Comparing estimates of actual evapotranspiration from satellites, hydrological models, and field data: a case study from Western Turkey

Evapotranspiration / Estimation / Remote sensing / Satellite surveys / Field tests / Measurement / Productivity / Crops / Water requirements / Water balance / Irrigation management / River basins / Hydrology / Models / Turkey / Gediz River

Integrated basin modeling

Simulation models / Irrigation management / Water balance / Groundwater / River basins / Hydrology / Flow / Evapotranspiration / Precipitation / Soils / Turkey / Gediz Basin

Using datasets from the Internet for hydrological modeling: an example from the Kntnk Menderes Basin, Turkey

River basin development / Water resources / Data collection / Models / Hydrology / Land classification / Water management / Water scarcity / Water allocation / Stream flow / Water demand / Turkey / Kntnk Menderes Basin

Estimating productivity of water at different spatial scales using simulation modeling

Water resources / Productivity / Simulation models / Water scarcity / Water supply / Water balance / Performance indexes / Indicators / River basins / Cropping systems / Crop yield / Cotton / Hydrology / Economic analysis

Modeling scenarios for water allocation in the Gediz Basin, Turkey

Water management / Water allocation / Models / River basin development / Hydrology / Decision making / Environmental effects / Water use efficiency / Climate / Irrigation water / Irrigated farming / Stream flow / Surface water / Salt water intrusion / Turkey / Gediz Basin

Uncertainty in climate change projections of discharge for the Mekong River Basin

The Mekong River Basin is a key regional resource in Southeast Asia for sectors that include agriculture, fisheries and electricity production. Here we explore the potential impacts of climate change on freshwater resources within the river basin. We quantify uncertainty in these projections associated with GCM structure and climate sensitivity, as well as from hydrological model parameter specification. This is achieved by running pattern-scaled GCM scenarios through a semi-distributed hydrological model (SLURP) of the basin. Pattern-scaling allows investigation of specific thresholds of global climate change including the postulated 2 degrees C threshold of "dangerous" climate change. Impacts of a 2 degrees C rise in global mean temperature are investigated using seven different GCMs, providing an implicit analysis of uncertainty associated with GCM structure. Analysis of progressive changes in global mean temperature from 0.5 to 6 degrees C above the 1961-1990 baseline (using the HadCM3 GCM) reveals a relatively small but non-linear response of annual river discharge to increasing global mean temperature, ranging from a 5.4% decrease to 4.5% increase. Changes in mean monthly river discharge are greater (from -16% to +55%, with greatest decreases in July and August, greatest increases in May and June) and result from complex and contrasting intra-basin changes in precipitation, evaporation and snow storage/melt. Whilst overall results are highly GCM dependent (in both direction and magnitude), this uncertainty is primarily driven by differences in GCM projections of future precipitation. In contrast, there is strong consistency between GCMs in terms of both increased potential evapotranspiration and a shift to an earlier and less substantial snowmelt season. Indeed, in the upper Mekong (Lancang sub-basin), the temperature-related signal in discharge is strong enough to overwhelm the precipitation-related uncertainty in the direction of change in discharge, with scenarios from all GCMs leading to increased river flow from April-June and decreased flow from July-August

Can being gay provide a boost in the hiring process? Maybe if the boss is female

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to investigate whether men and women differentially prefer hiring gay and lesbian job applicants relative to equally qualified heterosexual job applicants. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from two samples of non-student participants. Each participant evaluated the perceived hirability of an ostensibly real job applicant by reviewing the applicant’s resume. In reality, all participants were randomly assigned to evaluate the same fictitious resume that differed only in the gender and sexual orientation of the applicant. Findings – We find that men perceived gay and lesbian job applicants as less hirable, while women perceived gay and lesbian job applicants as more hirable than heterosexual job applicants. Additionally, we show perceptions of hirability are mediated by perceptions of gay and lesbian job applicants’ competence. Implications – These results show that bias against gays and lesbians is much more nuanced than previous work suggests. One implication is that placing more women in selection roles within organizations could be a catalyst for the inclusion of gay and lesbian employees. Additionally, these results could influence when and how gays and lesbians disclose their gay identities at work. Originality/value –These studies are the first to identify a positive bias in favor of gay and lesbian job applicants. As attitudes toward gays and lesbians become more positive, results like these are important to document as they signal a shift in intergroup relations. These results will also help managers and organizations design selection processes to minimize bias towards applicants. Keywords: gender, sexual orientation, selection, bia

Nanomaterials for the cleaning and pH adjustment of vegetable tanned leather

Leather artifacts in historical collections and archives are often contaminated by physical changes such as soiling, which alter their appearance and readability, and by chemical changes which occur on ageing and give rise to excessive proportion of acids that promote hydrolysis of collagen, eventually leading to gelatinization and loss of mechanical properties. However, both cleaning and pH adjustment of vegetable tanned leather pose a great challenge for conservators, owing to the sensitivity of these materials to the action of solvents, especially water-based formulations and alkaline chemicals. In this study the cleaning of historical leather samples was optimized by confining an oil-in-water (o/w) nanostructured fluid in a highly retentive chemical hydrogel, which allows the controlled release of the cleaning fluid on sensitive surfaces. The chemical gel exhibits optimal viscoelasticity, which facilitates its removal after the application without leaving residues on the object. Nanoparticles of calcium hydroxide and lactate, dispersed in 2-propanol, were used to adjust the pH up to the natural value of leather, preventing too high alkalinity which causes swelling of fibers and denaturation of the collagen. The treated samples were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE SEM), controlled environment dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA-RH), and infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). The analytical assessment validated the use of tools derived from colloid and materials science for the preservation of collagen-based artifacts