bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Seismic Risk Assessment of Natural Gas Networks considering Cascading Effects
Authors: Nieh Chen-Yu , Lin Szu-Yun
Published: February 2023

Earthquake disasters may not only damage buildings but significantly influence the standard of living due to the impacts on critical infrastructure such as lifeline systems. This study focuses on the seismic risk and resilience of the natural gas network and the cascading effects. We analyze the risk of failure in the mid/low-pressure pipelines under a major earthquake scenario and evaluate the impacts on systemic service levels considering the secondary disasters of earthquakes. In this study, repair rate, R.R., is applied to evaluate the failure of natural gas pipeline. With the R.R. of pipelines and ground motion parameters, e.g., PGA and PGD, the failure probability of the pipeline can be derived by Poisson distribution. By overlay analysis with seismic parameters from Taiwan Earthquake Loss Estimation System (TELES) and the GIS data of the natural gas network, the number of damaged pipelines, the number of affected users, and the closure probability of valves can be estimated through Monte Carlo simulation. The service level and resilience of the system can be further assessed. In addition to the impacts on the natural gas system, the leaking gas can also cause a potential risk of worsening post-earthquake fire. On the other hand, the repairment of damaged pipelines may affect the surrounding traffic. These should be considered during the restoration process. This study proposes a risk assessment approach for the natural gas pipeline subjected to earthquakes considering not only the physical damage of the pipeline but the closure of valves, the risk of worsening post-earthquake fire, and the sequential influence on the traffic. The proposed framework was applied to the natural gas system in Tainan, Taiwan, as the case study. This study assesses the earthquake hazard risk of natural gas pipelines from the perspective of system functionality and community resilience. Decision-makers can plan appropriate disaster mitigation strategies based on the analysis results.
Land-cover and management modulation of ecosystem resistance to drought stress
Authors: Xiao Chenwei , Zaehle Sönke , Wigneron Jean-Pierre , Yang Hui , Schmullius Christiane , Bastos Ana
Published: February 2023

Drought events are projected to become more severe and frequent across many regions in the future, but their impacts will likely differ among ecosystems depending on the capability of ecosystem to maintain functioning during droughts, i.e., the ecosystem resistance. Different plant species have diverse strategies to cope with drought. As a result, responses of different vegetation types have been found to be divergent for similar levels of drought severity. However, it remains unclear whether such divergence is also caused by different drought duration, climatological settings, or co-occurring compound events, etc.Here, we evaluate vegetation resistance using different proxies for vegetation condition, namely the Vegetation Optical Depth (SMOS L-VOD) data from ESA’s Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) passive L-band mission and EVI and kNDVI from NASA MODIS. L-VOD has the advantage over more commonly used vegetation indices (such as kNDVI, EVI) in that it provides more information on vegetation structure and biomass and suffers from less saturation over dense forests compared (Wigneron et al., 2020). We apply a linear autoregressive model accounting for drought, temperature and memory effects to characterize ecosystem resistance by their sensitivity to drought duration and temperature anomalies. We analyze how ecosystem resistance varies with land cover across the globe and investigate the modulation effect of forest management and irrigation. Furthermore, estimates of ecosystem resistance obtained from a similar methodology are compared between L-VOD, kNDVI and EVI.We find that regions with higher forest fraction show stronger ecosystem resistance to extreme droughts than cropland for all three vegetation proxies. L-VOD indicates that primary forests tend to be more resistant to drought events than secondary forests, but this phenomenon cannot be detected in EVI and kNDVI. This is possibly related to their saturation in dense forests. In tropical evergreen deciduous forests, old-growth trees tend to be more resistant to drought than young trees from L-VOD and kNDVI. Irrigation increases the drought resistance of cropland substantially.These results suggest that ecosystem resistance can be better monitored using L-VOD in dense forests and highlight the role of forest cover, forest management and irrigation in determining ecosystem resistance to droughts. Wigneron, J.-P., Fan, L., Ciais, P., Bastos, A., Brandt, M., Chave, J., Saatchi, S., Baccini, A., and Fensholt, R.: Tropical forests did not recover from the strong 2015–2016 El Niño event, Science Advances, 6, eaay4603, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aay4603, 2020.
Unrecognized Urban Source of Atmospheric Nanoplastic Particles
Authors: Laskin Alexander
Published: February 2023

Nanoplastic particles are inadequately characterized environmental pollutants with significant adverse effects on aquatic and atmospheric systems. At present, it is explicitly assumed that environmental nanoplastics (EnvNP) are weathering fragments of microplastic or larger plastic debris discharged into terrestrial and aquatic environments, while atmospheric occurrence of EnvNP is solely attributed to aerosolization by wind and other mechanical forces. However, sources and emissions of unintended EnvNP are poorly understood and are therefore largely unaccounted for in various risk assessments. This presentation will show that large quantities of EnvNP may be directly emitted into the atmosphere by a commonly used technology to repair sewer pipes in urban areas. We suggest that airborne emissions of EnvNP from these globally used sewer repair practices may be prevalent in highly populated urban areas. Airborne emissions of these EnvNP particles may have important implications on air quality and toxicological levels in large urban areas that need to be mitigated.
Seismic tomography of Nabro caldera, Eritrea: insights into the magmatic and hydrothermal systems of a recently erupted volcano
Authors: Gauntlett Miriam , Hudson Thomas , Kendall Mike , Rawlinson Nicholas , Blundy Jon , Lapins Sacha , Goitom Berhe , Hammond James , Oppenheimer Clive , Ogubazghi Ghebrebrhan
Published: February 2023

