bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Persistence and frequency of drought-relevant circulation types during temperature extremes in southern Central Europe
Authors: Thanheiser Selina , Homann Markus , Philipp Andreas , Beck Christoph , Jacobeit Jucundus
Published: March 2020

The German weather service reports a new record mean June temperature for Germany and intensive heat waves during 2018 and 2019. Between January 2018 and June 2019, three new monthly top extremes were recorded (April 2018, May 2018 and June 2019).

In this study the relationships between the persistence and frequency of atmospheric circulation patterns related to drought and surface air temperature anomalies are investigated. The study area is in southern Central Europe, including parts of Germany and Switzerland as well as Austria and Czech Republic.

Large-scale atmospheric circulation types (relevant to drought) have been derived by using the COST733 classiﬁcation software. Atmospheric variables from gridded daily JRA55 reanalysis data (Japanese Meteorological Agency 2018) and gridded precipitation data for the study area (6x6km, based on timeseries of 1756 weather stations from Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik 2018) were used for the classification. All input variables were specifically weighted in the classification process. Daily maximum temperature data from ECA&D (2019) for different stations within the study area are used to evaluate the relationship between a circulation type and heat (cold) waves.

The drought-relevant circulation types are determined according to relative frequencies of circulation type days under a particular percentile of precipitation: If at least 20 percent of the circulation type days are below the 20th percentile of precipitation, the circulation type is defined as drought relevant.

For the derived drought-relevant circulation types, the mean seasonal frequencies [in %] (April-September, October-March) and the mean persistence [in days] (1961-2017) are calculated. To evaluate the relationship between a circulation type and heat (cold) waves, an efficiency coefficient is calculated. The efficiency coefficient is defined as ratio between the frequency of the circulation type in heat (cold) waves and its mean seasonal frequency.

For the study area, those circulation types relevant to drought with a high proportion of seasonal temperature anomalies could be identified. The circulation type with a dominant Azores high with ridges of high-pressure towards Central/Eastern Europe has the highest proportion of positive temperature anomalies in summer.
Ferrihydrite mineral transformations in the presence of Fe(II) and organic ligands
Authors: ThomasArrigo Laurel K. , Kretzschmar Ruben
Published: March 2020

In soils and sediments, poorly-crystalline, short-range order (SRO) iron minerals constitute one of the most abundant and reactive components. With high surface areas, SRO minerals like ferrihydrite (Fe10O14(OH)2+mH2O) influence the biogeochemical cycling of trace elements and nutrients, particularly in redox dynamic environments. While under oxic conditions SRO iron mineral adsorption capacity is high, in the absence of O2, FeIII acts as an electron acceptor during microbial respiration. Electron transfer induces transformations in pure iron minerals, impacting the release and re-distribution of SRO-associated trace elements and nutrients.

In nature, however, pure SRO iron minerals rarely form. Rather, the ubiquitous presence of natural organic matter (OM) in soils and sediments promotes the formation mineral-organic associations. Coprecipitation of ferrihydrite with OM decreases particle size and alters the mineral susceptibility towards microbial reduction. Thus, under reducing conditions, an increased rate and extent of mineral transformation could be expected for OM-associated ferrihydrite. However, in the presence of abiotic reductants, mineral transformation rates and extents in OM-associated ferrihydrite are markedly inhibited when compared to that of a pure ferrihydrite. Using polygalacturonic acid (PGA) as a proxy for acid carbohydrate fraction found in exopolymeric substances, we reacted ferrihydrite-PGA coprecipitates of varying C:Fe molar ratios (0-2.5) with ferrous Fe (Fe(II), 0.5-5.0 mM) at neutral pH for up to 5 weeks. Through a combination of XRD and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, we showed that at all Fe(II) concentrations, the kinetics and extent of mineral transformation decreased with increasing C content of the coprecipitates. Similarly, ferrihydrite-OM coprecipitates comprising PGA, citric acid (CA), or galacturonic acid (GA) of similar C:Fe molar ratios (~0.6) also showed inhibited mineral transformations compared to a pure ferrihydrite, whereby the extent of inhibition of mineral transformations followed the order GA>>CA>PGA. In addition, electron microscopy imaging showed that the crystal morphology of the secondary mineral phases varied with the varying chemical structure of the coprecipitating organic ligands. Despite this, applications of stable Fe isotope tracers revealed that all OM-associated ferrihydrite actively partook in iron atom exchange, suggesting that the presence of OM inhibited crystal growth of more crystalline phases, therefore again leading to SRO phases during iron atom exchange. Collectively, the stabilization of high surface-area ferrihydrite under reducing conditions via recrystallization has implications for the release and re-distribution of ferrihydrite-associated trace elements and nutrients in redox-dynamic environments.
Three-dimensional Magnetotelluric Crustal Model of High Agri Valley seismic area to identify and to quantify the resistivity variation in depth
Authors: Pastoressa Anna Eliana , Balasco Marianna , Ledo Juanjo , Queralt Pilar , Romano Gerardo , Siniscalchi Agata , Tripaldi Simona
Published: March 2020

The High Agri Valley (HAV) is an axial zone of the Southern Apennines thrust belt chain with a strong seismogenic potential as shown by different stress indicators and space geodesy data that suggest an NE-SW extensional stress regime still active. Moreover, the HAV hosts the Europe’s largest onshore oil and gas field, which give it further strategic importance.

