bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Seismic Anisotropy from 6C Observations
Authors: Tang Le , Igel Heiner , Montagner Jean-Paul
Published: February 2023

A new approach is proposed for measuring the local dispersion curves of surface waves in weakly anisotropic media using a single, multi-component station, which consists of translation and rotation or strain. We directly extract the local azimuth-dependent phase velocity of the Rayleigh wave from the 6C amplitude ratio using seismic arrays deployed in Southern California. The extracted dispersion curves match well with the theoretical 2φ azimuthal anisotropy term. And the estimated fast wave direction is also consistent well with results calculated from SKS and beamforming methods which demonstrates the feasibility of studying local seismic anisotropy directly from 6C amplitude observations.
Spatio-temporal variations in environmental DNA within heavily urbanized streams in Berlin, Germany
Authors: Warter Maria , Monaghan Michael T. , Ring Ann-Marie , Christopher Jan , Kissener Hanna L. , Funke Elisabeth , Soulsby Chris , Tetzlaff Dörthe
Published: February 2023

Understanding urban ecohydrological interactions is crucial for the assessment of ecosystem responses to climate change and anthropogenic influences, especially in heavily urbanized environments. Urban water bodies can enhance local biodiversity, with urban blue water infrastructure providing valuable ecosystem services that contribute to healthier and more sustainable environments. Because the urban water cycle is less resilient to extreme climate events, there is a need to better understand how biological flow paths interact with climate and hydrological dynamics. To that end, synoptic sampling of environmental DNA (eDNA) was carried out on four major rivers in Berlin, Germany (Spree, Erpe, Wuhle, Panke) on a weekly basis over the course of one year. In conjunction with climate and hydrological data, the spatial and temporal variations in planktonic microbial communities were assessed in order to identify the differences in ecohydrological interactions among urban streams. Preliminary results indicate that while the rivers Wuhle and Erpe harbour similar bacterial communities, the more urbanized rivers Panke and Spree each had a different taxonomic composition. All rivers show a clear seasonal signal, although with varying intensity and directions of change. To further disaggregate the seasonal ecological changes, we determined the relative influence of climate as well as water chemistry, land use and stream flow conditions on bacterial community composition. In future, the integration of eDNA with other ecohydrological tracers such as stable water isotopes will provide even more insights into the ecological and hydrological functioning of urban environments. Such a combination of ecohydrological tracers has wider implications not only for future urban planning but for mitigating the negative effects of climate change in urban environments and assessing the resilience of urban water bodies to future extreme events.
Drivers of present and future residential flood risk in Britain
Authors: Lamb Conor , Pregnolato Maria , Pianosi Francesca , Bates Paul
Published: February 2023

In previous assessments of UK flood risk, flood hazard has often been poorly represented by low skill models. Meanwhile, assessments of future flood risk have lacked a detailed representation of future flood exposure. This study represents a significant step forward in both flood hazard and future exposure representation. Using a state-of-the-art climate-conditioned hydrodynamic model for fluvial, pluvial and coastal flooding paired with the latest UK shared socioeconomic projections of population (UK-SSP), we explore how climate-induced changes in flood hazard interact with increasing exposure due to population changes. Using a detailed exposure dataset, we are also able to explore discrepancies in current and future flood risk between residential property types.Our model values current yearly residential economic floods losses at £894 million, with fluvial flooding accounting for approximately 75% of these. This flood risk is not borne equally between the devolved British nations, however. In Scotland and Wales approximately 30% of local authorities have over £100 of annual flood losses per property, whereas only 4% of local authorities in England experience such levels. There are also significant discrepancies in flood risk by property type. Flats and terraced housing experience almost twice the rate of yearly inundations than detached and semi-detached housing. Under a high emissions climate scenario (RCP 8.5), by 2070 we estimate flood risk will increase by 29% whilst under a low emissions scenario (RCP 4.5) flood risk will increase by 10%. Similarly to current flood risk, these increases too are not borne equally across regions and property types.Whilst climate change is set to drive an increase in flood risk over the next 50 years, our study suggests that population dynamics may have potential for offsetting relative flood risk rises. In all SSP projections studied here (SSP1, SSP2 and SSP5), an increase in population drives an increase in the yearly rate of property inundations. As such, the highest increases in flood risk due to population change are seen in SSP5 (+50%). However, due to population growth predominantly occurring in low flood risk areas, relative flood risk decreases most in SSP5 (-10%). Similar changes, although smaller in magnitude, are seen under SSP1 and SSP2. Despite these decreases in relative flood risk due to population change, when paired to climate change, we still see significant increase in flood risk over the next 50 years. Consequently, low emissions scenarios, such as SSP1/RCP2.6, see the lowest increases in flood risk by 2070 (+5%). These results show a clear need for climate change mitigation actions in order to limit flood risk increases. However, this study presents a promising signal where population growth may limit the burden of increased flood risk, due to climate change.
Automatic Detection and Quantification of Erosional Badland Levelling in Central India Using LandTrendr with PlanetScope Imagery in Google Earth Engine
Authors: Baetz Alina , Marzolff Irene
Published: February 2023

