bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
‘Terrestrial lava tubes as analogues for Mars – a review of the mineralogy and biosignatures of lava tubes from Iceland and the Terceira islands.’
Authors: Ahmed Mahid , Kopacz Nina , ten Kate Inge Loes
Published: March 2021

Lava tubes have been detected on Mars and because of their subsurface nature are shielded from the harsh conditions at the surface. If water intersects with the Martian lava tubes, a life nurturing environment may exist locally in these tubes. Lava tubes on Iceland and the Azores may support similar conditions as lava tubes on Mars and have been shown to contain a wide variety of microbes. [Planetary Analogues and Lava Tube ] (PELE) field expeditions have been setup to understand the relationship between microbes and susbtrate and the preservation of microbes in deeptime within these systems. Within such systems biogenic and hydrothermal alteration processes are not necessarily mutually exclusive and a good understanding of the mineralogy helps distinguish one from the other. Here, I have performed an analytical study analysing basalt mineralogy from recent lava flows from Iceland and Azores islands, attempting to distinguish between biogenic and hydrothermal signatures. I used a workflow of semi quantitative analysis using viewing thin sections under a light microscope to understand textural information. This was supplemented by  ImageJ software and using SEM+EDX for point analysis of regions of interest to shed light on our areas of interest. My results showed some ambiguous features linked to alteration in a sample in the north of Iceland related to clays or spherulites, in the Azores vesicle infill of clays or devitrified glass were seen with potential bio signatures including carbon,calcum and phosphorous. These results may indicate environmental factors leading to location specific alteration or related to lava rock mineralogy. Contamination effects cannot be ignored and must be taken into consideration when reviewing these results. Overall these analyses will contribute to the larger PELE outcome by providing a complimentary workflow that can be used to assess biosignatures and specific regions of interest within lava tube rocks.

 
Stocks and changes in organic carbon in Danish agricultural soils – role of bulk density and stone fractions
Authors: Harbo Laura Sofie , Olesen Jørgen Eivind , Liang Zhi , Elsgaard Lars
Published: March 2021

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is essential for soil fertility and further represents a global carbon stock with potential to control atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Due to intense agricultural management, SOC is decreasing in many parts of the world, meaning that the soils act as CO2 sources rather than CO2 sinks, which they could have the capacity to be. Therefore, it is important to identify pertinent agricultural management practices that allow for high productivity, but at the same time allow for carbon sequestration and increase in SOC.

In order to document changes in SOC, it is necessary to monitor SOC over decadal time scales, since changes occur slowly and are small as compared with existing stocks. The SOC content in Danish agricultural soils has been monitored at approx. 10-yr intervals (1986, 1997, 2009) since the first systematic national observations in 1986, where soils were sampled from a national 7 km x 7 km grid.

In 2018, a new sampling campaign was conducted from the national 7 km x 7 km grid and soils were analysed for SOC to 1 m depth. The procedures applied in 2018 allowed for more precise relocation of the sampling points from 2009 as compared to precision obtained during the period from 1986-2009. Further, measurements in 2018 included assessment of soil bulk density and stone content in the upper 0-50 cm, which was not measured previously. Thus, one of the aims of the study was to evaluate how more precise point-specific information on bulk density and stone fractions affected the calculated SOC stocks across different soil types and management practices.

The point-specific bulk density measured in 2018 were on average lower than the bulk densities used previously, which were retrieved from a database of texture-based soil classes. The volumetric stone fraction in the upper 0-50 cm was found to be <5% for roughly 90% of the soils, whereas <3% of the soils had stone fractions of >10%. On average, the inclusion of point-specific bulk density and stone fractions lead to approx. 5% lower SOC estimation, with equal approximmately contribution from the two variables.
The 2019/2020 QBO Disruption in ADM-Aeolus Wind Lidar Observations
Authors: Banyard Timothy , Wright Corwin , Hindley Neil , Halloran Gemma , Osprey Scott
Published: March 2021

The quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) is a regular cycle of alternating winds which dominates the behaviour of the tropical stratosphere. It is extremely technically challenging to model, and for this reason wind observations are vital to understand it fully. Characterised by downward propagating easterly and westerly regimes, the QBO progressed uninterrupted for more than 60 years until a highly anomalous deviation from its normal pattern in 2016. During 2019/2020, the start of a second disruption was seen in atmospheric analyses and radiosonde observations. Here, we exploit novel data from ESA's ADM-Aeolus satellite to demonstrate its ability to measure the QBO in unprecedented detail. A special adjustment of Aeolus' onboard range bin settings was implemented to observe this new disruption as it happened, providing a unique platform for studying the evolution of the event and the broader atmospheric effects triggered by it. In this presentation, we will show results from this special mode, highlighting how it has helped study the disruption, and how Aeolus and similar satellites can deepen our understanding of the QBO more generally.
More than 10 years of The International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) in support of EO science
Authors: Himmelbauer Irene , Aberer Daniel , Schremmer Lukas , Petrakovic Ivana , Dorigo Wouter A. , Goryl Philippe , Crapolicchio Raffaele , Sabia Roberto
Published: March 2021

The International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN, ) is a unique centralized global and open freely available in-situ soil moisture data hosting facility. Initiated in 2009 as a community effort through international cooperation (ESA, GEWEX, GTN-H, WMO, etc.), with continuous financial support through the European Space Agency (formerly SMOS and IDEAS+ programs, currently QA4EO program), the ISMN is more than ever an essential means for validating and improving global satellite soil moisture products, land surface -, climate- , and hydrological models.

