bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Libera and Continuity of the Earth Radiation Budget Climate Data Record
Authors: Pilewskie Peter , Hakuba Maria ,   Libera Science Team
Published: March 2021

The NASA Libera Mission, named for the daughter of Ceres in Roman mythology, will provide continuity of the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Earth radiation budget (ERB) observations from space. Libera’s  attributes enable a seamless extension of the ERB climate data record. Libera will acquire integrated radiance over the CERES FM6-heritage broad spectral bands in the shortwave (0.3 to 5 μm), longwave (5 to 50 μm) and total (0.3 to beyond 100 μm) and adds a split-shortwave band (0.7 to 5 μm) to provide deeper insight into shortwave energy deposition. Libera leverages advanced detector technologies using vertically aligned black-carbon nanotubes with closed-loop electrical substitution radiometry to achieve radiometric uncertainty of approximately 0.2%. Libera will also employ a wide field-of-view camera to provide scene context and explore pathways for separating future ERB missions from complex imagers.

The Libera science objectives associated with continuity and extension of the ERB data record are to identify and quantify processes responsible for ERB variability on various time scales. Beyond data continuity, Libera’s new and enhanced observational capabilities will advance our understanding of spatiotemporal variations of radiative energy flow in the visible and and near-infrared spectral regions. They will also enable the rapid development of angular distribution models to facilitate near-IR and visible radiance-to-irradiance conversion.
The Last Interglacial Sea Level database for the Western Mediterranean 
Authors: Cerrone Ciro , Vacchi Matteo , Fontana Alessandro , Rovere Alessio
Published: March 2021

An open access database containing raw data of Last Interglacial sea-level proxies for the Western Mediterranean has been compiled by reviewing hundreds of original published papers in accordance with the WALIS template (https://warmcoasts.eu/world-atlas.html). WALIS allows collecting both the relative sea-level (RSL) indicators and ages data in a standardized format. Ca. 360 sea-level index points for the coasts of Spain, France, Italy, Albania, Algeria and Morocco have been included in the database. The sea-level index points of the database are related to ca. 350 samples dated by a wide range of dating techniques, e.g., U-series, Amino Acid Racemization, Luminescence (Tl/OSL) and Electron Spin Resonance methods or chronostratigraphically correlated to marine deposits bearing P. latus and “Senegalese fauna”. In fact, for some areas of the Mediterranean Sea, the “Senegalese fauna” is indicative of the MIS 5e.

Among the eleven types of sea-level indicators of our database, the majority of them are represented by marine terraces, beach deposits (or beachrocks), and tidal notches. Whenever the relationship between the RSL indicators and the former sea-level could not be quantified, such indicators have been considered as marine or terrestrial limiting points. An indirect age of the tidal notches has been provided by correlation with the nearby dated deposit. In the case no precise elevation information has been reported by the Authors, the elevation error of RSL datapoints has been reassessed in the 20 % of the elevation value, more a 5% if the sea-level datum was lacking in the scientific papers we have reviewed.  Overall, the quality of each RSL datapoints and the associated age have been ranked in a 0 to 5 scale score according to Rovere et al., (2020).

 

References

Rovere, A., Ryan, D., Murray-Wallace, C., Simms, A., Vacchi, M., Dutton, A., Gowan, E., 2020. Descriptions of database fields for the World Atlas of Last Interglacial Shorelines (WALIS) (Version 1,0). Zenodo. https://doi.org/http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3961544
Soil pore effects on spatial patterns of extracellular enzymes: combined X-ray computed tomography and 2D zymography
Authors: Juyal Archana , Guber Andrey , Kravchenko Alexandra
Published: March 2021

Extracellular enzymes play an important role in soil biochemical processes as they are the key regulators of litter and soil organic matter degradation. However, understanding of the factors influencing their activity and fate in soil is still limited. In this study, we examined the relationship between soil pores and spatial patterns of extracellular enzyme activity in soils from two bioenergy cropping systems: monoculture switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) and restored prairie. Intact soil cores (5 cm Ø x 5 cm height) were collected at two contrasting topographical positions (depression and slope) within large topographically diverse fields where the switchgrass and prairie were grown since 2008. The cores were subjected to X-ray computed tomography scanning at 18 µm resolution. After the scanning, a switchgrass seedling was planted in these cores and allowed to grow for three months. Then the plants were terminated and the cores were rescanned. Pore characteristics were assessed using the image information, and b-glucosidase activity was characterized via 2D zymography. Preliminary results showed that soil of the prairie system had greater volumes of 60-180 mm Ø size pores compared to monoculture switchgrass system. However, enzyme activity was higher in the soil of monoculture switchgrass. Our preliminary results indicate that the soil pore size distribution and enzyme activity differ depending on the type of the bioenergy cropping system. Further analysis is conducted to determine microbial abundance, total C in soil and microbial biomass in these cropping systems to understand the effect of pores on microbial activity associated with C processes in soil.
Floating the Vrancea slab and tectonic reconstruction of the collapse of the PalaeoPannonian Basin
Authors: Muston Jack , Spakman Wim , Lister Gordon
Published: March 2021

