bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pressure-Gradient current at high latitude from Swarm measurements 
Authors: Lovati Giulia , De Michelis Paola , Consolini Giuseppe , Berrilli Francesco
Published: March 2022

The pressure-gradient current is among the weaker ionospheric current systems arising from plasma pressure variations. It is also called diamagnetic current because it produces a magnetic field which is oriented oppositely to the ambient magnetic field, causing its reduction. The magnetic reduction can be revealed in measurements made by low-Earth orbiting satellites flying close to ionospheric plasma regions where rapid changes in density occur. This type of current can be revealed at both low and high latitudes and more generally in all those regions where the plasma pressure gradients are greatest. In the recent past, most studies have focused on low latitude, in the equatorial belt, while only a few papers have focused on high latitudes. Here these currents, although weak, may pose additional challenge since they seem to appear preferentially at the same geographic locations.

Using geomagnetic field, plasma density and electron temperature measurements recorded onboard ESA Swarm constellation from April 2014 to March 2018, we reconstruct the flow patterns of the pressure-gradient current at high-latitude ionosphere in both hemispheres, and investigate their dependence on magnetic local time, geomagnetic activity, season and solar forcing drivers. Although being small in amplitude, these currents appear to be a ubiquitous phenomenon at ionospheric high latitudes, characterized by well defined flow patterns, which can cause artifacts in main field models. Our findings can be used to correct magnetic field measurements for diamagnetic current effect, to improve modern magnetic field models, as well as understanding the impact of ionospheric irregularities on ionospheric dynamics at small-scale sizes of a few tens of kilometers. All these points are important in the framework of space weather effect modeling and confirm the key role of Swarm mission in providing information even on phenomena of very weak signature.
Long-Term Trends in the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly 
Authors: Khadka Sovit , Gerrard Andrew
Published: March 2022

Due to the special geometry of the electric and magnetic fields at the equator, the vertical ExB drift removes plasma from the geomagnetic equator via an equatorial plasma fountain. This process forms the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) by creating the crests at/around 20° latitudes on either side of the geomagnetic equator. It has been reported that symmetric/asymmetric structure and latitudinal extent of the EIAs are affected by the electric fields and thermospheric neutral winds. We investigate the long-term trends in the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) and associated phenomena over the South American low-latitude region. These long-term analyses help to develop/update the empirical model of various ionospheric parameters. The EIA features are analyzed using the ground-based Global Positioning System (GPS)-total electron content (TEC) data. We also compare the TEC in EIA obtained from the latest International Reference Model (IRI) model with the observed GPS-TEC data for seasons, different levels of solar activity, and geomagnetic conditions. Finally, We discuss the mechanisms, drivers, and impacts of the EIAs in upper atmospheric electrodynamics. 
Resilience to flow rate variability in a green wall for greywater treatment
Authors: Costamagna Elisa , Raffaelli Bianca , Fiore Silvia , Boano Fulvio
Published: March 2022

Green and blue infrastructures are an innovative solution to contrast climate changes (SDG 13 of UN 2030 Agenda) and increase cities resilience (SDG 11), using a smarter water management that transform wastewater into a new resource for non-potable reuses. Due to the lack of horizontal surfaces in urban areas, green walls are one of the most suitable nature-based solution to treat greywater (i.e. the portion of household wastewater that exclude toilet flush and kitchen sink). Green walls allow for a multidisciplinary approach, providing multiple benefits such as thermal and acoustic regulation, biodiversity preservation, decreasing heat islands effects and removing CO2, improving life quality and buildings value.

Green walls have also been proposed for treating the large amount of greywater that is daily produced (e.g. around 100 L/PE/die in Italy), an approach that also provides urban green while reducing the need of irrigation water. Following previous work on a pilot system, this study aims to improve the green walls design and test its resilience to variations in the flow rate of greywater fed to the green wall. Two panels have been built in which synthetic greywater flows by gravity along three levels of pots with different plant species. The 18 pots (arranged in a 3x3 matrix in each panel) have been filled with a mix of coconut fibre and perlite (1:1 in volume) and fed with greywater, and output water samples have been collected almost weekly from June to December 2021. The control panel has been regularly fed with 24 L/die/col (standard flow rate), the other has been fed with different flow rates (standard, underflow, overflow and maintenance) that usually changed after three weeks. Different parameters (e.g. TSS, BOD5, COD, DO, TN, TP, MBAS), have been monitored in the outflow of each pot and average performances of each level has been evaluated. Results indicate a good efficiency of the green wall in removing contaminants even when the provided flow rate is not constant.

