however, many projects are funded through small, short-term grants and struggle to meet their objectives with the available time, funding and capacity. Given these constraints, few projects monitor their outcomes and impacts. Projects also seldom implement conditionalities and sanctions, which may lead to the alternatives offered becoming additional rather than substitutional activities. Applying currently available best-practice guidelines for Integrated Conservation and Development Project design and implementation, including the use of simple monitoring methods for evaluating outcomes and impact, would greatly increase the chances of success for alternative livelihood projects, along with a restructuring of current funding models.

The Dead Sea is an extensional basin developing along a transform fault plate boundary. It is also a terminal salt basin. Without knowledge of precise stratigraphy, it is difficult to differentiate between the role of plate and salt tectonics on sedimentary accumulation and deformation patterns. While the environmental conditions responsible for sediment supply are reasonably constrained by previous studies on the lake margins, the current study focuses on deciphering the detailed stratigraphy across the entire northern Dead Sea basin as well as syn and post‐depositional processes. The sedimentary architecture of the late Quaternary lacustrine succession was examined by integrating 851 km of seismic reflection data from three surveys with gamma ray and velocity logs and the stratigraphic division from an ICDP borehole cored in 2010. This allowed seismic interpretation to be anchored in time across the entire basin. Key surfaces were mapped based on borehole lithology and a newly constructed synthetic seismogram. Average interval velocities were used to calculate isopach maps and spatial and temporal sedimentation rates. Results show that the Amora Formation was deposited in a pre‐existing graben bounded by two N‐S trending longitudinal faults. Both faults remained active during deposition of the late Pleistocene Samra and Lisan Formations—the eastern fault continued to bound the basin while the western fault remained blind. On‐going plate motion introduced a third longitudinal fault, increasing accommodation space westwards from the onset of deposition of the Samra Formation. During accumulation of these two formations, sedimentation rates were uniform over the lake and similar. High lake levels caused an increase in hydrostatic pressure. This led to salt withdrawal, which flowed to the south and southwest causing increased uplift of the Lisan and En Gedi diapirs and the formation of localized salt rim synclines. This induced local seismicity and slumping, resulting in an increased thickness of the Lisan succession within the lake relative to its margins. Sedimentation rates of the Holocene Ze'elim Fm were 4–5 times higher than before. The analysis presented here resolves central questions of spatial extent and timing of lithology, deposition rates and their variability across the basin, timing of faulting at and below the lake floor, and timing and extent of salt and plate tectonic phases and their effect on syn and post‐depositional processes. Plate tectonics dictated the structure of the basin, while salt tectonics and sediment accumulation were primarily responsible for its fill architecture during the timeframe examined here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sediment records from deep-drilling projects such as those carried out by the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program are often tens to hundreds of meters in length. To ensure the complete recovery of a stratigraphic section, a basin is usually cored multiple times in adjacent holes so that gaps between sequential cores, poorly recovered sections, or intervals affected by disturbance can be bridged or replaced with sediments from another hole. Stratigraphic correlation, the alignment of stratigraphically-equivalent horizons in cores from different holes in a common-depth scale, and splice generation, the integration of the most-representative core sections into a composite-stratigraphic section, are essential steps in this process to both evaluate and synthesize the recovered-sediment record and focus the scientific analyses. However, these undertakings can be complex and are inherently subjective, making the need for the development of a single robust stratigraphic section early in the project critical to its success. Despite this, the steps between core recovery and on-splice data generation are rarely published in sufficient detail to allow reconstruction, or refinement, of the composited record at a later date. To increase the transparency of how the composite record is created, and to provide a template for future projects, we detail the step-by-step approaches and decisions involved in generating the composite-depth scale and complete-stratigraphic splice following recovery of sediments from Lake Junín, Peru. We first explain the details and nuances of different drilling-depth scales before describing how we integrated different physical property records to generate the composite-depth scale and complete-stratigraphic splice. Here, we show that due to the complex stratigraphy in the Lake Junín sediments, high-resolution line-scan images of the cores offer millimeter-scale precision for construction of the primary-stratigraphic splice at a resolution not afforded by other physical property data. Finally, through comparison