Here we present the first 4D tectonic reconstruction that models the Vrancea slablet and incorporates the floated slab as a constraint on the magnitude of slab rollback during collapse of the Palaeo-Pannonian Basin. Seismic tomographic images provide insight into the geometry and tectonic history of subducted slabs. High velocity anomalies can be interpreted as ‘cold’ lithosphere penetrating ‘warmer’ lower velocity asthenosphere, and 3D models created using the SKUA-GOCAD modelling software. Combined with information from the 3D distribution of earthquake hypocentres, we thereby obtain a simple approximation to slab geometry beneath the Vrancea region. The resultant DXF was imported into the Pplates tectonic reconstruction software, and floated back to the Earth’s surface. The method utilised assumes no significant deformation (stretching, buckling, folding, shortening) during or after subduction, so that the obtained geometry estimates the pre-subduction configuration. The resultant floated slab is then incorporated as a constraint on 2D + time tectonic reconstructions. We apply a double-saloon-door rollback model, which involves propagation of a slab tear along the mid-Hungarian lineament. Each saloon-door rolls back independently of the other and this leads to two epochs of extension. AlPaCa is ‘pulled’ eastwards and rotated counter-clockwise as the western saloon-door rolls back. The Tisza-Dacia unit is then ‘pulled’ eastward, and rotated, but in a clockwise sense as the eastern saloon-door rolls back. Once the subduction hinge reached the East European Platform, the slab was left hanging. Gravitational forces then drove slab-boudinage and detachment in a similar fashion as occurs today beneath the Hindu Kush. This model explains the large opposing-sense vertical-axis rotations that occurred during convergence of the AlPaCa and Tisza-Dacia terranes. The zipper fault model rotates the microplates without requiring large-scale thrusting. Interpretation of the Mid-Hungarian lineament as a zipper-fault system is also consistent with the geodynamic effects expected because of tearing in a subducting plate leading to a double-saloon-door rollback. The vertical extent of the slab is roughly 300 km, which only fills half of the basin, consistent with the double-saloon-door roll-back model interpretation.
Learning from one’s errors: A data-driven approach for mimicking an ensemble of hydrological model residuals
Authors: Quilty John M. , Sikorska-Senoner Anna E.
Published: March 2021

Despite significant efforts to improve the calibration of hydrological models, when applied to real-world case studies, model errors (residuals) remain. These residuals impair flow estimates and can lead to unreliable design, management, and operation of water resources systems. Since these residuals are auto-correlated, they should be treated with appropriate methods that do not require limiting assumptions (e.g., that the residuals follow a Gaussian distribution).

This study introduces a novel data-driven framework to account for residuals of hydrological models. Our framework relies on a conceptual-data-driven approach (CDDA) that integrates two models, i.e., a hydrological model (HM) with a data-driven (i.e., machine learning) model (DDM), to simulate an ensemble of residuals from the HM. In the first part of the CDDA, a HM is used to generate an ensemble of streamflow simulations for different parameter sets. Afterwards, residuals associated with each simulation are computed and a DDM developed to predict the residuals. Finally, the original streamflow simulations are coupled with the DDM predictions to produce the CDDA output, an improved ensemble of streamflow simulations. The proposed CDDA is a useful approach since it respects hydrological processes via the HM and it profits from the DDM’s ability to simulate the complex (nonlinear) relationship between residuals and input variables.

To explore the utility of CDDA, we focus principally on identifying the best DDM and input variables to mimic HM residuals. For this purpose, we have explored eight different DDM variants and multiple input variables (observed precipitation, air temperature, and streamflow) at different lag times prior to the simulation day. Based on a case study involving three Swiss catchments, the proposed CDDA framework is shown to be very promising at improving ensemble streamflow simulations, reducing the mean continuous ranked probability score by 16-29 % when compared to the standalone HM. It was found that eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) and Random Forests (RF), each using 29 input variables, were the strongest predictors of the HM residuals. However, similar performance could be achieved by selecting only the six most important (of the original 29) input variables and re-training the XGB and RF models.

Additional experimentation shows that by converting CDDA to a stochastic framework (i.e., to account for important uncertainty sources), significant gains in model performance can be achieved.
Year-long observations of chemical properties of organic aerosols and cloud residuals at the Zeppelin Observatory, Svalbard
Authors: Gramlich Yvette , Haslett Sophie , Siegel Karolina , Freitas Gabriel , Krejci Radovan , Zieger Paul , Mohr Claudia
Published: March 2021

The number of cloud seeds, e.g. cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice nucleation particles (INP), in the pristine Arctic shows a large range throughout the year, thereby influencing the radiative properties of Arctic clouds. However, little is known about the chemical properties of CCN and INP in this region. This study aims to investigate the chemical properties of aerosol particles and trace gases that are of importance for cloud formation in the Arctic environment, with focus on the organic fraction.

