Human and Environmental Factors Affect Patterns of Crop Diversity in an Ethiopian Highland Agroecosystem

The Ethiopian highlands are a center of diversity for numerous globally important crops. Heterogeneous landscapes, traditional agricultural practices, and inaccessibility have created and maintained diverse subsistence agroecosystems. We surveyed sixty-three farms in twelve communities of the Gamo highlands and found high levels of on-farm diversity of crop species and varieties. The extent and nature of this diversity are related to both ecological factors, namely elevation, and anthropogenic factors such as land-use history, accessibility to markets and extension, and strength and scale of farmer exchange networks. These human landscape features have the potential to both enhance and mediate effects of elevation and other environmental factors on crop diversity. The interaction of environmental and anthropogenic forces on the diversity of crops grown by farmers affects the strategies farmers employ to adapt their farming to changing conditions.     

26Al‐26Mg isotope systematics of the first solids in the early solar system

High‐precision bulk aluminum‐magnesium isotope measurements of calcium‐aluminum‐rich inclusions (CAIs) from CV carbonaceous chondrites in several laboratories define a bulk ²⁶Al‐²⁶Mg isochron with an inferred initial ²⁶Al/²⁷Al ratio of approximately 5.25 × 10^?5, named the canonical ratio. Nonigneous CV CAIs yield well‐defined internal ²⁶Al‐²⁶Mg isochrons consistent with the canonical value. These observations indicate that the canonical ²⁶Al/²⁷Al ratio records initial Al/Mg fractionation by evaporation and condensation in the CV CAI‐forming region. The internal isochrons of igneous CV CAIs show a range of inferred initial ²⁶Al/²⁷Al ratios, (4.2–5.2) × 10^?5, indicating that CAI melting continued for at least 0.2 Ma after formation of their precursors. A similar range of initial ²⁶Al/²⁷Al ratios is also obtained from the internal isochrons of many CAIs (igneous and nonigneous) in other groups of carbonaceous chondrites. Some CAIs and refractory grains (corundum and hibonite) from unmetamorphosed or weakly metamorphosed chondrites, including CVs, are significantly depleted in ²⁶Al. At least some of these refractory objects may have formed prior to injection of ²⁶Al into the protosolar molecular cloud and its subsequent homogenization in the protoplanetary disk. Bulk aluminum and magnesium‐isotope measurements of various types of chondrites plot along the bulk CV CAI isochron, suggesting homogeneous distribution of ²⁶Al and magnesium isotopes in the protoplanetary disk after an epoch of CAI formation. The inferred initial ²⁶Al/²⁷Al ratios of chondrules indicate that most chondrules formed 1–3 Ma after CAIs with the canonical ²⁶Al/²⁷Al ratio.     

Thermal conductivity measurements of road construction materials in frozen and unfrozen state

A series of thermal conductivity measurements for various materials was performed in a large climate chamber. The size of the chamber allowed the preparation of relatively large samples in a controlled thermal environment. Three types of thermal sensors were used: (1) two needle probes; (2) a grid of temperature sensors, evenly distributed inside the sample; (3) two additional thermal probes, which were simplified versions of an instrument originally developed for measuring thermal properties of the ice/dust mixture expected to exist at the surface of a comet nucleus. They consist of a series of individual temperature sensors integrated into a glass fibre rod. Each of these sensors can be operated in an active (heated) or passive (only temperature sensing) mode. The following sample materials were used: fine-grained reddish sand, coarse-grained moist sand, gravels with various grain size distributions from < 1 cm up to about 6 cm, and for comparison and calibration pure water (with convection suppressed by adding agar-agar), compact ice, and compact granite. Of particular interest are the measurements with composite samples, like stones embedded in an agar-agar matrix. We describe the evaluation methods and present the results of the thermal conductivity measurements.     