The highly dissected morphology of the Chambal badlands characterizes the Lower Chambal Valley in Madhya Pradesh, Central India. It is considered the heaviest form of land degradation through gully erosion in the entire country and ranges among the largest badland zones in the world. In order to combat the loss of land and decline in agricultural productivity through badland formation, land levelling by local communities and farmers as well as in governmental reclamation projects has become widespread. The relief in the Chambal badlands is anthropogenically altered by infilling valley bottoms or smoothing shallow badlands. While this may help to increase agricultural area and productivity, there is evidence that soil quality decreases and erosive processes increase after land levelling. This study aims to identify and quantify the anthropogenic reshaping of relief in the Chambal badlands using the cloud-computing platform Google Earth Engine (GEE) and imagery data archives. Our method is based on the GEE implementation of the time ­series analysis algorithm LandTrendr (Landsat-based Detection of Trends in Disturbance and Recovery). While originally developed to identify disturbances in forested regions, LandTrendr can be applied to various landscapes and land cover changes. Since land levelling patterns in the Chambal badlands occur at various spatial scales, we have adapted the GEE algorithm to process data from the high-resolution PlanetScope archive as opposed to the originally implemented medium-resolution Landsat data. Land levelling is accompanied by a removal of the badland vegetation cover of shrubs, trees, and occasional patches of moderately dense forest. Thus, annual time series of vegetation indices are used to detect newly levelled areas at pixel-level. The high temporal resolution of PlanetScope allows to calculate vegetation index values from cloud-free scenes from approximately the same date every year. The algorithm is tested in a small study area within the Chambal badlands; upon successful implementation it may be extended to a large-area analysis of anthropogenic relief reshaping in the entire Chambal Valley. Furthermore, our LandTrendr implementation of PlanetScope imagery in Google Earth Engine will allow to monitor future land levelling and agricultural reclamation activities in the unique geomorphological and ecological environment of the Chambal badlands.
Lessons learned from catchment observatory and network design in the UK, rest of Europe and North-America
Authors: Coxon Gemma , Bloomfield John P , Buytaert Wouter , Fry Matt , Old Gareth , Wagener Thorsten
Published: February 2023

Many countries fund catchment observatories and networks to provide observational data, test models and hypotheses, discover new insights, catalyse the development of new technologies and enhance interdisciplinary collaboration. These catchment networks provide a wealth of observational data, yet synthesising information across catchment observatories to produce process-based understanding is challenging. To generalise findings from place-based studies, we need greater synthesis across catchment networks and thus careful consideration of the design and topology of catchment observatories and monitoring networks.In this paper, we collate information from 80 catchment observatories/networks and conduct 21 questionnaires with project leads with the aim of reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of catchment observatories to provide recommendations that can inform future catchment observatory and network design. The catchment observatories encompass a wide range of flow regimes, science questions and spatial/temporal scales with 25, 33 and 22 observatories from the UK, Europe, and North America respectively. Most catchment observatories in the monitoring catalogue are concentrated in upland catchment systems monitoring flashy flow regimes, with very few focused on lowland systems and no catchment observatories focused on urban catchments. The choice of catchment observatory location was focused upon logistics and catchment characteristics, with logistics and the day-to-day running of the observatory highlighted as the aspect catchment observatory programme managers found most difficult. Many interviewees noted that the design of the observatory was a key phase in planning and an aspect they would have done differently.Finally, we recommend key design guidelines for future catchment observatory and networks. This includes the need for a scoping and planning phase, community co-designed, digital infrastructure that enables FAIR data provision, and flexible and extensible catchment topology. Critically, knowledge transfer needs to be built in from the beginning of catchment observatories to enable transferability of new insights and understanding across linked catchment networks to tackle grand challenges within hydrology. 
Lithium isotopes potential in (paleo)ecology
Authors: Thibon Fanny , Goedert Jean , Séon Nicolas , Weppe Lucas , Martin Jeremy E. , Amiot Romain , Adnet Sylvain , Lambert Olivier , Bustamante Paco , Telouk Philippe , Lécuyer Christophe , Vigier Nathalie
Published: February 2023