of the spliced record to physical-property records acquired in situ on the borehole, we demonstrate that the stratigraphic splice is an accurate representation of the sediment accumulated in the Lake Junín basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Community nurseries within natural protected areas (NPAs) represent an attractive option to link biodiversity conservation with socioeconomic development, yet their functioning lacks proper assessment. Here, we analyse the national context of community nurseries in Mexican NPAs and suggest a specific framework to evaluate their viability. First, we examine the impact of a major governmental funding programme on these projects. Next, we conduct a case study in a focal nursery to identify challenges faced by its operation. Despite the large number of community nurseries funded by the programme, current performance indicators are not suitable to assess their viability. In turn, the case study reveals this nursery's partial success, with a clear contribution to social development but a limited impact on economic improvement and vegetation conservation. Regardless of the characteristics of individual community nurseries, we suggest a framework that is potentially useful for evaluating community nursery viability, which enables agencies to detect problems, find solutions and use resources efficiently, while balancing biodiversity conservation and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Situated within a 1.07 million-year-old meteorite crater, Lake Bosumtwi in Ghana stands as a pivotal location for comprehending climatic, ecological and environmental fluctuations within the sub-Saharan region of West Africa. The region's susceptibility to seasonal environmental shifts and climate oscillations is heightened by the annual movements of the tropical rain belt driven by atmospheric circulation. Yet, there is no satisfying age-depth model available for the entire sedimentary sequence strongly limiting our understanding of changes in this circulation pattern and associated (broad-scale) environmental responses during the last million years in the local to regional context of Lake Bosumtwi. To overcome this, we statistically examine the cyclicity in total natural gamma ray (NGR) data on a core from the lake's centre and create a cyclostratigraphic age-depth model. The calculated maximum age of 946 ka agrees well with the meteorite impact age (∼10 % offset). In order to refine this purely statistical approach, we also perform a correlative age-depth model using 33 tie points accounting for the complexity of climatic and environmental imprints to the NGR record that may exceed direct insolation related effects. Special attention is paid to the core's robustly dated (14C, OSL, U/Th) uppermost part covering the last 200 ka. Here, high NGR and co-varying K counts coincide with warm periods (except of the water-saturated and unconsolidated Holocene part) and the inverse for glacials and stadials. Based on this, we define tie points for correlating our NGR data to the age-depth model of a NE Atlantic SST record. Comparing our results to the correlation target, other global climate records and Sahara dust flux data reveals striking similarities and supports a proxy understanding with increased in wash of K-enriched terrigenous material from the crater rims in warm and moist periods (high NGR) and K-depleted dust input in stadials possibly contributing to low NGR values in addition to reduced input of K-enriched sediments from the crater rims. Our correlative age model results in precession amplitudes matching eccentricity well, providing further support especially because an over-tuning is unlikely with the used 33 tie points. Overall we provide crucial chronological context to numerous datasets along with environmental constrains that can be used to study the potential habitat availability of early anatomically modern humans in West Africa. • An age-depth model for ICDP Lake Bosumtwi (Ghana) covering the last million years • Lake Bosumtwi as a recorder of tropical rain belt migration dynamic • Lake Bosumtwi – insights into pronounced periodic sediment in wash [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strict protectionism, resource extraction, protected-area community outreach, ecotourism, an integrated conservation and development program, comanagement schemes, and citizen-science initiatives are all being used to help conserve the remote Katavi Rukwa ecosystem in western Tanzania. Biological and social research show that protectionism is successful in the conservation of large mammals but fails to capture diverse species communities; extractivism is appropriate for some resources but not for others; protected-area outreach can be effective for some communities; and devolved control over wildlife, in conjunction with ecotourism and citizen science, has considerable potential in the area. The long-term nature of the research provides the necessary time frame to evaluate outcomes of different conservation strategies, uncovers dynamics within communities that affect attitudes and responses to conservation initiatives, provides impartial recommendations because changing research personnel offers different viewpoints, and, probably most importantly, enhances trust among stakeholders. Currently, there are limited institutional mechanisms for ensuring the input of biological and social science in shaping conservation practice in Tanzania, and long-term research can help informally bridge the gap.