Over the course of one full year (fall 2019 until fall 2020), we deployed a filter-inlet for gases and aerosols coupled to a chemical ionization high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer (FIGAERO-CIMS) using iodide as reagent ion at the Zeppelin Observatory in Svalbard (480 m a.s.l.), as part of the Ny-Ålesund Aerosol Cloud Experiment (NASCENT). The FIGAERO-CIMS is able to measure organic trace gases and aerosol particles semi-simultaneously. The instrument was connected to an inlet switching between a counterflow virtual impactor (CVI) inlet and a total air inlet. This setup allows to study the differences in chemical composition of organic aerosol particles and trace gases at molecular level that are involved in Arctic cloud formation compared to ambient non-activated aerosol.

We observed organic signal above background in both gas and particle phase all year round. A comparison between the gas phase mass spectra of cloud-free and cloudy conditions shows lower signal for some organics inside the cloud, indicating that some trace gases are scavenged by cloud hydrometeors whilst others are not. In this presentation we will discuss the chemical characteristics of the gases exhibiting different behavior during clear sky and cloudy conditions, and the implications for partitioning of organic compounds between the gas, aerosol particle and cloud hydrometeor (droplet/ice) phase.
The effects of organic fertiliser, arginine, on the chemical composition of soil organic matter in a boreal forest
Authors: Hasegawa Shun , Näsholm Torgny , Bonner Mark
Published: March 2021

There is a growing body of evidence that plants uptake a monumental amount of organic forms of nitrogen (N) like amino acids in addition to those in inorganic forms. An amino acid-based fertiliser has been shown to improve seedling development and commercialised. Boreal forests store a substantial amount of carbon (C) in the soil and this is widely known to be further enhanced by the addition of inorganic nitrogen fertiliser via hampered decomposition. However, very little is known about how amino acid-based fertiliser influences C/N cycling in the boreal soils. The organic forms of N supply not only nitrogen but also carbon. If the previously demonstrated suppression of SOM decomposition is owing to altered C:N ratios in substrates, the amino acid-based fertiliser may not have as pronounced effects on the soil as the inorganic fertiliser. 

 We have examined the impacts of the organic fertiliser (100 kg N and 130 kg C ha-1 year-1)—arginine—on the chemical composition of soil organic matter in a boreal forest in comparison to non-fertilised, inorganic fertilised (ammonium-nitrate) and C-controlled inorganic fertilised (sucrose + ammonium-nitrate) conditions. The soil organic matter was characterised using two metrics: pyrolysis GC/MS and 13C solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), combined with enzymological and metagenomic analysis.

We will be presenting the results following 4-year of the fertiliser treatments. Preliminary results have shown that there is limited evidence that the fertiliser treatments alter soil C/N cycing in four years. Nevertheless, the chemical composition in SOM under the organic fertiliser condition was similar to that under C-controlled compared to inorganic fertiliser treatment. 
Using lake sediment P records to estimate internal and external P loading and historic long-term lake water mean TP: a case study using published records from Søbygaard Sø, Denmark.
Authors: Boyle John , Moyle Maddy
Published: March 2021

Lake sediment records offer the opportunity to quantify past changes in catchment P exports, information essential if we are to understand the long-term drivers that control P cycling. However, the interpretation of such records generally depends on the assumption that sediment P concentration profiles remain intact after burial. This assumption appears to be in conflict with the phenomenon of internal P loading, whereby P is exported from sediment to the water column. Here we apply a simple long-term mass balance model to published sediment record data from Søbygaard, a site that has an exceptionally high internal P loading, and an exceptionally well-studied sediment P record (Søndergaard and Jeppesen, 2019). Repeat cores collected from 1985 to 2004 constrain the temporal evolution of a sediment P peak arising from past sewage inflows, providing a critical test of our modelling approach. We find that useful sediment inference of long-term mean lake water TP is preserved in the sediment record, and predict also useful inference of long-term mean external P loading. Limitation on temporal resolution of the records is examined.
Interannual Variability in Arctic Surface Energy Fluxes and their Drivers
Authors: Grysko Raleigh , Oehri Jacqueline , Schaepman-Strub Gabriela
Published: March 2021

The Arctic is undergoing amplified climate warming, and temperature and precipitation are predicted to increase even more in the future. Increased climate warming is indicative of changes in the surface energy budget, which lies at the heart of the carbon and water budget. The surface energy budget is an important driver of many earth system processes, and yet has received little attention in the past.

