bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Seismogenic nodes in the Bulgarian territory, defined by pattern recognition
Authors: Dimova Lyuba , Gorshkov Alexander , Novikova Olga , Dimitrova Sonya , Raykova Reneta
Published: March 2022

Seismogenic nodes, able to locate earthquakes with magnitudes M equal or higher than 6 (M6+), are identified for the territory of Bulgaria and adjacent areas. Definition of nodes is based on morphostructural zonation. Pattern recognition algorithm Cora-3 is applied to identify the seismogenic nodes, characterized by specific geological, geophysical and morphological data. The pattern recognition algorithm is trained on information for 30 seismic events M6+ for the period 29 B.C. – 2020, selected from historical and instrumental Bulgarian earthquake catalogues. These events are associated with 16 "training" nodes. Totally we have recognized 56 seismogenic nodes, most of them in southwestern Bulgaria.

The analysis of the identified seismic nodes shows that in addition to the initial 16 "training" nodes, about 20 ones may be associated with the already observed seismicity. Some of these nodes may be related with documented seismicity, which is not taken into account to select the “training” nodes. Other seimogenic nodes are close to (but do not include) some historical earthquakes, whose location or magnitude is not precise enough.

There has not been registered seismic activity M6+ in the vicinity of other 20 seismogenic nodes. To consider a certain inaccuracy in the determination of the earthquake magnitudes, in the analysis of these seismogenic nodes we take into account earthquakes with M higher than 5.8. In such a way the number of “inactive” until now seismogenic nodes decrease further. Several nodes can be related to seismic activity in the past, established by geological research. But a significant part of seismic nodes remains, which cannot be associated with any seismic manifestations. This is a sign of possible future earthquakes M6+ near these nodes.

It should be noted that 3 of the earthquakes M6+ in the twentieth century were not close to any seismogenic node. This may be due to several reasons among which are: hidden tectonic structures, gaps in the morphostructural zonation or an inaccurate magnitude of the earthquake’s catalogue data.

Acknowledgements. This study is partly funded by Russian Foundation of Basic Research (RFBR) according to the research projects 20-55-18008 and by Bulgarian National Science Fund, research project KP-06-Russia-29/16.12.2020.
Physics of snow cover in the climate model INMCM
Authors: Chernenkov Alexey , Volodin Evgeny , Kostrykin Sergey
Published: March 2022

Snow cover has a great influence on the energy balance on the surface, in particular ability to reflect solar radiation. As well as radiation, when modeling the climate, it is important to correctly describe the water cycle. During the transitional seasons, when the temperature fluctuates around zero degrees Celsius, some of the melt water can be retained in the snow layer and refreeze. In addition, over time after a snowfall the snow becomes denser. Aged, wet, refrozen snows have different optical properties than new-fallen snow, in particular a lower albedo. Moreover, atmospheric aerosols falling on a snow-covered surface leads to its pollution and, as a consequence, reduces its reflectivity. Aerosols such as mineral dust and black carbon have the greatest effect on the albedo and radiation balance.

In the climatу model INMCM, some physical features of snow cover have been implemented. The porous structure of the snow is taken into account and the calculation of the water content of the snow layer is realized. During snowmelt, the ratio of the water is retained in the pores, and does not go immediately to the upper boundary of the soil. The possibility of refreezing of melt water contained in the snow layer has also been implemented. The change in snow density over time is taken into account. At the same time, it is assumed that the snow layer consists of a mixture of usual and refrozen snow, as well as melt water contained in snow pores. The influence of the composition of the snow layer and its density on the reflectivity is taken into account. The effect on the albedo of impurities contained in snow is also taken into account (for example, black carbon). Computational experiments were carried out with the INMCM model to assess the sensitivity to the realized physical processes.

This work is supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project No. 20-17-00190.
Understanding the role of internal climate variability in future sea level trends
Authors: Becker Mélanie , Karpytchev Mikhail , Hu Aixue
Published: March 2022

Estimating the magnitude of future sea level rise is among the primary goals of current climate research. Sea level projections contain inherent irreducible uncertainty, which is due to internal climate variability (ICV). This uncertainty is commonly estimated from a spread of sea level projections obtained from Global Climate Models (GCM) under the same forcing but with slightly different initial conditions. Here we analyze the ICV contribution to the sea level variations (1) across the Large Ensembles (LE) of Community Earth System Model (CESM) obtained under different warming scenarios and (2) from an alternative approach based on the power-law statistics theory. The magnitude of the sea level response to ICV is also evaluated by comparison with actual tide gauge data. We show that certain coastal regions of the globe are more sensitive to ICV than others, both in observations and in the GCM results. We identify regions where the sea level change will become significant beyond the ICV, providing useful climate change adaptation guidance.
Ilmenite transformations in suevites from the Ries meteorite impact structure, Germany 
Authors: Dellefant Fabian , Trepmann Claudia A. , Gilder Stuart A. , Sleptsova Iuliia V. , Kaliwoda Melanie
Published: March 2022