Summary: Population, health and environment (PHE) projects are an increasingly popular strategy for addressing lack of access to healthcare and livelihood opportunities in settings with threats to biodiversity loss. PHE projects integrate services and messaging from different development sectors, including health (particularly family planning), conservation and livelihoods. However, a question remains: do such projects produce value-added outcomes; that is, synergistic effects as a result of integration across sectors? Using qualitative data to explore value-added outcomes resulting from a PHE project serving communities along Lake Victoria in Kenya and Uganda, this study explores several theories about why this integrated project may be generating value-added outcomes, including changes in established gender roles, as well as substitution of time and investment of new income into sustainable livelihood activities, particularly among women. Integration led to several value-added benefits, particularly for women, although long-term sustainability of project outcomes remains a key concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The sedimentary sequences that accumulated within various lakes that occupied the Dead Sea Basin since the Pliocene, contain a detailed record of the climate and tectonic history of the area. Until recently, most of the information about these paleo-lakes was derived from exposures along the marginal terraces of the current Dead Sea (lake), focusing mainly on the last Glacial Lake Lisan and the Holocene-modern Dead Sea. The International Continental Drilling Program (ICDP) recovered a series of cores in the northern Dead Sea Basin, both in the deep depocenter (300 m water depth) and in shallower waters near the current shore. Here, we present downhole logging measurements that were used to provide continuous records of petrophysical properties at depth and to reconstruct lithological profiles. The study highlights how logging data can overcome gaps in drilled-core recovery and be used to examine subsurface geology on a regional scale. Gamma ray, resistivity and velocity wire logs were examined to infer a log-derived lithofacies. The reconstructed profiles presented in this study constitute a first attempt to link deep central settings of the basin with marginal sedimentary sequences. Three main facies were identified in the boreholes including: (Bartov et al., 2002) Finely laminated sequences of mudstones interbedded with siltstones to sandstones; (Bartov et al., 2003) Medium to thick bedded mudstone to sandstone: and (Bartov et al., 2007) Evaporites (e.g. halite and gypsum with some intervals of detrital sediments). The formations that were previously defined along the marginal terraces of the Dead Sea: the Holocene Ze'elim Formation, the last Glacial Lisan Formation, the last interglacial Samra Formation and the early to mid-Pleistocene Amora Formation are identified in the boreholes. A spatial correlation is established providing the stratigraphic architecture of the sedimentary structure beneath the Dead Sea during the late Quaternary. This paper combines geophysical and lithological data and provides the base for subsequent studies on facies interpretation. Highlights • Downhole wireline logging data was used to reconstruct lithology in the Dead Sea. • The logs were used to overcome gaps in ICDP core recovery. • This data allowed for a spatial correlation between marginal and deep facies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fungi have an important role in nutrient cycling in most ecosystems on Earth, yet their ecology and functionality in deep continental subsurface remain unknown. Here, we report the first observations of active fungal colonization of mica schist in the deep continental biosphere and the ability of deep subsurface fungi to attach to rock surfaces under in situ conditions in groundwater at 500 and 967 m depth in Precambrian bedrock. We present an in situ subsurface biofilm trap, designed to reveal sessile microbial communities on rock surface in deep continental groundwater, using Outokumpu Deep Drill Hole, in eastern Finland, as a test site. The observed fungal phyla in Outokumpu subsurface were Basidiomycota, Ascomycota, and Mortierellomycota. In addition, significant proportion of the community represented unclassified Fungi. Sessile fungal communities on mica schist surfaces differed from the planktic fungal communities. The main bacterial phyla were Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteriota. Biofilm formation on rock surfaces is a slow process and our results indicate that fungal and bacterial communities dominate the early surface attachment process, when pristine mineral surfaces are exposed to deep subsurface ecosystems. Various fungi showed statistically significant cross-kingdom correlation with both thiosulfate and sulfate reducing bacteria, e.g., SRB2 with fungi Debaryomyces hansenii.

The interaction of a single bacterial species (Burkholderia fungorum) with basaltic rocks from the ICDP HSDP2 drill core and synthetic basaltic glasses was investigated in batch laboratory experiments to better understand the role of microbial activity on rock alteration and Fe mobilization. Incubation experiments were performed with drill core basaltic rock samples to investigate differences in the solution chemistry during biotic and abiotic alteration. Additionally, colonization experiments with synthetic basaltic glasses of different Fe redox states and residual stresses were performed to evaluate their influence on microbial activity and surface attachment of cells. In biotic incubation experiments bacterial growth was observed and the release of Fe and other major elements from drill core basaltic rocks to solution exceeded that of abiotic controls only when the rock sample assay was nutrient depleted. The concentration of dissolved major elements in solution in biotic colonization experiments with synthetic basaltic glasses increased with increasing residual stress and Fe(II) content. Furthermore, the concentration of dissolved Fe and Al increased similarly in biotic colonization experiments indicating that their dissolution might be triggered by microbial activity. Surface morphology imaging by SEM revealed that cells on basaltic rocks in incubation experiments were most abundant on the glass and surfaces with high roughness and almost absent on minerals. In colonization experiments, basaltic glasses with residual stress and high Fe(II) content were intensely covered with a cellular biofilm. In contrast, glasses with high Fe(III) content and no residual stress were sparsely colonized. We therefore conclude that structurally bound Fe is most probably used by B. fungorum as a nutrient. Furthermore, we assume that microbial activity overall increased rock dissolution as soon as the environment becomes nutrient depleted. Our results show that besides compositional effects, other factors such as redox state and residual stress can control microbial alteration of basaltic glasses.

