bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Novel Printed Soil Decomposition Sensors Based on Biodegradation
Authors: Atreya Madhur , Kauzya John-Baptist , DeSousa Stacie , Williams Evan , Hayes Austin , Dikshit Karan , Nielson Jenna , Palmgren Abigail , Khorchidian Sara , Liu Shangshi , Gopalakrishnan Anupama , Bihar Eloise , Bruns Carson , Bardgett Richard , Quinton John , Davies Jessica , Neff Jason , Whiting Gregory
Published: February 2023

The in situ sensing of soil health through the monitoring of microbial and enzymatic activity has remained a challenge, and is typically limited to laboratory techniques that are time and labor intensive. In addition, results from assessments done offsite do not always reflect real time bio-chemical-physical processes occurring in soil. Here, we present a novel printed decomposition sensor comprising a poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) and carbon composite material.1 As the PHBV binder biodegrades in soil, the resistivity of the composite increases, which can be easily read with low-cost, wireless readout equipment. A correlation can be drawn between sensor response and general microbial activity in both soil and compost tea in as little as 14 days. Since PHBV is degraded by numerous microbes in the soil, it can be considered a “broad spectrum” decomposition sensor. However, this sensor is also a proof of concept that can possibly be modified to detect more specific soil decomposition activity, such as denitrification. We propose that selectivity can be achieved by mapping the enzyme(s) or microbe(s) of interest to a list of candidate binder materials that they reliably degrade. This design methodology considers the physical and chemical properties of these materials before and after degradation in soil and possible effects by interference enzymes and microbes.1. Atreya, M.; Desousa, S.; Kauzya, J.; Williams, E.; Hayes, A.; Dikshit, K.; Nielson, J.; Palmgren, A.; Khorchidian, S.; Liu, S.; Gopalakrishnan, A.; Bihar, E.; Bruns, C. J.; Bardgett, R.; Quinton, J. N.; Davies, J.; Neff, J. C.; Whiting, G. L. A Transient Printed Soil Decomposition Sensor Based on a Biopolymer Composite Conductor. Adv. Sci. 2022, 2205785, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202205785. 
Investigating natural and anthropogenic impacts on the hydrodynamics of the Venice Lagoon (Italy), a numerical approach
Authors: Michielotto Alessandro , Tognin Davide , Matticchio Bruno , Carniello Luca , D'Alpaos Andrea
Published: February 2023

The ongoing threat to coastal areas is well documented worldwide. The dynamic equilibrium of these landscapes is governed by the interaction of erosional and depositional processes and it is therefore critically affected by the intertwined effects of increasing anthropogenic pressure and climate changes, such as the increasing rates of sea level rise (SLR) and the intensification of extreme events.The various human pressures which affect coastal areas can have several impacts on their evolution. As an example, the Venice Lagoon, the largest brackish water body in the Mediterranean Sea, has been extensively affected by human interventions, such as the diversion of the major rivers in the Renaissance period, the excavation of navigable channels, and the construction of jetties at the inlets in the 20th century. In addition, after the November 1966 flood event, when water levels reached the maximum value ever registered in Venice (194 cm above the Punta della Salute reference datum) and heavy rainfalls caused the surrounding rivers (Piave, Brenta and Sile) to overflow, some defensive structures were designed and later adopted to reduce the flooding risk of the city of Venice and the surrounding floodplain. As an example, the levee which separates the Sile River and the Venice Lagoon was modified by building a spillway allowing the river flood to debouch into the lagoon. More recently, the mobile barrier system, known as Mo.S.E., designed to protect the city of Venice and the surrounding urban settlements from flooding has been activated, regulating the high water levels due to storm surges. However, the impacts of such defensive structures on lagoon hydrodynamics and morphodynamics remain poorly understood.In this work, we applied two numerical models to investigate the potential effects of increasing anthropogenic pressures combined with a changing climate, on the hydrodynamics of the Venice Lagoon. The two-dimensional wind wave tidal model, coupling a hydrodynamic module with a wind wave module, allowed us to evaluate the effects of SRL (based on IPCC projections) on the lagoon hydrodynamics. In addition, the model allowed us also to analyse the possible effects of the repeated activations of the Mo.S.E. system on lagoon hydrodynamics and on the related ecosystem services, comparing regulated and non-regulated present and future scenarios. Finally, an integrated three-dimensional hydrodynamic model, was used to account for changes in water density (e.g., changes in water salinity) in the above described scenarios, thus monitoring the dynamics of salinity gradients under extreme conditions, driven by freshwater inflow through the Sile River spillover.
Programmatic Update for NASA’s Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition (CSDA) Program
Authors: Kaulfus Aaron , Hall Alfreda , Maskey Manil , McCarty Will , Policelli Frederick
Published: February 2023