Glass fragments (Flädle) in suevites from Zipplingen within the Ries (Germany) meteorite impact structure contain round aggregates of polycrystalline ilmenite with various amounts of rutile, ferropseudobrookite (FeTi2O5), armalcolite ((Fe,Mg)Ti2O5) and titanite (CaTi[OSiO4]). The 10-100s µm sized aggregates often have a thin rim of µm-sized magnetite grains. The ilmenite grains are 5-10 µm in diameter and form an equilibrium fabric with 4-6-sided grains with smoothly curved grain boundaries and 120° angles at triple junctions, i.e. a so-called foam structure. The ilmenite grains have random crystallographic orientations and do not show any internal misorientations. Rutile, typically a few µm in diameter, is associated with similarly fine-grained ilmenite and a high amount of pores. Coarser polygonal ilmenite grains can also show a marked grain boundary porosity. Only rarely in the center of the aggregates, a deformed single ilmenite crystal occurs, indicating that the aggregates originated from shocked coarse ilmenite crystals from the target gneisses. Ferropseudobrookite is intergrown with remnants of original ilmenite grains or secondary ilmenite grains without foam structure. A vermicular intergrowth of ilmenite, rutile, and magnetite can be present at the rim, where armalcolite can be enriched in Mg.

We interpret that ferropseudobrookite formed at high temperatures (>1010°C) and reducing conditions from coarse ilmenite crystals originating from the target gneisses according to the following reaction: 2FeTiO3 → FeO + FeTi2O5. Some FeO migrated towards the rim due to the low oxygen fugacity, resulting in the observed porosity. Upon cooling, FeO migration caused ferropseudobrookite to disintegrate resulting in the formation of rutile and ilmenite: FeTi2O5 → FeTiO3 + TiO2. Silicate melt at the contact of the FeTi-oxides provided magnesium to form armalcolite from ferropseudobrookite and calcium to form titanite within fractures. Rapid cooling resulted in a shift in redox-conditions with the formation of pure Fe magnetite from FeO at the rim of the aggregates. Quenching of the system can explain the local preservation of ferropseudobrookite and armalcolite, whereas the ilmenite foam structure formed during back reaction of ferropseudobrookite at relatively slower cooling rates. The different cooling rates in the aggregates can be explained by the locally varying amount of surrounding superheated melt forming the Flädle-structure.
European summer precipitation changes and the role of the large-scale circulation
Authors: de Vries Hylke , Lenderink Geert , van der Wiel Karin , van Meijgaard Erik
Published: March 2022

Regional climate projections indicate that the future changes in European summer mean precipitation may be substantial, with significant drying in southern Europe and possible weak increases in at higher latitudes. Model uncertainties and natural variability are however large. Here we quantify the role of future large-scale circulation changes on future precipitation change in a 16-member single-model regional climate-model ensemble for the RCP8.5 emission scenario (Global climate model EC-Earth2.3, dynamically downscaled using the regional climate model RACMO2 for the period 1950-2100). Circulation analogues are used to distinguish three contributions. The first is the precipitation change occurring without circulation change. The second contribution measures the effects of changes in the large-scale mean circulation. It has a different spatial pattern and is closely related to high-pressure development west of Ireland. For a large area east of Ireland (including parts of western Europe), it is the major contributor to the overall drying signal, locally explaining more than 90% of the ensemble-mean change. The high-pressure region west of Ireland also appears in CMIP6 ensemble-mean projections, although it is weaker than in the EC-Earth2.3/RACMO2 ensemble because of model spread in the exact location of the high-pressure region. The third contribution records the net effect on precipitation of changes in the circulation variability. This term has the smallest net contribution, but a relatively large uncertainty. The analogues can be used effectively to partition the ensemble-mean change but describe only up to 40% of the ensemble-spread. This demonstrates that natural variability in precipitation drivers other than the large-scale circulation (e.g., SST, soil-moisture preconditioning) will generally strongly influence regional summer precipitation trends derived from single climate realisations and thereby reemphasises the need for using large ensembles or other methods where signal to noise ratios are high (e.g., pseudo-global warming experiments).
In situ 14C-10Be disequilibrium suggests a recent and major denudation event of French Massif Central, despite slow tectonic deformation.
Authors: Lenard Sebastien , Lupker Maarten , Schimmelpfennig Irene , Godard Vincent , Desormeaux Clement , Haghipour Negar , Aumaître Georges , Keddadouche Karim , Zaidi Fawzi
Published: March 2022

Geomorphologists classically compute denudation rates from in situ cosmogenic 10Be concentrations. A major assumption is that denudation rates remain steady during the 10Be integration time scale. But early 14C-10Be data we presented last year at this conference suggested that this is hardly tested in environments slowly deformed by tectonics, with integration time covering thousands of years, and erosion rates from 10 to 100 mm/ky.

