bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hydrosedimentary functioning of a lowland field with both surface and subsurface drainage.
Authors: Gaillot Arthur , Cerdan Olivier , Salvador-Blanes Sébastien , Vanhooydonck Pierre , Grangeon Thomas , Desmet Marc , Delbart Célestine
Published: March 2024

Erosion is one of the most important threats for soil. Over the long term, soil erosion can have serious on-site (e.g. decrease in agricultural yield) and off-site impacts in morphogenic zones but also important off-site (e.g. mudflow) impacts in plains. Much more efforts have been devoted to study erosion processes in morphogenic zones that have naturally higher erosion rates than plains. However, the intensification of agriculture during the latter part of the 20th century significantly altered landscapes and increased hydrosedimentary connectivity in agricultural plains. The off-site consequences are numerous: mudflows, increasement a river turbidity, siltation in rivers, transfers of pollutants associated with sediments, etc. Generally, in temperate climate, the main source of sediments is the surface runoff that occurs on fields during winter or spring but in lowland areas the subsurface drainage network is a supplementary pathway for runoff and sediments. The few studies that have quantified erosion over a complete hydrological year show subsurface drainage contribution to erosion is very variable. It is still difficult to propose a hierarchy and to quantify factors affecting soil erosion by subsurface drainage. In this study, suspended solids (SS) concentration and water flow of a lowland field have been measured during two consecutive years both at the outlets of surface and subsurface drainage networks. SS yield was 0.49 t ha-1 and 1.08 t ha-1 in 2019–2020 and 2020–2021, respectively. During 2019–2020 and 2020–2021, subsurface drainage contribution to the total runoff was 46% and 21%, respectively and its contribution to SS yield was 9% and 11%, respectively. High temporal resolution measurements of SS concentrations showed the suspended sediment concentration increased at the outlet of both surface and subsurface drains from the first to the second year. These variations and the increase of surface runoff rate suggest a shift in water and sediment connectivity at the field scale. Based on water tracing, water balance and analysis of rainfall characteristics, the main driver is likely cropping practices. This study confirms the majority of sediment exports occurs during a short period, cause by only few runoff event of winter and adds a new quantification of hydrosedimentary fluxes in a surface and subsurface drained field separating surface and subsurface drainage contribution. It also shows that in hydromorphic drained areas, despite the very slight slope, surface runoff can represent the major pathway for soil erosion. Adapted soil tillage practices must be developed to preserve the agricultural production capacity of the fields, maintaining water exports, while simultaneously reducing sediment exports.
Importance of Air pollution forensics at an annual massive firework display episode
Authors: Gopalakrishnan Bindu , Alappat Babu , Valsan Aswathy
Published: March 2024

 
Massive fireworks display are crowd-pleasing events to mark special occasions such as religious festivals, national celebrations, victories of various events, etc. all over the world.  In spite of their short duration, these events release large quantities of pollutants including toxic chemicals and heavy metals into the atmosphere. The recurrence of such events annually at the same location not only affect the air quality adversely, but can also pose severe soil and groundwater contamination problems as a result of dry and wet deposition of pollutants and its subsequent migration to the subsurface environment. These are generally considered as long-term impacts as the deposited metals accumulate annually and persist for decades. In order to establish the contribution of fireworks display emissions to soil and ground water contamination in an area, it is important to carry out a Forensic analysis of the air quality during such large-scale fireworks display. Analysis of air quality during fireworks display will help to determine the contribution of firework emissions to the air pollution at a place, where other sources of pollution such as traffic, industrial and commercial activities, etc. may also exist. Moreover, the analysis of the air quality during such large-scale fireworks display also have legal importance as they provide more convincing and sound evidences of violations, if any during such events.
In this study, the Particulate Matter (PM) samples from ambient air were collected from a temple ground in Kerala, India, where festival related massive fireworks display is conducted annually. The PM samples were collected during events for three years 2019,2022 and 2023 and also during two other years when no fireworks display was conducted due to COVID19 induced restrictions. The chemical analysis of the samples was carried out to determine the presence of signature pollutants which were released during the fireworks display. The analysis results clearly indicate the presence of signature pollutants in the samples collected during the fireworks display, whereas these pollutants were absent in the samples collected from the same place during no fireworks display years. The signature pollutants identified for the case were As, B, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Li, Mg, Mn, Pb, Sr, V and Zn which are ingredients in fireworks, added for imparting specific properties such as colour, sound, etc. The study shows that, through Forensic analysis, the contribution of pollutants from festival fireworks display to the ambient air can be confirmed, which can further be used to establish their long-term impact on environment.
Pushing Boundaries with Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBS) with a Pool-Ready System: Güralp Aquarius
Authors: Clark Aaron , Lindsey James , Hill Phil , Foster Connor , Restelli Federica , Watkiss Neil , Price Ella , Nedimović Mladen , Cairns Graeme
Published: March 2024