Life evolution has been shaped by marine and continental environmental dichotomy. Particularly, the ecological history of vertebrates is divided into several aquatic and terrestrial phases. Even today, some species spend time in both marine and continental environments during their lifetime. Nevertheless, the timing and location of past ecological transitions, as well as the monitoring of current migration, are still challenging to trace.To reconstruct the aquatic environments of vertebrates (i.e. seawater vs freshwater), stable (δ13C, δ18O, δ34S) and radiogenic (87Sr/86Sr) isotope systems applied to mineralized tissues have been commonly used in the past decades1–6. Nevertheless, these methods hold some limitations as they cannot be applied universally.Here, we measured the lithium stable isotope composition of mineralized tissues (δ7Li) from extant vertebrates living in various aquatic environments (seawater, freshwater/terrestrial, and "transitional environments”). We highlight the potential of δ7Li to decipher vertebrates that live in these different environments, in contrast to δ34S and δ18O that cannot distinguish – in some cases – species living in intermediate waters from those living in seawater. Furthermore, we measured the δ7Li values of fossil apatites from extinct vertebrates and obtained values that fall within the range of aquatic environment of their extant relatives7. This new proxy may therefore profit studies in ecology, archaeology and palaeontology. 1 M. T. Clementz, A. Goswami, P. D. Gingerich and P. L. Koch, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 2006, 26, 355–370.2  J. Fischer, S. Voigt, M. Franz, J. W. Schneider, M. M. Joachimski, M. Tichomirowa, J. Götze and H. Furrer, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2012, 353–355, 60–72.3 J. Goedert, C. Lécuyer, R. Amiot, F. Arnaud-Godet, X. Wang, L. Cui, G. Cuny, G. Douay, F. Fourel, G. Panczer, L. Simon, J.-S. Steyer and M. Zhu, Nature, 2018, 558, 68–72.4 J. Goedert, R. Amiot, D. Berthet, F. Fourel, L. Simon and C. Lécuyer, Sci Nat, 2020, 107, 10.5 L. Kocsis, A. Ősi, T. Vennemann, C. N. Trueman and M. R. Palmer, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2009, 280, 532–542.6 B. Schmitz, S. L. Ingram, D. T. Dockery and G. Åberg, Chemical Geology, 1997, 140, 275–287.7 F. Thibon, J. Goedert, N. Séon, L. Weppe, J. E. Martin, R. Amiot, S. Adnet, O. Lambert, P. Bustamante, C. Lécuyer and N. Vigier, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2022, 599, 117840.
Assessment of aerosols over five cities of Angola based on MERRA-2 reanalysis data
Authors: Campos Pascoal , Pires José , Leitão Anabela
Published: February 2023

The use of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) has been proven as an alternative to the traditional ground-level monitoring of air quality in many countries across the world. Therefore, this study based on MERRA-2 data aims: (i) to characterize the spatiotemporal and component variations of aerosols in the atmosphere over the capital cities (Luanda, Sumbe, Benguela, Huambo and Lubango) of the five most densely populated provinces of Angola from 2010 to 2020; (ii) to analyze the relationship between the monthly mean variation of the total AOD and the meteorological parameters (precipitation, temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity) in those five cities; and (iii) to assess the influence of emissions from the Nyamuragira volcano, located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, on the air quality at the five cities. The most significant contribution to the total AOD was derived from organic carbon, in all the cities, whereby the highest values (0.19 - 0.23) were in Luanda. Ranges of sulphates across the coastal cities were higher when compared to the interior cities caused by the emissions inventory data. The value of AOD in all the cities increased and reached the peak during the dry season. The HYSPLIT model showed that air masses from Nyamuragira at various heights in November 2011 reached Luanda and Sumbe, and CALIPSO could confirm the existence of volcanic aerosols in this same period. This study allowed to conclude that the variability of AOD loading depends on seasons and regions, thus providing a little more information about the matter.
Understanding processes at plate boundaries with the help of gestures. An experimental study about the role of gestures in teaching geoscience.
Authors: Conrad Dominik
Published: February 2023

Teaching geoscience phenomena often involves the use, albeit unconscious, of speech-accompanying gestures (van Boening / Riggs, 2020). Even though speech-accompanying metaphorical gestures are considered to have great potential in teaching situations (Herrera & Riggs, 2013), little attention has been paid to the role of gestures in learning geoscientific processes to date. The presented study addresses the question, whether the teacher's use of metaphorical gestures when explaining the processes at destructive and constructive plate boundaries can help learners to develop adequate scientific conceptions.  In an experimental study, 62 students from eight different classes in two high schools (grades 7-9) watch a movie. In this movie a teacher explains the processes at destructive and constructive plate boundaries, one time (group 1, n= 30) without using metaphorical gestures, one time (group 2, n=32) by using metaphorical gestures. Students are asked about their conceptions of divergent and convergent plate boundaries using semi-structured interviews before as well as after this intervention. The interviews are analyzed using a combination of systematic metaphor analysis (Schmitt, 2010) and gesture analysis (Herrera & Riggs, 2013; Müller, 1998). This was followed by a quantitative analysis with SPSS. The analysis showed highly significant differences between the groups. After the intervention, 33% of the group 1 activated a suitable source domain when explaining divergent plate boundaries, while 78.1 % of the group 2 did so (χ² (1, n = 62) = 12.636, p < .001; φ- = .451). When explaining convergent plate boundaries after the intervention, 10% in group 1 activated an appropriate source domain, and 67.78 % in group 2 did so: χ² (1, n = 61) = 21.300, p < .001; φ- = .59). These results suggest, that the use of metaphorical gestures in teaching geoscience processes should be paid more attention. Further research is needed on different variables, for example, on the type of gestures used, but also on the age of the learners. References van Boening, A. M.  & Riggs, E. M. (2020). Geologic gestures: A new classification for embodied cognition in geology. Journal of Geoscience Education, 68(1), 49-64. https://doi.org/10.1080/10899995.2019.1624250Herrera, J., & Riggs, E. (2013). Relating Gestures and Speech: An Analysis Of Students' Conceptions About Geological Sedimentary Processes. International Journal of Science Education, 35(12), 1979-2003. Müller, C. (1998). Redebegleitende Gesten. Kulturgeschichte – Theorie- Sprachvergleich. Berlin: Berlin Verlag.Schmitt, R. (2010). Metaphernanalyse. In: Mey,G. & Mruck, K. (Eds.), Handbuch Qualitative Forschung in der Psychologie, (S. 676–691). Springer.
The start of the Great Barrier Reef is a result of the increased stability of Temperatures in the Mid to Late Pleistocene.
Authors: Petrick Benjamin , Reuning Lars , Auderset Alexandra , Pfeiffer Miriam , Schwark Lorenz
Published: February 2023

