bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of halogen chemistry on air quality in coastal and continental Europe: application of CMAQ model and implication for regulation
Authors: Li Qinyi , Borge Rafael , Sarwar Golam , de la Paz David , Gantt Brett , Domingo Jessica , Cuevas Carlos A. , Saiz-Lopez Alfonso
Published: April 2019

Abstract. Halogen (Cl, Br, and I) chemistry has been reported to influence the formation of secondary air pollutants. Previous studies mostly focused on the impact of chlorine species on air quality over large spatial scales. Very little attention has been paid to the effect of the combined halogen chemistry on air quality over Europe and its implications for control policy. In the present study, we utilize a widely-used regional model, the Community Multiscale Air Quality Modeling System (CMAQ), incorporated with the latest halogen sources and chemistry, to simulate the abundance of halogen species over Europe and to examine the role of halogens in the formation of secondary air pollution. The results suggest that the CMAQ model is able to reproduce the level of O3, NO2, and halogen species over Europe. Chlorine chemistry slightly increases the levels of OH, HO2, NO3, O3, and NO2 and substantially enhances the level of Cl radical. Combined halogen chemistry reduces the HO2/OH ratio by decreasing the level of HO2 and increasing OH, significantly reduces the concentrations of NO3 and O3, and decreases NO2 in the highly polluted regions and increases NO2 in other areas. The maximum effects of halogen chemistry occur over oceanic and coastal regions, but some noticeable impacts also occur over continental Europe. Halogen chemistry affects the number of days exceeding the European Union target threshold for the protection of human being and vegetation from ambient O3. In light of the significant impact of halogen chemistry on air quality, we recommend that halogen chemistry be considered for inclusion in air quality policy assessments, particularly in coastal cities.
FRESCO-B: a fast cloud retrieval algorithm using oxygen B-band measurements from GOME-2
Authors: Desmons Marine , Wang Ping , Stammes Piet , Tilstra L. Gijsbert
Published: April 2019

Abstract. The FRESCO (Fast Retrieval Scheme for Clouds from the Oxygen A band)
algorithm is a simple, fast and robust algorithm used to retrieve cloud
information in operational satellite data processing. It has been applied to
GOME-1 (Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment), SCIAMACHY (Scanning Imaging
Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography), GOME-2 and more
recently to TROPOMI (Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument). FRESCO retrieves
effective cloud fraction and cloud pressure from measurements in the oxygen A
band around 761 nm. In this paper, we propose a new version of the
algorithm, called FRESCO-B, which is based on measurements in the oxygen B
band around 687 nm. Such a method is interesting for vegetated
surfaces where the surface albedo is much lower in the B band than in the A
band, which limits the ground contribution to the top-of-atmosphere
reflectances. In this study we first perform retrieval simulations. These
show that the retrieved cloud pressures from FRESCO-B and FRESCO differ only
between −10 and +10 hPa, except for high, thin clouds over
vegetation where the difference is larger (about +15 to +30 hPa),
with FRESCO-B yielding higher pressure. Next, inter-comparison between
FRESCO-B and FRESCO retrievals over 1 month of GOME-2B data reveals that the
effective cloud fractions retrieved in the O2 A and B bands are
very similar (mean difference of 0.003), while the cloud pressures show a
mean difference of 11.5 hPa, with FRESCO-B retrieving higher
pressures than FRESCO. This agrees with the simulations and is partly due to
deeper photon penetrations of the O2 B band in clouds compared to
the O2 A-band photons and partly due to the surface albedo bias in
FRESCO. Finally, validation with ground-based measurements shows that the
FRESCO-B cloud pressure represents an altitude within the cloud boundaries
for clouds that are not too far from the Lambertian reflector model, which
occurs in about 50 % of the cases.
Analysis of the lightning production of convective cells
Authors: Figueras i Ventura Jordi , Pineda Nicolau , Besic Nikola , Grazioli Jacopo , Hering Alessandro , van der Velde Oscar A. , Romero David , Sunjerga Antonio , Mostajabi Amirhossein , Azadifar Mohammad , Rubinstein Marcos , Montanyà Joan , Germann Urs , Rachidi-Haeri Farhad
Published: April 2019

Abstract. This paper presents an analysis of the lightning production of convective cells. The cells were detected by the MeteoSwiss Thunderstorms Radar Tracking (TRT) algorithm in the course of a lightning measurement campaign that took place in the summer of 2017 in the area surrounding the Säntis mountain, in the northeastern part of Switzerland. For this campaign, and for the first time in the Alps, a Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) was deployed. In the first part of the paper, we examine the relationship between the intra-cloud (IC) and cloud-to-ground (CG) activity and the cell severity as derived by the TRT algorithm of a large dataset of cells gathered during the campaign. We also propose and analyze the performance of a new metric to quantify lightning intensity, the rimed particles column (RPC) height and base altitude. In the second part, we focus on two of the most severe cells detected during the campaign that produced significantly different outcomes in terms of the lightning activity. The paper shows that the newly proposed metric (RPC) seems to be a very promising predictor of lightning activity, particularly for IC flashes. Future lightning nowcasting algorithms in any case should be probabilistic in nature and incorporate the polarimetric properties of the convective cells as well as the lightning climatology.
Microwave Radar/radiometer for Arctic Clouds MiRAC: First insights from the ACLOUD campaign
Authors: Mech Mario , Kliesch Leif-Leonard , Anhäuser Andreas , Rose Thomas , Kollias Pavlos , Crewell Susanne
Published: April 2019

