bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Wave Activities Throughout a Low-Mach Number Quasi-Parallel Shock: 2-D Hybrid Simulations 
Authors: Hao Yufei , Lu Quanming , Wu Dejin , Xiang Liang
Published: March 2024

In this paper, two-dimensional hybrid simulations are used to study wave excitation and evolution throughout a low-Mach number quasi-parallel shock. Simulation results show that quasi-parallel fast magnetosonic waves, ion Bernstein waves with harmonics and possible Alfven/ion cyclotron waves can be excited in the upstream region, and their small phase velocities compared to injected flow velocity results in the convection to the shock front where they are mode converted into several groups of downstream waves, including Alfven waves along the directions parallel to downstream average magnetic fields and perpendicular to the shock normal, the quasi-perpendicular kinetic slow waves and possible kinetic Alfven waves. We suggest that downstream Alfven waves originate from the mode conversion of upstream quasi-parallel fast magnetosonic waves with left-hand polarization in the downstream rest frame under helicity conservation, while the downstream left-hand polarized kinetic slow waves and right-hand polarized kinetic Alfven waves can be from the upstream quasi-perpendicular ion Bernstein waves.
The role of microarthropodal groups in carbon turnover as revealed by 13C fatty acids analysis – method development and impact of heavy metal remediation
Authors: Watzinger Andrea , Christoph Noller , Wissuwa Janet , Friesl-Hanl Wolfgang
Published: March 2024

The most powerful tool to explore nutrient turnover in complex systems such as soils are stable isotope fractionation and labelling studies. This has been extensively used when investigating microbial carbon cycles by targeting the carbon stable isotopes in microbial phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA). However, exploring the role of mesofauna during carbon turnover in soil ecosystems has long been limited due to the small size and weight of those organisms and therefore issues in the detection and quantification of carbon stable isotope ratios. Only recently, carbon stable isotope analysis of fatty acids (FA) have been established and opened the window to include mesofauna into carbon turnover studies. We have used this new possibility after refining the available FA method to discover the role of microarthropods together with the microbial PLFA analysis. This study is to our knowledge the first, which has used 13C labelled plant material and has followed its incorporation into microbial PLFAs and microarthropodal FAs in a greenhouse experiment containing heavy metal contaminated and remediated soils.Total microbial biomass and 13C incorporation into microorganisms was significantly increased and the PLFA pattern shifted after remediation of heavy metal contaminated soil. In accordance, the abundance of the microarthropodal groups Gamasina, Oribatida and Collembola were also increased, while Astigmata were not affected. The relative FA patterns of those groups differentiated significantly among each other, but were not influenced by soil treatment, meaning that the altered microbial PLFA pattern was not transferred into microarthropodal FA. However, the amount (nmol FA) per individuum was elevated in the heavy metal contaminated soil. In contrast, incorporation of 13C into FA was lower in contaminated soil in Gamasina, Astigmata and Collembola. 13C incorporation of Oribatida was at a constantly high level over the different soil treatments.These first results revealed, that the relative FA pattern of the microarthropodal groups was not affected by changes in the microbial PLFA pattern due to soil treatments. Differences in the absolute FA amount per individuum and the 13C uptake were rather governed by the life and reproduction strategies, with higher fattiness and low abundance under adverse environmental conditions (contaminated soil), constant 13C incorporation in K-strategist (Oribatida) and higher 13C incorporation of mainly r-strategist (Gamasina, Astigmata and Collembola) under improved conditions.
Progress and gaps in climate change adaptation in coastal cities across the globe
Authors: Wannewitz Mia , Garschagen Matthias , Petzold Jan
Published: March 2024

In the realm of adaptation to climate change, coastal cities deserve special attention as they are faced with an abundance of climate impacts while also being engines of economic development, trade, innovation and culture with, in theory, high adaptation potential. While there is eclectic evidence for urban adaptation, we are lacking a global overview of the extent to which coastal cities are on track to prepare for and adapt to climate risks. Building on and complementing highly relevant findings from the Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative (GAMI), this paper presents findings from a global review of empirical evidence for adaptation in coastal cities. We systematically analysed adaptation actions reported in the scientific literature for 199 coastal cities across the globe with the aim to provide the first stocktake of empirical evidence of adaptation in coastal cities. To do so, the paper addresses four key questions: (1) How is evidence for coastal urban adaptation spread across the globe? (2) Which hazards and trends of exposure and vulnerability are reported? (3) Which responses are reported and which actors are involved in their implementation? And (4) What is the speed, scope, depth and evidence of risk reduction due to adaptation? Using the World Bank’s income groups and city sizes as cross-cutting lines of analysis, our findings show that there is comparatively little published knowledge on coastal urban adaptation in low and middle income economies.  Reported adaptation measures are predominantly designed based on past and current, rather than future, patterns in hazards, exposure, and vulnerability. The results unravel that city governments, particularly in high-income countries, are more likely to be reported as implementers of institutional and infrastructural responses, while coastal cities in lower-middle income countries are often reported to rely on households to implement behavioral adaptation. Finally, the assessed evidence mostly presents coastal urban adaptation that is rather slow, of narrow scope, and not transformative. In sum, the paper provides a nuanced picture of the current state of adaptation in coastal cities. It highlights fields of progress as well as key gaps to be tackled in the future.
The methane record at the ICOS background station at Plateau Rosa: identification of source areas in Europe
Authors: Zazzeri Giulia , Apadula Francesco , Lanza Andrea , Henne Stephan
Published: March 2024