Cabled ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) solutions are financially and logistically challenging and autonomous OBS systems do not provide operators with seismic data until recovery. To address this issue Güralp has developed Aquarius, an ultra-low-power, free-fall OBS system, operational at any angle and with the ability to transmit seismic data in near-real-time from the seafloor without the use of cables.The Güralp Aquarius incorporates seafloor-to-surface acoustic communication technology that allows state-of-health and noise performance interrogation during installation followed by retrieval of seismic data throughout the deployment period.Omnidirectional broadband seismometer components allow the Aquarius to land and operate on steep slopes without requiring a gimbal mechanism that inherently introduces noise and failure modes. Raw data is recorded uncorrected for orientation to allow users to correct during post-processing.These unique features allow the sensor to function on uneven seafloor as well as transmitting seismic data to the surface where the operator can use noise characteristics, location, and orientation data to determine if the landing site is suitable.Intelligent battery design allows for typical 18-month deployments, with charging being possible alongside data transfer. This allows recharging, download and configuration simultaneously on the ship in between deployments.Ease of configuration, deployment and recovery followed by simple data processing are all central themes to the Aquarius. The capital investment required to purchase OBS systems often means that the OBS instrument must be adaptable to a range of use-cases.The Aquarius is in use in 6 different countries and is the unit of choice for the Canadian OBS pool, comprising 120 units for deployment around the globe. Aquarius units have been successfully deployed in the Mediterranean, North Atlantic as well as the North and South Pacific. Here, we focus on the mechanics of deployment and recovery for demonstrating to experienced and prospective principle investigators how this system simplifies and improves confidence in deployment.
Analysis of a rare severe convective weather event in spring in Beijing of China
Authors: Yu Bo
Published: March 2024

On May 17, 2019, a rare severe convective weather occurred in Beijing, accompanied by local heavy rainstorm, hail, thunderstorm and gale. This severe convective weather occurred significantly earlier than normal years, bringing great challenge to the forecast. Using multiple observation data and radar four-dimensional variational assimilation products to analyze the triggering and development evolution of this severe convection. Under the conditions of no obvious weather scale system and local high potential unstable energy, the eastward advancement of the sea breeze front was the main factor triggering strong convection. As the northwest wind in the air increasing, the environmental conditions became stronger vertical wind shear, which was beneficial for the storm to maintain for a longer period of time. The supercell was the main cause of the convective weather. During the development of storms, they split into two parts and moved counterclockwise. The southern echo gradually weakened as it moved northward, while the northern echo moved southward, strengthening and developing into a super cell accompanied by a mesocyclone. The significant fluctuations in the height of the 0 ℃ layer within a small range resulted in different melting rates of hail during its descent, leading to the formation of spiky hail.
C-SWOT2023: a Mediterranean intensive field experiment in the framework of the SWOT fast sampling phase
Authors: Garreau Pierre , Dumas Franck , Ponte Aurelien , Garnier Valerie , Pairaud Ivane , Ndiaye Khodia Sadji , Demol Margot
Published: March 2024

The field experiment C-SWOT-2023 was carried out in North-Western Mediterranean Sea and aimed to support the new-generation SWOT altimeter (NASA/CNES) calibration and validation during its fast sampling phase. The daily overflight of the satellite between Marseille and Menorca was the opportunity to revisit the main aspects of the ocean circulation in the North-Western Mediterranean sub-basin such as the North Current, the Balearic Front or the eddy soup in the winter convection area.  The originality of the field experiment lies in the deployment of two research vessels (the R/V Thetys II for IFREMER and the R/V Atalante for the SHOM) that sailed along together to explore statistics of the surface ocean dynamics (vorticity, strain, divergence) that are seldomly accessible in fine scale observations. High resolution transects recording velocities, temperature and salinity in the first four hundred meters under the SWOT swaths were performed in order to disentangle the geostrophic and the ageostrophic part of the circulation. Dozens of drifting buoys have been dropped to assess the lagrangian aspect of the dynamics. A short overview of the 3D observations dataset will be proposed before focusing on the comparison between the dynamics experienced in situ and those observed remotely by SWOT.
Seasonal variation of water isotopes in different forest ecosystems in the Central Amazon 
Authors: Durgante Flavia , Schöngart Jochen , Piedade Maria Teresa Fernandez , Trumbore Susan , Jones Sam P. , Gastmans Didier , Komiya Shujiro , Oliveira Rafael , Gleixner Gerd , Lavric Jost , Moossen Heiko , Geilmann Heike , Weiss Bianca , Macedo Maira , Rincon Lorena Maniguage , Sá Priscila Amaral de , Wittmann Florian
Published: March 2024

