Assessing regression‐based statistical approaches for downscaling precipitation over North America

This paper assesses linear regression‐based methods in downscaling daily precipitation from the general circulation model (GCM) scale to a regional climate model (RCM) scale (45‐ and 15‐km grids) and down to a station scale across North America. Traditional downscaling experiments (linking reanalysis/dynamical model predictors to station precipitation) as well as nontraditional experiments such as predicting dynamic model precipitation from larger‐scale dynamic model predictors or downscaling dynamic model precipitation from predictors at the same scale are conducted. The latter experiments were performed to address predictability limit and scale issues. The results showed that the downscaling of daily precipitation occurrence was rarely successful at all scales, although results did constantly improve with the increased resolution of climate models. The explained variances for downscaled precipitation amounts at the station scales were low, and they became progressively better when using predictors from a higher‐resolution climate model, thus showing a clear advantage in using predictors from RCMs driven by reanalysis at its boundaries, instead of directly using reanalysis data. The low percentage of explained variances resulted in considerable underestimation of daily precipitation mean and standard deviation. Although downscaling GCM precipitation from GCM predictors (or RCM precipitation from RCM predictors) cannot really be considered downscaling, as there is no change in scale, the exercise yields interesting information as to the limit in predictive ability at the station scale. This was especially clear at the GCM scale, where the inability of downscaling GCM precipitation from GCM predictors demonstrates that GCM precipitation‐generating processes are largely at the subgrid scale (especially so for convective events), thus indicating that downscaling precipitation at the station scale from GCM scale is unlikely to be successful. Although results became better at the RCM scale, the results indicate that, overall, regression‐based approaches did not perform well in downscaling precipitation over North America. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Insects as zoogeomorphic agents: an extended review

Insects are the largest and most diverse group of living organisms on Earth, playing a critical but underestimated role as agents of geomorphic change. Burrowing insects create micro-scale landforms such as subterranean tunnels and surface mounds and, by this way, exert an influence on hydrology, soil erosion and sediment transfer at a wider landscape scale. However, social insects represented by ants and termites were the main taxa studied as geomorphic agents and ecosystem engineers. This article proposes an extended and critical literature review of insects as zoogeomorphic agents, with reference to various taxonomic orders and families of insects having a burrowing behaviour. It provides a large overview of their primary and secondary impacts on Earth surface systems, both supported by naturalistic evidence and available quantitative data. Some evolutionary insights are discussed based on fossil evidence of geomorphic work by insects and, at finer temporal scale, on recent advances in radiometric and luminescence dating of insect mounds. Finally, this article explores the fruitful links between geomorphology and entomology, and suggests several research perspectives in order to develop an integrated understanding of the importance of insects in Earth surface processes and landforms. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Observations of tectonic microdisplacements in Europe in relation to the Iran 1997 and Turkey 1999 earthquakes

Long-term repeated measurements of microdisplacements in tectonic fault structures of various parts of Central Europe and the Balkan Mountains showed that displacement trends changed significantly at several points in the period from 1997 through 2000; afterward, long-term trends were restored. This phenomenon took place in the periods of strong (M > 7) earthquakes in Iran (1997) and in the North Anatolian fault zone in Turkey (1999). Two strong Izmit earthquakes of 1999 in Turkey at distances of 600 km from the Balkan Peninsula and 1400 km from observation points in Central Europe were the main seismic events of the period studied. Apparently, the crustal deformation due to the sources of the aforementioned earthquakes reaches the central part of the European craton. Anomalous displacements in some areas occurred due to deformation propagating for great distances in the heterogeneous block medium of the West European part of the Eurasian plate. Changes in stresses can be caused by impulsive deformations of various intensities acting on some structural units (fault segments) at various distances.     

The significance of transparent exopolymeric particles in the vertical distribution of bacteria and heterotrophic nanoflagellates in Lake Pavin

The abundance, size distribution, and bacterial colonization of Transparent Exopolymeric Particles (TEP) were examined in two consecutive years during the spring diatom development throughout the water column of the deep meromictic Lake Pavin, France. TEP concentrations ranged from 1.9 to 13.4 × 10⁵ particles l⁻¹ and their distribution and size spectra indicated that these particles are the main factor in governing the transport of diatoms to the deep hypolimnion of the lake. The majority of TEP was colonized by bacteria that constituted 0.4–8.9% of total DAPI-stained bacteria. The intensity of bacterial colonization was strongly related to temperature and decreased with particle size. A more important colonization of small particles in the hypolimnion during thermal stratification suggested that bacterial colonisation also increased with the age of the particle. The abundance of heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF) was more significantly related to the density of particles than to the density of total bacteria and the intensity of bacterial colonization of TEP. Our results therefore suggest that TEP are a more important factor for HNF development than attached and free bacteria. We conclude that TEP are involved not only in sedimentation processes but also in the dynamics of bacteria and protozoa in freshwater pelagic environments.     

A discontinuous finite element baroclinic marine model on unstructured prismatic meshes

We describe the time discretization of a three-dimensional baroclinic finite element model for the hydrostatic Boussinesq equations based upon a discontinuous Galerkin finite element method. On one hand, the time marching algorithm is based on an efficient mode splitting. To ensure compatibility between the barotropic and baroclinic modes in the splitting algorithm, we introduce Lagrange multipliers in the discrete formulation. On the other hand, the use of implicit–explicit Runge–Kutta methods enables us to treat stiff linear operators implicitly, while the rest of the nonlinear dynamics is treated explicitly. By way of illustration, the time evolution of the flow over a tall isolated seamount on the sphere is simulated. The seamount height is 90% of the mean sea depth. Vortex shedding and Taylor caps are observed. The simulation compares well with results published by other authors.     

Soil–structure interaction effects observed in the in situ forced vibration and pushover tests of school buildings in Taiwan and their modeling considering the foundation flexibility

In the conventional structural seismic analysis, the rigid base model is usually adopted without considering the flexibility of the ground, leading to inaccurate estimation of the vibration characteristics and the seismic response of the structure. In 2007, several in situ tests were conducted by the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE) on the school buildings in the Guanmiao Elementary School in Tainan, Taiwan. For the study of soil–structure interaction (SSI) effects, the forced vibration test (FVT) was performed, and the deformation of the foundation system was measured during the pushover test. In this paper, the results of these in situ tests are presented and discussed, and the finite element models of the school buildings were generated for the simulation of the FVT and for the pushover analysis in order to investigate the difference between the rigid base model and the flexible base model. Results show that the mechanical properties of the structure and the foundation could be demonstrated in these in situ tests. Additionally, the introduction of the flexibility of the foundation has a considerable influence on the results of structural analysis. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.