Population vulnerability to tsunami hazards informed by previous and projected disasters: a case study of American Samoa

Natural Hazards - Population vulnerability from tsunamis is a function of the number and location of individuals in hazard zones and their ability to reach safety before wave arrival. Previous...     

A modified trapezoid framework model for partitioning regional evapotranspiration

While evapotranspiration (ET) is normally measured as one hydrologic component, evaporation (E), and transpiration (T) result from different physical-biological processes. Using a two-source model, a trapezoid framework has been widely applied in recent years. The key to applying the trapezoid framework model is the determination of the dry/wet boundaries of the land surface temperature-fractional vegetation coverage trapezoid (LST-f_c). Although algorithms have been developed to characterize the two boundaries, there remains a significant uncertainty near the wet boundary which scatters in a discrete and uneven manner. It is therefore difficult to precisely locate the wet boundary. To address this problem, a Wet Boundary Algorithm (WBA) was developed in this study with the algorithm applied in the region of Huang-Huai-Hai plain of China, using the Pixel Component Arranging and Comparing Algorithm (PCACA) to retrieve ET from MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Data. The eddy covariance (EC) measurements from Yucheng station was used to verify the modified model where the root mean square error (RMSE) of 17.8 W/m², Bias of −7.2 W/m² for latent heat flux (LE) simulation in 28 cloudless test days. The ratio of transpiration to evapotranspiration (T/ET) varied between 0.48 and 0.81 over the Huang-Huai-Hai plain. The spatial and temporal distribution of ET revealed that agriculture practices have a significant influence on the hydrological cycle, where crop growth promotes the magnitude of ET. Likewise, harvesting activities significantly reduce ET. The proposed WBA algorithm significantly reduces the uncertainty of the trapezoid ET model caused by wet edge positioning. The analysis of the impact of agricultural activities on ET provide a better understanding how human activities change the hydrological cycle at regional scales.     

The COVID-19 pandemic and global environmental change: Emerging research needs

The outbreak of COVID-19 raised numerous questions on the interactions between the occurrence of new infections, the environment, climate and health. The European Union requested the H2020 HERA project which aims at setting priorities in research on environment, climate and health, to identify relevant research needs regarding Covid-19. The emergence and spread of SARS-CoV-2 appears to be related to urbanization, habitat destruction, live animal trade, intensive livestock farming and global travel. The contribution of climate and air pollution requires additional studies. Importantly, the severity of COVID-19 depends on the interactions between the viral infection, ageing and chronic diseases such as metabolic, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and obesity which are themselves influenced by environmental stressors. The mechanisms of these interactions deserve additional scrutiny. Both the pandemic and the social response to the disease have elicited an array of behavioural and societal changes that may remain long after the pandemic and that may have long term health effects including on mental health. Recovery plans are currently being discussed or implemented and the environmental and health impacts of those plans are not clearly foreseen. Clearly, COVID-19 will have a long-lasting impact on the environmental health field and will open new research perspectives and policy needs.     

Slingram EMI prospection: Are vertical orientated devices a suitable solution in archaeological and pedological prospection?

Electromagnetic induction (EMI) is one of the geophysical techniques widely used in soil studies, the slingram devices being held horizontally over the soil surface, i.e. with the coils located at the same height above the ground surface. Our study aims assessing the abilities of slingram devices when held vertically. 1D and 3D modelling have been achieved in order to compare the theoretical responses of vertical devices to the horizontal ones. Some comparative surveys were also undertaken in archaeological contexts to confirm the reliability of theoretical conclusions. Both approaches show that vertical slingram devices are suitable for survey and can constitute an alternative to the usual horizontal orientation. We give a table in Appendix A which contains the calibration coefficient allowing transforming of the values given by some of commercially available devices which would be advantageous to use in vertical orientation     

The COVID-19 pandemic and global environmental change: Emerging research needs

The outbreak of COVID-19 raised numerous questions on the interactions between the occurrence of new infections, the environment, climate and health. The European Union requested the H2020 HERA project which aims at setting priorities in research on environment, climate and health, to identify relevant research needs regarding Covid-19. The emergence and spread of SARS-CoV-2 appears to be related to urbanization, habitat destruction, live animal trade, intensive livestock farming and global travel. The contribution of climate and air pollution requires additional studies. Importantly, the severity of COVID-19 depends on the interactions between the viral infection, ageing and chronic diseases such as metabolic, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and obesity which are themselves influenced by environmental stressors. The mechanisms of these interactions deserve additional scrutiny. Both the pandemic and the social response to the disease have elicited an array of behavioural and societal changes that may remain long after the pandemic and that may have long term health effects including on mental health. Recovery plans are currently being discussed or implemented and the environmental and health impacts of those plans are not clearly foreseen. Clearly, COVID-19 will have a long-lasting impact on the environmental health field and will open new research perspectives and policy needs.     

Hydroacoustic noise precursors of the 1990 eruption of Kelut Volcano, Indonesia

The results of a hydroacoustic monitoring experiment in the Kelut Crater lake, Indonesia, prior to its 1990 eruption, are presented, with the benefit of hindsight. Indeed, the underwater noise levels in three widely separated frequency bands, together with the lake water temperature, was radio-transmitted and almost continuously recorded from a period of quiescence of the volcano till the onset of its 10 February 1990, eruption, which destroyed the monitoring buoy. The comparative analysis of the noise variations in the three bands, together with seismic and temperature data, have shed light on the mechanisms underlying the pre-eruptive activity. The three acoustic levels had shown conspicuous, yet distinctive, changes prior to the eruption. Acoustic level in the low-frequency (1–50 Hz) band, which increased one year before the resumption of seismic activity and the lake warming up, is interpreted as the result of boiling at depth. The source of high-acoustic level in the audiometric (500–5000 Hz) range is clearly the bubbling of volcanic gases, occurring as a strong convective column in the middle of the lake. From the variations of this audiometric level, we have estimated that the degassing rate in the lake increased by a hundred-fold during the pre-eruptive period. Variations of ultrasonic (20–100 kHz) frequency acoustic level seem to be related with pressure and thermal changes within the hydrothermal system and its rock matrix beneath the lake. In conclusion, this experiment demonstrates the potential of hydroacoustic monitoring as an early warning system at crater lake volcanoes.