The Great Barrier Reef is a unique environmental resource threatened by future climate change. However, it has always been unclear how this ecosystem developed in the Mid to Late Pleistocene. Work has shown that the reef developed between ~ 600-500 ka during MIS 15-13, although some records suggest a start at MIS 11 at 400 ka. There is a lack of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) records for this time for the area around the Great Barrier Reef. Furthermore, the few existing SST records do not show temperature changes during these key periods, leading researchers to suggest that factors other than temperature, such as sea-level change or sediment transport, explain the start of the reef. We used the TEX86 proxy to produce a new SST record starting at 900 ka from ODP Site 820. This core is located next to the northern Great Barrier Reef. In this new record, there are SST changes that seem to match both dates for the start of the Great Barrier Reef. First, there is a period of stable SST between 700-500 ka, with no glacial cooling during this time. This could promote the development of a reef system during this time, allowing the reef more time to evolve from isolated smaller reefs to a continuous barrier reef. However, there is some suggestion based on facies analyses that even though the barrier system developed around MIS 15, the modern coral reef system was not yet fully established. Our records show that glacial temperatures during MIS 14 still are similar to SSTs from records further south. However, this trend shifts around MIS 11 when glacials became warmer. In fact, while before MIS 11, SST at ODP 820 was colder than records from the Western Pacific Warm Pool, afterwards SST was either the same or sometimes warmer than at these sites. Also, unlike other nearby records, the difference in SSTs between glacials and interglacials is reduced after MIS 11. This suggests that the northern Coral Sea might have been protected from the extremes of glacial temperature changes after the MPT. This process might have allowed the development of a continuous coral reef system by encouraging the growth of reefs even during glacials. Therefore, our research suggests that major steps in the development of the Great Barrier Reef system are linked to changes in the SSTs. Our SST record suggests that SST changes are the primary driver of reef development and other non-SST factors are less important.
Researching the use of virtual Field trips as a flexible multipurpose teaching resource
Authors: Davidson Jonathan , Kennedy Ben , Watson Alex , Engel Kamen , Jolley Alison , Stahl Tim , Nichols Alex , Brogt Erik
Published: February 2023

Virtual field trips (VFTs) are a means to give learners a genuine experience and feeling of what itwould be like to participate in in-person fieldtrips but can also act as a teaching resource to meet otherlearning outcomes that are not necessarily related to fieldwork. These virtual experiences can providegreater accessibility for people that cannot participate in in-person field trips for reasons such aslogistics, cost, or physical ability. Using internet browsers, we have been able to create online contentthat is interactive with mapping activities, communication exercises, animations, 360° videos, virtualrocks, detailed thin sections of rocks, and questions with automated feedback. These VFTs have beenused as more than just a replica of an in-person field trip, they can be used in a variety of contexts. Asan example, our research group has used them as: 1) flexible knowledge resources to replace lecturesand supplement hands-on laboratory classes and tutorials; 2) fieldwork preparation resources thatteach content and allow students to explore outcrops they will visit in person; and 3) a self-guidedfield trip when group field trips are impractical or impossible (e.g., student illness).We have found that VFTs allow educators to take students to places they would otherwise not be ableto go, to familiarize students with field skills and content before going into the field to maximizelearning on in-person field trips. Our research results from student interviews, focus groups and pre-post measures of learning show that students enjoy and engage well with the digital content, althoughwe are still far from an immersive in-person field experience. Looking to the future, we are continuingto develop new ways for students to genuinely explore and discover on a VFT, making use of mixedreality, which has the potential to provide students with an even more immersive experience. Suchinteractive VFTs can be suitable replacements for lecture content in a flipped classroom or aspreparatory exercises for in-person fieldtrips, but they should only replace in-person fieldtrips aftercareful consideration.
Soil moisture monitoring at kilometre scale: assimilation of Sentinel-1 products in ISBA
Authors: Rojas Muñoz Oscar Javier , Calvet Jean-Christophe , Bonan Bertrand , Baghdadi Nicolas , Wigneron Jean-Pierre , Zribi Mehrez , Meurey Catherine
Published: February 2023