Established in 2017 as a pilot project, the NASA Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition (CSDA) Program evaluates and acquires commercial datasets that compliment NASA Earth Science research and application goals. The success of the pilot and recognition of the value commercial data provide to the scientific community led to establishment of a sustained program within NASA’s Earth Science Division (ESD) with objectives of providing continuous on-ramp of new commercial vendors to evaluate the potential to advance NASA’s Earth science research and application activities, enable sustained use of the purchased data by the scientific community, ensure long-term preservation of purchased data for scientific reproducibility, and coordinate with other U.S. Government agencies and international partners on the evaluation and use of commercial data. This presentation will focus on data made available for scientific use through the CSDA Program, especially those datasets added since the conclusion of the original pilot project, describe the process for end users to access of CSDA managed datasets, and provide a status overview of ongoing and upcoming vendor evaluation activities will be given. Recent scientific research results from CSDA subject matter experts utilizing commercial data will also be provided.
Characterization of Copernicus EO products for water modelling
Authors: Prat Ester , Pesquer Lluís , Batlle Amanda , Spyrakos Evangelos , Thant Silvy
Published: February 2023

This work presents the characterization and performance evaluation of the existing Copernicus EO products for the monitoring and modelling of water bodies dynamics purposes. This study is carried on the Water-ForCE project (https://waterforce.eu/). Water-ForCE (“Water scenarios For Copernicus Exploitation”) is an European H2020 project to develop a Roadmap for Copernicus Inland Water Services, aiming to better integrate the entire inland water cycle within the Copernicus Services.From the requirements collected in the project through dedicated working group meetings and stakeholders’ consultation, a list of water quality and water quantity variables which are used in water modelling were identified. All of them were related to five types of modelling into water management: biogeochemical models, hydrodynamic models, river models, crop or pasture growth models and landscape water balance models. The availability of water related products in the Copernicus portfolio was analysed by checking and updating the previous water quantity and water quality project inventories.This work studies their spatial coverage, data discovery and access, file data formats, validation reports, uncertainty indicators and spatial and temporal resolutions and their utility in the mentioned types of water modelling was analysed. Finally, recommendations on improvements of the existing Copernicus products were made based on the cross analysis between the existing features and user needs.Main conclusions of the work point to the lack of bathymetry and evapotranspiration as well as some specific water quality products, the need of finer spatial resolution for chlorophyll-a in coastal zones and for soil moisture, surface water and snowmelt products, higher temporal resolution for river discharge and groundwater and water quality variables, the need of validation, increase the coherence between in-situ and remote sensing observations and to provide more quality and uncertainty information. Other demands are to uniform marine and lake products, a global (or at least Pan European) coverage for some local/regional products, improvements in data access and data delivery of new formats, and continuous and consistent long-term archives of vegetation and land cover products.
On the connection between Rossby waves and spatially compounding weather extremes
Authors: Riboldi Jacopo
Published: February 2023

When different weather extremes occur at multiple locations at the same time, their aggregated impact can exceed the one of the individual events. Examples can be concomitant summer heatwaves over major breadbasket regions, leading to potential food shortages at the global scale, or the connection between cold spells over North America and windstorms over Europe. These compound events often attract a broad interest by the media and society, as anomalous weather conditions seem to occur “everywhere at the same time”. If it is possible to identify a physical linkage between them, those separate extremes can be considered as parts of a single, spatially compounding weather extreme. Pinpointing a common physical driver is not trivial, however, and it might well be that such extreme events just co-occur by coincidence.This overview presentation will discuss how the linear and nonlinear dynamics of Rossby waves can help to understand spatially compounding extremes. Examples of linear dynamics involve the propagation of Rossby wave packets across broad portions of the middle latitudes, aided by the presence of upper-level waveguides. The link between extreme weather and atmospheric blocking, on the other hand, can be seen as involving a nonlinear sort of dynamics. Analytical, idealized and data-driven approaches to the study of Rossby waves can shed light on the drivers of spatially compounding extremes, and result in useful tools to study how the drivers of such extremes are being affected by anthropogenic global warming.
Detecting dependencies of large-scale heatwaves and droughts with AI-enhanced point process approaches
Authors: Luther Niklas , Toreti Andrea , Pérez-Aracil Jorge , Salcedo-Sanz Sancho , Vlachopoulos Odysseas , Ceglar Andrej , Hrast Essenfelder Arthur , Xoplaki Elena
Published: February 2023

