National Museum of Natural History

Storage timescales and the crystal growth history recorded in the layered reservoir of the Unit 3 Kulanaokuaiki Tephra Member of the Uēkahuna Ash from Kīlauea volcano

Abstract The Kulanaokuaiki Tephra Unit 3 (900 C.E.) was a subplinian basaltic scoria eruption, the largest known to have occurred at Kīlauea’s summit. The initiation mechanism and cause(s) of this highly hazardous eruption remain poorly understood, particularly as this style of a...

Integrative taxonomy reveals multiple Mediterranean invasions by Indo-Pacific Dorvillea (Annelida, Dorvilleidae)

Abstract Biological invasions are a major driver of global biodiversity loss, with the Mediterranean Sea among the most heavily invaded marine regions. However, identification and monitoring of Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) are hindered by taxonomic uncertainty and cryptic diversi...

Quaternary Arctic planktonic foraminifera: morphological differentiation and taxonomic reassessment of subpolar spinose taxa

Abstract. Planktonic foraminifera in the modern Arctic Ocean are dominated by the non-spinose polar species Neogloboquadrina pachyderma. Acmes of two spinose, presumed subpolar taxa in Quaternary central Arctic sediment cores are therefore anomalous, implying significantly differ...

Operation Melilli, forensic humanitarian medico legal activities on the largest known Mediterranean disaster: the shipwreck of April 18th, 2015

On April 18th, 2015, a boat carrying about 1,000 migrants sank in the Strait of Sicily, prompting one of the most complex recovery missions ever conducted in the Mediterranean. Operation Melilli was the first time a European Government authorized the recovery of a sunken migrant...