Recent Precipitation Decrease Across the Western Greenland Ice Sheet Percolation Zone

The mass balance of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) in a warming climate is of critical interest in the context of future sea level rise. Increased melting in the GrIS percolation zone due to atmospheric warming over the past several decades has led to increased mass loss at lower elevations. Previous studies have hypothesized that this warming is accompanied by a precipitation increase, as would be expected from the Clausius–Clapeyron relationship, compensating for some of the melt-induced mass loss throughout the western GrIS. This study tests that hypothesis by calculating snow accumulation rates and trends across the western GrIS percolation zone, providing new accumulation rate estimates in regions with sparse in situ data or data that do not span the recent accelerating surface melt. We present accumulation records from sixteen 22–32m long firn cores and 4436 km of ground-penetrating radar, covering the past 20–60 years of accumulation, collected across the western GrIS percolation zone as part of the Greenland Traverse for Accumulation and Climate Studies (GreenTrACS) project. Trends from both radar and firn cores, as well as commonly used regional climate models, show decreasing accumulation rates of 2:4±1:5%a-1 over the 1996–2016 period, which we attribute to shifting storm tracks related to stronger atmospheric summer blocking over Greenland. Changes in atmospheric circulation over the past 20 years, specifically anomalously strong summertime blocking, have reduced GrIS surface mass balance through both an increase in surface melting and a decrease in accumulation rates

From college to university: The Basilian Fathers and Assumption, 1950-1963 (Assumption College, Ontario).

The following is a study of Assumption College and the Basilian Fathers who administered it during a period of unparalleled growth and change, 1950-1963. Assumption began this period as an affiliate college of the University of Western Ontario, claimed autonomous status as a college with university powers, and finally achieved its century old dream as Assumption University of Windsor. The goal once achieved proved unsustainable; forces unleashed by postwar educational growth and strategies adopted by the Basilians to cope with their expanding services contained the seeds of yet another transformation--the creation of the University of Windsor, with Assumption University in federation. As Assumption College transformed itself from a college into a university, the Basilian Fathers found strength in their beliefs, tradition and denominational approach to education. This approach, which had served them well for almost 100 years was found wanting in the dynamic environment of the 1950s, forcing the Basilians to take stock of themselves as they sought to accommodate numerous needs and demands. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)Dept. of History, Philosophy, and Political Science. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1991 .M444. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 30-04, page: 1097. Director: Larry L. Kulisek. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1991

Exploring the potential of grass feedstock from marginal land in Ireland: Does marginal mean lower yield?

peer-reviewedThe production of biomass feedstock from marginal land has attracted much attention as a means of avoiding conflict between the production of food and fuel. Yield potentials from marginal lands have generally not been quantified although it is generally assumed that lower biomass yields can be expected from marginal lands. A three year study was conducted in Ireland in order to determine if grass yields of perennial rhizomatous grasses (cocksfoot, tall fescue, reed canary grass, festulolium) for anaerobic digestion from three marginal land sites (very wet site, very dry site, site prone to flooding) could match yields from better soils. Randomised complete block designs were established on each site in 2012 with two varieties of each grass species as treatments. Three grass harvests were taken from each site in 2013 and in 2014. There was no significant difference between yields from the control site and those from the very dry site and the site prone to flooding. Biomass yields from the very wet site were 85% of those from the control site. Highest yields were obtained from festulolium which were significantly higher than yields from perennial ryegrass. An energy analysis showed that maximising the production of grass from low lying mineral marginal grassland in Ireland could provide enough energy to meet the energy requirements of both the private car fleet and the heavy goods vehicle fleet while avoiding conflict with food production which could be concentrated on conventional land

Medical graduates, tertiary hospitals, and burnout: a longitudinal cohort study

Background: Burnout among junior doctors can affect patient care. We conducted a longitudinal cohort study designed to explore the incidence of burnout in medical interns and to examine the changes in burnout during the course of the intern year. Methods: Interns were recruited at two tertiary hospitals in Brisbane, Australia (n=180). Participants completed surveys at four time points during their internship year. All interns (100%) completed the baseline survey during their orientation. Response rates were 85%, 88%, and 79%, respectively, at 5-week, 6-month, and 12-month follow-up. Results: Interns reported high levels of personal and work-related burnout throughout the year that peaked at 6 months with mean scores of 42.53 and 41.81, respectively. Increases of 5.1 points (confidence interval [CI] 2.5, 7.7; P=0.0001) and 3.5 points (CI 1.3, 5.6; P=0.0015) were seen at 6 months for personal and work-related burnout, respectively. The mean score for patientrelated burnout at 12 months was 25.57, and this number had increased significantly by 5.8 points (CI 3.2, 8.5;

Assessing Controls on Ice Dynamics at Crane Glacier, Antarctic Peninsula, Using a Numerical Ice Flow Model

The Antarctic Peninsula\u27s widespread glacier retreat and ice shelf collapse have been attributed to atmospheric and oceanic warming. Following the initial post-collapse period of retreat, several former tributary glaciers of the Larsen A and B ice shelves have been slowly re-advancing for more than a decade. Here, we use a flowline model of Crane Glacier to gauge the sensitivity of former tributary glaciers to future climate change following this period of long-term dynamic adjustment. The glacier\u27s long-term geometry and speed changes are similar to those of other former Larsen A and B tributaries, suggesting that Crane Glacier is a reasonable representation of regional dynamics. For the unperturbed climate simulations, discharge remains nearly unchanged in 2018–2100, indicating that dynamic readjustment to shelf collapse took ~15 years. Despite large uncertainties in Crane Glacier\u27s past and future climate forcing, a wide range of future climate scenarios leads to a relatively modest range in grounding line discharge (0.8–1.5 Gt a−1) by 2100. Based on the model results for Crane, we infer that although former ice shelf tributaries may readvance following collapse, similar to the tidewater glacier cycle, their dynamic response to future climate perturbations should be less than their response to ice shelf collapse