bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Introducing the use of Open Data into the secondary education: A study on inland water quality
Authors: Tziortzioti Chrysanthi , Dimitriou Elias , Mavrommati Irene
Published: February 2023

Public and private organizations and institutions distribute a large volume of Open Data on a continuous basis with aim of increasing efficiency, saving time or reducing costs. Technological advancement offers easy access to open datasets that have potentially added value as educational resources in teaching and learning processes. Open Data provides the educational community with learning experiences related to real world problems and allows students to engage with activities normally undertaken by professionals, without increasing the level of difficulty. In this study, we designed an educational intervention that uses open data from the Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, and we investigated how it can be integrated into the Greek secondary school curriculum. The results suggest that this open data-based practice has increased students’ motivation and has had an impact on selfbeliefs on topics of aquatic environments as well as an impact on students’ perception of the importance of aquatic environmental problems in rivers and lakes. 
Understanding the Effects of Revegetated Shrubs on Energy, Water and Carbon Fluxes in a Semiarid Steppe Ecosystem Using STEMMUS-SCOPE Model
Authors: Tang Enting , Zeng Yijian , Wang Yunfei , Song Zengjing , Yu Danyang , Wu Hongyue , Qiao Chenglong , van der Tol Christiaan , Du Lingtong , Su Zhongbo
Published: February 2023

The revegetation practice is one of the most efficient ways to alleviate soil erosion and desertification. However, the land cover change can considerably disturb ecohydrological processes, particularly in arid and semiarid regions where ecosystems are fragile and suffer intense water stress. This study evaluated the effects of revegetation on the energy, water and carbon fluxes in a desert steppe in Yanchi County, Ningxia Province, Northwest China, by simulating two scenarios of shrubs-grassland and grassland ecosystem with the STEMMUS-SCOPE model. The STEMMUS-SCOPE model integrates canopy photosynthesis, fluorescence, energy balance model and soil water and heat transfer model in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum system. The model was validated by field observations from May to September of 2016-2019, and showed good performances in simulating the energy, water and carbon fluxes. It indicated that the revegetation facilitated carbon fixation (+69.34%). Latent heat flux was the primary consumer of the available energy and was stronger in the shrubs-grassland ecosystem (+16.76%). With the remarkably increased transpiration of the shrubs-grassland ecosystem (+86.72%), revegetation intensified the soil water losses, especially the soil water content within the 0-200 cm depth (−18.97%). Moreover, the water consumption of the shrubs-grassland ecosystem tended to exceed the received precipitation over the growing seasons. These results emphasized the necessity of considering the adverse impacts of revegetation in future ecological restoration, especially the irreversible soil water depletion and imbalance of energy, water and carbon cycles.
SuNeRF: AI enables 3D reconstruction of the solar EUV corona
Authors: Jarolim Robert , Tremblay Benoit , Munoz-Jaramillo Andres , Bintsi Kyriaki-Margarita , Jungbluth Anna , Santos Miraflor , Mason James Paul , Sundaresan Sairam , Downs Cooper , Caplan Ronald , Vourlidas Angelos
Published: February 2023

To understand the solar evolution and effects of solar eruptive events, the Sun is permanently observed by multiple satellite missions. The optically-thin emission of the solar plasma and the limited number of viewpoints make it challenging to reconstruct the geometry and structure of the solar atmosphere; however, this information is the missing link to understand the Sun as it is: a three-dimensional, evolving star. We present a method that enables a complete 3D representation of the uppermost solar layer observed in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light. We use a deep learning approach for 3D scene representation that accounts for radiative transfer, to map the entire solar atmosphere from three simultaneous observations. We demonstrate that our approach provides unprecedented reconstructions of the solar poles, and directly enables height estimates of coronal structures, solar flux ropes, coronal hole profiles, and coronal mass ejections. We validate the approach using model-generated synthetic EUV images, finding that our method accurately captures the 3D geometry even from a limited number of viewpoints. We quantify uncertainties of our model using an ensemble approach that allows us to estimate the model performance in absence of a ground-truth. Our method enables a novel view of our closest star, and is a breakthrough technology for the efficient use of multi-instrument datasets, which paves the way for future cluster missions.
Simulated mixing in the upper troposphere by small-scale turbulence
Authors: Chau Chun Hang , Hoor Peter , Tost Holger
Published: February 2023