Abstract. The Microwave Radar/radiometer for Arctic Clouds (MiRAC) is a novel instrument package developed to study the vertical structure and characteristics of clouds and precipitation onboard the Polar 5 research aircraft. MiRAC combines a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar at 94 GHz including a 89 GHz passive channel (MiRAC-A) and an eight channel radiometer with frequencies between 175 and 340 GHz (MiRAC-P). The radar can be flexibly operated using different chirp sequences to provide measurements of the equivalent radar reflectivity with different vertical resolution down to 5 m. MiRAC is mounted for down-looking geometry on Polar 5 to enable the synergy with lidar and radiation measurements. To mitigate the influence of the strong surface backscatter the radar is mounted with an inclination of about 25° backward in a belly pod under the Polar 5 aircraft. Procedures for filtering ground return and range side-lobes have been developed. MiRAC-P frequencies are especially adopted for low humidity conditions typical for the Arctic to provide information on water vapor and hydrometeor content. MiRAC has been operated on 19 research flights during the ACLOUD campaign in the vicinity of Svalbard in May/June 2017 providing in total 48 hours of measurements from flight altitudes > 2300 m. The radar measurements have been carefully quality controlled and corrected for surface clutter, mounting of the instrument, and aircraft orientation to provide measurements on a unified, geo-referenced vertical grid allowing the combination with the other nadir pointing instruments. An intercomparison with CloudSat shows good agreement in terms of cloud top height of 1.5 km and radar reflectivity up to −5 dBz and demonstrates that MiRAC is able to fill the gap in observing low level clouds with its more than ten times higher vertical resolution down to about 150 m above the surface. This is especially important for the Arctic as about 45 % of the clouds during ACLOUD showed cloud tops below 1200 m, i.e., the blind zone of CloudSat.
Zooplankton diel vertical migration and downward C into the Oxygen
Minimum Zone in the highly productive upwelling region off
Northern Chile
Authors: Tutasi Pritha , Escribano Ruben
Published: April 2019

Abstract. The daily vertical movement of zooplankton, known as diel vertical migration (DVM), can enhance the vertical flux of carbon (C) and so contributing to the functioning of the biological pump. The magnitude and efficiency of this active transport of C may depend on the size and taxonomic structure of the migrant zooplankton. However, the impact that a variable community structure can have on zooplankton-mediated downward C has not been properly addressed. This taxonomic effect may become critically important in highly productive eastern boundary upwelling systems (EBUS), where zooplankton biomass becomes aggregated in the coastal zone, but comprised by a highly variable community structure (size-composition). In these systems, presence of a subsurface oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) can impose an additional constraint to vertical migration and so influencing the downward C export. Here, we address these issues based on a high-resolution zooplankton sampling at three stations off northern Chile (20°S−30°S) during November 2015. Automated analysis of zooplankton composition and taxa-structured biomass allowed us to estimate daily migrant biomass by taxa, amplitude of migration and daily rate of migration, defined as the daily exchange of biomass between the upper mixed layer and below the thermocline. We found that high biomass aggregates above the oxycline, associated with more oxygenated surface waters and this condition was more evident upon a more intense OMZ. Some taxa however, were found closely associated with the OMZ. We found that most taxa were able to perform DVM in the upwelling zone withstanding severe hypoxia. Even, several strong migrants, such as copepods Eucalanidae and Euphausiids, can exhibit a large migration amplitude (~500 m), remaining either temporarily or permanently during the day or night condition within the core of the OMZ and so contributing to the release of C below the thermocline. Our estimates of DVM-mediated C ﬂux showed that migrant biomass (5099 ± 2701 mg C m−2d−1) may contribute with about 678 ± 465 mg C m−2d−1 to the OMZ system through respiration, mortality, and production of fecal pellets, implying the existence of a very efficient mechanism to incorporate freshly produced C into the OMZ. This downward C by zooplankton is however strongly depending on taxonomic structure due to variable migration amplitude and behavior affecting the daily rate of diel vertical migration.
Quantifying Restoration Success of Wood Introductions to Increase Coho Salmon Winter Habitat
Authors: Bair Russell T. , Segura Catalina , Lorion Christopher M.
Published: April 2019

