A HIGH RESOLUTION TEMPERATURE CLIMATOLOGY FOR THE GREATER ALPINE REGION (GAR)

The Greater Alpine Region (the GAR) covering the area between 4-19°E and 43-50°N and an altitude range between 0 and more than 4000 m asl. offers a challenging climate worth to be studied in any detail. However, it is surprising that up to now no comprehensive Alpine Temperature Climatology covering the whole region is existing. To overcome this deficiency as a first step we want to produce monthly temperature maps for this region in spatial resolution as high as possible. The period under investigation will be 1961-1990. In this paper we will describe the first steps of our initiative as well as the further plans

Human impact on the transport of terrigenous and anthropogenic elements to peri-alpine lakes (Switzerland) over the last decades

Terrigenous (Sc, Fe, K, Mg, Al, Ti) and anthropogenic (Pb and Cu) element fluxes were measured in a new sediment core from Lake Biel (Switzerland) and in previously well-documented cores from two upstream lakes (Lake Brienz and Lake Thun). These three large peri-alpine lakes are connected by the Aare River, which is the main tributary to the High Rhine River. Major and trace element analysis of the sediment cores by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) shows that the site of Lake Brienz receives three times more terrigenous elements than the two other studied sites, given by the role of Lake Brienz as the first major sediment sink located in the foothills of the Alps. Overall, the terrigenous fluxes reconstructed at the three studied sites suggest that the construction of sediment-trapping reservoirs during the twentieth century noticeably decreased the riverine suspended sediment load at a regional scale. In fact, the extensive river damming that occurred in the upstream watershed catchment (between ca. 1930 and 1950 and up to 2300 m a.s.l.) and that significantly modified seasonal suspended sediment loads and riverine water discharge patterns to downstream lakes noticeably diminished the long-range transport of (fine) terrigenous particles by the Aare River. Concerning the transport of anthropogenic pollutants, the lowest lead enrichment factors (EFs Pb) were measured in the upstream course of the Aare River at the site of Lake Brienz, whereas the metal pollution was highest in downstream Lake Biel, with the maximum values measured between 1940 and 1970 (EF Pb >3). The following recorded regional reduction in aquatic Pb pollution started about 15 years before the actual introduction of unleaded gasoline in 1985. Furthermore, the radiometric dating of the sediment core from Lake Biel identifies three events of hydrological transport of artificial radionuclides released by the nuclear reactor of Mühleberg located at more than 15 km upstream of Lake Biel for the time period 1970 to 200

L’identité à l’épreuve de la maladie létale, validation d’un formulaire d’analyse qualitative des entretiens psychologiques

International audienceDans une étude doctorale débutée en 2009, nous avons créé un outil de recueil des modifications de l’identité et de la détresse chez des patients atteints de pathologies létales (89 % de cancers) destiné aux psychologues afin de mieux comprendre l’articulation entre les expériences de perte induites par une pathologie, les ruptures identitaires et la détresse ressentie. La première phase de création de cet hétéroquestionnaire avait pour but de repérer les représentations de l’incidence de la maladie létale par les psychologues dans leurs entretiens avec les patients. Dans cet article, nous présentons sa phase de validation qui rend compte de la qualité des dimensions évaluées par le formulaire : 1) les processus psychiques en jeu chez le patient ; 2) les fonctions thérapeutiques de l’entretien ; 3) la dimension contre-transférentielle ressentie par le psychologue

L’identité à l’épreuve de la maladie létale, validation d’un formulaire d’analyse qualitative des entretiens psychologiques

International audienceDans une étude doctorale débutée en 2009, nous avons créé un outil de recueil des modifications de l’identité et de la détresse chez des patients atteints de pathologies létales (89 % de cancers) destiné aux psychologues afin de mieux comprendre l’articulation entre les expériences de perte induites par une pathologie, les ruptures identitaires et la détresse ressentie. La première phase de création de cet hétéroquestionnaire avait pour but de repérer les représentations de l’incidence de la maladie létale par les psychologues dans leurs entretiens avec les patients. Dans cet article, nous présentons sa phase de validation qui rend compte de la qualité des dimensions évaluées par le formulaire : 1) les processus psychiques en jeu chez le patient ; 2) les fonctions thérapeutiques de l’entretien ; 3) la dimension contre-transférentielle ressentie par le psychologue

A physics-based correction model for homogenizing sub-daily temperature series

A new physics-based technique for correcting inhomogeneities present in sub-daily temperature records is proposed. The approach accounts for changes in the sensor-shield characteristics that affect the energy balance dependent on ambient weather conditions (radiation, wind). An empirical model is formulated that reflects the main atmospheric processes and can be used in the correction step of a homogenization procedure. The model accounts for short- and long-wave radiation fluxes (including a snow cover component for albedo calculation) of a measurement system, such as a radiation shield. One part of the flux is further modulated by ventilation. The model requires only cloud cover and wind speed for each day, but detailed site-specific information is necessary. The final model has three free parameters, one of which is a constant offset. The three parameters can be determined, e.g., using the mean offsets for three observation times. The model is developed using the example of the change from the Wild screen to the Stevenson screen in the temperature record of Basel, Switzerland, in 1966. It is evaluated based on parallel measurements of both systems during a sub-period at this location, which were discovered during the writing of this paper. The model can be used in the correction step of homogenization to distribute a known mean step-size to every single measurement, thus providing a reasonable alternative correction procedure for high-resolution historical climate series. It also constitutes an error model, which may be applied, e.g., in data assimilation approaches

A high resolution temperature climatology for the Greater Alpine Region (GAR).

The Greater Alpine Region (the GAR) covering the area between 4-19°E and 43-50°N and an altitude range between 0 and more than 4000 m asl. offers a challenging climate worth to be studied in any detail. However, it is surprising that up to now no comprehensive Alpine Temperature Climatology covering the whole region is existing. To overcome this deficiency as a first step we want to produce monthly temperature maps for this region in spatial resolution as high as possible. The period under investigation will be 1961-1990. In this paper we will describe the first steps of our initiative as well as the further plans