Following, building and improving standardized measurement protocols and quality techniques, the network evolved into a widely used, reliable and consistent in-situ data source (surface and sub-surface) collected by a myriad off data organizations on a voluntary basis. 66 networks are participating (status January 2021) with more than 2750 stations distributed on a global scale and a steadily increasing number of user community, > 3200 registered users strong. Time series with hourly timestamps from 1952 – up to near real time are stored in the database and are available through the ISMN web portal for free (), including daily near-real time updates from 6 networks (~ 1000 stations).

About 10’000 datasets are available through the web portal and the number of networks and stations covered by the ISMN is still growing as well as most datasets, that are already contained in the database, are continuously being updated.

The ISMN evolved in the past decade into a platform of benchmark data for several operational services such as ESA CCI Soil Moisture, the Copernicus Climate Change (C3S), the Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS), the online validation service Quality Assurance for Soil Moisture (QA4SM) and many more applications, services, products and tools. In general, ISMN data is widely used in a variety of scientific fields with hundreds of studies making use of ISMN data (e.g. climate, water, agriculture, disasters, ecosystems, weather, biodiversity, etc.).

In this session, we want to inform ISMN users about the evolution of the ISMN over the past decade, including a description of network and dataset updates and new quality control procedures. Besides, we provide a review of existing literature making use of ISMN data in order to identify current limitations in data availability, functionality and challenges in data usage in order to help shape potential future modes in operation of this unique community- based data repository.
Dycrypting tropical forest phenology with coupled remote sensing and field observation
Authors: Ball James , Vincent Gregoire , Barbier Nicolas , Clocher Ilona
Published: March 2021

Tropical forests are integral to the global carbon, water and energy budgets. However, the magnitude of matter and energy fluxes are poorly resolved both spatially and temporally, and the driving underlying mechanisms by which they occur remain unclear poorly described. Specifically, the diversity of foliar phenological patterns and there influence forest fluxes in the tropics has not been properly studied. As a result of these knowledge gaps, dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) consistently fail to exhibit observed productivity dynamics and climate-vegetation feedbacks. These shortcomings prevent reliable predictions on the fate and role of tropical forests under changing climate conditions from being made.

Working at perminant tropical forest fieldsites in French Guiana, we demonstrate that biweekly scans with UAV mounted LiDAR and multispecral sensors can observe subtle phenological changes of individual trees across novel spatial scales. We explore the intra- and inter-species variation in phenological behavoirs and link these dynamics to in-situ flux measurements.
Partitioning fast flow from stratified groundwater flow modulates seasonal variations of old streamwater transit times
Authors: Marçais Jean , Derry Louis A. , Guillaumot Luca , Aquilina Luc , de Dreuzy Jean-Raynald
Published: March 2021

We develop a parsimonious model-data fusion to capture the groundwater contribution to stream discharge and its effect on variable transit times. The modeling strategy relies on partitioning infiltration between 1) Boussinesq groundwater flows in shallow aquifers and 2) fast flows close to the surface. Partitioning is controlled by the relative aquifer saturation inducing groundwater return flows and fast flows on saturated soils. Flowpaths are computed with a new 2D particle tracking algorithm to obtain transient transit time distributions. Hydraulic conductivity, total and drainable porosities are constrained through a sequential calibration strategy based on discharge time series and point-based CFC tracer data. Application on a 43 km2 catchment in Brittany (France) highlights the important contribution of old groundwater flow dynamics to streamflow's transit time distributions in all seasons under temperate climate conditions. The calibrated model succeeds in reproducing CFC-based groundwater ages as well as discharge dynamics at the outlet of the catchment. Slow groundwater circulation (baseflow and return flow) represents ca. 75% of the streamflow with strong seasonal variations (between 40 and 95%). Mean transit times are ca. 13 years, varying between 5 and 20 years, inversely proportional to the groundwater contribution. These seasonal variations are dominantly due to the flow partitioning between the aquifer and soil compartments with a second-order contribution of the groundwater transit times stratification.
The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter – Progress and future studies
Authors: Svedhem Håkan , Vandaele AnnCarine , Korablev Oleg , Mitrofanov Igor , Thomas Nicolas
Published: March 2021

The Trace Gas Orbiter, TGO, is now well into its second Martian year of operations. The first year has been a highly successful Martian year, starting with the rise, plateau and decay of the major Global Dust Storm in the summer of 2018. This has enabled interesting results to be derived on the dynamic behaviour as a consequence of the dust storm. A significant observations is the strong upward transport of water vapour that has been found during the dust storm. HCl has been detected for the first time in the Martian atmosphere, and characterisations of the other minor species and trace gasses are continuing. A large numbers of profiles are being produced on a daily basis. The dedicated search of methane is continuing and still shows that there is no methane above an altitude of a few km, with an upper limit established at about 20 pptv (2∙10-11).