Here, we extended our 14C-10Be dataset to test recent and substantial shifts in denudation. 14C is more sensitive than 10Be to recent and short-term changes in denudation, because of a shorter half-life (5,700 y versus 1.4 My). Studies (Hippe, 2017; Mudd, 2017; Skov et al., 2019; Hippe et al., 2021) have discussed this application of coupled 14C - 10Be measurements.

We carried out in situ 14C measurements on river sand which has available 10Be date (Desormeaux et Al., 2021). The studied mountain range is called Massif Central and is west of the European Alp foreland, in southern France. Elevation is ~700 m on average, with an elevated low-relief surface and a steep escarpment along the Cevennes Fault bordering the Alp foreland. The area has a homogeneous lithology rich in quartz. Past glaciations were of limited extent. There is little space for sediment storage, thin soils, no dams, and presently limited anthropic activity. Massif Central is only impacted by slow tectonic deformation. Landslides are very rare but erosion processes are active.

Our new 14C results combined with Desormeaux et al., 2021's 10Be data confirm the substantial 14C-10Be disequilibrium. 14C apparent denudation rates are several times higher than 10Be denudation rates. We explore four end-members which could explain such a disequilibrium. This exploration suggests that only major and recent events in denudation could produce such a disequilibrium, and that the landscape we presently see is rather transient than steady.
Soapbox Science Brussels: A Growing Outreach Platform for the Promotion of Women in Sciences in Belgium
Authors: Bingen Christine , Pham Lê Binh San , Lamort Lucie , Lefever Karolien , Piccialli Arianna , Yseboodt Marie
Published: March 2022

Soapbox Science is an outreach platform dedicated to the promotion of women and non-binary people in science through the organisation of events mimicking Hide Park’s famous Speaker’s Corner. This platform was created in London in 2011, spread gradually worldwide and finally started in Belgium in 2019, where it was initiated by a group of researchers and science communicators from two Belgian Federal Scientific Institutes. It came to life as Soapbox Science Brussels, for the events were to take place in the capital.

While the start of Soapbox Science Brussels was challenged by the COVID pandemic, a first virtual event was organised in the fall of 2020 via the YouTube and Facebook platforms. Despite the difficulties related to the sanitary conditions, the first real-life edition of Soapbox Science Brussels finally took place in the heart of the Belgian capital in June 2021, following the standard format prescribed by the international Soapbox Science initiative. This event was a success, both with respect to the response of the scientific community and with regard to the interest of the public during the event. The third edition of Soapbox Science Brussels is currently in preparation, and the campaign for the recruitment of speakers has been launched early 2022.

In this presentation, on the basis of different indicators and of feedback from the public, we will show how Soapbox Science Brussels gradually finds its place in the Belgian scientific communication community and in the promotion of women and non-binary people in science, in a context where the promotion of gender equality encounters a growing importance in scientific research institutions.

 

Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoapboxScienceBrussels

Twitter account: @SoapboxscienceB

 

References:

Pham, L. B. S., et al., Soapbox Brussels, une première en Belgique, Science connection nr. 65, August-september 2021;

in French: http://www.belspo.be/belspo/organisation/publ/pub_ostc/sciencecon/65sci_fr.pdf;

in Dutch: http://www.belspo.be/belspo/organisation/publ/pub_ostc/sciencecon/65sci_nl.pdf
Evaluating injection strategies for EGS from the temporal evolution of the Gutenberg-Richter b-value.
Authors: Ritz Vanille , Rinaldi Antonio P. , Wiemer Stefan
Published: March 2022

Induced seismicity is a hot topic within geo-applications, however the physical mechanisms driving the induced ruptures is yet to be fully understood. The injection of fluid in the subsurface in particular has been shown to cause changes in the stress field leading to the induction of eqarthquakes. Recent events in Switzerland (Basel, Sankt-Gallen) and Korea (Pohang) have shown that such injection operations can have dramatic consequences. The hazard associated with these earthquakes thus needs to be managed to prevent infrastructure damages and protect both the population and viability of the project.

The Gutenberg-Richter b-value has been used as a proxy for the state of stress in the subsurface. The temporal evolution of the b-value provides statistical tools to estimate the seismic hazard posed by an earthquake sequence. Thus, monitoring and forecasting changes in the b-value could be used as a proxy in a near-real-time mitigation context (Adaptive Traffic Light System). Several studies have looked at the evolution of the b-value both in time and space, for example in Basel, where the observed b-value dropped before shut-in and further away from the injection well.

We present a numerical approach coupling a fluid flow simulator with a geomechanical-stochastic formulation (TOUGH2-Seed) to simulate injection-induced seismicity sequences. We model a Hot Dry Rock-type setting, and we investigate the variation of b-value during injection-induced seismic sequences with different injection scenarios and levels of complexity as to the geological features.
Geophysicists facing Covid-19 
Authors: Schertzer Daniel , Dimri Vijay , Fraedrich Klaus
Published: March 2022

There have been a series of sessions on the generic theme of “Covid-19 and Geosciences” on the occasion of AGU, AOGS and EGU conferences, since 2020 including during the first lockdown that required a very fast adaptation to unprecedented health measures. We think it is interesting and useful to have an overview of these sessions and try to capture what could be the lessons to learn.