Understanding the crustal structure and the storage and movement of fluids beneath a volcano is necessary for characterising volcanic hazard, geothermal prospects and potential mineral resources. This study uses local earthquake traveltime tomography to image the seismic velocity structure beneath Nabro, an off-rift volcano located within the central part of the Danakil microplate near the Ethiopia-Eritrea border. Nabro underwent its first historically-documented eruption in June 2011, thereby providing an opportunity to analyse its post-eruptive state by mapping subsurface fluid distributions. We use a catalogue of earthquakes detected using machine learning methods to simultaneously relocate the seismicity and invert for the three-dimensional P- and S-wave velocity structures (VP, VS) and the ratio between them (VP/VS). Overall, our model shows higher than average P- and S-wave velocities, suggesting the presence of older consolidated volcanic deposits or intrusive magmatic rocks in the crust. We identify an aseismic region of low VP, low VS, and high VP/VS ratio at depths of 6-10 km b.s.l., interpreted as the primary melt storage region that fed the 2011 eruption. Above this is a zone of high VS, low  VP, and low VP/VS ratio, representing an intrusive complex of fractured rocks partially-saturated with over-pressurised gases. Our observations identify the persistence of magma in the subsurface following the eruption, and track the degassing of this melt through the crust to the surface. The presence of volatiles and high temperatures within the shallow crust indicate that Nabro is a viable candidate for geothermal exploration.
Influence of European fires to Carbon Dioxide (CO2) variability at the Mt. Cimone station (Italy, 2165 m asl): a first assessment.
Authors: Cristofanelli Paolo , Putero Davide , Fratticioli Cosimo , Trisolino Pamela , Calzolari Francescopiero , Calidonna Claudia Roberta , Marinoni Angela , Renzi Laura
Published: February 2023

This work aimed at showing the potential of continuous CO2 and CO observations at the ICOS atmospheric class-2 station Mt. Cimone (CMN, 2165 m a.s.l. - Italy) in revealing, together with transport modeling and satellite observations, the presence of European open fire plumes in the northern Italian Apennines, and then providing a first assessment of their impact to the atmospheric CO2 observed at CMN. Based on the analysis of a case study occurred during March 2020, an algorithm providing indications about the possible presence of fire plumes from different European source regions was implemented. The algorithm used observed CO/CO2 at CMN, active open fire detection by MODIS, air mass back-trajectories and time series of simulated CO2 at the measurement site.

The results suggested that CMN could be affected for a not-negligible fraction of time by fire plumes: 5.5% of the September - May period and the 19.6% of the June - August period. We found a potential important contribution of open fires from Eastern Europe during September - May (51% of events), while during summer there was a prevalence from the Mediterranean sector (53% of events).

Looking at the possible impact of these events to the observed CO2, we detected an increase with respect to periods not affected by fire perturbations during September - May (+3.4 ppm, on average), while we did not find any significant variations during summer months, possibly related to the CO2 uptake related with biospheric activity.

We discussed limitations and caveats related to the sensitivity of results as a function of the set-up of the selection methodology, uncertainties in the transport modeling and in the CO2 modelling. Even if it is still preliminary, our study indicated that the observations from CMN can represent, if supported by adequate diagnostic tools, a powerful dataset to evaluate the impact of open fires to the atmospheric CO2 variability.
Convection-permitting simulations of current and future climate over the Tibetan Plateau region
Authors: Zou Liwei
Published: February 2023

The Tibetan Plateau (TP), known as Asian Water Tower, provides a vital water resource for the downstream regions. Previous studies of water cycle changes over the TP have been conducted with climate models of relatively coarse resolution, leading to potential misrepresentation of key physical processes. In this study, we presents results from a high resolution climate change simulation that permits convection at about 4-km grid spacing with focus on the TP region using the Icosahedral Nonhydrostatic Weather and Climate Model (ICON). Two 12-year simulations were performed, consisting of a retrospective simulation (2008-2020) with initial and boundary conditions from ERA5 reanalysis and a pseudo-global warming projections driven by the modified reanalysis-derived initial and boundary conditions through adding the monthly CMIP6 ensemble-mean climate change under SSP5-8.5 scenario. The retrospective simulation shows overall good performance capturing the annual/seasonal/sub-seasonal precipitation and surface temperature. The future climate simulation suggests that the TP will be wetter and warmer under SSP5-8.5 scenario. The ICON-downscaled climate change simulations provide a high-resolution dataset to the community for studying regional climate changes and impacts over TP.
Application of ion-exchange resin sachets and XRF-CS in heavy metal pollution sources monitoring
Authors: Jian Yu-Chen , Löwemark Ludvig , Liao Alice Chien-Yi
Published: February 2023

