Comment on 'High-income does not protect against hurricane losses'

Geiger et al (Environ. Res. Lett. 2016 11 084012) employ two functional relationships to characterize hurricane damage in the USA—either based on GDP (one exponent) or on per capita GDP and population (two exponents). From the Akaike Information Criterion the authors cannot reject the former kind in favor of the latter. The different approaches, however, lead to divergent projections of future hurricane losses. In this comment, we argue that there is no rigorous evidence in [1] to give preference to one or the other approach, and the conclusion that high-income does not protect against hurricane losses needs to be revisited. As a perspective, it needs to be mentioned that the previously published relationship between GDP and population could unify both approaches

Comparison of storm damage functions and their performance

Winter storms are the most costly natural hazard for European residential property. We compare four distinct storm damage functions with respect to their forecast accuracy and variability, with particular regard to the most severe winter storms. The analysis focuses on daily loss estimates under differing spatial aggregation, ranging from district to country level. We discuss the broad and heavily skewed distribution of insured losses posing difficulties for both the calibration and the evaluation of damage functions. From theoretical considerations, we provide a synthesis between the frequently discussed cubic wind–damage relationship and recent studies that report much steeper damage functions for European winter storms. The performance of the storm loss models is evaluated for two sources of wind gust data, direct observations by the German Weather Service and ERA-Interim reanalysis data. While the choice of gust data has little impact on the evaluation of German storm loss, spatially resolved coefficients of variation reveal dependence between model and data choice. The comparison shows that the probabilistic models by Heneka et al. (2006) and Prahl et al. (2012) both provide accurate loss predictions for moderate to extreme losses, with generally small coefficients of variation. We favour the latter model in terms of model applicability. Application of the versatile deterministic model by Klawa and Ulbrich (2003) should be restricted to extreme loss, for which it shows the least bias and errors comparable to the probabilistic model by Prahl et al. (2012)

Novel Bradykinin Analogues Modified in the N-Terminal Part of the Molecule with a Variety of Acyl Substituents

In the current work we present some pharmacological characteristics of ten new analogues of bradykinin (Arg–Pro–Pro–Gly–Phe–Ser–Pro–Phe–Arg) modified in the N-terminal part of the molecule with a variety of acyl substituents. Of the many acylating agents used previously with B2 receptor antagonists, the following residues were chosen: 1-adamantaneacetic acid (Aaa), 1-adamantanecarboxylic acid (Aca), 4-tert-butylbenzoic acid (t-Bba), 4-aminobenzoic acid (Aba), 12-aminododecanoic acid (Adc), succinic acid (Sua), 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzoic acid, 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid and 6-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid. Biological activity of the compounds was assessed in the in vivo rat blood pressure test and the in vitro rat uterus test. Surprisingly, N-terminal substitution of the bradykinin peptide chain itself with aforementioned groups resulted in antagonists of bradykinin in the pressor test and suppressed agonistic potency in the uterotonic test. These interesting findings need further studies as they can be helpful for designing more potent B2 receptor blockers

Biogeochemical characterization of suspended particulate matter in the Columbia River estuary

In order to understand what controls the composition of suspended particulate material (SPM) in estuarine turbidity maxima (ETM), a set of SPM samples collected in the Columbia River and estuary (northwestern USA) during 3 seasons (fall 1990, summer 1991, spring 1992) was analyzed for detrital mineral (Min), total organic matter [OM, as 2 x particulate organic carbon (POC)], biogenic silica (BSi), chlorophyll a, δ¹³C, and lignin. In most samples, Min, OM and BSi collectively accounted for 100% of total SPM mass, although their relative importance changed seasonally. The ETM was a trap for organic matter during all 3 seasons, which can explain the intense microbial activity and microcrustacean grazing observed previously. The organic matter was particularly rich in chlorophyll a in late spring to early summer. The source of this seasonal enrichment was mainly riverine phytoplankton. The organic matter contribution to ETM from the ocean was minor compared to the river, but apparently not negligible. Despite large seasonal variations in chlorophyll content, the δ¹³C of POC concentrated in ETM remained nearly constant between -26 and -25.5%. Vascular plant debris, as depicted by lignin phenol content, always comprised a minor fraction of the organic matter in ETM, although ETM had higher lignin levels than the OM of surrounding waters. Intertidal mudflats are if not an additional source of organic matter at least an important site for transforming riverine organic matter that is ultimately concentrated in ETM.Keywords: Suspended particulate material (SPM), Lignin, Particulate organic carbon (POC), Columbia River estuary, Aluminum, Estuarine turbidity maxima (ETM), Mudflats, Chlorophyll, ManganeseArticle appears in Marine Ecology Progress Series and is copyrighted by Inter Research

Precision of the current methods to measure the alkenone proxy UK'37 and absolute alkenone abundance in sediments : results of an interlaboratory comparison study

Measurements of the UK'37 index and the absolute abundance of alkenones in marine sediments are increasingly used in paleoceanographic research as proxies of past sea surface temperature and haptophyte (mainly coccolith-bearing species) primary productivity, respectively. An important aspect of these studies is to be able to compare reliably data obtained by different laboratories from a wide variety of locations. Hence the intercomparability of data produced by the research community is essential. Here we report results from an anonymous interlaboratory comparison study involving 24 of the leading laboratories that carry out alkenone measurements worldwide. The majority of laboratories produce data that are intercomparable within the considered confidence limits. For the measurement of alkenone concentrations, however, there are systematic biases between laboratories, which might be related to the techniques employed to quantify the components. The maximum difference between any two laboratories for any two single measurements of UK'37 in sediments is estimated, with a probability of 95%, to be <2.18C. In addition, the overall within-laboratory precision for the UK'37 temperature estimates is estimated to be <1.68C (95% probability). Similarly, from the analyses of alkenone concentrations the interlaboratory reproducibility is estimated at 32%, and the repeatability is estimated at 24%. The former is compared to a theoretical estimate of reproducibility and found to be excessively high. Hence there is certainly scope and a demonstrable need to improve reproducibility and repeatability of UK'37 and especially alkenone quantification data across the community of scientists involved in alkenone research