Methane and carbon dioxide mole fractions are measured continuously at the atmospheric station at Plateau Rosa since 2018, with a Picarro cavity ring down spectrometer G2301. The station, at 3480 meter MSL, represents an ideal location for, on one hand, measurements of background air and, on the other hand, intercepting air with recent boundary layer contact. Since 2021 the site contributes as an atmospheric station to the ICOS network.In this study we present the methodology used to filter background data, and we provide an analysis of the continuous record of CH4 since 2018. We used Hysplit back trajectories and the FLEXPART atmospheric transport model coupled with EDGAR inventories to identify source areas in Europe. We focused our analysis on April 2022, when the CH4 increment above the baseline was consistently high.We demonstrate how the CH4 mole fraction data measured at the station at Plateau Rosa provide information on the global CH4 trend, and that, with our continuous record, we can detect high emissions events over Europe.
Application of size distribution of particulate matter as a forensic tool for source apportionment
Authors: Valsan Aswathy , Mohan Prem , Shekar Shabna
Published: March 2024

Particulate Matter (PM) is a major pollutant in ambient air emitted from a wide range of sources causing various adverse effects on the environment. Identifying the sources contributing PM into the ambient atmosphere is important to understand their impact on the environment and to implement appropriate control measures to reduce their emissions. Conventional methods used to apportion PM mostly relay on chemical speciation and are time-consuming and expensive. Thus an efficient and cost-effective method is required to have a preliminary understanding of sources and to suggest quick remedies. In this study, the particle size distribution of PM from different sources is studied to analyze the signature of each source based on the pattern of the size distribution. The sources studied include vehicular emission (petrol and diesel), resuspension dust, wood burning, paper burning, coal industry emission, and incineration. Real-time PM measuring instrument GRIMM MiniLAS was used to collect the data where particles ranging from 0.23 to 10µm were divided into 24 size channels. The particle size distribution of each source showed significant differences in their size distribution patterns, thereby giving a signature of the source from where it is emitted. Sources like petrol combustion emit particles of relatively higher size range compared to lower size particles from diesel fuel burning. Further, the size distribution of re-suspended dust showed a pattern distinct from fuel emissions. Conclusively, the particle size distribution pattern-based source apportionment has a potential application in identifying the sources as a preliminary, cost-effective method to take quick countermeasures.
Mapping redox conditions in a tar-oil contaminated technosol by S K-edge XANES at the micrometer scale
Authors: Eusterhues Karin , Thieme Jürgen , Ritschel Thomas , Ivanov Pavel , Totsche Kai Uwe
Published: March 2024

At numerous open pits worldwide, carcinogenic and geno‐toxic tar oil is still exposed to the environment. To understand ongoing tar degradation under different environmental conditions we studied soil structure, water retention, tar composition, and microbial biomass of a technosol under a small tar-oil spill at a former brown coal processing site. We observed that microbial biomass increased with pore volume on our study site: Generally, contaminated layers of the technosol were more porous than uncontaminated control soils and accommodated more microbes. However, the relationship was not linear. We therefore wondered whether the redox regimes within the aggregates of the different layers provide comparable conditions for microbial degradation.We used the chemical state of S as a proxy for the prevailing redox-conditions and µXANES on thin sections (5 µm spatial resolution) to analyze the S speciation in relation to soil structure. First results show that the tar is not homogeneously composed and that the proportion of reduced S compounds increases with soil depth: Particularly S-rich domains within the tar are often roundish, up to 200 µm in size and composed of varying proportions of inorganic sulfide-S, organic monosulfide-S or thiol-S, sulfoxide-S, and sulfonate-S. The topmost layer (0-5 cm) of the technosol is very porous. Here, the tar matrix is dominated by sulfonate-S. At more than 5 cm depth, the soil also has a high porosity due to large pores > 50 µm but at the same time includes mm-sized, compact aggregates with only few small pores (1-10 µm and 10-50 µm). The tar matrix within these aggregates contains sulfidic S in addition to the sulfonate-rich component. However, adjacent to pore surfaces we observe 5-15 µm thick (oxidized) rims with only sulfonate-S.Our data show that the tar is not only chemically complex, but also heterogeneous in composition at the µm scale. Below a soil depth of 5 cm, we can assume that microbial tar degradation is slowed down because of the anoxic conditions within the aggregates, although pores > 50 µm are abundant and bacterial cell counts are high.
Illuminating eruptions, fluid pathways and melt storage with seismo-(acoustic) tremor at Oldoinyo Lengai volcano, Tanzania
Authors: Reiss Miriam Christina , Massimetti Francesco , Campus Adele , Rümpker Georg , Laizer Amani , Kazimoto Emmanuel
Published: March 2024