For the past decades, scientists have endeavored to develop efficient and suitable approaches to monitor heavy-metal pollution through technological development. Conventional monitoring methods for heavy metals are still complicated, relatively expensive, and time-consuming. This research aims to develop an innovative heavy-metal monitor, the novel approach of ion-exchange resin sachets combined with X-ray fluorescence core scanner (XRF-CS), to achieve an efficient way to effectively monitor vast areas for contamination. The resin sachets, which have a large capacity to quickly take up heavy metals, were deployed in the river weekly to capture heavy metals and then analyzed using the non-destructive, fast, and cost-efficient Itrax XRF core scanner. Two four-week sampling sessions, performed during the dry and wet periods, respectively, were conducted in northeastern Taiwan, where the environment was contaminated by a copper smelter and coal mine activities in the late twentieth century. The results suggest that ion-exchange resins are useful as long-term monitors of heavy metals in a low pollution-level settings (metal concentration <1 mg/L), and that XRF core scanner data truly reflect metal pollution concentrations as measured by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). This approach allows us to pinpoint pollution sources along the studied river. Especially, Zn, Ni, Mn, Fe, Cu, Ca, and Sr could be detected near pollution sources, where cps values were 1.8 to 3430.6 times higher than in unpolluted areas. Zn shows the largest difference between polluted and non-polluted areas, with the cps values of the samples in polluted areas 3528 times higher than their non-polluted counterparts. Ni, Mn, Fe, Cu, Ca, and Sr’s cps values were 1.8, 29.2, 46.1, 2.4, 6.2, and 5.9 times higher, respectively, than the corresponding counts measured in non-polluted areas. In addition, our results demonstrate that the intensity of precipitation influences the amount of metal adsorption in the resins; resins showed less adsorption in the dry period, and cps values slightly dropped to 81 to 84 percent of the wet period. In summary, ion-exchange resins are a sensitive tool that can be applied in pollution monitoring at various pollution levels due to their high performance in adsorbing heavy metals. Consequently, ion-exchange resin sachets in combination with XRF core scanner analysis is a cost-effective way to monitor large areas of potentially polluted aquatic systems quickly.
On the wave-ice attenuation and WSC variation in Fram Strait using clusters of miniature wave drifting buoy in 2021 & 2022
Authors: Chien Hwa , Chen Yen-Chen , Chang Huan-Meng
Published: February 2023

The rate of reduction of Arctic Ocean sea ice cover and its change is an important key issue in the study of global climate change. Wave climate variability and the wave effects in the Arctic Ocean plays important roles in influencing the rate of sea ice melting. Aiming to improve the parameterization of wave numerical model that considers the presence of sea ice in polar region and to develop the associated satellite remote sensing technologies, in situ wave observations at the sea-ice edge and Marginal Ice Zones are essential. Currently the data and observations are scarce.

This study developed a low-cost miniature wave drifting buoy, its shape is 50 cm diameter dish, built-in IMU, Iridium satellite modem and temperature and salinity sensor, etc., to monitor the wave height, period, direction and wave spectral shape, sea surface Mean Square Slope (MSS), surface ocean temperature (SST) and GPS positioning.

The signal sampling frequency is 10Hz, the spectral analysis is carried out on-board using ARM single chip computer in the buoy. The data is then encoded to Iridium satellite in real-time. In this study, in August 2021 and 2022, 8 and 10 sets of miniature buoys were deployed in Fram Strait off the western Svalbard Islands, respectively. The buoys were deployed in cluster and placed 15 km apart from each other, forming a rectangular spatial array, and drifting with West Spitzbergen Current, transported northward into the ice edge area of Svalbard northwest sea.

The observation took place every two hours for about three months. This report presents the time series of the observation data. First, we analyzed the drift trajectories of the buoy cluster, estimated the sea surface dispersion coefficient, Lyapunov index from the spatial array shape change rate of the buoy cluster. Secondly, sea surface temperature variation along the meridional trajectories was investigated. The results showed that the surface water mass was converged around Molloy Abyss, and the surrounding water body was accompanied by rapid temperature drop. On the other hand, in the wave analysis of the MIZ, the SAR images were used to identify the sea ice edge and ice concentration and to investigate the attenuation of wave spectral shape between the sea ice zone and the open ice-free waters in the vicinity.
Precipitation response to climate change in the Mediterranean region – Forcings & Dynamics
Authors: Keller Benny , Garfinkel Chaim
Published: February 2023