We now have a full Martian year of observations after the Global dust storm, and seasonal effects can now be studied under normal conditions. Climatological studies, benefitting from the 400km, 74 degrees inclination non-solar synchronous orbit, have been initiated, even if the full potential will be visible only after a few Martian years of operation. The FREND instrument has characterised the hydrogen in the shallow sub-surface on a global scale, at a spatial resolution much better than previous missions have been able to do. It has found areas at surprisingly low latitudes with significant amounts of sub-surface hydrogen, most likely in the form of water ice. The CaSSIS camera has made a well above 15,000 of images over a large variety of targets, including the landing sites of the 2020 NASA and 2022 ESA rovers, Jezero Crater and Oxia Planum. Stereo imaging has enabled topographic information and precise 3-D landscape synthesis.

This presentation will summarise the highlights and recent results and discuss planned activities for the near and medium term future.

The ExoMars programme is a joint activity by the European Space Agency (ESA) and ROSCOSMOS, Russia. It consists of the ExoMars 2016 mission, launched 14 March 2016, with the Trace Gas Orbiter, TGO, and the Entry Descent and Landing Demonstrator, EDM, named Schiaparelli, and the ExoMars 2022 mission, to be launched in September 2022, carrying a Rover and a surface science platform to the surface of Mars.
Knowledge sharing on fish-friendly hydropower: the FIThydro wiki
Authors: Hansen Bendik , Schönfelder Lennart
Published: March 2021

Hydropower is a key element in the transition to a green energy future. However, this technology also comes with adverse environmental impacts that should be avoided or mitigated. One of the challenges related to hydropower is its impact on fish, and the FIThydro project (2016-2020) has worked on improving the decision support for commissioning and operating hydropower using both existing and innovative technologies. One of the outputs from the project is the FIThydro wiki, which is a collection of mitigation measures, methods, tools and devices for the assessment and measure implementation of fish-friendly hydropower. The mitigation measures are divided into five categories of challenges: environmental flows, habitat, sediment management, upstream fish migration, and downstream fish migration. Each mitigation measure has a description of which methods, tools, and devices to use during the three separate stages of planning, implementation, and operation/monitoring. They also contain a classification table describing different aspects of the solution, such as TRL, suitable locations, which challenges are mitigated, and costs. Similar articles exist for methods, tools, and devices that can be useful in implementing mitigation measures, as well as for test cases in the project. The wiki is closely linked to a Decision Support System (DSS), which helps guide users to the appropriate mitigation measures. The wiki can support decision-making and contribute to a more transparent and simple communication/negotiation of hydropower-related issues through a clarification of terms and technologies.  
Estimation of dissipated lightning energy by infrasound measurement
Authors: Watabe Narumi , Takahashi Yukihiro , Sato Mitsuteru , Kubota Hisayuki
Published: March 2021

Rainfall by thunderstorms and typhoons causes a large-scale disaster, especially in Southeast Asia and other tropical regions. Damage caused by disasters could be minimized by monitoring and predicting in real-time. It is known that typhoon shows the maximum wind speed 1-2 days after the peak of lightning frequency. There is a strong correlation between lightning activity and torrential rainfall. If we could monitor the lightning activity quantitatively, it must be useful to monitor and predict strong rainfall. Lightning is an electrical phenomenon, and the magnitude of its significance is usually represented by its peak current and charge moment change before and after the stroke. However, the energy dissipation by lightning, which might be a good indicator of atmospheric convection, cannot be estimated only from the electromagnetic field measurement since it is impossible to measure the conductivity in the discharge path. Here we focus on infrasound below 20 Hz, which may be a good proxy of energy dissipation caused by lightning stroke. In order to estimate the dissipated energy by lightning stroke, we need to know the quantitative relationship between the dissipated energy and the intensity of infrasound in another way.

In the present research, we try to calibrate the quantitative relationship between infrasound intensity measured at a known distance and dissipated energy in the atmosphere, using two kinds of fireworks displays. At a building of Hokkaido University we measured infrasound pressure of fireworks for some cases which occurred at the range of 5 km. We also carried out similar measurement in lakeside of Lake Toya in Hokkaido in distance range of 0.3 - 4 km. The maximum dissipated energies of the fireworks are in ~10^6 J, which is approximately 1,000-5,000 times smaller than that of typical lightning, namely. Based on these measurements, we determined the constant to calculate the dissipated energy from infrasound pressure measurement. On the other hand, this constant is not very stable for different cases probably due to the variations in sound spectrum, height of explosion, temperature profile of the atmosphere near surface. We need to consider such conditions when we estimate the dissipated energy of lightning, adding to the effect of line source of the sound in lightning path while the fireworks has a point source.

