Storm track sensitivity to sea surface temperature resolution in a regional atmosphere model

A high resolution regional atmosphere model is used to investigate the sensitivity of the North Atlantic storm track to the spatial and temporal resolution of the sea surface temperature (SST) data used as a lower boundary condition. The model is run over an unusually large domain covering all of the North Atlantic and Europe, and is shown to produce a very good simulation of the observed storm track structure. The model is forced at the lateral boundaries with 15–20 years of data from the ERA-40 reanalysis, and at the lower boundary by SST data of differing resolution. The impacts of increasing spatial and temporal resolution are assessed separately, and in both cases increasing the resolution leads to subtle, but significant changes in the storm track. In some, but not all cases these changes act to reduce the small storm track biases seen in the model when it is forced with low-resolution SSTs. In addition there are several clear mesoscale responses to increased spatial SST resolution, with surface heat fluxes and convective precipitation increasing by 10–20% along the Gulf Stream SST gradient.     

Sectoral approaches to improve regional carbon budgets

Humans utilise about 40% of the earth’s net primary production (NPP) but the products of this NPP are often managed by different sectors, with timber and forest products managed by the forestry sector and food and fibre products from croplands and grasslands managed by the agricultural sector. Other significant anthropogenic impacts on the global carbon cycle include human utilization of fossil fuels and impacts on less intensively managed systems such as peatlands, wetlands and permafrost. A great deal of knowledge, expertise and data is available within each sector. We describe the contribution of sectoral carbon budgets to our understanding of the global carbon cycle. Whilst many sectors exhibit similarities for carbon budgeting, some key differences arise due to differences in goods and services provided, ecology, management practices used, land-management personnel responsible, policies affecting land management, data types and availability, and the drivers of change. We review the methods and data sources available for assessing sectoral carbon budgets, and describe some of key data limitations and uncertainties for each sector in different regions of the world. We identify the main gaps in our knowledge/data, show that coverage is better for the developed world for most sectors, and suggest how sectoral carbon budgets could be improved in the future. Research priorities include the development of shared protocols through site networks, a move to full carbon accounting within sectors, and the assessment of full greenhouse gas budgets.     

Determination of shale stiffness tensor from standard logs

A technique allowing inversion of the shale stiffness tensor from standard logging data: sonic velocities, density, porosity and clay content is developed. The inversion is based on the effective medium theory. The testing of the technique on laboratory measurements of the elastic wave velocities in shale samples shows that the inversion makes it possible to predict the elastic wave velocities V_P, V_S1 and V_S2 in any direction within an error of a few per cent. The technique has been applied for the stiffness tensor inversion along a well penetrating a shale formation of the Mississippian age altered by thin layers of limestone. It is demonstrated that the symmetry of a stiffness tensor inverted at the sonic frequency (2 kHz) is slightly orthorhombic and taking into account the experimental errors, can be related to the vertical transverse isotropy symmetry. For the productive interval of the shale formation, the Thomsen parameters ?, γ, and δ average, respectively, 0.32, 0.25 and 0.21, which indicate anelliptic behaviour of the velocities in this shale. The coefficients of anisotropy of this shale interval are around 24% and 20% for the compressional and shear waves, respectively. The values of the inverted velocities in the bedding plane for this interval are in good agreement with the laboratory measurements. The technique also allows inversion of the water saturation of the formation (Sw) and the inverted values are in agreement with the Sw values available for this formation. A Backus‐like upscaling of the inverted stiffness tensors is carried out for the lower and upper bounds of the frequency band used in the crosswell tomography (100 Hz and 500 Hz). These results can serve as an initial velocity model for the microearthquake location during hydrofracking of the shale formation.     