The treatment performances increase along the columns in both panels and the first two levels guarantee a good compounds removal during standard flow and underflow rates. On the other hand, the overflow rate caused a performances decrease in the variable flow panel for many parameters, followed by a visible plant stress. However, one week of standard flow rate was sufficient to reduce the negative effects of the three- weeks-overflow. This demonstrated the resilience of the green wall facing flow variability, that can be caused by seasonal variation or system failure.
Human Environment Systems' Resilience Interaction-Outcome Framework
Authors: Gevorgyan Lilit , Ahmed Kamal , Gudina Gemechis
Published: March 2022

This work presents a framework that explores human-environment and/or socio-ecological system (HES, SES) resilience to natural hazards. HES is presented as a system of five forms of capital i.e. social, economic, physical, governance and natural. The five forms of capital are reviewed such that the social capital refers to the union of social and human capital in their classical definitions from five forms of capitals model of Sustainable Livelihood Framework, apart from governance. Governance, however, is discussed as separate capital for of its central role in disaster risk management. Besides, the domain of natural capital is also expanded to incorporate both natural resources and ecosystem services. Resilience as Interaction-Outcome model is proposed to illustrate that hazard as an external driver affects both HES subsystems and the interactions between their elements. This framework addresses the internal drivers as an interaction space with all the processes between and inside each of the capital. It is to illustrate that the general interaction space has another smaller and/or intrinsic level of interactions, which is defined by a certain hazard, whereas the newly developed interactions define the outcome such as damages and losses etc.
Changes in groundwater levels by introducing the canal system in the basaltic aquifer of Narmada basin, Central India
Authors: Shiradhonkar Sakshi , Tokunaga Tomochika
Published: March 2022

One of the major concerns for agriculturally driven countries like India is said to be the depletion of groundwater. Therefore, understanding the dynamics of groundwater system is prerequisite for assuring its sustainability. According to the GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellite data, the declining TWS (terrestrial water storage) trends are apparent in north and south of India during 2003-2016, while the Narmada river basin, which is situated in the central west of the country, shows apparent increase of TWS. To unravel the possible reasons for this increasing trend, the part of the Narmada river basin was studied. Between 2003 and 2016, two dams (Indira Sagar dam (2005) and Omkareshwar dam (2008)) were constructed in the basin, and the canal systems to supply water for agricultural activities were developed. The canal system was considered to influence water resources availability in the area, and hence, groundwater fluctuations and groundwater storage. To understand the impact of the canal system on groundwater behavior, the well water levels were analyzed based on two timelines, i.e., before (1996-2010) and after the canal operation (2011-2017) in the Omkareshwar canal command area. The wells were classified into three groups, i.e., those located nearby the canal network, nearby the river network, and outside the canal command area. Pre-monsoon (dry) and monsoon (wet) seasons were chosen for the analysis. The results indicated that, after the canal operation, only the wells located nearby the canal showed the average well water level increase with about 2.56 m in pre-monsoon and 1.97 m in monsoon season, respectively. Whereas, the wells located nearby the river network showed very small changes, i.e., about 0.53 m drop in pre-monsoon and 0.84 m drop in monsoon season, respectively. Similarly, the wells outside the canal command area showed only 0.18 m drop in pre-monsoon and about 0.42 m increase in monsoon season. In summary, the groundwater well levels were observed to increase in wells located near canal system, after the canal operation, in both pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons with a considerable water depth of approximately 2 m. These distinct differences observed in the well water level changes indicated that the Omkareshwar canal system has been influential to the groundwater storage in the study area, and this may at least partly explain the reason why the terrestrial water storage has increased in this area.
Projecting Future Tropical Cyclone Precipitation Increases using a Hierarchical Modeling Framework
Authors: Stansfield Alyssa , Reed Kevin
Published: March 2022

Extreme precipitation is expected to increase with climate change at the Clausius-Clapeyron rate of approximately 7% per °C of warming; however, tropical cyclone (TC) precipitation may increase at a greater rate due to feedbacks between the storm dynamics and the thermodynamic increase in moisture. Previous modeling studies simulate increasing TC intensities with warming sea surface temperatures (SSTs), which may push the precipitation increase above the Clausius-Clapeyron rate. Recent work by the authors used the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM) in a state of radiative-convective equilibrium (RCE) with globally-uniform SSTs varying between 295 and 305 K to break down the TC precipitation response to warming into thermodynamic and dynamic contributions. Results showed that for 99th percentile TC precipitation, increases in atmospheric moisture (thermodynamics) contributed just over 66% of the precipitation increase while increases in TC intensity (dynamics) contributed about 20%. This work explores if the relationship between TC precipitation, SST, and storm intensities found in the RCE simulations holds for observations and high-resolution climate model simulations. The observations consist of TC tracks and intensities from the IBTrACS database, SSTs from the NOAA OISST dataset, and precipitation from the IMERG satellite product. The high-resolution climate model simulations are from the High Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP), a CMIP6-endorsed MIP that has both historical and future climate runs. The methodology involves extracting TC precipitation using an automated algorithm, binning TCs by relevant characteristics (i.e., their local-environment SSTs, intensities, and outer sizes), extracting various precipitation metrics from their precipitation fields, and calculating relationships between the precipitation metrics, TC characteristics, and SSTs. The goal is to use these relationships to project future TC precipitation changes under different future climate change scenarios using just changes in SST.
The Italian Automated Lidar-Ceilometer Network (ALICEnet): infrastructure, algorithms and applications
Authors: Diémoz Henri , Bellini Annachiara , Barnaba Francesca , Di Liberto Luca , Gobbi Gian Paolo
Published: March 2022

ALICEnet is a network of Automated Lidar Ceilometers (ALCs) operating across Italy. The geographical distribution of the measuring stations, extending from the north to the south of the country, allows monitoring of aerosol vertical profiles over a wide range of environmental and atmospheric conditions, dominated, for example, by anthropogenic particle production, Saharan dust transport or volcanic ash advections. The network, coordinated by CNR-ISAC and involving different institutions, is also a contributor of E-PROFILE, a EUMETNET program for surface-based profile observations.

