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Topic Review
Mortuary Archaeology
Mortuary archaeology, also known as bioarchaeology, is the study of human remains in their archaeological context. Mortuary archaeology aims to generate an understanding of disease, migration, health, nutrition, gender, status, and kinship among past populations. Ultimately, these topics help to produce a picture of the daily lives of past individuals. Mortuary archaeology tends to focus how individuals can contribute to understanding the population. Mortuary archaeologists draw upon the humanities, as well as social and hard sciences to have a full understanding of the individual. Mortuary archaeologists also use living groups to their advantage when studying populations that are no longer living. Mortuary archaeologists also are involved in conflict archaeology, and study mass burials from different historical events, like World War II and the Guatemalan genocide. These particular events will deal with comingled individuals. However, not all events are involved in mass burials or of historic context. One instance of a single individual involved in conflict, is that of Otzi. This is an example of a single individual that had been shot and killed. There are different methods that contribute to mortuary archaeology including analyzing different burial techniques between and within populations and creating a biological profile of the individual(s).
  • 691
  • 07 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Mosasaurus
Mosasaurus (/ˌmoʊzəˈsɔːrəs/; "lizard of the Meuse River") is the type genus (defining example) of the mosasaurs, an extinct group of aquatic squamate reptiles. It lived from about 82 to 66 million years ago during the Campanian and Maastrichtian stages of the Late Cretaceous. The earliest fossils of Mosasaurus known to science were found as skulls in a chalk quarry near the Dutch city of Maastricht in the late 18th century, which were initially thought to have been the bones of crocodiles or whales. One skull discovered around 1780, and which was seized by France during the French Revolutionary Wars for its scientific value, was famously nicknamed the "great animal of Maastricht". In 1808, naturalist Georges Cuvier concluded that it belonged to a giant marine lizard with similarities to monitor lizards but otherwise unlike any known living animal. This concept was revolutionary at the time and helped support the then-developing ideas of extinction. Cuvier did not designate a scientific name for the new animal, and this was done by William Daniel Conybeare in 1822 when he named it Mosasaurus in reference to its origin in fossil deposits near the Meuse River. The exact affinities of Mosasaurus as a squamate remain controversial, and scientists continue to debate whether its closest living relatives are monitor lizards or snakes. Traditional interpretations have estimated the maximum length of the largest species, M. hoffmannii, to be up to 17.1 meters (56 ft), making it one of the largest mosasaurs, although some scientists consider this an overestimation with recent estimates suggesting a length closer to 13 meters (43 ft). The skull of Mosasaurus was equipped with robust jaws capable of swinging back and forth and strong muscles capable of powerful bites using dozens of large teeth adapted for cutting prey. Its four limbs were shaped into robust paddles to steer the animal underwater. Its tail was long and ended in a downward bend and a paddle-like fluke. Mosasaurus was a predator possessing excellent vision to compensate for its poor sense of smell, and a high metabolic rate suggesting it was endothermic ("warm-blooded"), an adaptation only found in mosasaurs among squamates. There is considerable morphological variability across the currently-recognized species in Mosasaurus—from the robustly-built M. hoffmannii to the slender and serpentine M. lemonnieri—but an unclear diagnosis (description of distinguishing features) of the type species M. hoffmannii led to a historically problematic classification. As a result, more than fifty different species have been attributed to the genus in the past. A redescription of the type specimen in 2017 helped resolve the taxonomy issue and confirmed at least five species to be within the genus. Another five species still nominally classified within Mosasaurus are planned to be reassessed in a future study. Fossil evidence suggests Mosasaurus inhabited much of the Atlantic Ocean and the seaways adjacent to it. Mosasaurus fossils have been found in places as diverse as North and South America, Europe, Africa, Western Asia, and Antarctica. This distribution encompassed a wide range of oceanic climates including tropical, subtropical, temperate, and subpolar climates. Mosasaurus was a common large predator in these oceans and was positioned at the top of the food chain. Paleontologists believe its diet would have included virtually any animal; it likely preyed on bony fish, sharks, cephalopods, birds, and other marine reptiles including sea turtles and other mosasaurs. It likely preferred to hunt in open water near the surface. From an ecological standpoint, Mosasaurus probably had a profound impact on the structuring of marine ecosystems; its arrival in some locations such as the Western Interior Seaway in North America coincides with a complete turnover of faunal assemblages and diversity. Mosasaurus faced competition with other large predatory mosasaurs such as Prognathodon and Tylosaurus—which were known to feed on similar prey—though they were able to coexist in the same ecosystems through niche partitioning. There were still conflicts among them, as an instance of Tylosaurus attacking a Mosasaurus has been documented. Several fossils document deliberate attacks on Mosasaurus individuals by members of the same species. Infighting likely took place in the form of snout grappling, similarly seen in modern crocodiles today.