Chemical composition in the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (UTLS) plays an important role on the climate by affecting the radiation budget. Small-scale diabatic mixing like turbulence has a significant impact on the distribution of tracers which further affects the energy budget. Current models usually only have a higher resolution near the surface and a coarser resolution in the free atmosphere, which is too coarse to resolve the occurrence of small-scale turbulence in UTLS. In this work, we present enhanced vertical resolution (200 m in the UTLS) simulations focusing on the Scandinavian region using the state-of-the-art online coupled global/regional atmospheric chemistry model system MECO(n) (MESSy-fied ECHAM and COSMO models nested n times). We evaluated the basic meteorology (temperature and specific humidity) of the enhanced vertical resolution simulations with radiosonde data from the University of Wyoming and airborne in-situ measurements over northern Scandinavia. Additionally, we evaluated the ability of small-scale mixing in MECO(n) by comparing the model turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) with the calculated Ellrod Index and the impact of vertical diffusion in the COSMO instances in MECO(n) by releasing artificial passive tracer in the troposphere and stratosphere respectively. The results show that the enhanced vertical resolution simulations perform normally on basic meteorology. The simulations also show that the COSMO instances are able to resolve turbulence in UTLS with reasonable strength and the vertical diffusion in UTLS has a significant percentage impact on the tracer distribution.
Cloud and aerosol observations from DSCOVR satellite
Authors: Marshak Alexander
Published: February 2023

Earth sensors NIST Advanced Radiometer (NISTAR) and Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) of the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) measure outgoing radiative fluxes of the entire sunlit Earth and key spectral characteristics at 10 km resolution, respectively.  The unique near backscatter angular perspective of DSCOVR is used to measure ozone, sulfur dioxide, aerosols, clouds, ocean surface photosynthetically available radiation (PAR), vegetation, sun glints, and to obtain UV radiation estimates.  In the presentation I will focus on clouds and aerosol EPIC products: cloud mask, cloud height and optical thickness, aerosol optical depth and aerosol height, single scattering albedo, their correlation and daytime variability.
A systematic study of mantle drag effect on subduction dynamics and overriding plate deformation
Authors: Geffroy Thomas , Benjamin Guillaume , Anne Replumaz , Martine Simoes , Robin Lacassin , Jean-Jacques Kermarrec , Tania Habel
Published: February 2023

Plates and the convective mantle interact with each other over geological time scales, leading to mantle flow, plate motion, and deformation along plate boundaries.  At convergent boundaries undergoing subduction, the role played by mantle drag remains poorly understood despite its potential impact on subduction dynamics, and in turn on the deformation regime of the overriding plate. Previous studies were generally conducted in two dimensions, limiting their ability to faithfully reproduce processes taking place on Earth. Instead, in this study, we present 11 three-dimensional analog models of subduction at the scale of the upper mantle, including an overriding plate, and in which we control mantle drag at the base of the lower or upper plate by imposing a controlled unidirectional background mantle flow perpendicular to the trench. We systematically vary the velocity and the direction of the imposed horizontal mantle flow and quantify its impact on horizontal and vertical upper plate deformations, plate and subduction velocities, and the geometry of the slab. The geometry of the slab is only marginally affected by the velocity and direction of the mantle flow. In the absence of mantle flow, slab rolls back and deformation is accommodated by trench-orthogonal stretching in the upper plate. Instead, the addition of a background flow dragging the lower or upper plate toward the trench  systematically results either in the absence of upper plate deformation, or in trench-orthogonal shortening with strain rates that increase linearly with increasing mantle flow. We show that the upper plate strain rate is primarily controlled by the velocity of the free plate in the model, which itself results from the drag exerted by the mantle at the base of the plate. Coupling between mantle and plate is larger for models with flow directed toward the upper plate, resulting in strain rates that are about three times larger than for equivalent models with flow directed toward the lower plate. This systematic study provides a better understanding of the effect of mantle drag on plate displacements and deformation along subduction zones, leading to a better understanding of the ingredients required to form Andean-type mountain ranges.
A CO2-rich basanitic magma source for Fogo Volcano (Cape Verde Archipelago) inferred from volatile contents in silicate melt inclusions.
Authors: Lo Forte Francesco Maria , Aiuppa Alessandro , Schiavi Federica , Rose-Koga Estelle F. , Rotolo Silvio G. , Zanon Vittorio
Published: February 2023

