TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Tracking mesoscale ocean features in the Caribbean Sea using Geosat Altimetry

The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/101029/93JC00125The authors use Geosat Exact Repeat Mission altimetry data to track mesoscale ocean features in the Caribbean Sea. Because of the topography of the basin extensive mesoscale features exist, and have been studied and modeled. Models indicate the presence of eddy flow patterns in parts of the basin. The meteorology of the region is dominated by the Intertropical Convergence Zone, which shifts with the seasons. It has been shown that the seasonal wind stress curl positively correlates with total volume transport through the Caribbean Sea. Satellite altimetry provides an accepted means of studying mesoscale features of ocean dynamics which vary with time. The data reveals the appearance of two anticyclonic features, one each year, which appear and drift westward at speed considerably less that surface flow speeds. It also indicates the presence of a cyclonic feature in the southwest corner of the Columbian basin which varies with time. Marine geoid corrections unfortunately remove any features which are not time dependent from the data

Gas Transfer at Water Surfaces 2010

PrefaceSection 1: Interfacial Turbulence and Air-Water Scalar TransferJ. Hunt, S. Belcher, D. Stretch, S. Sajjadi, J. Clegg [1]S.A. Kitaigorodskii [13]S.A. Kitaigorodskii [29]Y. Toba [38]D. Turney, S. Banerjee [51]J.G. Janzen, H.E. Schulz, G.H. Jirka [65]S. Komori, R. Kurose, N. Takagaki, S. Ohtsubo, K. Iwano, K. Handa, S. Shimada [78]J. Beya, W. Peirson, M. Banner [90]S. Mizuno [104]M. Sanjou, I. Nezu, A. Toda [119]M. Sanjou, I. Nezu, Y. Akiya [129]K. Takehara, Y. Takano, T.G. Etoh [138]G. Caulliez [151]Section 2: Numerical Studies on Interfacial Turbulence and Scalar TransferL.-P. Hung, C.S. Garbe, W.-T. Tsai [165]A. E. Tejada-Martínez, C. Akan, C.E. Grosch [177]W.-T. Tsai, L.-P. Hung [193]P.G. Jayathilake, B.C. Khoo, Zhijun Tan [200]H.E. Schulz, A.L.A. Simões, J.G. Janzen [208]Section 3: Bubble-Mediated Scalar TransferD.P. Nicholson, S.R. Emerson, S. Khatiwala, R.C. Hamme [223]W. Mischler, R. Rocholz, B. Jähne [238]R. Patro, I. Leifer [249]K. Loh, K.B. Cheong, R. Uittenbogaard [262]N. Mori, S. Nakagawa [273]Section 4: Effects of Surfactants and Molecular Diffusivity on Turbulence and Scalar TransferA. Soloviev, S. Matt, M. Gilman, H. Hühnerfuss, B. Haus, D. Jeong, I. Savelyev, M. Donelan [285]S. Matt, A. Fujimura, A. Soloviev, S.H. Rhee [299]P. Vlahos, E.C. Monahan, B.J.Huebert, J.B. Edson [313]K.E. Richter, B. Jähne [322]X. Yan, W.L. Peirson, J.W. Walker, M.L. Banner [333]Section 5: Field MeasurementsP.M. Orton, C.J. Zappa, W.R. McGillis [343]U.Schimpf, L. Nagel, B. Jähne [358]C.L. McNeil, E.A. D'Asaro, J.A. Nystuen [368]D. Turk, B. Petelin, J.W. Book [377]M. Ribas-Ribas, A. Gómez-Parra, J.M. Forja [394]A. Rutgersson, A.-S. Smedman, E. Sahlée [406]H. Pettersson, K. K. Kahma, A. Rutgersson, M. Perttilä [420]Section 6: Global Air-Sea CO2 FluxesR. Wanninkhof, G.-H. Park, D.B. Chelton, C.M. Risien [431]N. Suzuki, S. Komori, M.A. Donelan [445]Y. Suzuki, Y. Toba [452]M.T. Johnson, C. Hughes, T.G. Bell, P.S. Liss [464]Section 7: Advanced Measuring TechniquesO. Tsukamoto, F. Kondo [485]R. Rocholz, S. Wanner, U. Schimpf, B. Jähne [496]B.C.G. Gonzalez, A.W. Lamon, J.G. Janzen, J.R. Campos, H.E. Schulz [507]E. Sahlée, K. Kahma, H. Pettersson, W.M. Drennan [516]D. Kiefhaber, R. Rocholz, G. Balschbach, B. Jähne [524]C.S. Garbe, A. Heinlein [535]Section 8: Environmental Problems Related to Air-Water Scalar TransferW.L. Peirson, G.A. Lee, C. Waite, P. Onesemo, G. Ninaus [545]Y.J. Choi, A. Abe, K. Takahashi [559]Y. Baba, K. Takahashi [571]R. Onishi, K. Takahashi, S. Komori [582][593]Turbulence and wave dynamics across gas-liquid interfacesThe calculation of the gas transfer between the ocean and atmosphereThe influence of wind wave breaking on