Investigating the global connectivities of extreme events is vital for accurate risk reduction and adaptation planning. While human and natural systems have a certain resilience level against single extremes, they may be unable to cope with multiple extreme events whose impacts tend to be amplified in a non-linear relationship. Concurrent droughts and heatwaves are frequently linked to severe damage in socioeconomic sectors such as agriculture, energy, health, and water resources. They can also have detrimental effects on natural ecosystems. Here, we detect global scale dependencies of large-scale droughts and heatwaves using an AI-enhanced point process-based approach, where large-scale events are defined to occur when a certain amount of grid points (e.g., 20%) of a given region of interest experiences heatwave or drought conditions. The classic inhomogeneous and non-stationary J-function can determine whether the occurrence of the events shows clustering, inhibition or independence. However, the analysis and interpretation of this function are usually affected by a high degree of subjectiveness, and its application for large datasets and/or ensembles is challenging. The proposed AI-based automated interpretation tool replaces a subjective and user-dependent approach. Monte Carlo simulations based on standard point process models, reflecting the aforementioned dependence structures, are utilized, allowing the dependence structure to be labeled and the classification problem to be trained using Deep Learning algorithms. To identify the global connectivities of large-scale droughts and heatwaves, we first detect extreme events at the grid scale based on appropriately selected indices. A cluster analysis pinpoints areas with similar drought and heatwave patterns, thus identifying the regions of interest for the large-scale events. For these events we compute the J-functions, and the dependence structure of the large-scale events is then classified by the AI-tool. Links to teleconnections (such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation) can be further identified by analyzing the dependencies conditioning on the teleconnection phase under consideration. The proposed tool can be used in diverse research questions where a point process approach is appropriate, and thus has applications beyond climate science.
Multi-decadal Satellite Gravity Mission Simulations Comparing Resolving Capabilities of a Long-term Trend in the Global Ocean Heat Content
Authors: Schlaak Marius , Roland Pail , Blazquez Alejandro , Meyssignac Benoit , Lemoine Jean-Michel
Published: February 2023

Satellite gravity missions have been almost continuously observing global mass transports for more than two decades. The resulting data record already improved our understanding of large-scale processes of the water cycle and is reaching a timespan, which has significance concerning climate related mass transport signals such as changes in the essential climate variables terrestrial water storage (TWS) and sea level. The observations of the currently flown GRACE-FO mission will be continued by NASA’s Mass Change (MC) Mission and extended to the Mass change And Geosciences International Constellation (MAGIC) by ESA’s Next Generation Gravity Mission (NGGM), setting anticipation for higher spatial and temporal resolution of satellite gravity observations in the near future.This contribution presents initial results of multi-decadal closed loop simulations of current and future satellite gravity observations, comparing their capabilities to allow a direct estimation of long-term trends in changes of TWS and ocean mass. The observed climate signal is based on components of the TWS, as well as mass change signals of oceans, ice sheets, and glaciers extracted from CMIP6 climate projection following the shared socio-economic pathway scenario. A special focus here is on the long-term trend over the oceans. By subtracting the observed ocean mass change from the overall sea level change, the global ocean heat content can be computed from the steric component of the sea-level rise. The resulting long-term trends are then compared to initial inputs to the simulation to illustrate the difference in performance between current and future satellite gravity constellations.
Isotopic hydrograph separation in the Hydrological Open Air Laboratory, Austria
Authors: Széles Borbála , Holko Ladislav , Parajka Juraj , Wyhlidal Stefan , Schott Katharina , Stumpp Christine , Stockinger Michael , Hogan Patrick , Pavlin Lovrenc , Rab Gerhard , Strauss Peter , Blöschl Günter
Published: February 2023

The rainfall-runoff process transforms a precipitation input to a catchment into runoff output and is an important indicator for river water quality and quantity. Since runoff events are comprised of precipitation event water and stored pre-event water of the catchment, exploring the event and pre-event components of runoff events using the stable isotopes of water (δ18O, δ2H) and two-component and ensemble isotopic hydrograph separation may further our insights into overall catchment behaviour and the origin of water. The aim of this study is to investigate the origin of water for different streamflow gauges in a small agricultural catchment that represent different runoff generation mechanisms. The analysis is performed at the Hydrological Open Air Laboratory (HOAL) in Austria, which is a 66 ha experimental catchment dominated by agricultural land use. One of the main features of this research catchment is that several tributaries of the catchment representing different runoff generation mechanisms are gauged. Two-component and ensemble isotopic hydrograph separations (for both δ18O and δ2H) are conducted for three streamflow gauges (the catchment’s inlet and outlet and a tile drainage system) for multiple events in the warm periods of 2013-2018. The results of the two methods are compared and discussed for different runoff generation mechanisms.
Application of a global coastal regional frequency analysis
Authors: Collings Thomas , Quinn Niall , Haigh Ivan , Green Joshua , Probyn Izzy , Wilkinson Hamish
Published: February 2023

Inundation from storm tides and ocean waves is one of the greatest threats coastal communities endure; a threat that is increasing with sea-level rise and changes in storminess. Stakeholders require high resolution hazard data to make informed decisions on how best to mitigate and adapt to coastal flooding. Using a synthesis of observational, hindcast and modelled data, we apply a regional frequency analysis (RFA) approach to characterise extreme water level exceedance probabilities across all global coastlines. This is the first time an RFA has been applied to coastal water levels on a global scale. Wave setup is included in regions which are considered exposed to onshore wave action. The RFA is shown to increase return levels in areas prone to tropical cyclones.  Using Cyclone Yasi as a case-study, we detail the RFA methodology and demonstrate how it uses information from rare, extreme events to better characterise return period water levels in areas which haven’t yet been impacted in the observational record, simply due to chance. The results are output at approximate 1km resolution along the entire global coastline (excluding Antarctica) and have been corrected for use with digital elevation models, for applications such as inundation modelling.
Historical evolution and future storylines of degradation drivers in Mediterranean arid and semiarid agro-ecosystems
Authors: Koutroulis Aristeidis , Grillakis Manolis , Tsilimigkras Athanasios
Published: February 2023