Understanding the pre-eruptive volatile contents in magmas is critical to charactering the magmatic plumbying systems that feed acative volcanoes, and is key to volcano monitoring and volcanic hazard assessment. Silicate melt inclusions (MIs) hosted in primitive minerals are a powerful tool to definite parental melt volatile contents, and to track the volatile degassing path upon magma ascent and decompression.Here, we apply different analyses (Raman Spectroscopy, Nano SIMS, Electron microprobe, Laser Ablation ICPMS) for the characterisation of major and trace elements and volatiles in silicate melt inclusions entrapped in minerals from recently erupted tephra by Fogo Volcano in Cape Verde archipelago, one of the most active intraplate volcanic systems on Earth.Our aims are to (i) characterise the pressure-dependent magma compositional changes taking place during magma storage and ascent, (ii) model magmatic degassing and (iii) constrain the magmatic source, and the rates/modes of magma ascent prior and during eruption.Seventeen MIs hosted in twelve olivine phenocrysts (Fo79-85) were examined from tephra samples of two distinct periods of the last 10 ky of activity of the volcano. In detail, we studied basanitic (SiO2 ~42 wt.%, MgO ~4.8 wt. %) and alkali-rich (Na2O + K2O = 6.9 wt.%) tephra samples of São Jorge (early Holocene activity, ~10 ka) and of the most recent eruptions (1951 and 2014/15).Results reveal high concentrations of incompatible trace elements (e.g.,˜70 ppm Nb) and dissolved volatiles ( ˜2.1 wt.% H2O and ≥1 wt.% CO2) in the parental (un-degassed) magma. We use different H2O-CO2 solubility models to estimate MI entrapment pressures along the magma plumbing system. The deepest entrapment pressures of  ˜1000-1400 MPa (corresponding to  ˜ 30-46 km) are recorded in Holocene products, while the inclusions from the recent eruptions indicate shallower entrapment pressures of  ˜ 350-1100 MPa (˜ 11-35km). These entrapment pressure data, combined with previous independent barometric results, demonstrate a relatively deep (30-40 km) magma source for Fogo eruptions. Our results are the first to unambiguously demonstrate the CO2-rich nature of alkali-rich mafic melts feeding intraplate volcanism at Cape Verde.
New geological map and 3D section of the Loki crystalline massif and surrounding area (the Caucasus)
Authors: Gamkrelidze Irakli , Shengelia David , Tsutsunava Tamara , Gavtadze Tamara , Chichinadze Giorgi , Koiava Kakhaber , Beridze Giorgi , Javakhishvili Irakli
Published: February 2023

The Loki crystalline massif and adjacent territories are exposed in South Georgia within the northern marginal part of the Beiburt-Sevan terrane. It is part of the Loki-Karabakh tectonic zone. The Loki massif is a large anticlinal structure with a pre-Alpine crystalline basement exposed in the core surrounded by a Mesozoic-Cenozoic sedimentary cover. According to the complex study of the massif, it was established that it is composed of autochthonous Upper Devonian gneissose quartz-diorites, allochthonous pre-Late Paleozoic Moshevani and Sapharlo-Lok-Jandari overthrust sheets of metasediments, Precambrian Lower Gorastskali ofiolite sheet and Upper Gorastskali mélange sheet. All these rocks are cut by Late Paleozoic, Jurassic and Cretaceous intrusions. All sheets, except for ophiolite one, were metamorphosed during the Caledonian orogeny and then were overthrust during Bretonian and Early Cimmerian orogenies. The Loki massif is a part of the northern active continental margin of the Paleotethys oceanic basin, where supra-subduction regional metamorphism and granite formation occurred during Variscan orogeny. During the Late Bretonian orogeny, the obduction of Precambrian ophiolite rocks and the overthrusting of Paleozoic metamorphic sheets onto the continental margin took place. Later they were intruded by granites. Along the entire perimeter, the crystalline basement and granites are transgressively covered by Mesozoic-Cenozoic deposits. On the basis of detailed studies of terrigenous deposits in the section of the r. Gorastskali gorge on nanoplankton new age data have been obtained. Based on these data, for three lithostratigraphic units – Moshevani (conglomerates and quartz sandstones), Lokchay (mica sandstones) and Jandari (argillites) suites, the following ages were established: Norian - Rhaetian, Hettangian - Low Pliensbachian and Upper Pliensbachian - Aalenian, respectively. Triassic deposits were discovered in this area for the first time. With the accumulation of new data on the Loki massif and surrounding area, a new corrected digital geological map, lithostratigraphic column and 3D section were compiled.
Operational Real-Time Production of CMORPH2
Authors: Xie Pingping , Sinsky Eric , Wu Shaorong , DeWitt David , Garrett Donald , Wang Wanqiu
Published: February 2023

Real-time production of the second generation CMORPH (CMORPH2) has been migrated to and executed at a NOAA / NWS required operational environment, the NWS/NCEP Central Operation (NCO) and Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Compute Farm (CF) effective December 2022.  CMORPH2 real-time production was routinely implemented on a research and development environment at NOAA/CPC since April 2017. Successful migration of the production system to the 7/24 operational environment ensures the production of the high-resolution, high-quality global precipitation analysis at a much higher stability and reduced production latency of one hour, satisfying a requirement for an observational analysis to be infused into operational forecast models and routine field operations.Inputs to the CMORPH2 real-time production include rainfall and snowfall rate retrievals from passive microwave (PMW) measurements aboard more than 10 low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, precipitation estimates derived from infrared (IR) observations of geostationary (GEO) and LEO platforms, and model precipitation forecast from the NCEP operational global forecast system (GFS).  These inputs are first inter-calibrated to ensure quantitative consistencies. The inter-calibrated PMW retrievals and IR-based precipitation estimates are then propagated from their respective observation times to the target analysis time along the cloud motion vectors from both the forward and backward directions. The propagated PMW and IR based precipitation estimates are finally integrated into a single field of global precipitation through the Kalman Filter framework. In addition to the total precipitation, fraction of solid precipitation is computed from the surface air temperature and other surface meteorological variables using the algorithm of Sims and Liu (2015).The CMORPH2 satellite precipitation analysis is constructed on a 0.05o latitude/longitude over the entire globe (90oS-90oN) and in a 30-minute temporal resolution. The real-time production is first generated at a very short latency of one hour and then refreshed with any newly available inputs once every 30 minutes up to 12 hours of latency for improved accuracy when inouts from all sources are available in most cases. The CMORPH2 real-time production is utilized by several important users including the NWS Aviation center (AWC), Weather Prediction Center (WPC), and NWS Alaska Office, and pushed to the AWIPS for field applications. Work is under way to examine the CMORPH2 real-time production as a function of region, season, precipitation type, and production latency, and to further improve the CMORPH2 through infusing the PMW precipitation retrievals from the NOAA Direct Broadcast (DB) systems and refining the GEO IR based precipitation estimates. Results will be reported at the 2023 EGU Meetings.
BlueSky: a system for in-situ identification of 137Cs in industrial waste
Authors: Strati Virginia , Albéri Matteo , Chiarelli Enrico , Colonna Tommaso , Guastaldi Enrico , Iannarone Andrea , Lopane Nicola , Magnoni Alice , Maino Andrea , Mantovani Fabio , Petrone Dario , Raptis Kassandra Giulia Cristina , Semenza Filippo , Taroni Mattia , Zambelli Giacomo
Published: February 2023

In industrial waste management the on-site and real-time automatic radiological characterization represents a significant improvement in disposal procedures, minimizing processing times and operators exposure. In a steel mill the accidental fusion of radioactive sources in contaminated metals is an event with a non-negligible extent. In these radiological emergency situations, significant issues arise for the environment protection with negative consequences on the mill’s production. The contamination of the separate structures (e.g., furnaces, filtering systems) force a stop on the production and a complex management of the storage and disposal of the contaminated materials. In these situations, a representative sampling is an extremely time-consuming and expensive operation which increases the risks of further radiological contamination both to the environment and the involved personnel.BlueSky is an innovative measurement system developed and validated in a steel mill for the in-situ characterization of filtering and dust suppression systems contaminated with Cs-137 which were stocked in about 400 containers with an approximate mass of 100 kg each. BlueSky was conceived with the goal of identifying, in-situ and with a 95% confidence level, the containers with an activity concentration lower than 100 Bq/kg, the clearance level which determines their disposal without radiological relevance. A single 20-minute measurement, realized positioning the detector on the top of each container, permits to achieve this objective with a Minimum Detection Activity of 22 Bq/kg.The BlueSky system includes a 2 x 2 inches cerium bromide (CeBr3) detector partially collimated with a lead shielding to decrease by 60% the signal contribution from the surrounding environment. The in-situ measurement process has been streamlined by the development of an Android App that, thanks to the Bluetooth module coupled to the detector, manages the data taking process, analyzes the acquired spectrum, displays the results and sends them to the Cloud Storage Platform.
Whole of Society Resilience: can we build resilience to hazards through more holistic approaches?
Authors: Rollason Edward
Published: February 2023

In the UK, as in many parts of the world, structural approaches to hazard mitigation have been supplanted by integrated risk management approaches which seek to enhance the resilience of people, communities, and businesses at risk. These measures often include the establishment of formal risk communication strategies and community-level structures and organisations for crisis response and recovery. The aim of these activities is to encourage pre-crisis protective behaviours which help communities to limit their losses and recover more rapidly to a pre-crisis state; often defined as ‘bouncing back’.

However, climate change is altering our understanding of the frequency and severity of hazards such as flooding, whilst continuing urban growth is increasing the exposure and vulnerability of populations, and new hazards such as covid have demonstrated the systemic risks posed to our interconnected societies. At the same time, public studies indicate a lack of engagement by those at-risk in resilience-building activities. Questions therefore remain over how effective top-down, hazard-specific resilience activities are in developing community capacity, and how in fact resilience is constructed at a community level.

This paper engages with these questions, presenting the findings of a pilot study exploring competing perspectives of resilience and the activities undertaken to enact resilience, examined from top-down and bottom-up perspectives and from the perspective of everyday stressors and extraordinary shocks. Carried out in the Northeast of England in partnership with the Local Resilience Forum, and two pilot communities, the research finds that there is a little commonality between top-down and bottom-up perspectives of resilience, or the activities which are enacted to build resilience. Top-down resilience activities are dominated by planning for major shocks, typically siloed between individual agencies. In contrast, community activities focus on informal social relationships of mutual aid predominantly mobilised for coping with everyday stressors, but adaptable to respond to shocks. Interpreted through a social capital lens, these social resources demonstrate community capacities for planning and adaptation in the face of crises, although the analysis also demonstrates the limitations of these resources and the need for top-down support.