Oldoinyo Lengai volcano is a strato-volcano in the eastern part of the East African Rift system and as such, a curious end member of a young magmatic segment: it is the only volcano worldwide that currently erupts carbonatitic lava. Known to alternate between large explosive (ash) and smaller effusive eruptions, we analyze volcanic tremor from Oldoinyo Lengai during a renewed phase of eruptive but non-explosive activity beginning in late 2018,  which we recorded with a seismo-acoustic network between March 2019 - June 2020 with the SEISVOL (Seismic and Infrasound Networks to Study the Volcano Oldoinyo Lengai) project. We focus on two different aspects of our data set, which are the very first observations of seismo-(acoustic) tremor at this peculiar volcano.First, we analyze one year of data at a co-located seismic and infrasound station about 200 m below the summit together with satellite InfraRed thermal data and reconstruct different phases of volcanic activity (varying styles of extrusive activity, in particular spattering, degassing, activity from a lava pond, intrusive activity, and the construction of hornitos) and the evolution of crater morphology. We characterize the near-constant but highly variable tremor by analyzing its seismic amplitude, duration, recurrence, dominant seismic frequency and harmonics. Frequency gliding occurs frequently and over short (minutes to hours) to long time scales (hours to days). Seismic and acoustic wavefields correlate well for stronger eruptive sequences but are only partially coherent which suggests that high-frequency seismic tremor (up to 25 Hz) may be caused by the low viscosity of the carbonatitic melt.Second, we focus on a selected number of seismic network stations to locate stronger tremors using the network-covariance matrix and a raytracing approach. While many tremors locate in the shallowest part of the edifice of Oldoinyo Lengai, supporting our previous analysis that much of the tremor is caused by eruptions, tremors are also located in the crust to depths of ~15 km. Most importantly, strong (gliding/harmonic) tremor seems to be connected to a migration of tremor depths which mostly locate in rock volumes not associated with seismicity. This suggests we may be able to use tremor to study melt and fluid pathways in the mushy part of a volcanic plumbing system. Overall, our study provides important insights into the eruption dynamics, as well as melt transport and storage of this peculiar volcano.
Image-based System for Water Detection on Ephemeral Streams
Authors: Peña-Haro Salvador , Arratia Benjamín , Manzoni Pietro , Cecilia José M.
Published: March 2024

Despite the availability of systems to detect water like those based on electric resistance, monitoring ephemeral and intermittent streams is still a challenge. For this reason we developed an image-based system to detect the presence of water in streams using Machine Learning and a micro-controller.
The system main components are a micro-controller and a coordination unit. The micro-controller is equipped with a 2MP color camera which supports Machine Learning and Micro Python. The coordination unit is used to control relays and transmit data via LoRa. The system is low-power and can be powered with a battery making it a standalone system for analyzing and processing images on the edge. Using machine learning, we trained a model to specifically identify the presence of water on ephemeral streams. More-over, and using relays, this system can activate a more complex and power-consuming device to measure the discharge of the stream only when it detects the presence of water. Making this monitoring system more efficient for ephemeral stream monitoring.
This work has been supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 1010178
Spatially explicit simulations of the effect of tidal energy dissipation on the climate on early Earth
Authors: Feulner Georg , Biewald Benjamin , Green J. A. Mattias , Hofmann Matthias , Petri Stefan
Published: March 2024

The potential impact of the increased rates of tidal energy dissipation on the climate on early Earth is usually assessed in terms of the global contribution to the energy balance which is small compared to the incoming solar radiation. However, tidal energy dissipation depends strongly on the distribution of landmasses, and regional energy input could, in principle, impact the local and global climate state via changes in circulation patterns and feedbacks in the Earth system. Here we investigate these effects by calculating tidal energy dissipation for a randomly generated continental distribution representative of early Earth, and three different rotation rates, and feeding it into a coupled climate model. Despite marginal global impacts, tidal energy dissipation can have significant regional effects caused by changes in ocean circulation and amplified by the ice-albedo feedback. These effects are strongest in climate states and regions where meridional heat transport close to the sea-ice margin is altered. This suggests that tidal heating could have contributed to sustaining regions with no significant ice cover.
Aftershock sequence and source characteristics of the June 16, 2023 MW=4.9 La Laigne earthquake, western France
Authors: Bonnin Mickaël , Alloncle Marion , Bes de Berc Maxime , Beucler Éric , Fligiel Damien , Grunberg Marc , Hourcade Céline , Perrin Clément , Sèbe Olivier , Vergne Jérôme , Zigone Dimitri
Published: March 2024