Abstract. Large wood (LW) addition is often part of fish habitat restoration projects. However, there is limited information about the spatial-temporal variability in hydraulic changes after LW additions. We investigated reach scale hydraulic changes relevant to juvenile Coho Salmon survival triggered immediately after the addition of LW. We used Nays2DH, an unsteady two-dimensional flow model to quantify patterns and magnitudes of changes of stream velocity (v) and shear stress (τ) in three alluvial gravel reaches. The study sites are located in low gradient reaches draining 5 to 16 km2 in the Oregon Coast Range. Survivable habitat was characterized in terms of critical swim speed for juvenile Coho and bed stability considering the critical τ required to mobilize the median bed particle size. Model predictions indicated that survivable habitat during bankfull conditions, measured as the area with v below the critical swim speed for juvenile Coho, increased by 95–113 % after the LW restoration. Bed stability also increases between 86–128 % considering the τ required to mobilize the median bed particle size. Model predictions indicated more habitat created in the larger site, however considering that wood would move more frequently in this site there appears to be a trade-off between the timing and the resilience of restoration benefits. Overall, this study quantifies how the addition of LW potentially changes stream hydraulics to provide a net benefit to juvenile salmonid habitat. Our findings are applicable to stream restoration efforts throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Evaluation of WRF-DART (ARW v.3.9.1.1 and DART manhattan release) multi-phase cloud water path assimilation for short-term solar irradiance forecasting in a tropical environment
Authors: Kurzrock Frederik , Nguyen Hannah , Sauer Jerome , Chane Ming Fabrice , Cros Sylvain , Smith Jr. William L. , Minnis Patrick , Palikonda Rabindra , Jones Thomas A. , Lallemand Caroline , Linguet Laurent , Lajoie Gilles
Published: April 2019

Abstract. Numerical weather prediction models tend to underestimate cloud presence and therefore often overestimate global horizontal irradiance (GHI). The assimilation of cloud water path (CWP) retrievals from geostationary satellites using an ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) led to improved short-term GHI forecasts of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model in mid-latitudes in case studies. An evaluation of the method under tropical conditions and a quantification of this improvement for study periods of more than a few days is still missing. This paper focuses on the assimilation of CWP retrievals in three phases (ice, supercooled, and liquid) in a 6-hourly cycling procedure, and on the impact of this method on short-term forecasts of GHI for Reunion Island, a tropical island in the South-West Indian Ocean. The multi-layer gridded cloud properties of NASA Langley's Satellite ClOud and Radiation Property retrieval System (SatCORPS) are assimilated using the EnKF of the Data Assimilation Research Testbed (DART) manhattan release (revision 12002) and the advanced research WRF (ARW) v3.9.1.1. The ability of the method to improve cloud analyses and GHI forecasts is demonstrated and a comparison using independent radiosoundings shows a reduction of specific humidity bias in the WRF analyses, especially in the low and mid troposphere. Ground-based GHI observations at 12 sites on Reunion Island are used to quantify the impact of CWP DA. Over a total of 44 days during austral summer time, when averaged over all sites, CWP data assimilation has a positive impact on GHI forecasts for all lead times between 5 and 14 hours. Root Mean Squared Error and Mean Absolute Error are reduced by 4 % and 3 % respectively.
An evapotranspiration model self-calibrated from remotely sensed
surface soil moisture, land surface temperature and vegetation cover
fraction: application to disaggregated SMOS and MODIS data
Authors: Ait Hssaine Bouchra , Merlin Olivier , Ezzahar Jamal , Ojha Nitu , Er-raki Salah , Khabba Said
Published: April 2019

Abstract. Thermal-based two-source energy balance modeling is very useful for estimating the land evapotranspiration (ET) at a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. However, the land surface temperature (LST) is not sufficient for constraining simultaneously both soil and vegetation flux components in such a way that assumptions (on either the soil or the vegetation fluxes) are commonly required. To avoid such assumptions, a new energy balance model (TSEB-SM) was recently developed in Ait Hssaine et al. (2018a) to integrate the microwave-derived near-surface soil moisture (SM), in addition to the thermal-derived LST and vegetation cover fraction (fc). Whereas, TSEB-SM has been recently tested using in-situ measurements, the objective of this paper is to evaluate the performance of TSEB-SM in real-life using 1 km resolution MODIS (Moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer) LST and fc data and the 1 km resolution SM data disaggregated from SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) observations by using DisPATCh. The approach is applied during a four-year period (2014–2018) over a rainfed wheat field in the Tensift basin, central Morocco, during a four-year period (2014–2018). The field was seeded for the 2014–2015 (S1), 2016–2017 (S2) and 2017–2018 (S3) agricultural season, while it was not ploughed (remained as bare soil) during the 2015–2016 (B1) agricultural season. The mean retrieved values of (arss, brss) calculated for the entire study period using satellite data are (7.32, 4.58). The daily calibrated αPT ranges between 0 and 1.38 for both S1 and S2. Its temporal variability is mainly attributed to the rainfall distribution along the agricultural season. For S3, the daily retrieved αPT remains at a mostly constant value (∼ 0.7) throughout the study period, because of the lack of clear sky disaggregated SM and LST observations during this season. Compared to eddy covariance measurements, TSEB driven only by LST and fc data significantly overestimates latent heat fluxes for the four seasons. The overall mean bias values are 119, 94, 128 and 181 W/m2 for S1, S2, S3 and B1 respectively. In contrast, these errors are much reduced when using TSEB-SM (SM and LST combined data) with the mean bias values estimated as 39, 4, 7 and 62 W/m2 for S1, S2, S3 and B1 respectively.
MODIS Cloud-Gap Filled Snow-Cover Products: Advantages and Uncertainties
Authors: Hall Dorothy K. , Riggs George A. , DiGirolamo Nicolo E. , Román Miguel O.
Published: April 2019

