bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
GPS-based multi-annual variation of the precipitable water over Poland territory
Authors: Araszkiewicz Andrzej , Mierzwiak Michał , Kiliszek Damian , Nowak Da Costa Joanna , Szołucha Marcin
Published: March 2022

Earth's visible environmental changes, both natural and man-made, are influencing climate change on a global scale. For this reason, it is necessary to continuously monitor these changes and study the impact of human activities on them. One of the parameters indicating climate change is the systematic increase in temperature for the last 80 years. It causes more evaporation of water from natural and artificial water bodies. Consequently, the water content in the atmosphere is also increasing. Precipitable water is therefore one of the most important parameters when studying climate change. 

The aim of this study was to analyze long-term precipitation water data from a dense GNSS network over Poland. Twelve-year observations from over a hundred ASG-EUPOS stations were used to estimate changes in precipitation water values. These data were verified by comparison with available radio sounding data. Analysis of GPS-based PW values showed a clear increasing trend in PW values by 0.078 mm/year. The spatial-temporal distribution of mean PW values and their fluctuations over the years have been investigated. The obtained results confirm the fact that Poland lies on the border of continental and oceanic climate influence, and are in agreement with climate research concerning this region. 
Influence of sample acidification in the presence of humic substances in determination of pesticide by LC-MS/MS
Authors: Kříženecká Sylvie
Published: March 2022

The strength of the interaction between a pesticide and the soil organic matter is a key parameter to assess the risk of it reaching to groundwater with potentially harmful effects to human health. The humic substances (HS) play important role in the adsorption of pesticides. The mechanism of these reactions includes cation exchange, chelation, coordination, hydrogen bonding, charge transfer, hydrofobic bonding, π bonding, and van der Waals bonding. Many factors could affect the pesticide signals in LC-MS/MS analysis.  The chemical and physical properties of the analytes and the composition of the sample matrix are amongst them. Acidification of the solution can also affect the ionization of analytes (pesticides) in the ion source.

In this work, a approach that allows measuring such pesticide interactions  in acidic solutions (formic acid - FA, acetic acid - AA). These were representatives of pesticides phenoxycarboxylic, chloroacetanilide, urea, organophosphate, triazine, triazole and representatives of other pesticides. The measurements showed that different groups of pesticides exhibit different behaviors in the presence of humic acids. There were differences both between different groups of pesticides and between individual representatives within certain groups.

The resulting measured concentration values differed most from each other for organophosphate pesticides. At the same time, the structures of the molecules of these pesticides vary greatly. Dimethoat had a more pronounced signal drop than diazinon at lower pesticide concentrations (25 ng/l). The effect of the addition of FA and AA on the resulting concentration values also differed between the two pollutants studied. In diazinon, the addition of AA signal decreased in dimethoat, on the contrary, increased. The addition of FA in diazinon further dampened the signal, while dimethoat experienced a similar increase in analyte values as with the addition of AA. From the results of the measurements, it can be deduced that representatives of organophosphate pesticides show different behavior in the presence of HA.
The impact of diesel pollution on Miscanthus x giganteus biomass- two-year pot experiment 
Authors: Burdová Hana
Published: March 2022

Energy crop Miscanthus x giganteus (Mxg) is known for its ability to grow in contaminated soils and for its high biomass which can be transformed to various biobased products.

A two-year pot experiment (2019 – 2020) was set to determine impact of diesel pollution on Mxg growth and impact of Mxg on degradation of diesel pollution. Mxg was grown in pots with diesel-spiked soil with different concentrations (2 500 – 50 000 mg/kg dry soil). Four soil samplings (three in 2019 and one in 2020) were carried out. The soil parameters (available nutrients, humus, pH, TOC) and diesel concentration (C10 – C40 analysis) were monitored. At the end of each growing season the biomass parameters (height and number of stems) were measured.  After the second growing season rhizomes and roots weight was also determined. Plant fitness was quantified by measuring of leaf fluorescence. The changes of microbial communities were characterized by phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) analysis, respiration and enzymatic activities.

Higher diesel concentration affected negatively the growth of Miscanthus x giganteus. Biodegradation of diesel followed the first-order kinetics. Achieved half-lives were significantly shorter in pots with developed planted (compared to unplanted control); at low and high diesel concentrations the differences was not significant. Microbial activity was mostly stimulated by diesel concentration, which indicates microbial biodegradation as the key process. The results implicate slight stimulation of biodegradation developed by Mxg.
Seasonal benthic foraminifera response to the complex physicochemical conditions of the semi-enclosed Thermaikos Gulf (NW Aegean Sea)
Authors: Koukousioura Olga , Georgiou Sofia , Dimiza Margarita , Avramidis Pavlos , Triantaphyllou Maria
Published: March 2022

Benthic foraminiferal assemblages were analysed to determine their seasonal variation and evaluate the effects of environmental factors on their density, species composition and distribution, in the semi-enclosed Thermaikos Gulf, in the NW part of the Aegean Sea. Three major rivers, two minor ones and several ephemeral streams flow into the shallow Thermaikos basin, discharging annually tonnes of sediment, forming a submarine delta on the west part of the gulf and causing the constant occurrence of dissolved solids in the water column. During the high precipitation period (January-May), the fresh water intrusion extends to the major part of the gulf (surface salinities <25), while during the whole year more saline waters from the northern Aegean flow towards the northeast, entering the gulf.