The ALICEnet infrastructure and data processing flow (including signal correction and automatic calibration procedures) are here described, together with the inversion and retrieval algorithms. These latter allow to retrieve the aerosol properties over the vertical profile, to identify different layers, and to assess the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) characteristics, such as the ABL and mixing layer height. Based on this setup, both use of near-real time data (e.g., to monitor aerosol transport events) and long-term studies (e.g., evaluation of aerosol climatological, site-dependent characteristics) will be possible.

In the present contribution, we focus on two examples of application: a case of long-range transport of Saharan dust and smoke, occurred over Rome in July 2017 during the EMERGE campaign, and the analysis of the climatological features of the mesoscale circulation between the Po Valley and the Alps. For both cases the ALICEnet retrieval procedure is validated based on independent measurements from the ground. Benefits from coupling with other remote sensing instruments, satellite radiometers, and atmospheric dispersion models are discussed.
Silica and Nano-materials Induce Red Blood Cell and Liposome Membrane Disruption That is Regulated By Cholesterol Content
Authors: Sydor Matthew , Anderson Donald , Steele Harmen , Ross J.B. Alexander , Holian Andrij
Published: March 2022

Inhalation of respirable particles such as silica, has been documented to induce chronic lung diseases such as silicosis, which has been affecting humans since antiquity. Other, smaller materials such as engineered nano-materials (ENM) may trigger lung disease similar to silicosis, as seen in murine models. Within innate immune cells, such as alveolar macrophages, lysosomal membrane permeability (LMP) is proposed as a key and rate-limiting step in silica and ENM-induced inflammation. LMP activates the NLRP3 inflammasome and leads to the maturation and secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1ß and IL-18. In order to better study the membranolytic effects of particles, simpler, non-phagocytic cells like red blood cells (RBC) have been used. In this work, human RBC were treated with crystalline silica (CS), ZnO (ENM) or TiO2 (ENM), and changes to RBC membrane order were analyzed by fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy of the membrane incorporated probe, Di-4-ANEPPDHQ. RBC treated with methyl-ß-cyclodextrin to extract out cholesterol had a lower fluorescence lifetime of Di-4-ANEPPDHQ, which indicates a decrease in membrane order. Treatment with CS and TiO2 resulted in a significant increase in fluorescence lifetime, indicating that these particles cause localized increases to lipid order. On the other hand, ZnO caused a decrease to the  lipid order with a lower fluorescence lifetime. These same three particles were used to treat liposomes composed of either phosphatidylcholine or phosphatidylserine lipids. All three materials induced an increase in lipid order measured by the time-resolved anisotropy of Di-4-ANEPPDHQ. CS and TiO2 changed the order of PC liposomes, while ZnO treatment changed the lipid order of PS liposomes. Addition of cholesterol to these liposomes reduced the effects caused by TiO2 and ZnO treatments. Taken together these results demonstrate a particle-membrane interaction that can disrupt lipid order and that this disruption can be reduced by the presence of cholesterol in the membrane. Selective modulation of lysosomal cholesterol content may be a potential therapeutic intervention for particle-induced inflammatory disease.  

 

The research within was funded by the National Institutes of Health grants R01ES023209, 1F32ES027324, P20GM103546, and P30GM103338. It was also funded by the M J Murdock Charitable Trust and the National Science Foundation grant CHE-1531520.
The Lattice Boltzmann Method: one single tool to address different sedimentation processes
Authors: Trudu Federica , Vancheri Alberto , Kuhn Nikolaus J.
Published: March 2022

The fluid dynamics of different sedimentological processes are often studied and interpreted by using models based on a combination of Newton dynamics and an empirical expression of the drag force in function of the drag coefficient. However, neither the expression of the drag force nor the value of the drag have a unique expression, depending on the state of the fluid (laminar, transitional, and turbulent) and on the shape and dimensions of the sediments. These (semi-) empirical models are often inaccurate, in particular in planetary sciences when gravity plays a determining role, like, for example, when calculating the terminal settling velocity of natural sediments on Mars. In this work, a numerical simulation code based on the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) is used to study how settling velocity of some reference spherical particles changes at different gravity conditions, ranging from hyper to reduced gravity. LBM is a discrete computational method based on the kinetic Boltzmann equation that describes the dynamics of a fluid on a mesoscopic scale. This study shows that, despite the LB model has been calibrated and validated using only the set of experimental data collected during a parabolic flight, its validity goes beyond, being able to predict the correct terminal velocity of different particles, with different density and diameters. In addition, the same settings can be used to simulate other important processes that occur when sediments interact with each other and the fluid phase, such as hindered settling and the drafting, kissing, and tumbling phenomenon. This makes the Lattice Boltzmann method an ideal candidate for studying a wide range of sedimentological processes where a mesoscale accurate description is crucial to understand macroscale phenomena.
Hailstorms vs. supercells - a comparison of severe thunderstorms in the Alpine region
Authors: Feldmann Monika , Gabella Marco , Berne Alexis
Published: March 2022

