Estimation of the conductivity in the one-phase Stefan problem : numerical results

Dans ce travail, nous développons une méthode itérative pour l'estimation d'un coefficient dépendant du temps dans un problème Stefan d'une phase utilisant des dates aux frontières. Cette méthode utilise la représentation aux frontières de la solution d'un problème de frontière libre. La convergence de l'algorithme est prouvée et des exemples numériques sont inclus

Fast, scalable, Bayesian spike identification for multi-electrode arrays

We present an algorithm to identify individual neural spikes observed on high-density multi-electrode arrays (MEAs). Our method can distinguish large numbers of distinct neural units, even when spikes overlap, and accounts for intrinsic variability of spikes from each unit. As MEAs grow larger, it is important to find spike-identification methods that are scalable, that is, the computational cost of spike fitting should scale well with the number of units observed. Our algorithm accomplishes this goal, and is fast, because it exploits the spatial locality of each unit and the basic biophysics of extracellular signal propagation. Human intervention is minimized and streamlined via a graphical interface. We illustrate our method on data from a mammalian retina preparation and document its performance on simulated data consisting of spikes added to experimentally measured background noise. The algorithm is highly accurate

Effect of the 2018 European drought on methane and carbon dioxide exchange of northern mire ecosystems

We analysed the effect of the 2018 European drought on greenhouse gas (GHG) exchange of five North European mire ecosystems. The low precipitation and high summer temperatures in Fennoscandia led to a lowered water table in the majority of these mires. This lowered both carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake and methane (CH4) emission during 2018, turning three out of the five mires from CO(2)sinks to sources. The calculated radiative forcing showed that the drought-induced changes in GHG fluxes first resulted in a cooling effect lasting 15-50 years, due to the lowered CH(4)emission, which was followed by warming due to the lower CO(2)uptake. This article is part of the theme issue 'Impacts of the 2018 severe drought and heatwave in Europe: from site to continental scale'.Peer reviewe

Impact of coordinate rotation on eddy covariance fluxes at complex sites

The choice of coordinate system to calculate eddy covariance fluxes becomes particularly relevant at complex measurement sites. The traditional way is to perform double rotation (DR) of the coordinate system i.e., to calculate turbulent fluxes in a coordinate system that is aligned with the flow streamlines within the flux averaging period (e.g., Kaimal and Finnigan, 1994). The second approach, the so-called planar-fitted (PF) coordinate system, averages the flow over a longer period of time, in practice a month or more. The PF method allows to derive an intercept coefficient of the vertical wind speed which can be attributed to the offset of the sonic anemometer or the average vertical flow related to meteorological conditions. We evaluated the variants of the PF methods using data from a variety of sites ranging from complex urban and forest sites to nearly ideal forest and peatland sites. At complex sites, we found that the intercept of the vertical wind speed derived from the PF method is a function of wind direction, time of day and/or stability. The sector-wise PF (SPF) method frequently led to insignificant statistical relationships. We tested a continuous PF (CPF) method where the relationship establishing the coordinate frame was represented as the continuous function in the form of Fourier series. The method enabled to obtain the PF with lower uncertainty as compared to the SPF method, by selecting necessary number of harmonics for each site based on confidence intervals of estimated parameters. Therefore, we recommend to use the CPF method in cases when the number of observations in some wind direction interval is low or the obtained SPF is insignificant due to large variance in measurements. We also showed that significant systematic difference can exist in cumulative turbulent fluxes between the DR and PF methods over a longer period of time. Derived vertical advection of carbon dioxide exhibited large variability with wind direction due to topography at complex sites and therefore, without considering horizontal advection, cannot be used to improve the net ecosystem exchange estimation during nocturnal, low turbulence conditions.Peer reviewe

On Second-Order Monadic Monoidal and Groupoidal Quantifiers

We study logics defined in terms of second-order monadic monoidal and groupoidal quantifiers. These are generalized quantifiers defined by monoid and groupoid word-problems, equivalently, by regular and context-free languages. We give a computational classification of the expressive power of these logics over strings with varying built-in predicates. In particular, we show that ATIME(n) can be logically characterized in terms of second-order monadic monoidal quantifiers

CO2 fertilization of Sphagnum peat mosses is modulated by water table level and other environmental factors

Sphagnum mosses account for most accumulated dead organic matter in peatlands. Therefore, understanding their responses to increasing atmospheric CO2 is needed for estimating peatland C balances under climate change. A key process is photorespiration: a major determinant of net photosynthetic C assimilation that depends on the CO2 to O-2 ratio. We used climate chambers to investigate photorespiratory responses of Sphagnum fuscum hummocks to recent increases in atmospheric CO2 (from 280 to 400 ppm) under different water table, temperature, and light intensity levels. We tested the photorespiratory variability using a novel method based on deuterium isotopomers (D6(S)/D6(R) ratio) of photosynthetic glucose. The effect of elevated CO2 on photorespiration was highly dependent on water table. At low water table (-20 cm), elevated CO2 suppressed photorespiration relative to C assimilation, thus substantially increasing the net primary production potential. In contrast, a high water table (similar to 0 cm) favored photorespiration and abolished this CO2 effect. The response was further tested for Sphagnum majus lawns at typical water table levels (similar to 0 and -7 cm), revealing no effect of CO2 under those conditions. Our results indicate that hummocks, which typically experience low water table levels, benefit from the 20th century's increase in atmospheric CO2

Surface energy exchange in pristine and managed boreal peatlands

Surface-atmosphere energy exchange is strongly ecosystem-specific. At the same time, as the energy balance constitutes responses of an ecosystem to environmental stressors including precipitation, humidity and solar radiation, it results in feedbacks of potential importance for the regional climate. Northern peatlands represent a diverse class of ecosystems that cover nearly 6 x 10(6) km(2) in the Boreal region, which makes the inter-comparison of their energy balances an important objective. With this in mind we studied energy exchange across a broad spectrum of peatlands from pristine fens and bogs to forested and agriculturally managed peatlands, which represent a large fraction of the landscape in Finland and Sweden. The effects of management activities on the energy balance were extensively examined from the micrometeorological point of view, using eddy covariance data from eight sites in these two countries (56 degrees 12'-62 degrees 11' N, 13 degrees 03'-30 degrees 05' E). It appears that the surface energy balance varies widely amongst the different peatland types. Generally, energy exchange features including the Bowen ratio, surface conductance, coupling to the atmosphere, responses to water table fluctuations and vapour pressure deficit could be associated directly with the peatland type. The relative constancy of the Bowen ratio in natural open mires contrasted with its variation in tree-covered and agricultural peatlands. We conclude that the impacts of management and the consequences of land-use change in peatlands for the local and regional climate might be substantial.Peer reviewe