Consequences of climate change for the soil climate in Central Europe and the central plains of the United States

This study aims to evaluate soil climate quantitatively under present and projected climatic conditions across Central Europe (12.1°–18.9° E and 46.8°–51.1° N) and the U.S. Central Plains (90°–104° W and 37°–49° N), with a special focus on soil temperature, hydric regime, drought risk and potential productivity (assessed as a period suitable for crop growth). The analysis was completed for the baselines (1961–1990 for Europe and 1985–2005 for the U.S.) and time horizons of 2025, 2050 and 2100 based on the outputs of three global circulation models using two levels of climate sensitivity. The results indicate that the soil climate (soil temperature and hydric soil regimes) will change dramatically in both regions, with significant consequences for soil genesis. However, the predicted changes of the pathways are very uncertain because of the range of future climate systems predicted by climate models. Nevertheless, our findings suggest that the risk of unfavourable dry years will increase, resulting in greater risk of soil erosion and lower productivity. The projected increase in the variability of dry and wet events combined with the uncertainty (particularly in the U.S.) poses a challenge for selecting the most appropriate adaptation strategies and for setting adequate policies. The results also suggest that the soil resources are likely be under increased pressure from changes in climate.     

Carbon flows in the benthic food web at the deep-sea observatory HAUSGARTEN (Fram Strait)

The HAUSGARTEN observatory is located in the eastern Fram Strait (Arctic Ocean) and used as long-term monitoring site to follow changes in the Arctic benthic ecosystem. Linear inverse modelling was applied to decipher carbon flows among the compartments of the benthic food web at the central HAUSGARTEN station (2500 m) based on an empirical data set consisting of data on biomass, prokaryote production, total carbon deposition and community respiration. The model resolved 99 carbon flows among 4 abiotic and 10 biotic compartments, ranging from prokaryotes up to megafauna. Total carbon input was 3.78±0.31 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹, which is a comparatively small fraction of total primary production in the area. The community respiration of 3.26±0.20 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹ is dominated by prokaryotes (93%) and has lower contributions from surface-deposit feeding macro- (1.7%) and suspension feeding megafauna (1.9%), whereas contributions from nematode and other macro- and megabenthic compartments were limited to <1%. The high prokaryotic contribution to carbon processing suggests that functioning of the benthic food web at the central HAUSGARTEN station is comparable to abyssal plain sediments that are characterised by strong energy limitation. Faunal diet compositions suggest that labile detritus is important for deposit-feeding nematodes (24% of their diet) and surface-deposit feeding macrofauna (∼44%), but that semi-labile detritus is more important in the diets of deposit-feeding macro- and megafauna. Dependency indices on these food sources were also calculated as these integrate direct (i.e. direct grazing and predator–prey interactions) and indirect (i.e. longer loops in the food web) pathways in the food web. Projected sea-ice retreats for the Arctic Ocean typically anticipate a decrease in the labile detritus flux to the already food-limited benthic food web. The dependency indices indicate that faunal compartments depend similarly on labile and semi-labile detritus, which suggests that the benthic biota may be more sensitive to changes in labile detritus inputs than when assessed from diet composition alone. Species-specific responses to different types of labile detritus inputs, e.g. pelagic algae versus sympagic algae, however, are presently unknown and are needed to assess the vulnerability of individual components of the benthic food web.     

Sociological Profile of Astronomers in Spain

In this paper the main findings are presented of a recent study made by a team of sociologists from the University of Granada on the professional astronomers currently working in Spain. Despite the peculiarities of this group – its youth, twentyfold increase in size over the last 20 years, and extremely high rate of specialization abroad – in comparison with other Spanish professionals, this is the first time that the sociological characteristics of the group have been studied discretely. The most significant results of the study are presented in the following sections. Section 1 gives a brief historical background of the development of Astronomy in Spain. Section 2 analyzes the socio-demographic profile of Spanish Astronomy professionals (sex, age, marital status, etc.). Sections 3–5 are devoted to the college education and study programs followed by Spanish astronomers, focusing on the features and evaluations of the training received, and pre- and postdoctoral study trips made to research centers abroad. The results for the latter clearly show the importance that Spanish astronomers place on having experience abroad. Special attention is paid to scientific papers published as a result of joint research projects carried out with colleagues from centers abroad as a result of these study trips. Section 6 describes the situation of Astronomy professionals within the Spanish job market, the different positions available and the time taken to find a job after graduation. Section 7 examines Astronomy as a discipline in Spain, including the astronomers' own opinions of the social status of the discipline within Spanish society. Particular attention is paid to how Spanish astronomers view the status of Astronomy in Spain in comparison with that of other European countries. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The RHESSI Spacecraft Instrument Data Processing Unit

The Ramaty High-Energy Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) spacecraft is a NASA Small Explorer (SMEX) class mission. RHESSI is designed to image solar X-rays and gamma rays with high-energy resolution. The Instrument Data Processing Unit (IDPU) serves as the central RHESSI instrument on-board data-processing element. It controls and monitors the instrument operations, and provides a flexible telemetry collection and formatting system. The system responds autonomously to optimize science data collection over a wide dynamic range of conditions, handling up to 40 Mbps of telemetry during solar flares. This paper presents an overview of the IDPU hardware and software design.     