Utilizing six years of radar-based thunderstorm data in the Swiss radar domain, we classify these as regular thunderstorms, hailstorms, severe hailstorms and mesocyclonic storms.

After identifying the overlaps between hailstorms and mesocyclones, their intensity lifecycles are investigated. This analysis allows the identification of predictors for intensification within severe storm lifecycles.

Subsequently we divide the radar domain into subregions ranging from the Po Valley, the Southern Prealps, main Alpine ridge, Northern Prealps, Swiss Plateau and Jura. This regional split separates storms in different terrain complexities. An investigation of the intensity distribution of storms in each region shows a clear intensity decrease over the main Alpine ridge, intermediate values over the moderately complex Prealpine regions and peaks for the flat Po Valley and Swiss Plateau.

These analyses investigate the influence of increasingly complex terrain on different types of severe convection from an observational perspective.
Future changes in Simultaneous Megafires over the United States as projected by NA-CORDEX Simulations
Authors: Bukovsky Melissa , McGinnis Seth , Kessenich Lee , Mearns Linda , Podschwit Harry , Cullen Alison
Published: March 2022

Simultaneous very large wildland fires present a unique challenge to fire management and firefighting resource allocation.

Here we present potential changes in very large wildland fire simultaneity projected by an ensemble of regional climate model simulations produced for the North American Coordinated Regional climate Downscaling Experiment (NA-CORDEX) over multiple United States (U.S.) Geographic Area Coordination Centers (GACCs), the main regions over which wildland firefighting resources are coordinated.  The NA-CORDEX simulations evaluated used the RCP8.5 future scenario, cover the years 1950-2100, and roughly span the range of climate sensitivity seen in the CMIP5 simulations.

To calculate simultaneity, we fit generalized linear models (GLMs) with a negative binomial response to observational data to predict megafire simultaneity based on multiple fire weather indices per GACC.  These indices include: KBDI (Keetch-Byram Drought Index), CFWI (Canadian Fire Weather Index), mFFWI, (modified Fosberg Fire Weather Index), ERC (Energy Release Component), BI (Burning Index), FM100, and FM1000 (100- and 1000-hour Fuel Moisture).  The resulting GLMs for the best index-based predictors were then applied to the NA-CORDEX simulations. 

Future projections of changes in the probability of different levels of simultaneity centered on multiple future timeslices will be presented, along with the uncertainty associated with the choice of simulation. 
Exploring the impact of live roots on the soil COS flux
Authors: Kitz Florian , Wachter Herbert , Spielmann Felix M. , Hammerle Albin , Wohlfahrt Georg
Published: March 2022

Partitioning the measured net ecosystem carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange into gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration remains a challenge, which is usually tackled by disentangling the net ecosystem CO2 exchange using various methods. A relatively new approach uses the trace gas carbonyl sulfide (COS) to estimate GPP. This is possible because of the very similar pathways CO2 and COS take into and within leaves, allowing researchers to use COS uptake as a proxy for the CO2 uptake in plants. In order to assess the viability of COS as a GPP proxy, COS sources and sinks in ecosystems have to be quantified. One of the biggest unknowns in this regard is the contribution of the soil.

In our study we looked at the effects of live roots on the soil COS-exchange, a topic that has not yet been explored in the literature. While in the last couple of years different working groups measured soil samples in the lab, no study to date looked at the impact of live roots on the soil COS flux. We hypothesized that live roots will change the COS flux by changing microbial community composition and activity via root exudates. In order to investigate the root contribution of a live plant we had to build an experimental setup that would allow us to only measure the belowground plant parts and the soil, while at the same time keep the whole plant alive. The plants used in this study were young beech trees (~2 years) and the soil was commonly used potting soil, in order to ensure a mostly homogeneous substrate for the trees. The measurements were spread out over one year to cover the different phenological stages of the trees, from no leaves in winter to new and mature leaves in spring and summer, respectively, to senescent leaves in autumn. Growth lamps were used to supply the aboveground parts of the plants with light during the day.