This research was supported by Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS), funded by Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) / Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)."
What controls the initiation of algal bloom during the winter monsoon in the Arabian Sea??
Authors: Shenoy Lakshmi
Published: March 2021

A winter monsoon cruise was undertaken in the northern Arabian Sea to understand the bio-physical interaction responsible for the occurrence of phytoplankton bloom in the region. The observation shows strong convective mixing with a dense and deeper mixed layer (MLD: 100-140 m) and well-oxygenated upper water column (>95% saturation). The chlorophyll concentration was low (0.1 -0.3 µg/l) despite having ample nitrate (~2.5 µM) in the surface layer. The region, however, was deprived of micro phytoplankton, especially diatomic species and Noctiluca Scintillans, and was dominated by the picophytoplankton (77%-85%). The mean Si/N ratio in the upper 100 m was 0.72 indicating “Silicate stressed” condition for the proliferation of diatoms. Even a deeper mixed layer could not penetrate into the silicicline (~150m) which was deeper than the nitracline (~110m). In addition, the euphotic depth (~49m) was much shallower than the mixed layer depth suggesting the Sverdrup critical depth limitation in the northern Arabian Sea. We further show that the bloom initiated only when the mixed layer shoals towards the euphotic zone. Our observations suggest that two primary factors, the stoichiometric ratio of nutrients, especially Si/N ratio, in the mixed layer and re-stratification of the upper water column, govern the phytoplankton blooming in the northern Arabian Sea during the later winter monsoon.
Benefits of stochastic parameterizations in subseasonal to seasonal (S2S) forecasts 
Authors: Berner Judith
Published: March 2021

Recently, there has been much interest in issuing subseasonal to seasonal (S2S) forecasts, although their skill is often debated. In addition to large systematic errors, ensemble systems are often overconfident, i.e. have incorrect information about the uncertainty of a particular forecast. Stochastic parameterization schemes are used routinely to remedy the problem of overconfidence, but also have the potential to reduce systematic model errors. 

Here, we study the impact of adding a stochastic parameterization scheme in coupled simulations with the climate model CESM.  Physical processes associated with S2S-predictability, like the Madden-Julian  Oscillation (MJO) and Northern Hemispheric blocking are analyzed. In the simulations with a stochastic parameterization scheme, the northward propagation of the MJO is captured better, leading to an improved MJO lifecycle. The impact on other atmospheric fields like precipitation and winds will be discussed. 
Validation of 3-dimensional ocean acoustic propagation models from benchmarks to global problems
Authors: Heaney Kevin , Coelho Emanuel , Nielsen Peter , Zampolli Mario , Haralabus Georgios
Published: March 2021

The ocean is an excellent medium for the propagation of low frequency sound, so much so, that the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) can monitor all the world’s oceans for nuclear tests with a small number of hydroacoustic stations (with multiple underwater hydrophones for triangulation) distributed around remote regions of the earth.  The classification and localization system has been developed based upon 2-dimensional (2D) acoustic models, were the effects of horizontal refraction and diffraction have been ignored.  These effects have been shown to have a large impact on the energy received behind (and reflected from) islands and seamounts.   To demonstrate the maturity of modern 3-dimensional (3D) models, a set of test-cases were developed including: a benchmark (5°) wedge, a shallow water twin conical seamount case, a deep-water long-range island and seamount and the reconstruction of the acoustic propagation from the estimated source location of the hydroacoustic anomaly associated with the loss of the ARA San Juan off the coast of Argentina in 2017 to a receiving IMS hydroacoustic station.  The models compared include two 3D Parabolic equations and the Bellhop3D raytrace algorithms.   Comparisons show quantitative agreement between the models.  The expectation is that this validation will provide a way forward to incorporate various combinations of these models into the CTBTO detection, classification and localization processing algorithm.
Deep Neural Networks for Hierarchical Taxonomic Fossil Classification of Carbonate Skeletal Grains
Authors: Idgunji Sidhant , Ho Madison , Payne Jonathan L. , Lehrmann Daniel , Morsilli Michele , Al-Ramadan Khalid , Koeshidayatullah Ardiansyah
Published: March 2021