Changes in the foraminiferal abundance and composition was explored during a twelve-month monitoring, compared to a multi-parameter environmental dataset (temperature, salinity, pH and nutrients), metal content and organic carbon. Sampling of the top 2cm of the surface sediment was carried out on a monthly basis (January-December 2016) at one station (S1), and at 5 stations (S1-S5) during winter (February), spring (April), summer (July) and autumn (October), located in Thessaloniki Bay (inner part of the Thermaikos Gulf). During late spring-summer (April to August), foraminiferal densities and relative percentages of the living specimens displayed the highest values, while high diversities (Shannon-Wiener index) were observed during winter. The different samples investigated seasonally present a variability, with respect to both abiotic parameters and the foraminiferal assemblage. The main part of the gulf (muddy bottom - max depth 23 m) is dominated mainly by Bulimina spp., Bolivina spp., Uvigerina spp. and various species of agglutinated foraminifera, such as Textularia bocki, Eggereloides scaber, and Reophax spp. Samples from the western part of the gulf (sandy bottom - max depth 3 m) were characterized by a more diversified assemblage also including miliolids and a variety of small, epiphytic rotaliid taxa.

The exceptional environmental conditions that prevail in the environments of the inner Thermaikos Gulf, are reflected in foraminiferal composition, making it an ideal laboratory for the study of the microfauna in response to a combination of stressful parameters in a natural physiochemically complex environment.
Salt welds from up close: Examples from the Eastern Alps
Authors: Fernández Oscar , Grasemann Bernhard , Ortner Hugo , Szczygiel Jacek , Leitner Thomas
Published: March 2022

Salt welds are frequent features in basins with halokinesis. They are profusely observed on reflection seismic and are common features on maps of salt-rich geological provinces (even though they may not always have been identified as such). Despite this abundance, detailed studies of salt weld outcrops are remarkably scarce, in part due to outcrop conditions being hampered by vegetation and weathering. This results in a significant paucity in the description of the structure of salt welds at the meter- to centimeter-scale.

In this contribution we present our observations on three non-primary salt welds from the Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA) in the Eastern Alps, an area that evolved from a Permian-Jurassic passive margin setting to the Cretaceous-Recent Alpine orogenesis. The NCA are dominated by Triassic to Jurassic shallow to deep water carbonates, underlain by an Upper Permian evaporitic unit (mainly salt, anhydrite and shales). The evaporite unit is preserved at present mostly in broad, poorly outcropping salt bodies (salt walls?) located between blocks of Triassic platforms, and in diapirs and allochthonous bodies that are mined or quarried for halite and anhydrite. These bodies have been affected by Alpine orogenesis to different degrees, but in general present a strong contractional and/or strike-slip overprint.

In this presentation we discuss welds that are associated to two diapirs and potentially to a strongly overprinted salt wall. Outcrop conditions for the welds are outstanding, with two of these welds being observed in the galleries of two salt mines. All welds occur in Middle to Upper Triassic platform carbonates and contain no major traces of evaporites but do contain either highly sheared syn-evaporite shales or fragments of Lower to Middle Triassic post-salt sediments. Hand samples and outcrop observations have been used to describe the millimiter- to hectometer-scale structure of the welds and provide a unique insight into the detailed architecture of salt welds. Furthermore, it reveals a different tectonic evolution for each weld, with different relative contributions of halokinesis and faulting during the passive margin stage, and of re-activation during Alpine orogenesis.
Predicting and comparing canopy biomass by satellite-extracted vegetation indices and a temperature-driven phenological modelling approach
Authors: Pan Wei-Chung , Cheng Su-Ting
Published: March 2022

Urban forest provides several important ecosystem services to cite residents and city environment, by which most functions were related to trees’ canopy biomass. To understand the dynamics of canopy biomass affecting the ecosystem services, this study applied and compared two approaches in predicting canopy biomass of Koelreuteria elegans street trees in the city of Taipei in Taiwan. The first approach extracted vegetation indices (VI) from time series data of the 2018 Sentinel-2 satellite images, to represent signals of tree canopy variation, including Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), image classification based on VI time series data was processed to extract pixels with high canopy covers, and examined the associated phenological activities. In contrast, the other approach applied a system dynamic model to capture changes of canopy phenological activities in different seasons by factors of canopy size, leaf duration, and phenology events, all controlled by an accumulated temperature function to characterize green up and defoliation mechanisms. The growth temperature and growth rate of new leaves were calibrated with the phenological records. Results found good correlations between satellite-extracted vegetation indices approach and a temperature-driven phenological modelling. Reconstructed by NDVI and EVI, both indices caught the start of spring growth of Koelreuteria elegans in March to a full-sized canopy in April, with the whole growing season extended to the end of September, and a beginning of main defoliation from October to the lowest canopy size in January and February next year. Built from the image classification results for pure canopy cover, the maximum value of NDVI and EVI was 0.443 and 0.486, while the minimum was 0.08 and 0.163, respectively. In comparison, results from the canopy phenological modelling showed similar trends that canopy biomass reached its lowest point in February, entered to a rapid growth phase in March and reached full canopy size in April. Although the canopy phenological model also predicted a main growing season lasted until October, during the defoliation period, the leaves of the Koelreuteria elegans never completely fell off, due to the actual monthly minimum average temperature in the city of Taipei was higher than 10oC as the threshold of the controlled temperature. Based on these results, we suggest that when ground tree survey and inventory data are available, both satellite-extracted vegetation indices and modelling approach can provide useful predictions for landscape planning and urban forestry management.
Control of inheritance, crustal strength and relative rate of extrusion/indentation on 3D strain distribution and basin reactivation: insights from laboratory models 
Authors: Guillaume Benjamin , Gianni Guido
Published: March 2022