Most pots, with and without plants, emitted COS during the course of the experiment. COS and CO2 emissions increased in pots with roots compared to the control pots, but the increase in CO2 emissions was much stronger compared to the increase in the COS flux, which lead to consistently higher COS/CO2 emission ratios in the control pots, which contained potting soil only. A diurnal pattern was visible in all the measurements with the largest emissions for COS and CO2 occurring in the afternoon, when soil temperatures were the highest. Comparing the measurements over the whole experiment a clear difference in the COS/CO2 ratio could be observed between the measurements without leaves in February compared to the measurements with leaves in summer and autumn, indicating a dynamic effect of live roots on the soil COS exchange.
Hot and Cold Marine Extreme Events in the Mediterranean over the last four decades
Authors: Simon Amelie , Plecha Sandra , Russo Ana , Teles-Machado Ana , Donat Markus , Trigo Ricardo
Published: March 2022

Marine heat waves (MHWs) and cold spells (MCSs) are anomalous ocean temperature events that occur in all oceans and seas with great ecological and economic impacts. The quantification of the relative importance of marine temperature extreme events is often done through the calculation of local metrics, the majority of them not considering explicitly the spatial extent of the events. Here, we propose a ranking methodology to evaluate the relative importance of marine temperature extreme events between 1982 and 2021 within the Mediterranean basin. We introduce a metric, generically termed activity, combining the number of events, duration, intensity and spatial extent of: i) summer MHWs and ii) winter MCSs. Results at the entire Mediterranean scale show that the former dominate in the last two decades while the latter are prevalent in the 1980s and 1990s. Summers with the highest MHW activity were 2018, 2003 and 2015 and winters with the strongest MCS activity took place in 1992, 1984 and 1983. The highest MHW activity occurred in the Gulf of Lion while the highest MCS activity took place preferably in the Aegean basin. According to our proposed definition, the three strongest MHWs almost double the duration, mean intensity, and activity of the three strongest MCSs. The long-term tendency of activity shows a rapid increase for summer MHWs and a linear decrease for winter MCSs in the Mediterranean over the last four decades.

 

We acknowledge the financing support from FCT – JPIOCEANS/0001/2019
Luminescence properties of the humin fraction isolated from Chernozems and Phaeozems from various regions of Poland 
Authors: Weber Jerzy , Mielnik Lilla , Bejger Romualda , Ukalska-Jaruga Aleksandra , Jamroz Elżbieta , Jerzykiewicz Maria , Ćwieląg-Piasecka Irmina , Kocowicz Andrzej , Dębicka Magdalena , Bekier Jakub
Published: March 2022

Humin fraction of soil organic matter is assigned to play an important role in carbon sequestration and sorption of xenobiotics. This study concerns luminescence properties (fluorescence and delayed luminescence) of humin fraction isolated from mollic horizons of eight Chernozems and Phaeozems, used as arable soils in various regions of Poland. Isolation procedure was described by Weber et al. (2022). Investigated soils differed in the content of TOC, ranging from 13.3 to 41.7 g kg−1, as well as texture from loam (Magnice, Pyrzyce) through silt loam (Trzebnik, Ciepłowody, Hrubieszów) and sandy clay loam (Psary) till clay (Ziemnice, Kętrzyn). They also differed in their pH values (from 5.64 to 7.71), and CEC (from 21.6 to  53.2 cmol(+)kg-1). Ash content of humin varied between 22.89%  - 54.50%, which is typical for humin originated from mineral soils (Stevenson 1994).

References:

Stevenson FJ. 1994. Humus chemistry: Genesis, composition, and reactions. New York: John Wiley and Sons, p 512.

Weber J., Jamroz E., Kocowicz A., Dębicka M., Bekier J., Ćwieląg-Piasecka I., Ukalska-Jaruga A., Mielnik L., Bejger R., Jerzykiewicz M. (2022). Optimized isolation method of humin fraction  from mineral soil material. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 1-10 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-021-01037-3 

 

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Science Center (NCN) Poland (project No 2018/31/B/ST10/00677 “Chemical and spectroscopic properties of soil humin fraction in relation to their mutual interaction with pesticides")

 
Downscaling UK rainfall using machine-learning emulation of a convection-permitting model
Authors: Addison Henry , Watson Peter , Aitchison Laurence , Kendon Elizabeth
Published: March 2022

Climate change is causing the intensification of rainfall extremes in the UK [1]. Physics-based numerical simulations for creating precipitation projections are computationally expensive and must be run many times to quantify the natural variability of precipitation. Local-scale projections such as those from the Met Office's 2.2km convection-permitting model are possible [2] but the computational expense of these simulations requires trade-offs in the duration, domain size, ensemble size and emission scenarios for which to produce projections [1]. 

Here, we apply state-of-the-art machine learning methods to predict precipitation from the 2.2km model given large-scale predictors that are represented in GCMs. By conditioning on outputs from a physical model, rainfall can be downscaled in both past and future climates. We test the extent these methods can reproduce the complex spatial and temporal structure of rainfall, with which past statistical approaches struggle. We are interested in the methods’ ability to capture the distribution of extreme rainfall and to reproduce extreme events. Our methods are neural-network-based and explore generative approaches for representing the stochastic component of high-resolution precipitation. Compared to physical models, these approaches are computationally much cheaper and have a simple interface allowing them to be used to downscale other large GCM datasets. 