The growing digitization of fossil images has vastly improved and broadened the potential application of big data and machine learning, particularly computer vision, in paleontology. Recent studies show that machine learning is capable of approaching human abilities of classifying images, and with the increase in computational power and visual data, it stands to reason that it can match human ability but at much greater efficiency in the near future. Here we demonstrate this potential of using deep learning to identify skeletal grains at different levels of the Linnaean taxonomic hierarchy. Our approach was two-pronged. First, we built a database of skeletal grain images spanning a wide range of animal phyla and classes and used this database to train the model. We used a Python-based method to automate image recognition and extraction from published sources. Second, we developed a deep learning algorithm that can attach multiple labels to a single image. Conventionally, deep learning is used to predict a single class from an image; here, we adopted a Branch Convolutional Neural Network (B-CNN) technique to classify multiple taxonomic levels for a single skeletal grain image. Using this method, we achieved over 90% accuracy for both the coarse, phylum-level recognition and the fine, class-level recognition across diverse skeletal grains (6 phyla and 15 classes). Furthermore, we found that image augmentation improves the overall accuracy. This tool has potential applications in geology ranging from biostratigraphy to paleo-bathymetry, paleoecology, and microfacies analysis. Further improvement of the algorithm and expansion of the training dataset will continue to narrow the efficiency gap between human expertise and machine learning.
A millennium-long 'Blue Ring' chronology from Bristlecone Pine as a record of volcanic forcing on climate
Authors: Siekacz Liliana , Salzer Matthew , Pearson Charlotte , Koprowski Marcin
Published: March 2021

'Blue Rings' (BRs) are distinct wood anatomical anomalies recently discovered in several tree species. Previous studies connect their occurrence to lower than normal temperatures during the cell wall lignification phase of xylogenesis. Cell wall lignification usually continues after radial growth is completed, after the growth season. Therefore, systematic analysis of blue rings can add another level of time resolution to dendroclimatic studies. Additionally, BRs are more sensitive temperature recorders than frost rings which require freezing temperatures to form. We  present a continuous chronology of blue rings in North American bristlecone pine covering the last millennium and their connections to volcanic eruptions known both from historic and ice core records. Most recorded BR years coincide with cooling following large volcanic eruptions. The three most prominent events during the last 1000 years, with the highest share of blue rings in bristlecone pine from the White Mountains of California are at: 1453, 1601 and 1884CE (83%, 91%, 69% of blue rings respectively), attributed to known eruptions of Kuawe (attribution still debated) 1452CE -Vanuatu, Huaynaputina 1600CE – Peru, and Krakatoa 1883CE - Indonesia. Fourth most prominent event with 58% of blue rings is noted in 1200CE. Acidity peak in 1200CE is so far recorded only in Greenland ice-cores suggesting northern hemisphere high latitude eruption, but strong BR signal would suggest a broader climatic significance of this event. It is interesting to note that BRs were indicated in 69% of samples in 1884, relating to the known eruption and associated climate impact of Krakatoa (1883), yet no BRs were observed in 1816, the so-called year without a summer which followed the largest historically noted and well described eruption of Tambora, Indonesia (1815). We did find a strong BR signal in 1809 (with BRs continuing in 1810 and 1811) following an unidentified but prominent eruption seen in ice core records. The 1809 and 1815 eruptions are thought to be responsible for the cold decade from 1810 to 1819 thought by some to be the coldest decade of the last 500ys. The source of 1809 eruption remains unknown and scientific debate over the scale of the eruption continues, but bipolar acidity peaks in ice cores point to a tropical eruption with widespread sulfate distribution to both hemispheres and tephra in ice cores points to two coinciding high latitude eruptions of only regional prominence. The BR record supports 1809 CE as an event of global climatic significance illustrating the capacity for BRs  to capture cooling events with even higher time resolution (after the radial growth is completed) and of smaller magnitude than frost rings, TRW or MXD studies to help better investigate and understand the impacts of volcanism on climate and society.
Recent progress made in numerical experiments on magnetic reconnection and the related solar activities 
Authors: Lin Jun , Ye Jing
Published: March 2021

Magnetic reconnection plays a crucial role in the process of solar flares and coronal mass ejections, in which large amounts of magnetic energy (10^29-10^32 ergs) are converted into kinetic energy and thermal energy, even allowing for particle acceleration. On the platform of the Computational Solar Physics Laboratory of Yunnan Observatories, we have performed a series of numerical experiments on magnetic reconnection related to solar eruption events as well as numerical method developments both in 2D and 3D. In this talk, we will present some recent studies on the topic of plasma heating by reconnection, MHD turbulence, wave structures and complicate structures of CMEs, etc. Our numerical results have great potentials to explain and predict many related solar activities in the corona. 
Intertidal floodplain controls on centennial-scale morphological channel development
Authors: Schrijvershof Reinier , van Maren Bas , Vermeulen Bart , Hoitink Ton
Published: March 2021

Intertidal areas disappear in deltas worldwide because of land reclamations. This greatly impacts delta morphology because the presence and physiological characteristics of intertidal areas determine the tidal regime and, as a result, residual sediment transport patterns in tidal basins. Understanding how the interaction between intertidal areas and channels in tidal basins inﬂuence morphodynamics is therefore important to predict morphological development and to assess the resilience of delta’s to changing boundary conditions.

