bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Qualidade das notícias em ciência e medicina: a imprensa na medicina regenerativa no Brasil
Authors: Acero Liliana
Published: March 2021

Os meios de comunicação de massa funcionam como uma ponte entre a ciência, a medicina e o público. Discute-se a qualidade dos relatos recentes da imprensana medicina regenerativa em dois jornais nacionais, a Folha de São Paulo e O Globo, e no contexto do jornalismo internacional. Aplicam-se a aproximação teórica da Ciência, Tecnologia e Sociedade e o estudo sociológico qualitativo dos enquadramentos, para compreender o impacto da imprensa na saúde coletiva. Estudam-se os dispositivos textuais nos relatos – metáforas, exemplos, frases de efeito e representações - e os elementos de raciocínio – origens, causas/efeitos e apelo a princípios. Dentro de uma escassez geral de matérias, salientam-se dois enquadramentos principais: o científico e o social, que refletem deficiências nas histórias, um otimismo exagerado no progresso nacional e sua legitimação em fontes internacionais. Essa situação contribui a induzir vieses no entendimento público e o desenvolvimento de falsas expectativas sobre as terapias celulares.
Distribuição Espacial do Índice Regional de Crédito Rural para as Microrregiões do Rio Grande do Sul (2000-2015)
Authors: Favaretto Leticia , Favaretto Juliana , Bender Filho Reisoli , Arruda Coronel Daniel , Paetzhold Pauli Rita
Published: March 2021

O crédito rural tem um importante papel como instrumento de política agrícola e promotor do desenvolvimento da agropecuária, uma vez que permite uma maior integração técnica da indústria com a agricultura, apesar da tendência à concentração regional. Neste sentido, este estudo teve por objetivo analisar a distribuição espacial do crédito rural em relação ao valor adicionado pela produção agropecuária para as microrregiões do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, a partir da aplicação do Índice Regional de Crédito Rural, para os anos de 2005, 2010 e 2015. Entre os resultados, destacam-se: (i) desigualdades na distribuição do crédito rural, processo que se concentrou nas microrregiões que apresentaram os maiores IRCR, entre elas Campanha Ocidental, onde prevalecem propriedades ligadas à atividade pecuária; Caxias do Sul e Não-Me-Toque, regiões com diversas empresas ligadas ao ramo do setor do agroindustrial, Porto Alegre, microrregião com maior número de instituições financeiras e; (ii) que a média do IRCR superior à unidade, de 1,48, demonstra que o estado obteve participação maior na distribuição do crédito rural em relação ao VAB da Agropecuária.
EVOLUÇÃO DO JUDICIÁRIO RORAIMENSE COM O USO DE BUSINESS INTELIGENCE
Authors: Lopes Filho Alexandre Guilherme
Published: March 2021

O presente artigo científico de pesquisa de campo vem demonstrar a evolução do Judiciário Roraimense com o uso de Business Inteligence (BI). Interesse despertado pelo autor ao cursar disciplinas de pós-graduação, em conferir os casos de sucesso com dados no seu ambiente de trabalho, o Tribunal de Justiça do Estado de Roraima (TJRR). Durante conversa com analistas judiciários de tecnologia da informação sobre obtenção de dados em bases diferentes, foi informado que as consolidações eram realizadas de forma manual e que a partir de 2012 com a criação da Base Processual Unificada (BPU), permitiu que o Tribunal conseguisse, extrair informações consolidadas de todas as Unidades Judiciais, desde sua criação, passando de penúltimo colocado no ranking dos Tribunais de pequeno porte, para constar entre os primeiros e alcançar o Índice de Produtividade Comparada da Justiça (IPC-JUS) em 100% pela 5.ª vez consecutiva. Em sua evolução contínua, o TJRR está na fase de construção de uma fonte de dados para facilitar o acesso de todas as unidades judiciárias. A criação de painéis inteligentes proverá o cruzamento de informações para que se faça uma análise preditiva mais eficaz, principalmente no que diz respeito à inteligência corporativa.
DESAFIOS QUE OS ESTUDANTES NATIVOS DIGITAIS LEVAM PARA A ESCOLA: RELATOS DE PROFESSORES
Authors: Santos Jorge Alberto dos
Published: March 2021

Partindo do pressuposto que a TIC – Tecnologia da Informação de Comunicação está presente no cotidiano da sociedade moderna e considerando que esta pode ser percebida no ambiente escolar, um questionamento emergiu: Quais os desafios que estudantes nativos digitais levam para escola dada a perspectiva do professor? Com base no momento atual em que as tecnologias digitais avançam em direção a sociedade contemporânea, consideramos que as ferramentas e os serviços oferecidos pela TIC para o contexto escolar merecem maior atenção e pesquisa. Assim, foram verificadas a evolução de história da informática e TICs, o papel do professor no contexto escolar, os estudantes nativos digitais bem como o uso da internet nas escolas, para dar um panorama de que como estes elementos estão se organizando no espaço educacional. Para isso, foram feitas pesquisas acadêmicas em livros, artigos científicos e aplicação de questionário para professores de uma escola pública do Distrito Federal com o foco de investigar os possíveis desafios que os estudantes nativos digitais levam para a escola. Foram elaboradas três categorias de análise: ferramentas de TIC, provedor de serviços e a aperfeiçoamento. Os resultados alcançados com a pesquisa realizada permitiram identificar que existem desafios a serem superados pelos docentes em suas atividades pedagógicas, dentre eles o de assumirem o papel de “filtro” das informações acessadas a partir dos dispositivos tecnológicos dos alunos ou da própria escola no ambiente de ensino. Finalmente, entendo a necessidade de uma melhor atenção do professor para  o uso dos recursos de TIC na escola.
The NASA Earth Exchange Global Daily Downscaled Projections
Authors: Wang Weile , Thrasher Bridget , Michaelis Andrew , Nemani Ramakrishna , Lee Tsengdar
Published: March 2021