There is a certain ambiguity concern the causative fault of the large event (M=7.0) occurred in 1857 in Agri Valley, although two well-documented fault systems are recognised as potentially seismogenic: the Monti della Maddalena Fault System (MMFS) and the Eastern Agri Fault System (EAFS).

With the aim to bring new information on identification and characterization of the principal structures, on the fluids distribution and their possible relationship with the developed of kinematics in upper fragile crust, several multiscale and multidisciplinary surveys are currently running in the HAV. Here we present the first results of a 3D Magnetotelluric (MT) investigation composed of 58 MT soundings in the period range [10-2 Hz, 103 Hz] which cover an area of approximately of 15 km x 30 km. All the 3D results were obtained by using the 3D inversion conde ModEM: Modular EM Inversion Software.

The work carried out so far has been mainly focused on the definition of the best mesh to adopt, both in terms of cell size and orientation, and on the correct choice of the inversion parameters: resistivity of the starting model, smoothing model parameter, minimum error ﬂoor attributed to the data, regularization parameter (trade-off).

The 3D MT preliminary model obtained shows a good agreement with 2D models previously realized using a part of the same dataset and defines the main geo-structural features of the HAV.

The resistivity variations in HAV subsurface will be jointly interpreted with accurate seismic data collected by seismic broadband network INSIEME (composed by 8 stations distributed throughout the Agri Valley) and other available geophysical and geological data.

The interconnection between the conductivity and seismicity information will be useful to implement the knowledge on the role that fluids play in fault zones and in earthquake processes. 
Aerosol remote sensing from the integrated LEO and GEO satellite observation data by determination of atmospheric transmission and surface reflection
Authors: Lee Kwon-Ho , Yum Jong-Min
Published: March 2020

The earth observing satellites including the low earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary orbit (GEO) platforms have been provided the geophysical data. Spectral radiances measured by a satellite-borne sensor are sensitive to both atmospheric transmission and surface reflection. These volumetric data were used to retrieve atmospheric transmission and surface reflection which can be useful to derive surface reflectance (SR) and aerosol optical thickness (AOT). Based on the extensive radiative transfer simulations with the LEO satellite’s operational atmospheric products, it is demonstrated that the use of the combined LEO and GEO satellite measurements allows for timely retrieval of SR and AOT at a reasonable accuracy. The method for both the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) and the Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) data. After the spatial and temporal collocations between two different orbit data, the atmospheric correction of both satellite’s spectral reflectances showed that the averaged changes of reflectance in 10% to 30%. Moreover, comparisons with the other operational products of SR and AOT such as the ground-based Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) showed retrieval error of within ±5.6% SR and ±9.8% AOT. Combining the LEO and GEO satellite data are effective method for the atmospheric correction and geophysical parameter retrieval. Further work will be applied to the next generation geostationary satellites, namely the Geostationary Earth Orbit Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite (GEO-KOMPSAT-2A and -2B) platforms.

Acknowledgement
This subject is supported by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) (FR19920W05) and Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE) as "Public Technology Program based on Environmental Policy (2017000160003).

 
Climate-resilient water-for-agriculture infrastructure: boundaries, complexities and standards in irrigated working lands
Authors: Munoz-Arriola Francisco
Published: March 2020

The continuous intensification of agriculture along the High Plains in the US has been sustained by improvements in genetics, understanding of soil complexity, hydroclimate controls, and irrigation. The present work aims to identify the socioecological and sociotechnical processes involved in sustaining the intensification of yields in the past 50 years. We hypothesize that in the occurrence of extreme events, the boundaries of the agricultural systems –for example, water tradeoffs, governance, and natural availability—can be compromised, leading to a reduction in yields. Furthermore, the complexity of the Ag system –characterized by the interdependencies among complex hydroclimate, soil, and management – can change across spatial scales. The objectives are (1) to collect digital yield and climate data, as well as information about standards of water-for-agriculture; and (2) use the collected data to characterize the limits and limitations of the standards. In the proposed approach, the standards will represent our ability to manage resources, and ultimately create resilient water-for-food infrastructure in a changing climate.
Ground-based lidar processing and simulator framework for comparing models and observations
Authors: Kuma Peter , McDonald Adrian , Morgenstern Olaf , Querel Richard , Silber Israel , Flynn Connor
Published: March 2020