In the Ems estuary (The Netherlands), the gradual embankment of a large intertidal embayment altered the planform and cross-sectional geometry of the estuary, leading to changes in the tidal regime and associated residual sediment transport patterns. As early as 1952, it was already suggested that these changes eventually caused a shift towards an alternative historical development of the geometric conﬁguration of the channels; from a multiple to a single channel system.

This study shows through centennial-scale morphological modelling that the observed system shift can be hind-casted, while conserving model validity by comparison to the observed gross morphodynamics trends. The results indicate that the system shift is indeed driven by land reclamations. This provides a unique case to study the processes leading to the observed developments and evaluate the value of tidal-asymmetry based stability relationships to predict regime shifts in estuarine development.
Effects of nitrogen fertilization on soil fauna – A global meta-analysis
Authors: Betancur Corredor Bibiana , Lang Birgit , Russell David
Published: March 2021

The impact of agricultural activities on soil fauna can be highly variable, depending on the management options adopted. High-input agricultural practices can promote a reduction in diversity of soil microarthropod communities but, at the same time can also favor bacterial-feeding fauna through the increase of bacterial food web pathways. In contrast, low-input practices can increase the dominance of fungal-feeding fauna through the promotion of fungal pathways. Responses also vary with time after fertilizer application and are strongly dependent on crop species or shifts in plant species composition due to fertilization. The type of fertilizer, organic or inorganic, can also have diverse effects on soil organisms. Organic fertilizers can increase the population of soil decomposers serving as nutrient sources for other soil organisms. Nitrogen fertilization may disturb soil organisms in a manner that affects ecosystem functioning, but the links are not yet well quantified. Therefore, a systematic compilation of available experimental data on the effects of nitrogen fertilization on taxonomic and functional groups of soil fauna is needed to clarify the patterns and mechanisms of responses. 

Paired observations for meta-analysis were collected from 198 studies published in the last 30 years across 37 countries. First results show that nitrogen fertilization increased the biomass of earthworms (mean increase of 19.7%), the abundance of nematodes (mean increase of 36.6%), springtails (mean increase of 29.7%), and mites (mean increase of 35.2%), and reduced the abundance of earthworms (mean reduction of 9.2%) compared to when no fertilizer was applied. The population responses of all organisms were larger when organic fertilizers were applied. The meta-analyses for different earthworm ecological groups showed that the biomass of epigeic and endogeic earthworms were most sensitive to organic fertilization, and this effect was magnified when higher rates of nitrogen are applied. The meta-analyses for different nematode feeding groups, life-form groups of springtails and mite suborders showed that each group is affected differently by organic and inorganic fertilization. Additional meta-analysis also showed that the responses of the soil organisms to nitrogen fertilization can also be modulated by physicochemical properties of the soil as well as climatic conditions. 
Identification of a HCHO signal in S5P/TROPOMI data over shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean
Authors: De Smedt Isabelle , Theys Nicolas , Yu Huan , Vlietinck Jonas , Lerot Christophe , Romahn Fabian , Cheng Zhibin , Chan Ka Lok , Hedelt Pascal , Loyola Diego , Van Roozendael Michel
Published: March 2021

Formaldehyde (HCHO) is an operational L2 product of the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) on the Sentinel-5 Precursor platform (S5P) (De Smedt et al., 2018).

International shipping is a significant source of pollutants including CO2, nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, and black carbon. Shipping lanes are well known to be detected in NO2 satellite observations (e.g., Beirle et al., 2004; Richter et al., 2004, 2011; Vinken et al 2014, Georgoulias et al., 2019). SO2 signal from ships has also been reported in OMI SO2 observations (Theys et al. 2014). However, so far only one study has reported the detection of an HCHO signal from ships using GOME-1 observations (Marbach et al. 2009). In a recent paper, it has been shown that the TROPOMI measurements allow for the detection of NO2 pollution plumes from individual ships (Georgoulias et al., 2020).

In this work, we investigate the detection of a HCHO signal over shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean. When averaging several months of TROPOMI HCHO observations, at least two shipping lanes are clearly visible in the Indian Ocean. They are located over known shipping corridors from India and from Africa. We estimate the intensity of the HCHO columns along those tracks as a function of the season. We compare their location and relative intensity with TROPOMI NO2 observations. The possible impact of the a priori profiles is considered, as well as the impact of cloud filtering. Wind fields, which have been recently added in the HCHO L2 files, are used in order to study the intensity of the signal as a function of wind speeds. The HCHO background transported from continental sources is removed using a first-order estimation. The OMI QA4ECV HCHO and NO2 datasets between 2005 and 2020 are included in the analysis using 5 years averaged data, in order to study possible changes in the respective line intensities and locations. The detection of such a small signal is an illustration of the improved detection limit of HCHO columns with TROPOMI measurements.
Effects of organic soil amendments on soil greenhouse gas exchange under controlled soil moisture conditions
Authors: Peltokangas Kenneth , Heinonsalo Jussi , Karhu Kristiina , Kulmala Liisa , Liski Jari , Pihlatie Mari
Published: March 2021