As threats to the world's ecosystems continue to escalate, the demand for evidence-based conservation approaches from conservation scientists, practitioners, policy-makers and donors is growing. Wild meat hunting represents one of the biggest threats to tropical forest ecosystems and various conservation strategies have been employed with the aim of reducing hunting impacts. Alternative livelihood projects have been implemented at the community level to reduce hunting through the provision of protein and income substitutes to wild meat. However, there is scant evidence of these projects' impact on hunting practices and wildlife populations. This study addresses this knowledge gap, focusing on alternative livelihood projects in West Africa and Central Africa. A comprehensive literature review and call for information identified 155 past and current projects, of which 19 were analysed in detail through key informant interviews. The study found that a range of different livelihood alternatives are being offered. Most projects are run by local and national non-governmental organisations, and project managers acknowledged the importance of involving communities in project decision-making; however, many projects are funded through small, short-term grants and struggle to meet their objectives with the available time, funding and capacity. Given these constraints, few projects monitor their outcomes and impacts. Projects also seldom implement conditionalities and sanctions, which may lead to the alternatives offered becoming additional rather than substitutional activities. Applying currently available best-practice guidelines for Integrated Conservation and Development Project design and implementation, including the use of simple monitoring methods for evaluating outcomes and impact, would greatly increase the chances of success for alternative livelihood projects, along with a restructuring of current funding models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of different approaches have been used to explain the successes and failures of biodiversity conservation strategies in developing countries. However, to date, little attention has been paid toward assessing the influence of knowledge transfer between science, policy, and conservation practices in the implementation of these strategies. Vietnam’s Pu Luong Cuc Phuong Conservation Area is a globally important ecosystem, situated within a limestone landscape and inhabited by hundreds of local communities. Biodiversity conservation has become an important part of sustainable development in this area. This study analyzes three conservation strategies employed in the Pu Luong Cuc Phuong Conservation Area by applying the Research-Integration-Utilization (RIU) model of scientific knowledge transfer. Our analyses reveal weaknesses in scientific knowledge transfer arising from low-quality research and poor integration strategies. Based on our results, we developed recommendations to improve research and integration in an effort to enhance science-based policy support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction of a single bacterial species (Burkholderia fungorum) with basaltic rocks from the ICDP HSDP2 drill core and synthetic basaltic glasses was investigated in batch laboratory experiments to better understand the role of microbial activity on rock alteration and Fe mobilization. Incubation experiments were performed with drill core basaltic rock samples to investigate differences in the solution chemistry during biotic and abiotic alteration. Additionally, colonization experiments with synthetic basaltic glasses of different Fe redox states and residual stresses were performed to evaluate their influence on microbial activity and surface attachment of cells. In biotic incubation experiments bacterial growth was observed and the release of Fe and other major elements from drill core basaltic rocks to solution exceeded that of abiotic controls only when the rock sample assay was nutrient depleted. The concentration of dissolved major elements in solution in biotic colonization experiments with synthetic basaltic glasses increased with increasing residual stress and Fe(II) content. Furthermore, the concentration of dissolved Fe and Al increased similarly in biotic colonization experiments indicating that their dissolution might be triggered by microbial activity. Surface morphology imaging by SEM revealed that cells on basaltic rocks in incubation experiments were most abundant on the glass and surfaces with high roughness and almost absent on minerals. In colonization experiments, basaltic glasses with residual stress and high Fe(II) content were intensely covered with a cellular biofilm. In contrast, glasses with high Fe(III) content and no residual stress were sparsely colonized. We therefore conclude that structurally bound Fe is most probably used by B. fungorum as a nutrient. Furthermore, we assume that microbial activity overall increased rock dissolution as soon as the environment becomes nutrient depleted. Our results show that besides compositional effects, other factors such as redox state and residual