Exploring the impact of diagenesis on (isotope) geochemical and microstructural alteration features in biogenic aragonite

For the Quaternary and Neogene, aragonitic biogenic and abiogenic carbonates are frequently exploited as archives of their environment. Conversely, pre‐Neogene aragonite is often diagenetically altered and calcite archives are studied instead. Nevertheless, the exact sequence of diagenetic processes and products is difficult to disclose from naturally altered material. Here, experiments were performed to understand biogenic aragonite alteration processes and products. Shell subsamples of the bivalve Arctica islandica were exposed to hydrothermal alteration. Thermal boundary conditions were set at 100°C, 175°C and 200°C. These comparably high temperatures were chosen to shorten experimental durations. Subsamples were exposed to different ¹⁸O‐depleted fluids for durations between two and twenty weeks. Alteration was documented using X‐ray diffraction, cathodoluminescence, fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy, as well as conventional and clumped isotope analyses. Experiments performed at 100°C show redistribution and darkening of organic matter, but lack evidence for diagenetic alteration, except in Δ₄₇ which show the effects of annealing processes. At 175°C, valves undergo significant aragonite to calcite transformation and neomorphism. The δ¹⁸O signature supports transformation via dissolution and reprecipitation, but isotopic exchange is limited by fluid migration through the subsamples. Individual growth increments in these subsamples exhibit bright orange luminescence. At 200°C, valves are fully transformed to calcite and exhibit purple‐blue luminescence with orange bands. The δ¹⁸O and Δ₄₇ signatures reveal exchange with the aqueous fluid, whereas δ¹³C remains unaltered in all experiments, indicating a carbonate‐buffered system. Clumped isotope temperatures in high‐temperature experiments show compositions in broad agreement with the measured temperature. Experimentally induced alteration patterns are comparable with individual features present in Pleistocene shells. This study represents a significant step towards sequential analysis of diagenetic features in biogenic aragonites and sheds light on reaction times and threshold limits. The limitations of a study restricted to a single test organism are acknowledged and call for refined follow‐up experiments.     

Sensitivity of the regional climate model RegCM4.2 to planetary boundary layer parameterisation

This study investigates the performance of two planetary boundary layer (PBL) parameterisations in the regional climate model RegCM4.2 with specific focus on the recently implemented prognostic turbulent kinetic energy parameterisation scheme: the University of Washington (UW) scheme. When compared with the default Holtslag scheme, the UW scheme, in the 10-year experiments over the European domain, shows a substantial cooling. It reduces winter warm bias over the north-eastern Europe by 2 °C and reduces summer warm bias over central Europe by 3 °C. A part of the detected cooling is ascribed to a general reduction in lower tropospheric eddy heat diffusivity with the UW scheme. While differences in temperature tendency due to PBL schemes are mostly localized to the lower troposphere, the schemes show a much higher diversity in how vertical turbulent mixing of the water vapour mixing ratio is governed. Differences in the water vapour mixing ratio tendency due to the PBL scheme are present almost throughout the troposphere. However, they alone cannot explain the overall water vapour mixing ratio profiles, suggesting strong interaction between the PBL and other model parameterisations. An additional 18-member ensemble with the UW scheme is made, where two formulations of the master turbulent length scale in unstable conditions are tested and unconstrained parameters associated with (a) the evaporative enhancement of the cloud-top entrainment and (b) the formulation of the master turbulent length scale in stable conditions are systematically perturbed. These experiments suggest that the master turbulent length scale in the UW scheme could be further refined in the current implementation in the RegCM model. It was also found that the UW scheme is less sensitive to the variations of the other two selected unconstrained parameters, supporting the choice of these parameters in the default formulation of the UW scheme.     

Changes in extremes and hydroclimatic regimes in the CREMA ensemble projections

We analyze changes of four extreme hydroclimatic indices in the RCP8.5 projections of the Phase I CREMA experiment, which includes 21st century projections over 5 CORDEX domains (Africa, Central America, South America, South Asia, Mediterranean) with the ICTP regional model RegCM4 driven by three CMIP5 global models. The indices are: Heat Wave Day Index (HWD), Maximum Consecutive Dry Day index (CDD), fraction of precipitation above the 95th intensity percentile (R95) and Hydroclimatic Intensity index (HY-INT). Comparison with coarse (GPCP) and high (TRMM) resolution daily precipitation data for the present day conditions shows that the precipitation intensity distributions from the GCMs are close to the GPCP data, while the RegCM4 ones are closer to TRMM, illustrating the added value of the increased resolution of the regional model. All global and regional model simulations project predominant increases in HWD, CDD, R95 and HY-INT, implying a regime shift towards more intense, less frequent rain events and increasing risk of heat wave, drought and flood with global warming. However, the magnitudes of the changes are generally larger in the global than the regional models, likely because of the relatively low “climate sensitivity” of the RegCM4, especially when using the CLM land surface scheme. In addition, pronounced regional differences in the change signals are found. The data from these simulations are available for use in impact assessment studies.     