Mediterranean ecosystems are already under pressure from the combined impacts of direct human activities and anthropogenic climate change. In this highly human-managed region, land degradation and accelerated dryland expansion threaten the biological systems and the natural resources that sustain agriculture and forests [1]. The question of "what is the driving force of the changes," and specifically whether anthropogenic climate change or direct human management is to blame, is crucial. The attribution of these changes plays a key role in better managing the arid and semiarid Mediterranean agro-ecosystems, especially considering a different future climate. Here we examine the net effect of anthropogenic climate change-induced changes in the state of two significant land degradation factors, aridity and rainfall erosivity, across the Mediterranean.We rely on a state-of-the-art counterfactual stationary climate dataset, a hypothetical climate in a world without climate change [2], to estimate impact indicators since the onset of industrial revolution (1900-2019). We compare results against aridity and rainfall erosivity calculated from observational (factual) climate data to examine historical imposed long-term changes attributed to human induced climate change. The difference between past impacts and counterfactual impacts is a proxy for a broad-scale concept facilitating a top down approach to define degradation and physical vulnerabilities of Mediterranean agro-ecosystems, in the frame of REACT4MED project. We further analyze scenarios of future climate change to unravel future trends. The information is further downscaled at pilot area level to support the co-development and analysis of local-scale indicators. Results will serve as a basis for the detection of potential future degradation trends used in the identification of potentially suitable areas in the Mediterranean for up or out-scaling of restoration measures beyond REACT4MED pilot areas. [1] Daliakopoulos, N., et al. "Yield response of Mediterranean rangelands under a changing climate." Land Degradation & Development 28.7 (2017): 1962-1972.[2] Mengel, M., et al. “ATTRICI v1.1 – counterfactual climate for impact attribution.” Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 5269–5284.Acknowledgements: This work has received support from REACT4MED (GA 2122) PRIMA funded project, supported by Horizon 2020.
Drought and flood risk in Kitui, Kenya: are they increasing and why?
Authors: Barendrecht Marlies H. , Weesie Ruben V. , Busker Tim S. , Matanó Alessia , Mazzoleni Maurizio , van Loon Anne F.
Published: February 2023

During the past years, the county of Kitui in Kenya, has experienced severe droughts. Both the short rain season, in March, April and May and the long rain season, in October, November and December have failed for several years in a row. This has had devastating impacts, leading to widespread water and food insecurity. According to local people, the rain seasons have changed over the past years, thereby increasing drought risk. At the same time, flash floods, destroying farmland and water infrastructure are reported to have increased as well. We investigate whether drought and flood risk in Kitui, Kenya, have increased over the past years and what the role of climate, hydrology and humans is in this increase. In addition, we investigate whether droughts are influencing flood risk and vice versa.
Variability of beta-plane zonal jets
Authors: Wang Wenzhong , Haynes Peter
Published: February 2023

The dynamics of the mid-latitude atmospheric jet is an important component of internal variability in real and modelled climate. The variability may also potentially affect the response to deterministic external forcing, with implications for seasonal prediction including the ‘signal-to-noise’ paradox. Recent research has used ad hoc probabilistic approaches to investigate the paradox but has given little dynamical insight into the behaviour observed in models. This motivates further dynamical study of the factors determining variability and response to forcing. We use a simple stochastically forced barotropic model containing the essential mechanisms for beta-plane jet variability to conduct a range of numerical experiments. We consider first the dependence of the behaviour on the damping time scale and on the amplitude and latitudinal width of stochastic forcing that is statistically homogeneous in longitude. We consider leading empirical orthogonal functions of the zonal mean wind velocity, use these as quantifiers of jet behaviour, and analyse the amplitude, latitudinal structure, and autocorrelation time scale of the simulated variability. We move on to examine cases where there is imposed longitudinal variation. An appropriate decorrelation time scale of the zonal jet stream could be displayed by the model, partly depending on the damping time scale. We conduct experiments with applied forcing to determine whether the basic prediction of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, that response to forcing is proportional to the autocorrelation time scale for natural variability, holds in this system. This simple dynamical model has good implications for a physical understanding of jet persistence and the signal-to-noise paradox. 
How will forest soils ‘breathe’ in 2050? Soil respiration of CO2, CH4 and N2O under elevated atmospheric CO2.
Authors: Armstrong Alex
Published: February 2023