Automatic lidars and ceilometers (ALCs) are well-established instruments for remote sensing of the atmosphere, with a large network of instruments deployed globally. Even though they provide a wealth of information about clouds and aerosol, they have not been used extensively to evaluate models. They complement active satellite observations, which are often unable to accurately detect low clouds due to obscuration by mid and high-level clouds. ALCs cannot be used directly for atmospheric model cloud scheme evaluation due to the wavelength-dependent attenuation of the lidar signal by clouds. Therefore, a forward lidar simulator has to be used to transform model fields to simulated backscatter comparable to backscatter measured by ALCs. Here we describe the Automatic Lidar and Ceilometer Framework (ALCF), an open source lidar processing tool and forward ground-based lidar simulator capable of transforming widely-used reanalysis and model output into a data structure which can be directly compared with observations. It implements steps such as conversion, absolute calibration, resampling, noise removal, cloud detection, model data extraction, and forward lidar simulation. The simulator is based on the Cloud Feedback Model Intercomparison Project (CFMIP) Observation Simulator Package (COSP), previously used with spaceborne lidars, with extensions for several ground-based ALCs. The forward simulator is essential to get from raw ALC and model data to a one-to-one backscatter profile. It also allows statistical comparison of cloud between models and observations. Four common commercial ALCs (Vaisala CL31, CL51, Lufft CHM 15k and Sigma Space MiniMPL), three reanalyses (ERA5, JRA-55, and MERRA-2), and two NWP models and GCMs (AMPS and the Unified Model) are supported. We present case studies evaluating cloud in the supported reanalyses and models using multi-instrument observations at three sites in New Zealand. We show that at these sites the reanalyses and models generally underestimate cloud fraction and overestimate cloud albedo. We demonstrate that the ALCF can be used as a generic cloud evaluation tool. It can assist in improving model cloud simulation, which has been identified as a critical deficiency in contemporary models limiting the accuracy of future climate projections.
Functional-structural modelling of root water uptake based on measured MRI images of root systems
Authors: Selzner Tobias , Landl Magdalena , Pohlmeier Andreas , Leitner Daniel , Vanderborght Jan , Schnepf Andrea
Published: March 2020

In the course of climate change, the occurrence of extreme weather events is expected to increase. Drought tolerance of crops and careful irrigation management are becoming key factors for global food security and the sustainable resource use of water in agriculture. Root water uptake plays a vital role in drought tolerance. It is influenced by root architecture, plant and soil water status and their respective hydraulic properties. Models of said factors aid in organizing the current state of knowledge and enable a deeper understanding of their respective influence on crop performance. Water uptake by roots leads to a decrease in soil moisture and may cause the formation of soil water potential gradients between the bulk soil and the soil-root interface. Although the Richards equation in theory takes these gradients into account, a very fine discretization of the soil domain is necessary to capture these gradients in simulations. However, especially during drought stress, the drop in hydraulic conductivity in the rhizosphere could have a major impact on the overall water uptake of the root system. In order to investigate computationally feasible alternative approaches for simulations with source terms that take these hydraulic conductivity drops into account, we conducted experiments with lupine plants. The root architecture of the growing plants was measured several times using an MRI. Subsequently, these MRI images were used in a holobench for manual tracing of the roots. We were able to mimic the root growth between the measurement dates using linear interpolation. In addition to root architecture, soil water contents and transpiration rates were monitored. We then used this data to systematically compare the computational effort of different approaches to consider the hydraulic conductivity drop near roots in terms of accuracy and computational cost. Eventually we aim at using these results to improve existing root water uptake models for the presence of hydraulic conductivity drops in the rhizosphere in an efficient and accurate way.
Pulses of Biogenic Nitrogen Cycling Lead to Atmospheric-Based Nutrient Spiraling in Southern California
Authors: Jenerette Darrel , Krichels Alex , Piper Stephanie , Greene Aral , Botthoff Jon , Shulman Hannah , Aronson Emma , Homyak Peter , Sickman James , Wang Jun
Published: March 2020