Cases where multiple tectonic regimes acted closely in space and time have been long recognized. The coexistence of thrust, strike-slip, and normal faulting has been documented in thick orogenic regions, in oblique convergent settings associated with strain partitioning, in areas of indentation tectonics and lateral escape, and synorogenic foreland rifting/transtension settings, where extension-transtension takes place in close spatiotemporal relation with plate-margin shortening. Here, we use analogue models to test how parameters like the crustal strength, basement inheritances, and relative rate of extrusion/indentation can be effective mechanisms to explain the coeval emplacement of thrust, strike-slip, and normal faults. We also investigate their effect on fault reactivation in previously extended basins.

We show that a strong crust can exhibit coeval thrust faults, strike-slip faults and normal faults for ratios of extrusion over indentation rates in between 1.4 and 2, as orientation and magitude of principal stresses spatially vary within the model. For a weaker crust, normal faults and thrusts faults cannot coexist at the same time. Inheritance, which is implemented through the presence of a seed simulating a preexisting weakness zone or through an initial phase of extension, controls the geometry of strike-slip faults, whose orientation departs from the Coulomb fracture criterion. Reactivation of former normal faults as normal faults is only possible for ratios of extrusion over indentation rates over 1, for both weak and strong crusts. For lower rates, pre-existing normal faults are reactivated as indentation-parallel strike-slip faults. Our experimental results are then compared with the tectonic evolution of the Eastern Anatolia, the Alps and the Central Patagonia.
Risk of embankment fires for rail traffic systems in Germany
Authors: Bott Frederick , Blauhut Veit , Sonja Szymczak , Carina Hermann , Stöckigt Benjamin
Published: March 2022

Embankment fires along railroad infrastructure are a major threat, especially during summer months, and regularly lead to delay and cancellation of rail traffic services. From 2017-2020 the German railroad company “Deutsche Bahn” reported over 1110 embankment fires. With regard to the predicted climate change towards drier and hotter summers in Germany, this number is likely going to increase within the next decades. In order to foster future resilience to this hazard, this study analysed urrent drivers of embankment fires along railroads in Germany and developed an embankment fire risk map for the Germany-wide railway network. Based on incident reports, local exposure and hazard information, Maximum Entropy models were developed to identify major drivers of embankment fire risk, as well as future risk across Germany. Aiming for high spatial resolution (5m²), only a very limited number of events could be used for prediction. Nevertheless, model performances are of good quality. The results highlight the importance of local orography such as slope gradient and orientation, hydro-meteorological conditions as well as distance to urban settlements. A multi-scale analysis approach enables insights to embankment fire risk from local 5m raster scale to a Germany-wide overview with risk aggregated to 5km rail road sections. The Germany-wide risk maps thus presents current hot spot regions, such as Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia. Zooming in, the high resolved risk maps enable embankment fire risk detection for local action. Considering RCP8.5 scenarios, the potential future will lead to higher risks of embankment fires for large parts of central and southern Germany. This study presents a first attempt to model embankment fire risk country wide at multiple scales. Future work will require more efforts to compile event data with regard to spatial and temporal resolution, but also an extended spectrum of possible drivers.
Factors influencing hydrology of a riparian woody pasture in western Hungary
Authors: Szőke Előd , Csáki Péter , Kalicz Péter , Kutschi Péter , Gribovszki Zoltán
Published: March 2022

Climate change induced droughts are a major threat to riparian ecosystems.  Water scarcity can degrade such types of ecosystems but with reasonable water supply these valuable wetland ecosystems can be preserved or those that have deteriorated can be restored.

In the frame of this research we evaluated the hydrological reconstruction works of the Doroszló meadows habitat. Groundwater monitoring wells were installed at 4 selected locations in the area. Water table values and surface soil moisture were monitored  in parallel. Hydrological parameters  were recorded manually on a weekly basis. Data for the period from April 2019 to October 2021 were processed using  statistical methods such as “treatment-control space-time deviations” and “double mass curve”. 

As a result we found that water supply interventions had a detectable effect on the groundwater level and soil mositure of the area, but some modifying factors had also influenced the hydrology of micro locations. Therefore taking into account local effects is very important in case of the evaluation of a water supply project.