The Central Amazon comprises mosaics of forest ecosystems with different water dynamics and soil characteristics. The water dynamics from each ecosystem affect the evaporation signal seasonally expressed in the water isotopes (δ18O and δD). The recognition of the evaporative signal from different forest segments is essential for the development of hydrological and eco-hydrological studies in the complex Amazon biome. In this study, we used stable isotopes to evaluate how the water dynamics of different forest ecosystems affect seasonal water evaporative signals in each environment. We monitored water isotope signals from 2018-2020 in different compartments (precipitation, soil, stream, groundwater, river, lake, and flooded areas) of two non-flooded forests (clay soils - “plato” and sandy soils – “campinarana”) and three flooded forests (pristine igapó, disturbed igapó and várzea). We found that the soil water sampled by lysimeters in the upland forest seasonally expresses the isotope signal from the rainwater (Local Meteorical Water Line-LMWL) without a strong evaporative overprint. The water isotope signal from flooded forests is more variable. The isotopic composition of pristine rivers has an overlapping signal from the rain isotope signal (LMWL). However, water from the river downstream from the very large hydropower dam (Balbina) has a strong evaporative signal. During the flooded period, the water within the flooded forests has a more evaporated signal than the signal from the source (such as the river or lakes). During the non-flooded period, the water isotope signal from the soil inside the flooded forest corresponds to the rainwater signal. To the best of our knowledge, these represent the first description of the water isotope signals from the compartments in different Central Amazonian forest ecosystems. They illustrate and identify the high variation of the evaporative signal from the complex Amazon biome, knowledge that is essential to understanding how different forest ecosystems influence water recycling in the Amazon hydrological cycle.
Enhanced Driving Data for Regional Climate Models: Investigating the Systematic Improvements with GCM Run-time Empirical Bias Correction
Authors: Labonté Marie-Pier , Matte Dominic , Scinocca John , Kharin Slava , Leduc Martin , Paquin Dominique
Published: March 2024

A novel runtime empirical bias correction (EBC) has recently been developed and applied to enhance the Canadian Center for Climate Modelling and Analysis' (CCCma) global earth system model CanESM, demonstrating significant improvements in future climate projections, particularly under strong climate change scenarios. The application of EBC to CanESM provides enhanced driving data for dynamical downscaling through regional climate models (RCMs).This project aims to assess the impact of the improved EBC driving data on two RCMs, namely CanRCM5 (CCCma) and CRCM5 (Ouranos), in order to evaluate the systematic improvement of meteorological variables. Multiple 10-member ensembles are utilized to investigate the added value of employing EBC in driving the RCM simulations. The ensembles consist of three sets: the first set utilizes the original CanESM5 as driving data, the second set incorporates EBC on sea surface temperature (SST) and sea ice concentration (SIC) using the original CanESM5, and the third set employs bias-corrected atmosphere, SST, and SIC data. All three ensembles are compared against ERA5 data as a reference for the historical period.Results indicate a clear advantage of using EBC, particularly in cases where the initial bias is substantial. For instance, significant improvement in modeling key meteorological phenomena, notably the North American monsoon and the northeasters (extratropical cyclones). These improvements can be attributed not only to the refinement in addressing climatological biases in land and ocean data but also to an enhanced representation of cyclonic activities due to a better representation of overall circulation in our region. Ultimately, this research seeks to contribute to the scientific community by providing a methodology to mitigate uncertainties in downscaled projections of future climate change through the utilization of EBC.
Comparative Analysis of Autonomous Agricultural Robots and Traditional Tractors in Mechanical Weed Control Efficiency
Authors: Nikolić Nebojša , Sozzi Marco , Marinello Francesco , Sartori Luigi , Masin Roberta
Published: March 2024