These findings suggest that approaches to building community resilience focused on individual shocks are ineffective whilst communities are predominantly focused on everyday issues. However, this also represents an opportunity to refocus community resilience efforts into everyday activities which build stronger, better-connected communities whose social capital can be repurposed towards crisis response as required.
Divergence-based estimation of Rayleigh wave dispersion curves
Authors: Edme Pascal , Sollberger David , Kiers Tjeerd , Schmelzbach Cedric , Bernauer Felix , Robertsson Johan
Published: February 2023

We present a novel seismic acquisition and processing technique to efficiently evaluate the local dispersion curves of Rayleigh waves for subsequent inversion of shear velocities and near-surface characterization.The proposed approach consists of computing the ratio between the (time derivated) horizontal spectra H(f)=(∂tVx(f)2+∂tVy(f)2)1/2  and the pseudo-divergence spectra D(f), with D being the sum of the horizontal gradients of the horizontal components (i.e. D=∂xVx+∂yVy).The processing method itself is comparable to the commonly used H/V approach, except that the H/D spectral ratio provides a direct estimate of the frequency-dependent phase velocities cR(f)  instead of the site frequency amplification(s). This is demonstrated using synthetic data.We describe how the D component can be obtained in practice, i.e. by finite-differencing closely spaced horizontal phones or potentially using Distributed-Acoustic-Sensing (DAS) and fibre-optic deployed at the surface. Some limitations about wavelength dependency and impact of Love waves are discussed, as well as potential mitigation measures.A field test on several hours of ambient noise data collected in Germany with multi-component geophones results in realistic values of Rayleigh wave velocities ranging from ~770 m/s at 10 Hz to ~500 m/ at 30 Hz. Thanks to the local and omni-directional nature of the estimation, the minimal number of required channels and the applicability to ambient noise, we believe that the proposed H/D method can be an attractive alternative to expensive array-based techniques.
Developing a user-focused flood forecast product for a continental-scale system
Authors: Matthews Gwyneth , Cloke Hannah , Dance Sarah , Mazzetti Cinzia , Prudhomme Christel
Published: February 2023

Floods are the most common and disastrous natural hazards, but early warning systems can help mitigate the damage by increasing preparedness. However, the products from these early warning systems must be skilful and actionable to be useful in the event of a flood. The European Flood Awareness System (EFAS), part of the European Commission's Copernicus Emergency Management Service, provides complementary flood forecasts to EFAS partners across the whole of Europe. One forecast product provided by EFAS is the ‘post-processed forecast product’ which is generated for the location of approximately 1600 river gauge stations where sufficient historic and near-real time river discharge observations are available. The aim of this product is to provide an error-adjusted forecast up to a maximum lead-time of 15 days. However, the post-processing methodology and the product design of the post-processed forecast product has not evolved over the past few years and therefore may not satisfy user’s changing requirements nor benefit from recent scientific advances. Following a skill assessment of the EFAS post-processed forecasts and a consultation with the EFAS partners a roadmap for future developments of the EFAS post-processed forecast product was designed. Here, we present this roadmap, and the results of the first stages, which include increasing the temporal resolution to 6-hourly timesteps, improvements to the post-processing methodology to better account for the different hydroclimatic regimes across Europe, and changing the post-processed forecast product to make it more locally relevant and useful to the EFAS Partners.
Impact of climate change on temperature and precipitation in Toruń, Poland, based on CMIP6 under SSP scenarios
Authors: Ghazi Babak , Przybylak Rajmund , Pospieszyńska Aleksandra
Published: February 2023

The latest projection of temperature under Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) scenarios from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase-6 (CMIP6) indicates that, by the 21st century, the global average temperature will increase by over 5.4 °C in the highest-emission scenario and 1.1 °C in the highest mitigation scenario. Climate change is mainly described by changes in two main meteorological variables, i.e., temperature and precipitation. Observed and projected changes in temperature and precipitation significantly influence various hydroclimatic events such as droughts and floods. Therefore, a precise projection of those variables, including at local and regional scales, is crucial and urgently needed. In Poland, the negative impact of the observed warming on the frequency and intensity of droughts and floods has been detected.In this research, we present a projection of temperature and precipitation variations in Toruń, Poland, for future periods (2015–2100). To accomplish this, several general circulation models (GCMs) are employed under two SSP scenarios, namely SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5 from NASA Earth Exchange Global Daily Downscaled Projections (NEX-GDDP-CMIP6) datasets. In these models, the historical reference period is 1950–2014, and future projections are for 2015–2100.The results indicated that the mean annual air temperature will increase from 8.1 °C in the reference period to 8.9 °C in SSP1-2.6 scenario and 10.1 °C in SSP5-8.5 scenario. Precipitation will increase slightly under both scenarios. It is projected that the average annual precipitation in Toruń will change from 514.38 mm in the reference period to 533.15 mm and 522.37 mm during 2015–2100 according to the SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios, respectively. It is evident that an increase in precipitation and heavy rainfall will culminate in extreme occurrences such as floods, which will further threaten lives, properties and the environment within the heart of Toruń.
Evidence of hillslope connectivity on Aleppo pine plantation by artificial stemflow experiments and preferential flow pathways detection using time-lapse ground penetrating radar surveys
Authors: Marras Elisa , Fernandes Gersende , Giadrossich Filippo , Stewart Ryan D. , Abou Najm Majdi R. , Winiarski Thierry , Mourier Brice , Angulo-Jaramillo Rafael , Comegna Alessandro , del Campo Antonio , Lassabatere Laurent , Di Prima Simone
Published: February 2023