Soil respiration is a measure of the flux of greenhouse gases and accounts for the release and uptake of CO2, CH4 and N2O. It is a function of heterotrophic microbial activity through the mineralisation and immobilisation of organic matter and the symbiotic relations formed in the rhizosphere, contributing to the autotrophic component. It is a primary process within woodlands that contribute to the efflux of CO2, the sink capacity of CH4 and the variable flux of N2O. Understanding how woodland soils will react to rising atmospheric CO2 levels is critical for budgeting, modelling, and providing insightful management strategies for global forests. The Birmingham Institute of Forest Research is a Free Air Carbon Enrichment facility (BIFoR-FACE), whereby the seasonal and diurnal fumigation of CO2 is closely controlled. Providing localised and enriched atmospheric CO2 levels across the canopy of a mature temperate Oak dominant woodland that is representative of 2050 levels.The flux of CO2 from the soil has been continuously measured within fumigated treatment (eCO2) and ambient control (aCO2) arrays since 2017, with capabilities to additionally measure CH4 and N2O being added in 2020. Across all arrays, CO2 fluxes showed significant negative correlations with soil moisture but significant positive correlations with soil temperature. Initial trends from 2017 - 2020 indicated that eCO2 arrays had a higher efflux of CO2 relative to paired aCO2 arrays, with this pattern switching in 2021. During the 2021 and 2022 fumigation seasons, eCO2 arrays have seen a decline in the efflux of CO2, to levels lower than aCO2 plots. Mean values during 2022 for the efflux of CO2 within eCO2 arrays were 2.63 μmol m-2 s-1 (n = 18762) versus 3.62 μmol m-2 s-1 (n = 22856) for aCO2 arrays. Uptake of CH4 and efflux of N2O were not significantly different between arrays, although eCO2 arrays had lower CH4 uptake and N2O efflux. Indicating a potential decline in the efflux of CO2 but a reduced uptake of CH4 from temperate woodlands under future atmospheric conditions. Further investigation will now look to understand the mechanistic drivers behind these changes, focusing on the microbial heterotrophic contribution as a potential mediator of these noted flux rates changes under eCO2
Variable role of dust deposition on upper ocean nutrient distribution
Authors: Banerjee Priyanka
Published: February 2023

Atmospheric transport and deposition of dust aerosol is very efficient in supplying iron to large part of global oceans. In this study, an Earth system model with ocean biogeochemistry component is used to explore how dust deposition can impact vertical distribution of dissolved iron (DFe) and phosphate in the upper 1000 m of the global oceans by impacting phytoplankton growth.  Although large areas of the global oceans show positive chlorophyll response following dust deposition, some regions (those having high levels of background DFe from continental shelf sediments and high atmospheric DFe input) experience net scavenging losses of DFe following dust depositions. Such regions experience a reduction in chlorophyll concentrations along with reduction in particulate organic carbon (POC) production and fluxes following dust deposition. While positive chlorophyll response is associated with low levels of background DFe and low atmospheric DFe input compared to regions experiencing negative chlorophyll response, the magnitude of chlorophyll increase depends on the background nitrate-to-iron ratio. With increase in the magnitude of positive chlorophyll response to atmospheric DFe deposition, an increase in POC production and resulting fluxes are encountered. Such an increase in POC flux can play the dual role of increase in scavenging removal of DFe as well as increase in PFe remineralization. The net result is that variation in NREG (Net REGeneration, taken as difference between PFe remineralization and DFe scavenging) in the upper 1000 m of the ocean has significant positive correlation with variation in POC fluxes, indicating that sinking organic matter following positive chlorophyll response to atmospheric iron deposition is the main driver of net DFe regeneration. Furthermore, a depth-wise difference between the impact of sinking POC and PFe fluxes on NREG is also evident. In the upper 150 m, high POC fluxes drive NREG while at deeper depths, PFe fluxes become important in driving NREG due to slow desorption release of iron from sinking PFe mass. As a result, with increase in POC fluxes, the depth of maximum NREG becomes shallower due to the shorter remineralization length scale of POC compared to lithogenic particles. On the contrary, with increases in the magnitude of atmospheric DFe , the depth of maximum NREG increases due to high dust deposition driving increased scavenging. Furthermore, increase in POC fluxes also leads to regeneration of phosphate at shallower depths. In this manner, the magnitude of chlorophyll response to atmospheric iron can significantly control the patterns of nutrient limitations.
Discussion about bulk shear thresholds for severe weather environment that cause power outages and blow down towers of transmission and distribution lines in Southern Brazil
Authors: Calvetti Leonardo , Cassol Machado Luis Gabriel , Beneti Cesar , Andrzejewski Kerollyn , Pereira Harter Fabricio , Felix Alonso Marcelo , Radman Paz Sheila
Published: February 2023

