bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessing the transfer factors (TFs) of contaminants from soil to plants: the case study of Campania region (Southern Italy)
Authors: Pacifico Lucia Rita , Guarino Annalise , Brambilla Gianfranco , Pizzolante Antonio , Albanese Stefano
Published: February 2023

The presence of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) derived from anthropogenic sources in soil represents a serious issue for animal and human health. These elements can easily move from the geological compartment to the biological compartment through to the food chain. (Jarup, 2003).The geochemical knowledge of a territory allows to assess the degree of contamination of the environment, to locate the sources of environmental hazard and, possibly, to manage the anomalous concentrations of the PTEs in environmental matrices with the purpose of eliminating or minimizing their negative impact on the health of living beings. (Reimann et al. 2005).Several studies have been already carried out to determine the distribution patterns of PTEs in the soil of Campania region (Southern Italy) (De Vivo et al., 2022) but little is known about the transfer processes of contaminants from soils to agricultural products.In light of above, we present the results of a new study whose purpose was to determine the Transfer Factors (TFs) of PTEs from soil to a series of agricultural products commonly grown in Campania.Considering the complex geological and geomorphological settings of the region and the diffuse presence of an historical anthropization related to the industry, agriculture, and urbanization, TFs were calculated for a relevant number of fruit and vegetable samples (3731 specimens). They were collected across the whole regional territory to detect differences between analysed species and to highlight the spatial changes in TFs occurring for individual species.The TFs were calculated starting from the quasi-total (based on Aqua Regia leaching) and bioavailable (based on Ammonium Nitrate leaching) concentrations of PTEs in 7000 and 1500 soil samples, respectively.Preliminary results show that TFs determined for the various agricultural species vary in space and in amount independently from the original elemental concentrations in soils. High values of TFs are found in areas where PTE concentrations in soil are low and vice versa, thus suggesting that multiple regression and multivariate analyses could be performed to investigate if some additional chemical and physical characteristics of soil (pH, grainsize, OM, etc.) could have a relevant weight on the transfer processes of contaminant from the soil to the plant life. ReferencesJärup L. 2003. Hazards of heavy metal contamination. Br. Med. Bull. 68, 167–182.Reimann C., de Caritat P. 2005. Distinguishing between natural and anthropogenic sources for elements in the environment: regional geochemical surveys versus enrichment factors. Science of The Total Environment, Volume 337, Issues 1–3, pages 91-107.De Vivo B. et al. 2022. Monitoraggio geochimico-ambientale dei suoli e dell'aria della Regione Campania. Piano Campania trasparente. Volume 4. Aracne Editore, Genzano di Roma.
The ”Salse di Nirano” mud volcanoes: hints from gravity data
Authors: Nespoli Massimo , Antonellini Marco , Albarello Dario , Lupi Matteo , Cenni Nicola , Rivalta Eleonora , Piombo Antonello
Published: February 2023

Mud volcanoes are distributed throughout the globe, both on- and offshore. Mud volcanism has been widely investigated from the geological, geophysical, and geochemical points of view. The study of mud volcanoes has important implications in energy resource exploration, geohazard identification, and greenhouse gas emissions assessment (mainly CH4 and CO2). Mud volcano eruptions are mainly driven by a gravitative instabilities and fluid overpressure, due to the overall low density of clay/water/gas mixtures with respect to surrounding units. The geohazard of mud volcanoes is to date underrated despite the violent eruptive examples occurred in the past. For instance, the eruption of the Piparo mud volcano (1997, island of Trinidad) damaged electrical and water infrastructures and killed animals and livestock. In 2014, the eruption of the Macalube di Aragona (Italy) mud volcano killed two children. The understanding of the mechanisms regulating mud volcanoes is, therefore, important also in terms of hazard evaluation. To date, a physical conceptual model of the Nirano Salse, Italy, ascribes the eruptions to the presence of over-pressurized fluids that are expelled from a main deep reservoir. The latter is put into communication with the surface due to the episodically reactivation of pre-existing faults or pipes. The debate about this conceptual model is still open. To improve our current understanding, a new high-resolution dataset of gravimetric data was acquired. Our goal is to provide an insight about the subsurface structure of the investigated domain. The gravimetric inversion aims to identify the structural setting of Nirano and the presence of gas traps and faults. The gravity inversion results indicate the existence of a low-density zone (1200-1500 m long, 100-200 m wide, 800 m deep) with an almost planar shape aligned along a NW-SE structural trend, typical of the Northern Apennines chain. This zone likely represents the intrusion of mud/gas in the damage zone of a sub-vertical fault, which feeds shallow fluid reservoirs.
Soil loss due to crop harvesting – a spotlight on research gaps and the need of further research activities at the global scale
Authors: Busche Fritjof , Kuhwald Michael , Saggau Philipp , Duttmann Rainer
Published: February 2023