stress can control microbial alteration of basaltic glasses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical composition and δ 37 Cl of pore fluids from the ICDP core drilled in the deepest floor of the terminal and hypersaline Dead Sea, and halites from the adjacent Mount Sedom salt diapir, are used to establish the dynamics of halite precipitation and dissolution during the last interglacial and glacial periods. Between ∼132 and 116 thousand years ago (ka) halites precipitated in the lake resulting in the expulsion of Na + and Cl − from the residual solution. Over 50% of the Cl − reservoir was removed, resulting in a decrease in the Na/Cl ratio from 0.57 to 0.19. This process was accompanied by a decrease in δ 37 Cl values in the precipitating halites and the associated residual Cl − in the lake. The observed decrease fits a Rayleigh distillation curve with a fractionation factor of Δ (NaCl–Dead Sea solution) = +0.32‰ (±0.12) determined in the present study. This behavior implies negligible contribution of external sources of Cl − to the lake during the main peak of the last interglacial, MIS5e. Subsequently, during the last glacial (ca. 117 to 17 ka) dissolution of halite took place, the Na + and Cl − inventory were replenished, accompanied by an increase in Na/Cl from 0.21 to 0.55 and in the δ 37 Cl values from −0.46‰ to −0.12‰. While the lake underwent significant dilution during that time, the decrease in salinity was somewhat suppressed by the dissolution of the halite which was mostly derived from Mount Sedom salt diapir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image segmentation is an important and fundamental task in computer vision. Its performance is mainly influenced by feature representations and segmentation algorithms. In this paper, we propose a novel clustering-based image segmentation approach which can be called ICDP algorithm. It is able to capture the inherent structure of image and detect the nonspherical clusters. Compared to the other segmentation methods based on clustering, there are several advantages as follows: (1) Integral channel features are used to clearly and comprehensively represent the input image by naturally integrating heterogeneous sources of information; (2) cluster number can be determined directly and cluster centers are able to be identified automatically; (3) hierarchical segmentation is easy to be achieved via ICDP algorithm. The PSNR and MSE are applied to quantitatively evaluate the segmentation performance. Experimental results clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of our novel image segmentation algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current mixed-method study investigates the effects of a culturally adapted version of the International Child Development Programme (ICDP) with 135 mothers – 29 ethnic Pakistani mothers residing in Norway attending Urdu-language groups and a comparison group of 105 Norwegian mothers attending Norwegian-language groups. All mothers completed questionnaires on parenting and psychosocial health before and after participating in the ICDP programme. In-depth interviews with a subgroup of 12 ethnic Pakistani mothers and 8 ethnic Norwegian mothers were analysed using thematic analysis. Before the ICDP programme, the Urdu-speaking mothers spent more time with the child, scored higher on distant child management and reported poorer mental health. Most changes over time were similar but significant for the Norwegian-speaking group only, which might imply that the minority mothers were in the process of change. In the interviews, the Urdu-speaking mothers’ emphasized enhanced communication and regulation as well as enhanced family relationships and life quality, whereas the Norwegian-speaking group told about increased consciousness and empowerment, and a more positive focus.

Payments for ecosystem services are becoming popular components in strategies to conserve ecosystems and biodiversity, but their effectiveness remains poorly documented. Here we present counterfactual-based evidence on the conservation outcomes of the pilot stage of Peru’s National Forest Conservation Program (NFCP). The NFCP provides direct payments to indigenous communities in the Amazon, conditional on avoided deforestation and the adoption of sustainable production systems. Using a spatially explicit quasi-experimental evaluation design, we show that the payment scheme has achieved only small conservation impacts, in terms of avoided deforestation. Counter-intuitively, these materialized largely on land not enrolled for conservation, due to spillover effects. Conservation effects on contracted land were negligible because communities were not chosen according to high deforestation threats, and they self-enrolled low-pressure forest areas for conservation. Occasional non-sanctioned contract incompliance contributed to these outcomes. We highlight implications for the design and implementation of up-scaled national conservation programs. Methodologically, we demonstrate the important role of choosing the appropriate spatial scale in evaluating area-based conservation measures.

