Abstract: Penguins are the only extant family of flightless diving birds. They currently comprise at least 18 species, distributed from polar to tropical environments in the Southern Hemisphere. The history of their diversification and adaptation to these diverse environments remains controversial. We used 22 new genomes from 18 penguin species to reconstruct the order, timing, and location of their diversification, to track changes in their thermal niches through time, and to test for associated adaptation across the genome. Our results indicate that the penguin crown-group originated during the Miocene in New Zealand and Australia, not in Antarctica as previously thought, and that Aptenodytes is the sister group to all other extant penguin species. We show that lineage diversification in penguins was largely driven by changing climatic conditions and by the opening of the Drake Passage and associated intensification of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). Penguin species have introgressed throughout much of their evolutionary history, following the direction of the ACC, which might have promoted dispersal and admixture. Changes in thermal niches were accompanied by adaptations in genes that govern thermoregulation and oxygen metabolism. Estimates of ancestral effective population sizes (Ne) confirm that penguins are sensitive to climate shifts, as represented by three different demographic trajectories in deeper time, the most common (in 11 of 18 penguin species) being an increased Ne between 40 and 70 kya, followed by a precipitous decline during the Last Glacial Maximum. The latter effect is most likely a consequence of the overall decline in marine productivity following the last glaciation.

Abstract: This Paper Reports On Consolidated Ground-based Validation Results Of The Atmospheric No2 Data Produced Operationally Since April 2018 By The Tropomi Instrument On Board Of The Esa/eu Copernicus Sentinel-5 Precursor (S5p) Satellite. Tropospheric, Stratospheric, And Total No2 Column Data From S5p Are Compared To Correlative Measurements Collected From, Respectively, 19 Multi-axis Doas (Max-doas), 26 Ndacc Zenith-scattered-light Doas (Zsl-doas), And 25 Pgn/pandora Instruments Distributed Globally. The Validation Methodology Gives Special Care To Minimizing Mismatch Errors Due To Imperfect Spatio-temporal Co-location Of The Satellite And Correlative Data, E.g., By Using Tailored Observation Operators To Account For Differences In Smoothing And In Sampling Of Atmospheric Structures And Variability, And Photochemical Modelling To Reduce Diurnal Cycle Effects. Compared To The Ground-based Measurements, S5p Data Show, On An Average: (I) A Negative Bias For The Tropospheric Column Data, Of Typically ?23 To ?37?% In Clean To Slightly Polluted Conditions, But Reaching Values As High As ?51?% Over Highly Polluted Areas; (Ii) A Slight Negative Bias For The Stratospheric Column Data, Of About ?0.2?Pmolec/cm2, I.e. Approx. ?2?% In Summer To ?15?% In Winter; And (Iii) A Bias Ranging From Zero To ?50?% For The Total Column Data, Found To Depend On The Amplitude Of The Total No2 Column, With Small To Slightly Positive Bias Values For Columns Below 6?Pmolec/cm2 And Negative Values Above. The Dispersion Between S5p And Correlative Measurements Contains Mostly Random Components, Which Remain Within Mission Requirements For The Stratospheric Column Data (0.5?Pmolec/cm2), But Exceed Those For The Tropospheric Column Data (0.7?Pmolec/cm2). While A Part Of The Biases And Dispersion May Be Due To Representativeness Differences, It Is Known That Errors In The S5p Tropospheric Columns Exist Due To Shortcomings In The (Horizontally Coarse) A-priori Profile Representation In The Tm5-mp Chemistry Transport Model Used In The S5p Retrieval, And To A Lesser Extent, To The Treatment Of Cloud Effects. Although Considerable Differences (Up To 2?Pmolec/cm2 And More) Are Observed At Single Ground-pixel Level, The Near-real-time (Nrti) And Off-line (Offl) Versions Of The S5p No2 Operational Data Processor Provide Similar No2 Column Values And Validation Results When Globally Averaged, With The Nrti Values Being On Average 0.79?% Larger Than The Offl Values.

Abstract: Seventeen years of archaeological and anthropological expeditions in North-Eastern Siberia (in the Sakha Republic, Yakutia) have permitted the genetic analysis of 150 ancient (15th-19th century) and 510 modern individuals. Almost all males were successfully analysed (Y-STR) and this allowed us to identify paternal lineages and their geographical expansion through time. This genetic data was confronted with mythological, historical and material evidence to establish the sequence of events that built the modern Yakut genetic diversity. We show that the ancient Yakuts recovered from this large collection of graves are not representative of an ancient population. Uncommonly, we were also able to demonstrate that the funerary preference observed here involved three specific male lineages, especially in the 18th century. Moreover, this dominance was likely caused by the Russian conquest of Siberia which allowed some male clans to rise to new levels of power. Finally, we give indications that some mythical and historical figures might have been the actors of those genetic changes. These results help us reconsider the genetic dynamics of colonization in some regions, question the distinction between fact and myth in national histories and provide a rare insight into a funerary ensemble by revealing the biased process of its composition.