Which forcings and processes govern the projected future drying of the Mediterranean region as CO2 concentrations rise, and how do they interact? An intermediate-complexity moist general circulation model is used to investigate the precipitation response to climate change in the Mediterranean region. In particular, we examine stationary wave changes forced by land–sea contrast, zonal heat fluxes in the ocean, and topography, coupled with a quadrupling of initial CO2 concentrations. Eight different combinations are formed from the three forcings, and the linearity and additivity of the response are investigated. An expected decrease in precipitation over the Mediterranean region is found, accompanied by a strong anomalous ridge, with a significant difference in magnitude between the south-east and north-west of the region, as shown in previous studies. New results suggest that horizontal heat fluxes in the ocean may be a major forcing for future Mediterranean drying, especially over the eastern Mediterranean in winter. The influence of the land-sea contrast is found to be more complex than previously shown, varying from west to east and from north to south of the Mediterranean basin, suggesting further dynamics governing the response in each area. In an attempt to break down the influence of several components of the thermodynamic condition in the Mediterranean, we isolate geographical elements (the Mediterranean, continental Europe , etc.) and examine the precipitation and geopotential height field response, in hope to refine the future projection and better understand the dynamics governing it.
Local circulation characteristics and mechanism analysis of Haituo mountain in Beijing during winter 2019
Authors: Wang Qianqian
Published: February 2023

The Haituo mountain, one of the main outdoor venues of the Winter Olympic (Paralympic) Games, presents a severe challenge for refined prediction of wind field due to its complex terrain. Therefore, it is imperative to carry out intensive wind field observations to improve our understanding of local circulation  characteristics  and  influence  mechanism  of  complex  terrain,  and provide data support for the improvement of refined prediction and service in the competition area. Based on data obtained in the observational experiment at Haituo mountain in 2019, the horizontal distribution, vertical structure, mountain-valley wind conversion time and local circulation characteristics under the influences of different background wind fields are statistically analyzed using multi-source data, such as data collected by automatic weather stations, doppler wind lidars, eddy covariance systems, ceilometer and cloud radars, etc. The influence mechanism for local circulation in the Haituo mountain is discussed from three perspectives, i.e., topographic dynamic and thermodynamic impacts and background wind field influences. The results show that the local circulation characteristics in the Haituo mountain are significant under calm weather conditions when the background winds are weak. The local circulation is dominated by thermally-driven valley wind circulation superimposed by the influence of background airflow passing over the mountain. At low-altitude (＜1650 m) stations, mountain and valley winds show opposite directions; at mid- (1650—1800 m) and high- (＞1800 m) altitude stations located near the mountain ridges and peaks, mountain and valley winds both are dominated by westerly winds. Valley wind is significantly stronger than mountain wind at the low- and mid-altitude stations, while the opposite is true at high-altitude stations. In contrast, under the influence of strong background winds, local circulation characteristics disappear and the wind direction in the whole valley tends to be consistent with the background wind, while the difference in wind direction between the daytime and nighttime is small and wind speed decreases with increasing height.
A comparative study of machine learning approaches with wavelet transforms for groundwater level modeling (Case study: Unconfined Tehran aquifer, Iran)
Authors: Ghasemi Leyla , Vadiati Meysam , Kisi Ozgur
Published: February 2023

Groundwater level (GWL) is a promising indicator for monitoring sustainable groundwater management, and GWL modeling is a critical way to predict GWL changes. There are different ways to simulate the GWL, including numerical and machine learning (ML) models. The present research used a series of supervised ML methods to predict the GWL fluctuations in the Unconfined Tehran aquifer, Iran, using 14 years of monthly GWL and other hydrological and meteorological datasets. The wavelet transform (WT) method was also applied to enhance the GWL prediction accuracy and precision three months ahead. The standalone ML approaches, including Artificial Neural Network, Fuzzy Logic (FL), Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), and Least Square Support Vector Machine, were employed and evaluated with the hybrid-wavelet conjunction methods. The accuracy and precision of the used models were assessed based on Root Means Squared Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Correlation Coefficient (R) and Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE). The comparison revealed that the hybrid-wavelet ML significantly increased the standalone model's accuracy and precision. The coupled WT-FL and WT-ANFIS method was superior to other WT hybrid and standalone ML methods to predict GWL for the employed database. The optimum GWL predictions were obtained from the WT-FL method outcomes from input scenario one. The method generated RMSE, MAE, R and NSE values as 0.25, 0.20, 0.99 and 0.99 for one month ahead of GWL prediction in monitoring well number 84 (P84) and 0.48, 0.35, 0.99 and 0.98 for monitoring well number 71 (P71). The optimal GWL predictions were obtained from the WT-ANFIS method outcomes from input scenario 1, and this method created RMSE MAE, R and NSE as 0.25, 0.20, 0.99 and 0.99 for one month ahead GWL prediction in P84 and 0.48, 0.35, 0.99 and 0.98 for P71. The overall results of the used models showed that the WT hybrid and standalone ML methods are reliable in predicting GWL in the Unconfined Tehran aquifer, Iran.
Identifying topological tipping points in noise-driven chaotic dynamics using random templexes
Authors: Charó Gisela Daniela , Ghil Michael , Sciamarella Denisse
Published: February 2023