Mechanical weed control, as an alternative to pesticide use, offers dual benefits in terms of environmental and economic sustainability. However, the labour and resource intensity of conventional methods can be mitigated through innovative technologies, such as agricultural robots. This study assesses the performance of an agricultural robot ‘Robotti 150 D’ (Agrointelli, Aarhus, Denmark), in comparison to a traditional tractor, focusing on its efficiency in mechanical weed control in a maize field at the experimental farm of the University of Padova in northeastern Italy. The precision weeder employed for this assessment was Rotosark (OliverAgro s.r.l., Verona, Italy).A 1.1-ha field was divided into 8 blocks worked halves by the robot and tractor, each further divided into sections with weeding operations conducted at 3 km/h and 5 km/h. Twenty-four randomly positioned 1 m² experimental plots were assessed for weed species presence via images analysed using ArcGIS Pro (v3.2.1. ESRI ArcGIS Pro©). Weed control efficiency was calculated by comparing weed presence and density before and after weeding operations. Long-term effects were evaluated by comparing weed biomass collected before harvest between plots managed by robot and tractor.Both the robot and the tractor exhibited a weed control efficiency of approximately 95%, with no statistical differences observed between methods or velocities. Even at the species level, no significant differences were identified. Moreover, final weed biomass showed no significant distinctions between plots managed by robot and tractor.These results suggest the autonomous robot demonstrates comparable efficacy in weeding to the traditional tractor. While further experiments are required to assess performance in diverse conditions, the study concludes that autonomous robots for mechanical weeding present a promising solution for precision agriculture. Despite their current availability on the market, these systems are in a developmental phase, requiring further refinement to meet user needs and preferences. Acknowledgments: This study was carried out within the Agritech National Research Center and received funding from the European Union Next-GenerationEU (PIANO NAZIONALE DI RIPRESA E RESILIENZA (PNRR) – MISSIONE 4 COMPONENTE 2, INVESTIMENTO 1.4 – D.D. 1032 17/06/2022, CN00000022).
Analysis of fog occurrence changes in the Namib Desert across time and space and impacts on natural and artificial fog collection
Authors: Forzini Eleonora , Castelli Giulio , Cuni-Sanchez Aida , Bresci Elena
Published: March 2024

In the Namib Desert, along the South-Western African coast, fog represents the main water input for local flora and fauna. During the last years, changes in the timing of fog occurrence and in the quantity of water that can be harvested from it, have been observed in several areas of the world, including the Namib Desert. A deeper insight into fog presence and fog water yield changes can help to understand to what extent Namib Desert’s ecosystem is being and will be affected in future by climate change. This information can also contribute to local environmental protection and carbon dioxide sequestration strategies, as fog water can be used for reforestation and land restoration. An 8-year-long dataset of harvested fog water rates recorded daily in 13 ground stations along the Namib Desert was statistically analysed to inspect advection fog occurrence evolution. The results show a noticeable intra-annual and inter-annual variability in rates and seasonality of harvested fog water. On the other hand, observed trends in collected fog water time series are generally decreasing, but longer time series are required to confirm the trend since El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon presence in the analysed period might have had an impact. The main hypothesis is that changes in fog occurrence and its characteristics are due to climate modifications, given that no extensive human activities are present in the area. However, further analyses on fog-related climatic and meteorological factors, possibly including remote sensing or reanalysis datasets aiming to increase the available data timespan, are envisioned to understand to what extent fog collection in the Namib Desert will be affected in future by climate change.
Fluid-driven swarms and mainshock-aftershocks sequences in the Ubaye Region (Western Alps).
Authors: Baques Marion , De Barros Louis , Godano Maxime , Duverger Clara , Jomard Hervé
Published: March 2024

The Ubaye Region, located in the French Western Alps, is one of the most seismically active regions in France. It is regularly hit by mainshock-aftershocks sequences (1959, ML5.3), seismic swarms (2003-2004), and complex sequences (2012-2015) characterized by successive mainshocks clustered in time and space. This diversity of seismic behaviour highlights the complex processes at play in this area. To improve our understanding of these processes, we compile a regional catalogue of existing focal mechanisms, completed by 100 new calculated focal mechanisms of aftershocks following the 07/04/2014 mainshock (ML5.1). We reconstruct the stress-state orientation for different periods and sub-areas. We found that it is constant in time and space, and consistent to previous published values focusing on swarm periods in this area. We then calculate the fluid-pressure needed to trigger the events. Most of them (65%) need fluid-overpressure between 15 and 40 MPa (17-to-40% of the hydrostatic pressure) with a median value of 24%. Moreover, even the largest earthquakes, like the mainshocks in the 2012-2015 sequence, appear to be triggered by fluid-pressure, similarly as events within swarm sequences. While fluid-overpressure decreases with time in an aftershock sequence, it  varies randomly at high levels during a swarm sequence. Therefore, based on a fault-valve model, we propose that: 1) the fluids trapped in the fault plane tend toward lithostatic pressure and trigger the mainshock rupture and 2) part of the aftershocks are induced by the diffusing fluid-pressure. On the contrary, swarms need external, likely deep, fluid-pressure feedings. Fluid-pressure is likely to be a common triggering mechanism of the seismicity in the Ubaye Region, even if the involved processes should differ to explain the different types of seismic sequences.
Extreme precipitation – temperature scaling: disentangling causality and covariation
Authors: Ghausi Sarosh Alam , Zehe Erwin , Ghosh Subimal , Tian Yinglin , Kleidon Axel
Published: March 2024