To our knowledge, the very first such session was the Great e-Debate “Epidemics, Urban Systems and Geosciences” (https://hmco.enpc.fr/news-and-events/great-e-debate-epidemics-urban-systems-and-geosciences-invitations-and-replays/). It was virtually organised with the help of the UNESCO UniTwin CS-DC (Complex Systems Digital Campus) thanks to its expertise in organising e-conferences long before the pandemic and the first health measures. This would not have been possible without the strong personal involvement of its chair Paul Bourgine. It was held on Monday 4th May on the occasion of the 2020 EGU conference, which became virtual under the title “EGU2020: Sharing Geoscience Online” (4-8 May 2020). The Great e-Debate did not succeed in being granted as an official session of this conference, despite the fact that the technology used (Blue Button) by the Great e-Debate was much more advanced. Nevertheless, it was clearly an extension of the EGU session ITS2.10 / NP3.3: “Urban Geoscience Complexity: Transdisciplinarity for the Urban Transition”. 

Thanks to a later venue (7-11 December 2020) and the existence of a GeoHealth section of the AGU, the organisation of several regular sessions for the 2020 Fall Meeting was easier. For EGU 2021 (19-30 April 2021), a sub-part of the  inter- transdisciplinary sessions ITS1 “Geosciences and health during the Covid pandemic”, a Union Session US “Post-Covid Geosciences” and a Townhall meeting TM10 “Covid-19 and other epidemics: engagement of the geoscience communities” were organised. A brief of the special session SS02 “Covid-19 and Geoscience” of the (virtual) 18th Annual Meeting of AOGS (1-6 August 2021) is included in the proceedings of this conference (in press). 

We will review materials generated by these sessions that rather show a shift from a focus on the broad range of scientific responses to the pandemic, to which geoscientists could contribute with their specific expertise (from data collection to theoretical modelling), to an expression of concerns about the broad impacts on the geophysical communities that appear to be increasingly long-term and constitute a major transformation of community functioning (e.g., again data collection, knowledge transfer).
Influence of the inner rock surface roughness on the SIP response – a numerical study
Authors: Zibulski Eugen , Klitzsch Norbert
Published: March 2022

The electrical double layer (EDL) at the inner solid-water-interface controls the electrical polarization of saturated rocks without metallic constituents in the low frequency range. Consequently, spectral induced polarization (SIP) laboratory measurements show a strong correlation between polarization strength and inner surface area of rocks. So far published mechanistic SIP models consider this correlation based on grain or pore sizes but neglect the influence of the inner surface roughness. We study the influence of the inner surface roughness on the SIP response by simulating the frequency dependent complex conductivity of simple micro-scale rock models using Comsol Multiphysics®. Starting from smooth grain and pore models, we introduce surface roughness using a fractal approach and randomly generated surface structures.

We find that distinct surface roughness leads to additional polarization at higher frequencies compared to grains and pores of equal size with smooth surfaces. Additionally, the polarization peak of rough grains shifts to lower frequencies compared to smooth grains. These effects lead to an ambiguity in the interpretation of SIP spectra with respect to structural parameters (e.g., grain size or pore structure), e.g., a mixture of large and small grains could lead to the same SIP response as these large grains with rough surfaces. Overall, our simulation results show the same dependence of chargeability on inner surface area as laboratory measurements and thus the strong influence of inner surfaces roughness on the SIP response. Thus, quantitative interpretation of SIP measurements should account for the inner surface roughness of rocks.
Comparison of the value of information for the management of deficit irrigation systems in different climate regions
Authors: Schütze Niels , Dietz Alexandra
Published: March 2022

Due to climate change, extreme weather conditions such as droughts may have an increasing impact on the water demand and the productivity of irrigated agriculture. For the adaptation to changing climate conditions, knowledge about adequate irrigation control strategies and information, e.g., about future climate development and soil properties, is of great importance for the optimal operation of irrigation systems. We consider climate and soil variability within one probabilistic simulation-optimization framework for irrigation scheduling based on Monte Carlo simulations to support informed decisions. The framework implements optimizers for full, deficit, and supplemental irrigation strategies. We provide the  Matlab code as the open source Deficit Irrigation Toolbox (DIT). For this analysis, we apply DIT for preliminary test simulations for a global numerical deficit irrigation experiment (GDIE) which allows for the analysis of both the impact of the selected irrigation strategy on water productivity and the value of information about (i) different scheduling methods, (ii) climate development, and (iii) soil hydraulic properties. The first results show a strong dependency on the value of information about climate and soil for sites required for increasing water productivity in different climate regions. Moreover, DIT can enable and support the site-specific transformation of low efficient rainfed and irrigated systems achieving higher water productivity and food insecurity on a local scale.
Dike Monitoring comparison between thermal camera and DTS systems for drought induced cracks on dikes. 
Authors: Duarte Campos Leonardo , Aguilar López Juan Pablo
Published: March 2022

Cracks occurring on dike surfaces due to droughts, are a big threat for the stability of flood defense infrastructure as they increase infiltration rates and reduce the resistance to mass rotational failure (slope stability). Conventional methods for crack detection heavily rely on visual inspections, drone technologies survey, or destructive techniques such as sampling and trenching. Most of them result sparse qualitative and labor-intensive assessments. Due to the increase of drought and high temperature events during summer, an effective, reliable and sustainable monitoring system for crack detection is of vital importance.