the dissipation of the turbulent kinetic energy in the upper ocean and its dependence on the stage of wind wave developmentMarvellous self-consistency inherent in wind waves : Its origin and some items related to air-sea transfersNear surface turbulence and its relationship to air-water gas transfer ratesTurbulent gas flux measurements near the air-water interface in an oscillating-grid tankSensible and latent heat transfer across the air-water interface in wind-driven turbulenceRainfall-generated, near-surface turbulenceEffects of the mechanical wave propagating in the wind direction on currents and stresses across the air-water interfaceTurbulent transport in closed basin with wind-induced water wavesPIV measurements of Langumuir circulation generated by wind-induced water wavesStudy of vortices near wind wave surfaces using high-speed video camera and MLSWind wave breaking from micro to macroscaleValidation of Eddy-renewal model by numerical simulationMass transfer at the surface in LES of wind-driven shallow water flow with Langmuir circulationCharacteristics of gas-flux density distribution at the water surfacesNumerical simulation of interfacial mass transfer using the immersed interface methodStatistical approximations in gas-liquid mass transferAn inverse approach to estimate bubble-mediated air-sea gas flux from inert gas measurementsExperimental setup for the investigation of bubble mediated gas exchangeGas transfer velocity of single CO2 bubblesMass transfer across single bubblesAeration of surf zone breaking wavesModification of turbulence at the air-sea interface due to the presence of surfactants and implications for gas exchange. Part I: laboratory experimentModification of turbulence at the air-sea interface due to the presence of surfactants and implications for gas exchange. Part II: numerical simulationsWind-dependence of DMS transfer velocity: Comparison of model with recent southern ocean observationsA laboratory study of the Schmidt number dependency of air-water gas transferOn transitions in the Schmidt number dependency of low solubility gas transfer across air-water interfacesAn autonomous self-orienting catamaran (SOCa) for measuring air-water fluxes and forcingThe 2009 SOPRAN active thermography pilot experiment in the Baltic SeaObservations of air-sea exchange of N2 and O2 during the passage of Hurricane Gustav in the Gulf of Mexico during 2008The effect of high wind Bora events on water pCO2 and CO2 exchange in the coastal Northern AdriaticSeasonal sea-surface CO2 fugacity in the north-eastern shelf of the Gulf of Cádiz (southwest Iberian Peninsula)Including mixed layer convection when determining air-sea CO2 transfer velocityAir-sea carbon dioxide exchange during upwellingImpact of small-scale variability on air-sea CO2 fluxesThe effect of wind variability on the air-sea CO2 gas flux estimationFuture global mapping of air-sea CO2 flux by using wind and wind-wave distribution of CMIP3 multi-model ensembleA Rumsfeldian analysis of uncertainty in air-sea gas exchangeAccurate measurement of air-sea CO2 flux with open-path Eddy-CovarianceCombined Visualization of wind waves and water surface temperatureMicroscopic sensors for oxygen measurement at air-water interfaces and sediment biofilmsDamping of humidity fluctuations in a closed-path systemImproved Optical Instrument for the Measurement of Water Wave Statistics in the FieldFriction Velocity from Active Thermography and Shape AnalysisEvaporation mitigation by storage in rock and sandDevelopment of oil-spill simulation system based on the global ocean-atmosphere modelStructure variation dependence of tropical squall line on the tracer advection scheme in cloud-resolving modelHigh-resolution simulations for turbulent clouds developing over the oceAuthor Inde

TRY plant trait database, enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits-the morphological, ahawnatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives