Comparing mixing-length models of the diabatic wind profile over homogeneous terrain

Models of the diabatic wind profile over homogeneous terrain for the entire atmospheric boundary layer are developed using mixing-length theory and are compared to wind speed observations up to 300 m at the National Test Station for Wind Turbines at Høvsøre, Denmark. The measurements are performed within a wide range of atmospheric stability conditions, which allows a comparison of the models with the average wind profile computed in seven stability classes, showing a better agreement than compared to the traditional surface-layer wind profile. The wind profile is measured by combining cup anemometer and lidar observations, showing good agreement at the overlapping heights. The height of the boundary layer, a parameter required for the wind profile models, is estimated under neutral and stable conditions using surface-layer turbulence measurements, and under unstable conditions based on the aerosol backscatter profile from ceilometer observations.     

Growth performance of exotic and indigenous tree species in saline soils in Turkana, Kenya

In the arid zone of central Turkana, north-western Kenya, where soil salinity affects 15–20% of the rangelands, growth performances of trees planted in saline soil rehabilitation trials have not been evaluated. Tree-planting trials have emphasised exotic species over indigenous ones. However, advantages and disadvantages of promoting exotic tree species have not been examined. The current study was aimed at evaluating growth performance of seven exotic and nine indigenous tree species used in saline soil rehabilitation trials. The tree species were established from 6-month-old saplings using microcatchments (FT1) from 1988 through 1990 and pitting treatment (FT2) from 1989 through 1992. The soils in FT1 and FT2 treatments were moderately to highly saline. The exotic tree species produced greater cover and volume during the first year (FT1) but by the second year, production was not sustained due to greater mortality (FT1 & FT2). The indigenous species in general had higher survival rates. Relative growth rates (RGR) of exotic and indigenous species did not differ (FT1 & FT2). Tree mortality was negatively correlated with RGR for exotic species in FT1 but not for indigenous ones. However, changes in plant performance were not in response to salinity alone. Rather, water scarcity superimposed on soil salinity might have influenced plant growth performance. Greater water and salinity stress and subsequently greater mortality in exotic species provided a more convincing reason for promotion of indigenous tree species. In the future, knowledge of salinity distribution and selection of indigenous species to match this will be a better way of rehabilitating sites affected by soil salinity in the arid zone of central Turkana, north-western Kenya.     

Strength of solid pressure media and implications for high pressure apparatus

The stress-strain properties of talc, pyrophyllite, silver chloride, sodium chloride, boron nitride and graphite have been measured under confining pressures up to 8 or 10 kb at room temperature, and, in the case of talc, also at temperatures up to 900° C. The extrapolation and application of these results to solid medium high pressure apparatus of pistoncylinder type is discussed and a calculation made of the correction to nominal pressure (friction correction), taking into account the stress gradients in the medium and the shearing between the medium and the cylinder wall. Correction to the nominal differential stress measured in solid medium stress-strain apparatus is also discussed.     

Climatic soil moisture deficit - climate and soil data integration in a GIS

This paper discusses a GIS based implementation of a model for soil droughtiness assessment evaluating the impact of possible climate change. It focuses, in particular, on the development of a methodology for mapping Available Water Capacity. An assessment of the Soil Drought Susceptibility for Scotland in the year 2030 is made and illustrated with maps and derived statistics.     

Update of a Footprint-Based Approach for the Characterisation of Complex Measurement Sites

Horizontal heterogeneity can significantly affect the flux data quality at monitoring sites in complex terrain. In heterogeneous conditions, the adoption of the eddy-covariance technique is contraindicated by the lack of horizontal homogeneity and presence of advective conditions. In addition, uncertainty concerning the sources or sinks influencing a measurement compromises the data interpretation. The consideration of the spatial context of a measurement, defined by a footprint analysis, can therefore provide an important tool for data quality assessment. This study presents an update of an existing footprint-based quality evaluation concept for flux measurement sites in complex terrain. The most significant modifications in the present version are the use of a forward Lagrangian stochastic trajectory model for the determination of the spatial context of the measurements, and the determination of effective roughness lengths with a flux aggregation model in a pre-processing step. Detailed terrain data gathered by remote sensing methods are included. This approach determines spatial structures in the quality of flux data for varying meteorological conditions. The results help to identify terrain influences affecting the quality of flux data, such as dominating obstacles upwind of the site, or slopes biasing the wind field, so that the most suitable footprint regions for the collection of high-quality datasets can be identified. Additionally, the approach can be used to evaluate the performance of a coordinate rotation procedure, and to check to what extent the measured fluxes are representative for a target land-use type.     

Winter mortality risk for American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium) in Saskatchewan

North American ginseng is native to the deciduous forest region of eastern North America but is now cultivated in areas well beyond its natural range. In recent years an expanding market has attracted growers in climatically less suitable regions, including the Canadian prairies. The ginseng root requires at least four years to reach marketable size and is sensitive to injury when the temperature drops below about −4°C. Such temperatures are not unusual in the prairies; thus winter kill is a hazard that may limit ginseng production in this region of Canada. This study analyses the risks of winter soil temperatures falling below levels critical for the survival of ginseng in Saskatchewan. It appears that winter conditions may be too severe for reliable production of this lucrative crop, although application of straw mulch and additional benefits of trapped snow could reduce the risk of winter kill.     

The last interglacial ocean

The final effort of the CLIMAP project was a study of the last interglaciation, a time of minimum ice volume some 122,000 yr ago coincident with the Substage 5e oxygen isotopic minimum. Based on detailed oxygen isotope analyses and biotic census counts in 52 cores across the world ocean, last interglacial sea-surface temperatures (SST) were compared with those today. There are small SST departures in the mid-latitude North Atlantic (warmer) and the Gulf of Mexico (cooler). The eastern boundary currents of the South Atlantic and Pacific oceans are marked by large SST anomalies in individual cores, but their interpretations are precluded by no-analog problems and by discordancies among estimates from different biotic groups. In general, the last interglacial ocean was not significantly different from the modern ocean. The relative sequencing of ice decay versus oceanic warming on the Stage 6/5 oxygen isotopic transition and of ice growth versus oceanic cooling on the Stage 5e/5d transition was also studied. In most of the Southern Hemisphere, the oceanic response marked by the biotic census counts preceded (led) the global ice-volume response marked by the oxygen-isotope signal by several thousand years. The reverse pattern is evident in the North Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, where the oceanic response lagged that of global ice volume by several thousand years. As a result, the very warm temperatures associated with the last interglaciation were regionally diachronous by several thousand years. These regional lead-lag relationships agree with those observed on other transitions and in long-term phase relationships; they cannot be explained simply as artifacts of bioturbational translations of the original signals.