Assimilation of MSG land-surface temperature into land-surface model simulations to constrain estimates of surface energy budget in West Africa

In the semi-arid regions of West Africa the surface energy partition is related closely to near surface moisture availability. Such moisture availability exhibits marked heterogeneity at scales of a few kilometres, related to the passage of storm systems during the previous one or two days. The associated variations in surface fluxes affect planetary boundary layer properties at the mesoscale, which may in turn affect rainfall and the seasonal development of the West African monsoon. Atmosphere models used to study this land-atmosphere coupling are sensitive to the soil moisture initial condition. There exists no observation network for soil moisture in West Africa, so models rely on data from atmosphere analyses, which are often unable to describe adequately surface variation at the mesoscale. Additionally, retrospective estimates of the seasonal surface energy and water budgets using land-surface models are biased by persistent model errors in soil moisture. Anomalies in near-surface (top few centimetres) soil moisture are anti-correlated with anomalies in land-surface brightness temperature, which is observed by the SEVIRI thermal infra-red sensors onboard the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellites. Here, we present methods developed for assimilating the MSG land-surface temperature product from the Land SAF to constrain estimates of the surface energy and water budgets using the JULES land-surface model. This MSG temperature product has a pixel size of approximately 3 km in this region, and is known to provide information of surface wetness anomalies at the scales of interest. The results will provide, for a large region of West Africa, improved initial conditions for modelling studies and seasonal estimates of the surface energy and water budgets

Female career progression in retailing

Abstract: Purpose – The aim of this paper is to highlight the factors that limit and support female career progression in the retail industry. Design/methodology/approach – The research used a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods. Data were collected from employees and managers working in 31 stores belonging to national stores operating in the East Midlands as well as ten SME independent retailers based in the region. Findings – The women in this study can be categorised into those women who are not interested in pursuing a career in retail, those that seek promotion but have difficulties balancing the demands of their work and domestic circumstances and those who have actively pursued a career in the industry. Despite these categorisations, the study suggests that the career progression of all female staff is helped and hindered by a number of interrelating factors, such as whether they have a role model, are loyal to the store they work in or have children. Practical implications – It is proposed that career initiatives in retailing need to be more adaptable so that they take account of the different development needs of these three types of women. Originality/value – This is a large-scale study that uses a mixed method approach and considers the opinions of store staff working in a range of roles

Maximising women's potential in the UK's retail sector

Purpose – A defining characteristic of the UK retail sector is the high number of women it employs but there remains an enduring under-representation of women in its management positions. The majority of women in the industry work part-time and this paper explores the factors that impact upon the career progression. Approach – One thousand questionnaires were completed by store staff in three leading retailers supported by interviews with store staff and SME retailers in the UK’s East Midlands region. Findings – The study revealed continuing barriers to career progression for women working part-time in retailing. Despite family friendly employment policies becoming an increasingly important feature of modern work organisations, career progression was informed by a traditional concept of a career based on full-time working. Research Limitations - the study was limited to one sector, there is a need for further studies into women’s career progression in other sectors reliant on female employment. Practical implications - the findings have implications for promotion policies, training and development provision and line management practices if retailers are to maximise the potential of the women they employ. Originality/Value – The findings, based on both quantitative and qualitative data, suggest that retailing is an industry where a significant number of women are working below their potential despite organisational policies supportive of diversity and equality of opportunity

Study of sample drilling techniques for Mars sample return missions

To demonstrate the feasibility of acquiring various surface samples for a Mars sample return mission the following tasks were performed: (1) design of a Mars rover-mounted drill system capable of acquiring crystalline rock cores; prediction of performance, mass, and power requirements for various size systems, and the generation of engineering drawings; (2) performance of simulated permafrost coring tests using a residual Apollo lunar surface drill, (3) design of a rock breaker system which can be used to produce small samples of rock chips from rocks which are too large to return to Earth, but too small to be cored with the Rover-mounted drill; (4)design of sample containers for the selected regolith cores, rock cores, and small particulate or rock samples; and (5) design of sample handling and transfer techniques which will be required through all phase of sample acquisition, processing, and stowage on-board the Earth return vehicle. A preliminary design of a light-weight Rover-mounted sampling scoop was also developed

Explicit representation and parametrised impacts of under ice shelf seas in the z∗ coordinate ocean model NEMO 3.6

Ice-shelf-ocean interactions are a major source of freshwater on the Antarctic continental shelf and have a strong impact on ocean properties, ocean circulation and sea ice. However, climate models based on the ocean-sea ice model NEMO (Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean) currently do not include these interactions in any detail. The capability of explicitly simulating the circulation beneath ice shelves is introduced in the non-linear free surface model NEMO. Its implementation into the NEMO framework and its assessment in an idealised and realistic circum-Antarctic configuration is described in this study. Compared with the current prescription of ice shelf melting (i.e. at the surface), inclusion of open sub-ice-shelf cavities leads to a decrease in sea ice thickness along the coast, a weakening of the ocean stratification on the shelf, a decrease in salinity of high-salinity shelf water on the Ross and Weddell sea shelves and an increase in the strength of the gyres that circulate within the over-deepened basins on the West Antarctic continental shelf. Mimicking the overturning circulation under the ice shelves by introducing a prescribed meltwater flux over the depth range of the ice shelf base, rather than at the surface, is also assessed. It yields similar improvements in the simulated ocean properties and circulation over the Antarctic continental shelf to those from the explicit ice shelf cavity representation. With the ice shelf cavities opened, the widely used "three equation" ice shelf melting formulation, which enables an interactive computation of melting, is tested. Comparison with observational estimates of ice shelf melting indicates realistic results for most ice shelves. However, melting rates for the Amery, Getz and George VI ice shelves are considerably overestimated

Response to ‘Protected areas and climate change Reflections from a practitioner's perspective

Cliquet et al. 1 provide a thought-provoking analysis of the challenges posed to the EU's protected areas by climate change. This paper seeks to build on some of the perspectives they brought to what is a highly challenging area of nature conservation law, policy and practice. While there is much to support in their analysis of the relationships between protected areas and climate change, there are two key strands we seek to develop further, based on the RSPB's experience of this area of nature conservation policy and practice: first, is the ecological model for adapting to climate change and second, the legal framework provided by the Birds2 and Habitats3 Directives (the Nature Directives) as it relates to the delivery of such adaptive actions

Analysis of a Very Massive DA White Dwarf via the Trigonometric Parallax and Spectroscopic Methods

By two different methods, we show that LHS 4033 is an extremely massive white dwarf near its likely upper mass limit for destruction by unstable electron captures. From the accurate trigonometric parallax reported herein, the effective temperature (T=10,900 K) and the stellar radius (R=0.00368 R_sun) are directly determined from the broad-band spectral energy distribution -- the parallax method. The effective temperature and surface gravity are also estimated independently from the simultaneous fitting of the observed Balmer line profiles with those predicted from pure-hydrogen model atmospheres -- the spectroscopic method (T=10,760 K, log g=9.46). The mass of LHS 4033 is then inferred from theoretical mass-radius relations appropriate for white dwarfs. The parallax method yields a mass estimate of 1.310--1.330 M_sun, for interior compositions ranging from pure magnesium to pure carbon, respectively, while the spectroscopic method yields an estimate of 1.318--1.335 M_sun for the same core compositions. This star is the most massive white dwarf for which a robust comparison of the two techniques has been made.Comment: 17 pages, including 4 figures, Accepted for Ap.