On June 16, 2023 at 16h38 UTC, a moderate earthquake of magnitude MW=4.9 stroke western France south of Niort city, near the small village of La Laigne (Charente Maritime). The shaking has been widely felt in the whole NW France and macroseismic intensity (EMS98) of VII was reached at the epicenter. Such an event is relatively rare in continental France and represents the second largest event in the western France in the last century. The epicentral region is located at the northern termination of the Aquitaine basin where 300 m of Mesozoic sediments covers the variscan basement. The focal mechanism obtained from waveform inversion corresponds to a pure dextral strike-slip motion or a pure senestrial strike-slip motion along a EW or NS striking fault plane, respectively.The fault that ruptured on June 16 is not known. To gain insight on its characteristics, teams of Nantes (Osuna and LPG), of Strasbourg (EOST and ITES) and of the CEA deployed between June 17 and June 22, 2023 for approximately one month, a network of 3-components stations composed of 12 MEMS accelerometers, 104 five hertz geophones and 5 broadband velocimeters in a 40 by 30 km region around the epicenter, with a station inter-distance of approximately 4 km.We present is this study the first results derived from this unique experiment. In particular, we show that the aftershock sequence (more than 600 events recorded) highlights a planar rupture zone of about 5.4 km2, trending NS and strongly dipping to the East (75°), located between 2 and 5 km depth. Site effect analysis allows us to better understand large ground motion distributions over the area and their link with macroseismic intensities. The installed array also allows us to infer a preliminary 3D VS model of the region. We show the extent to which a dense temporary network is mandatory for studying the fine structure of the fault plane in a region where previous knowledge of active geological structures is limited.
Comparison of soil carbon stock of afforested and treeless sites
Authors: Csorba Mátyás , Bidló András , Balázs Pál , Végh Péter , Horváth Adrienn
Published: March 2024

Numerous research based on long-term weather data sets proves a drier and warmer climate in Hungary. Research related to climate change and carbon sequestration is developing dynamically, so it is notable to show how climate change affects the quality and quantity of organic matter content in soils. The importance of changes in soil organic carbon stocks follows from its effects on ecosystems on a global level. In the last decades, afforestation programs were also started in Hungary to promote carbon sequestration. However, there have been several criticisms of afforestation efforts by experts and researchers dealing with agriculture, according to which agricultural areas, particularly grasslands, can sequestrate more organic carbon than forest stands. It is also not suggested to plant forest stands in dry, sandy areas, as it has a drying effect on the soil due to its high water demand compared to the fields, thereby reducing the net carbon sequestration. This research aim was to examine the above proposition at 5 locations where wooded and treeless, different land-used areas were managed next to each other. Based on our scientific investigation, it cannot be clearly stated that the soil of the forests we examined has a richer carbon stock than the neighboring arable land or pasture, but together with the amount of carbon stored in the O horizon, the forests surplus prevailed upon every examined point. Due to the slow process of carbon sequestration and organic matter entering the soil, we also plan to conduct long-term tests.This article was made in the frame of the project TKP2021-NKTA-43 which has been implemented with the support provided by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology of Hungary (successor: Ministry of Culture and Innovation of Hungary) from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund, financed under the TKP2021-NKTA funding scheme. 
Best practices for using and reporting subsurface geological/geophysical data in defining and documenting seismogenic faults.
Authors: Vico Giuseppe , Taccone Rita Chiara , Maesano Francesco Emanuele , Tiberti Mara Monica , Basili Roberto
Published: March 2024

Earthquakes of engineering significance (magnitude 5 and above) are generated by pre-existing, relatively mature geological faults. These faults generally span a length from a few to several tens or hundreds of kilometers and can break the entire Earth’s crust.   Defining the three-dimensional configuration of such seismogenic faults is crucial for developing applications for earthquake hazard analyses at different spatial scales and, in turn, contributing robust information to promoting earthquake risk mitigation strategies.The reconstruction of geological fault surfaces is a typical multidisciplinary study involving a large variety of data types and processing methods that, inevitably, imply various degrees of geometric simplifications depending on the available data. Among them, the most powerful, although expensive, approaches are the techniques developed for hydrocarbon exploration, namely seismic reflection (2D-3D) data combined with logs of drilled wells, which can illuminate the Earth’s subsurface at several kilometers depth. The mining and oil and gas industries have historically collected a large amount of this data, which remained classified depending on the regulations of the country from which they obtained the license for exploration. As time passes, and with the waning of fossil fuel exploitation, the exploration licenses expire or are not renovated, and more of such data becomes available to amalgamate with data collected by research institutions or public/private ventures using public funding. Despite the vast literature on and applications of hydrocarbon exploration data, no standard procedure exists for documenting the use of such data in characterizing seismogenic faults. In this respect, scientists face challenges posed by the intersection of industry data with public research outputs, with important societal implications and barriers to ensuring FAIRness. To this end, we devised a workflow detailing the best practices to follow in the various steps geologists undertake in using hydrocarbon exploration data, starting from the source of the raw/processed data (public vs confidential) and ending with the final geological fault model. The workflow output is then ready to be integrated with the information and data from other scientific disciplines (e.g., seismology, paleoseismology, tectonic geomorphology, geodesy, geomechanical modeling, earthquake statistics) to obtain the most reliable seismogenic fault model. As proof of concept, we will present a simplified version of a software tool that guides the user in incorporating the workflow's various elements into a structured database of seismogenic faults.
What can DEMs tell us about the ages of fluvial terraces?
Authors: Grimm Lennart , McNab Fergus , Fernandes Victoria M. , Schildgen Taylor
Published: March 2024