The goal of this study is to further develop our understanding in the spatio-temporal variability of Arctic surface energy fluxes. Specifically, we will investigate the magnitude and dependence on changes in energy flux drivers interannually at different sites across the Arctic. We used in situ data from 10 sites gathered from the FLUXNET2015, Arctic Observatory Network, and European Fluxes Database Center repositories. All study sites are of 60° N or higher and spread across the Arctic. The chosen sites include Chokurdakh, Russia (147.5° E, 70.8° N), Cherskiy, Russia (161.3° E, 68.6° N), Kaamanen,, Finland (27.3° E, 69.1° N), Imnavait Creek, USA (-149.3° E, 68.6° N), Zackenberg Heath, Greenland (-20.6° E, 74.5° N), Tiksi, Russia (128.9° E, 71.6° N), Sodankyla, Finland (26.6° E, 67.4° N), Poker Flat, USA (-147.5° E, 65.1° N), Nuuk, Greenland (-51.4° E, 64.1° N), and Samoylov, Russia (126.5° E, 72.4° N). Using these data, we analyzed the interannual variability of surface energy fluxes including net radiation, sensible, latent, and ground heat fluxes, and Bowen ratio including their dependence on potential drivers, such as temperature, wind speed, atmospheric stability, and vapor pressure deficit.

Our results on interannual variability in surface energy fluxes and flux drivers inform long term climate model simulations across the Arctic, which is critical for the improved prediction of the state and development of the surface energy budget and drivers under current and future conditions in this vulnerable, rapidly changing, and understudied region.
The ancient city and the rising sea. Using archaeogeosites to convey climate awareness.
Authors: Mariani Guido Stefano , Melis Rita Teresa
Published: March 2021

The interaction between human societies and the physical landscape is deep and widespread since the dawn of civilisation. The development of different cultures always had to take into account their physical and geological surrounding, in order to adapt to their features and exploit them in the most efficient fashion. Cultural and geological heritage are therefore often tightly linked in a relationship enhancing the meaning of both to society in many ways. Tapping into these cultural archives can provide a useful way of communicating geoheritage to the wider public through the history of human-landscape interactions. Such landmarks would effectively act as witnesses of Earth history from a human point of view and become beneficial in spreading knowledge about past and current geological processes such as climate change. With the help of archaeogeosites, integrated reconstructions where the geological and geomorphological evidence with the elements of archaeological heritage could provide an effective way of communicating to the larger public sea level dynamics at a longer scale and the effects of climate change in the present and near future.

As a case study, the late ancient city of Nora is particularly effective. Located in southwestern Sardinia (Italy), it was a seaport of great importance during the Punic and Roman periods. Its surrounding landscape is deeply influenced by the marine transgression happening since the Last Glacial Maximum. Along the coast, many landforms and stratigraphic sequences bear evidence of sea level fluctuations and the related changes in the landscape revealing the larger context in which the city was developed. Beach deposits dated to MIS5 are buried by fluvial deposits and soils indicating a much lower sea level during later stadial periods. Since the passage to the Holocene the area, dominated by fluvial and slope dynamics, is interested by the progressive rise of the coastline and the consequent land loss. The city itself was not spared from this process. While its strategic coastal position was instrumental in its rise to prominence, the exposure to a rising sea level had a great impact on its history, both during its development and later as an abandoned settlement and an archaeological site. Several human structures possibly show the necessity of shielding against a progressively more damaging wave action.
New and improved data from the Pandonia Global Network for satellite validation
Authors: Cede Alexander , Tiefengraber Martin , Gebetsberger Manuel , Van Roozendael Michel , Eskes Henk , Lerot Christophe , Loyola Diego , Theys Nicolas , De Smedt Isabelle , Abuhassan Nader , Hanisco Thomas , Dehn Angelika , Von Bismarck Jonas , Casadio Stefano , Valin Luke , Lefer Barry
Published: March 2021

The worldwide operating Pandonia Global Network (PGN) is measuring atmospheric trace gases at high temporal resolution with the purpose of air quality monitoring and satellite validation. It is an activity carried out jointly by NASA and ESA as part of their “Joint Program Planning Group Subgroup” on calibration and validation and field activities, with additional collaboration from other institutions, most notably a strongly growing participation of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The more than 50 official PGN instruments are homogeneously calibrated and their data are centrally processed in real-time. Since 2019, total NO2 column amounts from the PGN are uploaded daily to the ESA Atmospheric Validation Data Centre (EVDC), where they are used for operational validation of Sentinel 5P (S5P) retrievals. During 2020, a new processor version 1.8 has been developed, which produces improved total NO2 column amounts and also the following new PGN products: total columns of O3, SO2 and HCHO based on direct sun observations and tropospheric columns, surface concentrations and tropospheric profiles of NO2 and HCHO based on sky observations. In this presentation we show some first examples of comparisons of the new PGN products with S5P data. Compared to the total NO2 columns from the previous processor version 1.7, the 1.8 data use better estimations for the effective NO2 temperature and the air mass factor. The effect of this improvement on the comparison with S5P retrievals is shown for some remote and high-altitude PGN sites. The new PGN total O3 column algorithm also retrieves the effective O3 temperature, which is a rather unique feature for ground-based direct sun retrievals. This allows us to analyze whether potential differences to satellite O3 columns might be influenced by the O3 temperature. Including the O3 temperature in the spectral fitting has also allowed the retrieval of accurate total SO2 columns. This PGN data product is of particular interest for satellite validation, as ground-based total SO2 column amounts are hardly measured by other instrumentation. An initial comparison of the PGN SO2 columns with S5P retrievals at selected PGN sites around the world is shown. PGN total HCHO columns from direct sun measurements are now possible for those PGN instruments, where the hardware parts made of Delrin, which outgasses HCHO, have been replaced by Nylon pieces. An initial comparison to HCHO retrievals from S5P is shown for locations with these upgraded instruments. Another new feature in the 1.8 PGN data is that they come with comprehensive uncertainty estimations, separated in the output files as independent, structured, common and total uncertainty.
Re-investigating the Barrovian metamorphic rocks of the Isbjørnhamna Group, Svalbard Caledonides
Authors: Patry Margot , Klonowska Iwona , Kośmińska Karolina , Majka Jarosław
Published: March 2021