Organic soil amendments are proposed to mitigate climate change and support soil fertility by introducing recalcitrant carbon into soil. However, the full impact of recycled biosolids on soil greenhouse gas (GHG) dynamics are still unknown. We conducted a laboratory incubation to assess the climatic effects of two biochars (willow and spruce) and two ligneous biosolids on GHG emissions in controlled moisture conditions. The soil used in the incubation was collected from a soil-amendment field experiment on a clay cropland in South-West of Finland. The soil was sieved, air-dried and then individual samples were adjusted to 25%, 50%, 80% and 120% of water filled pore space (WFPS) before being incubated for 32 days in laboratory conditions. Soil GHG fluxes were measured after 1, 5, 12, 20 and 33 days.  

The application of 20–40 Mg ha-1 of ligneous amendments, two years prior to our experiment, had increased soil pH, soil organic carbon content and plant available water content. The carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes were unaffected by the amendment treatments and correlated mainly with soil moisture and microbial biomass. Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions were reduced by all amendments compared to the un-amended control. Methane (CH4) exchange consisted mostly of slight uptake by the soil but played only a minor role in the total GHG budget overall. 

The sum of CO2, N2O and CH4 emissions, calculated as CO2-equivalents, exhibited a strong linear relationship with soil moisture. Where the GHG budget was dominated by CO2, it was accompanied by significant N2O emissions at 120% WFPS. The results indicate that soil moisture critically affects the GHG emissions and that while organic soil amendments may have persisting effects on GHG exchange, they primarily occur in water-saturated conditions through N2O dynamics.
Constraining the atmospheric limb of the plastic cycle
Authors: Mahowald Natalie , Brahney Janice , Prank Marje , Cornwell Gavin , Klimont Zbigniew , Matsui Hitoshi , Prather Kim
Published: March 2021

Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing environmental and social issues of the 21st century. Recent work has highlighted the atmosphere’s role in transporting microplastics to remote locations. Here we use in situ observations of microplastic deposition combined with an atmospheric transport model and optimal estimation techniques to test hypotheses of the most likely sources of atmospheric plastic. Results suggest that atmospheric microplastics in the western USA are primarily derived from secondary re-emission sources including roads, the ocean and agricultural soil dust. Using our best estimate of plastic sources and modeled transport pathways, most continents were net importers of plastics from the marine environment, underscoring the cumulative role of legacy pollution in the atmospheric burden of plastic. This effort is the first to use high resolution spatial and temporal deposition data along with several hypothesized emission sources to constrain atmospheric plastic. Akin to global biogeochemical cycles, plastics now spiral around the globe with distinct atmospheric, oceanic, cryospheric, and terrestrial lifetimes. Though advancements have been made in the manufacture of biodegradable polymers, our data suggest that extant non-biodegradable polymers will continue to cycle through the Earth’s systems. Due to limited observations and understanding of the source processes, there remain large uncertainties in the, transport, deposition, and source attribution of microplastics. Thus, we prioritize future research directions for understanding the plastic cycle.
The mechanism of snow shift affect seasonal streamflow in the contiguous US
Authors: Wang Lina , Woods Ross
Published: March 2021

Climate warming has caused in a significant decrease in snowpack, increase in precipitation intensity and earlier melt onset. Based on earlier work published in 2014 on changes in streamflow resulting from a shift from snow towards rain, we analysed the sensitivity of seasonal streamflow to the average annual snow fraction in 253 catchments in CAMELS dataset, which have a record length more than 28 years and mean annual snow fraction larger than 15%. The result shows that places (or years) with higher mean annual snow fraction tend to have higher seasonal streamflow. We quantified seasonal sensitivity as a ratio of change in seasonal flow to change in annual snow fraction, for a given annual precipitation.  There are 91%，57% and 51% catchments which showed a positive sensitivity value for Spring, Summer and Winter streamflow, respectively. According to the results of seasonal sensitivity analysis in climate space, we found the largest seasonal sensitivity normally happens at the same regional climate. Places with higher average annual snow fraction tend to have the largest sensitivity in summer, while for places with lower annual snow fraction this largest sensitivity occurs in spring.

In order to explore the mechanism(s) by which snow fraction change affects seasonal streamflow, we summarized four hypothesised mechanisms from the literature: water-energy synchrony (Mechanism I), inputs exceed threshold (Mechanism II), demand-storage competition (Mechanism III), and energy partitioning (Mechanism IV). Most of the catchments in the western part of the contiguous US can be explained by the mechanism I, II, III and IV, while for catchments in the central US can be explained by mechanism II, III and IV. Catchments in the eastern part (and some scattered in the northern part) can be explained by mechanism III.  Other types of evidence are required to further distinguish between mechanisms in much of the USA. in further research we will use detailed data or hydrologic model to reproduce the hydrological process to find what are the hydrological processes responsible for precipitation phase partitioning changing with climate warming to influence catchment response. These findings would provide an evidence for how does snow affect hydrology, which may help to understand the effect of climate warming on future water resources in snow-dominated regions.
The Paraná magmatism (Brazil) as the villain regarding the remagnetization of the Paleozoic sediments in the basin – half-truth!
Authors: B. Raposo M. Irene , Ernesto Marcia , Brandt Daniele , Franco Daniel Ribeiro
Published: March 2021