Changes in climate coupled with long-term uplift cause alluvial rivers to aggrade or incise, resulting in the formation of fluvial terrace sequences. Such terrace records provide an opportunity to investigate past interactions between climatic forcings, tectonics, and fluvial systems. Further, they allow us to infer potential channel responses to future climatic change. To accurately decipher such interactions, precise age constraints on fluvial terraces are vital. However, established dating methods such as cosmogenic exposure dating are costly, time intensive, and require direct access to terrace surfaces. Thus, their application is not always possible.An alternative approach to dating fluvial terraces is based on the temporal evolution of the step (riser) between successive terraces. Downslope sediment transport and elevation change, commonly modelled by hillslope diffusion equations, cause a decrease in gradient with time. If the profile of a riser is obtained in high resolution via GPS or LiDAR elevation measurements, its shape can be related back to the terrace age using inverse modelling schemes.Here, we apply this theory to a set of fluvial terraces situated along the Río Santa Cruz and Río Shehuen in Patagonia, Argentina. A set of existing 10Be terrace exposure ages of up to ca. 1 Ma from both rivers is used for age verification and model calibration. GPS elevation transects of terrace risers measured during a field campaign in 2023 are used to establish an age chronology with negligible elevation uncertainties. To explore the feasibility of this method without access to field-quality elevation data, we also test the viability of using riser profiles derived from ca. 12 m resolution TanDEM-X data for dating. Preliminary results from synthetic riser profiles with elevation uncertainties similar to those of TanDEM-X data indicate that such DEM-derived age estimates are theoretically accurate. However, application to the Patagonian river systems and comparison against independent 10Be ages shows a wide spread in absolute age estimates for single terrace generations. Therefore, in this case, the method appears to be viable only for relative age classification. Post-abandonment riser disturbances and spatially variable sediment transport rates may be key factors hindering our ability to integrate large numbers of DEM-derived profiles into a unified interpretation. Obtaining more robust absolute age estimates may require the use of landscape evolution models that incorporate more complex, non-diffusive processes. Further, the viability of this method may be reduced for very old (i.e., ca. 1 Ma) terraces. Application to younger terrace systems may yield more accurate results.This technique provides a low-cost, spatially extendable way of dating fluvial terraces and analysing landscape dynamics in fluvial systems. We are currently preparing to release an open-source Python library containing the tools needed to perform these analyses.
A viscoelastic phase-field model for iceberg calving
Authors: Arthern Robert , Stocek Jakub , Marsh Oliver
Published: March 2024

Iceberg calving accounts for around half of the ice lost annually from Antarctica, but realistic representation of fracture and calving in large-scale ice sheet models remains a major unsolved problem in glaciology. We present a new phase-field viscoelastic model for fracture that simulates the slow deformation of ice and the distribution and evolution of cracks. Cracks nucleate and propagate in response to the evolving stress field, and are influenced by water pressure below sea level. The model incorporates nonlinear-viscous rheology, linear-elastic rheology, and a phase-field variational formulation, which allows simulation of complex fracture phenomena. We show that this approach is capable of simulating the physical process of calving. Numerical experiments supported by a simplified model suggest that calving rate will scale with the fourth power of ice thickness for a floating ice front that has no variation across flow. The equations make no assumptions about the style of calving, so they would also simulate numerous more realistic settings in Antarctica for which material parameters and three-dimensional effects can be expected to influence the calving rate.
An effective method to detect and measure earthflow displacements using a hybrid interferometric approach
Authors: Mantovani Matteo , Ballaera Angelo , Bossi Giulia , Ceccotto Federica , Marcato Gianluca , Pasuto Alessandro
Published: March 2024