The Isbjørnhamna Group, which crops out in the south-west of Svalbard in the High Arctic, is crucial for understanding Svalbard’s regional geology. It can be traced in southern Wedel Jarlsberg Land and Sørkapp Land, and it consists of a Barrovian-type series of metapelites that were metamorphosed during the Torellian (c. 640Ma; Majka et al. 2008) and overprinted during the Caledonian orogenesis (Majka & Kośmińska, 2017). Although relatively recent petrological study exists, there are certain gaps in it. In order to fill these gaps, we decided to re-investigate these rocks using the most up-to-date petrochronological approach. Hence, we aim to determine the metamorphic history of these rocks in detail, test the hypothesis if there are indeed several orogenic events registered by these rocks and what was a possible exhumation mechanism responsible for uplift of this sequence.

The studied garnet-bearing mica schists preserve four different parageneses, ranging from chloritoid to kyanite metamorphic zones. Here we report on the samples containing chlorite and chloritoid, kyanite, staurolite and both staurolite and kyanite. The studied samples are the same exact rocks that have been previously studied by Majka et al. (2008, 2010) using both geothermobarometry and petrogenetic grids in the KFMASH system. According to those authors the estimated pressure-temperature conditions (P-T) were c. 655°C at 11kbar for the kyanite-bearing shist, c. 624°C at 6.6 to 8.7kbar for the staurolite + kyanite pelite and c. 580°C at 8-9kbar for the staurolite-bearing rock. The chloritoid schist has not been studied previously.

Our preliminary phase equilibrium modelling in the MnNCKFMASHTO system using the Theriak-Domino software indicates P-T conditions of c. 660°C at 7 kbar for the kyanite-schist and c. 575°C at 8 to 9.5kbar for the staurolite-schist, respectively. The chloritoid schist yielded conditions of c. 560°C at 7.5kbar. Further P-T modelling coupled with in-situ Ar-Ar and U-Pb geochronology should allow for much better understanding of the complex geological history of these rocks as well as potential flaws in the previous studies.

 

Research funded by National Science Centre (Poland) project no. 2019/33/B/ST10/01728.

 

References:

Majka & Kośmińska (2017): Arktos, 3:5, 1.17.

Majka et al. (2008): Geological Magazine, 145, 822-830.

Majka et al. (2010): Polar Research, 29, 250-264.        
Reclaimed water irrigation: Accumulation of contaminants of emerging concern in food crops
Authors: Ponce Robles Laura , Bañón Gómez Daniel , García García Antonio José , Pedrero Salcedo Francisco , Nortes Tortosa Pedro Antonio , Alarcón Cabañero Juan José
Published: March 2021

Irrigated agriculture is a predominant economic activity in many areas of the Mediterranean region.  However, water scarcity and restrictions on the use of fresh water resources in high agricultural production regions, endangers sustainable agricultural development.  So, alternative water resources are necessary.

The use of reclaimed water for agriculture irrigation makes available a low-cost water source, providing an additional source of nutrients for the plants, helping to reduce the amount and costs associated with the consumption of synthetic fertilizers in agriculture. However, this practice is not a remedy for water scarcity free of disadvantages. Among them, the presence of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) is one of the most worrying to the scientific community. The problem with these compounds is that they are not completely removed during wastewater treatment, which makes their long-term consequences unpredictable. On the other hand, the absorption and bioaccumulation of CECs in food crops is a matter still to be clarified.