The NASA Earth Exchange Global Daily Downscaled Projections (NEX-GDDP) archive contains statistically downscaled projections at 0.25-degree horizontal resolution and a daily timestep for eight variables from 1950 to 2099. The original version of NEX-GDDP is based on an ensemble of three experiments (historical, RCP4.5, and RCP 8.5) from the larger CMIP5 archive, while a new version currently under development is based on an ensemble of three comparable experiments (historical, SSP245, and SSP585) from the recently released CMIP6 archive. While the methodology used in the creation of both versions is the same (daily bias-corrected spatial disaggregation), we will explain the nuanced differences between the two executions of that method. In addition, we will present examples of differences and similarities in output between the two versions.
Environmental plantings’ influence on microbial attributes and soil properties in Australia.
Authors: Amarasinghe Apsara , Knox Oliver G G , Fyfe Christine , Lobry de Bruyn Lisa A , Wilson Brian R
Published: March 2021

Native trees and shrubs planted in large contiguous blocks (environmental plantings) have been established on agricultural lands in Australia to reinstate ecosystem functions and protect the biodiversity that has been degraded by agricultural activities. Limited work exists on the extent of the ecosystem recovery, but the assessment of microbial attributes (i.e. microbial activity and functional diversity) in these plantings may provide an indication of status. This study investigated how environmental plantings, and time since their establishment, affects aforementioned soil microbial attributes,  to determine if the recovery to conditions found under extant remnant woodland were achievable. We compared changes in microbial functional diversity and activity along with total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), extractable phosphorous (P), soil pH, and electrical conductivity (EC) between environmental plantings established for 17 and 27 years, a paired adjacent pasture, and nearby remnant native woodland at Gunnedah, New South Wales. The results indicated that microbial activity under the trees, compared to that of pasture, increased by 20%–93% with increasing tree age. The ordination distance of microbial functional diversity declined between environmental plantings and remnant woodland as the age of the environmental planting increased, which was indicative of microbial functions becoming similar to that in the remnant vegetation with time. Soil P levels under trees were significantly higher compared to pasture and also increased with increasing planting age. However, TOC and TN levels under environmental plantings remained similar to pasture. These results suggest that microbial attributes and soil nutrient status of the investigated environmental plantings were on a trajectory of change from that of the pasture systems toward that of the remnant vegetation, but that full ecosystem recovery had not yet been achieved, even after 27 years.

Keywords: Environmental plantings, Microbial activity, Microbial functional diversity, Soil organic carbon, Soil nutrients
Is there an ozone depletion in volcanic plumes?
Authors: Rüth Maja , Fuchs Christopher , Kuhn Jonas , Bobrowski Nicole , Platt Ulrich , Schmitt Stefan
Published: March 2021

Volcanic plumes are known to contain reactive halogen species, especially bromine oxide. Therefore, local ozone (O3) depletion (OD) is expected inside volcanic plumes. This OD has been measured in several field studies and is also found in several modelling studies. Recently, in order to quantify O3 mixing ratios in volcanic plumes, mainly UV absorption monitors have been used as these have become the standard technique for ambient O3 monitoring. However, these instruments show a large positive interference with sulphur dioxide (SO2). In fact, these instruments are approximately only 100 times more sensitive to O3 than to SO2. This poses a significant problem for volcanic measurements since SO2 mixing ratios can exceed O3 mixing ratios by factors of 1000 or more. Thus, laborious SO2 filtering introducing further problems, as e.g. humidity dependence, needed to be employed.

In this work simultaneous O3 measurements inside a fumarole were conducted with a compact and mobile (backpack-size, ~10kg) chemiluminescence (CL) ozone monitor and a conventional UV absorption monitor at the summit of Mt Etna volcano, Italy. In parallel, SO2 and CO2 measurements were carried out with a MultiGAS-instrument. The CL monitor was used since no interference from trace gases contained in volcanic plumes is expected. Indeed, in this first field study inside a fumarole, we observed no significant interference with volcanic SO2 concentrations for the CL monitor. Under field conditions the CL monitor’s detection limit was determined to be ~1 ppb (1σ) at an integration time of 1 second.