One of the major challenges in understanding the evolution of our own species is identifying the role climate change has played in the evolution of hominin species. To clarify the influence of climate, we need long and continuous high-resolution paleoclimate records, preferably obtained from hominin-bearing sediments, that are well-dated by tephro- and magnetostratigraphy and other methods. This is hindered, however, by the fact that fossil-bearing outcrop sediments are often discontinuous, and subject to weathering, which may lead to oxidation and remagnetization. To obtain fresh, unweathered sediments, the Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project (HSPDP) collected a ∼216-meter core (WTK13) in 2013 from Early Pleistocene Paleolake Lorenyang deposits in the western Turkana Basin (Kenya). Here, we present the magnetostratigraphy of the WTK13 core, providing a first age model for upcoming HSPDP paleoclimate and paleoenvrionmental studies on the core sediments. Rock magnetic analyses reveal the presence of iron sulfides carrying the remanent magnetizations. To recover polarity orientation from the near-equatorial WTK13 core drilled at 5°N, we developed and successfully applied two independent drill-core reorientation methods taking advantage of (1) the sedimentary fabric as expressed in the Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility (AMS) and (2) the occurrence of a viscous component oriented in the present day field. The reoriented directions reveal a normal to reversed polarity reversal identified as the top of the Olduvai Subchron. From this excellent record, we find no evidence for the ‘Vrica Subchron’ previously reported in the area. We suggest that outcrop-based interpretations supporting the presence of the Vrica Subchron have been affected by the oxidation of iron sulfides initially present in the sediments -as evident in the core record- and by subsequent remagnetization. We discuss the implications of the observed geomagnetic record for human evolution studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In conservation projects in and around protected areas (PAs), a suite of policy instruments are used to promote conservation behavior in local people. Few studies have related psychological research on motivational values to conservation in PAs. We conducted a systematic review of 120 peer-reviewed articles to assess the relative frequencies of policy instruments that aimed to foster intrinsic versus extrinsic motivations to conserve. We examined how the type of motivation engendered by the instrument (i.e., intrinsic or extrinsic motivation and based on the description of how the project was designed and implemented) influenced the ecological, economic, and social success of the project. We assessed the success of the project in only the case studies that included a quantitative or qualitative analysis of success. Projects designed to foster at least one intrinsically motivating instrument were 3 times more likely to meet socioeconomic or ecological goals. Although certain types of instruments such as payments or fines tended to be based on extrinsic motivators more often than education or monitoring programs, several successful projects involving payments or fines were linked to intrinsic motivation in the local community. Thus, our results suggest that rather than debating the relative merits of specific types of policy instruments, conservationists may have more success by focusing on how different motivators, suited to specific contexts, can better empower local communities to conserve. Broadly, our results suggest the current emphasis on social justice and well-being of local communities is a positive step toward protecting the world's remaining biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When using biomarkers such as n -alkanes as tools for paleo-environmental reconstructions, it is imperative to determine their specific sources for each setting. Toward that goal, we analyzed a set of various potential organic matter (OM) sources such as aquatic and terrestrial plants, dust, and soils from Laguna Potrok Aike (LPA) and surrounding areas in southern Patagonia. We determined chain length distributions and hydrogen (δD) and carbon (δ 13 C) isotopic compositions of n -alkanes of different OM sources in order to quantify their relative contributions to lake sediments. Our results reveal that the mid-chain n -alkane, n -C 23 , is predominantly produced by submerged aquatic plants, whereas long-chain n -alkanes ( n -C 29 – n -C 31 ) are derived from various terrestrial sources. We estimated their relative contributions to the sediment using two approaches, i.e., based on the n -alkane distributions and their δD and δ 13 C values. Both approaches result in similar estimates of aquatic and terrestrial contributions for mid- and long-chain n -alkanes to the sediment. 62–73% of the mid-chain n -C 23 alkanes originate from aquatic sources while 66–77% of the long-chain n -alkanes originate from dust and 14–30% from terrestrial plants. Our study shows that mid-chain n -alkanes such as the n -C 23 alkane in LPA are derived mainly from aquatic macrophytes and thus have the potential to record changes in lake-water isotopic composition. In contrast, the n -C 29 alkane reflects the isotopic signal of various terrestrial sources from southern Patagonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deep biosphere contains a large portion of the total microbial communities on Earth, but little is known about the carbon sources that support deep life. In this study, we used Stable Isotope Probing (SIP) and high throughput amplicon sequencing to identify the acetate assimilating microbial communities at 2260 m depth in the bedrock of Outokumpu, Finland. The long-term and short-term effects of acetate on the microbial communities were assessed by DNA-targeted SIP and RNA targeted cell activation. The microbial communities reacted within hours to the amended acetate. Archaeal taxa representing the rare biosphere at 2260 m depth were identified and linked to the cycling of acetate, and were shown to have an impact on the functions and activity of the microbial communities in general through small key carbon compounds. The major archaeal lineages identified to assimilate acetate and metabolites derived from the labelled acetate were Methanosarcina spp., Methanococcus spp., Methanolobus spp., and unclassified Methanosarcinaceae. These archaea have previously been detected in the Outokumpu deep subsurface as minor groups. Nevertheless, their involvement in the assimilation of acetate and secretion of metabolites derived from acetate indicated an important role in the supporting of the whole community in the deep subsurface, where carbon sources are limited.

