Satellite-based peatland mapping: Potential of the MODIS sensor

Peatlands play a major role in the global carbon cycle but are largely overlooked in current large-scale vegetation mapping efforts. In this study, we investigated the potential of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to capture the extent and distribution of peatlands in the St. Petersburg region of Russia by analyzing the relationships between peatland cover fractions derived from reference maps and  1-km resolution MODIS Nadir BRDF-Adjusted Reflectance (NBAR) data from year 2002.First, we characterized and mapped 50 peatlands from forest inventory and peat deposit inventory data. The peatlands represent three major nutritional types (oligotrophic, mesotrophic, eutrophic) and different sizes (0.6–7800 ha). In addition, parts of 6 peatlands were mined for peat and these were mapped separately. The reference maps provided information on peatland cover for 1105 MODIS pixels. We performed regression analysis on 50% of the pixels and reserved the remainder for model validation. Canonical correlation analysis on the MODIS reflectance bands and the peatland cover fractions produced a multi-spectral peatland cover index (PCI), which served as the predictor in a reduced major axis (RMA) regression model. The results suggest a high potential for mapping peatlands with MODIS. The RMA regression models explained much of the variance in the PCI (r² = 0.74 for mined and r² = 0.81 for unmined peatlands). Model validation showed high correlation between observed versus predicted peatland cover (mined: r = 0.87; unmined: r = 0.92). We used the models to derive peatland cover estimates for the St. Petersburg region and compared the results to current MODIS land cover maps.     

Electronic state of Fe2+ in (Mg,Fe)(Si,Al)O3 perovskite and (Mg,Fe)SiO3 majorite at pressures up to 81 GPa and temperatures up to 800 K

Despite a large number of studies of iron spin state in silicate perovskite at high pressure and high temperature, there is still disagreement regarding the type and P–T conditions of the transition, and whether Fe²⁺ or Fe³⁺ or both iron cations are involved. Recently, our group published results of a Mössbauer spectroscopy study of the iron behaviour in (Mg,Fe)(Si,Al)O₃ perovskite at pressures up to 110 GPa (McCammon et al. 2008), where we suggested stabilization of the intermediate spin state for 8- to 12-fold coordinated ferrous iron (^[8–12]Fe²⁺) in silicate perovskite above 30 GPa. In order to explore the behaviour in related systems, we performed a comparative Mössbauer spectroscopic study of silicate perovskite (Fe_0.12Mg_0.88SiO₃) and majorite (with two compositions—Fe_0.18Mg_0.82SiO₃ and Fe_0.11Mg_0.88SiO₃) at pressures up to 81 GPa in the temperature range 296–800 K, which was mainly motivated by the fact that the oxygen environment of ferrous iron in majorite is quite similar to that in silicate perovskite. The ^[8–12]Fe²⁺ component, dominating the Mössbauer spectra of majorites, shows high quadrupole splitting (QS) values, about 3.6 mm s^?1, in the entire studied P–T region (pressures to 58 GPa and 296–800 K). Decrease of the QS of this component with temperature at constant pressure can be described by the Huggins model with the energy splitting between low-energy e _g levels of ^[8–12]Fe²⁺ equal to 1,500 (50) cm^?1 for Fe_0.18Mg_0.82SiO₃ and to 1,680 (70) cm^?1 for Fe_0.11Mg_0.88SiO₃. In contrast, for the silicate perovskite dominating Mössbauer component associated with ^[8–12]Fe²⁺ suggests the gradual change of the electronic properties. Namely, an additional spectral component with central shift close to that for high-spin ^[8–12]Fe²⁺ and QS about 3.7 mm s^?1 appeared at ~35 (2) GPa, and the amount of the component increases with both pressure and temperature. The temperature dependence of QS of the component cannot be described in the framework of the Huggins model. Observed differences in the high-pressure high-temperature behaviour of ^[8–12]Fe²⁺ in the silicate perovskite and majorite phases provide additional arguments in favour of the gradual high-spin—intermediate-spin crossover in lower mantle perovskite, previously reported by McCammon et al. (2008) and Lin et al. (2008).     

Oxygen isotope fractionation between apatite-bound carbonate and water determined from controlled experiments with synthetic apatites precipitated at 10-37 °C

The oxygen isotope fractionation between the structural carbonate of inorganically precipitated hydroxyapatite (HAP) and water was determined in the range 10-37 °C. Values of 1000 ln α() are linearly correlated with inverse temperature (K) according to the following equation: 1000 ln α() = 25.19 (±0.53)·T⁻¹ − 56.47 (±1.81) (R² = 0.998). This fractionation equation has a slightly steeper slope than those already established between calcite and water ( [O’Neil et al., 1969] and [Kim and O’Neil, 1997]) even though measured fractionations are of comparable amplitude in the temperature range of these experimental studies. It is consequently observed that the oxygen isotope fractionation between apatite carbonate and phosphate increases from about 7.5‰ up to 9.1‰ with decreasing temperature from 37 °C to 10 °C. A compilation of δ¹⁸O values of both phosphate and carbonate from modern mammal teeth and bones confirms that both variables are linearly correlated, despite a significant scattering up to 3.5‰, with a slope close to 1 and an intercept corresponding to a 1000 ln α() value of 8.1‰. This apparent fractionation factor is slightly higher or close to the fractionation factor expected to be in the range 7-8‰ at the body temperature of mammals.     