Worldwide, soil erosion is one of the main causes of soil degradation and the loss of important soil functions. Wind, water and tillage erosion and their environmental, economic and social impacts have been researched for decades. Soil erosion by root and tuber crop harvesting (SLCH), however, is rarely focused in research, although erosion rates can reach up to 22 Mg ha-1 harvest-1 (Parlak et al. 2016).The aim of this study is to raise awareness of SLCH and to advance research on this topic. To achieve this aim, all available peer-reviewed studies on this topic are used to provide an overview of investigated soil erosion rates worldwide and to identify the environmental impact of SLCH. In addition, the differences between SLCH and other forms of erosion are highlighted. Furthermore, important future research aspects for an enhanced understanding of SLCH are identified.Comparing soil loss due to crop harvesting with other forms of erosion, it can be stated that (i) erosion rates of SLCH are as high as for water erosion and wind erosion, (ii) SLCH always and only occurs during the harvest of tuber and root crops, which affected 8.4 % of the world’s arable land in 2019 (1.1 million km²), (iii) SLCH can occur at any relief position and any parent material, thus it can be the only erosion process of an affected field without the appearance of wind or water erosion and (iv) SLCH always affects entire fields that are harvested multiple times over several years, depending on the crop rotation.Based on the reviewed studies, the following further research activities are necessary for a better understanding of the processes of SLCH: (i) global data collection of crops whose erosion rates have not been studied yet, (ii) conduct studies on continents such as North America, South America and Oceania, where data on SLCH erosion rates are currently missing, (iii) development of models to predict SLCH erosion rates and (iv) monitoring the distribution of the adhering soil to evaluate the environmental effects of SLCH. This review shows that further studies on the topic of SLCH are necessary to quantify actual data on erosion rates for different crops in different regions and provide more awareness of this topic in erosion research.
Control by the Circulation Adjustment Outside the Arctic on Transient Response of AMOC to Global Warming
Authors: Chen Jiao , Wang Xidong , Wang Xuezhu
Published: February 2023

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a key component of the climate system, is projected to weaken in the 21st century. Using the Alfred Wegener Institute Climate Model (AWI-CM 1.1 LR), we conduct a set of numerical experiments to investigate the transient response of AMOC to anthropogenic warming with quadrupled carbon dioxide (4×CO2). The results suggest that circulation adjustment outside the Arctic dominates the AMOC weakening. In warming conditions, northward advection transport from the southern flank of the Atlantic subpolar region will increase, which is expected to enhance the upper ocean stratification over deep convection zones and inhibit deep-water formation, thus weakening the AMOC largely. Stratification enhancement is more pronounced in Nordic Seas than that in the Labrador Sea, implying a more direct role of Labrador Sea in evolution of still-active AMOC. In Nordic Seas, decreased ocean convection is dominated by temperature contributions due to a substantial increase of northward advective heat transport. While in Labrador Sea, both surface heat flux and advective heat transport matter, with comparable thermohaline contributions.
The sensitivity of the latest Permian climate-carbon state to CO2 emissions in an Earth System Model
Authors: Burt Daniel , Ilyina Tatiana
Published: February 2023

The largest mass extinction on Earth with an estimated 90% loss of species occurred at the Permian-Triassic Boundary (~252 Ma). The end-Permian mass extinction coincides with extreme temperature increases and changes in ocean circulation and biogeochemistry. These climate perturbations are associated with carbon emissions linked to Siberian Trap volcanism. Fully-coupled Earth System Models can be applied to investigate the feedbacks and sensitivities of the background latest Permian climate to such carbon emissions. Past studies have focussed on constraining the magnitude of these carbon emissions without examining the sensitivity of palaeo-configured Earth System models designed for modern simulations. We modified a version of the Max Planck Earth System Model v1.2, similar to that used in the 6th-phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, to simulate the latest Permian climate-carbon system and use geochemical and palaeobiological proxy data to constrain the boundary conditions of the modelled climate state.We first characterise the latest Permian climate state before presenting first results on a sensitivity study of the latest Permian climate-carbon state to CO2 emission pulses. A 100 year global mean 2 m surface air temperature of 17.5°C is simulated, rising up to 34.7°C in the low-latitude continental interior. The continental interior is also largely arid from ~50°N to ~50°S with a total precipitation maximum of 11.1 mm day-1 at the equatorial boundary of the Tethys and Panthalassic Oceans. The prevailing hydrological regime drives woody single-stemmed evergreens and soft-stemmed plant functional groups to dominate in the dynamic vegetation model. The 100 year global mean surface ocean of the latest Permian illustrates a warm-pool across the equatorial boundary between the Tethys and Panthalassic Oceans with a maximum temperature of 30.2°C decreasing to temperatures as low as -1.9°C near the poles. Surface salinities vary broadly across the global oceans with 100 year global mean values ranging from 22.9, in well-flushed regions of strong freshwater flux, to 48.6, in low-latitude regions of restricted exchange. Large-scale seasonal mixing below 60°S in the Panthalassic Ocean dominates the global meridional overturning circulation. These model data fit within the bounds represented by the available proxy data for the Late Permian. The widespread shallow ocean mixed-layer also restricts recirculation of nutrients, driving a high gross primary production with weak seasonality. Furthermore, regions of seasonal deep mixing correlate with seasonal pCO2 patterns at high latitudes. I will also present further analyses of the simulated ocean biogeochemical cycles in the Hamburg Ocean Carbon Cycle model with a focus on the novel extended Nitrogen-cycle processes.
Quantifying the movement of microplastics in soil in response to overland flow and splash erosion
Authors: Severe Emilee , Surridge Ben , Platel Rachel , Coogan Michael , James Michael , Fiener Peter , Quinton John
Published: February 2023

