Extended regional climate model projections for Europe until the mid-twentyfirst century: combining ENSEMBLES and CMIP3

This study aims at sharpening the existing knowledge of expected seasonal mean climate change and its uncertainty over Europe for the two key climate variables air temperature and precipitation amount until the mid-twentyfirst century. For this purpose, we assess and compensate the global climate model (GCM) sampling bias of the ENSEMBLES regional climate model (RCM) projections by combining them with the full set of the CMIP3 GCM ensemble. We first apply a cross-validation in order to assess the skill of different statistical data reconstruction methods in reproducing ensemble mean and standard deviation. We then select the most appropriate reconstruction method in order to fill the missing values of the ENSEMBLES simulation matrix and further extend the matrix by all available CMIP3 GCM simulations forced by the A1B emission scenario. Cross-validation identifies a randomized scaling approach as superior in reconstructing the ensemble spread. Errors in ensemble mean and standard deviation are mostly less than 0.1 K and 1.0 % for air temperature and precipitation amount, respectively. Reconstruction of the missing values reveals that expected seasonal mean climate change of the ENSEMBLES RCM projections is not significantly biased and that the associated uncertainty is not underestimated due to sampling of only a few driving GCMs. In contrast, the spread of the extended simulation matrix is partly significantly lower, sharpening our knowledge about future climate change over Europe by reducing uncertainty in some regions. Furthermore, this study gives substantial weight to recent climate change impact studies based on the ENSEMBLES projections, since it confirms the robustness of the climate forcing of these studies concerning GCM sampling.     

China’s national carbon emissions trading scheme: lessons from the pilot emission trading schemes,academic literature,and known policy details

Upon completion, China’s national emissions trading scheme (C-ETS) will be the largest carbon market in the world. Recent research has evaluated China’s seven pilot ETSs launched from 2013 on, and academic literature on design aspects of the C-ETS abounds. Yet little is known about the specific details of the upcoming C-ETS. This article combines currently understood details of China’s national carbon market with lessons learned in the pilot schemes as well as from the academic literature. Our review follows the taxonomy of Emissions Trading in Practice: A Handbook on Design and Implementation (Partnership for Market Readiness & International Carbon Action Partnership. (2016). Retrieved from www.worldbank.org): The 10 categories are: scope, cap, distribution of allowances, use of offsets, temporal flexibility, price predictability, compliance and oversight, stakeholder engagement and capacity building, linking, implementation and improvements.

Key policy insights

• Accurate emissions data is paramount for both design and implementation, and its availability dictates the scope of the C-ETS.

• The stakeholder consultative process is critical for effective design, and China is able to build on its extensive experience through the pilot ETSs.

• Current policies and positions on intensity targets and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) credits constrain the market design of the C-ETS.

• Most critical is the nature of the cap. The currently discussed rate-based cap with ex post adjustment is risky. Instead, an absolute, mass-based emissions cap coupled with the conditional use of permits would allow China to maintain flexibility in the carbon market while ensuring a limit on CO₂ emissions.

     

Assessment of the management of organizations supplying ecosystem services from tropical forests

Global environmental change leads to degradation of tropical forests in many countries. In response to this pressure, programs for payments for ecosystem services (PES) are developing and organizations are emerging which manage forests in order to supply ecosystem services, rather than only harvest timber. Typically such services are carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, pollination, and watershed protection. Public or private actors interested to invest in or donate money for the provisioning of such services are faced with the problem of choosing the appropriate organization supplying ecosystem services. The goal of this paper was to develop an assessment framework based on the balanced scorecard concept including drivers, impact, performance and context variables. Results of a survey of international market actors were used to determine assessment criteria and their weights. Putting the focus of this paper on drivers and impacts, we assessed Latin American organizations that “sell” ecosystem services from tropical forests in terms of their general management, marketing, forest management, client and stakeholder satisfaction, and forest ecosystem status. We found that supplying organizations vary widely with respect to their achievements in these areas. However, the variance of assessment results is influenced even more by the variance in weights the international market actors allocate to the assessment criteria. The insights of this study can contribute to the continuous improvement of management processes in supplying organizations and can support investors and donors in their decision-making with respect to organization supplying ecosystem services.     

Experimental investigation of turbulent processes in a complex terrain

In the present paper the first results of the international KOPEX-86 experiment are presented. The experiment took place at the Kopisty Atmospheric Observatory of the Institute of Physics of the Atmosphere in Prague as part of a special project of the Commission of the Academy of Sciences in Planetary Geophysics (KAPG) in June and July 1986. Using 4 ultrasonic anemometers at 4 levels up to 80 m, Doppler-SODAR and wind-, temperature- and radiation balance gradients from 2 to 80 m, a complex investigation of the atmospheric boundary layer in an industrial area was made. The authors present the first results of

Source regions for recruitment of Calanus finmarchicus to Georges Bank: evidence from molecular population genetic analysis of mtDNA