Acknowledgement: Research was supported by TKP2021-NKTA-43 project. Project no. TKP2021-NKTA-43 has been implemented with the support provided by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology of Hungary from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund, financed under the TKP2021-NKTA funding scheme.”
Formation of deep hydrothermal vein-type Mo greisen and base metal mineralization at the Sweet Home mine, Colorado (USA)
Authors: Stoltnow Malte , Lüders Volker , de Graaf Stefan , Niedermann Samuel
Published: March 2022

Deep hydrothermal Mo, W, and base metal mineralization at the Sweet Home mine (Detroit City portal) formed in response to magmatic activity during the Oligocene. Fluid inclusions in early-stage greisen quartz and fluorite precipitated from low- to medium-saline (1.5-11.5 wt.% equiv. NaCl), CO2-bearing fluids at temperatures between 360 and 415°C and at depths of at least 3.5 km. Stable isotope data indicate that greisen formation and base metal mineralization at the Sweet Home mine was related to fluids of different origins. Early magmatic fluids were the principal source for mantle-derived volatiles (CO2, H2S/SO2, noble gases), which subsequently mixed with significant amounts of heated meteoric water. Mixing of magmatic fluids with meteoric water is constrained by δ2Hw-δ18Ow relationships of fluid inclusions. The deep hydrothermal mineralization at the Sweet Home mine shows features similar to deep hydrothermal vein mineralization at Climax-type Mo deposits or on their periphery. This suggests that fluid migration and the deposition of ore and gangue minerals in the Sweet Home mine was triggered by a deep-seated magmatic intrusion. The findings of this study are in good agreement with the results of previous fluid inclusion studies of the mineralization of the Sweet Home mine and from Climax-type Mo porphyry deposits in the Colorado Mineral Belt.
ANOMALOUS GEOMAGNETIC SIGNAL EMPHASISED BEFORE THE Mw8.2 ALASKA EARTHQUAKE OCCURRED ON JULY 29, 2021
Authors: Stanica Dragos Armand
Published: March 2022

A very strong earthquake of magnitude Mw8.2 struck the coastal zone of Alaska (USA), on July 29, 2021. This earthquake was felt around the Gulf of Alaska, on a wide offshore area belonging to USA and Canada. In order to identify an anomalous geomagnetic signal before the onset of this earthquake, we retrospectively analyzed the data collected on the interval June 17 - July 31, 2021, via internet (www.intermagnet.org), at the two geomagnetic observatories, College (CMO) - Alaska and Newport (NEW)-USA, by using the polarization parameter (BPOL) and the strain effect–related to geomagnetic signal identification. Thus, for the both observation sites (CMO and NEW), the daily mean distribution of the BPOL and its standard deviation (STDEV) are carried out using an FFT band-pass filtering in the ULF range (0.001-0.0083Hz). Further on, a statistical analysis based on a standardized random variable equation was applied to emphasize the following: a) the anomalous signature related to Mw8.2 earthquake on the both time series BPOL*(CMO) and BPOL*(NEW); b) the differentiation of the transient local anomalies associated with Mw8.2 earthquake from the internal and external parts of the geomagnetic field, taking the NEW observatory as reference. Consequently, on the BPOL*(NEW-CMO) time series, carried out on the interval 07-31 July, 2021, a very clear anomaly of maximum, greater than 1.2 STDEV, was detected on July 22, with 7 days before the onset of Mw8.2 earthquake.
Modelling preferential water flow and pesticide leaching to drains with Daisy:  The effect of drain-connecting and matrix-terminating biopores
Authors: Holbak Maja , Abrahamsen Per , Diamantopoulos Efstathios
Published: March 2022

Biopores and cracks in soils act as fast transport ways for water and solute, potentially leading to pesticide leaching shortly after application. The biopore module in the agro-hydrological model Daisy was developed to simulate preferential water flow directly to drains, in drain-connecting biopores, and to deeper soil layers, in matrix-terminating biopores.Daisy offers a coherent representation of the soil-plant-atmosphere system, including preferential solute transport, for pesticide fate assessment in agricultural fields. We test the biopore module in Daisy against field measurements of water flow and the behavior of bentazone and imidacloprid after application to a cracking clay field in the Netherlands. We generated two model concepts, DCB with drain-connecting biopores and DCMTB with both drain-connecting and matrix-terminating biopores. Parameters describing the biopores were estimated by inverse modelling to observations of water flow and pesticide concentrations in drains. The results showed that data of water flow and pesticide concentrations in drains contained enough information to parameterize the biopore module in Daisy. Furthermore, both models could simulate the water flow and pesticide leaching to drains well after calibration. Especially, the models were able to describe the high concentration of bentazone in drain water shortly after application. Solute transport in drain-connecting biopores explained the fast break through of pesticides in drains shortly after application. We attributed the discrepancies between observations and simulations in the beginning of the drainage season to the limitations that arise when simulating dynamic preferential flow paths, such as shrinkage cracks, with a static model, such as the biopore model in Daisy. The pesticide distribution in the field over time was represented satisfactorily, especially by the DCMTB-model. We therefore conclude that Daisy can simulate fast break through of pesticides in drain water and describe very well pesticide concentration in drain water throughout the drainage season.
Infrastructure-damaging landslides from an extreme rainfall event: case study from Gisborne, New Zealand
Authors: Brook Martin , Cook Matt , Cave Murry
Published: March 2022