Additionally, a rough calculation to estimate the expected OD in volcanic plumes was made. Contrary to popular belief, this calculation suggests for typical bromine oxide concentrations no significant (i.e. <1%) reactive halogen catalysed O3-loss in volcanic plumes.
Levoglucosan in speleothems: An evaluation of various sample preparation methods.
Authors: Homann Julia , Hoffmann Thorsten , Scholz Denis , Breitenbach Sebastian
Published: March 2021

Secondary mineral deposits in caves, such as stalagmites or flowstones, are valuable paleoclimate archives because they have several advantages over other environmental archives. These include stable in-cave conditions, protecting the speleothems from external influences, and the potential to precisely date samples up to 600,000 years using 230Th/U-dating. [1] Supplementing established climate proxies, such as stable isotopes and trace elements, organic proxies have been increasingly used in recent years to inform on local vegetation and soil dynamics. [2]

Biomass burning events are major sources of atmospheric particulate matter that influences global and local climate. [3] Investigating fire proxies in paleoclimate archives may therefore help determine the interactions of climate, hydrology, and fire activity. Levoglucosan, an anhydrosugar, naturally only originates from the combustion of cellulose and thus constitutes a biomass burning marker. Analysis of levoglucosan in sediments has shown high correlation with traditional burning markers, such as black charcoal. [4] Mannosan and galactosan, both stereoisomers of levoglucosan, are formed during combustion of hemicellulose. Previous work suggests that rather than absolute levoglucosan concentrations the ratio of levoglucosan to its isomers should be considered when characterizing burning events. [5] To date, no data on levoglucosan or its isomers in speleothems has been published, whereas the anhydrosugars are already utilised in other paleoclimate archives, such as sediments and ice cores. [2,3]

We test three approaches (solid phase extraction (SPE), soxhlet extraction and solid/liquid extraction) for the isolation and quantification of anhydrosugars using HILIC-MS instrumentation. As the anhydrosugars are highly polar molecules, extraction from the calcium carbonate matrix and subsequent sample preparation proved challenging. We evaluate the different approaches and compare the resulting concentrations and assumed recoveries. We find that the anhydrosugars do not show significant retention on any of the evaluated SPE materials. While solid/liquid extractions lead to detectable analyte concentrations, soxhlet extractions with methanol or dichloromethane/methanol mixtures are more efficient.

 

[1] D. Scholz, D. Hoffmann, Quat. Sci. J. 57 (2008) 52–76 [2] A. Blyth et al. Quat. Sci. Rev. 149 (2016) 1-17 [3] P. Yao et al. J. of Glaciology 59 (2013) 599-611 [4] V. O. Elias et al. Geochim. et Cosmochim. Acta 65 (2001) 267-272. [5] D. Fabbri et al. Atmos. Env. 43 (2009) 2286–2295
Contribution of the Vienna Center for VLBI to ITRF2020
Authors: Krásná Hana , Mayer David , Böhm Sigrid
Published: March 2021

The next realization of the International Terrestrial Reference System, the ITRF2020, is planned to be released in 2021. Our joint VLBI Analysis Center VIE which runs between TU Wien and BEV is one of eleven IVS (International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry) analysis centres which provide VLBI input to the ITRF2020. The SINEX files submitted to the IVS Combination Center are produced with the Vienna VLBI and Satellite Software VieVS and contain unconstrained normal equation systems for station position, source coordinates and Earth orientation parameters. In this presentation, we document the included sessions and stations in our submission and introduce the Vienna terrestrial reference frame based on our contribution to the ITRF2020. In particular, we highlight special settings in the Vienna solution and assess the impact on the terrestrial reference frame.
A data-driven approach to quantifying urban evapotranspiration using remote sensing, footprint modeling, and deep learning
Authors: Vulova Stenka , Meier Fred , Duarte Rocha Alby , Quanz Justus , Nouri Hamideh , Kleinschmit Birgit
Published: March 2021

An increasing number of urban residents are affected by the urban heat island effect and water scarcity as urbanization and climate change progress. Evapotranspiration (ET) is a key component of urban greening measures aimed at addressing these issues, yet methods to estimate urban ET have thus far been limited. In this study, we present a novel approach to model urban ET at a half-hourly scale by fusing flux footprint modeling, remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) data, and artificial intelligence (AI). We investigated this approach with a two-year dataset (2018-2020) from two eddy flux towers in Berlin, Germany. Two AI algorithms (1D convolutional neural networks and random forest) were compared. The land surface characteristics contributing to ET measurements were estimated by combining footprint modeling with RS and GIS data, which included Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) derived from the Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 (HLS) NASA product and indicators of 3D urban structure (e.g. building height). The contribution of remote sensing and meteorological data to model performance was examined by testing four predictor scenarios: (1) only reference evapotranspiration (ETo), (2) ETo and RS/ GIS data, (3) meteorological data, and (4) meteorological and RS/ GIS data. The inclusion of GIS and RS data extracted using flux footprints improved the predictive accuracy of models. The best-performing models were then used to model ET values for the year 2019 and compute monthly and annual sums of ET. A variable importance analysis highlighted the importance of the NDVI and impervious surface fraction in modeling urban ET. The 2019 ET sum was considerably higher at the site surrounded by more urban vegetation (366 mm) than at the inner-city site (223 mm). The proposed method is highly promising for modeling ET in a heterogeneous urban environment and can bolster sustainable urban planning efforts.
The map of the Global Heritage Stones: a resource in development
Authors: Cardenes Van den Eynde Victor , Kaur Gurmeet
Published: March 2021