References 

[1] Kendon, E. J. et al. (2021). Update to the UKCP Local (2.2km) projections. Science report, Met Office Hadley Centre, Exeter, UK. [Online]. Available: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/pub/data/weather/uk/ukcp18/science-reports/ukcp18_local_update_report_2021.pdf. 

[2] Met Office Hadley Centre. (2019). UKCP18 Local Projections at 2.2km Resolution for 1980-2080, Centre for Environmental Data Analysis. [Online]. Available: https://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/d5822183143c4011a2bb304ee7c0baf7.
Quantifying the morphometry and drainage patterns of composite volcanoes: A comparison of the Japanese and Indonesian volcanic arcs   
Authors: van Wees Roos M. J. , O'Hara Daniel , Grosse Pablo , Kereszturi Gabor , Lahitte Pierre , Kervyn Matthieu
Published: March 2022

The long-term (ka to ma) degradation of a volcanic edifice is controlled by both regional (e.g., climate, tectonics) and local factors (e.g., original morphology, lithology), resulting in both long-lasting weathering and river incision and short-term hazardous events, such as flank collapses and lahars. Trends among the morphometry of stratovolcanoes, their drainage network, denudation, and regional factors were recently characterised for composite volcanoes along the Indonesian arc. Denudation was shown to be negatively correlated with drainage density; the across-arc variations expose a tectonic control on the level of denudation and volcanoes’ irregularity. This study applies the same method on age-constrained volcanoes in Japan to find coherent trends between arcs despite the different local and regional factors. We aim to better understand the factors that control erosion rates and patterns, and the evolutionary phases of volcano degradation.       

We first compile a dataset of 35 singular, non-complex composite volcanoes with known eruption ages and spatially spread throughout the Japanese Island arc system. Using 30m TanDEM-X Digital Elevation Models, morphologies, and drainage metrics (e.g., volume, height, slopes, irregularity index, Hack’s Law exponent, and drainage density) are extracted for each volcano, using the MORVOLC algorithm adapted in MATLAB as well as the newly developed DrainageVolc algorithm. Correlations between the morphometric parameters and potential controlling factors (e.g., age, climate, lithology, and tectonics) are analysed to determine quantitative relationships of edifice degradation throughout the arc. Finally, we compare relationships and correlation values of the Japanese Arc system to those from the Indonesian Arc.   

The analysis shows that volcano age is positively correlated with irregularity and negatively correlated with height and volume. From the drainage parameters, we find that basins become wider and merge, resulting in lower drainage densities. The variation in erosion rates along the Japanese arc provides evidence for the degree of climatic control on the volcano degradation. The between-arc comparison shows which trends are susceptible to arc-scale variations and highlights consistent trends that have the potential to be extrapolated to other volcanic arcs and be used as a relative age determination tool for composite volcanoes.
Fallout radionuclides indicate a 10% loss of European topsoil in 50 years
Authors: Meusburger Katrin , Evrard Olivier , Ballabio Cristiano , Borrelli Pasquale , Ketterer Michael , van Oost Kristof , Wilken Florian , Alewell Christine
Published: March 2022

Quantifying soil erosion is a major research challenge due to erosion's episodic character and spatial variation. Fallout radionuclides as 239+240Pu and 137Cs are powerful tools to assess net soil losses integrated over long periods applicable to most regions of the world. The traditional approach of the FRN method is based on the comparison between an inventory (total radionuclide activity per unit area) at a given sampling site and that of an undisturbed reference site (e.g., located in a flat and well-vegetated area). Compared to reference, a decrease in the FRN inventory indicates erosion and an increase indicating deposition of sediments and associated FRN. So far, FRN based assessment was restricted to a regional/catchment scale as spatially distributed data of reference inventories was missing.

In this study, we aim at upscaling the FRN approach to a central area of Europe covering France, North Italy, South Germany, and Belgium using the Land Use/Cover Area frame Survey – LUCAS soil sample bank. Both fallout sources left a specific radionuclide imprint in European soils. First, plutonium was used to quantify global versus Chernobyl fallout contributions to 137Cs found in European soils. Subsequently, spatial prediction models (general additive models) allowed reconstructing the global versus Chernobyl 137Cs fallout pattern across national boundaries. The definition of these 137Cs and the Pu baseline maps allows assessing soil redistribution rates at n=137 cropland sites with both FRNs across the study area. We selected barley, wheat, maize, and vineyard plots covering different slope angles as cropland sites. For both FRNs, differences between the reference and site-specific FRN inventory show an inventory and associated topsoil (0-20cm) loss of approximately 10% since 1963. Converting these inventory changes with a simple mass balance model to soil redistribution rates results in average soil erosion rates of 8.8 ± 6.3 t/ ha yr, assuming a tillage depth of 20 cm. Although the involved uncertainties are large, these net erosion rates exceed the expected magnitude.
The Cryosity project – Artistical preservation of snow crystals and glacier ice samples from Antarctica and the Arctic
Authors: Hoffmann Helene , Hoffmann Thomas
Published: March 2022

