Evaluation of moisture sources for the Central European summer flood of May/June 2013 based on regional climate model simulations

Heavy precipitation affected Central Europe in May/June 2013, triggering damaging floods both on the Danube and the Elbe rivers. Based on a modelling approach with COSMO-CLM, moisture fluxes, backward trajectories, cyclone tracks and precipitation fields are evaluated for the relevant time period 30 May–2 June 2013. We identify potential moisture sources and quantify their contribution to the flood event focusing on the Danube basin through sensitivity experiments: Control simulations are performed with undisturbed ERA-Interim boundary conditions, while multiple sensitivity experiments are driven with modified evaporation characteristics over selected marine and land areas. Two relevant cyclones are identified both in reanalysis and in our simulations, which moved counter-clockwise in a retrograde path from Southeastern Europe over Eastern Europe towards the northern slopes of the Alps. The control simulations represent the synoptic evolution of the event reasonably well. The evolution of the precipitation event in the control simulations shows some differences in terms of its spatial and temporal characteristics compared to observations. The main precipitation event can be separated into two phases concerning the moisture sources. Our modelling results provide evidence that the two main sources contributing to the event were the continental evapotranspiration (moisture recycling; both phases) and the North Atlantic Ocean (first phase only). The Mediterranean Sea played only a minor role as a moisture source. This study confirms the importance of continental moisture recycling for heavy precipitation events over Central Europe during the summer half year

A regional atmosphere-ocean climate system model (CCLMv5.0clm7-NEMOv3.3-NEMOv3.6) over Europe including three marginal seas: On its stability and performance

The frequency of extreme events has changed, having a direct impact on human lives. Regional climate models help us to predict these regional climate changes. This work presents an atmosphere–ocean coupled regional climate system model (RCSM; with the atmospheric component COSMO-CLM and the ocean component NEMO) over the European domain, including three marginal seas: the Mediterranean, North, and Baltic Sea. To test the model, we evaluate a simulation of more than 100 years (1900–2009) with a spatial grid resolution of about 25 km. The simulation was nested into a coupled global simulation with the model MPI-ESM in a low-resolution configuration, whose ocean temperature and salinity were nudged to the ocean–ice component of the MPI-ESM forced with the NOAA 20th Century Reanalysis (20CR). The evaluation shows the robustness of the RCSM and discusses the added value by the coupled marginal seas over an atmosphere-only simulation. The coupled system is stable for the complete 20th century and provides a better representation of extreme temperatures compared to the atmosphere-only model. The produced long-term dataset will help us to better understand the processes leading to meteorological and climate extremes

Environmentally conscious consumption patterns in Hungarian households

This article provides a comprehensive review of the literature on the theoretical aspects of sustainable consumption. The conditions for consumers’ social responsibility and the formation of environmentally conscious behavior patterns will also be discussed, along with possible methods for motivating behavioral changes. The authors have completed a primary research study with the purpose of surveying environmentally conscious consumption patterns in Hungary. They also examined how the provision of appropriate information and the raising of awareness might encourage sustainable consumption. According to their findings, the respondents’ knowledge on environmentally conscious behavior was rather limited, and reinforcement was needed in identifying appropriate activity alternatives. This paper provides a summary of the qualitative research phase which employed in-depth interviews, logging and focus groups. The consecutive application of these methods enabled the authors to keep track of the process and the consequences of raising awareness

Experimental identification of piezo actuator characteristic

This paper deals with piezoelectric material, which can be used as actuator for conversion of electrical energy to mechanical work. Test equipment has been developed for experimental testing of the piezoactuators. Piezoactivity of this actuator has non-linear characteristic. This type of actuator is used for in-pipe mechanism design

Transparency and accountability in party financing Conference summary

How Can the Transparency and Accountability of the Financial Management and Campaign Financing of Parties Be Improved? – This was the title of the programme held on September 9, 2011, which was the first in the conference series titled “Transparency and Accountability in Pivotal Bills” as organised by the State Audit Office of Hungary. The goal of the SAO conference series –held in connection with the preparation of pivotal acts – is to communicate the SAO’s audit experiences acquired in the topic of the given acts with those participating in their preparation. At the same time, it also wanted to provide an outlet where scientific researchers and NGOs can voice their opin-ions on the important issues of the regulation, including the possibilities of resolving the problems uncovered by the SAO

Timing of magnetite growth associated with peridotite-hosted carbonate veins in the SE Samail ophiolite, Wadi Fins, Oman

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2020. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 125(5), (2020): e2019JB018632, doi:10.1029/2019JB018632.Carbonate‐altered peridotite are common in continental and oceanic settings and it has been suggested that peridotite‐hosted carbonate represent a significant component of the carbon‐cycle and provide an important link in the CO2 dynamics between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The ability to constrain the timing of carbonate and accessory phase growth is key to interpreting the mechanisms that contribute to carbonate alteration, veining, and mineralization in ultramafic rocks. Here we examine a mantle section of the Samail ophiolite exposed in Wadi Fins in southeastern Oman where the peridotite is unconformably overlain by Late Cretaceous‐Paleogene limestone and crosscut by an extensive network of carbonate veins and fracture‐controlled alteration. Three previous 87Sr/86Sr measurements on carbonate vein material in the peridotite produce results consistent with vein formation involving Cretaceous to Eocene seawater (de Obeso & Kelemen, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2018.0433). We employ (U‐Th)/He chronometry to constrain the timing of hydrothermal magnetite in the calcite veins in the peridotite. Magnetite (U‐Th)/He ages of crystal sizes ranging from 1 cm to 200 μm record Miocene growth at 15 ± 4 Ma, which may indicate (1) fluid–rock interaction and carbonate precipitation in the Miocene, or (2) magnetite (re)crystallization within pre‐existing veins. Taken together with published Sr‐isotope values, these results suggest that carbonate veining at Wadi Fins started as early as the Cretaceous, and continued in the Miocene associated with magnetite growth. The timing of hydrothermal magnetite growth is coeval with Neogene shortening and faulting in southern Oman, which points to a tectonic driver for vein (re)opening and fluid‐rock alteration.This research was supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship to E.H.G. Cooperdock, the UTChron Laboratory at The University of Texas at Austin, the Chevron (Gulf) Centennial Professorship to D.F. Stockli, and by a Sloan Foundation grant awarded to P.B. Kelemen. We are grateful to Desmond Patterson for assistance and training with He measurements and data reduction, to Jessie Maisano for technical support with the X‐Ray Computed Tomography. These data and images were produced at the High‐Resolution X‐ray Computed Tomography Facility of the University of Texas at Austin. EHGC is grateful to Jaime Barnes, Richard Ketcham, Frieder Klein and Othmar Müntener for helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. Thank you to Fin Stuart and Uwe Ring for their helpful reviews, and Stephen Parman for feedback and editorial handling of the manuscript. The (U‐Th)/He data in this manuscript are available in the GeoChron repository (https://www.geochron.org) and sample IGSNs are in the SESAR database (http://www.geosamples.org).2020-10-0