In this work, the absorption capacity, accumulation and persistence of a selected group of CECs in real crops (baby lettuce) irrigated with reclaimed water from a WWTP were evaluated. Results showed different behaviors depending on CECs properties and concentrations, indicating a progressive accumulation when the culture time increased. So, the chemical quality of reclaimed water is a key issue in safe agricultural irrigation.
The recovery of early vertebrates and reef ecosystems following the late Silurian carbon isotope excursion: the Burgen outlier, Gotland, Sweden
Authors: Jarochowska Emilia , Bremer Oskar , Yiu Alexandra , Märss Tiiu , Blom Henning , Mörs Thomas , Vajda Vivi
Published: March 2021

The Ludfordian Carbon Isotope Excursion (LCIE) reached the highest known δ13C values in the Phanerozoic. It was a global environmental perturbation manifested in a rapid regression attributed to glacial eustasy. Previous studies suggested that it has also heavily affected the diversity of conodonts, early vertebrates and reef ecosystems, but the timing of the crisis and recovery remained complicated owing to the lateral variability of δ13C values in epeiric platforms and rapid facies shifts, which drove faunal distribution. One of the best records of this interval is available in the Swedish island of Gotland, which preserves tectonically undisturbed strata deposited in a Silurian tropical carbonate platform. We revisited the world-renowned collection of the late Lennart Jeppsson, hosted at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, which holds the key to reconstruct the dynamics of faunal immigration and diversification following the LCIE. Here we focus on the Burgen erosional outlier, which remained a mystery, as it had been correlated with the excursion strata, but preserved a high diversity of conodonts and reefal ecosystems. We re-examined key outcrops and characterized macro- and microfacies, as well as chemostratigraphy and unpublished fauna in the collection. Strata in the Burgen outlier represent back-shoal facies of the Burgsvik Oolite Member and correspond to the Ozarkodina snajdri Conodont Biozone. The shallow-marine position compared to the more continental setting of coeval strata in southern Gotland, is reflected in the higher δ13Ccarb values, reaching +9.2‰. The back-shoal succession in this outcrop includes reefs, which contain a large proportion of microbial carbonates and have therefore been previously compared with low-diversity buildups developed in a stressed ecosystem. However, the framework of these reefs is built by a diverse coral-stromatoporoid-bryozoan fauna, indicating that a high microbial contribution might be a characteristic of the local carbonate factory rather than a reflection of restricted conditions. In the case of conodonts, impoverishment following the LCIE might be a product of facies preferences, as the diverse environments in the outlier yielded at least 20 of the 21 species known from the Burgsvik Formation in Gotland. Fish diversity also returned to normal levels following the LCIE with an estimated minimum of 9 species. Thelodont scales appear to dominate samples from the Burgen outlier, which is in line with previous reports. Our observations highlight how palaeoenvironmental reconstructions inform fossil niche and diversity analyses, but also how fossil museum collections continuously contribute new data on past biodiversity.
Spatial variability in periglacial terrain conditions, northwestern Canada
Authors: Morse Peter , Sladen Wendy , Kokelj Steve , Parker Ryan , Smith Sharon , Rudy Ashley
Published: March 2021

Throughout much of northern Canada there is an inadequate knowledge of permafrost and periglacial terrain conditions, which impedes development of climate-resilient northern infrastructure, identification of potential geohazards, decision making regarding resource development, and inferring past and future landscape evolution. Using a land systems approach to better understand formation of landscapes and thaw-sensitive terrains of northern Yukon and northwestern Northwest Territories, we aim to describe the permafrost-related landform-sediment assemblages that exist in the region. Permafrost is continuous in the region, but variations in geology, landscape history, climate, relief, ecology, and other natural processes have produced a diverse range of permafrost conditions and landforms. Using the 875 km-long Dempster and Inuvik-to-Tuktoyaktuk highway corridors (DH-ITH) as a regional transect, and high-resolution satellite imagery, a robust methodology was implemented to identify and digitize (at 1:5000 scale) 8793 landforms (589 km2) within a 10 km-wide corridor (8530 km2) and classify them according to main formational process (hydrological, periglacial, and mass movement). Surficial geology data were extracted from available data sets. Landform densities in all feature classes vary substantially along the transect according to physiographic region and surficial geology. The northern 39% of the corridor is characterized by generally rolling or planar relief, numerous waterbodies (19%), and the remaining land area by mostly morainal (67%), glaciofluvial (12%), lacustrine (7%), and alluvial (7%) deposits. By count, it contains 53% of mapped features and the majority of periglacial (67%) and hydrological (70%) features. In particular, the Tuktoyaktuk Coastlands, Peel Plain, and Mackenzie Delta, contain the greatest density of mapped landforms within the corridor, which cover nearly 23%, 15%, and 15% of the land area of these physiographic regions, respectively. These extents reflect the amount of ground ice and level of permafrost-thaw sensitivity of these regions. In contrast, the physiographic regions of the southern 61% of the study area are characterized by high relative relief, few waterbodies (0.2%), and the land area mainly by colluvial (63%), alluvial (18%), and morainal (14%) deposits. Most mass movement features occur here (85% by count), and are concentrated in the Ogilvie Mountains (n = 1027; 108 km2). This feature inventory provides the basis for developing spatial models of landscape-thaw susceptibility, which can inform risk assessment and improve decision making regarding public safety and environmental management.
Sea Spray in Air-Sea Enthalpy and Momentum Exchanges in Tropical Cyclones
Authors: Soloviev Alexander , Vanderplow Breanna , Lukas Roger , Haus Brian , Sami Muhammad , Ginis Isaac
Published: March 2021