Molecular population genetic analysis has provided evidence that the copepod, Calanus finmarchicus, of the Labrador Current, Gulf of St Lawrence, Scotian Shelf, Gulf of Maine, and Georges Bank constitute a single, interbreeding population. The DNA sequence of a 350 base pair portion of the mitochondrial large subunit (16S) ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene was determined for a total of 72 individuals collected in 1992, and 110 individuals collected in 1993 from these regions. There was significant heterogeneity in haplotype frequencies among the samples collected in 1992, but this heterogeneity did not resolve into regional patterns. The only regional differences seen were between pooled samples of the western N. Atlantic and those of the Norwegian Sea. There were no significant differences in haplotype frequencies among the samples collected in 1993, and fewer haplotypes were observed in these samples. Intraspecific molecular variation was typical of other marine species: there were 29 haplotypes among the 182 individuals sequenced. The frequency distribution of the haplotypes was highly skewed: 128 individuals shared one haplotype and 19 individuals were unique. There were 24 variable sites among the 350 bases sequenced; estimated nucleotide diversity was 0.0042. The genetic character of C. finmarchicus populations in the western N. Atlantic was stable over time in that three of the haplotypes (including the most abundant) occurred in both 1992 and 1993. However, haplotype frequencies differed significantly between the two years. The lack of regional structure in the 1992 samples and the genetic homogeneity of samples collected in 1993 across the domain from the Labrador Current to the Gulf of St Lawrence to Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine indicated that there is significant gene flow across this region. The persistent genetic pattern suggests that the Gulf of St Lawrence may be an important source region for recruitment of C. finmarchicus to Georges Bank. Determination of zooplankton dispersal patterns within high gene flow species will provide information that may not be determined by conventional oceanographic analyses.     

Phosphorus Speciation in Stream Bed Sediments from an Agricultural Watershed: Solid-Phase Associations and Sorption Behavior

The sorption behavior and solid-phase associations of phosphorus (P) in fine-grained sediments (<63 μm) from two upstream tributaries and one downstream main stem site of the Spoon River in west-central Illinois were characterized to better understand phosphorus bioavailability in this agriculturally dominated watershed. The P sorption affinities, as indicated by linear distribution coefficients (K _d), of all sediments were 330–5,150 L/kg, and negatively correlated with equilibrium phosphorus concentration (EPC_o) values, which ranged between 0.2 and 2.2 μM. pH values measured at the conclusion of the sorption experiments varied only slightly (7.45–8.10) but were nonetheless strongly positively correlated to EPC_o values, and negatively correlated to K _d values, suggesting the importance of pH to the observed sorption behavior. K _d values were generally lower and EPC_o values higher at the main stem site than at the upstream tributary sites, suggesting dissolved reactive P (DRP) bioavailability (specifically orthophosphate) increased downstream. The solid phase associations of P were operationally assessed with the streamlined SEDEX (sedimentary extraction) procedure, and most sediment P (≥50%) was released during the step designed to determine iron oxide–associated P. On average, 70–90% of the total sediment P pool was potentially bioavailable, as estimated by the sum of the iron oxide-, authigenic carbonate-, and organic-associated P fractions. Considerable calcium was also extracted from some sediments during the step designed to specifically remove iron oxide–associated P. It is hypothesized that the severe drought conditions that persisted between April and October, 2005 allowed authigenic carbonates (perhaps partly amorphous) to accumulate, and that these carbonates dissolved during the iron oxide extraction step. The extensive benthic algal populations also present may have aided carbonate precipitation, which under more normal hydrologic conditions would be periodically flushed downstream and replaced by fresh sediment. This suggests antecedent hydrologic conditions played a dominant role in the P sorption and solid phase associations identified.     

The Visible Solar Spectral Irradiance from 350 to 850 nm As Measured by the SOLSPEC Spectrometer During the ATLAS I Mission

The SOLSPEC instrument has been built to carry out solar spectral irradiance measurements from 200 to 3000 nm. It consists of three spectrometers designed to measure the solar spectral irradiance in ultraviolet, visible, and infrared domains. It flew with the ATLAS I mission in March 1992. This paper is dedicated to the visible part of the solar spectrum. Comparisons with recent data are shown and differences below 450 nm are discussed.     

A review of applications of microwave radiometry to oceanography

The thermal microwave radiation from the ocean surface as seen from space is a function of the surface temperature and wind speed and is modified by liquid water and water vapor in the intervening atmosphere. Further, if the ocean surface is frozen, the emissivity is drastically increased and the effect of the intervening atmosphere is generally negligible. The emissivity of first-year ice is somewhat larger than that of multi-year ice.The data from the Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometers (ESMR's) on the Nimbus-5 and —6 satellites operating at wavelengths of 1.55 cm and 8 mm, respectively, can be interpreted in terms of rain rate, ice coverage and first-year versus multi-year ice determination. The rain-rate data are being used to establish a climatology of rainfall over the oceans. The ice data are being used by the United States Navy in support of international scientific efforts in the Antactic region. Both ice and rain data sets have been generated for the Global Atmospheric Research Project Data Systems Test.It is possible, by making multifrequency measurements, to separate the surface and atmospheric effects and to make useful measurements of sea surface temperature, surface wind speed, and atmospheric parameters along with improved measurements of rain and ice.     

Relation of the observed far ultraviolet solar irradiance to the solar magnetic sector structure

Comparison of the observed solar far ultraviolet irradiance and the observed solar sector structure during 1969 through 1972 shows a tendency for EUV maxima to be located near sector boundaries.     

Low resolution spectroscopy of selected Algol systems

The analysis of spectroscopic data for 30 Algol-type binaries is presented. All these systems are short period Algols having primaries with spectral types B and A. Dominant spectral lines were identified for the spectra collected and their equivalent widths were calculated. All the spectra were examined to understand presence of mass transfer, a disk or circumstellar matter and chromospheric emission. We also present first spectroscopic and period study for few Algols and conclude that high resolution spectra within and outside the primary minimum are needed for better understanding of these Algol type close binaries.