In 2008, during the 33rd IGC in Oslo, a working group on natural stones and heritage built in stone was created. In 2012, the working group was accepted as an IUGS Task Group and in 2016 the network was upgraded to Subcommission: the IUGS Heritage Stones Subcommission (HSS). Since then, HSS has worked on the designation of 22 stones as Global Heritage Stone Resource (GHSR), a figure that distinguishes and protects extraordinary stones that have been used to construct some of the most important monuments and historic buildings, some even designated as UNESCO World Heritage. GHSR is a geological standard approved by the IUGS Executive Committee. The Subcommission continues working on the study, nomination and designation of more GHSR, following a strict and transparent protocol that guarantees that the designated stones are perfectly identified and documented. This process is performed under the review of experts in stone heritage and dimension stone. The results on the heritage stones have been published in different journals, special issues of scientific journals and books. The present work displays the 22 stones designated as GHSRs up to now, showing their locations on the world map, exhibiting the rock specimens, together with a list of the publications considered for the designation of these as GHSRS by the Heritage Stones Subcommission. The map will continuously be updated, plotting the new designated GHSRs as and when approved by the IUGS-EC.
Density, Energy and Phase Space Density Distribution of Planetary Ions He+, O+ and Na+ in Mercury's Magnetosphere
Authors: Werner A. L. Elisabeth , Leblanc François , Chaufray Jean-Yves , Modolo Ronan , Aizawa Sae , Raines Jim M. , Exner Willi , Motschmann Uwe
Published: March 2021

The Mercury plasma environment is enriched in planetary ions from the tenuous neutral exosphere. We have developed a test-particle model which describes the full equation of motion for planetary ions produced from photo-ionization of the neutral exosphere. The new test-particle model is coupled to a Monte Carlo test-particle model of the neutral exosphere (Exospheric Global Model; EGM; Leblanc et al. 2017) and two hybrid-kinetic models: LatHyS (Modolo et al. 2016) and AIKEF (Müller et al. 2011). This coupling will allow us to consider the impact of non-adiabatic energization on the ion density distribution as well as the connection to seasonal asymmetries in the neutral exosphere.

We compare the density, energy and phase space density distribution of He+, O+ and Na+ from our model with observations from the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) time-of-flight spectrometer Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer (FIPS; Raines et al. 2013). Our results indicate the presence of several interesting high-density structures both inside and outside FIPS observable energy range (E = 0.05 -13 keV), the properties of which are likely very sensitive to the upstream solar wind conditions. We present how these results may aid the interpretation of FIPS data and future measurements by BepiColombo.
Distribution of Interseismic Coupling Along the North and East Anatolian Faults Inferred From InSAR and GPS Data
Authors: Bletery Quentin , Cavalié Olivier , Nocquet Jean-Mathieu , Ragon Théa
Published: March 2021

The North Anatolian Fault (NAF) has produced numerous major earthquakes. After decades of quiescence, the Mw 6.8 Elazı˘g earthquake (24 January 2020) has recently reminded us that the East Anatolian Fault (EAF) is also capable of producing significant earthquakes. To better estimate the seismic hazard associated with these two faults, we jointly invert interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) and GPS data to image the spatial distribution of interseismic coupling along the eastern part of both the NAF and EAF.We perform the inversion in a Bayesian framework, enabling to estimate uncertainties on both long-term relative plate motion and coupling. We find that coupling is high and deep (0–20 km) on the NAF and heterogeneous and superficial (0–5 km) on the EAF. Our model predicts that the Elazı˘g earthquake released between 200 and 250 years of accumulated moment, suggesting a bicentennial recurrence time.
Uncertainties of TWS Time Series for Arbitrary Regions - Modelled vs. Formal Covariances
Authors: Boergens Eva , Kvas Andreas , Dobslaw Henryk , Eicker Annette , Dahle Christoph , Flechtner Frank
Published: March 2021

Knowledge of the variances and covariances of gridded terrestrial water storage anomalies (TWS) as observed with GRACE and GRACE-FO is crucial for many applications thereof. For example, data assimilation into different models, trend estimations, or combinations with other data set require reliable estimations of the variances and covariances. Today, the Level-2 Stokes coefficients are provided with formal variance-covariance matrices which can yield variance-covariance matrices of the gridded data after a labourious variance propagation through all post-processing steps, including filtering and spherical harmonic synthesis. Unfortunately, this is beyond the capabilities of many, if not most, users.

This is why, we developed a spatial covariance model for gridded TWS data. The covariance model results in non-homogeneous, non-stationary, and anisotropic covariances. This model also accommodates a wave-like behaviour in latitudinal-directed correlations caused by residual striping errors. The model is applied to both VDK3 filtered GFZ RL06 and ITSG-Grace2018 TWS data. 