Abstract. MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) cryosphere products that have been available since the launch of the Terra MODIS in 2000 and the Aqua MODIS in 2002 include snow-cover extent (swath, daily and eight-day composites) and daily snow albedo. These products are used in hydrological modeling and studies of local and regional climate, and are increasingly being used to study regional hydrological and climatological changes over time. Reprocessing of the complete snow-cover data record, from Collection 5 (C5) to Collection 6 (C6) and Collection 6.1 (C6.1), has led to improvements in the MODIS product suite. Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Collection 1 (C1) snow-cover products have been available since 2011, and are currently being reprocessed for Collection 2 (C2). To address the need for a cloud-reduced or cloud-free daily snow product for both MODIS and VIIRS, a new daily cloud-gap filled snow-cover product was developed for MODIS C6.1 and VIIRS C2 processing. MOD10A1F (Terra) and MYD10A1F (Aqua) are daily, 500-m resolution cloud-gap filled (CGF) snow-cover map products from MODIS. VNP10A1F is the 375-m resolution CGF snow map from VIIRS. The CGF maps provide daily cloud-free snow maps, along with cloud-persistence maps showing the age of the snow or non-snow observation in each pixel. Work is ongoing to evaluate and document uncertainties in the MODIS and VIIRS standard daily CGF snow-cover products. Analysis of the MOD/MYD10A1F products for study areas in the western United States shows excellent results in terms of accuracy of snow-cover mapping. When there are frequent clear-sky episodes, MODIS is able to capture enough clear views of the surface to produce accurate snow-cover information and snow maps. Even in the extensively-cloud-covered northeastern United States during winter months, snow maps from MODIS CGF products are useful, though the snow maps are likely to miss some snow, particularly during the spring snowmelt period when snow may fall and melt within a day or two, before the clouds clear from the storm that deposited the snow. Comparisons between the Terra and Aqua CGF snow maps have revealed differences that are related to cloud masking in the two algorithms. We conclude that the MODIS Terra CGF is the more accurate MODIS snow-cover product, and should therefore be the basis of an Environmental Science Data Record that will extend the CGF data record from the Terra MODIS beginning in 2000 through the VIIRS era, at least through the early 2030s.
High-resolution hydrometeorological modelling of the June 2013
flood in southern Alberta, Canada
Authors: Vionnet Vincent , Fortin Vincent , Gaborit Etienne , Roy Guy , Abrahamowicz Maria , Gasset Nicolas , Pomeroy John W.
Published: April 2019

Abstract. From June 19 to June 22, 2013, intense rainfall and concurrent snowmelt led to devastating floods in the Canadian Rockies, foothills and downstream areas of southern Alberta and southeastern British Columbia. The complexity of the topography in the mountain headwaters, presence of snow at high elevations and other factors challenged hydrological forecasting of this extreme event. In this study, the ability of the Global Environmental Multi-scale hydrological modelling platform (GEM-Hydro), running at a 1-km grid spacing, to simulate hydrometeorological conditions in several Alberta rivers during this event is assessed. Four quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) products were generated using the Canadian Precipitation Analysis (CaPA) system by varying (i) station density and (ii) horizontal resolutions (10, 2.5 and 1 km) of the GEM precipitation background. CaPA at 2.5 and 1 km including all available stations in the headwaters provided the most accurate estimation of intensity and total amount of precipitation during the flooding event. Using these products to drive GEM-Hydro, it is shown that QPE accuracy dominates the ability to predict flood volumes. Initial snow conditions also represent a large additional source of uncertainty. Default GEM-Hydro simulations starting with almost no snowpack at high-elevations led to a systematic underestimation of flood volume and peak flow. Gridded estimates of snow water equivalent from the Snow Data Assimilation System (SNODAS) were also considered. They led to contrasting abilities to simulate flood discharge volumes and a consistent overestimation in the headwater catchments, illustrating the strong need for a reference snow product in the mountains of Western Canada. Finally, GEM-Hydro did not predict peak flow timing and hydrograph shape well. Model sensitivity tests show that it could be improved by adjusting the Manning coefficients, suggesting the need to revisit the routing parameters. There may be a need to include water management effects on flood hydrographs as well. These results will guide the development of GEM-Hydro as a hydrological forecasting system in Western Canada.
Estimating Interception from Near-Surface Soil Moisture Response
Authors: Acharya Subodh , McLaughlin Daniel , Kaplan David , Cohen Matthew J.
Published: April 2019

Abstract. Interception is the storage and subsequent evaporation of rainfall by above-ground structures, including canopy and groundcover vegetation and surface litter. Accurately quantifying interception is critical for understanding how ecosystems partition incoming precipitation, but it is difficult and costly to measure, leading most studies to rely on modeled interception estimates. Moreover, forest interception estimates typically focus only on canopy storage, despite the potential for substantial interception by groundcover vegetation and surface litter. In this study, we developed an approach to quantify total interception losses (i.e., including forest canopy, understory, and surface litter layers) using measurements of shallow soil moisture dynamics during rainfall events. Across 36 pine and mixed forest stands in Florida (USA), we used soil moisture and rainfall data to estimate the interception storage capacity (βs), a parameter required to estimate total annual interception losses (Ia) relative to rainfall (R). Estimated values for βs (mean βs = 0.30 cm; 0.01 ≤ βs ≤ 0.62 cm) and Ia/R (mean Ia/R = 0.14; 0.06 ≤ Ia/R ≤ 0.21) were consistent with reported literature values for these ecosystems and were significantly predicted by forest structural attributes (leaf area index and percent groundcover), as well as other site variables (e.g., water table depth). The best-fit model was dominated by LAI and explained nearly 80 % of observed βs variation. These results suggest that whole-forest interception can be measured using a single near-surface soil moisture time series and highlight the variability in interception losses across a single forest type, underscoring the need for expanded empirical measurement. Potential cost savings and logistical advantages of this method relative to conventional, labor-intensive interception measurements may improve empirical estimation of this critical water budget element.
Effects of preferential flow on snowmelt partitioning and
groundwater recharge in frozen soils
Authors: Mohammed Aaron A. , Pavlovskii Igor , Cey Edwin E. , Hayashi Masaki
Published: April 2019