Random attractors are the time-evolving pullback attractors of stochastically perturbed, deterministically chaotic dynamical systems. These attractors have a structure that changes in time, and that has been characterized recently using BraMAH cell complexes and their homology groups (Chaos, 2021, doi:10.1063/5.0059461). A more complete description is obtained for their deterministic counterparts if the cell is endowed with a directed graph (digraph) that prescribes cell connections in terms of the flow direction. Such a topological description is given by a templex, which carries the information of the structure of the branched manifold, as well as information on the flow (Chaos, 2022, doi:10.1063/5.0092933). The present work (Chaos, 2023, arXiv:2212.14450 [nlin.CD]) introduces the stochastic version of a templex. Stochastic attractors in the pullback approach, like the LOrenz Random Attractor (LORA), include sharp transitions in their branched manifold. These sharp transitions can be suitably described using what we call here a random templex. In a random templex, there is one cell complex per snapshot of the random attractor and the cell complexes are such that changes can be followed in terms of how the generators of the homology groups, i.e., the “holes” of these complexes, evolve. The nodes of the digraph are the generators of the homology groups, and its directed edges indicate the correspondence between holes from one snapshot to the next. Topological tipping points can be identified with the creation, destruction, splitting or merging of holes, through a definition in terms of the nodes in the digraph.
The assessment of GICs based on time-domain transfer functions
Authors: Kruglyakov Mikhail , Rodger Craig , Mac Manus Daniel , Dalzell Michael , Petersen Tanja
Published: February 2023

 

Simulations (ideally forecasting or nowcasting) of geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) are one of the main challenges of modern space weather studies. At the same time, the conventional GICs' simulations are based on the use of some models of the source, conductivity distribution, and power grid/pipeline, and, in turn, are deeply affected by the uncertainties of these inputs. Moreover, at least for now, there is no proper way to estimate the influences of these uncertainties on the simulation results. To tackle this issue, we suggested the concept of so-called TDTFs – empirical relations in the form of convolution-like integrals over time, between components of the magnetic field and GICs. The important novelty is that, contrasted with conventional frequency domain transfer functions, TDTFs can be obtained using time series with gaps and/or with non-uniform time steps as is - without any interpolation or averaging requirement. Using the GICs and magnetic field observations from different locations in New Zealand and Finland, we obtained these functions and came up with few insights: a) it is shown that the “memory” of GIC with respect to magnetic field is about 90 minutes for New Zealand region, but only 15 minutes for Finland, possibly due to the rather different ground conductivity; b) for proper simulation of GICs, the optimal time resolution for observed magnetic field should be no more than 10 seconds; c) if data from many magnetic observatories are used simultaneously, the usage of only horizontal components of magnetic field is enough, however in case of single/few observatories, it is crucial to use the vertical component of magnetic field too. At the same time, if these requirements are satisfied, it is possible to reproduce observed GICs with correlation near 0.9 and coefficient of determination near 0.8.
Arctic sea ice type distribution from various microwave remote sensing products
Authors: Ye Yufang , Luo Yanbing , Shokr Mohammed , Aaboe Signe , Girard-Ardhuin Fanny , Hui Fengming , Cheng Xiao , Chen Zhuoqi
Published: February 2023

Arctic sea ice type (SITY) variation is a sensitive indicator of climate change. This study analyzed eight daily SITY products from five retrieval approaches covering the winters of 1999–2019, including purely radiometer-based (C3S-SITY), scatterometer-based (KNMI-SITY and IFREMER-SITY) and combined ones (OSISAF-SITY and Zhang-SITY). These SITY products were inter-compared against a weekly sea ice age product (i.e. NSIDC-SIA) and evaluated with five Synthetic Aperture Radar images. The average Arctic multiyear ice (MYI) extent difference between the SITY products and NSIDC-SIA varies from -1.32×106 km2 to 0.49×106 km2 . Among all, KNMI-SITY and Zhang-SITY in the QSCAT period (2002-2009) agree best with NSIDC-SIA and perform the best, with smallest bias of -0.001×106 km2 in FYI extent and -0.02×106 km2 in MYI extent, respectively. In the ASCAT period (2007-2019), KNMI-SITY tends to overestimate MYI (especially in early winter), whereas Zhang-SITY and IFREMER-SITY tend to underestimate MYI. C3S-SITY performs well in some early winter cases however exhibits large temporal variabilities as OSISAF-SITY. Factors that could impact performances of the SITY products are analyzed and summarized: (1) Ku-band scatterometer generally performs better than C-band scatterometer on SITY discrimination, while the latter sometimes identifies first-year ice (FYI) more accurately, especially when surface scattering dominants the backscatter signature. (2) Simple combination of scatterometer and radiometer data is not always beneficial without further rules of priority. (3) The representativeness of training data and efficiency of classification are crucial for SITY classification. Spatial and temporal variation of characteristic training dataset should be well accounted in the SITY method. (4) Post-processing corrections play important roles and should be considered with caution.
Degradation of oxytetracycline in saturated porous media by in-situ chemical oxidation using oxygen-doped graphitic carbon nitride and peroxymonosulfate (PMS)
Authors: Ko Seokoh
Published: February 2023

