Measuring winter precipitation with snow cover water accumulation in mountainous areas

Precipitation variability in mountainous regions is much bigger, than it is possible to con-clude from data of a few meteorological stations in this area. There are big differences between windy sides, lee sides and the valleys. During winter, when snow precipitation prevails, snow accumulates on ground as snow cover, which enables us to see the variability of precipitation on small scale. Results of research-ing snow cover give us more precise data and show us new facts about precipitation variability in Julian Alps and their surroundings and in Karavanke

Severe storms and their effects in sub-Mediterranean Slovenia from the 14th to the mid-19th century

The paper presents an overview of severe storms and a reconstruction of periods with their reiterative occurrence in sub-Mediterranean Slovenia in the warm half of the year during the so-called pre-instrumental period. The data were gathered in secondary and tertiary historical sources, chronicles first and foremost. The presented chronology does not provide a complete reconstruction because of insufficient data, yet it offers a basic insight into the periods of frequenter occurrence of these phenomena. Outstanding are the 17th and the 18th centuries, especially their first halves whose weather conditions rank among the most unfavourable in the last millennium. In addition to severe winters with damages done by frosts, dry or too wet summers, 12 violent storms in the 17th century and 16 in the 18th century caused great damage and considerably aggravated the conditions of living. The occurrence of storms in the first halves of the 17th and the 18th centuries was equal to that at the end of the 20th century, when frequenter occurrence of such weather extremes is mainly believed to be caused by the general warming of the atmosphere. It is evident from the chronicle that the characteristics of severe storms and the kinds of resulting damage have not significantly changed until today. The only phenomenon that has not been recorded in the recent history of climate is such a sharp drop in temperature in the lower parts of the Primorska (Littoral) region during an August storm as to cause that snow fell, which, supposedly, happened in August 1710

Bratovščine na Slovenskem in njihov pomen za baročno slovensko književnost

Baroque confraternities, like their forebears, were religious in nature and became a source for the many cultural initiatives and needs for literature in Latin as well as in German and the Slovenian language. This essay presents several examples of Slovenian literary texts, printed as well as in manuscript form, which came into existence because of confraternal devotional practices. They cover virtually all the basic literary genres and make up a small literary system with poetry (poems, hymns), prose (sermons, meditations), and drama (Passion plays).Glavni namen bratovščin je bil verske narave, iz njega pa so izraščale številne pobude in potrebe kulturne narave, ki so dale nastanek mnogim književnim delom tako v latinščini kakor nemščini in slovenščini. V članku je predstavljenih nekaj primerov slovenskih literarnih besedil, tako tiskanih kakor rokopisnih, ki so nastala prav zaradi potreb konkretne bratovščine. Njihova besedila pripadajo vsem trem glavnim literarnim vrstam in sestavljajo celoten literarni sistem s poezijo (pesmi, himnika), prozo (pridiga in meditacije) in dramo (pasijonske igre)

The importance of water accumulation of snow cover measurements in mountainous regions of Slovenia

Snow cover is a frequent phenomenon in Slovenia and even in the lowlands of the interior regions, it can last for several weeks. The properties of snow and winter weather after the snow cover has formed, determine the load of snow upon houses, trees and other objects. Water accumulation of snow cover (WASC) gives us the amount of water in snow and therefore also the weight of snow. Deep snow cover can soak its own melting water from the surface, so WASC does not decrease as fast as one would conclude from the intensity of melting. WASC is also a good indicator of winter precipitation where precipitation stations are rare and precipitation gradients are big. The researches carried out in the winter 2005/2006 showed that precipitation in the central part of the Bohinj ridge in the Slovenian Julian Alps, was about 50% higher than at its northern edge, where the meteorological station Vogel is located

Latent cooling of atmosphere as an indicator of lowered snow line: Case study from Planica and Vrata valleys

A lowered snow line in Alpine valleys as a local weather phenomenon often varies from one valley to another. The relief morphology of the valleys and the intensity of precipitation play a crucial role in the variation. In Slovenia certain valleys are more susceptible to this phenomenon than others, one such example being the Planica Valley. This article examines the occurrence of a lowered snow line in the Planica Valley and the Vrata Valley during the winter seasons of 2015/2016 and 2016/2017. Precipitation events accompanying the occurrence of a lowered snow line were analyzed, and data on temperature and precipitation were included in the analysis. Results showed a striking degree of congruence of the phenomenon in both valleys