The hydrological response of steep slopes catchments is strongly conditioned by the connectivity of subsurface preferential flows. The objective of this research is to investigate the role played by stemflow infiltration in subsurface water flow dynamics, focusing on a forested hillslope located in an Aleppo pine Mediterranean forest (Pinus halepensis, Mill.) located at Sierra Calderona, Valencia province, Spain. We combined stemflow artificial experiments with ground-penetrating radar (GPR) techniques as a non-invasive method to investigate stemflow-induced preferential flow paths activated by different trees and the related hydrological connectivity at the hillslope scale. Our observations allowed us to identify different dynamics associated with the initiation of stemflow and then lateral preferential flow, including the activation of connected preferential flow paths in soils that received stemflow water from different trees. These observations provided empirical evidence of the role of stemflow in the formation of lateral preferential flow networks. Our measurements allow estimations of flow velocities and  new insight on the magnitude of stem-induced lateral preferential flow paths. The applied protocol offers a simple, repeatable and non-invasive way to conceptualize hillslope responses to rainstorms.
Examining the sensitivity of ice sheet models to updates in rheology (n=4)
Authors: Martin Daniel , Kachuck Samuel , Millstein Joanna , Minchew Brent
Published: February 2023

Ice is a non-Newtonian fluid whose rheology is typically described using Glen's flow law, a power-law relationship between stress and strain rate with a stress exponent, n, generally taken to be 3. Recent observation-based work suggests that a more accurate choice for the Glen’s law exponent in high-strain regions like ice shelves may be n=4, implying that ice viscosity is more sensitive to changes in stress than is generally assumed. The implications of a higher stress exponent for ice sheet models and their projections of ice sheet response to climate forcing are unclear and likely to be complex. Rheological parameters, such as ice viscosity, are fundamental to ice sheet dynamics and influence the evolution of marine ice sheets.  Here, we present work that explores the rheological parameter space within the idealized MSIMIP+ marine ice sheet configuration using the BISICLES model. We explore the impacts of increasing  the stress exponent from 3 to 4, highlighting the considerable changes to the ice sheet system caused by increasing the stress exponent. Beyond dynamic changes in the ice behavior, changes become necessary to the other flow law parameters generally computed during initialization. For example, it may be that viscosity modifiers typically interpreted as “damage” may instead be indications of mismatches in rheology.  This study underscores the dynamic sensitivity of glacial ice to changes in the rheological parameters and calls attention to the key variables influencing ice sheet evolution.  
Controlled bush harvesting as a means for restoring soil of encroached savannahs in Southern Africa
Authors: García de Castro Barragán José María , Shipingana David , de la Rosa José M. , Brewer Bruce , Marker Laurie L. , Parry Huw , Knicker Heike
Published: February 2023

Rangelands in Namibia have experienced a shift from herbaceous to woody plant dominance which has reduced indigenous plant and animal biodiversity. It is also altering ecosystem function, and threatening subsistence pastoralism. A common approach to reduce these negative impacts is bush thinning. It is expected that removal of brushes will favorite the development of grasslands with a positive impact on their soil organic matter (SOM) stocks. On the other hand, harvesting bush from those systems removes not only biomass but also nutrients that are stored in it. Such losses can decrease soil fertility which is likely to affect the soil carbon stocks on a long term. In search of a better understanding of the consequences of such a restoration approach, the objective of the present work is to study the impact of bush removal on the quantity, quality and biochemical recalcitrance of SOM as well as nutrient contents in soils of an encroached savannah which was subjected to bush harvesting. Therefore, we sampled a chronosequence of soils with up to fifteen years after bush thinning. Their SOM was characterized by solid-state NMR spectroscopy and composition was related to its biochemical recalcitrance determined by measuring the CO2 evolution during microbial degradation in a microcosms experiment of 3 months. First results indicate that up to two years after bush harvesting SOM contents of the soil were decreased, although a recovery was observed with increasing time after harvesting. Ongoing analysis of the stable isotopic ratios are performed to identify if this dynamic is caused by lower litter input due to the change of vegetation from bush to grass or by a faster turnover of the SOM, induced by alteration of the environmental conditions due to bush removal (light, soil moisture, temperature etc.). Acknowledgement: The authors would like to express their gratitude to the European Commission for the financial support of this research within the European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 (Grant No. 101036401).
Characterisation of wave attenuation by eelgrass meadows via laboratory experiments
Authors: Vettori Davide , Manes Costantino
Published: February 2023