Vulnerability of simple reinforced concrete buildings to damage by rockfalls

A procedure is presented for investigating the response of reinforced concrete buildings to rockfall impact. The method considers a single rock hit on the basement columns, and it includes four steps: (a) calculation of the probability of a rock impact on a member of the load-bearing system, taking into account the block size and the design of the structure; (b) evaluation of the response of one or more structural elements to the hit based on element capacity; (c) in the case of structural element failure, assessment of the robustness of the whole structural system, calculating the potential for progressive collapse; and (d) calculation of a damage index (DI), which is the ratio of structural elements that fail to the total number of structural elements. The proposed method is applied to a reinforced concrete building for a range of rockfall paths and intensities. The analysis has been carried out for a 2-m-diameter block and velocities < 3.5 m/s. The possible damage range is found to be highly variable, with DI values ranging from 0.01 to 1 depending on the impact location and block velocity.     

Sedimentation History of Neogene Lacustrine Sediments of Suseocka Bela Stena Based on Geochemical Parameters (Valjevo-Mionica Basin, Serbia)

Sediments of the western part of the Valjevo-Mionica basin (Serbia) were examined both geochemically and mineralogically to explain, on the basis of their sedimentological characteristics, the causes of changes in their qualitative and quantitative composition. A total of 62 samples obtained from the drillhole at depths up to 400 m was investigated. Using correlation of the obtained data, six geochemical zones were defined, two of which being specially distinguished by their mineralogical, geochemical and sedimentological characteristics. The first one, upper zone A, consists of banded marlstones interbedded with clay and oil shales and is characterized by presence of analcite and searlesite. These minerals and very high contents of Na2O indicate sedimentation in alkaline conditions with increased salinity in arid climate. That provided pronounced water stratification, as well as higher bioproductivity in the basin and sedimentary organic matter preservation. Therefore, the zone A sediments are characterized by high organic matter contents of the type which provides good potential for production of liquid hydrocarbons. Another specific zone, zone F, contains sediments with very high MgO, K2O and Li concentrations. Their geochemical correlation, as well as almost complete absence of illite in this zone, indicates the presence of interstratified clay mineral type illite-saponite (lithium-bearing Mg-smectite).     

REGIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE SCENARIOS UNDER GLOBAL WARMING IN KAZAKHSTAN

The aim of this paper is to report on the development of regional climate change scenarios for Kazakhstan as the result of increasing of CO₂ concentration in the global atmosphere. These scenarios are used in the assessment of climate change impacts on the agricultural, forest and water resources of Kazakhstan. Climate change scenarios for Kazakhstan to assess both long-term (2× CO₂ in 2075) and short-term (2000, 2010 and 2030) impacts were prepared. The climate conditions under increasing CO₂ concentration were estimated from three General Circulation Models (GCM) outputs: the model of the Canadian Climate Center Model (CCCM), the model of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) and the 1% transient version of the GFDL model (GFDL-T). The near-term climate scenarios were obtained using the probabilistic forecast model (PFM) to the year 2010 and the results of GFDL-T for years 2000 and 2030. A baseline scenario representing the current climate conditions based on observations from 1951 to 1980 was developed. The assessment of climate change in Kazakhstan based on the analysis of 100-years observations is given too. As a result of comparisons of the current climate (based on observed climate) the 1× CO₂ output from GCMs showed that the GFDL model best matches the observed climate. The GFDL model suggests that the minimum increase in temperature is expected in winter, when most of the territory is expected to have temperatures 2.3–4.5 °C higher. The maximum (4.3 to 8.2 °C) is expected to be in spring. CCCM scenario estimates an extreme worming above 11 °C in spring months. GFDL-T outputs provide an intermediate scenario.     

Spatiotemporal multiscale diagnosis model to proactively respond to the multi-country monkeypox virus outbreak in 2022

This research analyzes the spatiotemporal trend of 23,121 monkeypox virus cases in the multi-country outbreak that affected 82 countries from January 2022 to July 2022. The spatiotemporal trends analysis is developed using open data and GIS to model 3D bins and emerging hot spots globally (data by country) and nationally (data by region) for hardest hit countries, like the USA and Spain. The implemented methodology distinguishes between problem areas —as significant hot spots— and countries with no pattern. Results show consecutive hot spot patterns in Western Europe and high location quotients in North America. Factually, the countries with consecutive patterns record 16,494 cases, that is, 71.34% of the cases, where 7.63% of the world population live. At the national level, in the analysis of the USA and Spain, the results reveal regional differences with significative hot spots in California and on the East Coast of the USA and the Mediterranean coast of Spain. The proposed methodology facilitates the monitoring of the spatiotemporal evolution of monkeypox cases and is scalable and replicable using non-arbitrary and statistical parameters. The findings indicate problematic zones in real-time, enabling policymakers to develop focused interventions and proactive strategies to mitigate the future risk of monkeypox.