In a warming climate where the frequency and intensity of extreme events (such as droughts and floods) are increasing, a better representation and estimation of land surface variables remains a crucial step to study their response to climate change. Soil moisture is a key variable of the water cycle. Monitoring soil moisture, either by in situ measurements or by satellite observations allows better prediction and anticipation of droughts and floods, especially in agricultural regions. In order to fully exploit the growing number of satellite observations data, assimilation techniques can be used to integrate these data into land surface models.In this work, surface soil moisture (SSM) observations from Sentinel-1 (S1) satellite are assimilated into the ISBA model at the kilometer scale. The main objective is to evaluate the added value of the SSM assimilation and its impact on the ISBA model simulations, driven by atmospheric variables from the AROME weather forecast model. The Land Data Assimilation System tool (LDAS-Monde) of Météo-France is used. The SSM S1 product covers the period 2017-2019, over two regions in south of France and one in Spain. The native resolution of the S1 product is 10 m, and the aggregated 1 km product only covers areas where radar signal interpretation is possible. The two areas of interest in France are the Toulouse and the Montpellier regions. In these two areas, in situ soil moisture measurements are available (SMOSMANIA network and Meteopole-Flux stations of Meteo-France). The area of interest in Spain is located between Salamanca and Valladolid, where the REMEDHUS network of in-situ soil moisture measurements is located. In situ SSM observations at a depth of 5 cm were gathered from all stations at an hourly temporal resolution. The S1 SSM shows a good agreement with the in situ observations, including over the Météopole-Flux site which is located in a semi-urban area.The impact of assimilating SSM products is evaluated over three surface variables: SSM at the 1 – 4 cm soil deph layer (WG2), at the root zone at 30 cm soil depth (WG5) and on the Leaf Area Index (LAI). Three experiments are then carried out over the three regions: assimilation of the S1 SSM product alone, assimilation of the LAI retrieved from the Copernicus Global land Service (CGLS), and one last experience where S1 SSM is jointly assimilated with LAI.The results of these experiments on one hand show that when SSM alone is assimilated, almost no improvement is observed on WG2 between the ISBA model outputs and the assimilation outputs when compared to in situ measurements. On the other hand, when SSM is jointly assimilated with LAI, there is a stronger impact on WG2 and thus the outputs are closer to the in situ observations. Concerning WG5, the impact of assimilating SSM and LAI is found to be even stronger. 
Longshore Sediment Transport Patterns In Mozambique: A Tool For Coastal Planning
Authors: Pavo-Fernández Eva , Gracia Vicente , Grifoll Manel , Solana Gorka
Published: February 2023

The coast of Mozambique is the result of a complex geologic setting coupled with oceanographic and hydrological processes. Its geomorphological characterization linked to the meteo-oceanographic processes has not been yet investigated in detail, despite their relevance in land use planning and coastal risk prevention. This is vital to identify present and future conflicts being a fundamental tool for its management. This work pursues a first analysis of the combined description of geomorphological features in Mozambique jointly with a simplified hydrodynamic characterization, leading to a first assessment of the longshore sediment transport. The work aims to identify the present littoral cells following the methodology proposed by Bray, Carter and Hooke (1995) and the comprehensive approach followed by the DOORS EU project. The analysis is supported by an extensive literature review, a detailed description of the wave climate taken from the ERA5 data set, along with data obtained using low-cost and do-it-yourself equipment, and the resulting longshore sediment transport in different scenarios, present and future. The identified units cover a wide range of coastal archetypes from exposed sandy beaches to barrier systems or coral reefs. From an energetic point of view, Mozambique's coast showed significant changes depending on the region. Likewise, sediment transport also differed in direction and magnitude between regions. This work is an important base for the management and risk assessment of the Mozambican coast, which remains highly unexplored. This study is funded by the PITACORA project (TED2021-129776B-C21) and the FI AGAUR grant (2022 FI_B 00897).
Meteorological challenges for renewable energy in the High Arctic
Authors: Sjöblom Anna , Henkies Matthias , Garreau Arthur
Published: February 2023