Oxytetracycline (OTC) is one of the popular antibiotics accumulated in soils and groundwater, posing harmful effects on ecological systems and human health. This work aims to examine the feasibility of OTC degradation using a new catalyst, oxygen-doped graphitic carbon nitride (O-gC3N) for in-situ oxidative remediation. The in-situ oxidation system was simulated with column experiments to investigate the performance of PMS activation and OCT removal in saturated porous media. Numerical modeling as HYDRUS 1D was used for analyzing the transport behaviors of OTC in saturated porous media. The results show that OTC transport in saturated porous media is non-equilibrium. O-gC3N can efficiently activate PMS to degrade OTC and the increase of PMS and O-gC3N can enhance OTC removal. A wide pH range is beneficial for OTC degradation in saturated porous media. EBCT significantly affects OTC degradation and the optimal velocity was 0.4 cm/min. The findings of this work suggest that the O-gC3N catalyst can effectively be utilized for the in-situ oxidation of organic pollutants in contaminated sites.
Identification of plant, bacterial and fungal necromass markers in soil organic matter via ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry
Authors: Stumpf Konstantin , Simon Carsten , Lechtenfeld Oliver
Published: February 2023

Soil organic matter (SOM) is an important driver of the global carbon cycle and plays a central role for the fertility, biodiversity, erosion and other key dynamics in soils. However, our understanding of SOM is still hampered by its chemical complexity. SOM is derived from a mixture of plant metabolites and their decomposition products that are continuously recycled and transformed through the action of soil organisms such as fungi and bacteria. This ultimately leads to the build-up of complex organic mixtures of plant, fungal and bacterial biomass as well as their respective decomposition products (necromass), which lack distinct metabolite information. Ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry, such as FT-ICR-MS, has contributed much to our understanding of organic matter complexity in soils, but novel methods are needed to identify and trace molecular markers for necromass contribution. To overcome this gap, we studied three major necromass types (maize litter, bacterial and fungal necromass extracts) and arable (top-)soil aqueous SOM extracts via liquid chromatography (LC) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) coupled with FT-ICR-MS. Our main goal was to find and characterize indicative molecules (via LC-MS) and structural motifs (from MS/MS) for each necromass type, and to detect these within SOM extracts. To this end we applied an LC method that allows the separation of salts from DOM and covers a broad polarity range, including highly polar compounds that are usually lost during solid-phase extraction. MS/MS experiments were conducted on preselected features (data-independent acquisition) in positive and negative ESI modes. We further  tested the sensitivity of our method by spike experiments. Our findings represent a first step in uncovering novel molecular markers that are tracked in ongoing decomposition experiments. In the long run, these techniques will allow to not only detect changes in molecular composition of DOM during substrate decomposition, but also to detect changes in structural motifs that are linked to defined necromass types.
Developing methodologies and materials for GIS education to university and high school students
Authors: Oguchi Takashi , Yamauchi Hiroyuki , Song Jiali , Ogura Takuro , Iizuka Kotaro
Published: February 2023

Although GIS technologies have been utilized in many fields, including geoscience and geography, obtaining skills in GIS operation is still challenging. Effective GIS operation requires geographical and cartographic knowledge such as the principles of map projection, techniques to use computers and related devices, and expertise in graphic, spreadsheet, and database software. In addition, various recent concepts and technologies, such as AR, VR, UAVs, web mapping, and 3D printing, have been combined with today’s GIS. Therefore, comprehensive GIS education is crucial for fostering scientists with GIS skills.We have been developing methodologies and materials for GIS education to address this issue. They include 1) online open-source materials for learning how to use GIS software for various applications, 2) web-based online GIS to learn applications of GIS for understanding disaster risks, 3) web pages to learn the basics of Python programming relevant to GIS, and 4) materials for learning the utilization of UAVs, 3D printers, AR, and VR in connection with GIS. This presentation outlines our activities and discusses their implications to provide future perspectives.In 2022, a subject called General Geography with an emphasis on GIS became compulsory in Japanese senior high schools (10 to 12 grades) due to government educational reform. Because students usually select what to major in universities during high school, attracting high-school students' attention to GIS and related geoscientific and geographical issues is essential for the future development of geoscience and geography. Therefore, the targets of our activities are both university and high school students.
WDCC - Improvement of FAIRness of an established repository
Authors: Hertwig Eileen , Lammert Andrea , Höck Heinke , Fast Andrej , Thiemann Hannes
Published: February 2023