Nitrogen deposition into arid ecosystems is increasingly shaping biogeochemical dynamics worldwide. We propose a framework to investigate the role of pulsed soil N emission as a mechanism that relays the influences of atmospheric anthropogenic N deposition to areas that otherwise would be minimally affected. We use nutrient spiraling theory, developed in lotic ecosystems, to quantify how regeneration of N by soils influences N deposition downwind of an urban plume. Our hierarchical framework of landscape functioning thereby connects ecosystem processes occurring from microbial (<1cm and hours) to regional (>100km and inter-annual) scales through reciprocal interactions among soils and microbes, pollution sources, and the atmosphere. We use southern California, USA as a case study for evaluation where we test the terrestrial nitrogen spiraling framework using a combination of field experiments, isotopic measurements, theoretical models, and atmospheric transport and chemistry model outputs. Initial results from field wetting experiments, isotope measurements and contrasting modeling approaches all support a spiraling framework and the increasing importance of soil regeneration of nitrogen to deposition farther from the urban source. Soil microbiome communities associated with nitrogen cycling vary both spatially across the deposition gradient and temporally in response to wetting events. From these results we derive terrestrial spiraling metrics that can identify consequences of both soil and anthropogenic inputs to regional nitrogen cycling. New landscape frameworks for evaluating the role of transport and transformations on N cycling can help understand and predict spatial variation in ecosystems connected across multiple scales.
Interplanetary shocks as a source of sustained gamma-ray emission from the Sun
Authors: Gopalswamy Nat , Mäkelä Pertti
Published: March 2020

It has recently been shown that the sustained gamma-ray emission (SGRE) from the Sun that lasts for hours beyond the impulsive phase of the associated flare is closely related to radio emission from interplanetary shocks (Gopalswamy et al. 2019, JPhCS, 1332, 012004, 2019). This relationship supports the idea that >300 MeV protons accelerated by CME-driven shocks propagate toward the Sun, collide with chromospheric protons and produce neutral pions that promptly decay into >80 MeV gamma-rays. There have been two challenges to this idea. (i) Since the location of the shock can be halfway between the Sun and Earth at the SGRE end time, it has been suggested that magnetic mirroring will not allow the high energy protons to precipitate. (ii) Lack of correlation between the number protons involved in the production of >100 MeV gamma-rays (Ng) and the number of protons (Nsep) in the associated solar energetic particle (SEP) event has been reported. In this paper, we show that the mirror ratio problem is no different from that in flare loops where electrons and protons precipitate to produce impulsive phase emissions. We also suggest that the lack of Ng – Nsep correlation is due to two reasons: (1) Nsep is underestimated in the case of eruptions happening at large ecliptic latitudes because the high-energy protons accelerated near the nose do not reach the observer. (2) In the case of limb events, the Ng is underestimated because gamma-rays from some part of the extended gamma-ray source do not reach the observer.
Petrogenesis and geodynamic significance of the early Eocene quartz diorite porphyries from the eastern Sakarya Zone, NE Turkey
Authors: Karsli Orhan , Uysal İbrahim , Aydin Faruk , Dokuz Abdurrahman , Şengün Fırat , Kandemir Raif , Oğuz Saka Simge , Santos Jose
Published: March 2020

Although the presence of Latest Cretaceous intrusives (~70 Ma) and the early Eocene adakitic magmatic rocks (~57-50 Ma) in the eastern Sakarya Zone are well-known, the early Eocene non-adakitic rocks are very limited and have not been studied in terms of tectono-magmatic evolution. We described a small outcrop of non-adakitic quartz diorite porphyry in Kov area of the Gümüşhane from NE Turkey of which the genesis is significant in evaluating the syn- to post-collision-related magmatism. The LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating reveal that the Kov quartz diorite porphyries formed at ca. 50 Ma, coeval with adakitic rocks, ~20 Ma later than the slab roll-back-related intrusive rocks. The Kov porphyries are calc-alkaline in composition and enriched in large ion lithophile elements (LILEs), light rare earth elements (LREEs) and depleted in high field strength elements (HFSEs; e.g., Nb, Ta, Ti), with significant negative anomalies at Nb, Ta, and Ti but positive anomalies at Th, U, and Pb. Isotopic compositions of the samples show limited range of variation and slight enrichment of 87Sr/86Sr(i) (0.70489 to 0.70555), eNd(i) (-1.4 to -1.2) with TDM  of 1.11 to 1.61 Ga. Pb isotopic ratios of the samples point to an enriched mantle source. They probably were crystallized from the melt that originated by low-degree partial melting (~1-2%) of an EMII-type spinel-facies subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM), followed by the fractionation of clinopyroxene with insignificant crustal assimilation. The SCLM was metasomatically enriched and the metasomatic agent was likely H2O-rich fluids rather than sediments released from subducting oceanic crust during the Late Cretaceous closure of the Neotethyan oceanic lithosphere.

In conjunction with the geological background and previous data, we envisage that generation of the Kov porphyries is resulted from a slab break-off event that caused ascending or infiltration of hot asthenosphere triggering mantle melting. Such sporadic occurrences of the porphyries, with coeval adakitic rocks in the Sakarya Zone are likely associated with the onset of extensional tectonics due to the earlier stage of slab break-off along the region during early Eocene period.