A transition to renewable energy is becoming increasingly more urgent in the High Arctic. In Svalbard (78°N), the previously coal based energy system is now, with a short transition period with diesel, moving to a completely renewable off-grid system. Both solar and wind energy are possible contributors to the energy mix. However, no renewable energy systems are specifically designed for the High Arctic and before implementing the systems they must be tested and adapted to Arctic conditions. Since 2020, the world’s northernmost higher education institution, The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), has developed a special focus on Arctic renewable energy meteorology, focussing especially on solar and wind energy. This is undertaken in close collaboration with local industry who are switching from coal mining to exporting renewable off-grid systems.Many of the meteorological processes in the High Arctic are very different from further south with long periods of midnight sun, polar night, complex topography, low temperatures, stable stratification, snow and ice etc. What implications these processes will have on the solar and wind power are mostly unknown. To complicate matters further, numerical models are uncertain and unproved in these areas and there is a need for long-term measurements.Long-term meteorological measurements to determine the energy potential as well as the impact of the Arctic climate have commenced around Longyearbyen, Svalbard, with a special focus on boundary layer processes. Initial results will be presented, including local wind processes important for wind energy and radiation properties for solar energy. The goal is to identify the most important meteorological processes and adapt the energy solutions accordingly.
Automated detection and characterision of CMEs in near real-time coronagraph data: lessons and challenges arising from the SWEEP project
Authors: Morgan Huw , Bunting Kaine , Gandhi Harshita , Williams Thomas
Published: February 2023

The Space Weather Empirical Ensemble Package (SWEEP) is a 3-year project that, very recently, delivered a suite of software tools to the UK Met Office to improve their space weather forecasting capabilities. Part of this package was Automated CME Characterisation (ACMEC) software to automatically detect, and characterise, CMEs in near real-time (NRT) coronagraph data. ACMEC ingests STEREO COR2 beacon data, and SOHO LASCO C2/C3 NRT data, and given the availability of clean data, provides estimates of the CME’s 3D trajectory, angular extent, and speed. It also provides estimates of uncertainties in these values, enabling an ensemble forecast at Earth. We present example case studies to show the efficiacy of ACMEC, and reflect on the challenges faced, and lessons learned during the development stages. Future perspectives are given, including new missions, and the realisation that the development of machine learning methods are required for such complicated tasks in the next 10 years. 
Climate change impacts on precipitation and future erosion rates in a pre-Alpine region
Authors: Cache Tabea , Ramirez Jorge A. , Molnar Peter , Ruiz-Villanueva Virginia , Peleg Nadav
Published: February 2023

Climate change is expected to affect precipitation, streamflow, and sediment transport. These changes are particularly relevant in mountainous environments that play a crucial role in water resources and sediment supply for downstream reaches. We investigated the impact of climate change on hydrology and geomorphology in the upper Emme catchment (127 km2) in the Swiss pre-Alps by simulating its hydromorphological response to present climate and three climate scenarios at the end of the century using the distributed CAESAR-Lisflood landscape evolution model. The mean seasonal changes, intensification of short-duration rainfall extremes, and snow processes were explicitly modeled. The results highlight the importance of the intensity of rainfall events to predict sediment transport at the outlet, while changes to snow processes are predominant to understand the seasonal hydrological shift. For the highest emission scenario (RCP8.5), the sediment yield at the outlet increased by 6% despite a reduction in precipitation by 7% compared to the present climate, as a result of heavy precipitation intensification. On a seasonal scale, discharge increased in winter while it decreased in spring in all scenarios due to changes in snow accumulation and melting. Furthermore, we found that erosion and deposition will change spatially by the end of the century, with a shift from erosion- to deposition-dominated valleys.
Developing precipitation datasets for mountain regions in a changing climate
Authors: Shotton Keith , Lewis Elizabeth , Pritchard David , Rutter Nick
Published: February 2023

Around 22% of the global population depend on mountain runoff for their water supply. Due to its importance for future water resources, as well as flood and drought planning, an improved understanding of spatial precipitation patterns in mountain regions is needed. Precipitation gauge networks are sparse and traditional methods of interpolation yield inadequate precipitation fields for poorly gauged mountain catchments.This research project builds on a new method, Random Mixing, to generate multiple random spatial daily precipitation fields, conditioned on gauge observations. The Random Mixing algorithm has so far been tested on larger, densely gauged catchments. This project adapts the approach for a sparsely gauged, small 9.1 km2 mountain catchment, Marmot Creek Research Basin in Alberta, Canada, where elevations range between 1600 m and 2825 m above sea level (a.s.l.). Quality-controlled total precipitation (i.e., rainfall and snowfall) gauge observations, for an 11-year period, from three weather stations around the catchment have been used to condition the random spatial fields.To optimise selection of the most plausible fields, ensemble hydrological simulations are run, initially using a Python-coded version of the HBV spatially-distributed conceptual model, on a 50 m2 regular model grid. Optimisation involves the use of metrics, primarily Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) and bias, to identify the fields that result in the best match between observed and simulated streamflows. Sensitivity of these fields to seasonality, elevation and precipitation intensity is tested.Results so far are promising. Even with very few gauges, improving the way that spatial covariance relationships between gauge locations are represented in the model has enhanced the quality of the spatial fields. The biggest improvement to date is from explicitly modelling the precipitation / elevation relationship, introducing gradients, and applying daily dry day and wet day parameters to each grid cell across the model domain.Intended future work will aim to further refine the process using a physically-based spatially distributed model, the Cold Regions Hydrological Model (CRHM). Spatial fields generated using other random methods will be used to evaluate the performance of the new technique. Long time-period flood frequency curves generated using each approach will be compared. Different methods of phase partitioning will be evaluated to identify impacts on extreme flooding which is often controlled by snowpack melt. Climate change perturbations will be applied to generate potential future flood estimates.
Landsifier: A python library to estimate likely triggers and types of landslides
Authors: Ozturk Ugur , Rana Kamal , Bhuyan Kushanav , Malik Nishant
Published: February 2023