Landslides are widespread natural hazards that are responsible for substantial economic and societal damage globally each year. In New Zealand, landslides frequently occur on soil and rock, often triggered by high rainfall and/or seismic activity. This study focuses on the Gisborne district on New Zealand’s North Island. The area is particularly susceptible to landslide hazards due to (1) the region's location on an active plate boundary, (2) steep slopes, (3) relatively young, soft geology, (4) land use change, and (5) extreme rainfall events including landfall of extra-tropical cyclones. The interplay of several of these factors led to a particularly damaging rainfall-induced landsliding event after 4th November 2021, following >200 mm of rain falling in parts of the district over 24 hours. Effects across the region were widespread. Damage to, and evacuation of, residential properties occurred in Gisborne city itself, from shallow rotational slumping and earthflows. The vulnerability of the city’s water supply (via the Te Arai Pipeline) was highlighted by the reactivation of a large complex landslide, that extended to within a few meters of the pipeline. Destruction of the (mothballed) Gisborne-Wairoa railway line occurred near Beach Loop due to reactivation of the Whareongaonga Landslide. Across the Gisborne district, detecting ground deformation related to landslides is vital for identifying and managing areas at risk. Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) revealed that many of the landslides that occurred following the November 2021 rainfall event were on slopes that had been actively deforming for several years. Thus, in future, InSAR should prove useful for detecting, mapping and monitoring landslides in the district, and assisting with planning decision-making.
Turbulent Cascade of  the Lithosphere Deformation in the Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Yan Tinghui , Ma Yinxiang , Hu Jianyu , Huang Yongxiang
Published: March 2022

Recently, multiscale statics is found to be relevant in description of the lithosphere deformation of the Tibetan Plateau (Jian et al, Phys. Rev. E, 2019). More precisely, a dual-power-law behavior is observed respectively on the spatial scale range of  50≤ r≤ 500km and 500≤ r ≤2000km, which coincidently agrees well with the one reported for the atmospheric movement (Nastrom et al., Nature, 1984). The corresponding high-order scaling exponents demonstrated a nonlinear shape, showing multifractality nature of the underlying dynamics. To diagnose further whether the lithosphere deformation is turbulent or not, the third-order longitudinal structure-function SLLL(r)=< ΔuL(r)3> is estimated, where r is the modulus of the distance vector  r, and  ΔuL is the velocity component that paralleling with r.  Due to the finite sample size, the experimental SLLL(r) is not reliable when r≤200km. The measured SLLL(r) is scaled as  -r4±0.2 on the spatial scale range of 500≤ r ≤ 2000km, indicating the existence of a turbulent cascade. Because of the complexity of the geodynamics, e.g., Coriolis force, mantle convection, India-Eurasia collision, to list a few, the exact force balance is remained unknown. Therefore, the full interpretation of the current observation is not feasible.

 

Ref.

A. Alexakis, &  L. Biferale (2018). Cascades and transitions in turbulent flows, Phys. Rep., 767, 1-101.

U. Frisch, (1995) Turbulence: The Legacy of A.N. Kolmogorov, Cambridge University Press

X. Jian, W. Zhang, Q. Deng & Y.X. Huang (2019) Turbulent lithosphere deformation in the Tibetan Plateau, Phys. Rev. E, 99:062122

G.D. Nastrom, K.S Gage & Jasperson (1984) Kinetic energy spectrum of large- and mesoscale atmospheric processes, Nature, 310:36
The upper bound of mid-latitude extreme temperatures
Authors: Zhang Yi , Boos William
Published: March 2022

 Extreme temperatures have a wide societal impact yet remain a major uncertainty in climate projections. Past studies have identified several drivers of heatwaves, including atmospheric blocking and soil moisture-atmosphere feedback. However, it remains unknown what limits the magnitude of extreme temperatures, and a quantitative understanding of heatwaves is lacking. Here we provide a theory of mid-latitude extreme temperatures based on a convective-instability mechanism. We formulate the upper bound of the surface temperature as a function of the temperature at the 500-hPa pressure level (T500), which is supported by observations and reanalysis data. Based on this theory, we project that the annual hottest daily maximum temperature (TXx) should increase by 1.9 K for each 1 K of increase in T500 over mid-latitude land if there is no evident drying or moistening of surface air on the annual hottest days. The observed TXx trend over the past four decades between 40°N-65°N is consistent with our projection. With T500 within 40°N-65°N increasing slightly faster than the global warming, the warming rate of TXx of this region will be on average around twice of the global warming if specific humidity does not change on the hottest days. However, TXx will increase at a faster rate over regions with a decrease in specific humidity on the hottest days, and vice versa.
High Resolution Inertial Earth Sensing with Large Sagnac Interferometers
Authors: Schreiber Karl Ulrich , Kodet Jan , Hugentobler Urs , Klügel Thomas , Brotzer Andreas , Igel Heiner
Published: March 2022