Microplastics are ubiquitous in the environment. While it is well documented that microplastics can be harmful to aquatic and terrestrial life, little is understood about how microplastics affect soil environments. Understanding the processes enhancing or constraining microplastic transport through the environment, including within soils, is essential in order to minimize the negative impacts of microplastic pollution. Soil erosion is thought to be a primary process responsible for translocating microplastics from soils to aquatic environments. This study aims to investigate the processes controlling microplastic movement in response to rainfall and overland flow in laboratory rainfall simulations. Using fluorescent photography, we compared the real- time movement of a natural soil particle, sand, with two types of microplastics of differing densities (linear low-density polyethylene and acrylic) in two size fractions (250-355 μm and 500-600 μm). We quantified the rate and number of microplastic particles transported by overland flow and splash erosion, along with the depth to which the particles migrate into the soil profile. The results from this study represent some of the first empirical data that seek to quantify microplastic surface transport processes. Ultimately, additional research in this area will be required to more accurately estimate the extent to which microplastics are exported from soils and the factors that control this export.
Development of a flood prediction model for heavy rainfall based on spatially and temporally distributed precipitation using machine learning techniques
Authors: Reinecke Arne , Neuweiler Insa
Published: February 2023

Convective rainfall cells have a maximum prediction time of 30 to 120 minutes, which means that physically based models are usually too slow to calculate the expected flooding depths within the available time. For this reason, novel models for short-term flood and flash flood prediction are needed.The work is being carried out as part of the WaX program and its aim is to develop a fast flood prediction model for temporal and spatial precipitation data (for example high-resolution radar forecast) and runoff-relevant soil parameters with machine learning methods for catchments with strong topography.The developed AI model aims to predict maximum flood depths for an urban catchment (Emmendingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany) and temporally resolved flood depths in predefined neuralgic areas. It is based on supervised learning and therefore requires a database of input and associated output for training and validation.The effective rainfall, which is based on spatially and temporally distributed rainfall (from radar hindcast) and runoff-relevant parameters such as land use, slope, soil type and especially soil moisture, serves as the training input. The associated results for training and validation are the spatially distributed flood depth within the catchment. To build up the database both, the flood depths and effective rainfall rates, were precalculated using established hydrological respectively hydrodynamic models. To predict flood depths during real heavy rainfall events, a number of different high-resolution radar forecasts are used and combined with a range of soil moisture assumptions.The model is a combined method, in which the hydrological processes are done by a fast and calibrated physically based model, while the time-consuming hydrodynamic calculation is replaced by machine learning methods. This leads to a utilization of the low calculation time in the range of seconds with promising accuracy compared to the results from hydrodynamic simulations. Due to the fast prognosis time it is possible to calculate a series of ensembles for different soil moisture conditions and precipitation loads as a result of the uncertain soil moisture conditions and the uncertain radar forecast. The contribution will compare preliminary AI model predictions to the physically based model results to assess the potential and limitations of the model.
Organic fertilizer amendment affect soil aggregates during crop growth: a hotspot for microbial phosphorus turnover?
Authors: Raymond Nelly Sophie , Tamburini Federica , Oberson Astrid , Magid Jakob , Müller Carsten
Published: February 2023

Farming practices affect soil structure and aggregate formation. The addition of organic fertilizers, such as cow manure, is a practice that can affect soil aggregation and can foster the formation of macroaggregates, which resemble high contents of rather labile soil organic carbon (SOC). Soil aggregates, known to be hotspots for microbial activity, can also be assumed to be hotspots for microbial nutrient cycling. Within the soil system, microorganisms play an active key role in the cycling of phosphorus (P) by: 1) storing P within their biomass, 2) mineralizing non-plant available organic P, and 3) solubilizing inorganic P forms. Microorganisms are thus a key driver in the cycling of P in soil. However, P cycling through the microbial biomass is often limited by SOC availability. The use of organic fertilizers may provide the OC required for microorganisms to cycle P, especially in SOC rich maccroaggregates. The main objective of the present work is to better understand how soil microorganisms’ habitat and P-cycling is affected by the addition of cow manure and how it affect the P cycling through microbial biomass. We collected soils from a long term field trial consisting of different organic soil amendments (Taastrup, Denmark), namely a soil amended with cow manure and a soil amended with mineral fertilizer (nitrogen, potassium and P). We determined soil aggregate size distribution as well as macroaggregate stability, soil C, N and P contents and microbial biomass C, N and P within aggregate size fractions We are able to demonstrate that the application of organic fertilizer has clearly affected soil macroaggregation and stability, as well as the nutrient distribution and content within the aggregates. As large macroaggregates between 2 and 8 mm dominated the sampled soils (49-79 % of the soil mass), we selected these macroaggregates as a functional unit to evaluate the effect of the organic fertilizer on microbial P cycling. We suggest that the addition of cow manure alleviates microorganisms’ OC limitation and thus stimulate P cycling through microbial biomass. The better understanding of soil microorganisms activity and organic fertilizer interaction at the aggregate scale is providing a better understanding of plant-P availability which will benefit the development of future sustainable cropping systems.
How can the most unstable barotropic mode of atmospheric models contribute for the explanation of atmospheric variability biases of climate models in the North Atlantic?
Authors: Castanheira José M. , Marques Carlos A. F.
Published: February 2023

In this communication, we will present results from an analysis of the variability of the vertically averaged (i.e., barotropic) atmospheric circulation simulated by climate models, which integrate the current Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). The variabilities in two ensembles of Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) simulations were compared with the variabilities in two ensembles of fully coupled simulation counterparts of the current CMIP6 (Castanheira and Marques, 2022).The atmospheric models simulate less variability of the barotropic atmospheric circulation over the Northern Atlantic and more variability over the North Pacific when compared with the corresponding variabilities in the ERA5 reanalysis (“observations”), at intraseasonal and interannual scales. When integrated over the whole globe, the variability in the coupled climate simulations is smaller than the variability in the corresponding AMIP simulations. The smaller global variability of the coupled simulations results in no mean overestimation of the subtropical jet variability in the North Pacific, but further underestimation of the jet stream variability in the Northern Atlantic. The results suggest that the reduction of the biases in the barotropic atmospheric variability over the North Pacific, in the coupled climate simulations, is achieved through compensating biases in the mean Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs). Moreover, the reduction of the positive biases in the North Pacific seems to be associated with a reduction of the excitation of the most unstable barotropic mode of the atmospheric circulation, which contributes also to a reduction of the barotropic atmospheric variability in the North Atlantic region. Acknowledgements: The CESAM is supported by FCT/MCTES through the project UIDP/50017/2020+ UIDB/ 50017/20201+LA/P/0094/2020.ReferencesCastanheira, J. M., Marques, C. A. F. (2022). Biases of the Barotropic Atmospheric Circulation Variability in CMIP6 Models. Journal of Climate,  Vol. 35, 5071–5085,  DOI: 10.1175/JCLI-D-21-0581.1. 
Kinematics of North Anatolian Fault Under the Constrain of New GNSS Velocity Field
Authors: Ayruk Efe T. , Özarpacı Seda , Özdemir Alpay , Farımaz İlay , Özbey Volkan , Ergintav Semih , Doğan Uğur
Published: February 2023

North Anatolian Fault (NAF) is one of the most important transform faults over in World. NAF produced an important earthquake sequence Mw ≥ 7 in the 20th century, that migrates westward between 1939 and 1999. The earthquake sequence has broke the great part of the NAF which is approximately 1000 km. Due to this seismic activity of NAF, it is important to keep strain accumulation up to date and use the recent data. Many precious works have been studied to clarify the kinematics of NAF using the data that collected with geodetic methods (terrestrial and space geodetic).In this study, we compiled published GNSS data and analyzed it to understand the present strain accumulation of NAF, with TDEFNODE block modelling code using a simple block geometry. The study area extends between Sapanca Lake at the west (Sakarya) to Yedisu at the east (Bingöl) and it stretches out in the north-south direction from the north coast of Blacksea to 130 kilometers south.The 90% of GNSS velocity field have RMS values less than 2 mm and the accuracy of estimated slip rates is increased. Additionally, with the dense station distributions in the near field, spatial resolution improved, dramatically.According to the first order results, fault slip rates are estimated as 20.5 mm/yr at the east and 21.6 mm/yr at the west. Locking depth is also estimated as 15 km at the east while the middle and the west part of the study area has shallower locking depth values.In the presentation, we will demonstrate the power of our new GNSS velocity field and discuss its contribution to the understanding of the NAF kinematics in detail.keywords: North Anatolian Fault, Block Modelling, Velocity Field
Identifying the Critical Pipe in Water Distribution Network: Sensitivity Matrix Approach
Authors: Kim Sohee , Jung Donghwi
Published: February 2023

Water distribution network (WDN) is a civil infrastructure for reliable water supply. Among many components in WDN, the pipe delivers the required water demand to users. Pipe bursts, the rupture of pipe wall, cause water losses out of the network and low pressure at the customer’s tap, while its impact varies at different locations. It is important to identify such critical pipes (CPs) and to minimize the failure severity. However, previous CP identification methods are generally complicated and difficult to adopt in practice, highlighting the need for the development of a novel, but practical and simple method. To that end, this study proposes a CP selection approach based on a sensitivity matrix constructed with pipe burst simulation. A sensitivity matrix is constructed by simulating a single pipe failure condition (row) and computing the variation of resulting nodal pressures (column). Then, the summation of the column element’s absolute values is formulated as a new CP index. Finally, the pipe with the maximum CP index value is defined as the most critical pipe. Moreover, this sensitivity matrix can be visualized by the heatmap, which shows the relative influence by using a color density. CP index is presented as the darkest part in the heatmap. The proposed method is demonstrated in two benchmark networks of different layouts, Hanoi and Mays. Despite its simplicity, the proposed method could identify the source pipes which are generally considered to be critical in the engineering sense.
Mapping suspended sediment dynamics in the Pantanal wetland using remote sensing and ANN-based models
Authors: Campos Juliana Andrade , Fassoni-Andrade Alice César , Pedrollo Olavo Correa , Fujita Thais , Cuartas Luz Adriana , Bruun Eeva , Attila Jenni , Uvo Cintia Bertacchi
Published: February 2023

The Pantanal is the largest tropical wetland on earth, covering an area of 158000 km² between Brazil (~70%), Bolivia (~20%) and Paraguay (~10%). The regular flood pulse of this region produces unique ecological and geomorphological processes in the floodplains. Due to the extensive areas with flat topography, the water velocity of the rivers gets reduced, and large sediment deposition processes begin to take place in the Pantanal floodplain. Despite its unique characteristics and great environmental importance, the rivers from this region have very scarce in situ monitoring of suspended sediment concentration (SSC), with approximately one gauge per 8000 km2, and experiences low collection frequency (average of four measurements per year). Therefore, the characterization of sediment dynamics in this region remains challenging, and the spatial-temporal variation of suspended sediments in the Pantanal rivers is still poorly understood.Remote sensing techniques offer enormous advantages by providing cost-effective systematic observations of large water systems, allowing spatial-temporal mapping of wild areas such as the Pantanal. The suspended matter in water bodies increases the reflectance in the green, red, and near-infrared (NIR) bands, i.e., the backscatter radiation increases as the SSC in water increases. Therefore, reflectance from the visible bands and NIR band can be used as proxies of SSC in water bodies.The focus of this study is to assess the spatial-temporal variations of SSC in rivers that drain to and through the Pantanal wetland, by using surface reflectance (SR) from satellite images and artificial neural network (ANN)-based models. We used atmospherically corrected SR from Sentinel-2, Landsat 8, and Landsat 9 (bands of blue, green, red and NIR) as input variables, and in situ data on SSC from 23 gauges along the Pantanal rivers as output variables in the models.Through this methodology, we expect to obtain time series of SSC estimated by the ANN-based model and reflectance data from satellite images for different parts of the Pantanal hydrographic basin.The resulting time series allows us to:Characterize the spatial variations of suspended sediments along different rivers in the Pantanal wetland.
Identify the main drivers of these spatial variations by comparing these differences with land use, vegetation cover, topography, and types of soil within the drainage watershed of the rivers.
Characterize the influence of the seasonal hydrological regime on SSC transport.
Identify the influence of anthropic activities on the amount of SSC transported to the wetland.
Latest developments in the long-term monitoring of vegetation characteristics in the ICOS ecosystem network.
Authors: Gielen Bert , Op de Beeck Maarten , Nicolini Giacomo , Sabbatini Simone , Michilsens Fana , Trotta Carlo , Iserbyt Arne , Papale Dario
Published: February 2023

The Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) is a pan-European Research Infrastructure with the goal to monitor the greenhouse gas balance of Europe. The terrestrial component of the infrastructure consists of a network of more than 100 flux towers that continuously measure the exchange of greenhouse gases between the atmosphere and the ecosystem by using the eddy covariance technique. To interpret these fluxes a whole suite of other parameters that describe the state of the vegetation are measured. The Ecosystem Thematic Center (ETC) is coordinating the ecosystem network providing assistance with instruments and methods, testing and developing new measurement techniques and associated processing algorithms; also ensuring a high level of data standardization, uncertainty analysis and database services in coordination with the ICOS Carbon Portal. This presentation will give a brief overview of the vegetation-related parameters that are measured within the ecosystem network following standard methods and discuss some new methods that have been tested and introduced. For example a campaign with Terrestrial Laser Scanning was performed at a subset of forest stations to examine the potential to estimate above ground biomass from the gathered point clouds. More recently, below-canopy PAR measurements were introduced at the forest stations to estimate Plant Area Index (PAI) in addition to estimates from Digital Hemispherical Photography. This new method shows to be less sensitive to specific light conditions, less labor intensive and has the advantage of creating continuous time series which will be very valuable for validation of remote sensing products. First results of a cross comparison between both methods at several ICOS stations will be shown and discussed during the presentation.
3D high-resolution imaging of lithospheric VP, VS, and density structure in the Alps using full-waveform inversion of the teleseismic P waves
Authors: Mohammadi Najmieh , Beller Stephen , Monteiller Vadim , Operto Stephane
Published: February 2023

The convergence between the African and European plates has created the magnificent Alpine chain with a very complex geological structure. This natural laboratory helps researchers to decipher the geotectonic processes imposed on the region. One useful way to understand better the prevailing geodynamics system is to interpret high-resolution crustal and upper-mantle models developed by full wavefield tomographic methods simultaneously. The high density of broadband stations deployed during the AlpArray project allows us to apply Full Waveform Inversion (FWI) on the teleseismic earthquakes recorded in the Alpine region. FWI minimizes the misfit between the entire recorded and simulated seismograms to reconstruct multiparameter models of the Earth’s interior with a resolution close to the wavelength. We used 203 teleseismic earthquakes with 6.8≤MW≤7.4 and 8≤depth≤630 km recorded by 1232 stations including permanent seismological broadband stations and AlpArray temporary seismic network. To model the propagation of the teleseismic wavefields through the target area, we used a hybrid technique that couples a global wavefield computed by AxiSEM in axisymmetric Earth from the source to the boundaries of the study area to regional wavefield propagating through the lithospheric domain computed by SPECFEM3DCartesian. This target-oriented wavefield injection method mitigates the computational cost of the wavefield simulation at the global scale, hence making high-frequency wavefield simulations in the lithospheric target possible (up to the 1Hz period). We use the AK135 velocity model as the initial model and iteratively inverted the band-pass filtered data at 10-30 s periods using the limited-memory BFGS optimization algorithm to obtain a 3D high-resolution elastic VP, VS, and density model for the crust and upper mantle of the entire Alpine chain. Our results show that the main documented structures of the Alps have been recovered well in the crust and upper mantle and confirm that a reliable geotechnical interpretation in the Alps depends on the consideration of the geodynamical process on Apennine and Dinaric simultaneously.
Development of a decision support system for regional planning and the assessment of brownfield sites: A case-study
Authors: Hammond Ellis , Coulon Frederic , Hallett Stephen , Thomas Russell , Dick Alistair , Hardy Drew , Beriro Darren
Published: February 2023

The complex nature of brownfield sites means that making decisions about their regeneration can be challenging and involve a wide range of stakeholders. To support these stakeholders, data-driven spatial decision support systems (DSSs) are often used. For these kinds of tools to be effective, it is crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of the problems and challenges faced by stakeholders. This research builds on previous large-scale stakeholder engagement (Hammond et al., 2023), critical review (Hammond et al., 2021), and detailed user requirements gathering. We present a framework for the development of a novel web-based DSS to support early-stage city region-scale brownfield planning and redevelopment. The DSS has four objectives: (1) improve the findability and visualisation of data, (2) support the assessment and understanding of ground risk posed by contamination and geotechnical instability, (3) provide better visualisation of data related to economic viability assessment, and (4) support evidence gathering for master planning through the modelling of land-use potential using a GIS multi-criteria method. We demonstrate the capabilities of the DSS framework through the implementation of a case-study focussing on the Liverpool City Region, a combined authority area in north-west England. Findings from user testing of the DSS and verification work are also presented.
Sub-mesoscale temperature variability in observed and simulated convective cold pools
Authors: Kirsch Bastian , Grant Leah D. , Falk Nicholas M. , Neumaier Christine A. , Bukowski Jennie , Ament Felix , van den Heever Susan C.
Published: February 2023

The spatial and temporal variability of air temperature represents the imprint of various meteorological processes, ranging from microscale turbulence to synoptic-scale weather systems. Convective cold pools, formed by evaporatively cooled downdrafts of precipitating clouds, are known to be an important source of mesoscale variability over mid-latitude land. Cold pools both directly perturb the near-surface temperature field and influence variability by controlling larger-scale convective organization. However, their impact on the sub-mesoscale (100 m to 10 km) temperature variability is unclear due to insufficient observational data. Consequently, the validation of sub-mesoscale variability in numerical weather prediction (NWP) and Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) models is also impeded.In this study, we apply the variogram framework to determine sub-mesoscale temperature variability in observations as well as in idealized and realistic simulations of cold pool events. The basis of the analyses are actual and virtual observations of a dense network of 99 surface measurement stations as part of the Field Experiment on Submesoscale Spatio-Temporal Variability in Lindenberg (FESSTVaL) conducted in eastern Germany during summer 2021. The observed variogram averaged over the lifetime of a cold pool shows enhanced temperature variance at scales between about 1 km and 15 km compared to well-mixed boundary layer conditions, although the magnitude of the perturbation strongly varies for single time steps. Except for the intensification phase, the cold pool generally reduces the temperature variability at sub-km scales compared to pre-cold pool conditions. This suggests smoothing of sub-km temperature gradients by enhanced mixing near the surface as well as damped turbulent surface fluxes.Idealized cold pool simulations at LES grid spacings capture the overall variogram shape and evolution well but show the largest uncertainty for sub-km scales as compared to the observed variograms. The results are sensitive to the sampled lifetime stage of the cold pool, its environmental conditions, and the model representation of dissipation time scales and turbulent surface fluxes. These findings can help to identify the spatial and temporal scales of variability that are relevant to correctly simulate convective processes in the atmosphere and their interaction with the land surface.
3D ground and space-based ray tracing tomography model – methodology and implementation
Authors: Cegla Adam , Rohm Witold , Hordyniec Paweł , Moeller Gregor , Trzcina Estera , Hanna Natalia
Published: February 2023

One of the indispensable elements of high-resolution weather forecast systems is the provision of reliable initial conditions using observations. Among the methods for collecting meteorological data, besides the quality of measurements, their time and space variability play a crucial role. Hence, GNSS observations stand out as stable, bias-free alternatives for weather stations, radiosondes, or microwave satellites.Current studies of GNSS observations in weather forecasting give promising results. However, the observations themselves are subject to errors due to their geometry, mainly caused by insufficient vertical and horizontal resolution. Therefore, applying them in an operational forecasting model is challenging. A possible way to solve this is to integrate space and ground-based observations into one tomography model.The solution should be able to detect local, extreme weather phenomena with repeatable uncertainty and high numerical stability. Hence, we propose a precise 3D ray tracing solution for effective simulations of the ray path between the GNSS satellite and the GNSS receiver (Low Earth Orbiting LEO satellite), along with the ground receiver. Although, the combination of these results in one computationally efficient and stable model is a complex task.The following step is the 3D ray tracing simulation integration into a modified TOMO2 operator dedicated to the tomography of 3D wet refractivity fields. The ray tracing module collects information on ray points’ refractivity and distance traversed in models’ voxels along the ray path. Then delivers it to mutual observational matrices for ground- and space-based simulations. This study focuses on the methodology of integrated tomography modeling.  Results are compared to the ground-based only GNSS tomography solution and validated with radiosondes profiles. The case studies are based on severe weather events in Poland with RO data delivered by SPIRE company and GNSS ground-based observations produced by UPWr. Numerical Weather Model input comes from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ERA5.
Object-based characterization of Tropical Trade Cumuli During the EUREC4A/ATOMIC Field Campaign using Sentinel-2 observations
Authors: Ritter Oscar , Bley Sebastian , Deneke Hartwig
Published: February 2023

In January and February 2020, the joint EUREC4A/ATOMIC field campaign took place in the Tropical Atlantic near Barbados, with the goal to advance our understanding of the interplay between clouds, convection and circulation including their role in climate change. Within the scope of this campaign, several unique satellite-based datasets have been collected, including very high-spatial resolution multispectral images with 10x10m² pixel size acquired by polar-orbiting Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites. In this presentation, the first analysis of these high-resolution observations focused on tropical trade cumuli is given. This cloud type is characterized by small-scale spatiotemporal variability that is unresolved at the spatial resolution of current meteorological satellite imagers.Using the high-resolution Sentinel-2 observations, we will show the clouds can be considered as individual objects with associated properties, such as shape and size parameters, but also their mean radiative properties. A novel technique will be presented for deriving cloud height from Sentinel-2 observations, which exploits the geometric relationship between cloud objects and their shadows. Furthermore, the cloud fraction and cloud size distribution are calculated for various trade cumulus scenes. The uncertainties arising from choices in our cloud detection scheme will be discussed.We show that a substantial fraction of clouds has equivalent diameters below the pixel size of commonly used meteorological satellite instruments. Consequently, and consistent with previous studies, the cloud size distribution and domain-average cloud fraction from coarse-resolution satellite imagers are shown to be biased and highly sensitive to pixel resolution. In addition, a large fraction of pixels identified as cloudy contains significant clear-sky contributions, and it is no longer possible to characterize clouds as objects. We will discuss how this affects the accuracy of cloud property determination and biases estimates of cloud radiative forcing.
Factors influencing the long-term interseismic behavior of the Main Marmara Fault, NW Turkey
Authors: Fernandez Naiara , Cacace Mauro , Scheck-Wenderoth Magdalena , Heidbach Oliver
Published: February 2023

The North Anatolian Fault (NAF) is a right-lateral continental transform fault that extends from eastern Anatolia to the northern Aegean in the eastern Mediterranean. It is characterized by strong and frequent seismic activity, posing a high seismic hazard level to the region. The Main Marmara Fault (MMF), the northern branch of the NAF along the Marmara Sea (NW Turkey), has produced several major earthquakes (M7+) in the past with a recurrence rate of about 250 years. At present, there is a 150 km seismic gap along the MMF that has not ruptured since 1766. The MMF seismic gap shows distinct variability in its along-strike interseismic strain-accumulation with locked and creeping segments, but it is unclear which are the controlling parameter of this observation. Thus, the interseismic evolution of the MMF, especially its frictional state and its inter-to-pre-seismic behavior, is still a matter of debate. It has been proposed that the observed along-strike variation in strain localization around the MMF might be linked to a heterogeneous off-fault crustal and sedimentary rheological configuration.Here, we use a forward numerical approach with visco-elastic rheology to investigate the space and time scales of the long-term seismic behavior of the Main Marmara Fault and its main controlling factors. The MMF is modelled following a Coulomb frictional constitutive law. The spatially variable rock properties are derived from a lithospheric-scale 3D structural model of the region around the MMF. This model has been generated with a data-driven approach in a previous stage of the work. The forward model is used to test the effect of varying boundary conditions (i.e. kinematic) and fault strength properties (i.e. coefficient of friction). Our modelling approach highlights the first order role of crustal rheology and fault-strength in the long-term behavior of the MMF (spatial distribution and recurrence of seismic events), as well as their potential to explain the along fault locking degree variability.
Multi-scale analysis of atmospheric and oceanic pCO2 time series and of their difference
Authors: Robache Kévin , Schmitt François G. , Huang Yongxiang
Published: February 2023

The oceans play an important role in the carbon cycle by exchanging CO2 with the atmosphere. These exchanges correspond to the biological pump, where the ocean can be sink or source of atmospheric CO2. Our hypothesis is that CO2 concentration, either atmospheric or oceanic, are chemical tracers being strongly influence by turbulence: we thus study separately their dynamics, and also their difference which is giving indication of the direction of the air-sea CO2 flux.
For this we use a publicly available data set of pCO2 simultaneous measurements at high frequency (typically 3 hours time step) at 40 difference places around the globe, from surface buoys (Sutton et al. 2019). We consider here the scaling properties of these quantities in order to characterize their multi-scale fluctuations, which are considered in the framework of passive or active scalars in turbulence.  For each site, this is done by analyzing temperature, salinity, oceanic (pCO2sw), atmospheric (pCO2air) pCO2 and their difference $\delta = pCO2sw - pCO2air$. Power spectral density are estimated in Fourier space and using Hilbert spectral analysis, with adapted methodologies to take into account the missing data problem. Spectral slopes are recorded and are interpreted in relation with the local climatology, depth and other factors.
The dynamics of upwelling in the Baltic Sea: the interplay of topography and stratification
Authors: Masini Matteo , Koszalka Inga , Nilsson Johan , Gustafsson Bo , Sokolov Alexander
Published: February 2023

In the Baltic Sea, wind-driven coastal upwelling and downwelling events are important for the redistribution of nutrients and other tracers vertically as well as laterally. These events develop under favorable wind conditions and are associated with longshore baroclinic coastal jets that evolve on time scales of a few days. An upwelling (or downwelling) event can be decomposed into an active and passive phase. During the active phase, the coastal jet is governed by the interplay between the wind, bottom bathymetry, and stratification. In the active phase, meandering of the jet has been commonly observed in the Baltic Sea, which has been proposed to arise from variations in the vorticity of the coastal jet due to along-shore variations in the bathymetry. As the longshore component of the wind weakens, the coastal jet becomes unstable and starts to decay enacting formations of eddies in the mesoscale (passive phase). The motivation of the present contribution is to analyze the role of baroclinic instability in the passive phase and to examine its interplay with the cross-shore slope, excluding alongshore variations by the bottom bathymetry. We use the MIT General Ocean Circulation Model (MITgcm) to study the formation and decay of coastal jets under upwelling and downwelling favorable conditions in summer. We consider an idealized flat-bottom case as well as more realistic bathymetric transects of the western Gotland Basin. The simulations are analyzed with respect to the energy conversion rates between the mean jet and eddies, the position and structure of the wind-driven coastal jet, and the characteristic scales of the variability. The results highlight the role of both, baroclinic and barotropic instabilities, for the development of the coastal jet and associated amplitudes of up- and down-welling