With thus derived covariances it is possible to estimate the uncertainties of mean TWS time series for any arbitrary region such as river basins. On the other hand, such time series uncertainties can also be derived from the afore mentioned formal covariance matrices. Here, only the formal covariance matrices of ITSG-Grace2018 are used which are also filtered with the VDK3 filter. All together, we are able to compare globally the time series uncertainties of both the modelled and formal approach. Further, the modelled uncertainties are compared to empirical standard deviations in arid regions in the Arabian, Sahara, and Gobi desert where residual hydrological signal can be neglected. Both in the temporal and spatial domain they show a very satisfying agreement proving the usefulness of the covariance model for the users. 
Integrating an ED&I Strategy at the Met Office
Authors: Garry Freya , Green Aidan , Rosati Carol
Published: March 2021

Diverse perspectives combined with an inclusive culture where people can bring their authentic selves to work, stimulates innovation, improves decision making and leads to greater performance and resilience. In the past, colleagues at the Met Office have set up excellent staff-led initiatives, which over the last year have been built on to deliver a coordinated institutional wide approach and instil a sustainable culture change. The Met Office has created a comprehensive Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) Strategy to address how the organisation will lead and invest in our people and culture to make the Met Office a great place to work for all. We are publishing equality objectives to publicly demonstrate our commitment and focus to enhance ED&I:

engaging with and understanding the diversity of our people,

advancing equality of opportunity,

increasing representation of under-represented groups at all levels,

zero tolerance to bullying, harassment and discrimination.

To fulfil these objectives our actions include using comprehensive staff surveys, data collection, Equality Impact Assessments, an ongoing review of recruitment and progression practices and seeking external accreditations. As an organisation, we have employed specialist consultants with ED&I sector knowledge to help us implement these actions. A programme of extensive internal communications has shared activities, experiences and new initiatives to engage all staff.

We outline the joined-up structures that we are delivering to fulfil our strategy, which has ultimate oversight by the top levels of our organisation. However, it engages all staff with the Strategy in their day-to-day work and through a new Ally Community and a Diversity Council comprising staff representation from all existing staff-led ED&I networks. An example staff network of focus is the Women in Climate network, a joint network with the University of Exeter to support the retention of women in weather and climate science and promote diversity whilst fostering cross-institutional support, idea-sharing and networking. Other Met Office staff led networks include the Black and Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME), LGBTQ+, Autism, Internationals in the UK, Accessibility and Disability, Menopause, Dementia/Carer and Mental Health and Wellbeing Awareness networks. The Met Office also has a team of Dignity and Respect at Work advisors and encourages young people from a range of backgrounds to consider STEM careers through outreach in schools and Science Camps. We present our strategy as a model for best practise for other geoscience organisations, whilst highlighting some of the challenges that we have faced and how we are working to overcome them.
Characterisation of the chaotic variability of the regional sea level and its components over 1993-2015 at interannual time scales
Authors: Carret Alice , Llovel William , Penduff Thierry , Molines Jean-Marc
Published: March 2021

Satellite altimetry data have revealed a global mean sea level rise of 3.1 mm/yr since 1993 with large regional sea level trend variability. These remote data highlight complex structures especially in strongly eddying regions. A recent study showed that over 38% of the global ocean area, the chaotic variability that spontaneously emerges from the ocean may hinder the attribution to the atmospheric forcing of regional sea level trends from 1993 to 2015. This study aims at complementing this work by first focusing on the atmospherically-forced and chaotic contributions of regional sea level interannual variability and its components (steric and manometric sea level interannual variability). A global ¼° ocean/sea-ice 50-member ensemble simulation is considered to disentangle the imprints of the atmospheric forcing and of the chaotic ocean variability over 1993-2015. The atmospherically-forced and chaotic interannual variabilities of sea level mainly have a steric origin , except in coastal areas. The chaotic part of the interannual variability of sea level and its components is stronger in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans than in the Indian ocean. The chaotic part of the interannual variability of sea level and of its steric component exceeds 20% over 48% of the global ocean area; this fractional area reduces to 26% for the manometric component. As the chaotic part of the regional sea level interannual variability has a substantial imprint, this study then interested in quantifying the periods when it becomes dominant over the atmospherically-forced contribution. This is assessed using spectral analysis on the ensemble simulation in the frequency domain for the sea level and its steric and manometric components over the global ocean as well as in some basins of interest. This enables us to better characterise and quantify the chaotic ocean variability contribution to regional sea level changes and its components.
Climate-hydrology interactions explored using an integrated groundwater-surface water hydrological model for over a 100 year period in a natural temperate zone regional catchment
Authors: Berezowski Tomasz
Published: March 2021

Wetland ecosystems in river valleys are strongly related to hydrological and climatic conditions. Accurate exploration of these relationships is essential to achieving a proper projection of changes in these ecosystems under the climate change. The aim of the research is to identify the effects of climate change on the way the flood and inundation are formed in the natural river valleys of the temperate zone.  The research is conducted in the Biebrza catchment, which is located in north-eastern Poland and has an area of about 7000 km2. Because of its natural character, this area is considered as a reference area for wetland research. For the study area an integrated hydrological model (HydroGeoSphere) was developed and used to simulate the contribution of various sources of water in inundation and floods in the period 1900-2015. The preliminary conclusions with respect to hydrology-climate linkage as well as the lessons learned from the model development and calibration are presented.
Improved Northern Hemisphere Snow Water Equivalent product from passive microwave remote sensing and in situ data
Authors: Mortimer Colleen , Mudryk Lawrence , Derksen Chris , Luojus Kari , Venalainen Pinja , Moisander Mikko
Published: March 2021