Klimatske promjene i budućnost zimskog turizma u Sloveniji

Climate changes are affecting many activities in modern society all over the world. In Europe, the Alps are among the most affected regions, where rises in temperature and snow lines (Kohler, Maselli, 2009) and changed distribution of precipitation have already brought changes in society. Alpine tourism has undergone changes due to warmer and greener winters, so ski areas face lack of profit, some have even stopped operating, while others have changed their strategy and shifted their offer to all-year activities instead focusing only on winter (Vrtačnik Garbas, 2008). In Slovenia, most of the ski slopes lie at very low elevations compared with other Alpine countries, so most of these centres are even more endangered by global warming. The article focuses on climate trends in the Slovenian mountains, especially in the ski season months, from December to March.Klimatske promjene utječu na niz aktivnosti modernog društva diljem svijeta. U Europi, Alpe su jedno od područja najviše zahvaćenih klimatskim promjenama, gdje su povišene temperature i snježne linije (Kohler, Maselli, 2009) i izmijenjena raspodjela padalina već dovele do društvenih promjena. Alpski turizam doživio je promjene zbog toplijih, zelenih zima, tako da su skijaška područja suočena s manjim profitima. Neka su prestala s radom, dok su druga promijenila svoju strategiju i prebacila se na pružanje usluga tijekom cijele godine, umjesto orijentacije isključivo na zimu (Vrtačnik Grabas, 2008). Većina skijaških padina u Sloveniji nalazi se na nižim uzvisinama u usporedbi s ostalim alpskim državama, pa je većina tih centara još više ugrožena globalnim zatopljenjem. Ovaj se članak fokusira na klimatske trendove u slovenskim planinama, posebno tijekom skijaške sezone, od prosinca do ožujka

The spatial cognition of Mediterranean in Slovenia: (In)consistency between perception and physical definitions

On the basis of a previously tested method, the cognition of the spatial extent of the Mediterranean in Slovenia is presented. The Mediterranean may be determined on the basis of numerous and very diverse criteria. It is therefore a very subjectively determined notion, where geographical and non-geographical definitions can be treated as equivalent. The research made use of a questionnaire method, which revealed the opinions of the inhabitants living in the area, generally regarded as being Mediterranean. The determination of the Mediterranean was achieved with the aid of a special question. Respondents were asked to graphically delineate its border in Slovenia on a specially prepared general map included in the questionnaire on the basis of their subjective complex perception of the characteristics by them understood as Mediterranean. The questionnaire was spatially structured by the following regions: Slovene Istria, the Vipava Valley, the Vipava Hills, the Goriška ravan, the Brda Hills, the Kras, the Pivka Basin, the Reka Valley, the Brkini Hills and the Matarsko podolje and Ljubljana with its surroundings. By drawing on the fuzzy logic theory and helped by computer techniques all the answers were merged on a special map showing the extent and membership of the fuzzy set “Mediterranean” within the crisp set “Slovenia”. The border between the Mediterranean and non-Mediterranean part of Slovenia is in this way established as a continuous transition. The mean value of this transition goes from Šempeter, passes the eastern flank of Karst, beside Divača and ends on the eastern side of Slavnik. A more restrictive criterion of the membership function value of 0.95, includes in the Slovenian Mediterranean only the sea and its most immediate hinterland. Particularly interesting proved differences in the spatial cognition of the Mediterranean’s borders in Slovenia between different survey regions

Influence of surface anisotropy on exchange resonance modes in spherical shells

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from IOP Publishing via the DOI in this recordThe dynamical properties of saturated spherical shells are investigated in the exchange-dominated regime when assuming that surface anisotropy is present at both the inner and outer boundaries. It is found that surface anisotropy plays an important role in determining the dependence of lower-order eigenvalues on shell thickness. The mode frequency can increase with decreasing shell thickness, or is driven rapidly towards the ferromagnetic resonance frequency depending on the choice of the surface anisotropy constant at each boundary. The presence of surface anisotropy significantly modifies the size dependence of the modes which can be suppressed or amplified based on the coupling between boundaries. When surface anisotropy is present only on the outer boundary, similar behaviour to the solid sphere is observed for lower-order eigenvalues up to a thickness of after which large deviations begin to occur, where and are the inner and outer radius, respectively. Moreover, surface anisotropy introduces a dependence of the zeroth mode on shell thickness, removing the degeneracy with the ferromagnetic resonance and leading to a pronounced size dependence of this mode for thin shells.The authors acknowledge financial support from the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of the United Kingdom, via the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Electromagnetic Metamaterials (Grant No. EP/L015331/1)

The Critical Temperature of Xenon Difluoride

In an attempt to determine critical constants of xenon fluorides we have measured the critical temperature of XeF 2• The disappearance and reappearance of the meniscus was observed on heating and cooling xenon difluoride in sealed quartz tubes. The experimental set-up was calibrated against the critical temperature of toluene, which was determined in the same way