Comparison of Cloud Resolving Model Simulations to Remote Sensing Data

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the ability of a cloud-resolving model (CRM) to simulate the dynamical, radiative, and microphysical properties of deep convective cloud objects identified using CERES (Clouds and the Earth s Radiant Energy System) on board the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite platform, for many cases. A deep convective cloud object is a contiguous region that is composed of satellite footprints that fulfill the following selection criteria: 100% cloud fraction, cloud optical depth > 10, and a cloud top height of at least 10 km. Selection criteria have also been formed for different types of boundary-layer clouds, as described in Xu et al. (2005). The purpose of the cloud object approach is to identify specific areas of where the cloud properties simulated by the CRM systematically differ from the observed cloud properties. Where these systematic differences exist, concrete steps can be made to improve the CRM s simulation of an entire class of clouds, rather than by tuning the model to correctly simulate a single case study, as is often done. Additional information regarding detailed approaches and findings are presented

Feuerbrandbekämpfung im ökologischen Obstbau - Ergebnisse der Bekämpfungsversuche 2004

Beim Fachgespräch "Bekämpfung des Feuerbranderregers im Ökologischen Obstbau" am 06.03.2003 in Weinsberg wurde von den anwesenden Experten erhebliche Kenntnislücken zur Wirkungsweise und Wirksamkeit von im ökologischen Obstbau zur Feuerbrandbekämpfung eingesetzten Präparaten festgestellt. Es stand keine verlässliche Bekämpfungsstrategie zur Vermeidung von Blüteninfektionen durch den Feuerbranderreger Erwinia amylovora zur Verfügung. Deshalb wurde im Bundesprogramm ökologischer Landbau ein Forschungsprojekt zur Entwicklung einer Strategie zur Feuerbrandbekämpfung im ökologischen Obstbau genehmigt. Dieses Projekt wird am Lehrstuhl für Phytopathologie der Universität Konstanz in Zusammenarbeit mit der Fördergemeinschaft ökologischer Obstbau und dem Institut für biologischen Pflanzenschutz der BBA durchgeführt. Das Ziel dieses Projektes ist es, Präparate systematisch auf ihre Wirksamkeit und Wirkungsweise gegenüber dem Feuerbranderreger zu untersuchen und anhand der Ergebnisse eine verlässliche Bekämpfungsstrategie zu entwikkeln. Im ersten Versuchsjahr 2004 wurden an zwei Standorten in Süddeutschland 11 Präparate im Freiland geprüft

Feuerbrandbekämpfung im ökologischen Obstbau - Ergebnisse der Bekämpfungsversuche 2006

Seit dem Jahr 2004 läuft innerhalb des Bundesprogramms ökologischer Landbau ein Forschungsprojekt zur Entwicklung einer Strategie zur Feuerbrandbekämpfung im ökologischen Obstbau. Dieses Projekt wird am Lehrstuhl für Phytopathologie der Universität Konstanz in Zusammenarbeit mit der Fördergemeinschaft ökologischer Obstbau und dem Institut für biologischen Pflanzenschutz der BBA in Darmstadt durchgeführt. Ergebnisse aus 2004 und aus 2005 sind in den jeweiligen Dezemberausgaben der Mitteilungen nachzulesen (Ökoobstbau Mitteilungen 4/04 und 3/05, Anmerkung der Redaktion). In 2006 wurden vier Freilandversuche durchgeführt. An zwei Versuchstandorten (Darmstadt und Karsee) wurde der Erreger ausgebracht, so dass die Wirksamkeit von Blossom-Protect im Vergleich zu anderen Präparaten überprüft werden konnte. Hier wurde auch der Einfluss von Schwefelbehandlungen, die zur Schorfbekämpfung notwendig sind, auf die Wirksamkeit von Blossom-Protect untersucht. Zusätzlich wurde in zwei Praxisanlagen (Stetten und Lindau) der Einfluss der Behandlungen auf die Fruchtberostung untersucht

Factors Affecting the Development of Workforce Versatility

Among all strategies supporting the firms' flexibility and agility, the development of human resources versatility holds a promising place. This article presents an investigation of the factors affecting the development of this flexibility lever, related to the problem of planning and scheduling industrial activities, taking into account two dimensions of flexibility: the modulation of working time, which provides the company with fluctuating work capacities, and the versatility of operators: for all the multi-skilled workers, we adopt a dynamic vision of their competences. Therefore, this model takes into account the evolution of their skills over time, depending on how much they were put in practice in previous periods. The model was solved by using an approach relying on genetic algorithm that used an indirect encoding to build the chromosome genotype, and then a serial scheduling scheme is adopted to build the solution

Improved ultrasonic standard reference blocks

A program to improve the quality, reproducibility and reliability of nondestructive testing through the development of improved ASTM-type ultrasonic reference standards is described. Reference blocks of aluminum, steel, and titanium alloys are to be considered. Equipment representing the state-of-the-art in laboratory and field ultrasonic equipment was obtained and evaluated. RF and spectral data on ten sets of ultrasonic reference blocks have been taken as part of a task to quantify the variability in response from nominally identical blocks. Techniques for residual stress, preferred orientation, and micro-structural measurements were refined and are applied to a reference block rejected by the manufacturer during fabrication in order to evaluate the effect of metallurgical condition on block response. New fabrication techniques for reference blocks are discussed and ASTM activities are summarized

Statistical Analyses of Satellite Cloud Object Data from CERES

The present study evaluates the ability of a cloud-resolving model (CRM) to simulate the physical properties of tropical deep convective cloud objects identified from a Clouds and the Earth s Radiant Energy System (CERES) data product. The emphasis of this study is the comparisons among the small-, medium- and large-size categories of cloud objects observed during March 1998 and between the large-size categories of cloud objects observed during March 1998 (strong El Ni o) and March 2000 (weak La Ni a). Results from the CRM simulations are analyzed in a way that is consistent with the CERES retrieval algorithm and they are averaged to match the scale of the CERES satellite footprints. Cloud physical properties are analyzed in terms of their summary histograms for each category. It is found that there is a general agreement in the overall shapes of all cloud physical properties between the simulated and observed distributions. Each cloud physical property produced by the CRM also exhibits different degrees of disagreement with observations over different ranges of the property. The simulated cloud tops are generally too high and cloud top temperatures are too low except for the large-size category of March 1998. The probability densities of the simulated top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) albedos for all four categories are underestimated for high albedos, while those of cloud optical depth are overestimated at its lowest bin. These disagreements are mainly related to uncertainties in the cloud microphysics parameterization and inputs such as cloud ice effective size to the radiation calculation. Summary histograms of cloud optical depth and TOA albedo from the CRM simulations of the large-size category of cloud objects do not differ significantly between the March 1998 and 2000 periods, consistent with the CERES observations. However, the CRM is unable to reproduce the significant differences in the observed cloud top height while it overestimates the differences in the observed outgoing longwave radiation and cloud top temperature between the two periods. Comparisons between the CRM results and the observations for most parameters in March 1998 consistently show that both the simulations and observations have larger differences between the large- and small-size categories than between the large- and medium-size, or between the medium- and small-size categories. However, the simulated cloud properties do not change as much with size as observed. These disagreements are likely related to the spatial averaging of the forcing data and the mismatch in time and in space between the numerical weather prediction model from which the forcing data are produced and the CERES observed cloud systems