Snow crystals are among the most delicate and aesthetically beautiful things in nature. Looking at their geometrically unique features has inspired photographers and scientists for more than two centuries. However, being made of frozen water, their beauty is usually ephemeral and can usually only be captured in pictures. In this project, we present a system and a procedure to permanently preserve the highly detailed imprints of snow and ice crystals using special kinds of glue and a custom built cooling device. The resolution of the imprints is even high enough to reveal the inner structure of the sometimes only millimeter sized features.  We collected more than 100 snow crystals from Antarctica and the Arctic so far. It should be emphasized that this includes samples from both polar winters, captured during a scientific overwintering stay on Neumayer Station III (Antarctica) and on the MOSAiC cruise (Arctic). This makes the collection truly unique. Additionally we also found a way to preserve imprints of larger glacier ice and ice core samples. This enables to highlight the ancient air bubbles and fine glacier ice microstructure (e.g. sub-millimeter crystal grain boundaries) without the need to keep them frozen. The current focus of this ice core sample preparation is an ice core from Skytrain Ice Rise in West Antarctica, reaching back to ice ages of about 150 000 years before present. The samples we prepare from this core have mainly been used in laser-ablation ion coupled plasma spectrometry for chemical impurity analysis.  We incorporate both the snow crystals and the ice core samples into art objects. The objects not only highlight the delicate beauty of the ice, but also refer to the fragility and delicate balance of the environments they originate from. This is supported by the integration of other materials that have been in use in the polar regions, for example discarded parts of scientific and technical equipment. We consider the artistic presentation as a pathway not only to communicate the fascination of our scientific work and results, but also to bring people closer to the sometimes uncomfortable truths of climate change. We therefore aim to use the artistic presentation of the snow and ice samples to communicate the dramatic impacts of climate change, especially in the polar regions, to a non-scientific audience. 
MCADAM: A continuous paleomagnetic dipole moment model for the past 3.5 billion years using the PINT v8.0.0 database 
Authors: Bono Richard , Paterson Greig , Biggin Andrew
Published: March 2022

Earth’s magnetic field is a long-lived phenomenon generated by dynamo processes occurring in the liquid core. Understanding how the strength of the field changes in time and space is critical to gaining insight into processes in Earth’s core and deep interior. The publication of field strength estimates represents a significant output of the paleomagnetic community, with efforts spanning several decades and dozens of research groups. Recently, the site-mean absolute paleointensity database PINT (www.pintdb.org; Bono et al., GJI, 2022) received a major update to include data published up through 2019 and fully integrates the Quality of Paleointensity (QPI) assessments for 94% of the database. Interpreting the paleointensity record as a continuous record of Earth’s field is challenging because of the non-uniformly spaced, often sparse, data records and the combination of natural variation of field strength due to secular variation and measurement uncertainty. Here, we have used the PINT database to construct a continuous paleomagnetic axial dipole moment model spanning 0.05 to 3500 Ma, MCADAM v1.0 (Monte Carlo Axial Dipole Average Model). The dipole moment model applies three resampling approaches: a non-parametric resampling (akin to a bootstrap) of site-mean records, a Monte Carlo simulation of site-mean estimates using age and paleointensity means and uncertainties, and LOWESS smoothing with an adaptative kernel width. These methods are combined to provide posterior predictions of axial dipole field strength and allow for estimation of the median field with confidence bounds. This approach can reproduce the recent (0-2 Ma) field that matches PADM2M (Ziegler et al., GJI, 2011) as well as salient field intervals (e.g., high fields associated with superchrons) during the Phanerozoic. The model also reveals changes in field strength during the Precambrian which may be used to help constrain dynamo simulations and thermal evolution models of Earth’s core.
The Geochemistry of Pure Minerals with Pure Hydrogen in Aqueous Solutions
Authors: Hassanpouryouzband Aliakbar , Thaysen Eike Marie , Wilkinson Mark , Edlmann Katriona
Published: March 2022

In alignment with the Paris Agreement, more than 120 countries have now committed to reaching net zero by mid-century. Among the future energy storage technologies required for limiting global warming to well below 2 °C, geological storage of hydrogen is considered as a strong candidate to support increased renewable electrification. It is therefore crucial to understand the impact of injected hydrogen on geochemical equilibrium in these geological storage settings. Here, we investigate the potential for hydrogen reactions with different pure minerals using our custom high pressure/temperature batch reactors. Minerals examined include Gypsum, Calcite, Dolomite, and two types of Pyrite. We conducted the experiments at high pressure and temperature conditions with simulated reservoir brine, representing real geological conditions. Moreover, we conducted control experiments with inert nitrogen to ensure confidence that any identified geochemical reactions are induced by hydrogen, rather than elevated, temperature, pressure or brine chemistry. Our results suggest that abiotic geochemical reactions are not likely to result in hydrogen loss within the time scales of geological hydrogen storage.
Two-fluid numerical model towards reproducing the observed solar wave cutoffs.
Authors: Kuźma Błażej , Murawski Kris , Musielak Zdzisław
Published: March 2022