Nonuniform Target Ionization and Fitting Thick Target Electron Injection Spectra to RHESSI Data

Past analyses of flare hard X-ray (HXR) spectra have largely ignored the effect of nonuniform ionization along the electron paths in the thick-target model, though it is very significant for well-resolved spectra. The inverse problem (photon spectrum to electron injection spectrum F ₀(E ₀)) is disturbingly non-unique. However, we show that it is relatively simple to allow for the effect in forward fitting of parametric models of F ₀(E ₀)) and provide an expression to evaluate it for the usual single power-law form of F ₀(E ₀)).The expression involves the column depth N _* of the transition region in the flare loop as one of the parameters so data fitting can enable derivation of N _* (and its evaporative evolution) as part of the fitting procedure. The fit to RHESSI data on four flares for a single power law F ₀(E ₀)) is much improved when ionization structure is included compared to when the usual fully ionized approximation is used. This removes the need, in these events at least, to invoke broken power laws, or other forms, of the acceleration spectrum F ₀(E ₀)) to explain the observed photon spectrum     

Experimental study of fly-ash migration by using magnetic method

Several studies have shown that magnetic measurements can be used in assessing soil contamination due to atmospheric deposition of pollutants. Reliable spatial mapping of magnetic susceptibility of soils assumes high temporal stability of deposited particles, accumulated in top-soil horizons. One of the main methodological concerns is whether the migration of deposited anthropogenic ferrimagnetic particles may bias the measured values. Measurements carried out on high-porosity (sandy) soils, or on soils with a very variable water regime may yield inconsistent values of top-soil magnetic susceptibility as the indicator of contamination. This study focuses on the laboratory examination of migration of fly ashes from a coal-burning power plant in sands of different porosity and under a simulated rain regime. Columns of sand of different grain sizes, placed in plastic cylinders, were contaminated on the surface by the fly ash. The vertical migration of magnetic particles was monitored using measurements of magnetic susceptibility with an SM400 Kappameter. Calibration measurements in the water environment showed an erroneous performance and resulted in the technical improvement of the used susceptibility meter (Model 2009). Our results show that the vertical distribution of flyash particles deposited on fine sand is very stable even after repeated rain simulation. The peak value of magnetic susceptibility is located in a stable position a few millimeters under the surface. Hence, standard top-soil magnetic mapping is in such a case reliable and fully representative. Contrary to that, in case of coarse sand, the peak value of magnetic susceptibility migrates by more than 10 cm. The results will be further used for numerical modeling of contaminant transport in porous media.     

Estimating hydraulic parameters when poroelastic effects are significant

For almost 80 years, deformation-induced head changes caused by poroelastic effects have been observed during pumping tests in multilayered aquifer-aquitard systems. As water in the aquifer is released from compressive storage during pumping, the aquifer is deformed both in the horizontal and vertical directions. This deformation in the pumped aquifer causes deformation in the adjacent layers, resulting in changes in pore pressure that may produce drawdown curves that differ significantly from those predicted by traditional groundwater theory. Although these deformation-induced head changes have been analyzed in several studies by poroelasticity theory, there are at present no practical guidelines for the interpretation of pumping test data influenced by these effects. To investigate the impact that poroelastic effects during pumping tests have on the estimation of hydraulic parameters, we generate synthetic data for three different aquifer-aquitard settings using a poroelasticity model, and then analyze the synthetic data using type curves and parameter estimation techniques, both of which are based on traditional groundwater theory and do not account for poroelastic effects. Results show that even when poroelastic effects result in significant deformation-induced head changes, it is possible to obtain reasonable estimates of hydraulic parameters using methods based on traditional groundwater theory, as long as pumping is sufficiently long so that deformation-induced effects have largely dissipated.     

Impacts of climate change on water resources in the Mediterranean Basin: a case study in Catalonia,Spain

Abstract

Most climate change projections show important decreases in water availability in the Mediterranean region by the end of this century. We assess those main climate change impacts on water resources in three medium-sized catchments with varying climatic conditions in northeastern Spain. A combination of hydrological modelling and climate projections with B1 and A2 IPCC emission scenarios is performed to infer future streamflows. The largest reduction (34%) in mean streamflows (for 2076–2100) is expected in the headwaters of the two wettest catchments, while lower decreases (25% of mean value for 2076–2100) are expected in the drier one. In all three catchments, autumn and summer are the seasons with the most notable projected decreases in streamflow, of 50% and 30%, respectively. Thus, ecological flows in the study area might be noticeably influenced by climate change, especially in the headwaters of the wet catchments.     

Lake Volume Monitoring from Space

Lakes are integrators of environmental change occurring at both the regional and global scale. They present a wide range of behavior on a variety of timescales (cyclic and secular) depending on their morphology and climate conditions. Lakes play a crucial role in retaining and stocking water, and because of the significant global environmental changes occurring at several anthropocentric levels, the necessity to monitor all morphodynamic characteristics [e.g., water level, surface (water contour) and volume] has increased substantially. Satellite altimetry and imagery are now widely used together to calculate lake and reservoir water storage changes worldwide. However, strategies and algorithms to calculate these characteristics are not straightforward, and specific approaches need to be developed. We present a review of some of these methodologies by using lakes over the Tibetan Plateau to illustrate some critical aspects and issues (technical and scientific) linked to the observation of climate change impact on surface waters from remote sensing data. Many authors have measured water variation using the limited remote sensing measurements available over short time periods, even though the time series are probably too short to directly link these results with climate change. Indeed, there are many processes and factors, like the influence of lake morphology, that are beyond observation and are still uncertain. The time response for lakes to reach a new state of equilibrium is a key aspect that is often neglected in current literature. Observations over a long period of time, including maintaining a constellation of comprehensive and complementary satellite missions with service continuity over decades, are therefore necessary especially when the ground gauge network is too limited. In addition, the design of future satellite missions with new instrumental concepts (e.g., SAR, SARin, Ka band altimetry, Ka interferometry) will also be suitable for complete monitoring of continental waters.