26 research outputs found
Testing optically stimulated luminescence dating on sand-sized quartz of deltaic deposits from the Sperchios delta plain, central Greece
This study reports on the first investigation into the potential of luminescence dating to establish a chronological framework for the depositional sequences of the Sperchios delta plain, central Greece. A series of three borehole cores (20 m deep) and two shallow cores (4 m deep), from across the delta plain, were extracted, and samples were collected for luminescence dating. The luminescence ages of sand-sized quartz grains were obtained from small aliquots of quartz, using the Single-Aliquot Regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol. The equivalent dose determination included a series of tests and the selection of the Minimum Age Model (MAM) as the most appropriate statistical model. This made it possible to confirm the applicability of quartz Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating to establish absolute chronology for deltaic sediments from the Sperchios delta plain.Testing age results of the five cores showed that the deltaic sediments were deposited during the Holocene. A relatively rapid deposition is implied for the top âź14 m possibly as a result of the deceleration in the rate of the sea-level rise and the transition to terrestrial conditions, while on the deeper parts, the reduced sedimentation rate may indicate a lagoonal or coastal environment
Plasticity in dendroclimatic response across the distribution range of Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis)
We investigated the variability of the climate-growth relationship of Aleppo pine across its distribution range in the Mediterranean Basin. We constructed a network of tree-ring index chronologies from 63 sites across the region. Correlation function analysis identified the relationships of tree-ring index to climate factors for each site. We also estimated the dominant climatic gradients of the region using principal component analysis of monthly, seasonal, and annual mean temperature and total precipitation from 1,068 climatic gridpoints. Variation in ring width index was primarily related to precipitation and secondarily to temperature. However, we found that the dendroclimatic relationship depended on the position of the site along the climatic gradient. In the southern part of the distribution range, where temperature was generally higher and precipitation lower than the regional average, reduced growth was also associated with warm and dry conditions. In the northern part, where the average temperature was lower and the precipitation more abundant than the regional average, reduced growth was associated with cool conditions. Thus, our study highlights the substantial plasticity of Aleppo pine in response to different climatic conditions. These results do not resolve the source of response variability as being due to either genetic variation in provenance, to phenotypic plasticity, or a combination of factors. However, as current growth responses to inter-annual climate variability vary spatially across existing climate gradients, future climate-growth relationships will also likely be determined by differential adaptation and/or acclimation responses to spatial climatic variation. The contribution of local adaptation and/or phenotypic plasticity across populations to the persistence of species under global warming could be decisive for prediction of climate change impacts across populations. In this sense, a more complex forest dynamics modeling approach that includes the contribution of genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity can improve the reliability of the ecological inferences derived from the climate-growth relationships.This work was partially supported by Spanish Ministry of Education and Science co-funded by FEDER program (CGL2012-31668), the European Union and the National Ministry of Education and Religion of Greece (EPEAEK- Environment â Archimedes), the Slovenian Research Agency (program P4-0015), and the USDA Forest Service. The cooperation among international partners was supported by the COST Action FP1106, STREeSS
The deterioration of materials as a result of air pollution as derived from satellite and ground based observations
Dose-Response Functions (DRFs) are widely used in estimating corrosion and/or
soiling levels of materials used in constructions and cultural monuments. These
functions quantify the effects of air pollution and environmental parameters on
different materials through ground based measurements of specific air
pollutants and climatic parameters. Here, we propose a new approach where
available satellite observations are used instead of ground-based data. Through
this approach, the usage of DRFs is expanded in cases/areas where there is no
availability of in situ measurements, introducing also a totally new field
where satellite data can be shown to be very helpful. In the present work
satellite observations made by MODIS (MODerate resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer) on board Terra and Aqua, OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument)
on board Aura and AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) on board Aqua have been
used.Comment: This paper is in its final stage for submission to the Atmospheric
Environment journa