The World Data Center for Climate (WDCC) provides access to and offers long-term archiving for datasets relevant for climate and Earth System research in a highly standardized manner following the FAIR principles. The focus is on climate simulation data. The WDCC services are aimed at both scientists who produce data (e.g. to fulfill the guidelines of good scientific practice) and scientists who re-use published data for new research.The WDCC is hosted by the German Climate Computing Center (DKRZ) in Hamburg, Germany. The repository is an accredited regular member of the World Data System (WDS) since 2003. WDCC is certified as a Trustworthy Data Repository by CoreTrustSeal (https://www.coretrustseal.org). The WDCC was actively involved in the development of mechanisms to publish scientific datasets as citable entities. The first Datacite DOI ever assigned to a dataset was for a WDCC dataset in 2004 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1594/WDCC/EH4_OPYC_SRES_A2). Since then dataset collections in WDCC can be published with a DOI. In 2022, in compliance with the FAIR principles, the WDCC has also implemented the assignment of PIDs, persistent identifiers, for individual datasets. A PID is a long-lasting reference to a dataset (or other digital object) that is designed to always provide access to the object or to a representation of it, even if the actual URLs of the objects may change over time. To meet user’s needs it is essential to ensure high quality of data, which means making sure that datasets in the repository are really Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR). The FAIRness of the WDCC has been systematically assessed in Peters-von Gehlen et al. (2022). Furthermore, to monitor the development of FAIRness in WDCC a FUJI-test is performed for all new dataset collections which are assigned a DOI.Datasets are easier to find for the users when the corresponding metadata is machine-readable and a standardized vocabulary is used. The WDCC has implemented the schema.org standard, a machine-actionable metadata using JSON-LD format on the landing page of WDCC data publications. These embedded structured metadata in the landing page enhance interoperability across data catalogs and makes the data more discoverable. WDCC actively participated in the AtMoDat project (https://www.atmodat.de/) and has started to publish datasets following the ATMODAT standard and with the EASYDAB label. The ATMODAT standard specifies requirements for rich metadata with controlled vocabularies, structured landing pages (human- and machine-readable), and the format and structure of the data files.  References:Peters-von Gehlen, K., Höck, H., Fast, A., Heydebreck, D., Lammert, A. and Thiemann, H., 2022. Recommendations for Discipline-Specific FAIRness Evaluation Derived from Applying an Ensemble of Evaluation Tools. Data Science Journal, 21(1), p.7. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2022-007
Laser ablation tree-ring δ13C for estimating intra-seasonal intrinsic water-use effificiency
Authors: Tang Yu , Sahlstedt Elina , Young Giles , Schiestl-Aalto Pauliina , Saurer Matthias , Kolari Pasi , Jyske Tuula , Bäck Jaana , Rinne-Garmston Katja T.
Published: February 2023

Intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE) is a key index for evaluating carbon and water balance of terrestrial ecosystems. A common approach to estimate iWUE is via measuring tree-ring stable carbon isotope composition (δ13C), which has been widely applied at annual resolution, but rarely at high-resolution intra-seasonal scale. In this study, we examined the reliability and accuracy of tree-ring δ13C in estimating intra-seasonal iWUE (iWUEiso), with the aid of laser ablation IRMS analysis of tree-rings, by comparing iWUEiso with iWUE derived from leaf gas exchange (iWUEgas) and eddy covariance (iWUEEC) data for two Pinus sylvestris L. dominated boreal forests from 2002 to 2019. By carefully timing iWUEiso via modelled yearly tree-ring growth, intra-seasonal variability of iWUEiso aligned well with that of iWUEgas and iWUEEC. However, absolute values of iWUEiso were apparently higher than that of iWUEgas and iWUEEC, which could be ascribed to post-photosynthetic 13C-enrichment from leaf assimilates to tree-rings and to nonexplicit inclusion of mesophyll and photorespiration terms in iWUEiso estimation. These two factors overestimated iWUEiso by up to 11% and 14%, respectively. Our study demonstrates that tree-ring δ13C data can be used to trace intra-seasonal variability of iWUE, and thus provides a valuable tool for detecting short-term dynamics in carbon and water trade for areas and periods with no instrumental data. We encourage more comparisons between iWUEgas, iWUEiso and iWUEEC, which can deepen our understanding of how trees physiologically adapt to climate change across leaf, tree and ecosystem levels.
Climate studies by the Regional Environment Protection Agency of Sardinia (ARPAS) as a contribution to the Regional Strategy of Adaptation to Climate Change (SRACC)
Authors: Delitala Alessandro M.S. , Fiori Michele , Trudu Pier Luigi , Fois Giuliano , Smorlesi Lorenzo , Usala Carlotta
Published: February 2023

In 2018 the Regional Government of Sardinia developed its own strategy to adapt the island of Sardinia and its population to the threat of Climate Change. This scientific and policy work was called SRACC (Strategia Regionale di Adattamento ai Cambiamenti Climatici - Regional Strategy of Adaptation to Climate Change). In the years 2021-2023 the SRACC has undergone a review process that is leading to version 2.0. The Meteorological Service of the Regional Environment Protection Agency of Sardinia (ARPAS), was involved along with the Universities of Sassari and Cagliari, some research institutes and the national protection agency of Italy (ISPRA).The contribution of ARPAS was in the field of operational climatology and will be described in the present talk.

The talk will describe all passages of the work:

1) recovering of data (a few hundreds of stations);

2) creation of a unique database for the whole island of Sardinia (for 1901-2022);

3) analysis of proxy data;

4) quality control of data;

5) homogenization of time series;

6) development of climatologies for 1981-2010 and 1991-2020 Normals;

7) IPCC indicators of climate change;

8) interpolation of data and creation of GIS;

9) comparison of real climatology and synthetic climatology for assessing future climate scenarios.