This study presents a new application of the Sentinel-1 dataset for the detection and measurement of earthflow displacements. The proposed methodology utilizes a multi-baseline interferometric hybrid approach, leveraging the backscattered radiation from both point-like and distributed radar targets. The analysis takes into consideration eight datasets acquired between 2017 and 2020, both on ascending and descending orbits, but it is restricted to seven months of the yearly acquisitions, spanning from late March to the beginning of November, to mitigate temporal decorrelation and minimize the impact of snow cover. The investigated area is part of the Dolomites Unesco World heritage site (Eastern Italian Alps). The results so far obtained are then compared with those derived from the European Ground Motion Service (EGMS) and in-situ Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) monitoring networks. Preliminary findings reveal the promising reliability of this approach, demonstrating its efficacy and accuracy. Furthermore, this methodology offers a notable advantage in terms of spatial sampling, resulting in the enhancement of the capability to identify and characterize earthflows movement. Overall, this study underscores the potential of utilizing Sentinel-1 data for monitoring landslides distinguished by significantly high rates of displacement, by loosening some of the well-known constraints of the interferometric analyses. The findings highlight the importance of space-borne SAR missions in providing valuable insights in landslide risk mitigation and management.
Exploring the wonders of wetlands with the Kit ‘Salt Gardens’
Authors: Carrasco A. Rita , Matias Ana
Published: March 2024

The Kit Salt Gardens is an educational project on coastal geosciences composed of a box containing bricks and miniatures that exemplify the natural elements of the tidal wetlands (such as sediment, water, animal species, and typical vegetation). It allows hands-on activities related to wetlands ecogeomorphology and climate change. The Kit was developed for primary school students, assisted by a teacher/monitor, and the progression in the Kit is made in two levels. In the first level, for children aged 6 to 8 years old, concepts such as habitat composition, sediment, plants, and the effect of the tide on the environment, are explored. The Ria Formosa wetland's diversity inspired the natural elements that compose the Kit. Through storytelling, a narrative is created with various characters (animals) that inhabit the salt marshes (Alex the crab, Sam the seahorse, Cris the flamingo, and Manu the lost turtle) and the iconic plants (Zostera noltei, Spartina maritima, and Limoniastrum monopetalum). The first level guides the children through various games (e.g., building games, matching games) to the construction of the habitat, thus explaining how the marshes are formed. In the second level, for children aged 9 to 10, participants learn about climate change, sea-level rise, and climate scenarios (using climate cards). Students are invited to understand the physical (geomorphological) and ecological processes that regulate the formation of these environments, by constructing wetlands zones, while understanding the main threats (e.g., sediment supply, sea-level rise).The aim is to promote children's literacy on coastal dynamics as they “build their marsh”, answer quizzes, and play with images and dices. The teacher/monitor can use the kit for other classroom activities. They can use it, for example, to explore the setting and characters for a new story, to serve as an introduction to a field trip to the coastal zone, or as an orientation exercise for group work. The handling of the Kit by the students is intended to generate critical thinking and creativity while empowering them with knowledge about the world around them. AcknowledgmentsThe project was funded in 2022 by the British Society of Geomorphology and Wiley. A.R. Carrasco by the contract CEECINST/00052/2021/CP2792/CT0007 funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT). The authors also recognize the support of national funds through FCT, under project LA/P/0069/2020, granted to the Associate Laboratory ARNET, and project UID/00350/2020 granted to CIMA (https://doi.org/10.54499/UIDP/00350/2020).
Quantifying flow reduction during injection of CO2 into legacy hydrocarbon reservoirs for CCUS
Authors: Wang Qian , Paul Glover , Piroska Lorinczi
Published: March 2024

In the development of hydrocarbon fields, it is becoming known that CO2 injection (which is sometimes done to improve hydrocarbon production) can cause pore blockage and wettability alteration by the promotion of asphaltene deposition. In hydrocarbon reservoirs, the result is poor oil recovery performance during carbon dioxide (CO2) injection. If CO2 is being injected into a legacy hydrocarbon reservoir (i.e., one that still contains residual oil) the same process will occur. Once again, the ability of fluid (this time supercritical CO2) to flow will be impeded, but it is also possible that asphaltene deposition will also reduce the overall pore volumes in which CO2 could otherwise be stored. In this work, the residual oil distribution and the permeability decline caused by organic and inorganic precipitation after miscible CO2 flooding and water-alternating-CO2 (CO2-WAG) flooding have been studied by carrying out core-flooding experiments at high pressures and temperatures in an artificial three layer system. For simple CO2 injection during CCUS operations, flooding experimental results indicate that the low-permeability layers retain a large oil production potential even in the late stages of production, which could impede CO2 emplacement and provide significant heterogeneity, while the permeability decline due to asphaltene precipitation is more significant in high-permeability rocks. In contrast, we found that CO2-WAG can reduce the influence of heterogeneity on the oil production, but it results in more serious reservoir damage, with permeability decline caused by CO2–brine–rock interactions becoming significant. In addition, miscible CO2 flooding has been carried out for rocks with similar permeabilities but different wettabilities and different pore-throat microstructures in order to study the effects of wettability and pore-throat microstructure on formation damage. Reservoir rocks with smaller pore-throat sizes and more heterogeneous pore-throat microstructures were found to be more sensitive to asphaltene precipitation, making these less attractive for CCUS reservoirs. However, rocks with larger, more connected pore-throat microstructures became less water wet due to asphaltene precipitation to pore surfaces, ultimately leading to a lower pore volume in which CO2 can be stored. Taken together, there may be a case for not simply injecting CO2 in CCUS operations, but alternating the CO2 injection with injection of water in order to stabilise CO2 flow and reduce formation damage by asphaltene precipitation.
Assessment of PM10 emissions from agricultural field fertilization, comparison between mineral fertilizer and animal slurry spreading operations.
Authors: Dela Pierre Flavia , Rollé Luca , Dinuccio Elio
Published: March 2024