Coastal areas are among the most endangered zones worldwide due to ever increasing physical and environmental pressures exacerbated by the effects of climate change. Eelgrass ecosystems represent a promising nature-based solution because they promote biodiversity and carbon capture. Recent works have concluded that eelgrass can also contribute to reduce physical pressures on coastal areas by damping incoming waves. However, the large number of governing physical parameters and the limited amount of data available make it hard to quantify the wave attenuation due to eelgrass in natural scenarios.In the present work extensive laboratory experiments were conducted to characterise the wave attenuation properties of eelgrass in a range of natural scenarios. Experiments were conducted in a 50m long wave tank wherein a 4m long and 0.1m high meadow of eelgrass replicas was located. Eelgrass replicas modelled a range of eelgrass species (e.g. Cymodocea nodosa, Zostera marina) to a scale between 1:1 and 1:8 depending on the conditions considered. Replicas were designed using both Cauchy and Froude similarities and considering the morphology and flexural rigidity of eelgrass. A total of 330 experiments were performed varying the most important governing parameters, namely: water depth (from 0.15m to 0.6m), plant densities (up to 1338 plant/m2), wave height (up to 0.16m depending on the water depth) and length (between 1m and 4m). Thus, the wave Cauchy number in the tests ranged from unity up to 7000. During experiments the water surface level along the tank and the meadow was measured by means of 8 resistance gauges that recorded at 128 Hz with a relative error up to 2%. From water surface level data, the mean wave height at each location was calculated and the wave attenuation coefficient of eelgrass was estimated based on the variation of mean wave height along the patch.The resulting wave attenuation coefficients agree well with the model proposed by Lei & Nepf (2019) for submergence ratios larger than 0.2, even though for low attenuations the relative uncertainty is high. The wave attenuation caused by the eelgrass meadow is significantly larger than that due to the friction at the bed and lateral walls for submergence ratios over 0.2 and meadows denser than 251 plants/m2. These values may represent important thresholds for eelgrass contribution to wave attenuation in coastal areas.
New Representation of Synthetic Aperture Radar Images for Enhanced Ice-Sounding Interpretation
Authors: Arenas-Pingarrón Álvaro , Corr Hugh F.J. , Brennan Paul V. , Robinson Carl , Jordan Tom A. , Brisbourne Alex , Martín Carlos
Published: February 2023

The processing of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images is based on the coherent integration of Doppler frequencies. The associated Doppler spectrum is generated from the variation of the relative location between the radar and the scatterer. In geometries where the moving radar-platform follows a straight trajectory at constant velocity, the Doppler frequency depends on the angle of elevation from the radar to the scatterer, according to the electromagnetic (EM) propagation. In ice-sounding by airborne SAR, the EM path depends on the air-ice interface and the firn ice properties. For any of the scatterers under test, after integrating the received radar echoes from the multiple radar locations into a single pixel, the resulting amplitude image forgets which is the backscattering angle from each of the radar locations. However, this information is still within the Doppler spectrum of the image. We decompose the Doppler spectrum of the SAR image into three non-overlapping sub-bands; assign to each sub-band one of the primary colours red, green or blue, forming three sub-images; and finally merge the sub-images into a single one. Rather than a single full-beamwidth averaged amplitude value, the new composition now includes angular backscattering information, coded by one of the primary colours. Blue colour is assigned to scattering received from forwards, when the scatterer is ahead of the radar (positive Doppler frequencies); green approximately from the vertical (near zero-Doppler geometries); and red to scattering received from backwards (negative Doppler). Thus, heterogeneous scattering will be represented by one or two colours, whereas homogeneous scattering will be grey, with all the primary colours uniformly weighted. Features like internal layering, crevasses, SAR focussing quality and discrimination of multiple reflections from surface and bottom, can now be better interpreted. We present and discuss the results from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) airborne radar PASIN2 for deep-ice sounding, in Recovery and Rutford ice streams, respectively in East and West Antarctica during seasons 2016/17 and 2019/20.
Organization of Tropical East Pacific Convection Field Project
Authors: Stone Zeljka , Raymond David , Sentic Stipo
Published: February 2023