With use of JOANNA code we developed a numerical model that describes a partially ionized plasma described by a set of two-fluid equations for ion + electron and neutral fluids, coupled by ion-neutral collisions. We used this model to simulate a quiet region of the solar atmosphere with granules spontaneously generated in the photosphere by the underlying solar convective motions. We found that such ongoing granulation excites a wide range of waves propagating into the upper atmospheric layers, with their cutoff frequencies strongly depending on height above the photosphere. We report for the first time numerically obtained cutoff frequencies that are consistent with the cutoff frequencies computed by Stark & Musielak (1993), Kraśkiewicz et al. (2019) and Wójcik et al. (2019). What is even more important, our results remain in agreement with the observational data of Wiśniewska et al. (2016) and Kayshap et al. (2018). As the exact analytical formula for two-fluid cutoff frequencies has not been found up to date, the numerical simulations are crucial tool to answer the ongoing question about impact of different physical processes on cutoffs and their variation in the solar atmosphere.
The ENSO-induced South Pacific Meridional Mode
Authors: Dewitte Boris , Concha Emilio , Sepulveda Diego , Pizarro Oscar , Martinez-Villalobos Cristian , Ramos Marcel , Montecinos Aldo
Published: March 2022

The meridional modes (MM) in the Pacific are the conduit by which mid to high-latitudes external forcing (NPO/SPO) can trigger or influence ENSO; While for the Northern Hemisphere the MM (NPMM) is considered a precursor of ENSO, the MM-ENSO relationship in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) is more uncertain. Here we show that, rather than acting as a precursor, strong MMs of the SH (SPMM) are dominantly (~66%) triggered by strong El Niño events in observations and the historical simulations of the Large Ensemble CESM (LENS-CESM). In the LENS-CESM simulations, strong ENSO-induced SPMMs are associated with a precursor signal (warm SST anomalies) of the coast off northern central Chile (20°S-35°S) resulting from the combined effect of the propagation of oceanic downwelling coastal Kelvin waves and the reduction in upwelling favorable winds due to an activated Pacific South American (PSA) pattern during the development of coincident ENSO cycle. The analysis of the simulations of the Coupled Intercomparison Project phases 5 and 6 (CMIP5/6) indicate a large diversity in terms of the ENSO-SPMM relationship, which can be interpreted as resulting from the spread in the meridional location of the center of action of the SPMM and of the seasonality of the SPO variance. We further discuss how ENSO-induced SPMM interferes with the coincident ENSO cycle and contributes to its asymmetry.
TIGAR - a new global atmospheric model for the simulation of Transient Inertia-Gravity And Rossby wave dynamics
Authors: Vasylkevych Sergiy , Žagar Nedjeljka
Published: March 2022

Resolving inertia-gravity (IG, or gravity) waves poses a real challenge for the formulation of numerical schemes for numerical weather prediction (NWP) and climate models due to different time scales of Rossby wave dynamics and fast-propagating IG waves. With ever increasing emphasize placed on high-resolution simulations, the importance of the issue is growing due to the implications of Courant-Friedrich-Levy (CFL) stability criterium. It is especially prominent in the tropical atmosphere, where a significant part of variability is associated with divergence-dominated dynamics. Detangling gravity and Rossby wave dynamics in the tropics is a challenging problem due to a lack of sepaartion between the Rossby and gravity regime that is present in the extra-tropics.   

TIGAR (Transient Inertia Gravity and Rossby wave dynamics) targets this problem by employing the eigensolutions of the linearized primitive equations on the sphere as the basis functions for the numerical representation of dynamical variables. This leads to the description of dynamics in terms of physically identifiable structures, i.e. the Rossby and gravity waves, which are fully dynamically separated at the linearization level. The benefits of such approach can be reaped on analytical, modelling and computational sides. As a research tool, TIGAR allows to study wave-wave interections directly in the model, without the need of intermediate software for wave filtering. Simplified models aimed at particular dynamical regime can be obtained from a full model with a simple configuration change. For instance, retaining only the Rossby modes in the spectral expansion will result in the quasi-geostrophic model, while additionally keeping the Kelvin and mixed Rossby-gravity waves will reproduce essential features of tropical circulation. 

Numerically, high precision computation is achieved in TIGAR through the use of higher order exponential time-differencing schemes, which take advantage of the normal modes framework, leading to the major increase in computational efficiency and stability. The comparison with classical time-stepping schemes in the horizontal component of the model shows accuracy improvements of several orders of magnitude at the same computational cost. In our testing on multiscale flows, the stability gains associated with the enhanced representation of gravity wave dynamics raise CFL time-step bound for explicit schemes by a factor of 4-6. 

We present TIGAR solutions of some classical steady and time-dependent problems including barotropic and baroclinic instability tests.