Improved NLDAS‐2 Noah‐simulated hydrometeorological products with an interim run

In North American Land Data Assimilation System Phase 2 (NLDAS‐2) Noah simulation, the NLDAS team introduced an intermediate ‘fix’ to constrain the surface exchange coefficient when the atmospheric boundary layer is stable. In the current NLDAS‐2 Noah version, this fix is used for all stable cases including snow‐free grid cells. In this study, we simply apply this fix to the grid cells in which both stable atmospheric boundary layer and snow exist simultaneously, excluding the snow‐free grid cells as we recognize that the fix in NLDAS‐2 is too strong. We conduct a 31‐year (1979–2009) NLDAS‐2 Noah interim (Noah‐I) run and use observed streamflow, evapotranspiration, land surface temperature, soil temperature, and ground heat flux to evaluate the results, including comparisons with the original NLDAS‐2 Noah run. The results show that Noah‐I has the same performance as NLDAS‐2 Noah for snow water equivalent; however, Noah‐I significantly improved the simulation of other hydrometeorological products as noted earlier when compared with NLDAS‐2 Noah and the observations. This simple modification is being included in the next Noah version used in NLDAS. The hydrometeorological products from the improved NLDAS‐2 Noah‐I are being staged on the National Centers for Environmental Prediction public server. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Water‐level dynamics in natural and artificial pools in blanket peatlands

Perennial pools are common natural features of peatlands, and their hydrological functioning and turnover may be important for carbon fluxes, aquatic ecology, and downstream water quality. Peatland restoration methods such as ditch blocking result in many new pools. However, little is known about the hydrological function of either pool type. We monitored six natural and six artificial pools on a Scottish blanket peatland. Pool water levels were more variable in all seasons in artificial pools having greater water level increases and faster recession responses to storms than natural pools. Pools overflowed by a median of 9 and 54 times pool volume per year for natural and artificial pools, respectively, but this varied widely because some large pools had small upslope catchments and vice versa. Mean peat water‐table depths were similar between natural and artificial pool sites but much more variable over time at the artificial pool site, possibly due to a lower bulk specific yield across this site. Pool levels and pool‐level fluctuations were not the same as those of local water tables in the adjacent peat. Pool‐level time series were much smoother, with more damped rainfall or recession responses than those for peat water tables. There were strong hydraulic gradients between the peat and pools, with absolute water tables often being 20–30 cm higher or lower than water levels in pools only 1–4 m away. However, as peat hydraulic conductivity was very low (median of 1.5 × 10^?5 and 1.4 × 10^?6 cm s^?1 at 30 and 50 cm depths at the natural pool site), there was little deep subsurface flow interaction. We conclude that (a) for peat restoration projects, a larger total pool surface area is likely to result in smaller flood peaks downstream, at least during summer months, because peatland bulk specific yield will be greater; and (b) surface and near‐surface connectivity during storm events and topographic context, rather than pool size alone, must be taken into account in future peatland pool and stream chemistry studies.     

Global Change and Health — The Good, The Bad and The Evidence

Debates over the merits and demerits of globalisation for health are increasingly polarised. Conclusions range from globalisation being essentially positive for health, albeit with a need to smooth out some rough edges, to one of utter condemnation, with adverse effects on the majority of the world's population. Anyone wading into this debate is immediately confronted by seemingly irreconcilable differences in ideology, opinion and interests. Both camps agree that global changes are occurring, and with them many of the determinants of population health status. While some skepticism persists about whether “globalisation” has value beyond being a fashionable buzzword, most agree that we need better understanding of these changes. Two difficult questions arise: (i) What are the health impacts of these changes; and (ii) how can we respond more effectively to them? To move beyond the stand-offs that have already formed within the health community, this paper reviews the main empirical evidence that currently exists, summarises key points of debate that remain, and suggests some ways forward for the research and policy communities. In particular, there is need for an informed and inclusive debate about the positive and negative health consequences of globalisation.     

