Application of wave spectral information in marine forecasting

Ocean wave spectra were for many years regarded as scientific information of little use for practical purposes. In the last decade, this has changed. Within many marine sectors there are now stronger demands for more accurate spectral information which directly have an impact on safety and regularity of operations and on the sustainability of constructions. This paper shows examples of applications, mostly from routine forecasting service experience in the North Sea and the North East Atlantic.     

Estimating Runoff Using Hydro-Geodetic Approaches

Given the continuous decline in global runoff data availability over the past decades, alternative approaches for runoff determination are gaining importance. When aiming for global scale runoff at a sufficient temporal resolution and with homogeneous accuracy, the choice to use spaceborne sensors is only a logical step. In this respect, we take water storage changes from Gravity Recovery And Climate Explorer (grace) results and water level measurements from satellite altimetry, and present a comprehensive assessment of five different approaches for river runoff estimation: hydrological balance equation, hydro-meteorological balance equation, satellite altimetry with quantile function-based stage–discharge relationships, a rudimentary instantaneous runoff–precipitation relationship, and a runoff–storage relationship that takes time lag into account. As a common property, these approaches do not rely on hydrological modeling; they are either purely data driven or make additional use of atmospheric reanalyses. Further, these methods, except runoff–precipitation ratio, use geodetic observables as one of their inputs and, therefore, they are termed hydro-geodetic approaches. The runoff prediction skill of these approaches is validated against in situ runoff and compared to hydrological model predictions. Our results show that catchment-specific methods (altimetry and runoff–storage relationship) clearly outperform the global methods (hydrological and hydro-meteorological approaches) in the six study regions we considered. The global methods have the potential to provide runoff over all landmasses, which implies gauged and ungauged basins alike, but are still limited due to inconsistencies in the global hydrological and hydro-meteorological datasets that they use.     

Ocean currents determine functional connectivity in an Antarctic deep‐sea shrimp

The coherency among larval stages of marine taxa, ocean currents and population connectivity is still subject to discussion. A common view is that organisms with pelagic larval stages have higher dispersal abilities and therefore show a relatively homogeneous population genetic structure. Contrary to this, local genetic differentiation is assumed for many benthic direct developers. Specific larval or adult migratory behavior and hydrographic effects may significantly influence distribution patterns, rather than passive drifting abilities alone. The Southern Ocean is an ideal environment to test for the effects of ocean currents on population connectivity as it is characterized by several well‐defined and strong isolating current systems. In this study we studied the genetic structure of the decapod deep‐sea shrimp Nematocarcinus lanceopes, which has planktotrophic larval stages. We analysed 194 individuals from different sample localities around the Antarctic continent using nine microsatellite markers. Consistent with a previous study based on mitochondrial DNA markers, primarily weak genetic patterns among N. lanceopes populations around the continent were found. Using ocean resistance modeling approaches we were able to show that subtle genetic differences among populations are more likely explained by ocean currents rather than by geographic distance for the Atlantic Sector of the Southern Ocean.     

Implications of diverse sedimentation patterns in Hala Lake, Qinghai Province, China for reconstructing Late Quaternary climate

Hala Lake is located in the Qilian Mountains, Qinghai Province, China, at 4,078?m a.s.l. Its sediments contain an archive of climate and hydrologic changes during the Late Quaternary, as it is located close to the area influenced by the East-Asian summer monsoon and westerly-driven air masses. Sedimentation patterns and depositional conditions within the lake were investigated using eight sediment cores from different water depths, and this information was used to evaluate the feasibility of using a single core to reconstruct past climate and hydrological conditions. Long core H7, from the center of the lake (65?m water depth) and core H8 from a western, near-shore location (20?m water depth), were compared in detail using sediment composition and geochemical data (X-ray fluorescence, loss-on-ignition and CNS analysis). Age models were constructed using 17 AMS radiocarbon dates and indicate negligible reservoir error for sediments from the lake center and?~1,000?year errors for the near-shore sediment core. Cores H1?CH5 and HHLS21-1 revealed a sediment succession from sand and silty clay to laminated clay on the southern side of the lake. Undisturbed, finely laminated sediments were found at water depths???15?m. Core H5 (2.5?m long), from 31?m water depth, yielded abundant green algal mats mixed with clayey lake deposits and was difficult to interpret. Algae occurred between 25 and 32?m water depth and influenced the dissolved oxygen content of the stratified lake. Comparison of cores H7 and H8 yielded prominent mismatches for different time periods, which may, in part, be attributed to internal lacustrine processes, independent of climate influence. We thus conclude that data from a single sediment core may lead to different climate inferences. Common shifts among proxy data, however, showed that major climate shifts, of regional to global significance, can be tracked and allow reconstruction of lake level changes over the last 24,000?years. Results indicate advance of glaciers into the lake basin during the LGM, at which time the lake experienced lowest levels, 25?C50?m below present stage. Stepwise refilling began at ca. 16 kyr BP and reached the ?25?m level during the B?lling/Aller?d warm phase, ca. 13.5 kyr BP. A desiccation episode falls within the Younger Dryas, followed by a substantial lake level rise during the first millennium of the Holocene, a result of climate warming, which promoted glacier melt. By ca. 7.6 kyr BP, the lake reached a stable high stand similar to the present level, which persisted until ca. 6 kyr BP. Disturbed sediments in core H7 indicate a single mass flow that was most likely triggered by a major seismic event?~8.5 kyr BP. Subsequent lake development remains unclear as a consequence of data mismatches, but may indicate a general trend to deteriorating conditions and lake level lowstands at ca. 5.0?C4.2, 2.0 and 0.5 kyr BP.     