Warmer temperatures are expected to cause more intense rainfall, primarily due to the rise in atmospheric moisture at the rate of 7%/K, as indicated by the Clausius-Clapeyron (CC) equation. To evaluate this effect, studies use a statistical approach known as precipitation-temperature scaling that involves fitting an exponential regression between observations of extreme rainfall events and local temperatures, resembling how saturation-vapor pressure scales with temperature. However, the estimated sensitivities (also called scaling rates), exhibit notable deviations from the CC scaling (7%/K). These rates remain mostly negative in the tropics as the rainfall extremes exhibit a general monotonic decrease with temperature and “hook-shape” structures in most parts of tropics and mid-latitudes.Here we show that most of the variability in the observed scaling rates arises from the confounding radiative effect of clouds associated with rainfall events. Clouds substantially reduce the net radiative heating of the surface during the storms by up to 100 W/m2 in the tropics, leading to the cooling of surface temperatures by up to 8K. This cloud-induced cooling results in a covariation between precipitation and local temperature, inducing a two-way causality in the observed scaling rates. To isolate this cooling effect, we used a thermodynamically constrained surface energy balance model and force it with radiative fluxes under both "clear" and "cloudy" sky conditions. We then quantified the changes in surface temperatures due to clouds and remove it from temperature observations during rainy days. After removing this effect, we found positive scaling across the global land areas, closely aligning with CC rates of 7%/K. We demonstrate that cloud radiative effects alone can explain the observed negative and hook-shaped relationships found in precipitation-temperature scaling.Our findings imply that projected intensification of rainfall extremes with temperature by climate models is consistent with observations after the cloud-cooling effect is corrected for. Our results emphasize on making a clear distinction between causality and covariation by explicitly separating the temperatures before the rainfall event that are shaped by less clouds from temperature during the rainfall event which include clouds. This adds a crucial effect to the debate of interpreting observed precipitation - temperature scaling rates. Furthermore, our methodology of removing cloud effects on temperatures can be extended to estimate climate sensitivities from observations beyond precipitation extremes.
Toward a global scale runoff estimation through satellite observations: the STREAM model
Authors: Leopardi Francesco , Brocca Luca , Saltalippi Carla , Dari Jacopo , Nielsen Karina , Sneeuw Nico , Tourian Mohammad J. , Restano Marco , Benveniste Jérôme , Camici Stefania
Published: March 2024

River discharge monitoring is critical for many activities ranging from water resource management to flood risk reduction. Due to limitations of in situ stations (e.g. low station density, incomplete temporal coverage and delays in data access), river discharge is not always continuously monitored in time and space. This has led researchers and space agencies, among others, to develop new methods based on satellite observations for estimating river discharge.In recent years, ESA has funded the SaTellite-based Runoff Evaluation And Mapping (STREAM) and STREAM-NEXT projects, which propose to use satellite observations of precipitation, soil moisture and terrestrial water storage within a simple and conceptually parsimonious model, STREAM, to estimate runoff.The model, applied to five large basins in the world (Mississippi-Missouri basin, Amazon basin, Danube basin, Murray-Darling basin and Niger basin)  has demonstrated a high ability to estimate runoff and river discharge in both natural and non-natural basins with a high anthropogenic impact (i.e. in basins where flow is regulated by the presence of dams, reservoirs or floodplains along the river; or in heavily irrigated areas). In particular, the good results obtained paved the way for the application of the STREAM approach on a global scale. For this purpose, the STREAM-NEXT project will generalise the STREAM model to make it applicable to more than forty basins worldwide. Depending on the availability of in situ discharge data, the selected basins shall be grouped into calibration and validation clusters. The purpose is to use the basins into the calibration cluster to tune the parameters of the regionalized STREAM model and apply the regionalised model parameters to the validation cluster basins to estimate the accuracy of the STREAM model.  Additional satellite observations, such as altimetric water levels, will be used to estimate the water stored in the reservoirs; gravimetric data with different spatial/temporal resolutions will be explored to investigate the impact of these data on the model results.Finally, a calibration procedure and a regionalisation approach will be developed to make the STREAM model applicable to non-calibrated basins.Here we present the STREAM-NEXT project and some preliminary results related to the generalization of the STREAM model framework. Different basins with different climate, topography and level of anthropisation will be selected to demonstrate the suitability of the approach for a global scale application. 
Performance portability across CPUs, GPUs and FPGAs for an unstructured grid shallow water model
Authors: Büttner Markus , Alt Christoph , Kenter Tobias , Aizinger Vadym
Published: March 2024