Brazil has a country-wide interconnected grid of over 169,000 km of high voltage transmission lines. By 2026, an additional 20,000 km will expand the grid significantly. The main type of electrical energy transmission in Brazil is aerial for all sources of generation, including hydroelectric, wind and solar power plants, resulting in a network between the tropics to the subtropical regions up to -33 degrees latitude. In Southern Brazil there are 12.994.382 consumer units in the States, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná.  One of the main causes of structural failures is associated with severe storms that produce loads that exceed the structural loading design criteria. In this work it has been investigating hindcast predictions with GFS and WRF for a high speed wind gust event that blew down towers in Southern Brazil during severe weather conditions between 2016 and 2022. It has analyzed eight high-impact events where towers or lines have failed or been shut down looking for convection parameters that indicate severe weather specifically for these impacts. In order to simulate a 48h forecast it was used the current operational GFS/GFDL V3 global model from NCEP/NOAA and 3-km resolution WRF runs. In seven of eight events the models were capable of simulating an environment conditions which meteorologists could elaborate an alert of high-impact severer weather for transmission lines and  could help the electric company's teams to execute a contingency plan.  Both GFS and WRF have indicated severe environments, but WRF has indicated better detailed areas of deep convection. In a sense of search thresholds that could be used in the future, some values of shear were found: 0-6km Shear 70-84 kt, 0-1 km Shear up to 40 kt, 0-3 km Shear up to 61 kt. The authors have not found specific thresholds for other variables such as the Convective available potential energy (CAPE) convective inhibition. The impact of the forecasts was analyzed according to the possible activities to be carried out by technicians in the prevention and repair of electrical systems and reduce the impact in outages.
Improving Nowcasts and Forecasts via Operational Use of Meteomatics Meteodrones
Authors: Guay Brad , Fengler Martin , Hammerschmidt Lukas
Published: February 2023

The Meteomatics Meteodrone is a small Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) designed to collect high-resolution vertical profiles of atmospheric parameters such as temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, and barometric pressure. Since its founding in 2012, Meteomatics has undertaken an iterative development of the Meteodrone technology, with regular releases of incremental enhancements. The newest model, the MM-670, features major improvements to measurement accuracy, flight capabilities and reliability, and safety and regulatory compliance, making it suitable for routine operational and research use.In 2023, Meteomatics is continuing to install a network of 15 Meteodrones around Switzerland and has initiated a pilot weather forecasting project at one site in North Dakota, USA in collaboration with its partners Grand Sky and TruWeather Solutions. In both cases, Meteodrones are launched remotely from semi-automated Meteobase drone-in-a-box systems and routinely flown to collect profiles to a maximum of approximately 6,000 metres AMSL.The data collected by the Meteodrones can fill gaps in the existing weather observation network, especially in the boundary layer regions where extreme weather events occur. This data is used for nowcasting purposes and to improve the accuracy of Meteomatics-developed 1 km-resolution Weather and Research Forecasting (WRF) models. In this presentation, we will share learnings from our research that has enabled the transition to operational use of Meteodrones, including how the technology has evolved and specific issues have been investigated and addressed.  In addition, future applications of this new technology, including improvements to nowcasts and forecasts, will be be discussed and evaluated.
Joint assimilation of SMAP soil moisture and AMSR2 vegetation optical depth retrievals into the Noah-MP land surface model
Authors: Heyvaert Zdenko , Scherrer Samuel , Dorigo Wouter , Bechtold Michel , De Lannoy Gabriëlle
Published: February 2023

As soil moisture and vegetation water content both affect the emissivity from the land surface, each of them can be derived from satellite-based passive microwave measurements. In this study, we use soil moisture retrievals from the 36 km SMAP L2 product and X-band vegetation optical depth (VOD) from AMSR2 LPRM version 6. VOD is a proxy for vegetation water content, linked to the leaf area index (LAI). We developed a machine learning-based observation operator to map LAI to VOD.We assimilate the SMAP and AMSR2 products into the Noah-MP land surface model (LSM) with dynamic vegetation. This is done by means of a one-dimensional Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) within the NASA Land Information System (LIS). SMAP soil moisture retrievals update soil moisture in each of the four soil layers of the LSM, while AMSR2 VOD retrievals update the LAI. A cumulative distribution function (CDF) matching approach rescales the soil moisture retrievals to the model climatology. Model LAI is mapped to VOD by means of the above-mentioned observation operator. The resulting data assimilation (DA) system produces consistent estimates of all land surface variables on a quarter-degree regular grid over the European continent from 1 April 2015 through 31 March 2022.This joint SMAP and AMSR2 DA system is validated by assessing a number of geophysical variables. The surface and root-zone soil moisture estimates are evaluated using in situ observations from the ISMN. Gross primary production (GPP) and evapotranspiration are evaluated using FLUXNET data. Estimates for LAI are compared with optical satellite data from MODIS. The results are compared with open loop (model-only), and SMAP- and AMSR2-only DA experiments.SMAP-only DA primarily improves soil moisture estimates, while AMSR2-only DA mainly improves estimates of GPP and ET. Preliminary results indicate that the joint DA has the potential to combine the improvements of both individual assimilation systems.
Ensemble modeling of CMEs to reconstruct remote and in-situ observations
Authors: Sachdeva Nishtha , Toth Gabor , Manchester Ward , van der Holst Bart , Jivani Aniket , Chen Hongfan
Published: February 2023