Impacts of milkfish (Chanos chanos) aquaculture on carbon and nutrient fluxes in the Bolinao area,Philippines

Sediment oxygen consumption, TCO2 production and nutrient fluxes across the sediment-water interface were measured in sediments within and along a transect from four fish pens with production of milkfish (Chanos chanos) in the Bolinao area, The Philippines. The four fish pens were each representing a specific period in the production cycling. There was a positive linear relationship between the rates of sedimentation inside the fish pens and the sediment oxygen consumption indicating that the benthic processes were controlled by the input of organic matter from fish production. The nutrient fluxes were generally higher inside the fish pens, and nitrate was taken up (1.7-5.8 mmol m(-2) d(-1)) whereas ammonium (1-22 mmol m(-2) d(-1)) and phosphate (0.2-4.7 mmol m(-2) d(-1)) were released from the sediments. The sediments were enriched in organic matter with up to a factor 4 compared to outside. A mass balance for one crop of milkfish was constructed based on production data and on measured fluxes of nutrients in the fish pens to assess the loss of carbon and nutrients to the environment. There was a loss to the surroundings of carbon and nitrogen of 51-68% of the total input, whereas phosphorus was buried in the sediments inside the fish pens which acted as net sinks of phosphorus. The results obtained suggest that fish pen culture as practiced in the Bolinao area, leads to even greater impacts on benthic carbon and nutrient cycling than those found in suspended cage cultures.     

Developing effective environmental indicators--does a new dog need old tricks?

Environmental indicators are being increasingly used to emphasise the relevance of monitoring. However, indicators must also be effective. In particular, they must be able to answer management questions, be accessible to the target audience and be sufficiently precise. Here, we use a time series of mercury levels in plaice from Liverpool Bay to illustrate how specific management questions can be formulated, answered, and the precision of these answers assessed. We also show how a programme design can incorporate a series of management questions that are likely to arise over time in response to observed changes in a time series.     

Fractal dimensions of suspended solids in streams: comparison of sampling and analysis techniques

Fluvial suspended sediment typically consists of a variety of complex, composite particles referred to as flocs. Floc characteristics are determined by factors such as the source, size and geochemical properties of the primary particles, chemical and biological coagulation processes in the water column and shear stress and turbulence levels in the stream. Studies of floc morphology have used two contrasting methods of sampling and analysis. In the first method, particles settle on a microscope slide and are observed from below using an inverted microscope. The second method uses filtration at no or low vacuum and particles deposited on the filter are observed with a microscope. Floc morphology can be quantified using fractal dimensions. The aims of the present study were to examine the effect of the two sampling methods on the fractal dimensions of particle populations, and to evaluate for each method how well the fractal dimensions at the various sampling sites reflect basin conditions. Suspended solids were collected in triplicate on inverted microscope slides and on 0·45 μm Millipore HA filters in two southern Ontario streams with contrasting riparian zones during a minor runoff event resulting from the melt of a freshly fallen snowpack. An image analysis system was used to determine area, longest axis and perimeter of particles. The morphology of the particle population of each sample was characterized using four fractal dimensions (D, D₁, D₂ and D_K). Systematic differences in fractal dimensions obtained with the two methods were observed. For the settling method, outlines of larger particles were frequently blurred because of the distance between the focal plane (the top of the inverted microscope slides) and the plane of the particle outline. In this method, the blurring of large particles can cause an increase in the projected area and length of the particle. The effect on the particle perimeter is unpredictable because it depends on the amount of detail lost through blurring and its effect on the apparent increase in particle size. Because of blurring, D and D₁ tend to be systematically lower for the settling method, whereas the net effect on D₂ is unpredictable. Particle size distributions derived from settling are typically coarser because small, low density particles may remain in the water column and all particles may not deposit on the slides. This loss of fines results in systematically lower D_K values for the settling method compared with the filtration method. Fractal dimensions and particle size distributions obtained with the filtration method were sensitive to and clearly indicated differences between drainage basins and between sites within each basin. These differences were explained by basin characteristics and conditions. Fractal dimensions and particle size distributions obtained with the settling method were less sensitive to drainage basin characteristics and conditions, which limits their usefulness as process indicators. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

RAS helps to reconnect scientists

Mervyn Freeman, Gareth Chisham, Iain Coleman and Mike Pinnock report on the November discussion meeting "Temporal and spatial structure of magnetic reconnection on the Earth's magnetopause", the only natural environment in which this universal astrophysical phenomenon can be observed locally and globally.