While the Fourth World Conservation Congress (WCC) was effective in bringing together different participants to discuss climate change, the discussion of potential mitigation mechanisms was dominated by the Reducing Emissions for Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) initiative, to the exclusion of other possibilities, including Non-timber Forest Products (NTFP)-there was a notable lack of venues for discussing the relevance of NTFP projects for biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and poverty alleviation. This paper contrasts the treatment of NTFP and REDD at the WCC and discusses how the exclusion of NTFP from these discussions will probably affect its inclusion in the conservation agenda and the future design and funding of conservation projects. The paper also shares some ideas on unexplored complementarities between NTFP and REDD for climate change mitigation, showing that an opportunity was lost at the Fourth WCC for promoting NTFP as an additional market-based approach to conservation.

Lake Petén Itzá, northern Guatemala, lies within a hydrologically closed basin in the south-central area of the Yucatán Peninsula, and was drilled under the auspices of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) in 2006. At 16°55′N latitude, the lake is ideally located for study of past climate and environmental conditions in the Neotropical lowlands. Because of its great depth (>160 m), Lake Petén Itzá has a record of continuous sediment accumulation that extends well into the late Pleistocene. A key obstacle to obtaining long climate records from the region is the difficulty of establishing a robust chronology beyond ∼40 ka, the limit of 14 C dating. Tephra layers within the Lake Petén Itzá sediments, however, enable development of age/depth relations beyond 40 ka. Ash beds from large-magnitude, Pleistocene-to-Holocene silicic eruptions of caldera volcanoes along the Central American Volcanic Arc (CAVA) were found throughout drill cores collected from Lake Petén Itzá. These ash beds were used to establish a robust chronology extending back 400 ka. We used major- and trace-element glass composition to establish 12 well-constrained correlations between the lacustrine tephra layers in Lake Petén Itzá sediments and dated deposits at the CAVA source volcanoes, and with their marine equivalents in eastern Pacific Ocean sediments. The data also enabled revision of eight previous determinations of erupted volumes and masses, and initial estimates for another four eruptions, as well as the designation of source areas for 14 previously unknown eruptions. The new and revised sedimentation rates for the older sediment successions identify the interglacial of MIS5a between 84 and 72 ka, followed by a stadial between 72 and 59 ka that corresponds to MIS4. We modified the age models for the Lake Petén Itzá sediment sequences, extended the paleoclimate and paleoecological record for this Neotropical region to ∼400 ka, and determined the magnitude and timing of CAVA eruptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lake El'gygytgyn in Far East Russia is a 3.6 Myr old impact crater lake. Located in an area that has never been affected by Cenozoic glaciations nor desiccation, the unique sediment record of the lake represents the longest continuous sediment archive of the terrestrial Arctic. The surrounding crater is the only impact structure on Earth developed in mostly acid volcanic rocks. Recent studies on the impactite, permafrost, and sediment sequences recovered within the framework of the ICDP “El'gygytgyn Drilling Project” and multiple pre-site surveys yielded new insight into the bedrock origin and cratering processes as well as permafrost dynamics and the climate and environmental history of the terrestrial Arctic back to the mid-Pliocene. Results from the impact rock section recovered during the deep drilling clearly confirm the impact genesis of the El'gygytgyn crater, but indicate an only very reduced fallback impactite sequence without larger coherent melt bodies. Isotope and element data of impact melt samples indicate a F-type asteroid of mixed composition or an ordinary chondrite as the likely impactor. The impact event caused a long-lasting hydrothermal activity in the crater that is assumed to have persisted for c. 300 kyr. Geochemical and microbial analyses of the permafrost core indicate a subaquatic formation of the lower part during lake-level highstand, but a subaerial genesis of the upper part after a lake-level drop after the Allerød. The isotope signal and ion compositions of ground ice is overprinted by several thaw-freeze cycles due to variations in the talik underneath the lake. Modeling results suggest a modern permafrost thickness in