Particulate matter (PM) originating from agricultural practices poses a significant concern due to its potential adverse effects on the environment and human health. PM is typically categorized into two primary classes based on the particle size: PM10 (with an aerodynamic diameter of ≤ 10 µm) and PM2.5 (with an aerodynamic diameter of ≤ 2.5 µm).The concentration of PM in the atmosphere is a crucial parameter determining air quality in both urban and rural areas. Numerous studies have demonstrated that short-term PM exposure is harmful to the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, highlighting a relationship between air particle pollution and hospital admissions due to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.In Italy, PM concentration is monitored daily, and public administrations have set a specific atmospheric concentration threshold equal to 40 µg m-3 and 25 µg m-3 for PM10 and PM 2.5 respectively.PM pollution is also highly present in rural and agricultural areas. Estimates suggest that agricultural activities contribute approximately 17% and 3% to global PM10 and PM2.5 emissions, respectively. Primary PM emissions from agricultural activity arise from animal husbandry and open-field crop operations, including land preparation, field fertilization, and crop management.In this context it is of crucial importance to understand and quantify PM emissions from agricultural activity, directing efforts towards the choice of a proper micrometeorological model to assess reliable emission rates.This study aimed to measure PM10 emissions from three different field fertilization strategies: liquid slurry injection and two types of synthetic fertilizer spreading (potassium chloride - KCl and superphosphate - P2O5). The experiment was carried out on a farm located in Carmagnola (Province of Turin, Northern Italy) in a maize-cultivated soil. The selected field was divided into two main plots, which differed in the soil tillage technique, having one ploughed and one strip-tilled plot. The main plots were divided into three sub-plots, corresponding to the different fertilization strategies.PM10 concentration was measured during each tractor passage using a PM monitor (TSI, DustTrackTM II model 8530), and emission factors (EFs) were assessed with the backward Lagrangian stochastic model, by using a 2D sonic anemometer to monitor the wind field.Experimental results revealed significant variations in PM10 emission among the different field fertilization strategies. The average EFs were significantly (P
Evolution of channel belts, flood plains and fluvial valleys
Authors: Turowski Jens , McNab Fergus , Bufe Aaron , Tofelde Stefanie
Published: March 2024

Channel belts, floodplains and fluvial valleys form by the mobilization and deposition of sediments during the lateral migration of rivers. The width of these surfaces is determined by the speed of lateral migration and the average time that the channel migrates laterally before switching direction. Here, we introduce a recent physics-based model of channel-belt width and explore its consequences for transient channel-belt evolution. The model builds on the assumption that the switching of the direction of lateral migration of a channel can be described by a Poisson process, with a constant rate parameter related to channel hydraulics. As such, the lateral migration of the channel can be viewed as a non-standard random walk. We derive an exponential equation to describe the mean approach to the steady state channel belt or valley width. Further, we exploit the properties of random walks to obtain equations for the increase of area visited by the channel (squareroot scaling), the “safe” distance from a channel that is unlikely to be inundated in a given time interval (law of the iterated logarithm), and the mean lateral drift speed of steady state unconstrained floodplains as well as constrained fluvial valleys in uplifting landscapes. All of these equations can be directly framed in terms of the channel hydraulic properties. The results are compared to experimental observations of the inundated area in a large-scale sand box. Finally, we show that the distribution of floodplain ages follows a power law scaling with a scaling exponent of -1.5, close to what has been observed in natural systems. This observation implies that the mean and variance of floodplain ages are infinite, with implications for storage times and chemical alteration of floodplain sediments.
Going Beyond Research: A Large-scale Investigation of Climate Change Engagement by Scientists
Authors: Dablander Fabian , Sachisthal Maien , Cologna Viktoria , Strahm Noel , Bosshard Anna , Grüning Nana-Maria , Green Alison , Brick Cameron , Aron Adam , Haslbeck Jonas
Published: March 2024

