A comparison of chironomid biostratigraphy from Lake Vuolep Njakajaure with vegetation, lake-level, and climate changes in Abisko National Park, Sweden

Chironomid remains from the sediment of Lake Vuolep Njakajaure reflect limnological conditions resulting from changing climate and vegetation throughout the Holocene, but do not strictly follow accepted climate trends or the vegetation history based on regional pollen and macrofossil analyses. Chironomid community changes appear to be influenced by organic nutrient input from the surrounding catchment vegetation and lake hydrology, both of which are indirectly responding to some combination of climate change, hypolimnetic oxygen concentration, and changes in basin morphology. The chironomid-based quantitative mean July air-temperature reconstruction differs from other regional quantitative records; this discrepancy is likely related to limnological conditions particular to Lake Vuolep Njakajaure. Comparison of a northern Swedish temperature transfer function and one from western Canada reveals differences in the mean July air-temperature optima of several common taxa, suggesting that the existing conservative estimates of Holocene climate change in northern Sweden may be underestimated due to the limited temperature gradient captured by the Swedish training set.     

Projected climate change impact on Baltic Sea cyanobacteria

Compared to other phytoplankton groups, nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria generally prefer high water temperatures for growth and are therefore expected to benefit from global warming. We use a coupled biological-physical model with an advanced cyanobacteria life cycle model to compare the abundance of cyanobacteria in the Baltic Sea during two different time periods (1969–1998; 2069–2098). For the latter, we find prolonged growth and a more than twofold increase in the climatologically (30 years) averaged cyanobacteria biomass and nitrogen fixation. Additional sensitivity experiments indicate that the biological-physical feedback mechanism through light absorption becomes more important with global warming. In general, we find a nonlinear response of cyanobacteria to changes in the atmospheric forcing fields as a result of life-cycle related feedback mechanisms. Overall, the sensitivity of the cyanobacteria-driven system suggests that biological-physical and life-cycle related feedback mechanisms are important and must therefore be included in future projection studies.     

Comparative hydrogeology – reference analysis of groundwater dynamics from neighbouring observation wells

ABSTRACT

Groundwater level fluctuations are caused by spatial and temporal superposition of processes within and outside the aquifer system. Most of the subsurface processes are usually observed on a small scale. Upscaling to the regional scale, as required for future climate change scenarios, is difficult due to data scarcity and increasing complexity. In contrast to the limited availability of system characteristics, high-resolution data records of groundwater hydrographs are more generally available. Exploiting the information contained in these records should thus be a priority for analysis of the chronical lack of data describing groundwater system characteristics. This study analyses the applicability of 63 indices derived from daily hydrographs to quantify different dynamics of groundwater levels in unconfined gravel aquifers from three groundwater regions (Bavaria, Germany). Based on the results of two different skill tests, the study aids index selection for different dynamic components of groundwater hydrographs.     

Fusion of multi‐resolution surface (terrestrial laser scanning) and subsurface geodata (ERT,SRT) for karst landform investigation and geomorphometric quantification

A multi‐method research design based on terrestrial laser scanning, GIS, geophysical prospecting (electrical resistivity tomography, refraction seismics) and sedimentology is applied for the first time to investigate enclosed karst depressions in an integrated way. Fusing multi‐resolution surface and subsurface geodata provides profound insights into the formation, geometry and geomorphologic processes of dolines. The studied landforms, which are located in the Dikti Mountains of East Crete, are shown to be filled by loose sediments of thicknesses of up to 30 m that mainly consist of fine‐grained material overlying solid bedrock at depths below 35 to 45 m. By combining subsurface observations with geomorphometric calculations, local doline genesis can be traced back to initial collapse of fractured bedrock followed by subsequent infilling with colluvials. In order to define crucial methodological requirements and guidelines for data fusion, both the impact of different elevation models and the influence of data resolution are assessed. Surface volumes of depressions derived by the digital surface model are 7–21% higher than the results obtained from the terrain model due to vegetation. Similarly, estimates of infill volume calculated on the basis of geophysical outcomes and elevation data differ by up to 13%. Calculations of the landforms' current volumes (i.e. total surface and subsurface volume), however, are fairly insensitive to raster resolution. Hence, the distinct geomorphologic properties of landforms (e.g. shape, terrain roughness, slope inclination) substantially determine the geomorphometric analysis of both surface and subsurface data. As shown by the findings, data fusion to integrate digital terrain, geophysical and sedimentological datasets of varied resolutions benefits geomorphologic studies and helps provide a comprehensive image of landforms. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nuclear and incommensurate magnetic structure of NaFeGe2O6 between 5?K and 298?K and new data on multiferroic NaFeSi2O6

The compound NaFeGe₂O₆ was grown synthetically as polycrystalline powder and as large single crystals suitable for X-ray and neutron-diffraction experiments to clarify the low temperature evolution of secondary structural parameters and to determine the low temperature magnetic spins structure. NaFeGe₂O₆ is isotypic to the clinopyroxene-type compound aegirine and adopts the typical HT-C2/c clinopyroxene structure down to 2.5?K. The Na-bearing M2 polyhedra were identified to show the largest volume expansion between 2.5?K and room temperature, while the GeO₄ tetrahedra behave as stiff units. Magnetic susceptibility measurements show a broad maximum around 33?K, which marks the onset of low-dimensional magnetic ordering. Below 12?K NaFeGe₂O₆ transforms to an incommensurately modulated magnetic spin state, with k?=?[0.323, 1.0, 0.080] and a helical order of spins within the M1-chains of FeO₆ octahedra. This is determined by neutron-diffraction experiments on a single crystal. Comparison of NaFeGe₂O₆ with NaFeSi₂O₆ is given and it is shown that the magnetic ordering in the latter compound, aegirine, also is complex and is best described by two different spin states, a commensurate one with C2??/c?? symmetry and an incommensurate one, best being described by a spin density wave, oriented within the (1 0 1) plane.     

