Intercomparison of long-term sea surface temperature analyses using the GHRSST Multi-Product Ensemble (GMPE) system

Six global, gridded, gap-free, daily sea surface temperature (SST) analyses covering a period of at least 20 years have been intercompared: ESA SST CCI anal- ysis long-term product v1.0, MyOcean OSTIA reanalysis v1.0, CMC 0.2 degree, AVHRR ONLY Daily 1/4 degree OISST v2.0, HadISST2.1.0.0 and MGDSST. A seventh SST product of the ensemble median of all six has also been produced using the GMPE (Group for High Resolution SST Multi-Product Ensemble) sys- tem. Validation against independent near-surface Argo data, a long timeseries of moored buoy data from the tropics and anomalies to the GMPE median have been used to examine the temporal and spatial homogeneity of the analyses. A comparison of the feature resolution of the analyses has also been undertaken. A summary of relative strengths and weaknesses of the SST datasets is presented, intended to help users to make an informed choice of which analysis is most suitable for their proposed application

Satellite-based time-series of sea-surface temperature since 1981 for climate applications

A climate data record of global sea surface temperature (SST) spanning 1981–2016 has been developed from 4 × 10^12 satellite measurements of thermal infra-red radiance. The spatial area represented by pixel SST estimates is between 1 km^2 and 45 km^2. The mean density of good-quality observations is 13 km^−2 yr^−1. SST uncertainty is evaluated per datum, the median uncertainty for pixel SSTs being 0.18 K. Multi-annual observational stability relative to drifting buoy measurements is within 0.003 K yr^−1 of zero with high confidence, despite maximal independence from in situ SSTs over the latter two decades of the record. Data are provided at native resolution, gridded at 0.05° latitude-longitude resolution (individual sensors), and aggregated and gap-filled on a daily 0.05° grid. Skin SSTs, depth-adjusted SSTs de-aliased with respect to the diurnal cycle, and SST anomalies are provided. Target applications of the dataset include: climate and ocean model evaluation; quantification of marine change and variability (including marine heatwaves); climate and ocean-atmosphere processes; and specific applications in ocean ecology, oceanography and geophysics

An operational analysis of Lake Surface Water Temperature

Operational analyses of Lake Surface Water Temperature (LSWT) have many potential uses including improvement of numerical weather prediction (NWP) models on regional scales. In November 2011, LSWT was included in the Met Office Operational Sea Surface Temperature and Ice Analysis (OSTIA) product, for 248 lakes globally. The OSTIA analysis procedure, which has been optimised for oceans, has also been used for the lakes in this first version of the product. Infra-red satellite observations of lakes and in situ measurements are assimilated. The satellite observations are based on retrievals optimised for Sea Surface Temperature (SST) which, although they may introduce inaccuracies into the LSWT data, are currently the only near-real-time information available. The LSWT analysis has a global root mean square difference of 1.31 K and a mean difference of 0.65 K (including a cool skin effect of 0.2 K) compared to independent data from the ESA ARC-Lake project for a 3-month period (June to August 2009). It is demonstrated that the OSTIA LSWT is an improvement over the use of climatology to capture the day-to-day variation in global lake surface temperatures

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Using experimental manipulation to assess the roles of leaf litter in the functioning of forest ecosystems