Under tropical cyclones, sea spray is produced by breaking waves and direct disruption of the air-sea interface. The influence of sea spray on tropical cyclone intensity and intensification has not been well understood. There are serious questions regarding the most appropriate methods for the incorporation of sea spray in tropical cyclone models. These include momentum and enthalpy fluxes at the air-sea interface due to spray, the airborne sea-salt particles inducing boundary layer convection and clouds (Woodcock  1958, Spund  et al. 2014), and other related factors. Here, we study the effect of spray on thermodynamics of tropical cyclones using a Volume of Fluid to Discrete Phase (VOF to DPM) transition model. Due to dynamic remeshing, VOF to DPM resolves spray particles ranging in size from tens of micrometers to a few millimeters. The generated water particles that satisfy the condition of asphericity are converted into Lagrangian particles involved in a two-way interaction with the airflow. This model has been partially verified at the UM RSMAS Surge Structure Atmosphere Interaction facility (Vanderplow et al. 2020). A recent addition of the ANSYS Fluent Evaporation-Condensation model also allows us to model spray evaporation and related heat and enthalpy fluxes. A substantial part of the smallest particles was suspended in the turbulent airflow and evaporated, and thus contributed less to the total air-sea enthalpy flux. The temperature of the largest particles was close to the temperature of the water layer, which contributed more to the enthalpy flux. This resembled the effect of negative feedback on the enthalpy flux (Peng and Richter 2019). Results of the numerical simulation showed a dramatic increase of spray generation under major tropical cyclones (Cat. 3-5). Under major tropical cyclones, most sea spray (including large particles-spume) is suspended in the turbulent airflow and is then subject to the negative feedback. Consequently, in major tropical cyclones the effect of sea spray is expected to be more significant in the momentum budget rather than enthalpy flux at the air-sea interface. This result may explain the nearly constant enthalpy exchange coefficient observed in laboratory and oceanic experiments on tropical cyclones. This is also consistent with the formation of an “aerodynamic drag well” around a wind speed of 60 m/s, which can explain the process of rapid storm intensification (Soloviev et al. 2017). 
The Rome gas blowout zone (Central Italy)
Authors: Carapezza Maria Luisa , Tarchini Luca , Ranaldi Massimo , Barberi Franco
Published: March 2021

Colli Albani is an alkali-potassic quiescent volcano of Central Italy that last erupted 36 ka ago. Several lahar generating water overflows have occurred from Albano crater lake, the most recent in Roman times (IV Century B.P.) and the resulting deposits form a surficial impermeable cover on its north-western flank. An important NW-SE trending volcano-tectonic fracture extends from the volcano to the periphery of Rome city. This is a leaky fracture allowing deep magmatic gas to rise toward the surface. In zones where the impervious cover has been removed by excavations, as Cava dei Selci, the gas is freely discharged into the atmosphere creating local hazardous conditions. Elsewhere, the gas dissolves and pressurizes the shallow aquifer confined underneath the impervious cover. Any time this aquifer is reached by a drilling, a dangerous gas blowout may be generated, i.e. a sudden emission of a jet of gas, nebulized water and fine loose fragments of volcanic rocks. Since 2003 four gas blowouts, from ~ 45–50 m deep drillings, have occurred at the boundary between Rome and Ciampino municipalities, a site designed as the Rome gas blowout zone. Dangerous atmospheric CO2 and H2S concentrations killed some animals and several families had to be evacuated because of hazardous gas concentration inside their houses. The emitted gas consists mostly of CO2 (>90 vol.%) and contains a low but significant quantity of H2S (0.3–0.5 vol.%); it has the highest helium isotopic R/Ra value (up to 1.90) of all Colli Albani natural gas discharges. This He isotopic value is similar or even slightly higher than in the fluid inclusions of phenocrysts of the Colli Albani volcanic rocks, suggesting a likely magmatic origin of the gas. Colli Albani volcano is characterized by anomalous uplift, release of magmatic gas and episodic seismic crises. The Rome gas blowouts represent a geochemical window to investigate deep volcanic processes. Should a volcanic unrest occur, gas hazard would increase in this densely inhabited zone, as the input of magmatic gas into the confined aquifer might create overpressure conditions leading to a harmful phreatic explosion, or increase the emission of hazardous gas through newly created fractures.
We are all tributaries: combining art and science to transform human relationship with rivers.
Authors: Archer Nicole
Published: March 2021

What is your relationship with river? This was the central question posed by a series of creative practice workshops with scientists and local authorities who worked with complex flood risk management issues. Many of the flood mitigating solutions offered to managers are based on scientific methods to control and reduce river flooding. Scientific methods not only provide a sense of control towards river dynamics, but also develop a sense of security for people to feel safe from water. Because of climate change, flood events are increasing globally and some countries, like Scotland, are seeking to expand the possibilities of coping with extreme weather through broader, more holistic ways to mitigate flooding.