The sedimentation in the Paraná Basin started during the Ordovician and ended with the Early Cretaceous magmatic event. Thick lava pilescovered the entire basin, and voluminous dikes and sills occur in the sedimentary sequences, mainly in the northeastern border of the basin. Despite the thermal effect, some Paleozoic sedimentary formations preserved their primary magnetization. The paleomagnetic results from the glacial Aquidauana Formation, an equivalent to the Itararé group in the north-western portion of the basin, indicated that the magnetization is compatible with the Middle-Late Permian age assigned in literature. A detailed investigation of the magnetic mineralogy and the magnetization of other Paleozoic sedimentary rocks led to the conclusion that the intrusive rocks were more effective than the lavas in disturbing the primary magnetization, especially in the low-clay content rocks. The secondary magnetizations identified in the different areas of the basin are not always compatible with the Early Cretaceous magnetization imprinted by the Paraná magmatism. This component prevails in the northeastern area, while a Permo-Triassic magnetization was identified in other areas. The results obtained so far are coherent with the geomagnetic reversal scale for the considered time interval, and the paleomagnetic poles agree with the APWP for South America.
ECMWF's data archive and dissemination services migration to the Bologna Data Center. 
Authors: Denvil Sébastien , Fuentes Manuel , Manoussakis Matthew , Villaume Sebastien , Quintino Tiago , Smart Simon , Raoult Baudouin
Published: March 2021

CMWF is the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. We are both a research institute and a 24/7 operational service, producing global numerical weather predictions and other data for our Member and Co-operating States and the broader community. The Centre has one of the largest supercomputer facilities and meteorological data archives in the world.

 

ECMWF is about to migrate his 400+ PB of data to his new data centre in Bologna while continuing its operations. We will present and discuss challenges and opportunities that this migration offers in terms of evolution of operation practices.

The planning, the evolution, and the transition periods of the ECMWF Data Handling System migration to Bologna will be presented.

 

The migration must occur while preserving ECMWF’s product generation and archive services, ensuring appropriate levels of quality of service. The planning and testing of a continuity plan of operations for operational forecasts, member states time critical suites, Copernicus suites (ERA5, CAMS C3S seasonal and alike), and research suites will be presented. This continuity plan of operation relies on the full identification and traceability of the data flow involves during critical operations. Indeed, it is not economically viable to keep the 400 PB online during all the migration period.

 

A completely redesigned data services deployment and testing mechanism will be use in the Bologna Data Center. Automation will be paramount in this context as the need is to redeploy entirely and from scratch all our services. This journey will be presented, and challenges inherent to software defined infrastructure and services will be discussed.
What is driving conversion of land to aquaculture in the Indian Sundarbans?
Authors: Daw Tim M. , Giri Sandip , Mondal Partho Protim , Samanta Sourav , Hazra Sugata , Hutton Craig , Hornby Duncan D. , Harfoot Andrew , Mukherjee Kasturi , Gupta Radhika
Published: March 2021

Land in the Indian Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve (SBR) has been extensively (and illegally) converted from agriculture to aquaculture over the last two decades, with implications for Sustainable Development Goals addressing food, poverty, employment, terrestrial and marine ecosystems and inequality. The economic returns from aquaculture are higher than agriculture, but more unequally shared, demand for labour is lower (and often fullfilled by non-local workers) and the expansion of brackish water aquaculture, in particular can contribute to the salinization of land through seepage from ponds, and intentional water management to bring saline water to farms. While remote sensing can demonstrate the conversion, the drivers behind are less clear. Much literature, along with commonly articulated stakeholder perspectives strongly suggest that sea-level rise and cyclone impacts lead to salinization, resulting in reduced agricultural productivity, leading farmers to convert to saline aquaculture as an adaptation. However, this is unclear in the Indian Sundarbans where the highest rates of conversion are not in areas which have suffered saline inundation. SBR-wide factors that affect rates of conversion include international demand for prawns, technology development and transfer, availability of seed, legal frameworks and land tenure. At a more local level, connectivity (for inputs and for marketing product), proximity to water sources, levels of cyclone inundation, salinity and agricultural productivity, existing aquaculture areas, extension services and local government (dis)incentives may explain spatial patterns of differing conversion rates. In this paper we use a two-decade long timeseries of remotely sensed data on land cover and agricultural productivity along with spatially explicit data on connectivity to evaluate which factors were most associated with conversion from agriculture to aquaculture in the past two decades. We then project future possible conversion based on scenarios of how these drivers may change over the the next decade and discuss their implications for Sustainable Development Goals.