Ring lasers are now resolving the rate of rotation of the Earth with 8 significant digits. Technically they constitute a Sagnac interferometer, where a traveling wave resonator, circumscribing an arbitrary contour, defines the optical frequency of two counter-propagating resonant laser beams. Subtle non-reciprocal effects on the laser beam however, cause a variable bias, which reduces the long-term stability. Over the last two years, we have improved the performance of the G ring laser to the point that we obtain long-term stable conditions over more than 50 days. Advances in the modeling of the non-linear behavior of the laser excitation process as well as some small but signicant improvements in the operation of the laser gyroscope are taking us now right to the doorstep of the periodic part of the Length of Day signal. In this talk we outline the current state of the art of inertial rotation sensing in the geosciences. Furthermore we discuss the next steps for an enhanced stability. At this point in time there is no apparent fundamental limit of this technique in sight.
Development of micro-zymography: microscopic visualization of enzymatic activity in soil aggregates and Zea mays L. root
Authors: Ghaderi Negar , Schmidt Hannes , Schlüter Steffen , Banfield Callum , Blagodatskaya Evgenia
Published: March 2022

Enzymes are secreted by microbial cells into the soil to catalyze the acquisition of carbon or nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus from soil organic matter. Apart from microorganisms and soil fauna, roots also secrete enzymes to mobilize nutrients from the soil nutrient pool. Thus, living plants and microorganisms are considered the main sources of soil enzymes in agroecosystems. To understand how exo-enzymes are distributed in soil microhabitats, and whether enzymatic activity is higher in soil solution or on particle surfaces, we visualized enzymatic activity at the corresponding scale. Visualization of enzymatic activity links microbial functioning to localization in heterogeneous soil habitats. To assess enzymatic reactions in soil at the microscopic level, we developed a micro-zymography approach based on fluorogenically-labeled substrate (phosphomonoesterase) in the rhizosphere soil of Zea mays L. For this, first we compared different fixatives required to prevent sample drying and found super transparent silicon as the most appropriate one. Then we evaluated micro-zymography i) on individual soil aggregates, ii) on thin layers of aggregates (≈ 500 µm) to assess the dynamics of phosphomonoesterase activity, and iii) on maize roots under laser scanning microscope. The results demonstrated that the main fluorescence signal shifted from the soil solution to the interface between the soil solution and aggregates within 30 min after substrate addition and was finally only detectable on the surface of a few aggregates. This was probably due to higher microbial abundance and enzymatic activity on the soil aggregates compared to the soil solution. The enzymatic activity appeared patchy on the aggregate surfaces indicating heterogeneous distribution of microorganisms. Similarly, a patchy distribution of enzymatic activity was detected on maize root surfaces. This work was conducted within the framework of the priority program 2089 “Rhizosphere spatiotemporal organization – a key to rhizosphere functions”, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) – Project number: 403664478. Seeds of the maize were provided by Caroline Marcon and Frank Hochholdinger (University of Bonn).

Keywords: exo-enzyme, micro-zymography, fixative
A global analysis of economic inequality and flood losses
Authors: Lindersson Sara , Raffetti Elena , Brandimarte Luigia , Mård Johanna , Rusca Maria , Di Baldassarre Giuliano
Published: March 2022

Economic inequality is today increasing in many contexts. Its consequences are multifaceted and relate to questions of justice, welfare, human well-being and health. Economic inequality also affects (directly or indirectly) society’s vulnerability to flood disasters. Research has previously shown that the ex-ante economic distribution within a country may affect the disaster outcomes. For instance, unequal societies also tend to exhibit spatial marginalization. If these marginalized areas are burdened with neglected infrastructure they also have a lower ability to divert flood water.

Our work highlights the role that economic inequality plays in explaining human flood losses, worldwide. We perform a statistical analysis using data for over a hundred countries and illustrate the importance of considering income distribution when building flood resilient societies. We also show how our results vary between different levels of economic development and discuss implications of our results on disaster research and risk reduction. 
Frequency Change in Blocking-related Winter Cold Days in Europe between Periods of Low and High Arctic Sea Ice
Authors: Richling Andy , Ulbrich Uwe , Rust Henning , Riebold Johannes , Handorf Dörthe
Published: March 2022

Over the last decades the change in the Arctic climate resulted in related sea-ice retreat and a much faster warming of the Arctic compared to the global average (Arctic amplification). These changes in sea ice can affect the large-scale atmospheric circulation over the mid-latitudes, in particular atmospheric blocking, and – mediated by the changes in blocking – the frequency and severity of related extreme events. As a step towards a better understanding of changes in weather and climate extremes over Central Europe (C-EU) associated with Arctic climate change, we study the linkage between periods of low and high Arctic sea ice area and the frequency of winter cold days in C-EU. Since frequency of winter cold days in C-EU is associated with atmospheric blocking, especially over the Ural and Scandinavian region, we investigate frequency changes of cold days with respect to the occurrence of blocking in different Euro-Atlantic regions by composite analysis based on ERA5 reanalysis data. 