The aim of this study was to bridge rational knowledge often associated with scientific methods and the tacit knowledge that might emerge through participative art. The creative potential of art and participation in art practice was employed in collaboration with scientists and policy makers to inform future solutions towards flood mitigation.

The research used the theoretical premises described in what Irwin (2013) describes as a/r/tography: “drawing upon the professional practices of educators, artists, and researchers, it entangles and performs what Deleuze and Guattari (1987) refer to as a rhizome, an assemblage of objects, ideas, and structures that move in dynamic motion performing waves of intensities that create new understandings.” (p.199). Unlike the outcome and target driven aims of scientific methodology, these “waves of intensities” are crucial to understanding the form of intersubjective work which is crucial for art and creativity in art practice, because this is where affective transformation of meaning and understanding happens, through sensing, feeling and perceiving.

In the case of these creative practice workshops, the transformation that was explored was a shift from anthropocentric thinking about water to non-anthropocentric thought, achieved through sensing, feeling and perceiving. The creative practice workshops at the Scotland flood management conference 2020 were part of a larger process, where the intent was to initiate a transformative process that would work towards developing different ways of thinking in terms of Flood Risk Management. The process began with an artistic engagement with the river and the development of underwater film of rivers. This was followed by two participatory workshops. The next step consisted of an artistic response to the creative process undertaken by the participants. The last step was an engagement with water management policy makers. This will be further discussed in terms of a transformative process between artist and scientist.
A correction factor for evapotranspiration prediction in urban environments using physical-based models
Authors: Duarte Rocha Alby , Vulova Stenka , van der Tol Christiaan , Förster Michael , Kleinschmit  Birgit
Published: March 2021

Evapotranspiration (ET) is an essential variable to characterise the water balance and urban heat island effect. As a combination of soil evaporation and plant transpiration, ET is highly dependent on the land cover and its surface properties. Most of the well-established physical-based models such as the ones derived from the Penman-Monteith equation focus on the atmospheric interfaces (e.g. radiation, temperature and wind speed), lacking information about the land surface. The model Soil-Canopy-Observation of Photosynthesis and Energy fluxes (SCOPE) can account for a wide range of surface-atmosphere interactions to estimate ET. However, like the majority of modelling approaches to estimate ET, SCOPE assumes a homogeneous vegetated landscape. Urban environments are highly fragmented, presenting a mix of pervious surfaces and impervious anthropogenic elements. However, information derived from high-resolution remote sensing (RS) and GIS to differentiate land surfaces is often available for medium and large cities. In this study, we analysed two urban sites with different levels of vegetation cover and imperviousness located in Berlin, Germany, both equipped with eddy flux towers. GIS data describing land surface properties were used to correct the prediction bias caused by the assumption of homogeneous vegetation by physical-based models. The correction factor increased the model accuracy significantly, reducing the relative bias of the SCOPE model using RS data from 0.74 to -0.001 and 2.20 to -0.13 for the two sites, respectively. RMSE was also considerably reduced in the two sites, from 0.061 to 0.026 and 0.100 to 0.021. At the same time, the coefficient of determination (R2) remained similar after the correction, 0.82 and 0.47 for the two sites. This study presents a novel method to estimate intraurban hourly ET using publicly available RS and meteorological data independent from the flux tower measurements. The presented method can support actions to mitigate climate change in urban areas, where the majority of the world population lives.
Practical resilience measurement for the management of multiple hazards
Authors: Szoenyi Michael , Keating Adriana , Mechler Reinhard , McClune Karen
Published: March 2021

Defining and measuring disaster resilience is a burgeoning endeavour in the contemporary disaster, development and climate change adaptation space. A core tenant of resilience measurement is the need to be explicit about ‘resilience of what, to what, for whom.’ What does this mean in the context of multiple and systemic risks? Can resilience to systemic risks be measured? What of our experience with measuring resilience to-date can inform the measurement and management of systemic risks? These are the questions that will be explored in this presentation.

The Flood Resilience Measurement for Communities (FRMC) framework and tool, developed by the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance, is one of the most widely applied disaster resilience measurement approaches in the world, informing community-led action in more than 250 communities globally. It is founded on a systems-based, holistic and integrated conceptualization of community resilience capacity as comprising of human, social, physical, financial and natural capitals. Data analysis, user experience feedback and expert peer review support the conceptual rigor, practicality and hazard-management utility of the FRMC. In this presentation the authors will present a framework for expanding this single-hazard tool to measure community resilience to multiple hazards at the same time.

We will outline key principles in multi-hazard resilience measurement and explore questions of integration, complex dynamics and the link to decision-making. We will present a typology of resilience measurement indicators that range from generic or hazard-neutral to highly hazard-specific. We then discuss vertical and horizontal scoring options and what this means for decision-making. We will show that multi-hazard community resilience measurement is feasible and useful, generating robust information for local- and regional-level management as well as data for globally generalizable lessons about the dynamics of systemic risks.