Abstract. Snowmelt is a major source of groundwater recharge in cold regions. Throughout many landscapes snowmelt occurs when ground is still frozen, thus frozen soil processes play an important role in snowmelt routing, and, by extension, on the timing and magnitude of recharge. This study investigated the vadose zone dynamics governing snowmelt infiltration and groundwater recharge at three grassland sites in the Canadian Prairies over the winter and spring of 2017. The region is characterised by numerous topographic depressions where ponding of snowmelt runoff results in focused infiltration and recharge. Water balance estimates showed infiltration was the dominant sink (35–85 %) of snowmelt under uplands (i.e. areas outside depressions), even when ground was frozen, with soil moisture responses indicating flow through the frozen layer. Refreezing of infiltrated meltwater during winter melt events enhanced runoff generation in subsequent melt events. At one site, time lags of up to 3 days between snowcover depletion on uplands and ponding in depressions demonstrated the role of shallow subsurface flow through frozen soil in routing snowmelt to depressions. At all sites, depression-focused infiltration and recharge began before ground thaw and a significant portion (45–100 %) occurred while the ground was partially frozen. Relatively rapid infiltration rates and non-sequential soil moisture and groundwater responses, observed prior to ground thaw, indicated preferential flow through frozen soils. The preferential flow dynamics are attributed to macropore networks within the grassland soils, which allow infiltrated meltwater to bypass portions of the frozen soil matrix and facilitate both lateral transport of meltwater between topographic positions and groundwater recharge through frozen ground. Both of these flowpaths may facilitate preferential mass transport to groundwater.
The impact of rheological uncertainty on dynamic topography predictions: Gearing up for dynamic topography models consistent with observations
Authors: Bodur Ömer F. , Rey Patrice F.
Published: April 2019

Abstract. Much effort has been given on extracting the dynamic component of the Earth’s topography, which is driven by density heterogeneities in the mantle. Seismically mapped density anomalies have been used as an input into mantle convection models to predict the present-day mantle flow and stresses applied on the Earth’s surface, resulting in dynamic topography. However, mantle convection models give dynamic topographies generally larger by a factor of ∼2 compared to dynamic topographies estimated from residual topography after extraction of the isostatically compensated topography. Our 3D thermo-mechanical numerical experiments suggest that this discrepancy can be explained by the use of a viscosity model, which doesn’t account for non-linear viscosity behaviour. In this paper, we numerically model the dynamic topography induced by a spherical density anomaly embedded into the mantle. When we use non-linear viscosities, our numerical models predict dynamic topographies lesser by a factor of ∼2 than those derived from numerical models using isoviscous rheology. This reduction in dynamic topography is explained by either the formation of a low viscosity channel beneath the lithosphere, or a decrease in thickness of the mechanical lithosphere due to induced local reduction in viscosity. Furthermore, we show that uncertainties related to activation volume and fluid activity, lead to variations in dynamic topography of about 20 %.
Modeling the Evolution of the Structural Anisotropy of Snow
Authors: Leinss Silvan , Löwe Henning , Proksch Martin , Kontu Anna
Published: April 2019

Abstract. The structural anisotropy of snow that originates from a spatially anisotropic distribution of the ice matrix and the pore space, is a key quantity to understand physical snow properties and to improve their parameterizations. To this end we propose a minimal empirical model to describe the temporal evolution of the structural anisotropy and publish the extensive, calibration dataset consisting of meteorological, radar, and micro computer tomography (CT) data. The dataset was acquired near the town of Sodankylä in Northern Finland. The model is tailored to immediate implementation into common snow pack models driven by meteorological data as its parametrization is solely based on macroscopic, thermodynamic fields. Here we use output data of the physical model SNOWPACK to drive our model. The model implements rate equations for each snow layer and accounts for snow settling and temperature gradient metamorphism, which are taken to be the main drivers of the temporal evolution of the structural anisotropy. The model is calibrated with available time series of anisotropy measurements spanning four different winter seasons. The calibration measurements were obtained from polarimetric radar data which were analyzed with respect to the dielectric anisotropy of snow. From the detailed comparison between simulated anisotropy and radar time series we identify settling as the main mechanism causing horizontal structures in the snow pack. The comparison also confirms temperature gradient metamorphism as the main mechanism for vertical structures. For validation of the model we use full-depth profiles of anisotropy measurements obtained from CT data. The results show that the model can predict the measured CT profiles quite accurately. For depth hoar, differences between modeled anisotropy and the anisotropy derived from exponential correlation lengths are observed and discussed in view of potential limitations.
“Can We Imagine a World Without Funds or Banks?” Abderrahmane Sissako's Bamako as African-Utopian Speculative Fiction
Authors: O'Connell Hugh Charles
Published: April 2019