Successful modeling of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) is an important step towards accurately forecasting their space weather impact. Therefore, it is crucial to improve the various models, techniques and tools to reconstruct CMEs while validating simulations with observations of the solar corona and the inner heliosphere at various heliospheric distances with multi-viewpoint observations.The Space Weather Modeling Framework (SWMF) includes MHD modeling of the solar wind and CMEs from the Sun to the Earth and beyond. The Alfven Wave Solar atmosphere Model (AWSoM) is a 3D extended-MHD solar corona model within SWMF that reproduces the solar wind background into which CMEs can propagate. The Eruptive Event Generator (EEG) module within SWMF is used to obtain flux-rope parameters to model realistic CMEs within AWSoM using different flux-rope configurations.In this work supported by the NSF SWQU and LRAC programs, we use an ensemble of solar wind backgrounds to obtain the best solar wind plasma environments into which CMEs can be launched. We vary the flux-rope parameters within a fixed range and obtain an ensemble of CME simulations to match the model reconstructed results with remote coronagraph observations near the Sun (LASCO C2/C3 and STEREO COR1/COR2) as well as with in-situ observations of solar wind plasma at 1 au. The ensemble modeling is a step forward towards improving the accuracy of the tools that provide flux-rope parameter estimates as well as the uncertainty quantification of CME modeling.
IRIS: Global River Surface Slopes from ICESat-2
Authors: Scherer Daniel , Schwatke Christian , Dettmering Denise , Seitz Florian
Published: February 2023

The global reach-scale “ICESat-2 River Surface Slope” (IRIS, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7098113) dataset comprises average and extreme water surface slopes (WSS) derived from ICESat-2 observations between October 2018 and August 2022 as a supplement to 121,583 reaches from the “SWOT Mission River Database” (SWORD, Altenau et al., 2021). WSS is required to calculate river discharge, which is among the Essential Climate Variables as defined by the Global Climate Observing System. 

To gain full advantage of ICESat-2’s unique measurement geometry with six parallel lidar beams, the WSS is determined across pairs of beams or along individual beams, depending on the intersection angle of spacecraft orbit and river centerline. The combined results of both approaches are validated against in-situ data in a regional study at 815 reaches in Europe and North America with a median absolute error of 23 mm/km, almost complying with the SWOT science requirements of 17 mm/km (Scherer et al., 2022). 

IRIS can be used to research river dynamics, estimate river discharge, and correct water level time series from satellite altimetry for shifting ground tracks. Additionally, by referencing SWORD as a common database, IRIS may be used in combination with observations from the recently launched SWOT mission and could be easily compared against WSS measurements from SWOT’s new wide-swath sensor. 
Autocorrelation infrasound interferometry for atmospheric sensing on Earth and Mars
Authors: Ortiz Hugo D. , Matoza Robin S.
Published: February 2023

We develop a framework for retrieving time-varying atmospheric properties using a single infrasound sensor following an autocorrelation interferometry method. We compare relative velocity (effective sound speed) changes inferred from infrasound autocorrelations with independently measured air temperature and velocity variations. For the propagation geometry of the infrasound source (a waterfall) and receivers at El Reventador (Ecuador) we infer that effects from wind velocity can be assumed negligible and provide a mathematical model to derive temperatures from relative velocity changes. We further demonstrate that the autocorrelation method can be used to study the Martian atmosphere; specifically, we show that relative velocity changes derived from the pressure sensor on board the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport lander can track variations of the effective speed of sound. These results also suggest the presence of continuous background infrasound on Mars.References:Ortiz, H. D., Matoza, R. S., Johnson, J. B., Hernandez, S., Anzieta, J. C., and Ruiz, M. C. (2021). Autocorrelation infrasound interferometry. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JB020513
Ortiz, H. D., Matoza, R. S., and Tanimoto, T. (2022).  Autocorrelation infrasound interferometry on Mars. Geophysical Research Letters. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL096225
Classifying the magnetosheath using local measurements from MMS
Authors: Svenningsson Ida , Yordanova Emiliya , Khotyaintsev Yuri V. , André Mats , Cozzani Giulia
Published: February 2023