The European Space Agency Snow CCI+ project provides global homogenized long time series of daily snow extent and snow water equivalent (SWE). The Snow CCI SWE product is built on the Finish Meteorological Institute's GlobSnow algorithm, which combines passive microwave data with in situ snow depth information to estimate SWE. The CCI SWE product improves upon previous versions of GlobSnow through targeted changes to the spatial resolution, ancillary data, and snow density parameterization.

Previous GlobSnow SWE products used a constant snow density of 0.24 kg m-3 to convert snow depth to SWE. The CCI SWE product applies spatially and temporally varying density fields, derived by krigging in situ snow density information from historical snow transects to correct biases in estimated SWE. Grid spacing was improved from 25 km to 12.5 km by applying an enhanced spatial resolution microwave brightness temperature dataset. We assess step-wise how each of these targeted changes acts to improve or worsen the product by evaluating with snow transect measurements and comparing hemispheric snow mass and trend differences.

Together, when compared to GlobSnow v3, these changes improved RMSE by ~5 cm and correlation by ~0.1 against a suite of snow transect measurements from Canada, Finland, and Russia. Although the hemispheric snow mass anomalies of CCI SWE and GlobSnow v3 are similar, there are sizeable differences in the climatological SWE, most notably a one month delay in the timing of peak SWE and lower SWE during the accumulation season. These shifts were expected because the variable snow density is lower than the former fixed value of 0.24 kg m-3 early in the snow season, but then increases over the course of the snow season. We also examine intermediate products to determine the relative improvements attributable solely to the increased spatial resolution versus changes due to the snow density parameterizations. Such systematic evaluations are critical to directing future product development.
Evaluation of the impact of assimilating spaceborne (GLM) total lightning data and radar data on short-term forecasts of convective events in the 3DVAR framework
Authors: Fierro Alexandre , Hu Junjun , Wang Yunheng , Gao Jidong , Mansell Edward
Published: March 2021

The GLM instruments aboard the GOES-16 and 17 satellites provides nearly uniform spatiotemporal coverage of total lightning over the Americas and adjacent vast oceanic regions of the western hemisphere. This work summarizes recent efforts from our group at CIMMS/NSSL geared towards the evaluation of the potential added value of assimilating GLM-observed total lightning data on short-term, convection-allowing scale (dx = 2-3 km) forecasts for higher impact weather events. Results using data assimilation (DA) approaches ranging from single deterministic three-dimensional variational (3DVAR) methods applied in real time to experimental ensemble-based VAR hybrid methods (3DEnVAR) will be highlighted. 
The lightning data assimilation (DA) scheme in these frameworks follow the same core philosophy wherein background water vapor mass mixing ratio is adjusted (increased) locally at or around observed lightning locations, either throughout the entire atmospheric column or within a fixed, confined layer above the lifted condensation level. Toward a more systematic assimilation of real GLM data, emphasis will be directed toward: (i) sensitivity tests with deterministic 3DVAR experiments aimed at evaluating the impact of the horizontal decorrelation length scale, DA cycling frequency as well the length of the accumulation window for the lightning data, (ii) aggregate statistics from real time CONUS-scale experiments over the Spring 2020 and (iii) preliminary results employing ensemble of 3DEnVARs with hybrid (static + flow dependent) background error covariances. 
Aggregate statistical results from all deterministic 3DVAR exercises in (i) and (ii) revealed that the assimilation of either radar (radial wind and reflectivity factor) or total lightning (GLM) resulted in overall notably more skillful, shorter term (0-3 h) forecast of composite reflectivity fields, accumulated rainfall, as well as individual storm tracks – with optimal skill obtained when both radar and lightning data were assimilated. In (iii) forecast impacts related to the following will be summarized: (1) the respective weights assigned to the flow-dependent component and static components of the background error covariances, (2) the inclusion of three time-level sampling for each member during each cycle and (3) the usage of Gaussian noise coupled with a fixed 3 to 12 h spin-up period prior to the beginning of the cycled 3DVAR.
Mechanical stability indicators derived from detailed snow cover simulations
Authors: Viallon-Galinier Léo , Hagenmuller Pascal , Eckert Nicolas , Reuter Benjamin
Published: March 2021