By re-implementing our unstructured grid discontinuous Galerkin solver for the 2D shallow water equations in SYCL we produce a single code which not only runs on various CPUs and GPUs from AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA as well as on Intel Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), but also achieves excellent performance on each of those architectures. The separation of concerns concept is realized in SYCL by using a modern C++ standard for model code implementation and handling all hardware-specifics automatically in the SYCL runtime. This makes this programming model very flexible in terms of data structures and algorithmic constructs and reduces the developer exposure to various hardware architectures with their differing performance optimization requirements. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the FPGAs, which consist of generic logic blocks configured for a specific code and data structures, outperform all other architectures for small-size problems if one uses the SYCL implementation provided by Intel oneAPI.
Improving the REleASE solar proton forecasting capabilities with evidence of particle escape from the Sun: HESPERIA REleASE + 
Authors: Malandraki Olga E. , Posner Arik , Karavolos Michalis , Tziotziou Kostas , Smanis Fanis , Laurenza Monica , Barzilla Janet , Semones Edward , Whitman Kathryn , Mays M. Leila , Didigu Chinwe , Stubenrauch Christopher J. , Heber Bernd , Kuehl Patrick , Maksimovic Milan , Krupar Vratislav , Milas Nikolas
Published: March 2024

Providing reliable forecasts of Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) events is mandatory for human spaceflight beyond low-Earth orbit, especially outside the Earth's magnetosphere. High-energy SEPs are tracked because they penetrate deeper into the terrestrial atmosphere and contribute to the radiation dose aboard spacecraft specifically over Canada and the Southern Indian Ocean, due to the tilt of the Earth on its axis. Based on the Relativistic Electron Alert System for Exploration (REleASE) forecasting scheme], the HESPERIA REleASE product was developed by the HESPERIA H2020 project (Project Coordinator: Dr. Olga Malandraki) and generating real-time predictions of the proton flux (30-50 MeV) at L1, making use of relativistic and near-relativistic electron measurements by the SOHO/EPHIN and ACE/EPAM experiments, respectively. The HESPERIA REleASE tools are operational through the Space Weather Operational Unit of the National Observatory of Athens, accessible through the dedicated website (http://www.hesperia.astro.noa.gr). HESPERIA REleASE has attracted attention from various space organizations (e.g., NASA/CCMC, SRAG), due to the real-time, highly accurate and timely performance offered. ESA selected the HESPERIA REleASE products that were integrated and provided through the ESA Space Weather (SWE) Service Network (https://swe.ssa.esa.int/noa-hesperia-federated) under the Space Radiation Expert Service Center (R-ESC). Solar cycle 25 solar radiation storms successfully predicted by HESPERIA REleASE are presented and discussed. Moreover, we present an innovative upgrade implemented, namely HESPERIA REleASE+, that is using the novel approach of combining for the first time real-time type III solar radio burst observations by the STEREO S/WAVES instrument, thus incorporating clear evidence of particle escape from the Sun, within the HESPERIA REleASE system. To this end, a robust automated algorithm has been developed for the real-time identification and classification of Type III radio burst characteristics, related to intense SEP events at Earth’s orbit. This new implementation leads to a substantial step forward in improving the accuracy and reduction of false alarms.
A comparison of next generation mid-band broadband seismometers and traditional sensor technologies
Authors: Foster Connor , Price Ella , Watkiss Neil , Clarke Aaron , Hill Phil , Lindsey James , Restelli Federica
Published: March 2024

Mid-band seismometer systems usually have shorter period responses and higher noise floors when compared to broadband seismometer sensors. These seismometers have been hugely popular with permanent seismic networks and temporary experiments alike due to their cost-effectiveness, portability and relative ease of deployments which allow for network densification and quick deployments. Güralp have historically led the way with such sensors with the 6T and 40T series which have been used globally in challenging environments over the last decades for local and regional seismic monitoring applications. GSL have built on this tried and trusted platform to develop the next generation of mid-band sensor technology.The Güralp next-generation smart sensor module is designed to be able to operate at any angle, without the use of a mechanical gimbal system. This allows for the entire sensor package to be rotated during installation and deployment without sacrificing data quality and means that all three components of the sensor to be manufactured to the same design, eliminating inconsistencies in performance between horizontal and vertical components whilst still maintaining an orthogonal orientation for redundancy. The new generation of sensor makes use of novel materials and techniques to drastically improve the noise performance over traditional mid-band sensors.The sensor components include digital elements to the feedback loop, allowing for the sensor module to have an on-board serial server. This facilitates greater interoperability with Minimus based digitizer platforms, including automatic pulling of sensor serial number, sensor module SOH channels and the ability to remotely adjust the long period corner between options of 1s and 120s. This therefore makes the sensor module incredibly easy to deploy and mitigates against previous requirements for multiple instruments of varying responses.The sensor module has now been successfully developed into a number of different packages for varying deployment scenarios including borehole (the Radian), offshore (Aquarius and Maris), vault (Certimus) and posthole (Certis) application. All packages make use of the latest digital technologies to reduce power consumption down to
A vertical RothC model for simulating the Soil Organic Carbon  dynamics in coastal wetland environments
Authors: Marangi Carmela , Bohaienko Vsevolod , Diele Fasma , Martiradonna Angela , Provenzale Antonello
Published: March 2024