Blockage of regional seismic waves by the Teisseyre-Tornquist zone

During the Group of Scientific Experts Technical Test (GSETT, second experiment, 22 April-2 June 1991), several hundred seismic events were located in Europe. Associating these events with the detecting stations-altogether 28 European stations including seven arrays participated in the GSETT-2 experiment-clearly shows that the Teisseyre-Tornquist Zone (TTZ) influences the propagation of regional seismic phases. Large explosions in the Bay of Gdańsk, for example, were observed by the well-established Scandinavian arrays'NORSAR (Δ 830km) and ARCESS (Δ 1650km), but not by the Polish station KSP (Δ 470km) nor by the new highly sensitive GERESS array (Δ 750km), both situated south-west of the TTZ. For events in central Europe with comparable magnitudes, we observe a similar increase of the detection threshold at stations located north-east of the TTZ in Scandinavia. to explain these observations, the wave propagation of P_n and P_g perpendicular to the TTZ was modelled for a profile from the Estonian/Russian border region to GERESS with Gaussian-beam seismograms. Published crustal and uppermost mantle models for Poland and for Europe were used as a starting point for developing a model of the TTZ. the observations cannot be explained only by a graben-like crustal structure with a jump in Moho depth from 30km to 50km. to defocus the seismic energy, the TTZ as a structural anomaly between eastern and western Europe must reach down into the upper mantle to a depth of at least about 200 km. the proposed model has such a deep-reaching root of the TTZ.     

A new concept for estimating the influence of vegetation on throughfall kinetic energy using aerial laser scanning

Soil loss caused by erosion has enormous economic and social impacts. Splash effects of rainfall are an important driver of erosion processes; however, effects of vegetation on splash erosion are still not fully understood. Splash erosion processes under vegetation are investigated by means of throughfall kinetic energy (TKE). Previous studies on TKE utilized a heterogeneous set of plant and canopy parameters to assess vegetation's influence on erosion by rain splash but remained on individual plant- or plot-levels. In the present study we developed a method for the area-wide estimation of the influence of vegetation on TKE using remote sensing methods. In a literature review we identified key vegetation variables influencing splash erosion and developed a conceptual model to describe the interaction of vegetation and raindrops. Our model considers both amplifying and protecting effect of vegetation layers according to their height above the ground and aggregates them into a new indicator: the Vegetation Splash Factor (VSF). It is based on the proportional contribution of drips per layer, which can be calculated via the vegetation cover profile from airborne LiDAR datasets. In a case study, we calculated the VSF using a LiDAR dataset for La Campana National Park in central Chile. The studied catchment comprises a heterogeneous mosaic of vegetation layer combinations and types and is hence well suited to test the approach. We calculated a VSF map showing the relation between vegetation structure and its expected influence on TKE. Mean VSF was 1.42, indicating amplifying overall effect of vegetation on TKE that was present in 81% of the area. Values below 1 indicating a protective effect were calculated for 19% of the area. For future work, we recommend refining the weighting factor by calibration to local conditions using field-reference data and comparing the VSF with TKE field measurements. © 2020 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