The Signature of the Coronavirus Lockdown in Air Pollution in Greece
The change in atmospheric pollution from a public lockdown in Greece
introduced to curb the spread of the COVID-19 is examined based on
ground-based and satellite observations. The results showed that in most
cases, the change in atmospheric pollution is not statistically
significant. It is probably an artifact of the meteorological conditions
that contributed significantly to the long-range transport of air
pollutants over Greece during the shutdown period
Application and Testing of the Extended-Kalman-Filtering Technique for Determining the Planetary Boundary-Layer Height over Athens, Greece
We investigate the temporal evolution of the planetary boundary-layer (PBL) height over the basin of Athens, Greece, during a 6-year period (2011â2016), using data from a Raman lidar system. The range-corrected lidar signals are selected around local noon (1200 UTC) and midnight (0000 UTC), for a total of 332 cases: 165 days and 167 nights. In this dataset, the extended-Kalman filtering technique is applied and tested for the determination of the PBL height. Several well-established techniques for the PBL height estimation based on lidar data are also tested for a total of 35 cases. The lidar-derived PBL heights are compared to those derived from radiosonde data. The mean PBL height over Athens is found to be 1617 Âą 324 m at 1200 UTC and 892 Âą 130 m at 0000 UTC for the period examined, while the mean PBL-height growth rate is found to be 170 Âą 64 m h and 90 Âą 17 m h during daytime and night-time, respectively.The research leading to these results has received additional funding from the European
Union 7th Framework Program (FP7/2011-2015) and Horizon 2020/2015-2021 Research and Innovation
program (ACTRIS) under grant agreements nos 262254, 654109, and 739530, as well as from Spanish National
Science Foundation and FEDER funds PGC2018-094132-B-I00. CommSensLab-UPC is a MarĂa-de-Maeztu
Excellence Unit, MDM-2016-0600, funded by the Agencia Estatal de InvestigaciĂłn, Spai
Relative humidity vertical profiling using lidar-based synergistic methods in the framework of the Hygra-CD campaign
Accurate continuous measurements of relative humidity (RH) vertical profiles in the lower troposphere have become a significant scientific challenge. In recent years a synergy of various ground-based remote sensing instruments have been successfully used for RH vertical profiling, which has resulted in the improvement of spatial resolution and, in some cases, of the accuracy of the measurement. Some studies have also suggested the use of high-resolution model simulations as input datasets into RH vertical profiling techniques. In this paper we apply two synergetic methods for RH profiling, including the synergy of lidar with a microwave radiometer and high-resolution atmospheric modeling. The two methods are employed for RH retrieval between 100 and 6000âŻm with increased spatial resolution, based on datasets from the HygrA-CD (Hygroscopic Aerosols to Cloud Droplets) campaign conducted in Athens, Greece from May to June 2014. RH profiles from synergetic methods are then compared with those retrieved using single instruments or as simulated by high-resolution models. Our proposed technique for RH profiling provides improved statistical agreement with reference to radiosoundings by 27âŻ% when the lidarâradiometer (in comparison with radiometer measurements) approach is used and by 15âŻ% when a lidar model is used (in comparison with WRF-model simulations). Mean uncertainty of RH due to temperature bias in RH profiling was ââźâ4.34âŻ% for the lidarâradiometer and ââźâ1.22âŻ% for the lidarâmodel methods. However, maximum uncertainty in RH retrievals due to temperature bias showed that lidar-model method is more reliable at heights greater than 2000âŻm. Overall, our results have demonstrated the capability of both combined methods for daytime measurements in heights between 100 and 6000âŻm when lidarâradiometer or lidarâWRF combined datasets are available.The authors thank the ITaRS program for generous support. The research leading to this article has received funding from the European Communityâs FP7 â PEOPLE 2011
under grant agreement number 289923 â ITARS (Initial Training for Atmospheric Remote Sensing) and has also been supported by
the National Core Program â PN 16.40.01.01/2017 and ROSA â STAR project CARESSE. All WRF simulations were performed on the MareNostrum supercomputer hosted by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC). We acknowledge the project CGL2013-
46736-R, and the Severo Ochoa Programme awarded by the Spanish Government (SEV-2011-00067) and 2014 SGR 522. Additionally, the research leading to these results has received funding from the European Unionâs Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement no. 602014, project ECARS (East European Centre for Atmospheric Remote Sensing). The Hellenic National Meteorological Service (HNMS) is acknowledged for performing
the high-resolution radiosoundings. We acknowledge the team from the University of Cologne for the microwave radiometer
calibration and installation the HygrA-CD campaign. The financial support of the ACTRIS Research Infrastructure Project by the European Unionâs Horizon 2020 â Research and Innovation Framework Programme, under grant agreement no. 654169 is gratefully
acknowledged.