During the period May-September 2021, a semi-full-scale dike prone to cracks, was monitored using Thermal Imaging and Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS); to collect temperature variations inside of an existing crack and at the surface of the dike. Both instruments were calibrated using temperature data from a TD-Diver datalogger and data from a nearby weather station. From the monitoring campaign it was observed that during daytime, the temperature difference between the dike surface and the crack, due to the solar radiation, becomes negligible when withdrawn from the thermal camera sensor. However, this is not the case for the DTS monitoring system. This pattern is inverted during nighttime for which the temperature differences are much more noticeable in the thermal images. Hence, we propose the thermal imaging and the DTS combined system as a good alliance to detect the spatially distributed formation and development of cracks on dikes.
Global monthly sea surface temperature and sea ice reconstruction for historical AGCM simulations
Authors: Samakinwa Eric , Valler Veronika , Hand Ralf , Brönnimann Stefan
Published: March 2022

We present a 50-member global monthly gridded Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and Sea Ice Concentration (SIC) dataset covering 850 years (1000–1849). The SST fields are based on an existing coarse-resolution ensemble of annual reconstructions and augmented with intra-annual and sub-grid scale variability, such that the annual means of the coarse resolution SST reconstructions are preserved. We utilize a large body of historical observational inputs from ICOADS (1780 – 1849) in an offline data assimilation approach.

Furthermore, the best sea ice analogs are selected based on a measure of similarity between subpolar and midlatitude SSTs of our reconstruction and HadISST SIC. The resulting SST and SIC fields will reflect a spatially and temporal consistent representation of the historical state of the ocean and are reconstructed to be used as forcing for AGCM simulations.

Reference:

Samakinwa, E., Valler, V., Hand, R. et al. An ensemble reconstruction of global monthly sea surface temperature and sea ice concentration 1000–1849. Sci Data 8, 261 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-021-01043-1
Influence of the temporal dynamic of root reinforcement on the disposition of shallow landslides
Authors: Schwarz Massimiliano , Cohen Denis , Giadrossich Filippo , May Dominik , Moos Christine , Dorren Luuk
Published: March 2022

Root reinforcement is a variable factor that influences the disposition of shallow landslides over different time scales. Natural or anthropogenic forest disturbances, such as forest fires or clear cuts, may modify considerably the vegetation cover on a short time scale, with major consequences on several ecosystem services, including the mitigation of risks due to shallow landslides. After catastrophic forest disturbances, it is of primary importance for decision makers to assess how risks will change in order to evaluate the most appropriate protection measures. Therefore, the quantification of the effect of the temporal dynamic of root reinforcement is of fundamental importance to estimate the occurrence probability of shallow landslides.

Data on root distribution and pullout tests for spruce (Picea abies) and beech (Fagus silvatyca) trees are used to upscale the basal and lateral root reinforcement at the stand scale (Schwarz et al., 2012). The decay of root reinforcement is calculated based on data collected in a burnt (Vergani et al., 2017) and a clear-cut area (Vergani et al., 2016). The recovery of root reinforcement after disturbances is estimated considering the growing conditions of the stands (Flepp et al., 2021). The quantification of the dynamic of the forest stands and the derived root reinforcement at stand scale is based on the analysis of four Swiss National Forest Inventory (NFI 1-4). The estimated time-dependent variation of root reinforcement is implemented in the SlideforNET model (ecorisq.org) to calculate the occurrence probability of shallow landslide after disturbances.

The results show that the recovery of root reinforcement after disturbance is effective to reduce the hazards of shallow landslide only for a narrow range of disposition factors. Given a defined rainfall statistic, slope inclination is the factor that most influence the effectiveness of root reinforcement recovery, within a range of inclination variations of 4-8°. Further relevant factors are soil thickness and runoff contributing area.