This article reconsiders Abderrahmane Sissako's 2006 film Bamako as a formal example of sf predicated upon an African-utopian impulse that intervenes in the political closure of capitalist realism and the ontology of debt perpetuated by structural adjustment programs. Due to the radically unlikely events of the film's narrative, in which international financial institutions can be put on trial by ordinary citizens, this article argues that Bamako is best understood as an sf “alternate cosmology” narrative. Moreover, given the pseudo-utopian ideologies of neoliberal and neo-imperial enterprises, this article examines how Bamako operates as the preconceptual figuration of African-utopianism itself. To do so, it first raises a pseudo-African-utopianism in order to negate it and point the way toward the structurally unenunciable, inconceivable content of a radical African-utopianism. As such, Bamako needs to be read as both a desire for and a preconceptual harbinger of African-utopianism and situated alongside the rise of African sf more broadly.
A Data Element-Function Conceptual Model for Data Quality Checks
Authors: Rogers James R. , Callahan Tiffany J. , Kang Tian , Bauck Alan , Khare Ritu , Brown Jeffrey S. , Kahn Michael G. , Weng Chunhua
Published: April 2019

Introduction: In aggregate, existing data quality (DQ) checks are currently
represented in heterogeneous formats, making it difficult to compare, categorize, and
index checks. This study contributes a data element-function conceptual model to
facilitate the categorization and indexing of DQ checks and explores the feasibility of
leveraging natural language processing (NLP) for scalable acquisition of knowledge of
common data elements and functions from DQ checks narratives.Methods: The model defines
a “data element”, the primary focus of the check, and a “function”, the qualitative or
quantitative measure over a data element. We applied NLP techniques to extract both from
172 checks for Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI) and 3,434
checks for Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Effectiveness and Safety Research
(CESR).Results: The model was able to classify all checks. A total of 751 unique data
elements and 24 unique functions were extracted. The top five frequent data
element-function pairings for OHDSI were Person-Count (55 checks),
Insurance-Distribution (17), Medication-Count (16), Condition-Count (14), and
Observations-Count (13); for CESR, they were Medication-Variable Type (175),
Medication-Missing (172), Medication-Existence (152), Medication-Count (127), and
Socioeconomic Factors-Variable Type (114).Conclusions: This study shows the efficacy of
the data element-function conceptual model for classifying DQ checks, demonstrates early
promise of NLP-assisted knowledge acquisition, and reveals the great heterogeneity in
the focus in DQ checks, confirming variation in intrinsic checks and use-case specific
“fitness-for-use” checks.
Speech act attenuation in the history of English: The case of apologies
Authors: Jucker Andreas H.
Published: April 2019

This paper develops a new theoretical framework to describe the long diachrony of speech acts. Such an undertaking requires a careful reconsideration of some of the basic properties of the nature of speech acts. It requires a clear differentiation between the functional profile, or illocutionary potential, of a speech act, the range of expressions that are typically used to perform it, and the metacommunicative expressions that are used to talk about it. It also requires a clear understanding of the integrity of the speech act in order to make it comparable across different time periods. It is suggested that the diachronic development of speech acts is both a gradual process with limited short-term effects that – over a long period – lead to more substantial differences and a process of attenuation, i.e. a progressive weakening of its illocutionary force. As an example, this paper traces the long diachrony of apologies in the history of the English language, from Old English up to Present-day English. Apologies originate in Old English penitential acts and confessions to God which in the course of time underwent a process of attenuation that first turned them into secularized appeals to a human addressee for forgiveness, subsequently to expressions of regret and eventually to speech acts that are often no more than a token acknowledgement of some minor infraction. The final section gives an outline of how this new theoretical framework of speech act attenuation can be applied to other speech acts, such as promises and greetings.
From Discussion to Fist-fighting: Was Strategic Maneuvering Derailed during the Debate on the Presidential Age Limit Bill in Uganda?
Authors: Natukunda-Togboa Edith R
Published: April 2019

Of recent, due its impact on political events and socio-political processes like general elections and peace building, parliamentary discourse has become the object of research in Africa. In Uganda, in particular, at different times in the country’s history, it has been at the heart of fomenting conflict, but also key in fostering peace. It is of historic importance that we analyse how the controlled institutionalized parliamentary discourse during the presidential age limit debates degenerated to fist fighting and chair hurling in the Uganda Parliament. Using the pragma-dialectical, the rhetorical and linguistic approaches this study seeks to check the arguer’s commitment to pursuing a reasonable argumentation as s/he tries to discursively resolve the difference of opinion which is usually at the heart of parliamentary debates. Through a review of the atmosphere surrounding the presidential age limit debate and the two critical sessions of the relevant parliamentary discussions, the author tries to establish whether this discursive resolving of differences of opinion was achieved or whether there are factors that contributed to derailing the discursive strategic maneuvering.
Brexit en strafrechtelijke samenwerking: de gevolgen van het perspectief van vertrek uit de Unie voor de tenuitvoerlegging van een EAB
Authors: Bulterman M.K.
Published: April 2019