The use of numerical modeling of the snow cover in support of avalanche hazard forecasting has been increasing in the last decade. Besides field observations and numerical weather forecasting, these numerical tools provide information otherwise unavailable on the present and future state of the snow cover. In order to provide useful input for avalanche hazard assessment, different mechanical stability indicators are typically computed from simulated snow stratigraphy. Such indicators condense the wealth of information produced by snow cover models, especially when dealing with large data (e.g., large domains, high spatial resolution, ensemble forecasting). Here, we provide an overview of such indicators. Mechanical stability indicators can be classified in two types i.e., whether they are solely based on mechanical rules or whether they include additional expert rules. These indicators span different mechanical processes involved in avalanche release: failure initiation and crack propagation, for instance. The indicators rely on mechanical properties of each layer. We discuss parameterizations of mechanical properties and the associated technical implementation details. We show simplified examples of snow stratigraphy to illustrate the benefit of different stability indicators in typical situations. There is no perfect indicator to describe the instability for any situation. All indicators are sensitive to the snow cover modeling assumptions and the computation of mechanical properties and hence, require some tuning before operational use. In practice, a combination of indicators should be considered to capture the variety of avalanche situations.
Innovative method for gathering river stage data using only the sound of the water
Authors: Osborne William Alexander , Hodge Rebecca , Love Gordon , Hawkin Peter , Hawkin Ruth
Published: March 2021

Splosh, gurgle, burble are all terms that can be used to describe how a river sounds as we stand on the bank. We have developed a new approach that uses the passive sound generated by a river, to gauge the current stage of the river, and generate (sono)hydrographs from the safety of the river bank. Our approach offers a cost-effective, power-efficient and flexible means to install flood monitors. We have developed a method of how to take the sound from around a river and translate it into a useful gauging tool without the need to listen to individual recordings. Using an internet of things approach we have developed a system of sound monitors that can be placed anywhere in the vicinity of a river. We aim to target the lesser studied parts of a river catchment, the headwaters, which are often data scarce environments. These environments are an opportunity to identify the real time responses of sub-catchments. The ultimate goal of our research is to enable community level flood monitoring, in areas that may be susceptible to river flooding, but are not yet actively gauged.

 

We hypothesise that the sound generated by a river is a direct response to the obstacles found within the channel and the turbulence they cause. Sound is generated by the increase of energy available in the channel, being transformed into sound energy through turbulence generating structures, i.e. boulders. Data gathered over a winter season from several rivers in the North East of England, during Storm Ciara and Dennis, has shown sound to be a reliable method for determining rapid changes in river stage and is comparable to what the official Environment Agency gauges measured. Through an innovative approach, we have begun to understand the limits on sound data and the calibration of sound to the channel properties. Utilising a 7.5 m wide flume at a white water course we have recreated controlled environments and simulated different discharges and their effect on sound.

 

Overall, we have found that sound is an opportunity to be taken to measure river stage in areas that are seldom studied. We have identified that sound works during extreme conditions, and being placed on the banks of the channel our monitors have a lower risk of being damaged during storm events and are easy and safe to install. We present the first means of using sound from a river to actively gauge a river and the full workflow from collection, analysis and dissemination of results.
The use of geomorphons in geodiversity assessment
Authors: Pál Márton , Albert Gáspár
Published: March 2021

The quantification of geodiversity has become an important task for researchers just after the formulation of the definition. For ‘measuring’ the values of the physical environment, many quantitative assessment models were presented in the past decades. The common characteristic of these methods is that they use thematic (geological, geomorphological, pedological, mineralogical, palaeontological) layers/datasets to evaluate each geoscientific property of a certain sample area. These data can be printed maps or databases with geospatial reference. The geodiversity index can be produced by objectively examining and evaluating these source materials. However, in some countries, scientists lack proper datasets, or they do not have the legislative background to use them.

We propose an alternative methodology based on Pereira et al. (2013) to determine geomorphological diversity, an important subvalue of the geodiversity index. The concept of geomorphons (Jasiewicz & Stepinski, 2013) is a relatively new pattern recognition approach to classify and map landforms. Any kind of DEMs (Digital Elevation Models) can be used to produce this categorization (better resolution means a more realistic result). The algorithm uses 8-tuple pattern of the visibility neighbourhood (not necessarily immediate neighbours) to delineate terrain forms in the eight principle directions to a certain point. The result of the algorithm produces a quasi-geomorphological map with 10 relief categories: flat, summit, ridge, shoulder, spur, slope, hollow, footslope, valley and depression.

This concept can be built in the geodiversity assessment process of any area as DEMs are freely available with at least 1 arc second resolution all over the world. We have used geomorphons during the geodiversity assessment of the Bakony–Balaton UNESCO Global Geopark in Hungary. The results follow field experiences and the patterns of large-scale geomorphological maps. As geomorphons are freely available in desktop GIS software (e.g. GRASS), their use can become an objective global opportunity to quantify geomorphological diversity.

From the part of G.A. financial support was provided from the NRDI Fund of Hungary, Thematic Excellence Programme no. TKP2020-NKA-06 (National Challenges Subprogramme) funding scheme.

 

Jasiewicz, J., Stepinski, T. (2013): Geomorphons - a pattern recognition approach to classification and mapping of landforms. Geomorphology, vol. 182, pp. 147-156.

