Climate change and violent conflict in Europe over the last millennium

We investigate the relationship between a thousand-year history of violent conflict in Europe and various reconstructions of temperature and precipitation. We find that conflict was more intense during colder period, just like Zhang et al. (Clim Change 76:459–477, 2006) found for China. This relationship weakens in the industrialized era, and is not robust to the details of the climate reconstruction or to the sample period. As the correlation is negative and weakening, it appears that global warming would not lead to an increase in violent conflict in temperature climates.     

Dielectric constant estimation of the uppermost Basal Unit layer in the martian Boreales Scopuli region

An electromagnetic inversion model has been applied to echoes from the subsurface sounding Shallow Radar (SHARAD) to retrieve the dielectric properties of the uppermost Basal Unit (BU) beneath the North Polar Layered Deposits of Mars. SHARAD data have been carefully selected to satisfy the assumption of the inversion model which requires a stratigraphy consisting of mostly plane parallel layers. The resulting values of the dielectric constant have been interpreted in terms of a variable percentage of dust in an ice–dust mixture through the use of a mixing model for dielectric properties. The resulting dust content exceeds 65%, reaching perhaps 95%, depending on the permittivity values assumed for the dust. Such a concentration is higher than that obtained by Selvans et al. (Selvans, M.M., Plaut, J.J., Aharonson, O. [2010]. J. Geophys. Res, 115, E09003). This discrepancy could be justified considering that our observations refer to the uppermost BU layer, whereas Selvans et al. (Selvans, M.M., Plaut, J.J., Aharonson, O. [2010]. J. Geophys. Res, 115, E09003) probed the BU full thickness. Moreover, if the BU is considered spatially inhomogeneous, with very different dust content and thickness (Tanaka, K.L., Skinner, J.A., Fortezzo, C.M., Herkenhoff, K.E., Rodriguez, J.A.P., Bourke, M.C., Kolb, E.J., Okubo, C.H. [2008]. Icarus, 196, 318–358), the discrepancy could be furtherly reconciled.     

Snow research in Svalbard–an overview

This paper summarizes the most significant snow-related research that has been conducted in Svalbard. Most of the research has been performed during the 1990s and includes investigations of snow distribution, snow-melt, snow pack characteristics, remote sensing of snow and biological studies where snow conditions play an important role. For example, studies have shown regional trends with about 50% higher amounts of snow accumulation at the east coast of Spitsbergen compared to the west coast. Further, the accumulation rates are about twice as high in the south compared to the north. On average, the increase in accumulation with elevation is 97 mm water equivalents per 100 m increase in elevation. Several researchers reported melt rates, which are primarily driven by incoming short-wave radiation, in the range of 10-20 mm/day during spring. Maximum melt rates close to 70 mm/day have been measured. In addition to presenting an overview of research activities, we discuss new, unpublished results in areas where considerable progress is being made. These are i) modelling of snow distribution, ii) modelling of snowmelt runoff and iii) monitoring of snow coverage by satellite imagery. We also identify some weaknesses in current research activities. They are lacks of i) integration between various studies, ii) comparative studies with other Arctic regions, iii) applying local field studies in models that can be used to study larger areas of Svalbard and, finally, iv) using satellite remote sensing data for operational monitoring purposes.