Climate change is one of the greatest threats facing humanity. Scientists are well-positioned to help address it beyond conducting academic research, yet little is known about their engagement with the issue. We investigate scientists’ engagement with climate change using quantitative and qualitative analyses of a large-scale survey (N = 9,220) across 115 countries, all disciplines, and all career stages. We explore their beliefs about the role of scientists and scientific institutions in the context of climate change as well as their engagement in climate actions. These actions include forms of advocacy and activism ranging from signing petitions to engaging in civil disobedience and high-impact lifestyle changes such as reducing flying or adopting a plant-rich diet.We find, for example, that 91% of surveyed scientists believe that fundamental changes to social, political, and economic systems are needed to address climate change; that a large majority of scientists feel a responsibility as scientists to address climate change; that more scientists agree than disagree that scientists should become more involved in advocacy and protest; and that the proportion of scientists who say they are willing to engage in these actions is substantial, suggesting that there is great potential for increased engagement by scientists on climate change beyond research. We also find that climate researchers engage in considerably more climate advocacy and activism than their peers in other research fields, but that this difference is significantly smaller for high-impact lifestyle changes.Based on the qualitative and quantitative responses to our survey, we propose a two-stage model of engagement in advocacy and protest: Scientists must first overcome intellectual barriers (e.g., low levels of worry, lack of efficacy beliefs, lack of identification with activists) and practical barriers (e.g., lack of skills, fear of losing credibility, fear of repercussions) to be willing to engage, and then additional barriers (e.g., lack of time, lack of opportunity, not knowing any groups) to actually engage. Based on this model, we provide concrete recommendations for increasing scientists’ engagement with climate change.Paper I: https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/73w4sPaper II: https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/5fqtr
Wavelet-Induced Mode Extraction procedure: Application to climatic data
Authors: Faulx Elise , Fettweis Xavier , Mabille Georges , Nicolay Samuel
Published: March 2024

The Wavelet-Induced Mode Extraction procedure (WIME) [2] was developed drawing inspiration from Empirical Mode Decomposition. The concept involves decomposing the signal into modes, each presenting a characteristic frequency, using continuous wavelet transform. This method has yielded intriguing results in climatology [3,4]. However, the initial algorithm did not account for the potential existence of slight frequency fluctuations within a mode, which could impact the reconstruction of the original signal [4]. The new version (https://atoms.scilab.org/toolboxes/toolbox_WIME/0.1.0) now allows for the evolution of a mode in the space-frequency half-plane, thus considering the frequency evolution of a mode [2]. A natural application of this tool is in the analysis of Milankovitch cycles, where subtle changes have been observed throughout history. The method also refines the study of solar activity, highlighting the role of the "Solar Flip-Flop." Additionally, the examination of temperature time series confirms the existence of cycles around 2.5 years. It is now possible to attempt to correlate solar activity with this observed temperature cycle, as seen in speleothem records [1].[1] Allan, M., Deliège, A., Verheyden, S., Nicolay S. and Fagel, N. Evidence for solar influence in a Holocene speleothem record, Quaternary Science Reviews, 2018.[2] Deliège, A. and Nicolay, S., Extracting oscillating components from nonstationary time series: A wavelet-induced method, Physical Review. E, 2017.[3] Nicolay, S., Mabille, G., Fettweis, X. and Erpicum, M., A statistical validation for the cycles found in air temperature data using a Morlet wavelet-based method, Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics, 2010.[4] Nicolay, S., Mabille, G., Fettweis, X. and Erpicum, M., 30 and 43 months period cycles found in air temperature time series using the Morlet wavelet, Climate Dynamics, 2009.
Quantifying water and ice content variability in ice-rich permafrost using piezometer measurements
Authors: Lichtenegger Matthias , Phillips Marcia , Delaloye Reynald , Bast Alexander
Published: March 2024

Mountain permafrost ground that consists of rock debris supersaturated with ice can deform under its own weight and form rock glaciers, a creeping periglacial landform. Over the past decades, much research has been dedicated to examining the dynamics of rock glaciers and identifying their main drivers across different spatiotemporal scales and their coupling to climate. Creep causes deformation within the rock glacier body and, dominantly, shearing in a discrete horizon commonly at about 15-30m depth. However, current understanding of the driving forces of these processes is limited. Rock glacier surface velocity time series highlight the effect of temperature on creep rates at inter-annual to multi-decennial timescales. Seasonal velocity variations also point out a thermally driven effect, even if there is no temperature change at the depth of the shear horizon. A temperature change within the rock glacier body potentially alters the water content. Increasing water pore pressure in the shear horizon of rock glaciers could have an accelerating effect. We aim to investigate (i) how changes in water content taking place at shallow depths within the permafrost could affect the shear process occurring lower down (ii) how and where water infiltration is occurring within the permafrost. Direct insights into the internal hydrology of rock glaciers have yet to be quantitatively described using field data.In this study, we measured relative changes in pore water pressure in different layers of a rock glacier using piezometers, which allowed us to describe the water-to-ice ratio variability and investigate its effect on kinematics. Seasonal pore water pressure variations can be attributed to phase change, as indicated by parallel ground temperature measurements and cross-borehole electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data. To improve the understanding of piezometer measurements in permafrost field environments, we carried out laboratory tests to validate piezometers in ice-rich ground undergoing phase change. To do this, we created an experimental setup in which we froze and thawed a mixture of sand, gravel and water containing Keller PAA-36XiW piezometers under controlled laboratory conditions. The results of the laboratory experiments, their implications on the interpretation of field data, and the advantages and limitations of piezometer measurements in ice-rich permafrost with variable water contents will be presented.