Pereira, D.I., Pereira, P., Brilha, J., Santos, L. (2013): Geodiversity assessment of Paraná State (Brazil): An innovative approach. Environmental Management, vol. 52, pp. 541–552.
Geopotential Determination Between Ultra-Stable Distant Clocks Based on Two-Way Space Laser Time Transfer Links
Authors: Ruby Abdelrahim , Shen Wen-Bin , Shaker Ahmed , Ashry Mostafa , Pengfei Zhang , Rui Xu , Shen Ziyu , Xu Wei
Published: March 2021

The Earth’s gravity potential (geopotential) field plays an important role in geodesy, for instance, it is the basis for defining the geoid and the International Height Reference System (IHRS). In chronometric geodesy, the main challenge for directly measuring geopotential differences between two stations lies in that a reliable link for time comparison is needed. Currently, most satellite links for time comparison are dealt with in the microwave domain, for which the ionospheric and tropospheric effects are major error sources that greatly influence the signal propagation compared to optical space links. Recently, accurate laser time transfer links between satellite and ground stations have already been planned and confirmed, such as Laser Time Transfer (LTT, China) on BeiDou satellites and Tiangong II / China's space station (CSS), Time Transfer by Laser Link (T2L2, French) on Jason-2 mission and European Laser Timing (ELT, Europe) on Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES). Therefore, in this study, we propose an approach for determining the geopotential difference between two ground atomic clocks based on the Two-way Laser Time Transfer (TWLTT) technique via a space station as a bridge, which could have potential applications in geoscience. This study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundations of China (NSFC) under Grants 42030105, 41721003, 41804012, 41631072, 41874023, Space Station Project (2020)228, and the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province of China under Grant 2019CFB611.
Estimation of infrasound-consistent wind and temperature atmospheric profiles from model ensembles in North Scandinavia
Authors: Vera Rodriguez Ismael , Näsholm Sven Peter , Brissaud Quentin , Turquet Antoine , Le Pichon Alexis
Published: March 2021

Atmospheric reanalysis models rely on the assimilation of direct and indirect measurements of different properties of the atmosphere. A better representation of the upper stratosphere in these models, especially for winds, can contribute to enhanced numerical weather predictions on weekly to monthly timescales. Infrasound waves provide complementary information to characterize the middle atmosphere. This is particularly valuable above 30 km altitude where few other currently available technologies provide direct measurements, especially for the dynamics.

In the current work, we update ensemble-averaged ERA5 atmospheric models to become consistent with sets of infrasound array observations of travel-time, backazimuth, and apparent velocity. The atmosphere is simplified to a layered, time-invariant representation, which is considered valid for infrasound propagation at regional distances (< 400km). The optimization is achieved via a heuristic solver derived from particle swarm optimization. The solver minimizes a mixed l1-l2 cost function that measures the distance between the infrasound observations and their prediction based on ray tracing through the updated atmospheric model. When the array station is situated within the classical shadow-zone range from the source, the infrasound observations are assumed to be stratospheric reflections, and the reflection altitude is included as part of the model parameters to estimate. The problem is highly ill-posed, which we alleviate by bounding the temperature and wind profile solution space to a region in the vicinity of the members of the ERA5 ensemble with 137-level reanalysis model product. The profiles are also smoothed using a length of the smoothing operator empirically adapted to match the constraint provided by the observations. The performance of the method is demonstrated using observations of infrasound waves produced by explosions that happen regularly during August and September at the site of Hukkakero in Finland and detected at the array station ARCES located in northern Norway. The updated atmospheric model profiles require corrections that are more significant above the 30 km altitude to explain the infrasound observations. These results are consistent over the observations of multiple explosions.
Advantages of metaheuristics for multi-dataset calibration of hydrological models
Authors: Stefnisdóttir Silja , Sikorska-Senoner Anna E. , Ásgeirsson Eyjólfur I. , Finger David C.
Published: March 2021

Hydrological models are crucial components in water and environmental resource management to provide simulations on streamflow, snow cover, and glacier mass balances. Effective model calibration is however challenging, especially if a multi-objective or multi-dataset calibration is necessary to generate realistic simulations of all flow components under consideration.

In this study, we explore the value of metaheuristics for multi-dataset calibration to simulate streamflow, snow cover and glacier mass balances using the HBV model in the glaciated catchment of the Rhonegletscher in Switzerland. We evaluate the performance of three metaheuristic calibration methods, i.e. Monte Carlo (MC), Simulated Annealing (SA) and Genetic Algorithms (GA), in regard to these three datasets. For all three methods, we compare the model performance using 100 best and 10 best optimized parameter sets.

Our results demonstrate that all three metaheuristic methods can generate realistic simulations of the snow cover, the glacier mass balance and the streamflow. The comparison of these three methods reveals that GA provides the most accurate simulations (with lowest confidence intervals) for all three datasets, for both 100 and 10 best simulations. However, when using all 100 simulations, GA yields also some worst solutions which are eliminated if only 10 best solutions are considered.

Based on our results we conclude that GA-based multi-dataset calibration provides more accurate and more precise simulation than MC or SA. This conclusion is fortified by a reduction of the parameter equifinality and an improvement of the Pareto frontier for GA in comparison to both other metaheuristic methods. This method should therefore lead to more reproducible and consistent hydrological simulations.