The topical editor, Vassiliki Kotroni, thanks two anonymous referees for help in evaluating this paper.Peer Reviewe
Fuzzy model hodnocenĂ rizik pro environmentĂĄlnĂ start-up projekty v sektoru leteckĂŠ dopravy
The purpose of this paper is to develop a fuzzy model of the risk assessment for environmental start-up projects in the air transport sector at the stage of business expansion. The model developed for the following software will be a useful tool for the risk decision support system of investment funds in financing environmental start-up projects at the stage of market conquest. Developing a quantitative risk assessment for environmental start-up projects for the air transport sector will increase the resilience of making risk decisions about their financing by the investors. In this paper, a set of 21 criteria for assessing the risk of launching environmental start-up projects in the air transport sector were formulated for the first time by presenting inputs in the form of a linguistic risk assessment and the number of credible expert considerations. The fuzzy risk assessment model, based on expert knowledge, uses linguistic variables, reveals the uncertainty of the input data, and displays a risk assessment with linguistic interpretation. The result of the paper is a fuzzy model that is embedded in a generalized algorithm and tested in an example risk assessment of environmental start-up projects in the air transport sector.ĂÄelem tohoto pĹĂspÄvku je vyvinout fuzzy model posuzovĂĄnĂ rizik pro environmentĂĄlnĂ zaÄĂnajĂcĂ projekty v odvÄtvĂ leteckĂŠ dopravy ve fĂĄzi obchodnĂ expanze. Model vyvinutĂ˝ pro nĂĄsledujĂcĂ software bude uĹžiteÄnĂ˝m nĂĄstrojem pro systĂŠm podpory rizikovĂ˝ch rozhodnutĂ investiÄnĂch fondĹŻ pĹi financovĂĄnĂ environmentĂĄlnĂch start-up projektĹŻ ve fĂĄzi trĹžnĂho dobytĂ. VypracovĂĄnĂ kvantitativnĂho posouzenĂ rizik pro environmentĂĄlnĂ zaÄĂnajĂcĂ projekty v odvÄtvĂ leteckĂŠ dopravy zvýťà odolnost rizikovĂ˝ch rozhodnutĂ ohlednÄ jejich financovĂĄnĂ ze strany investorĹŻ. V tomto dokumentu bylo poprvĂŠ stanoveno 21 kritĂŠriĂ pro posuzovĂĄnĂ rizika zahĂĄjenĂ environmentĂĄlnĂch start-up projektĹŻ v odvÄtvĂ leteckĂŠ dopravy pĹedstavenĂm vstupĹŻ ve formÄ lingvistickĂŠho hodnocenĂ rizika a poÄtu dĹŻvÄryhodnĂ˝ch expertnĂch Ăşvah. Fuzzy model hodnocenĂ rizik zaloĹženĂ˝ na odbornĂ˝ch znalostech pouĹžĂvĂĄ lingvistickĂŠ promÄnnĂŠ, odhaluje nejistotu vstupnĂch ĂşdajĹŻ a zobrazuje hodnocenĂ rizik s lingvistickou interpretacĂ. VĂ˝sledkem pĹĂspÄvku je fuzzy model, kterĂ˝ je zabudovĂĄn do zobecnÄnĂŠho algoritmu a testovĂĄn na pĹĂkladu hodnocenĂ rizik environmentĂĄlnĂch zaÄĂnajĂcĂch projektĹŻ v odvÄtvĂ leteckĂŠ dopravy
Scaling Behavior of Peat Properties during the Holocene: A Case Study from Central European Russia
A better understanding of past climate change is vital to our ability to predict possible future environmental dynamics. This study attempts to investigate the dynamic features of the temporal variability of peat humification, water table depth and air temperature by analyzing palaeoecological data from the Valdai Uplands region (Central European Russia). The regression analysis revealed the presence of a periodicity of about 6000 years in the reconstructed peat humification timeseries. Nonlinear analysis showed that humification time variability, water table depth and air temperature exhibit persistent long-range correlations of 1/f type. This indicates that a fluctuation in these variables in the past is very likely to be followed by a similar one in the future, but is magnified by 1/f power-law. In addition, it dictates that humification, water table depth and temperature are key parameters of a system that implies the existence of a special structure, such as self-organized criticality, operating close to a minimum stability configuration, and achieves it without any fine adjustment by external forcing. These conclusions point to new avenues for modeling future ecosystem disturbances and, in particular, for predicting relevant extreme events