Recent climate changes of thermohaline structure in the North-West Pacific

Variability of temperature and salinity in the 0-1000-m layer of the North-West Pacific is analyzed on the data of shipboard oceanographic observations obtained in 1950-2014. Significant decadal changes of these parameters are revealed at the depth of 300-600 m that exceeds the depth of seasonal fluctuations, with the highest rate in the Subarctic frontal zone. The heat content was the highest in the 1960-1974, then decreased in the 1975-1999, increased again in the 2000-2014, and the next phase of thermal «discharge» may begin supposedly in 5-6 years. Mechanisms of such climate changes are discussed. Similar changes are observed in different regions of the World Ocean that means that it is a global-scale phenomenon. These climate changes of water temperature in the subsurface layer of the ocean and air temperature over the continent have opposite directions that denotes the auto-oscillation in the open non-linear system «ocean-atmosphere-continent» as their main mechanism. The previous period of the water thermal discharge was conditioned by active winter center of low atmospheric pressure - Aleutian Low. It was accompanied by strengthening of the East-Kamchatka Current and Oyashio Current and high abundance of japanese sardine. The modern period of warming from the beginning of the 21st century is distinguished by negative values of PDO index, observed since 1998. However, PDO is positive again since January 2014, though stability of this change is not clear yet. On the other hand, winter SST in the spawning grounds of japanese sardine, both in the Japan Sea and North-West Pacific, gradually decreased after the maximum in the 1998-2000 and reached negative anomalies in the areas at Japan in 2011-2015 that was favorable for its reproduction. The sardine biomass was gradually increased, too, in particularly in the 2010-2012, and its migration to the Russian EEZ became more active, up to 0.7 million tons in the South-Kuril area in 2015

Environmental Influences on the Growing Season Duration and Ripening of Diverse Miscanthus Germplasm Grown in Six Countries

The development of models to predict yield potential and quality of a Miscanthus crop must consider climatic limitations and the duration of growing season. As a biomass crop, yield and quality are impacted by the timing of plant developmental transitions such as flowering and senescence. Growth models are available for the commercially grown clone Miscanthus x giganteus (Mxg), but breeding programs have been working to expand the germplasm available, including development of interspecies hybrids. The aim of this study was to assess the performance of diverse germplasm beyond the range of environments considered suitable for a Miscanthus crop to be grown. To achieve this, six field sites were planted as part of the EU OPTIMISC project in 2012 in a longitudinal gradient from West to East: Wales?Aberystwyth, Netherlands?Wageningen, Stuttgart?Germany, Ukraine?Potash, Turkey?Adana, and Russia?Moscow. Each field trial contained three replicated plots of the same 15 Miscanthus germplasm types. Through the 2014 growing season, phenotypic traits were measured to determine the timing of developmental stages key to ripening; the tradeoff between growth (yield) and quality (biomass ash and moisture content). The hottest site (Adana) showed an accelerated growing season, with emergence, flowering and senescence occurring before the other sites. However, the highest yields were produced at Potash, where emergence was delayed by frost and the growing season was shortest. Flowering triggers varied with species and only in Mxg was strongly linked to accumulated thermal time. Our results show that a prolonged growing season is not essential to achieve high yields if climatic conditions are favorable and in regions where the growing season is bordered by frost, delaying harvest can improve quality of the harvested biomasspublishersversionPeer reviewe

Progress on optimizing miscanthus biomass production for the European bioeconomy:Results of the EU FP7 project OPTIMISC

This paper describes the complete findings of the EU-funded research project OPTIMISC, which investigated methods to optimize the production and use of miscanthus biomass. Miscanthus bioenergy and bioproduct chains were investigated by trialing 15 diverse germplasm types in a range of climatic and soil environments across central Europe, Ukraine, Russia, and China. The abiotic stress tolerances of a wider panel of 100 germplasm types to drought, salinity, and low temperatures were measured in the laboratory and a field trial in Belgium. A small selection of germplasm types was evaluated for performance in grasslands on marginal sites in Germany and the UK. The growth traits underlying biomass yield and quality were measured to improve regional estimates of feedstock availability. Several potential high-value bioproducts were identified. The combined results provide recommendations to policymakers, growers and industry. The major technical advances in miscanthus production achieved by OPTIMISC include: (1) demonstration that novel hybrids can out-yield the standard commercially grown genotype Miscanthus x giganteus; (2) characterization of the interactions of physiological growth responses with environmental variation within and between sites; (3) quantification of biomass-quality-relevant traits; (4) abiotic stress tolerances of miscanthus genotypes; (5) selections suitable for production on marginal land; (6) field establishment methods for seeds using plugs; (7) evaluation of harvesting methods; and (8) quantification of energy used in densification (pellet) technologies with a range of hybrids with differences in stem wall properties. End-user needs were addressed by demonstrating the potential of optimizing miscanthus biomass composition for the production of ethanol and biogas as well as for combustion. The costs and life-cycle assessment of seven miscanthusbased value chains, including small- and large-scale heat and power, ethanol, biogas, and insulation material production, revealed GHG-emission- and fossil-energy-saving potentials of up to 30.6 t CO2eqC ha(-1) y(-1) and 429 GJ ha(-1)y(-1), respectively. Transport distance was identified as an important cost factor. Negative carbon mitigation costs of-78 epsilon t(-1) CO2eq C were recorded for local biomass use. The OPTIMISC results demonstrate the potential of miscanthus as a crop for marginal sites and provide information and technologies for the commercial implementation of miscanthus-based value chains

A Versatile Equilibrium Method for the Synthesis of High-Strength, Ladder-like Polyphenylsilsesquioxanes with Finely Tunable Molecular Parameters

A versatile equilibrium method for synthesizing ladder-like polyphenylsilsesquioxanes (L-PPSQs) with various molecular weights (from 4 to 500 kDa) in liquid ammonia was developed. The effect of diverse parameters, such as temperature, monomer concentration, reaction time, addition or removal of water from the reaction medium, on the polycondensation process was determined. The molecular weight characteristics and structure of the L-PPSQ elements obtained were determined by GPC, 1H, 29Si NMR, IR spectroscopy, viscometry, and PXRD methods. The physicochemical properties of L-PPSQs were determined by TGA and mechanical analyses