The widespread use of forest litter as annual bedding in central Europe for many, centuries gave rise to the first litter manipulation studies, and their results demonstrated that litter and its decomposition are a vital part or ecosystem function. Litter plays two major roles in forest ecosystems: firstly, litterfall is all inherent part of nutrient and carbon cycling, and secondly, litter forms a protective layer oil the soil surface that also regulates microclimatic conditions. By reviewing 152 years of litter manipulation experiments, I show that the effects or manipulating litter stem from changes in one, or both, of these two functions, and interactions between the variables influenced by the accumulation of litter can result in feedback mechanisms that may intensify treatment effects or mask responses, making the interpretation of results difficult. Long-term litter removal increased soil bulk density, overland flow, erosion, and temperature fluctuations and upset the soil water balance, causing lower soil water content during dry periods. Soil pH increased or decreased in response to manipulation treatments depending on forest type and initial soil pH, but unclear why there was no uniform response. Long-term litter harvesting severely depleted the forests of nutrients. Decreases in the concentrations of available P, Ca, Mg, and K in the soil occurred after only three to five years. The decline in soil N occurred over longer periods of time, and the relative loss was greater in soils with high initial nitrogen concentration. Tree growth declined with long-term litter removal, probably due to lower nutrient availability. Litter manipulation also added or removed large amounts of carbon thereby affecting microbial communities and altering soil respiration rates. Litter manipulation experiments have shown that litter cover acts as a physical barrier to the shoot emergence of small-seeded species; further, the microclimate maintained by the litter layer may be Favourable to herbivores and pathogens and is important in determining later seedling survival and performance. Litter manipulation altered the competitive outcomes between tree seedlings and forbs, thereby influencing species composition and diversity; changes in the species composition of understorey vegetation following treatments occurred rapidly. By decreasing substrate availability and altering the microclimate, litter removal changed fungal species composition and diversity and led to a decline in populations of soil fauna. However, litter addition did not provoke an corresponding increase in the abundance or diversity of fungi or soil fauna. Large-scale long-term studies are still needed in order to investigate the interactions between the many variables affected by litter, especially in tropical and boreal forests, which have received little attention. Litter manipulation treatments present an opportunity to assess the effects of increasing primary production in forest ecosystems; specific research aims include assessing the effect of changes in litter inputs on the carbon and nutrient cycles, decomposition processes, and the turnover of organic matter

Synthesis Product for Ocean Time Series (SPOTS) – a ship-based biogeochemical pilot

The presented pilot for the Synthesis Product for Ocean Time Series (SPOTS) includes data from 12 fixed ship-based time-series programs. The related stations represent unique open-ocean and coastal marine environments within the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Nordic Seas, and Caribbean Sea. The focus of the pilot has been placed on biogeochemical essential ocean variables: dissolved oxygen, dissolved inorganic nutrients, inorganic carbon (pH, total alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon, and partial pressure of CO2), particulate matter, and dissolved organic carbon. The time series used include a variety of temporal res- olutions (monthly, seasonal, or irregular), time ranges (10–36 years), and bottom depths (80–6000 m), with the oldest samples dating back to 1983 and the most recent one corresponding to 2021. Besides having been harmo- nized into the same format (semantics, ancillary data, units), the data were subjected to a qualitative assessment in which the applied methods were evaluated and categorized. The most recently applied methods of the time- series programs usually follow the recommendations outlined by the Bermuda Time Series Workshop report (Lorenzoni and Benway, 2013), which is used as the main reference for “method recommendations by prevalent initiatives in the field”. However, measurements of dissolved oxygen and pH, in particular, still show room for improvement. Additional data quality descriptors include precision and accuracy estimates, indicators for data variability, and offsets compared to a reference and widely recognized data product for the global ocean: the GLobal Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP). Generally, these descriptors indicate a high level of continuity in measurement quality within time-series programs and a good consistency with the GLODAP data product, even though robust comparisons to the latter are limited. The data are available as (i) a merged comma-separated file that is compliant with the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) exchange format and (ii) a format dependent on user queries via the Environmental Research Division’s Data Access Program (ERDDAP) server of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS). The pilot increases the data utility, findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability following the FAIR philosophy, enhancing the readiness of biogeochemical time series. It facilitates a variety of applications that benefit from the collective value of biogeochemical time-series observations and forms the basis for a sustained time-series living data product, SPOTS, complementing relevant products for the global interior ocean carbon data (GLobal Ocean Data Analysis Project), global surface ocean carbon data (Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas; SOCAT), and global interior and surface methane and nitrous oxide data (MarinE MethanE and NiTrous Oxide product). Aside from the actual data compilation, the pilot project produced suggestions for reporting metadata, im- plementing quality control measures, and making estimations about uncertainty. These recommendations aim to encourage the community to adopt more consistent and uniform practices for analysis and reporting and to update these practices regularly. The detailed recommendations, links to the original time-series programs, the original data, their documentation, and related efforts are available on the SPOTS website. This site also pro- vides access to the data product (DOI: https://doi.org/10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.896862.2, Lange et al., 2024) and ancillary data