Some results are shown and information on accessibility of results to public are provided.
Examples of transdisciplinary research for urban air quality and mobility policy
Authors: von Schneidemesser Erika , Caseiro Alexandre , Schmitz Sean
Published: February 2023

The knowledge deficit model does not work, that much is clear. But how can research results be effectively integrated in policy making? While a variety of options exist, this presentation will provide some concrete examples of one approach for how scientific research has successfully informed policy at the local (city) level. Research projects aimed at improving our understanding of urban air pollution and the effect of mobility policies were carried out in Berlin, Germany in collaboration with partners in local authorities. Air quality measurements accompanied the implementation of mobility policies, such as street closures and the implementation of a bike lane, to quantify the influence of the policies on air quality and air pollution exposure for citizens. Steps throughout the research process from concept development to the measurements to the results were designed and accompanied by both scientists and local authorities. Such a collaboration resulted in a more effective uptake of results in policy considerations than similar projects carried out with less engagement throughout. Examples will be provided and used as a framework to discuss some of the practical aspects, including challenges and opportunities, for conducting effective transdisciplinary research.
A 3D glacier dynamics-line plume model to estimate the frontal ablation of Hansbreen, Svalbard
Authors: Muñoz Hermosilla José Manuel , De Andrés Eva , Shahateet Kaian , Otero Jaime , Navarro Francisco J.
Published: February 2023

Frontal ablation is responsible for a large fraction of the mass loss from marine-terminating glaciers. The main contributors to frontal ablation are iceberg calving and submarine melting, being calving the largest one. However, submarine melting, in addition to its direct contribution to mass loss, also promotes calving through the changes induced in the stress field at the glacier terminus, so both processes should be jointly analysed. Among the factors influencing submarine melting, the formation of a buoyant plume due to the emergence of fresh subglacial water at the glacier grounding line plays a key role. In this study we use Elmer/Ice, an open-source, parallel, finite-element software which solves the full-Stokes system, to develop a 3D glacier dynamics model including calving and subglacial hydrology coupled with a line-plume model fed by the subglacial discharge that accounts for the submarine melting at the calving front. The ice flow model provides the calving front position at every time-step. We apply this model to the Hansbreen–Hansbukta glacier–fjord system in Southern Spitsbergen, Svalbard, where a large set of data are available for both glacier and fjord. The evolution of the modelled front positions are in agreement in terms of advance and retreatment with those observed from time-lapse images of the glacier front, and, in general, the modelled is always ahead of the observed due to an underestimation of calving.
Research infrastructure for the observation of clouds and aerosol in Cyprus
Authors: Ene Dragoș , Mamouri Rodanthi-Elisavet , Nisantzi Argyro , Michaelides Silas , Hadjimitsis Diofantos , Ansmann Albert , Bühl Johannes , Seifert Patric
Published: February 2023

The presence of aerosol and clouds constitutes one of the highest uncertainties regarding the energy budget of the Earth. Therefore, their continuous observation can help reduce these uncertainties, by providing more information about aerosol-cloud interactions and how these atmospheric components contribute to climate change.To study the properties of aerosols and clouds, new infrastructure will soon be set up in Cyprus by the Eratosthenes Centre of Excellence, which was recently established through the ‘EXCELSIOR’ H2020 Widespread Teaming Project. Eratosthenes Centre of Excellence is a digital innovation hub for Earth Observation, Space Technology and Geospatial Information, aiming to become the reference centre in the East Mediterranean, north Africa and the Middle East (EMMENA region). The infrastructure will be installed in Limassol, on the south coast of the island. Apart from the fact that the site is less than 2 km from the island’s coastline, this location is extremely important in terms of the regional atmospheric composition, as the air masses affecting the site originate from the surrounding areas of EMMENA, as well as from south-eastern Europe.Infrastructure to sample aerosol is already represented by a state-of-the-art PollyXT lidar, with measurements being registered continuously since October 2020. By the end of 2023, a similar LACROS multi-instrument platform will be available for the continuous monitoring of clouds and aerosols. This new ground-based remote sensing platform consists of a 35GHz cloud radar, a ceilometer, a microwave radiometer, a Doppler lidar, and a disdrometer. The infrastructure will be integrated into the Cyprus Atmospheric Remote Sensing Observatory (CARO).An example of the value of the observations about cloud formation and the role of aerosol in the process of cloud formation that will be provided from the site in Limassol, can be reflected in the data collected during the CyCARE campaign, executed between October 2016 and March 2018, during which similar ground-based infrastructure was deployed.  The authors acknowledge the ‘EXCELSIOR’: ERATOSTHENES: EΧcellence Research Centre for Earth Surveillance and Space-Based Monitoring of the Environment H2020 Widespread Teaming project (www.excelsior2020.eu). The ‘EXCELSIOR’ project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 857510, from the Government of the Republic of Cyprus through the Directorate General for the European Programmes, Coordination and Development and the Cyprus University of Technology.