The OTREC (Organization of Tropical East Pacific Convection) field project took place from August 5 to October 3, 2019. The operational center was in Liberia, Costa Rica. During OTREC, we performed 127 research flight hours in the area of the Eastern Pacific and southwest Caribbean. We deployed 648 dropsondes in a grid to evaluate mesoscale thermodynamic and vorticity budges. We also used the Hiaper Cloud Radar to determine the characteristics of cloud populations. Both of these tools were deployed from the NSF/NCAR Gulfstream V aircraft.The Eastern Pacific has a strong cross-equatorial gradient in sea surface temperature. The southwest Caribbean exhibits uniform ocean temperatures. The two regions together provide a broad range of atmospheric conditions and a great deal of diversity in convective behavior.The main goal of the project was to study convection in diverse environments to improve global weather and climate models. In this talk I will present an overview of OTREC, the highlights of the field project and the results that OTREC has yielded that include the thermodynamics of the environment and the vertical mass flux profiles. In particular, column relative humidity, low to mid-tropospheric moist convective instability, and convective inhibition are shown to be useful predictors for moisture convergence, and hence rainfall.
Interstellar dust in the model heliosphere: effects of time-dependent heliospheric current sheet
Authors: Mann Ingrid , Czechowski Andrzej
Published: February 2023

The dynamics of small (few hundred nm) charged interstellar dust particles entering the heliosphere is affected by the heliospheric magnetic field and in particular by the heliospheric current sheet. To estimate the flux distribution of the dust particles inside the heliosphere we simulate numerically the trajectories of moderately large samples (10^4 particles) of small charged dust grains with starting points outside the heliopause. The simulations are repeated for different choices of the initial time. We use the semi-analytical model of the heliosphere that combines a simplified time-stationary description of the plasma flow in the heliosphere and the outer heliosheath with the time-dependent magnetic field carried passively by the flow. The form of the heliospheric current sheet is determined by our choice of the time-dependent magnetic polarity structure at the surface of the rotating Sun. 
Modeling of Indigenous Marab Water Harvesting Technique in the Jordanian Badia
Authors: Renzi Niccolò , Villani Lorenzo , Muhi El-Dine Hilali , Haddad Mira , Bresci Elena , Strohmeier Stefan , Castelli Giulio
Published: February 2023

In drylands, agriculture is mainly rainfed due to the absence of water resources for irrigation. In such contexts, water harvesting interventions have been part of the knowledge and legacy of the local communities for centuries. In the Jordanian Badia, research centres like ICARDA (the International Centre for Agriculture Research in Dry Area) have tried to improve this knowledge and have developed several experiments to increase local communities’ livelihood by introducing up-to-date water management practices.
This study focused on the modeling one of these interventions, the Marab Water Harvesting technology (WHT), a macro-catchment water harvesting system that gets flooded by the run-off of the upstream watershed, increasing the water infiltrated and stored in the soil. This water buffer enhances barley production, hence more fodder is available for the local livestock, allowing the communities to reduce the grazing pressure on their lands.
AquaCrop by FAO was used to simulate the crop cycle. The data needed to run the simulations were collected in fieldwork in the Jordanian Badia during the cropping season 2021/2022. Satellite images were also used to improve the calibration and validation process, together with yield data. Different scenarios were run to assess the performance of the Marab WHT, considering: comparison with the traditional cropping technique, flooding events reduction, different soil textures, and different climatic conditions.
The results of the simulations were: i) barley produced more in the Marab WHT (8.13 t/ha) rather than with the traditional cropping technique (between 0.00 - 1.00 t/ha;  ii) silty soils were the most productive with 9.25 t/ha of biomass production, while the least productive had been the clay soils with 6.60 t/ha; iii) with a changing climate, the Marab WHT started to reduce its production by 4-8 % with a +0.5°C temperature increase. In contrast, the reduction of precipitation didn’t impact significantly the crop, decreasing the yield by only 4 – 10%. In fact, the main cause of the high crop yield reduction was the timing and numbers of the flood events, causing barley failure if both the first and last flood events are removed. Without the first flood, the yield decreases by up to 80%, while removing the last flood event the reduction in biomass is 50%.
 
A New Open-Source Geomagnetosphere Propagation Tool (OTSO) and its Applications
Authors: Larsen Nicholas , Mishev Alexander , Usoskin Ilya
Published: February 2023

We present a new open-source tool for magnetospheric computations, that is modelling of cosmic ray propagation in the geomagnetosphere, named "Oulu - Open-source geomagneToSphere prOpagation tool" (OTSO). A tool of this nature is required to interpret experiments and study phenomena within the cosmic ray research field.  Here, we demonstrate several applications of OTSO, namely the computation of asymptotic directions of selected cosmic ray stations, effective rigidity cut-off across the globe at various conditions within the design, and general properties, including the magnetospheric models employed. OTSO was applied to the investigation of several ground-level enhancement events after which comparison and validation of OTSO with older widely used tools such as MAGNETOCOSMICS was performed, and good agreement was achieved. The necessary background for the analysis of two notable ground-level enhancements was produced using OTSO and their spectral and angular characteristics show good agreement with prior studies and spacecraft data. This validation of OTSO's current abilities reveals its usefulness to the cosmic ray research field and its open-source nature further allows for the tool to be developed beyond its current capabilities by users to meet the needs of the research community.