The Earth’s magnetosheath is a dynamic region and its properties strongly depend on the angle between the bow shock normal and the solar wind magnetic field (θbn). If the shock is quasi-parallel (θbn < 45°), the magnetosheath is magnetically connected to the foreshock, causing strong fluctuations and structures propagating from upstream to downstream. A quasi-perpendicular shock (θbn > 45°) produces a less structured and more stationary magnetosheath characterized by compression and high ion temperature anisotropy. These distinct configurations make it possible to study how different plasma environments affect various processes such as turbulence, heating, and wave-particle interactions. Therefore, such studies require an accurate classification of the magnetosheath. This is not easily achieved, especially close to the magnetopause where the shock crossing for the plasma of interest cannot be observed.Previously, Karlsson et al. (2021) used data from the Cluster mission to propose a promising classification method using local measurements of the magnetic field standard deviation, high-energy ion flux, and ion temperature anisotropy. In this work, we are building on this study and extending it to the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, having a different orbit than Cluster. We compare this local classification to θbn estimated from upstream conditions and well-known bow shock models, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the different methods. Reference: Karlsson, T., Raptis, S., Trollvik, H., & Nilsson, H. (2021). Classifying the magnetosheath behind the quasi-parallel and quasi-perpendicular bow shock by local measurements. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 126, e2021JA029269.
Using satellite data assimilation techniques to combine infrasound observations and a full ray-tracing model to constrain atmospheric variables
Authors: Amezcua Javier , Näsholm Sven Peter
Published: February 2023

Infrasound waves generated by phenomena at the Earth’s surface can travel to these levels before returning to the surface and being detected. Observations like travel time, change in backazimuth angle, and trace velocity contain integrated information of all the levels the wave travelled through. These often include stratospheric and mesospheric levels which are otherwise poorly observed.In this work we take a data assimilation technique, the Modulated Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter, which is commonly used in satellite data assimilation, and illustrate how it can be readily used for infrasound data assimilation. We highlight the similarities between the two problems, and the particular challenges in extracting information from summarised quantities. To our knowledge, this is the first work doing data assimilation with a full ray-tracing model as forward operator.
Drivers of Natural Gas Use in United States Buildings
Authors: Mittakola Rohith Teja , Ciais Philippe , Schubert Jochen , Makowski David , Zhou Chuanlong , Bazzi Hassan , Sun Taochun , Liu Zhu , Davis Steven
Published: February 2023

Natural gas is the primary fuel used in U.S. residences, especially during winter, when cold temperatures drive the heating demand. In this study, we use daily county-level gas consumption data to assess the spatial patterns of the relationships and sensitivities of gas consumption by U.S. households considering outdoor temperatures. Linear-plus-plateau functions are found to be the best fit for gas consumption and are applied to derive two key coefficients for each county: the heating temperature threshold (Tcrit) below which residential heating starts and the rate of increase in gas consumption when the outdoor temperature drops by one degree (Slope). We then use interpretable machine learning models to evaluate the key building properties and socioeconomic factors related to the spatial patterns of Tcrit and Slope based on a large database of individual household properties and population census data. We find that building age, employment rates, and household size are the main predictors of Tcrit, whereas the share of gas as a heating fuel and household income are the main predictors of Slope. The latter result suggests inequalities across the U.S. with respect to gas consumption, with wealthy people living in well-insulated houses associated with low Tcrit and Slope values. Finally, we estimate potential reductions in gas use in U.S. residences due to improvements in household insulation or a hypothetical behavioral change toward reduced consumption by adopting a 1°C lower Tcrit than the current value and a reduced slope. These two scenarios would result in 25% lower gas consumption at the national scale, avoiding 1.24 million MtCO2 of emissions per year. Most of these reductions occur in the Midwest and East Coast regions. The results from this study provide new quantitative information for targeting efforts to reduce household gas use and related CO2 emissions in the U.S.
Drought evolution in North American river basins: attribution analysis through a Lagrangian approach
Authors: Sorí Rogert , Stojanovic Milica , Gimeno-Sotelo Luis , Pérez-Alarcón Albenis , Heydarizad Mojtaba , Vázquez Marta , Fernández-Alvarez José Carlos , Nieto Raquel , Gimeno Luis
Published: February 2023

Drought events have become more frequent and severe across North America, threatening water availability in river basins and thus ecosystem and socio-economic development. This is why in this study, we investigate the occurrence, evolution, and attribution of drought conditions in nine major North American river basins, the Colorado, Columbia, Fraser, Mackenzie, Mississippi, Rio Grande, Saskatchewan-Nelson, St. Lawrence, and Yukon. The analysis was performed on a spatio-temporal scale for the period 1980-2018. Precipitation data from MSWEP and CRU were used, as well as terrestrial water storage from GRACE. In addition, the Lagrangian moisture contribution from oceanic and terrestrial origin to precipitation over the basins, named PLO and PLT, respectively, were used. Drought indices such as the Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI), Standardised Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), and Drought Severity Index (DSI) were used to assess the occurrence of dry conditions at various temporal scales. In addition to the attribution of the occurrence and severity of drought extremes due to PLO and PLT deficits, the trend was assessed. The results show that despite the differentiated nature of precipitation origin between the western and eastern basins, in most of them, a joint coupling prevails in the occurrence of positive or negative trends of dry/wet conditions of oceanic and terrestrial origin, which ultimately modulate the evolution of dry/wet conditions in the basins.  