  • 5.5K
  • 01 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Motorcycle Market
In many cities, urbanization has led to a rapid increase in the demand for mobility. Most of this new demand has been satisfied by the individual private transport industry, within which motorcycles have an important share: around 30% of the vehicles in the world are motorcycles. Thus, the motorcycle market has experienced an upward trend, especially in developing countries. That uncontrolled growth brings along mobility, accidents, and environment-related issues that concern policy-makers. Research trends regarding this matter evidence that greenhouse gas emissions, sustainability, environmental impact, and developing countries are the topics of greater interest for researchers. In addition, taking into account the needs of modern cities, sustainable modes of transport such as electric and shared mobility are compulsory as a priority on governments' agendas. 
  • 2.2K
  • 26 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Mountain Permafrost Hydrology
Mountain Permafrost Hydrology can be defined as “the geoscience that describes and predicts the occurrence, circulation, and distribution of the water within high and cold mountainous terrain”.
  • 609
  • 30 Jan 2022
Topic Review
MSGFNet for Remote Sensing Image Change Detection
Change detection (CD) stands out as a pivotal yet challenging task in the interpretation of remote sensing images. Significant developments have been witnessed, particularly with the rapid advancements in deep learning techniques. Nevertheless, challenges such as incomplete detection targets and unsmooth boundaries remain as most CD methods suffer from ineffective feature fusion.
  • 176
  • 08 Feb 2024
Topic Review
MTBE and BTEX in Wetlands
Hydrocarbon contamination of water resources is a global issue. These compounds are generated and discharged into the environment in industrial areas from chemical and petrochemical plants, oil refineries, power plants, and so forth. Fuel hydrocarbons, namely, BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes) and MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether), are commonly found in groundwater, posing environmental and health risks to humans and ecosystems. Nature-based technologies represent an alternative solution, providing high eciency, an environmentally friendly character, simple operation, and cost eciency, which are characteristics particularly desired by the international petroleum industry. This entry discusses the use of the green technology of constructed wetlands to remediate water polluted with hydrocarbons. Although the number of related international experiences and studies is limited, the article presents the latest developments of wetland technolog for the removal of MTBE and benzene-BTEX. The discussion includes the overall eciency of the di erent wetland types that have been tested and used, the main transformation and removal processes that regulate the fate of BTEX and MTBE in constructed wetlands, and the potential for future investigations.
  • 1.0K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Muddy Waters Mapping Using Machine Learning
The quality of drinking water is a critical factor for public health and the environment. Inland drinking water reservoirs are essential sources of freshwater supply for many communities around the world. However, these reservoirs are susceptible to various forms of contamination, including the presence of muddy water, which can pose significant challenges for water treatment facilities and lead to serious health risks for consumers. In addition, such reservoirs are also used for recreational purposes which supports the local economy. 
  • 257
  • 12 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Multi-Element Imaging of the 1.4Ga Authigenic Siderite Crystal
The Al- and Fe-enriched zone in the core of siderite crystal might be an iron-bearing nucleus, and the formation of rim structure was related to the transition from a closed crystallization environment to a semi-closed growth environment. These results, combined with carbon isotope evidence from the siderites and surrounding shales, suggest that vigorous dissimilatory iron reduction that can provide Fe2+ and HCO3− to the pore water is a key factor to form the siderite-dominated Xiamaling IF.
  • 541
  • 21 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Multi-Stage Sn-Polymetallic Mineralization
South Hunan, an important component of the Nanling polymetallic metallogenic belt, experienced a fairly long history of polycyclic tectonic evolution with multiple magmatic and hydrothermal events, during which a series of tungsten-tin polymetallic ore fields/deposits (e.g., Huangshaping, Shizhuyuan, Xitian, Xianghualing) were formed.
  • 289
  • 16 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Multi-Use of the Sea
Conserving and sustainably uing oceans, seas, and marine resources constitutes one of the key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations Agenda 2030. The key issue in this context is an amplification of human utilization of marine space and the latter’s more extensive exploitation for economic purposes. As a result, marine sea space is becoming a scarce resource, requiring careful management, and can no longer be perceived as infinite and abundant. Maritime multi-use could as a territorial/SPATIAL governance instrument for the enhancement of sustainable development in five EU sea basins. Multi-use (MU) is expected to enhance the productivity of blue economy sectors, as well as deliver additional socio-economic benefits related to the environmental and social dimensions of sustainable development. 
  • 579
  • 11 Aug 2021
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