The accuracy of landslide hazard models depends on landslide databases for model training and testing. Landslide databases frequently lack information on the underlying triggering mechanism (i.e., earthquake, rainfall), rendering them nearly useless in hazard models.We created Landsifier, a Python-based unique library with three different machine-Learning frameworks for assessing the likely triggering mechanisms of individual landslides or entire inventories based on landslide 2D platforms and 3D shapes relying on an underlying digital elevation model (DEM). The base method extracts landslide planform properties as a feature space for the shallow learner-random forest (RF). An alternative approach uses 2D landslide images as input for the convolutional neural network deep learning algorithm (CNN). The final framework uses topological data analysis (TDA) to extract features from 3D landslide surfaces, which are then fed into the random forest classifier as a feature space. We tested the developed methods on six inventories spread over Japan. We achieved mean accuracy ranging from 70% to 98%.Advancing this trigger classifier, we are working on the next generation to classify also the landslide types (i.e., flows, slides, falls, complex) similarly.
Hydraulic behaviour of a mountain permafrost subsoil revealed by an infiltration experiment and ERT time-lapse measurements
Authors: Pavoni Mirko , Boaga Jacopo , Carrera Alberto , Zuecco Giulia , Carturan Luca , Zumiani Matteo
Published: February 2023

Although rock glaciers represent a common periglacial landform in the alpine environment, and have a significant contribution to the hydrological regime of the related areas, their hydrodynamic is relatively less defined if compared to moraines, talus, and hillslope deposits. So far, the hydraulic behaviour of frozen layers that may be found inside rock glaciers has been investigated only with geochemical analysis of their spring water. These previous studies observed that the frozen layer acts as an aquiclude (or aquitard) and separates a supra-permafrost flow component, originating from snow-ice melting and rainwater, and a deeper aquifer at the bottom of the rock glacier systems.In this work we verified, for the first time with a geophysical monitoring method, the low-permeability hydraulic behaviour associated to the frozen layer of mountain permafrost subsoils. In the inactive rock glacier of Sadole Valley (Southern Alps, Trento Province, Italy) we performed an infiltration experiment combined with 2D electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) measurements in time-lapse configuration. Considering the same ERT transect, a time zero dataset (t0) has been collected before the water injection, subsequently about 800 liters of salt water have been spilled (approximately in a point) on the surface of the rock glacier in the middle of the electrodes array, and 10 ERT datasets have been collected periodically in the following 24 hours. To highlight the variations of electrical resistivity in the frozen subsoil, related to the injected salt water flow, only the inverted resistivity model derived from t0 dataset has been represented in terms of absolute resistivities, while the other time steps results have been evaluated in terms of percentage changes of resistivity with respect to the t0 initial model.Our results clearly agree with the assumption that a frozen layer acts as an aquiclude (or aquitard) in a mountain permafrost aquifer, since during the infiltration experiment the injected salt water was not able to infiltrate into the underlying permafrost layer. The positive outcome of this test, fronting impervious environment and logistic constraints, opens up interesting future scenarios regarding the application of this geophysical monitoring method for the hydraulic characterization of rock glaciers. The experiment, used in this work to evaluate the permeability of the frozen layer, could be adapted in future to evaluate (in a quantitative way) the hydraulic conductivity of the active layer in rock glacier aquifers.
A detective duo; an apatite–zircon case study of the Johnston Complex, Wales
Authors: Clarke Anthony , Kirkland Chris , Glorie Stijn
Published: February 2023

Determining the crystallization of S-type granitic material can be challenging due to a lack of neoblastic zircon growth (e.g. thin overgrowths) and the potential of large inherited zircon cargos. Coupled apatite–zircon geochronology can help address such complexities and also clarify post-magmatic thermal history, given the disparate Pb closure temperatures in these minerals. Here we present a case study on the Johnston Complex, a rare outcrop of the Precambrian basement in southern Britain, representing a window into the tectonic regime of Avalonia. Zircon and apatite yield identical U-Pb ages, within uncertainty, of 569 ± 2 Ma and 576 ± 11 Ma, respectively. A minor antecrystic zircon core component is identified at 615 ± 11 Ma. Given the previously reported zircon U-Pb age of 643 Ma, these results demonstrate that the Complex represents a composite suite of plutons along its ca. 20 km length. Zircon Lu-Hf data imply a broadly chondritic source, with model ages consistent with crustal extraction during Rodinia formation. Zircon trace elements are consistent with a calc-alkaline continental magmatic arc setting. Whilst, apatite trace elements demonstrate a sedimentary component within the melt. Combined, these results support arc granite production within the peri-Gondwanan realm during amalgamation of Eastern Avalonia and associates the Johnston Complex to the Cymru subterrane. Importantly, congruent zircon–apatite ages imply rapid cooling after crystallisation, and that subsequent thermal heating did not exceed the apatite Pb closure temperature.
Building International Capacity In Earth Sciences Education Through GIFT Workshops
Authors: Berenguer Jean Luc ,   EGU Committee on Education
Published: February 2023