The extended version of SlideforNET quantifies how effective is the recovery of root reinforcement in stabilizing shallow landslides after stand replacing forest disturbances. This information is fundamental to evaluate if additional temporal or permanent technical measures are needed to keep an acceptable level of risk after forest disturbances.
Spectral Properties of Kilometer-scale Equatorial Irregularities as Seen by theSwarm Satellites
Authors: Buchert Stephan , Aol Sharon , Jurua Edward , Sorriso-Valvo Luca
Published: March 2022

The ESA Swarm satellites have since year 2014 provided measurements of electron density at a frequency of 2 Hz and at times also 16 Hz corresponding to about 500 m along the satellite paths. The spectral characteristics of these 16 Hz density estimates were analyzed to study the F-region ionospheric
irregularities at altitudes between about 440 and 510 km. The data were obtained during the period from October 2014 to October 2018. The Power
Spectral Densities (PSDs) observed followed to a very good approximation a power law. The values of spectral indices obtained showed a peak centered at around -2.5, located at the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) belts. The spectral indices were found to be sensitive to the amplitudes of the irregular
variations. Most spectra were obtained  within the time sector 20:00 LT - 22:00 LT, and they became slightly shallower towards later local times. The largest contribution to the spectra came from in the South American-Antlantic-African longitudes and it was generally low in the Asian-Pacific region. The angle between the Swarm satellite orbital path and the magnetic field (∠(B, v)) was examined. The highest percentage of occurrence of ionospheric irregularities and the peak in spectral index was obtained for ∠(B, v) between 20° and 40°. Over this range of angles PSD spectra steepened with increasing ∠(B, v) (p becomes increasingly negative), consistent with local anisotropic turbulence at scales of a few km.
From global to regional: Advancing the simulation of the Moroccan climate with a variable resolution GCM
Authors: balhane saloua , cheruy frédérique , driouech fatima , idelkadi abderrahmane , vignon étienne , chehbouni abdelghani , drobinski philippe
Published: March 2022

Morocco -as part of both the Mediterranean and North African region- has long been recognized as a major climate change hotspot where precipitation is projected to decline significantly. This can threaten the stability of many climate-sensitive sectors including water and agriculture. Effective management of such sectors requires a better understanding and assessment of climate variability and change in the regional context.

Downscaling approaches are needed to bridge the gap between the coarse resolution of the Global Climate Models (GCMs) and the scales suitable for finer climate assessments and impact or adaptation studies. This is classically done through limited area Regional Climate Models (RCM) driven by large-scale fields from the global models. While these models can improve the representation of many processes including mesoscale circulation and orographic effects, they also suffer from weaknesses that can significantly alter the reliability of climate change projections. The potential inconsistencies between the physical parameterizations of the RCMs and its forcing GCMs, the incomplete description of some climate forcings, as well as some methodological choices may impact the results in a non-negligible way. It is also difficult to distinguish between the impact of a better description of small scales and the impact of systematic biases inherited from the forcing models.

In this work, we examine the feasibility of using a variable resolution, global, general-circulation model LMDZ (Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique, Z stands for zoom) in a coupled configuration (atmospheric/land-surface component of the IPSL climate model) using telescopic zooming and enhanced resolution (approx. 35 km) over North Africa to better reveal regional aspects of the distribution of the precipitation over Morocco and their response to global warming. The simulations produced with this configuration are compared to a hierarchy of simulations, including intermediate resolution global simulations (50km) and low-resolution AMIP simulations produced in the framework of the CMIP6 exercise. The simulations are evaluated against various sets of observations (stations and satellite-based datasets). Our results show clear improvements related to the increased resolution and the ability of the model to capture the main large-scale circulation patterns of interest for Morocco. In addition, the model clearly illustrates the impact of weather regimes on precipitation and temperature mean and extreme events. The next step will consist in using this configuration to produce and analyze downscaled climate projections, to better understand the mechanisms of regional climate change and quantify the uncertainties.
Comparative analysis of  the role of labelled benchmark datasets for automatic flood mapping using SAR data 
Authors: Ritushree Dibakar Kamalini , Motagh Mahdi , Garg Shagun , Ghosh Binayak
Published: March 2022

 The current scenario of the world has witnessed extreme events of floods irrespective of the heterogeneity in the geographical context. The necessity for accurately mapping such events is more of the essence for disaster relief and recovery efforts. The role of satellite imageries from both optical and radar sensors could have immensely benefited the process due to its easier interpretability and high resolution. However, the use of optical sensors for flood extent extraction is limited by weather conditions and the presence of clouds.   In contrast,   SAR sensors have proved to be one of the most powerful tools for flood monitoring due to their potential to observe in all-weather/day-night conditions. The exploitation of SAR in conjunction with optical datasets has shown exemplary results in flood monitoring applications.

With the onset of deep learning and big data, the application of data driven approaches on training models has shown great potential in automatic flood mapping. In order to improve the efficiency of deep learning algorithms at a global scale, publicly available labelled benchmark datasets have been introduced. One of such datasets is Sen1Floods11, that includes raw Sentinel-1 imagery and classified permanent water and flood water, covering 11 flood events. The flood events had coverage from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 imagery on the same day or within 2 days of the Sentinel-1 image from Aug’2016 to May’2019. The other one is WorldFloods that consists of Sentinel-2 data acquired during 119  flood events from Nov’2015 to March’2019. In this study, we make a comparative analysis to investigate the efficiency of these labelled benchmark datasets for automatic flood mapping using SAR data. Various types of flooding in different geographic locations in Europe, Australia, India and Iran  are selected and the segmentation networks are evaluated on existing Sentinel-1 images covering these events.