Progression in sulfur isotopic compositions from coal to fly ash: Examples from single-source combustion in Indiana

Sulfur occurs in multiple mineral forms in coals, and its fate in coal combustion is still not well understood. The sulfur isotopic composition of coal from two coal mines in Indiana and fly ash from two power plants that use these coals were studied using geological and geochemical methods. The two coal beds are Middle Pennsylvanian in age; one seam is the low-sulfur (< 1%) Danville Coal Member of the Dugger Formation and the other is the high-sulfur (> 5%) Springfield Coal Member of the Petersburg Formation. Both seams have ash contents of approximately 11%. Fly-ash samples were collected at various points in the ash-collection system in the two plants. The results show notable difference in δ³⁴S for sulfur species within and between the low-sulfur and high-sulfur coal. The δ³⁴S values for all sulfur species are exclusively positive in the low-sulfur Danville coal, whereas the δ³⁴S values for sulfate, pyritic, and organic sulfur are both positive and negative in the high-sulfur Springfield coal. Each coal exhibits a distinct pattern of stratigraphic variation in sulfur isotopic composition. Overall, the δ³⁴S for sulfur species values increase up the section in the low-sulfur Danville coal, whereas they show a decrease up the vertical section in the high-sulfur Springfield coal. Based on the evolution of δ³⁴S for sulfur species, it is suggested that there was influence of seawater on peat swamp, with two marine incursions occurring during peat accumulation of the high-sulfur Springfield coal. Therefore, bacterial sulfate reduction played a key role in converting sulfate into hydrogen sulfide, sulfide minerals, and elemental sulfur. The differences in δ³⁴S between sulfate sulfur and pyritic sulfur is very small between individual benches of both coals, implying that some oxidation occurred during deposition or postdeposition.The δ³⁴S values for fly ash from the high-sulfur Springfield coal (averaging 9.7‰) are greatly enriched in ³⁴S relative to those in the parent coal (averaging 2.2‰). This indicates a fractionation of sulfur isotopes during high-sulfur coal combustion. By contrast, the δ³⁴S values for fly-ash samples from the low-sulfur Danville coal average 10.2‰, only slightly enriched in ³⁴S relative to those from the parent coal (average 7.5‰). The δ³⁴S values for bulk S determined directly from the fly-ash samples show close correspondence with the δ³⁴S values for SO₄^− 2 leached from the fly ash in the low-sulfur coal, suggesting that the transition from pyrite to sulfate occurred via high-temperature oxidation during coal combustion.     

A common methodology for risk assessment and mapping for south-east Europe: an application for heat wave risk in Romania

This paper reports on a quantitative estimation of the risk to residents at the toe of Mount Albino, a carbonatic relief covered by shallow deposits of pyroclastic soils, which threatens the municipality of Nocera Inferiore (southern Italy). The quantitative risk analysis (QRA) focuses on one type of mass transport phenomena typical for the context at hand, namely the hyperconcentrated flows. The methodological approach includes three main steps: hazard analysis, consequence analysis and risk estimation. Based on historical incident data, the hazard analysis makes use of a high-resolution digital terrain model and advanced models that incorporate relevant geological and geotechnical input data collected via in situ investigations and laboratory tests. The consequence analysis takes into account information on the exposed persons (age, gender) and their vulnerability. The estimated risk to life is calculated at the individual level (risk to the average and most exposed person). The reported procedure is one of the first QRA’s applications to instabilities which potentially affect natural slopes in Italy, and it was successfully used as technical basis for a public participatory process in Nocera Inferiore, designed and developed to support decisions about risk mitigation measures.