 

Acknowledgement

This work was financially supported by Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) with grant #108Y200.
Fully-coupled 3D modelling of magmatic dike propagation - finite pulse release from a point source
Authors: Möri Andreas , Lecampion Brice , Zia Haseeb
Published: March 2020

Magmatic dikes are a naturally occurring type of fluid-driven fractures [1] propagating in the lithosphere driven by buoyancy (more precisely by the difference between the in-situ minimum horizontal stress gradient and the magma weight). Fully-coupled modelling of these 3D fractures is very challenging and most contributions until today have been restricted to 2D plane-strain. These 2D investigations have highlighted the importance of the head-tail structure, notably the fact that lubrication flow in the tail is driving the growth of the hydrostatic head [2, 3]. We investigate the 3D development of a buoyant dike from a point source, focusing on the case of a finite volume release under homogeneous conditions (homogeneous material properties and buoyancy contrast). We use the fully coupled planar 3D hydraulic fracture growth solver PyFrac based on the implicit level set algorithm [4].

This configuration shows an early time behaviour heavily dominated by the effects of the pulse release. The initially radial hydraulic fracture transitions toward a large time buoyant dike solution. At large time our simulations tends to the finger-like/constant breadth solution [5] albeit extremely slowly. Our results confirm the 3D toughness dominated head structure and the importance of the viscous tail as the driving mechanism for the dynamics of such a 3D Weertman’s pulse (form of the head). Depending on the initial phase of the pulse release, we observe an overshoot of the dike breadth when it is initially strongly dominated by viscous dissipation. Using a scaling analysis, we characterize the transition from the early time radial finite pulse fracture to the late dike constant breadth solution. Our simulations show, that the time when the buoyant force takes its full dominance is crucial and governs the existence (or not) of an overshoot. Mainly we show that the overshoot depends on a transitional time/lengthscale. A detailed understanding of the fracture propagation after the end of the finite volume release (yet without buoyancy) is key to quantify this lengthscale. We thus present scalings and semi-analytical solutions for this case and discuss its relevance for the transition toward a buoyancy driven dike propagation.

[1]  E. Rivalta, B. Taisne, A.P. Bunger, and R.F. Katz. Tectonophysics, 638:1–42, 2015.

[2]  J. R. Lister and R. C. Kerr. J. Geohpys. Res. Solid Earth, 96(B6):10049–10077, 1991.

[3]  S. M. Roper and J. R. Lister. J. Fluid Mech., 536:79–98, 2005.

[4]  A. P. Peirce and E. Detournay. Comput. Methods in Appl. Mech. Eng., 197(33-40):2858–2885, 2008.

[5]  L.N. Germanovich, D. I. Garagash, Murdoch, L., and Robinowitz M. AGU Fall meeting, 2014.
Study of the hydrogeological responses to mass explosions during mining at the iron ore deposit
Authors: Gorbunova Ella , Besedina Alina
Published: March 2020

The results of precision monitoring of the groundwater level are used as the main criterion in study of the mechanism of deformation of a water-saturated reservoir under dynamic impact. The purpose of the field investigation is a registration of the hydrogeological responses to the passage of seismic waves from mining of the iron ore deposit. An instrument-measuring complex of autonomous synchronous registration of seismic signals and hydrogeological responses to mass explosions during underground and surface mining was installed at the site of the iron ore deposit. For the first time, the amplitudes and frequency ranges of the hydrogeological responses of the different aquifers were determined in the near field zone. During mass explosions has been previously established that the reaction of aquifers to explosions is faster than the displacement of soil on the surface. The hydrogeological responses in the water-saturated sands, slates and quartzites are registered at the different frequencies. The change of the reservoir filtration properties under the mass explosions are not possible to judge due to the lack of a long series of observations. Only the continuation of the precise hydrogeological monitoring allows receiving a new data of the deformation of a water-saturated reservoir of pore and pore-fracture types under high-intensity exposure have been obtained. Probably these results can be used for the understanding of the hydrogeological and hydrogeomechanic processes in the near field of earthquakes. The reported study was funded by RFBR according to the research project № 19-05-00809.
Building upon existing adaptive capacity and resilience for sustainable water resource management in an uncertain world
Authors: Gomes Sharlene L. , Hermans Leon M.
Published: March 2020

Urbanization in the Global South brings uncertainty to the planning and management of water resources. Competing demands for water and weak institutional arrangements are creating water insecurity in many peri-urban areas, also known as the urban fringe. The Adaptation Pathways approach may be used design adaptive policies for coping and effectively responding to unpredictable futures in complex and uncertain systems. This approach is being piloted in the H2O-T2S project to support more sustainable urban transitions.  Decision-makers will be supported in shaping water management strategies that are resilient under a variety of urbanization trajectories.

These kinds of integrative approaches to guide decision making must consider the existing system capacity to cope with changing dynamics. In peri-urban areas for example, water-related vulnerabilities, are constantly occurring, and actors often need to adapt their strategies in order to cope with negative consequences or benefit from the opportunities these vulnerabilities create. In other words, the existing adaptive capacity of the system must be harnessed and improved upon during the intervention. System resilience is also important. Literature on socio-ecological systems highlights ten components (principles or conditions) of resilient systems. By examining the resilience of existing peri-urban systems, targeted improvements to the institutional context can be made for sustainable water resource governance.

Results from this type of baseline assessment of water-related vulnerability, adaptive capacity, and resilience is presented from three case study regions in India (Pune, Hyderabad, and Kolkata). The robustness framework and resilience principles are used for this empirical analysis. This presentation will highlight key differences and similarities between the three geographic, institutional, and socio-economic contexts.  An integrative assessment of water use across peri-urban sectors indicates the trade-offs that are made and the social inequalities that result from them. The findings will be used to structure and decision participatory workshops with peri-urban decision-makers and local actors where they will use the Adaptation Pathways to design context relevant transformative pathways for the future.
“Soil Education Manual - Toolbox for DIY program at your classroom” by International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS)
Authors: Kosaki Takashi , Lal Rattan , Bertha Reyes Sánchez Laura
Published: March 2020

Soil education is one of the major topics to be enhanced and promoted in the International Decade of Soils 2015-2024 (IDS) project of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS). The book entitled above has been just published by the IUSS to provide readers, who are interested in soils, geosciences, environment, ecosystems, art, etc. and may be teaching in schools at elementary through university levels, working at museums, educational or extension organizations and serving for NPOs, NGOs, etc., with basic framework of soil and soil science education and a collection of good practices currently employed, so that the readers could learn and share with whatever suited to their own condition efficiently.
The book consists of three parts, i.e. framing soil science education, good practices in soil education and future of soil and soil science education. The first part gives tenets and framework of soil education in pre and primary school, under- and post-graduate students and the general public or citizen. The second includes practical methods for soil and soil science education from all over the world, i.e. 1 from Africa, 3 from Asia, 3 from Europe, 2 from North America, 5 from South America and 2 from Oceania, which have been evaluated useful, efficient and promising in their own environments and situations. The final part is devoted for discussing the challenges and future of soil and soil science education. 
The IUSS is planning to distribute the above publication to a variety of societies so that the current contents and methods and the systems of soil and soil science education be criticized for further improvement towards promoting and enhancing research, education and public awareness of soils as one of the disciplines of geo- and bio-sciences in the future.

 
Geodynamic study of the north of the Andes block (Colombia, Panama, Ecuador and Venezuela) through gnss-gps: models of displacements, models of deformation and definition of local and regional geodynamic structures.
Authors: Manuel Berrocoso , Pablo Emilio Del Valle Arroyo , David Julián Colorado Jaramillo , Jorge Gárate , Alberto Fernández-Ros , Alejandro Pérez-Peña , Belén Rosado Moscoso , Javier Antonio Ramírez Zelaya
Published: March 2020

The northwest of South America is conformed by the territories of Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. Great part of these territories make up the Northern Andes Block (BAN). The tectonic and volcanic activity in the northwest of South America is directly related to the interaction of the South American plate, and the Nazca and Caribbean plates, with the Maracaibo and Panama-Chocó micro plates. The high seismic activity and the high magnitude of the recorded earthquakes make any study necessary to define this complex geodynamic region more precisely. This work presents the velocity models obtained through GNSS-GPS observations obtained in public continuous monitoring stations in the region. The observations of the Magna-eco network (Agustín Codazzi Geographic Institute) are integrated with models already obtained by other authors from the observations of the GEORED network (Colombian Geological Service). The observations have been processed using Bernese software v.52 using the PPP technique; obtaining topocentric time series. To obtain the speeds, a process of filtering and adjustment of the topocentric series has been carried out. Based on this velocity model, regional structures have been defined within the Northern Andes Block through a differentiation process based on the corresponding speeds of the South American, Nazca and Caribbean tectonic plates. Local geodynamic structures within the BAN itself have been established through cluster analysis based on both the direction and the magnitude of each of the vectors obtained. Finally, these structures have been correlated with the most significant geodynamic elements (fractures, faults, subduction processes, etc.) and with the associated seismic activity.
Community-based Mountain Disaster Risk Management during Emergency Evacuation Process: Evidence from China
Authors: Chen Rong , Cui Peng , Wu Shengnan , Tan Rongzhi
Published: March 2020

The frequent occurrences of mountain disasters have posed a huge threat to the safety of life and property of settlement residents, which bring serious challenges to the post-disaster reconstruction and sustainable development of the affected area, especially in countryside resort areas. The countryside resort areas are populated with tourists whose risk perception and risk behaviours against mountain hazards are unpredictable, which has made the evacuation difficult or even worsened the situation when mountain hazards occur. How to evacuate evacuees to safety in mountain disasters is an important issue for disaster emergency management. By far, little attention has been given to emergency evacuation during mountain disasters in China. Based on mountain disaster events from 2008 to 2019, and 1385 households samples that obtained by stratified random sampling and questionnaire survey, this study has proved ‘Public Participation Monitoring and Warning System’ (PPMWS) is an essential tool to reduce related deaths. Furthermore, the roles and interfaces of different stakeholders in emergency evacuation process are discussed for the purpose to find out the unforeseen circumstances and vulnerable spots. The results show that the farmhouse owners and monitoring personnels play the key roles in emergency evacuation process. The evacuation model led by monitoring personnels is summarized and feasible measures to reduce risks and casualties of mountain disasters are proposed and applied in Longmenshan Town, Pengzhou, Sichuan. The results of this study will improve the efficiency of evacuation and provide scientific support for mountain disaster risk management in mountainous area.
Explaining the pitfalls of quantifying population in riverine floodplains using Nighttime Light
Authors: Verschuren Lisa , Nardi Fernando , Bricker Jeremy , Hoes Olivier , Ceola Serena , Pande Saket
Published: March 2020

Flooding is globally one of the most damaging natural hazards. Flood risk will most likely increase in the near future due to increases in flood frequency attributed to climate change and growth in population and wealth in flood prone areas. This growth in wealth and population is increasingly considered as a major driver for the increase in flood losses in the last decades. Floodplains are susceptible to floods, but historically people have always been settling in floodplains. The growth of population in floodplains, which is a substantial cause for increased flood risk, is essential to consider for decision making in floodplain development, as improper development increases flood exposure and aggravates flood risk. The science of socio-hydrology tries to capture the interaction between humans and floods in the floodplain, but it is necessary to identify these mechanisms on a broader scale. A way of doing this, is to look at the development of floodplain population density over the years, but population data is not available on a long temporal scale. Therefore, Nighttime light data was used to model the gaps in the availability of population data. Nighttime light data captures the illumination on earth and is available on a large temporal and spatial scale. It also has a high correlation with population data. However, the relationship between Nighttime light data and population data is not straightforward. This study tries to model a population proxy using Nighttime light data and explains when and why it does or does not work. Validation of the model shows that in some regions the predicted data is relatively precise, but ultimately, due to the lack of data, the accuracy is unknown. This study shows that understanding the behavior of NTL is valuable, because it has the potential to map Socio-Economic variables in data-scarce areas.
Development of land use matrix using geospatial data of National forest inventory
Authors: Krumsteds Linards Ludis , Ivanovs Janis , Lazdins Andis , Melniks Raitis
Published: March 2020

Abstract. Calculation of land use and land use change matrix is one of the key elements for the national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory in land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector. Main purpose of the land use and land use change matrix is to present comprehensive and harmonized land use and land use change information nationwide over certain time period. Information on land use and land use changes is further used to calculate other parameters important for determination of carbon stock changes and GHG emissions like the stock changes of living and dead biomass, as well as basic information on applied management measures. Aim of this study is to improve methodology for development and maintenance of land use and land use change matrix in the national GHG inventory system using geospatial data information of National forest inventory (NFI) and auxiliary data sources. Creation of land use and land use change matrix is performed in semi-automated way by using GIS tools, which eliminates possible impurities of reported data and have made the calculation process less time consuming than before. New calculation method takes into account present land use data from NFI and land use data from two previous NFI cycles, considerably reducing uncertainty of the estimates, and takes into account land management practices which may alter the land use category in long-term. Auxiliary data, like national land parcel information systems (LPIS), has been introduced to increase certainty, consistency and accuracy for determination of final land-use category. Year-by-year land use change extent detection is carried out by using linear interpolation and extrapolation method is used for the consecutive years for which NFI data are not available.