The significance of considering vertical layers in studying soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics within wetlands arises from the interplay of hydrological and ecological factors across various soil depths, where anaerobic conditions prevail in the deeper layers. This anaerobic environment significantly influences microbial processes, leading to methane production rather than carbon dioxide. Factors such as the accumulation of organic material, temperature gradients, and fluctuations in the water table contribute to diverse SOC dynamics across different vertical strata. Understanding these variations in vertical layers is crucial for accurate assessments of carbon stocks, greenhouse gas emissions, and the overall role of wetlands in the global carbon cycle. Such understanding is essential for devising effective conservation and management strategies, particularly in the face of climate change and land-use modifications impacting wetlands.  To model these dynamics, a vertical extension of the Rothamsted Carbon (RothC) model can be successfully employed in conjunction with the Richardson equation. This combined approach simulates the influence of soil moisture flux on the transport of carbon throughout the soil column. The specific scenario examined is focused on the growth of rice in the Ebro Delta lands and on the carbon flux emissions in the Ria de Aveiro Coastal lagoon, both sites being part of the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) network and the eLTER RI community.  This work contributes to the research activities carried out by the authors within the projects H2020 eLTER PLUS, HE RESTORE4Cs, and PNRR - “National Biodiversity Future Centre”, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU. 
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SNOWTRAN: a software package for the solution of direct and inverse problems of snow optics
Authors: Kokhanovsky Alexander , Brell Maximillian , Segl Karl , Chabrillat Sabine
Published: March 2024

We present a software suite SNOWTRAN aimed at the solution of forward and inverse problems of snow optics. The numerical procedure is based on the approximate solutions of the radiative transfer equation and the geometrical optics approximation for local optical parameters of snow such as the probability of photon absorption and the average cosine of the single light scattering angle. The model is validated using EnMAP and PRISMA spaceborne imaging spectroscopy data close to the Concordia research station in Antarctica. The SNOWTRAN is applied for the determination of the total ozone, the precipitable water vapor, the snow grain size and the assessment of the snowpack vertical inhomogeneity using EnMAP imagery over the Aviator Glacier and in the vicinity of the Concordia research station in Antarctica. The remote sensing results based on EnMAP measurements revealed a large increase in precipitable water vapor at the Concordia research station in February 2023 linked to warming event, and a 4 times larger grain size at Aviator Glacier compared to the Concordia station.
Explainable machine learning revealing the mechanism behind drought events in northern Italy: the case of the 2022 drought
Authors: Xue Chenli , Ghirardelli Aurora , Chen Jianping , Tarolli Paolo
Published: March 2024

Drought is a complex natural hazard involving multiple variables that, depending on the measured parameters, can be categorized into meteorological, hydrological or agricultural drought. Among them, agricultural drought, which refers to soil moisture deficits that fail to meet crop growth, has been attracting more attention for severely threatening food security worldwide. In the context of climate change and the increased occurrence of drought events, it is crucial to monitor drought drivers and progression to plan the subsequent efforts in drought prevention, adaptation, and migration. However, the comprehensive knowledge of agriculture drought still needs to be clarified. Previous works often focused on precipitation or evapotranspiration and failed to capture other potential drivers of drought. This study proposes a novel framework to comprehensively monitor agricultural drought with ensemble machine learning by constructing an integrated agriculture drought index with high temporal-spatial resolution. In addition, the Shapley Additive Explanation (SHAP) explainable model was applied to reveal the driving mechanism behind the drought event that occurred in northern Italy in the summer of 2022. Results indicate that the proposed explainable ensemble machine learning model could effectively reflect the evolution of agricultural drought with spatially continuous maps on a weekly scale. The SHAP analysis demonstrated that the severe agricultural drought in the summer of 2022 was closely related to meteorological indicators, namely precipitation and land surface temperature, crucial in controlling soil moisture. Moreover, the new findings also revealed that soil textures could significantly affect agricultural drought. By combining explainable ensemble machine learning and various earth-observation data involving meteorology, soil, geomorphology, and vegetation conditions, the study constructed an integrated index to monitor and assess agricultural drought in northern Italy. The proposed research framework could effectively contribute to improving the methodology in agricultural drought research, potentially bringing more instructive insights for drought prevention and mitigation.
Evaluating trends using TROPOMI and OMI aerosol index
Authors: Stein Zweers Deborah Claire , Sneep Maarten , de Graaf Martin
Published: March 2024

