Effects of neighboring vascular plants on the abundance of bryophytes in different vegetation types

Due to the climate change, vegetation of tundra ecosystems is predicted to shift toward shrub and tree dominance, and this change may influence bryophytes. To estimate how changes in growing environment and the dominance of vascular plants influence bryophyte abundance, we compared the relationship of occurrence of bryophytes among other plant types in a five-year experiment of warming (T), fertilization (F) and T + F in two vegetation types, heath and meadow, in a subarctic–alpine ecosystem. We compared individual leaf area among shrub species to confirm that deciduous shrubs might cause severe shading effect. Effects of neighboring functional types on the performance of Hylocomium splendens was also analyzed.Results show that F and T + F treatments significantly influenced bryophyte abundance negatively. Under natural conditions, bryophytes in the heath site were negatively related to the abundance of shrubs and lichens and the relationship between lichens and bryophytes strengthened after the experimental period. After five years of experimental treatments in the meadow, a positive abundance relationship emerged between bryophytes and deciduous shrubs, evergreen shrubs and forbs. This relationship was not found in the heath site. Our study therefore shows that the abundance relationships between bryophytes and plants in two vegetation types within the same area can be different. Deciduous shrubs had larger leaf area than evergreen shrubs but did not show any shading effect on H. splendens.     

An assessment of arctic sea ice concentration retrieval based on “HY-2” scanning radiometer data using field observations during CHINARE-2012 and other satellite instruments

A retrieval algorithm of arctic sea ice concentration (SIC) based on the brightness temperature data of “HY-2” scanning microwave radiometer has been constructed. The tie points of the brightness tempe...     

The impact of extreme weather and climate change on inland waterway transport

Similarly to other modes of transport, inland waterway transport has to deal with weather events, affecting navigation conditions and the infrastructure on inland waterways. Most significant extreme weather events result from high precipitation, droughts and temperatures below zero degrees Celsius. Heavy rainfall, in particular in association with snow melt, may lead to floods resulting in suspension of navigation and causing damage to the inland waterway infrastructure as well as the property and health of human beings living in areas exposed to flooding. Long periods of drought may lead to reduced discharge and low water levels, limiting the cargo-carrying capacity of vessels and increasing the specific costs of transportation. Temperatures below zero degrees Celsius over a longer period may cause the appearance of ice on waterways, leading to suspension of navigation and possible damage to infrastructure, for example, buoys. Neither extreme weather events as well as climate change are new phenomena nor is their general occurrence expected to change suddenly. However, due to climate change, extreme weather events may change positively or adversely in severity and frequency of occurrence, depending on the respective weather event and the location of its occurrence. This paper gives an overview of the impact of extreme weather events on inland waterway transport in Europe, focussed on the Rhine–Main–Danube corridor, followed by a discussion on how climate change will change these events and their impacts.     

The meso-scale drivers of temperature extremes in high-latitude Fennoscandia

Extreme temperatures are key drivers controlling both biotic and abiotic processes, and may be strongly modified by topography and land cover. We modelled mean and extreme temperatures in northern Fennoscandia by combining digital elevation and land cover data with climate observations from northern Finland, Norway and Sweden. Multivariate partitioning technique was utilized to investigate the relative importance of environmental variables for the variation of the three temperature parameters: mean annual absolute minima and maxima, and mean annual temperature. Generalized additive modeling showed good performance, explaining 84–95 % of the temperature variation. The inclusion of remotely sensed variables improved significantly the modelling of thermal extremes in this system. The water cover variables and topography were the most important drivers of minimum temperatures, whereas elevation was the most important factor controlling maximum temperatures. The spatial variability of mean temperatures was clearly driven by geographical location and the effects of topography. Partitioning technique gave novel insights into temperature-environment relationship at the meso-scale and thus proved to be useful tool for the study of the extreme temperatures in the high-latitude setting.     

Geomorphological evidence of paleoseismicity: Surficial and underground structures of Pasmajärvi postglacial fault

The cyclic nature of glaciations and related postglacial faulting represents a risk for the deep geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel in areas likely to be affected by future glaciations. Seismic history was therefore studied by means of detecting geomorphological structures on airborne laser scanning digital elevation models and underground by excavating in an esker and trenching across a postglacial fault located in northern Fennoscandia. OLS dating and assessing the geomorphological structures was used for timing of the seismic history. The results suggest that the faulting of different segments in the Pasmajärvi complex is due to at least two late Weichselian events, which probably occurred both subglacially and postglacially. The most reliable input for the moment magnitude estimates was vertical slip profiles, and therefore these estimates (M_W ≈ 6.4–6.9) are suggested. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

New radiocarbon dates from Finnish mammoths indicating large ice-free areas in Fennoscandia during the Middle Weichselian

New radiocarbon dates from Finnish subfossil mammoth material (Mammuthus sp.), transported by glacial ice, range in age from ca. 32000 to ca. 22500 yr BP. These results suggest that there was a larger ice-free area in Fennoscandia during the Middle Weichselian than previously assumed. In addition, two dates are also presented for bones found in clay with a different transport history. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of discharge coefficients for a cross-flooding duct

Cross-flooding ducts are used to equalize asymmetric flooding and, thus, to decrease the heel angle of a ship in an emergency. The present design guidelines for cross-flooding arrangements involve uncertainties associated with the effect of variable structural factors. In this study, scale model experiments were carried out to determine discharge coefficients of a typical cross-duct, with a focus on the effect of structural components such as the girders, stiffeners, and web frame. Flow conditions and configuration of the components were varied in the experiments. The structural stiffeners in the cross-duct were found to notably increase the discharge coefficient whereas the effects of the web frame and the inclination of the duct at an angle of 7° were negligible. The experimentally obtained discharge coefficient values for the cross-duct were considerably lower than the corresponding values computed according to the generally used guidelines of the IMO Resolution MSC.245(83). This indicates that the geometrical properties of the girders in the cross-ducts need to be properly addressed to avoid overestimating the discharge coefficients. Overall, the experimental results formed an indispensable dataset for the validation and further development of CFD approaches.