To separate the resulting changes from the global warming trend and associated Arctic sea ice loss, monthly sea ice area data is first detrended and then divided by the median into two parts representing either low or high sea ice periods. The frequency of occurrence of cold days with respect to both sea ice periods is then calculated and compared. The same procedure is applied to cold days occurring during a blocked day in certain regions to analyze the change of linkage between atmospheric blocking and cold days induced by different sea ice area periods. Preliminary results indicate an increased occurrence of cold days in Central Europe during low sea ice periods, which is enhanced during the occurrence of Ural Blocking.
A Model Approach Assessing The Soil Properties Of Raised Bed Landscapes 
Authors: Sekhri Simran , Raab Thomas , Drohan Patrick Joseph
Published: March 2022

Common anthropogenic surface features across Scotland and Ireland are raised beds, which are agronomic ridges and furrows created prior to the 20th century to improve agricultural yield. Creating a raised bed improves yield by providing to the root zone better soil drainage, suitable micro-climatic conditions, and enrichment of organic matter and nutrients. Raised beds are structurally identifiable and can be examined using remote sensing techniques such as LIDAR imagery or aerial photography to analyze different dimensions of raised bed units. We examined the geomorphic parameters (height, length, breadth, ridge shape, furrow depth, unit orientation and block size) of raised beds found in the Fancroft region of County Offlay, Ireland. We developed a model of raised bed structural components and the distribution and change in soil properties including soil drainage, texture, horizon differentiation, soil colour, nutrient distribution, organic matter movement and the carbon influx and outflow have been provided. Our study aims to elucidate the typical geomorphic properties of raised bed landscapes, their basic chemical and physical soil properties and the landform attributes that may influence soil properties. Overall, the conceptual basis of raised bed landscapes have been visualised and presented to formulate an ideal raised bed theoretical model. Such a comprehensive model can be further extended to learn more about ancient agricultural practices, heritage, a causal link between present day and historical farming practices.
Impact of broadening line parameters on H2O retrievals in CO2 dense atmospheres
Authors: Robert Séverine , Erwin Justin T. , Gamache Robert R. , Vispoel Bastien , Grouiez Bruno , Régalia Laurence
Published: March 2022

For decades, the remote sensing measurements have been made in planetary atmospheres in the Solar System and beyond. As the performance of the space instruments improves, the atmospheric science community is more and more in need of accurate spectroscopic data. The current databases offer some parameters for non-Earth atmospheres but are far from complete for all situations. For example, measured H2O line parameters in CO2-rich atmospheres such as Mars and Venus are missing while they are of prime importance to learn about the evolution of the atmospheres.

After the study published in 2019 by Régalia et al., we measured new Fourier Transform Spectrometer spectra in the 1.88 micron range using a Connes’ type FT spectrometer built in Reims. The spectra were analysed using a multispectrum fitting procedure to obtain the line-shape parameters of H2O broadened by CO2. These results were used to constrain the intermolecular potential and to calculate the half-width, line shift, and their temperature dependence using the Modified Complex Robert-Bonamy formalism.

The impact of these new parameters on the spectral retrievals in the atmospheres of Mars and Venus will be assessed by calculating the equivalent widths in different cases. This exercise may highlight once more that using the correct line shape and line parameters is of utmost importance now that our space instruments have high spectral resolution. More especially the impact of the Double Power law (Gamache and Vispoel, 2018) for the temperature dependence parameter is tested in the context of the scientific preparation of VenSpec-H, spectrometer part of the EnVision payload.
Use of a large aircraft to measure composition and chemistry of wildfires. 
Authors: Lee James , Hopkins James , Squires Freya , Wilde Shona
Published: March 2022

Tropospheric ozone (O3) can adversely affect human health and environmental ecosystems and it is therefore vitally important to understand its formation pathways from both natural and anthropogenic precursors.  Wildfires are an important source of these precursors (both VOCs and NOx) and it is likely that the prevalence of wildfires will increase in a warming climate. Wildfires have been shown to contribute to elevated O3 at air quality monitoring sites, so it is therefore important to better understand the emissions, photochemistry and impacts of these fires. Instrumented research aircraft provide one of the best methods for studying emissions of VOCs and NOx from wildfires. Aircraft provide the flexibility to sample close to fires, allowing for calculation of emission factors, as well as further afield to study the chemical processing of fire plumes.

 

Here we present measurements of O3 and its precursors taken from the UK large atmospheric research aircraft. Flights sampling wildfires in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, scrublands in Senegal, wetlands in Uganda and moorland peat fires in the UK are reported, with measurements of O3, CO, NOx, CH4, CO2, C2H6 and a wide range of VOCs sampled directly in the plume and in more aged air up to 5 days from the source. Measurements of a range of O3 enhancement ratios (DO3 / DCO) are observed, ranging from 0.05 when sampling within 1-2 hours transport time from all 4 types of fire, to 0.3 when sampling up to 100 hours away from the Senegalese fires. VOC composition of the plumes is also investigated. Ratios of different VOCs to CO are examined to derive emission ratios that are used to provide emission estimates of VOCs from wildfires. OH reactivity calculations in the plumes are used to assess the potential contribution of different VOCs to O3 formation. In addition, measurements of aged air from fires in sub-Saharan Africa are compared against values calculated by the GEOS Composition Forecasting (GEOS-CF) system, a global atmospheric model with 25 km resolution, focusing on the model’s ability to capture ozone from biomass burning.