the crater of c. 340 m, and further confirm a pervasive character of the talik below Lake El'gygytgyn. The lake sediment sequences shed new leight into the Pliocene and Pleistocene climate and environmental evolution of the Arctic. During the mid-Pliocene, significantly warmer and wetter climatic conditions in western Beringia than today enabled dense boreal forests to grow around Lake El'gygytgyn and, in combination with a higher nutrient flux into the lake, promoted primary production. The exceptional warmth during the mid-Pliocene is in accordance with other marine and terrestrial records from the Arctic and indicates a period of enhanced “Arctic amplification”. The favourable conditions during the mid-Pliocene were repeatedly interrupted by climate deteriorations, e.g., during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) M2, when pollen data and sediment proxies indicate a major cooling and the onset of local permafrost around the lake. A gradual vegetation change after c. 3.0 Ma points to the onset of a long-term cooling trend during the Late Pliocene that culminated in major temperature drops, first during MIS G6, and later during MIS 104. These cold events coincide with the onset of an intensified Northern Hemisphere (NH) glaciation and the largest extent of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, respectively. After the Pliocene/Pleistocene transition, local vegetation and primary production in Lake El'gygtygyn experienced a major change from relatively uniform conditions to a high-amplitude glacial-to-interglacial cyclicity that fluctuated on a dominant 41 kyr obliquity band, but changed to a 100 kyr eccentricity dominance during the Middle Pleistocene transition (MPT) at c. 1.2–0.6 Ma. Periods of exceptional warming in the Pleistocene record of Lake El'gygytgyn with dense boreal forests around and peaks of primary production in the lake are assigned to so-called “super-interglacial” periods. The occurrence of these super-interglacials well corresponds to collapses of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) recorded in ice-free periods in the ANDRILL core, which suggests strong intrahemispheric teleconnections presumably driven by changes in the thermocline ocean circulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-temperature hydrothermal alteration of basaltic glass on the seafloor has important implications on the chemical evolution of the oceanic crust and seawater composition. However, mass fluxes resulting from seawater-glass interaction in this type of environment remain poorly understood. This study presents new results on element mobilities for the palagonitization of basaltic glass and bulk rock hydrothermal alteration at Surtsey volcano, Iceland over a time period of ~50-years. Assessments of element mobilities were based on 1) immobile trace element isocon mass balance for palagonitization, 2) the assumption of large scale TiO 2 immobility during bulk rock alteration and 3) chemical analyses of pore fluids and authigenic minerals. Element mobilities of glass alteration vary between initial palagonitization and subsequent palagonite maturation: Initially, palagonitization of sideromelane leaches SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , MgO, CaO, Na 2 O, K 2 O from the glass. Following this, the maturation of the palagonitized glass causes re-uptake of all of the abovementioned elements except for CaO, which shows either no change or slight uptake, and Na 2 O, which continues to be lost from the palagonitized glass. Among major elements TiO 2 and FeO can be considered immobile during palagonitization, but not during the subsequent aging process of palagonitized glass. Among trace elements Hf, Ta, Zr, Nb, Y and REE were found to be immobile at all stages of the alteration. On the bulk rock scale, comprising both glass alteration and the formation of authigenic phases, early-stage alteration at Surtsey releases SiO 2 , Al, Mg and Ca to the fluid, whereas late-stage alteration poses a sink of SiO 2 , Al, Mg, Ca and Na. Net element budgets during early- and late-stage alteration indicate that chemical exchange between basaltic tuffs and seawater derived fluids at Surtsey acts as a long-term source of dissolved Ca, Al and SiO 2 for seawater as well as a long-term sink for seawater Mg and Na. • Element mobilities for basalt glass alteration strongly depend on reaction progress. • Palagonitization releases SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , MgO, CaO, Na 2 O, K 2 O from the glass. • REE, Hf, Ta, Zr, Nb, Y remain immobile but FeO and TiO 2 show signs of mobilization. • Surtsey system is a net source of SiO 2 , Al and Ca for seawater, but Mg and Na sink. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]