Brexit en strafrechtelijke samenwerking: de gevolgen van het perspectief van vertrek uit de Unie voor de tenuitvoerlegging van een EAB

Op 29 maart 2017 heeft het Verenigd Koninkrijk kennisgegeven op grond van artikel 50 lid 2 VEU van het voornemen tot terugtrekking uit de Europese Unie. Welke gevolgen heeft deze kennisgeving voor de beoordeling van een door de autoriteiten van het Verenigd Koninkrijk uitgevaardigd Europees Aanhoudingsbevel op grond van Kaderbesluit 2002/584 betreffende het Europees aanhoudingsbevel en de procedures van overlevering tussen de lidstaten? Op deze vraag geeft het Hof van Justitie een antwoord in het arrest RO van 19 september 2018, dat centraal staat in deze bijdrage.

HvJ 19 september 2018, zaak C-327/18 PPU, RO, ECLI:EU:C:2018:733
Een overwinning voor vrijverkeersrechten van regenboogfamilies in Europa: het langverwachte Coman-arrest
Authors: Kroeze H.H.C. , Safradin B.
Published: April 2019

Een overwinning voor vrijverkeersrechten van regenboogfamilies in Europa: het langverwachte Coman-arrest

In Coman heeft het Hof van Justitie voor het eerst uitspraak gedaan over het recht op gezinshereniging van een EU-burger met zijn partner van hetzelfde geslacht op basis van de Burgerschapsrichtlijn (Richtlijn 2004/38/EG). De vraag van de verwijzende Roemeense rechter heeft betrekking op de kwestie of een derdelander die gehuwd is met een EU-burger van hetzelfde geslacht als ‘echtgenoot’ van een Unieburger in de zin van het EU-recht aangemerkt kan en moet worden. Het Hof van Justitie beantwoordt die vraag bevestigend. Het arrest Coman is een overwinning voor de LHBTI-gemeenschap, omdat het Hof van Justitie met dit arrest lidstaten verplicht de burgerlijke staat van getrouwde homoseksuele koppels te erkennen voor wat betreft de uitoefening van de vrijverkeersrechten. Deze annotatie bespreekt zowel de implicaties als de beperkingen van het arrest. Het is bijvoorbeeld nog onduidelijk hoe ver de gelijke behandeling van koppels van hetzelfde geslacht strekt en of zij via het EU-recht ook toegang kunnen krijgen tot andere rechten die aan het huwelijk gekoppeld zijn, zoals socialezekerheidsrechten. Daarnaast legt het arrest de kwestie van omgekeerde discriminatie opnieuw bloot.

HvJ 5 juni 2018, zaak C-676/16, Relu Adrian Coman e.a./Inspectoratul General pentru Imigrari, Ministerul Afacerilor Interne, ECLI:EU:C:2018:385.
Preparation and characterization of
nano magnetic fluid for automotive
applications
Authors: Thanikachalam J. , Nagaraj P. , Karthikeyan S.
Published: April 2019

Purpose: of this paper is to prepare a nano magnetic fluids with nano additives to have
the combined characteristics of high yield stress and better magnetic properties for smart
vehicles. This study focuses on increasing the sedimentation time of the fluid using suitable
nano additive nickel along with graphene as fillers.
Design/methodology/approach: Magnetic nano sized nickel particle based electro-
magneto-rheological fluid was prepared and graphene nanoparticle with thickness less
than 10nm was introduced as an additive to reduce its sedimentation. This added plate like
graphene acts as filler which seals the interfaces of nickel particles and thereby it improves
the resistance to sedimentation. Triton X 100 was added as the surfactant for the fluid to
reduce the agglomeration of the particles.
Findings: Morphology of pure nickel and graphene were examined using scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) images.
Research limitations/implications: The important limitations is that freely dispersed
micron sized iron particles could settle over a period of time, in the form of cakes at the
bottommost, and it is tedious to recuperate as dispersed phase. In this investigation, nano
sized nickel particles were used as additive to reduce the sedimentation of micron sized iron
particles so that, the mixture is homogeneous for extended period of time. In future, addition
of different types composite additives in the magnetorheological fluid could be made for the
better sedimentation control.
Practical implications: The sedimentation problem is one of the major drawback in the
smart fluids, which can be eliminated by adding nano particles. For conventional fluid, the
complete sedimentation will occur in 2 hours while the improved nano magnetic fluid with
additive has good resistance to settle the micron sized iron particle up to 10 hours.
Originality/value: To prepare a low cost magnetorheological fluid with nano additives like
nickel particles along with fillers as graphene nano particles. With this addition of nickel
and inclusion of graphene, the sedimentation problem in magnetorheological fluids is
significantly reduced. This magnetorheological fluids can be used in brakes and dampers
of automobiles.
‘Oh Say Can You See?’
Authors: Floyd-Thomas Stacey M. ,   Philosophy Documentation Center
Published: April 2019