For over 20 years, the Geoscience Information For Teachers (GIFT) workshops as a teacher enhancement program, have been financially supported by the EGU and were organized by the EGU Committee on Education (CoE). These workshops have been held in conjunction with the EGU annual General Assembly in Vienna, Austria. Each year the workshop has focused on a different general theme. Past themes have included, for example, “Energy and Sustainable Development”, “The Carbon Cycle”, “Mineral Resources”, “The Solar System And Beyond” and “The Mediterranean”. These workshops combined scientific presentations, by prominent scientists, coupled with hands-on, inquiry-based activities that are used by the teachers in their classrooms to explain related scientific principles or topics. The main objective of these workshops was to communicate first-hand scientific information to teachers, significantly shortening the time between discovery and textbook. Since inception, the EGU GIFT workshops have brought together nearly 1000 teachers from over 25 nations. The EGU CoE further expanded efforts to teachers outside of Europe by organizing Vienna-style GIFT workshops outside of Europe in Malaysia, Mexico, Ethiopia and South Africa.            With a broad vision to further increase the impact of “out-of-Vienna” activities, a new type of EGU GIFT workshop has now been achieved for teachers in South Africa, on a “capacity-building” basis. Funding from the EGU was awarded to a local, South African Program Committee for a workshop in Cape Town, South Africa. In consultation with representatives from the EGU CoE, the South African Program Committee, together with presenters from South Africa successfully accomplished the first of these “capacity-building” GIFT workshops in August, 2022. The aim of these novel workshops is to transfer and grow, as much as possible, the achievements obtained at EGU in Vienna to different countries globally, while observing and learning the using successful educational approaches developed in these countries.Programs and presentations of past GIFT workshops, with Web streaming, are available at: https://www.egu.eu/education/gift/workshops/
Shale oil mobility and pore size-associated wettability under capillary pressures
Authors: Yin Na
Published: February 2023

The capillary force shows great potential to improve the recovery of shale oil and gas reservoirs through spontaneous imbibition. However, the mechanism of capillary force on shale oil migration and its controlling factors are still unclear. By NMR, low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, high-pressure mercury injection and other experimental means, this work attempts to investigate the role of capillary force in improving shale oil recovery. The results show that the nuclear magnetic resonance T2 spectra obtained through spontaneous imbibition can be divided into three types, and the shale oil recovery can reach 38.72% - 65.52%, which is mainly contributed by the first peak (P1). The water imbibition and oil imbibition experiments were carried out on samples of the same size, and the dynamic wettability index of the samples with the spontaneous imbibition time was calculated. It was found that type 1 shale is mainly lipophilic, type 2 and type 3 samples are mainly hydrophilic, the P1 of three types of shale is hydrophilic to neutral, and the water imbibition volume of the three samples was greater than the oil imbibition volume. In addition, by comparing the relationship between pore throats and pores and combining the structural characteristics of samples, three typical types of pore throats are summarized. Finally, through a comprehensive study on the wettability, pore structure of shale and shale oil recovery , it is concluded that water can drive oil droplets in micropores or pore throats (P1) to enter the mesopore (P2), and then the mesopore (P2) transmits the oil to the fractures by transfering pressure difference, and the oil-water distribution pattern before and after spontaneous imbibition under the effect of capillary force is summarized to provide theoretical basis for shale oil exploration. and development.
On the hydrology of soils in the Earth System
Authors: Vereecken Harry
Published: February 2023

Soil hydrological processes play an important role in the Earth System. As part of the Critical Zone, they support ecosystem services, modulate the impact of climate change on terrestrial systems and control feedback mechanisms between water, energy and biogeochemical cycles. They act at multiple scales, ranging from the pore scale to the continental scale. Despite the fact, that the first meters of the critical zone only store a small amount of water, about 60% of the terrestrial rainfall is being transpired by plants through the root zone or evaporated by the soil, the remaining part is mainly diverted into groundwater recharge and runoff. This lecture will address some of the current challenges that hydrological research of soils and the critical zone face. These include the high nonlinearity in soil hydrological processes, the multi-scale heterogeneity in hydraulic properties, the provision of hydraulic parameters across scales, the role of soil structural properties and improving rhizosphere process descriptions. Finally, the importance of observing hydrological states and fluxes and their role in understanding and predicting soil hydrological processes will be addressed.