 
To act or not to act. Predictability of intervention and non-intervention in health and environment
Authors: Chiotinis Michalis , Dimitriadis Panayiotis , Illiopoulou Theano , Mamassis Nikos , Koutsoyiannis Demetris
Published: March 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought forth the question of the need for draconian interventions before concrete evidence for their need and efficacy is presented. Such interventions could be critical if necessary for avoiding threats, or a threat in themselves if harms caused by the intervention are significant.

The interdisciplinary nature of such issues as well as the unpredictability of various local responses considering their potential for global impact further complicate the question.

The study aims to review the available evidence and discuss the problem of weighting the predictability of interventions vis-à-vis their intended results against the limits of knowability regarding complex non-linear systems and thus the predictability in non-interventionist approaches.
Future perspectives of natural and technical snow in Austria
Authors: Gobiet Andreas , Abbeg Bruno , Koch Roland , Olefs Marc , Seitner Vanessa , Strasser Ulrich , Warscher Michael
Published: March 2022

Despite the large socio-economic and ecologic relevance of snow in Austria, no comprehensive assessment of the impact of climate change on snow in Austria existed until recently. Within the project „Future Snow Cover Evolution in Austria” (FuSE-AT, https://fuse-at.ccca.ac.at/) gridded observational datasets and the national climate scenarios (ÖKS15) have been extended by basic variables and user oriented indicators around the topic snow. This has been realized by developing a gridded snow model for climatological time-scales, based on the operational snow model of ZAMG (SNOWGRID-CL) and driving it with gridded meteorological datasets for the past (1961 – 2019) and with the full ensemble of ÖKS15 (including the emission pathways RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) into the future (1961 – 2100)  to generate daily snow variables on a 1 km x 1 km grid. The results are available for users via the Data Centre of the Climate Change Centre Austria (https://fuse-at.ccca.ac.at/).

This new dataset includes snow water equivalent, snow depth, new snow, run-off from snow melt and the number of hours with suitable meteorological conditions for technical snow generation (using different wet-bulb-temperatures as threshold criteria). In addition, numerous user-oriented indicators have been analyzed. In close cooperation with stakeholders from the sectors winter tourism, hydropower generation and water supply, case studies to demonstrate socio-economically relevant  applications of this new dataset have been conducted.

The results show that the natural snow season length has significantly decreased already in the past in virtually all areas and altitude levels of Austria. Future scenarios of snow heavily depend on the emission pathway. The snow season length is expected to decrease by about three weeks (corresponds to -20% to -30% around 1500 m a.s.l.) until the mid-21st century in all scenarios, but it stabilizes on this level in RCP2.6, while it drastically further decreases in RCP8.5 to losses around -80% to -90% below 1500 m a.s.l. Further, we could demonstrate that the meteorological potential for generation of technical snow responds less sensitive to climate change than natural snow, but strongly depends on  altitude, exposition, time horizon and emission pathway. More detailed results will be given in the presentation.
GIS-based Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) systems potential assessment in Spain
Authors: Ramos Escudero Adela , Bloemendal Martin
Published: March 2022

Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) is a technology that provides sustainable and cheap space heating and cooling. Its successful application is directly dependent on the presence of a suitable aquifer and local climatic conditions.

In Spain, there is not yet a mature market for ATES. There are no specific standards or norms and hardly any practical guidelines have been developed. This work presents a methodology that assesses the potential for ATES in Spain using subsurface and climatic data processed with GIS. The method identifies aquifers with possible thermal use and areas where the climatic conditions are favorable for ATES for the residential sector. Based on these conditions, urban areas located in favorable areas are identified. Their associated population allows making an approximation of the ATES market size in Spain. Results show that 38% of the aquifers in Spain show potential for ATES and 63% of large urban areas in Spain are located in such areas. Also, 50% of the population lives in areas where the residential sector appears to be suitable for ATES based on climatic conditions.
Mechanisms controlling the emission and stabilization of carbon during soil drying-rewetting
Authors: Brangarí Albert C. , Manzoni Stefano , Rousk Johannes
Published: March 2022

Terrestrial ecosystems are continuously exposed to dry periods and rainfall events. These cycles of drying-rewetting cause strong variations in biochemical processes that alter the balance of soil carbon (C), affecting both its inputs and losses. The rewetting of dry soils results in large pulses of C dioxide to the atmosphere that can constitute a major fraction of the annual emissions in some ecosystems and, at the same time, promotes the sequestration of C into growing microorganisms. After rewetting, microbial growth and respiration can follow decoupled patterns depending on the intensity of the rewetting and the physiological status of the microbes—in turn, this decoupling can lead to contrasting fates of C between emission and stabilization into soil organic matter. Moreover, these patterns can be classified as either ‘resilient’ or ‘sensitive’, depending on the way C is used over time. Despite the significance of these dynamics for the C budget, the mechanisms controlling them are still not well understood.

