Tallinn University of Technology

About: Tallinn University of Technology is a education organization based out in Tallinn, Estonia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: European union & Oil shale. The organization has 3688 authors who have published 10313 publications receiving 145058 citations. The organization is also known as: Tallinn Technical University & Tallinna Tehnikaülikool.

Revised conodont stratigraphy of the Cellon section (Silurian, Carnic Alps)

Abstract: The Cellon section, located in the Carnic Alps, is a reference section for the Silurian of the world. The conodont association of the section is revised according to the most recent taxonomy and the biostratigraphy updated in the basis of the recently published zonation schemes. Seventy taxa (species and sub-species) belonging to 23 genera have been identified, allowing the discrimination of 15 biozones from the upper Llandovery to the end of the Přidoli . However, some of the uppermost Llandovery and Wenlock biozones, corresponding to black shale intervals, have not been documented.

Stratification has strengthened in the Baltic Sea – an analysis of 35 years of observational data

Abstract: Stratification of the water column, consisting of the three layers (upper, intermediate, and deep layer), is an important factor for the functioning of the brackish Baltic Sea. In the present work, changes in the vertical structure of temperature and salinity, as well as heat content, salt mass and stratification conditions were estimated on the basis of in-situ and remote sensing data in 1982-2016. The seasonal thermocline and the halocline have strengthened in most of the sea by a rate of 0.33 – 0.39 kg m-3 and 0.70 – 0.88 kg m-3, respectively, during 35 years. The upper layer has warmed by 0.03 – 0.06 °C year-1 and sub-halocline deep layer 0.04 – 0.06 °C year-1 in most of the sea. The total warming trend in the whole Baltic has been 1.07 °C for 35 years, being approximately twice higher compared to the upper 100 m in the Atlantic Ocean. Average upper layer warming of the sea from May to September has been 0.07 – 0.08 °C year-1 while in winter, trends were mostly statistically not significant. More rapid warming during summers has occurred in shallower, closed-end areas of gulfs. Possible reasons for high warming there might be shallow depths and limited water exchange, stronger stratification, and/or higher turbidity. Sea surface temperature trends estimated by in-situ and satellite data agree well. Trends of freshening (-0.005 to -0.014 g kg-1 year-1) of the upper layer and increasing salinity (0.02 to 0.04 g kg-1 year-1) in the sub-halocline deep layer were detected. Increased salinity in the deep layer is likely caused by the increased lateral import of saltier water from the North Sea. Changes in the upper layer salinity might not be related to the accumulated river runoff only, but decadal changes of vertical salt flux might also contribute. The vertically distinct changes cancel each other and no significant trend in the mean salinity of the Baltic Sea was detected. No remarkable changes have occurred in the cold intermediate layer. In conclusion, different dominating processes have caused distinct long-term trends in the three layers of the Baltic Sea.

Public sector HRM: the case of no central human resource strategy

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to outline and analyse the limitations and opportunities of decentralised human resource management (HRM) in the public sector.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a case study of the Estonian Central Government.Findings – It is demonstrated that the absence of a central human resource strategy, combined with fragmentation, insufficient coordination and a lack of common values throughout the public service as well as with other limitations related to the country's post‐communist legacy has hindered a systematic approach to public service HRM. However, the paper also reveals that a decentralised setup of HRM has enabled Estonia to flexibly conduct major reforms on the organisational level during the transition of the 1990s and in the following Europeanisation period.Research limitations/implications – Although the case study method limits the extent to which findings of the study may be generalised to other countries and settings, there are still several...

A light-induced shortcut in the planktonic microbial loop

Abstract: Mixotrophs combine photosynthesis with phagotrophy to cover their demands in energy and essential nutrients. This gives them a competitive advantage under oligotropihc conditions, where nutrients and bacteria concentrations are low. As the advantage for the mixotroph depends on light, the competition between mixo- and heterotrophic bacterivores should be regulated by light. To test this hypothesis, we incubated natural plankton from the ultra-oligotrophic Eastern Mediterranean in a set of mesocosms maintained at 4 light levels spanning a 10-fold light gradient. Picoplankton (heterotrophic bacteria (HB), pico-sized cyanobacteria, and small-sized flagellates) showed the fastest and most marked response to light, with pronounced predator-prey cycles, in the high-light treatments. Albeit cell specific activity of heterotrophic bacteria was constant across the light gradient, bacterial abundances exhibited an inverse relationship with light. This pattern was explained by light-induced top-down control of HB by bacterivorous phototrophic eukaryotes (PE), which was evidenced by a significant inverse relationship between HB net growth rate and PE abundances. Our results show that light mediates the impact of mixotrophic bacterivores. As mixo- and heterotrophs differ in the way they remineralize nutrients, these results have far-reaching implications for how nutrient cycling is affected by light.