Dehydration melting of tonalites. Part II. Composition of melts and solids

 Dehydration melting of tonalitic compositions (phlogopite or biotite-plagioclase-quartz assemblages) is investigated within a temperature range of 700–1000°C and pressure range of 2–15 kbar. The solid reaction products in the case of the phlogopite-plagioclase(An₄₅)-quartz starting material are enstatite, clinopyroxene and potassium feldspar, with amphiboles occurring occasionally. At 12 kbar, zoisite is observed below 800°C, and garnet at 900°C. The reaction products of dehydration melting of the biotite (Ann₅₀)-plagioclase (An₄₅)-quartz assemblage are melt, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, amphibole and potassium feldspar. At pressures > 8 kbar and temperatures below 800°C, epidote is also formed. Almandine-rich garnet appears above 10 kbar at temperatures ≥ 750°C. The composition of melts is granitic to granodioritic, hence showing the importance of dehydration melting of tonalites for the formation of granitic melts and granulitic restites at pressure-temperature conditions within the continental crust. The melt compositions plot close to the cotectic line dividing the liquidus surfaces between quartz and potassium feldspar in the haplogranite system at 5 kbar and a _{H 2O} = 1. The composition of the melts changes with the composition of the starting material, temperature and pressure. With increasing temperature, the melt becomes enriched in Al₂O₃ and FeO+MgO. Potash in the melt is highest just when biotite disappears. The amount of CaO decreases up to 900°C at 5 kbar whereas at higher temperatures it increases as amphibole, clinopyroxene and more An-component dissolve in the melt. The Na₂O content of the melt increases slightly with increase in temperature. The composition of the melt at temperatures > 900°C approaches that of the starting assemblage. The melt fraction varies with composition and proportion of hydrous phases in the starting composition as well as temperature and pressure. With increasing modal biotite from 20 to 30 wt%, the melt proportion increases from 19.8 to 22.3 vol.% (850°C and 5 kbar). With increasing temperature from 800 to 950°C (at 5 kbar), the increase in melt fraction is from 11 to 25.8 vol.%. The effect of pressure on the melt fraction is observed to be relatively small and the melt proportion in the same assemblage decreases at 850°C from 19.8 vol.% at 5 kbar to 15.3 vol.% at 15 kbar. Selected experiments were reversed at 2 and 5 kbar to demonstrate that near equilibrium compositions were obtained in runs of longer duration. Received: 27 December 1995 / Accepted: 7 May 1996     

Assessment of agri-spillways as a soil erosion protection measure in Mediterranean sloping vineyards

Suitable vineyard soils enhance soil stability and biodiversity which in turn protects roots against erosion and nutrient losses. There is a lack of information related to inexpensive and suitable methods and tools to protect the soil in Mediterranean sloping vineyards(25° of slope inclination). In the vineyards of the Montes de Málaga(southern Spain), a sustainable land management practice that controls soil erosion is actually achieved by tilling rills in the down-slope direction to canalize water and sediments. Because of their design and use, we call them agri-spillways. In this research, we assessed two agri-spillways(between 10 m and 15 m length, and slopes between 25.8° and 35°) by performing runoff experiments under extreme conditions(a motor driven pump that discharged water flows up to 1.33 l s~(-1) for 12 to 15 minutes: ≈1000 l). The final results showed: i) a great capacity by these rills to canalize large amounts of water and sediments; and, ii) higher water flow speeds(between 0.16 m s-1 and 0.28 m s~(-1)) and sediment concentrationrates(up to 1538.6 g l~(-1)) than typically found in other Mediterranean areas and land uses(such as badlands, rangelands or extensive crops of olives and almonds). The speed of water flow and the sediment concentration were much higher in the shorter and steeper rill. We concluded that agri-spillways, given correct planning and maintenance, can be a potential solution as an inexpensive method to protect the soil in sloping Mediterranean vineyards.     

Evolution of anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions of air pollutants at global and regional scales during the 1980�C2010 period

Several different inventories of global and regional anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions are assessed for the 1980?C2010 period. The species considered in this study are carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and black carbon. The inventories considered include the ACCMIP historical emissions developed in support of the simulations for the IPCC AR5 assessment. Emissions for 2005 and 2010 from the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) are also included. Large discrepancies between the global and regional emissions are identified, which shows that there is still no consensus on the best estimates for surface emissions of atmospheric compounds. At the global scale, anthropogenic emissions of CO, NO_x and SO₂ show the best agreement for most years, although agreement does not necessarily mean that uncertainty is low. The agreement is low for BC emissions, particularly in the period prior to 2000. The best consensus is for NO_x emissions for all periods and all regions, except for China, where emissions in 1980 and 1990 need to be better defined. Emissions of CO need better quantification in the USA and India for all periods; in Central Europe, the evolution of emissions during the past two decades needs to be better determined. The agreement between the different SO₂ emissions datasets is rather good for the USA, but better quantification is needed elsewhere, particularly for Central Europe, India and China. The comparisons performed in this study show that the use of RCP8.5 for the extension of the ACCMIP inventory beyond 2000 is reasonable, until more global or regional estimates become available. Concerning biomass burning emissions, most inventories agree within 50?C80%, depending on the year and season. The large differences between biomass burning inventories are due to differences in the estimates of burned areas from the different available products, as well as in the amount of biomass burned.