 
Integration of a Graph Network for the Definition of Neighbourhood in Landslide Detection with Machine Learning
Authors: Luck Manuel Andreas , Hajnsek Irena
Published: March 2022

Landslide mapping using Machine Learning approaches often relies on various image statistics determined by neighbourhood functions. In this presentation, the effect of a graph network for the definition of the neighbourhood of each pixel is shown on the example of the Weheka valley, New Zealand. The graph network integrates the physical properties of sliding and flowing masses into the classification process of earth observation imagery. This neighbourhood is determined by connecting nodes based on the flow direction and therefore replacing common raster formats. Both Sentinel 1 and Sentinel 2 acquisitions are used to determine the change in each pixel. From the Sentinel 1 data the Beta Nought is calculated, and the Sentinel 2 data is used to derive multiple indices (e.g., NDWI and NDVI). These products are combined in each node of the graph network. Within the neighbourhood defined by the graph network image statistics (e.g., mean, and standard deviation) are derived for each node. All data and derived products are used to train a Random Forest Classifier which is applied to three different extents of a landslide in the Weheka valley. 81.11% of the affected area is detected for the largest event with a decreasing accuracy towards the margins of the reference area.  
The division of dry and wet areas of evergreen broad-leaved forest in Sichuan Province
Authors: zhang shiqi
Published: March 2022

The topography of Sichuan Province is extremely complex, with a rich variety of vegetation, and its vegetation shows a clear horizontal and vertical distribution structure. The subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest is the zonal vegetation of Sichuan. In 1980, according to the field survey data, forestry scientists roughly divided the evergreen broad-leaved forest in Sichuan Province into Erlang Mountain, Daxiangling Mountain, Xiaoliang Mountain or Huangmaogeng. It was divided into a dry evergreen broad-leaved forest in the west and a moist evergreen broad-leaved forest in the east. However, there is no quantitative classification of wet and dry evergreen broad-leaved forests in Sichuan. The traditional forest vegetation survey mainly relies on manual field survey, which has a long period, high cost, and consumes a lot of manpower and material resources. Remote sensing technology, with its wide coverage, large amount of information and short update cycle, brings the possibility of rapid and accurate quantitative classification of wet and dry evergreen broad-leaved forests. In this paper, based on the field survey data of evergreen broad-leaved forests in Sichuan Province, we combined NASADEM_HGT elevation data and Landsat8 images to perform SCS+C topographic correction on remote sensing images of the whole region of Sichuan on the Google earth engine cloud computing platform, and also based on the differences in spectral, textural and temporal characteristics between dry and wet evergreen broad-leaved forests. The experimental results were compared with the field survey data and obtained excellent accuracy, and it provides a strong technical support for vegetation mapping and forestry resources investigation and monitoring, and also lays a certain foundation for the classification of complex mountain forest vegetation.

 
A mechanistic understanding of self-formed channel shape and scale
Authors: Deal Eric
Published: March 2022

Forming spontaneously when sediment laden water flows across an erodible material, terrestrial river channels possess a distinct shape, with robust relationships between channel width, depth and flow velocity that hold true over a million-fold change in water flux and for widths spanning less than a meter to more than a kilometer. These patterns have long since been described, however, a process-based understanding of what determines channel shape and scale is just beginning to emerge. This recent work has made clear the key elements to understanding terrestrial river channels which include: lateral momentum exchange within the flow, the frictional behavior of the channel boundary on the flow, and the dynamics of bedload sediment transport in the channel.  Bringing together these elements, a theoretical prediction for steady-state channel shape is derived directly from the Navier-Stokes equations of motion. 

The key result is an analytical description of channel geometry relating seven variables: flow width, depth, velocity, channel slope, and characteristic grain size, water flux and sediment flux. Using these equations, any four variables can be predicted if the other three are known. The theory was tested against 2500 terrestrial river reaches including both bedrock and alluvial rivers, where width varies by three orders of magnitude, and characteristic water flux varies by seven orders of magnitude. Using characteristic water flux, characteristic grain size, and a global average sediment transport rate, flow width, depth and velocity are predicted to within a factor of two for >80% of reaches.  

There are other long-lived geophysical and extraterrestrial flows over erodible materials that can be addressed with a general understanding of self-formed channels. With estimates of how fluid drag, turbulence generation and sediment transport might change on other planetary bodies, this model could be applied to extraterrestrial river networks such as those observed on Mars or Titan. More fundamentally, this work suggests a general approach to understand self-formed channels in an erodible medium generated by different kinds of flow, such as valley glaciers and subglacial river channels on both Earth and Mars. 