This article employs an intersectional analysis of ethical discourse guiding the US context in the era of Trump. Illustrating the viability of intersectionality for the broader utility of Christian social ethics, this essay explores the contemporary development of surreality and sub-rosa morality indicative of the current political situation in the United States in the wake of Donald Trump’s political ascendancy from the reality TV boardroom of The Apprentice to the Oval Office of the White House. Faced with the escalating nature of lies and deception emanating from the Trump administration, this article provides the moral rationale for civil disobedience as well as suggesting prescriptions for a redemptive ethic intended to remedy the legitimation crises which have become the defining ethos of our time.
Toward A Feminist Christian Vision of Gestational Surrogacy
Authors: Kao Grace Y. ,   Philosophy Documentation Center
Published: April 2019

Although increasing in usage, surrogacy remains the most controversial method of assisted reproductive technology. Many Christian ethicists have either objected tout court or expressed strong reservations about the practice. Behind much of this caution, however, lies essentialist assumptions about pregnant women or an overemphasis on the statistical minority of well-publicized disasters. The question remains whether Christian ethical reflection on surrogacy might change if informed by social scientific studies on the surrogacy triad (i.e., surrogates, surrogate-born children, and intended parents). I offer a feminist Christian framework for surrogacy comprised of seven principles drawn from this literature, the reproductive justice paradigm (RJ), human rights, and Reformed theo-ethical norms (viz, covenant, fidelity, stewardship, self-gift). I ultimately advance surrogacy under certain conditions as a moral good and focus on “altruistic” arrangements—including my own—without concluding that only non-commercial contracts could pass ethical muster.
Occasionalism and Contemporary Analyses of Causation
Authors: Moad Edward ,   Philosophy Documentation Center
Published: April 2019

This paper will survey the most prominent contemporary analyses of causation, and evaluate their compatibility, or otherwise, with the doctrine of Occasionalism, with the ultimate aim of formulating an occasionalist analysis of causation. Though reductive analyses of causation are incompatible with Occasionalism, it seems that the denial of reductionism is as well. I will suggest a solution to the problem, involving an analysis of causation as the relation of extensional identity, between God’s will that an event actually occur, and the intensionally distinct event itself.
A adoção de apostilas na Educação Infantil: reflexões sobre uma unidade didática
Authors: Trevisan Marlon Dantas , Reinke Gilvane , Silva Simone De Cássia Soares da
Published: April 2019

O presente texto reflete sobre a utilização de apostilas nas rotinas pedagógicas da Educação Infantil. Dados quantitativos são apresentados, revelando que a aquisição destes materiais por parte das prefeituras tem se expandido como política pública em nível nacional. Com aportes teóricos em Bakhtin (2011), Vygotsky (1991), Peirce (2005) e Dewey (1979), pretende-se analisar de que modo aparecem conceitos sobre aquisição da língua, experiência e signo, dentre outros de natureza comunicativa, no projeto discursivo dos materiais, especialmente em uma unidade didática coletada de um conhecido sistema de ensino, voltada para a faixa etária de cinco anos. Deste modo, o trabalho se caracteriza metodologicamente como análise semiótico-documental, concluindo que, se por um lado, os exercícios analisados encantam pelas imagens, diagramação e outras qualidades, por outro, reproduzem procedimentos tradicionais do ensino de língua, acentuando a dependência das crianças em relação ao educador, não valorizando a oralidade, a escrita espontânea e demais expressões do protagonismo delas na aprendizagem. Pelos conflitos inerentes à adoção de tais aparatos pedagógicos no contexto da Educação Infantil, defende-se a necessidade de ampliação do debate sobre tal, de modo que a adoção dos sistemas apostilados possa ser reavaliada, sem prejuízos para a infância.
La Iglesia de Mallorca y la redención de cautivos en la Baja Edad Media
Authors: Cassanyes Roig Albert
Published: April 2019

El presente artículo es un primer estudio del rol de la Iglesia en la redención de los cautivos cristianos que se hallaban bajo el yugo de los infieles. La tarea de las órdenes redentoristas —trinitarios y mercedarios— en este ámbito fue muy significativa. Menos conocida es la intervención de la catedral, a veces junto a las autoridades municipales. En ambos casos, las limosnas constituían la principal fuente de ingresos, de modo que el rescate era posible gracias a la caridad de los vecinos. El artículo se centra en el ejemplo de la diócesis de Mallorca, un territorio abocado al mar, cuyos habitantes eran frecuentemente capturados. A partir de una serie de registros de subsidios de mediados del siglo xv, se pueden conocer algunos rasgos de los cautivos, la vulnerabilidad en la que quedaban sus familias y el comportamiento de los responsables de la distribución de las limosnas entre las personas a rescatar.AbstractThis paper analyses the role of the Church in the ransom of Christian captives who fell under Muslim control.  The role of the ransoming orders—Trinitarians and Mercedarians—in the ransoming process was highly significant.  Less known is the intervention of the cathedral chapter, often working side by side with the municipal authorities.  In both cases, alms were the most important source of income; the charity of their neighbors made a captive’s ransom possible.  This paper focuses on the example of the Diocese of Majorca, a territory exposed to the sea, whose inhabitants were frequently captured.  Based on some mid-fifteenth century registers of subsidies it is possible to know some of the individual characteristics of the captives, the vulnerability of their families, and the behavior of the responsible persons who distributed the charitable money among the captives and their families.