Phytoplankton Spatial Variability in the River-Dominated Estuary,Apalachicola Bay,Florida

In shallow estuaries with strong river influence, the short residence time and pronounced gradients generate an environment for plankton that differs substantially in its dynamics from that of the open ocean, and the question arises “How is phytoplankton biomass affected?” This study assesses the small-scale spatial and temporal distribution of phytoplankton in Apalachicola Bay, a shallow bar-built estuary in the Florida Panhandle. Phytoplankton peaks were characterized to gain insights into the processes affecting spatial heterogeneity in biomass. Chlorophyll a (Chl a) distribution at 50-m spatial resolution was mapped using a flow-through sensor array, Dataflow©, operated from a boat that sampled four transects across the bay every 2 weeks for 16 months. Chl a peaks exceeding background concentrations had an average width of 1.3?±?0.7 km delineated by an average gradient of 3.0?±?6.0 μg Chl a L^?1 km^?1. Magnitude of E-W wind, velocity of N-S wind, tidal stage, and temperature affected peak characteristics. Phytoplankton contained in the peaks contributed 7.7?±?2.7% of the total integrated biomass observed along the transects during the study period. The river plume front was frequently a location of elevated Chl a, which shifted in response to river discharge. The results demonstrate that despite the shallow water column, river flushing, and strong wind and tidal mixing, distinct patchiness develops that should be taken into consideration in ecological studies and when assessing productivity of such ecosystems.     

Incentives for field hydrology and data sharing: collaboration and compensation: reply to “A need for incentivizing field hydrology,especially in an era of open data”*

ABSTRACT

We thank Allen and Berghuijs for continuing the discussion on field hydrology and data sharing and discuss two incentives to promote data collection and sharing in hydrological sciences: a collaborative attitude and additional funding to make data publicly available.     

Comparison of Five Numerical Codes for Automated Tracing of Coronal Loops

The three-dimensional (3D) modeling of coronal loops and filaments requires algorithms that automatically trace curvilinear features in solar EUV or soft X-ray images. We compare five existing algorithms that have been developed and customized to trace curvilinear features in solar images: i) the oriented-connectivity method (OCM), which is an extension of the Strous pixel-labeling algorithm (developed by Lee, Newman, and Gary); ii) the dynamic aperture-based loop-segmentation method (developed by Lee, Newman, and Gary); iii) unbiased detection of curvilinear structures (developed by Steger, Raghupathy, and Smith); iv) the oriented-direction method (developed by Aschwanden); and v) ridge detection by automated scaling (developed by Inhester). We test the five existing numerical codes with a TRACE image that shows a bipolar active region and contains over 100 discernable loops. We evaluate the performance of the five codes by comparing the cumulative distribution of loop lengths, the median and maximum loop length, the completeness or detection efficiency, the accuracy, and flux sensitivity. These algorithms are useful for the reconstruction of the 3D geometry of coronal loops from stereoscopic observations with the STEREO spacecraft, or for quantitative comparisons of observed EUV loop geometries with (nonlinear force-free) magnetic field extrapolation models.     

Diagnostic analysis of future climate scenarios applied to urban flooding in the Chicago metropolitan area

Past heavy precipitation events in the Chicago metropolitan area have caused significant flood-related economic and environmental damages. A key component in flood management policies and actions is determining flood magnitudes for specified return periods. This is a particularly difficult task in areas with a complex and changing climate and land-use, such as the Chicago metropolitan area. The standard design storm methodology based on the NOAA Atlas 14 and ISWS Bulletin 70 has been used in the past to estimate flood hydrographs with variable return periods in this region. In a changing climate, however, these publications may not be accurate. This study presents and illustrates a methodology for diagnostic analysis of future climate scenarios in the framework of urban flooding, and assesses the corresponding uncertainties. First, the design storms are calculated using data downscaled by a regional climate model (RCM) at 30-km spacing for the present and 2050s under the IPCC A1Fi (high) and B1 (low) emissions scenarios. Next, the corresponding flood discharges at six watersheds in suburban Chicago are estimated using a hydrologic event model. The resulting scenarios in flood frequency were first assessed through a set of diagnostic tests for precipitation timing and frequency. The study did not reveal any significant changes in the 2050s in the average timing of heavy storms, but their regularity decreased. The average timing did not exhibit any significant spatial variability throughout the region. The precipitation frequency analysis revealed distinct differences between the northern and southeastern subregions of the Chicago metropolitan area. The quantiles in the northern subregion averaged for 2-year, 5-year, and 10-year return periods exhibited a 20% and 16% increase in daily precipitation for scenarios B1 and A1Fi, respectively. The southeastern subregion, however, exhibited a decrease of 12% for scenario B1 and a minor increase of 3% for scenario A1Fi. The hydrologic effects of changing precipitation on the flood quantiles were illustrated using six small watersheds in the region. The relative increases or decreases in precipitation translated into even larger relative increases or decreases in flood peaks, due to the nonlinear nature of the rainfall-runoff process. Simulations using multiple climate models, for longer periods, finer spatio-temporal resolution, and larger areal coverage could be used to more accurately account for numerous uncertainties in the precipitation and flood projections.