Key words: ERA-GAS INVENT, land use and land use changes, national forest inventory, greenhouse gas inventory.
Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) systems - current global practical experiences
Authors: Schüppler Simon , Fleuchaus Paul , Godschalk Bas , Bakema Guido , Zorn Roman , Blum Philipp
Published: March 2020

As most of the industrial nations are located in the moderate climate zone with distinct summer and winter, global heating and cooling supply is less a matter of energy shortage than an issue of seasonal storage. Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES ) is capable of storing large energy volumes to bridge the seasonal mismatch between demand and supply of heating and cooling systems. However, there is a discrepancy in global ATES development, since more than 80 % of all ATES system are currently operating in the Netherlands and Scandinavia, which is mainly attributed to techno-economic barriers. Thus, this work analyses the technical performance of ATES based on monitoring data from 73 low temperature Dutch ATES systems. The analysis reveals total abstraction of 30 GWh of heat and 32 GWh of cold per year with average abstraction temperatures of 10 °C and 15 °C in summer and winter, respectively. However, while the temperature difference between abstraction and injection is 3-4 K smaller compared to the optimal design, the stored and abstracted amount of thermal energy is 50 % lower than the licensed capacities. This suggests inadequate interaction between the energy system and the aquifer as a result of the insufficient charging process of the subsurface. Nevertheless, the data showed only small thermal imbalances and small temperature losses during the storage period. Based on the comprehensive analysis, valuable conclusions can be drawn on the optimizations needs of current and future ATES projects.

 
Assessment of seasonal variability of air pollution by transport in Belarus
Authors: Malchykhina Hanna , Krukowskaya Olga
Published: March 2020

Air pollution problem is the main challenge of the present. It is known that the transport is one of the main emission sources of such pollutants as NOx, CO, and TSP. Thus decreasing of emissions from the mobile sources could be one of the key elements of air emissions problem solution. The developing of measures to reduce the negative impact of the air pollution requires detailed information on emissions sources and the relationship between emissions and air quality. The article is devoted to assessment of annual variability of air pollution by transport and revealing the correlation between emissions of pollutants and their concentration.

Emissions assessment of main pollutants (NOx, CO, SO2, NMVOC, TSP) was carried out using emissions model COPERT, which is widely used to assess emissions from transport sector on different levels of aggregation – from city to country. The main input parameters of the model are vehicle fleet information (number of vehicles by fuel type, environmental standards, and the engine capacity), fuel consumption, meteorological conditions, mileage by vehicle types, average speeds for each category of vehicles. Data on pollutants concentration in the air were obtained from the National environmental monitoring system of Belarus.

It was shown that the annual emissions variability differs depending on type of pollutants. In particular the maximum carbon monoxide emissions were observed in cold months, and minimum - in warm months. The main source of CO emissions variation is emissions during the cold start. In the case of NMVOC emissions the situation is reverse.  Maximum emissions were obtained in August and minimum emissions in winter months. Comparison of the obtained emissions data with the concentration has shown high correlation for CO and NMVOC.

The findings could help to understand ways of air quality formation thereby to develop a solution on air quality management.
Surface runoff deposits and soils contamination in urban areas in Belarus
Authors: Kazyrenka Marharyta , Kukharchyk Tamara
Published: March 2020

In the paper the results of study of surface runoff deposits and soils in two Belarusian cities are shown. It is known that urban soils are under significant anthropogenic impact. Investigations of industrial areas are limited due to the lack of direct access to them. In the same time soils on industrial sites can be a significant source of further contamination of adjacent urban area as a result of water and wind activity. Thus, surface runoff deposits can serve as an indicator of industrial soil pollution. Moreover, the redistribution of pollutants with surface runoff can also cause secondary urban soil contamination. The understanding of pollutants migration and accumulation in urban soils and their possible exposure routes into rivers is an important part of urban area investigations and planning.

The main objective of the study was an assessment the levels of pollutants in runoff deposits and revealing the role of surface runoff in the migration of pollutants from industrial sites.

Investigations of urban areas were carried out in 2008–2019 in Minsk and Lida, Grodno region (Belarus). Soil samples were taken form upper soil layer (mainly 0-5, 0-10 cm) in the territory of industrial enterprises and in their impact zones. Runoff deposits were sampled mainly in areas covered with asphalt or concrete near industrial enterprises and along roads. Particular attention was paid to areas with a slope of surface from enterprises. AAS  method for heavy metals  determination was applied; the content of total petroleum hydrocarbons was determined by fluorimetric method. 

Elevated content of heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons in surface runoff deposits has been revealed. The concentrations of pollutants in runoff deposits were many times higher than in soils. Significance of differences between pollutants content in soils and deposits samples is statistically confirmed. Exceeding the maximum permissible concentrations for petroleum hydrocarbons was observed in 100%, for metals – in 70–100% of analyzed surface runoff deposits samples.

The findings confirm an important role of surface runoff in migration and accumulation of pollutants and suggest the need for more in-depth studies of urban areas with the study of local erosive processes, the characteristics of formation  and role of surface runoff in the migration and redistribution of pollutants outside their direct sources. The adoption of measures to prevent pollutants migration from industrial areas is an important factor in improving the state of soils in urban areas.