To shed some light on this challenging problem, we simulated the soil-microbial response to drying-rewetting by using the process-based model EcoSMMARTS. The results indicated that the history of soil moisture affected the responses to rewetting by promoting microbial groups with specific survival strategies. The soils regularly exposed to ‘severe’ conditions (e.g., shallow horizons in semi-arid or Mediterranean ecosystems) exhibited resilient responses, whereas sensitive responses were obtained in soils from ‘milder’ environments (e.g., humid climates and deep horizons). The resilient responses were obtained when soil microbial communities could cope well with water-stress and could started synthesizing new biomass right after rewetting, which also triggered large respiration peaks induced via osmoregulation. In contrast, sensitive responses were found in communities that could not withstand the effects of drying-rewetting, which led to a delay in microbial growth and sustained C mineralization by cell residues. The disruption of soil aggregates during drying-rewetting was also identified as the major contributor of the C sources fuelling the rewetting responses. By allowing us to attribute rewetting responses to individual processes (physiological, physical, or ecological), these model results improve our understanding of the mechanisms that govern the emission and stabilization of C in soils during drying-rewetting.

 
The use of UAV for event-based evaluation of soil redistribution on cultivated hillslopes
Authors: Belyaev Vladimir , Semochkina Anna , Van Vladimir , Lugovoy Nikolay
Published: March 2022

Over the last two decades, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become widely used in geomorphological investigations at local spatial scales for different purposes. Here we present several examples of the UAV survey application for evaluation of soil redistribution volumes on cultivated hillslopes over a timescale of single to several runoff events. Several cultivated fields with prominent soil erosion and deposition features have been discovered during reconnaissance car trips through several regions of Central European Russia carried out in April-May 2021. The observed features included rill and ephemeral gully networks as well as several types of deposition features such as sheets and fans located within the field, along the field lower boundary and on the adjacent dry valley bottom. Detailed airborne surveys of the detected erosion and deposition zones were carried out using the DJI Phantom 4 Pro quadcopter-type drone with ground control points surveyed by Leica GS 1200 differential GNSS system. Simultaneous control hand measurements of volume of representative sets of erosion and deposition features were carried out within the same areas. Photogrammetric processing of the UAV survey data using the Agisoft Metashape software package allowed producing DEMs and orthorectified images of the surveyed areas with spatial resolution within ±2 cm. Following that, manual and semi-automatic detection of erosion and deposition features were employed and their available parameters (length, width, depth, areas of selected cross-sections, approximate volume for rills and ephemeral gullies; perimeter, area and shape for deposition features) have been measured in the Global Mapper software package. To obtain deposition volumes, the above parameters were combined with hand measurements of the deposited layer thickness. Zones of predominant sediment entrainment, transit, within-slope redeposition, export from the field and deposition in adjacent dry valleys were determined and local sediment budget parameters estimated. Comparison of the results obtained with the spring 2021 meteorological records allowed us to make conclusions on the relative contribution of snowmelt and rainfall-generated runoff into the observed soil and sediment redistribution.

The study is supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Project No. 19-77-10061).
Two-dimensional imaging of arsenic concentration and speciation with diffusive equilibrium in thin-film (DET) gels
Authors: Castillejos Sepulveda Andrea , Metzger Edouard , Littmann Sten , Taubner Heidi , Chennu Arjun , Gatti Lais , de Beer Dirk , Klatt Judith M.
Published: March 2022

Arsenic is common toxic contaminant in soils, but tracking its mobility is difficult because microscale processes govern its speciation and affinity to minerals. We aimed to unravel such dynamics in contaminated soils of Harz brook using a novel approach. By combining diﬀusive equilibrium in thin-ﬁlm (DET) gels, spectrophotometric methods and hyperspectral imagery we were able to determine the spatial variability of arsenite (As(III)), arsenate (As(V)) and phosphate at submillimeter resolution. Iron was imaged simultaneously using the established colorimetric mapping of dissolved iron. The 2D-DET gel probes combined with XRF based element mapping in the solid and liquid phase, revealed microstructures and distinct mm-scale lamination surrounding porewater channels. Small-scale correlation analyses of arsenic and iron hotspots in the gels suggested active iron-driven local redox cycling of arsenic. The local processes overall point towards net release of sorbed As(V) in the form of As(III) into the porewater. These results show that 2D-DETs can deepen our understanding of the differential leaching of As(V) vs As(III) from iron oxides under anaerobic conditions. This study is the first fine-scale 2D characterization of arsenic speciation in porewater and represents a crucial step towards understanding the redox cycling and transfer of arsenic in heavily contaminated sediment and soil ecosystems. These insights may further lead to in-depth characterization of arsenic transfer mechanisms into the food web.