With more than 5 years of operational aerosol index data from the TROPOMI instrument onboard the Sentinel 5-precursor (S5P), the seasonal cycle can be characterized and trends in global aerosol index can be investigated in more depth. Positive values of the aerosol index are driven by strong emission and transport events of ultraviolet (UV) absobring aerosols including desert dust outbreaks, biomass burning smoke, and volcanic ash eruptions. Near-zero values of the aerosol index however can also be useful to understand the dependency and sensitivity of calculated reflectances on precision and nature of the calibration of the instrument. Since the reprocessing of the dataset carried out in 2023, the largest effects of observed degradation in radiance and irradiance have been well characterized and are removed. A discussion will be presented addressing the delineation of variability due to changes in the global emission of absorbing aerosols as well as observed and characterized changes in insturment sensitivity and calibration.  As a comparison the soon-to-be released OMI aerosol index data (Collection 4) extending back to 2004 will be appended to lend additional insights about long-term variability seasonal variability of UV-absorbing aerosol presence. 
Archaean record of the Singhbhum Craton, India: new insights from greenstone belts and cratonic cover sequences. 
Authors: Jodder Jaganmoy , Hofmann Axel , Elburg Marlina , Ngobeli Rebeun
Published: March 2024

In recent times, the Archaean geological record of the Singhbhum Craton has been scrutinized regarding early Earth crustal processes, tectonics, magmatic-detrital zircon geochronology, early life research, and Fe-Mn mineralization associated with volcano-sedimentary successions. However, many of these studies are hampered by a lack of a basic stratigraphic framework of the various litho-stratigraphic units, complicating our understanding of the overall Archaean geology of the Singhbhum Craton. Here, we share first-hand information on the Palaeoarchaean greenstone belts and Meso-Neoarchaean intracontinental volcano-sedimentary sequence of the Singhbhum Craton.New magmatic zircon U-Pb ages determined from felsic volcanic rocks of the Badampahar Group are represented by their crystallization age at c. 3.51 Ga. Intrusive granitoids exposed in the Daitari and Gorumahisani greenstone belts yield crystallization ages ranging from 3.38 to 3.29 Ga and having inherited zircons being 3.58, 3.55, and 3.51 Ga old. A granitoid intrusive into iron formation of the Gorumahisani greenstone belt has an age of c. 3.29 Ga.  Detrital zircons recovered from Koira Group sandstone intercalated with iron formation yield a maximum depositional age of 2.63 Ga. We demonstrate that Palaeoarchaean greenstones exposed in the northern and southern parts of the Singhbhum Craton consists largely of sub-marine mafic-ultramafic volcanic rocks interlayered with minor felsic volcanic and chemical sedimentary rocks. Importantly, the ca. 3.51 Ga felsic volcanic rocks from the Badampahar Group permit comparison with co-eval felsic volcanic units reported from the lower part of the Onverwacht, Nondweni, Warrawoona groups of the Kaapvaal and Pilbara cratons. Otherwise, new age constraints of the Koira Group allow for better correlations with Meso-Neoarchaean cratonic cover successions elsewhere. 
Evaluating the classic and distal Fish Canyon Tuff localities with apatite 4He/3He thermochronology
Authors: Colleps Cody , van der Beek Peter , Amalberti Julien
Published: March 2024

The late Oligocene Fish Canyon Tuff (FCT)—preserved within the San Juan volcanic field of southern Colorado—has long served as a reliable source of multiple accessory minerals for geochronology and thermochronology age standards. Whereas the ‘classic’ FCT sampling locality preserves near consistent ages of ~28–29 Ma across the sanidine 40Ar/39Ar, zircon U-Pb, zircon fission track, zircon (U-Th)/He, and apatite fission track systems, the average single-grain apatite (U-Th)/He (AHe) age at this site is notably younger at 20.8 ± 0.4 Ma. Considering that the classic sampling site is positioned at the bottom of a deeply incised valley with ~800 m of local relief, this AHe age has been proposed to record burial of the basal tuff to depths exceeding ~1000 m, with subsequent Early Miocene cooling reflecting valley incision. In contrast, an average single-grain AHe age of 28.5 ± 0.1 Ma was previously recorded from a newly proposed distal FCT locality where the upper-most tuffs are freshly preserved within a quarry. This AHe age is consistent with higher temperature geochronological ages from the same locality, which suggests that the distal FCT experienced no post-emplacement thermal disturbance. The observed, locality-specific difference in AHe ages provides a unique opportunity to calibrate and assess the potential of apatite 4He/3He thermochronology to (1) quantify the degree of post-emplacement burial and the rate of subsequent cooling at the classic FCT locality, and (2) record rapid late Oligocene cooling at the distal FCT locality. We respectively test the hypothesis that the classic FCT apatite will yield a comparatively diffusive 4He/3He degassing spectra, whereas the distal FCT apatite will preserve a near-uniform 4He/3He spectra that is solely affected by alpha-ejection. We consider and discuss newly derived 4He/3He results in light of (1) the geological history and landscape evolution of southern Colorado, (2) the potential use of distal FCT apatite as a coupled AHe and 4He/3He thermochronology reference material, and (3) the reproducibility of FCT apatite 4He/3He spectra using differing proton-irradiation procedures. 