Climate Trends and the Remarkable Sensitivity of Shelf Regions

Tidal motion of oceanic salt water through the ambient geomagnetic field induces periodic electromagnetic field signals. Amplitudes of the induced signals are sensitive to variations in electrical seawater conductivity and, consequently, to changes in oceanic temperature and salinity. In this paper, we computed and analyzed time series of global ocean tide‐induced magnetic field amplitudes. For this purpose, we combined data of global in situ observations of oceanic temperature and salinity fields from 1990–2016 with data of oceanic tidal flow, the geomagnetic field, mantle conductivity, and sediment conductance to derive ocean tide‐induced magnetic field amplitudes. The results were used to compare present day developments in the oceanic climate with two existing climate model scenarios, namely, global oceanic warming and Greenland glacial melting. Model fits of linear and quadratic long‐term trends of the derived magnetic field amplitudes show indications for both scenarios. Also, we find that magnetic field amplitude anomalies caused by oceanic seasonal variability and oceanic climate variations are 10 times larger in shallow ocean regions than in the open ocean. Consequently, changes in the oceanic and therefore the Earth's climate system will be observed first in shelf regions. In other words, climate variations of ocean tide‐induced magnetic field amplitudes are best observed in shallow ocean regions using targeted monitoring techniques

Inklusion als Herausforderung an eine reflexive Erziehungswissenschaft. Anmerkungen zur Professionalisierung von Lehrpersonen in „inklusiven“ Zeiten

Die Autoren identifizieren folgende Reflexionsanforderungen und -angebote für eine inklusionsbezogene Professionalisierung von Lehrpersonen: "Auf der Ebene der unterrichtlichen Interaktion (Mikroebene) geht es u.a. darum, Praktiken sowie Strukturen und deren ggf. benachteiligendes bzw. lernbehinderndes Potenzial zu vergegenwärtigen, sich reflexiv-hinterfragend mit naturalisierenden, kulturalisierenden, klassifizierenden Differenzkonstruktionen, insbesondere dem spezifisch schulischen Differenzierungskriterium „Leistung“ [...] auseinanderzusetzen. [...] Auf der Ebene der Schule (Mesoebene) richtet sich die Reflexion auf die Wirkungen von Regeln, Prozeduren und Praktiken der Organisation, deren strukturelle Zielkonflikte [...] und funktionellen Widersprüche, die sich, wie etwa der zwischen Förderung und Selektion, auf allen Ebenen (re-)produzieren. [...] Auf der Ebene der Gesellschaft (Makroebene) richtet sich die Reflexion im Kern auf die Frage, ob und ggf. inwiefern Schule als eine gesellschaftlich-pädagogische Organisation definiert wird, innerhalb derer in und durch Bildung Benachteiligungen abgebaut werden können." (DIPF/Orig.

Sustainability and Parliaments: Survey and Perspectives RIO +20. Summary

At the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development, countries committed themselves to sustainable action. Since then, structures and processes have been modified in politics and administration worldwide, and new bodies and procedures have been created. So far, these changes have mostly been carried out by the executive. The TAB report sheds light for the first time on the contribution of parliaments to sustainable action. To this end, it describes the activities of the German Bundestag and the parliaments of the Länder with regard to constructive participation in shaping national sustainability policy, as well as providing an overview of the activities of the parliaments of other Länder. It becomes clear that the legislatures also launched corresponding institutional and procedural innovations. However, this alone is not enough. Further continuous parliamentary learning processes are also necessary if parliaments want to play a more active role in sustainability policy. The TAB report pays special attention to the Parliamentary Advisory Council on Sustainable Development of the German Bundestag, which was established in 2004. With its objectives and working methods, it plays a pioneering role in international comparison. In spite of its acknowledged good work, there are many opportunities to better integrate the guiding principle of sustainable development into the political processes of the German Bundestag on an ongoing basis. The TAB report offers substantial information and a variety of suggestions in this regard

Sleep apnea-hypopnea quantification by cardiovascular data analysis

Sleep apnea is the most common sleep disturbance and it is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disorders. Its detection relies on a polysomnography, a combination of diverse exams. In order to detect changes due to sleep disturbances such as sleep apnea occurrences, without the need of combined recordings, we mainly analyze systolic blood pressure signals (maximal blood pressure value of each beat to beat interval). Nonstationarities in the data are uncovered by a segmentation procedure, which provides local quantities that are correlated to apnea-hypopnea events. Those quantities are the average length and average variance of stationary patches. By comparing them to an apnea score previously obtained by polysomnographic exams, we propose an apnea quantifier based on blood pressure signal. This furnishes an alternative procedure for the detection of apnea based on a single time series, with an accuracy of 82%

A data assimilation twin experiment

Satellite observations of the magnetic field induced by the general ocean circulation could provide new constraints on global oceanic water and heat transports. This opportunity is investigated in a model-based twin experiment by assimilating synthetic satellite observations of the ocean-induced magnetic field into a global ocean model. The general circulation of the world ocean is simulated over the period of 1 month. Idealized daily observations are generated from this simulation by calculating the ocean-induced magnetic field at 450 km altitude and disturbing these global fields with error estimates. Utilizing an ensemble Kalman filter, the observations are assimilated into the same ocean model with a different initial state and different atmospheric forcing. Compared to a reference simulation without data assimilation, the corrected ocean-induced magnetic field is improved throughout the whole simulation period and over large regions. The global RMS differences of the ocean-induced magnetic field are reduced by up to 17%. Local improvements show values up to 54%. RMS differences of the depth-integrated zonal and meridional ocean velocities are improved by up to 7% globally, and up to 50% locally. False corrections of the ocean model state are identified in the South Pacific Ocean and are linked to a deficient estimation of the ocean model error covariance matrices. Most Kalman filter induced changes in the ocean velocities extend from the sea surface down to the deep ocean. Allowing the Kalman filter to correct the wind stress forcing of the ocean model is essential for a successful assimilation

Determination of rate constants and reaction orders of vanadium-ion kinetics on carbon fiber electrodes

In the present work, the kinetic behavior of vanadium-ion reactions on novel single carbon-fiber electrodes is investigated. The theory of reaction orders and charge-transfer coefficients is reviewed and typical sources of error due to incorrectly determined electrochemically active surface area, inhomogeneous current density distributions, mass transfer resistances, and aging are highlighted. The measured rate constants are in a range of 2.5 ⋅ 10−7–1.1 ⋅ 10−5 s−1 for the positive and 7.0 ⋅ 10−8–2.6 ⋅ 10−6 s−1 for the negative electrolyte. Despite these different activities of individual fibers, the reaction orders of V2+, V3+, VO2+ and VO2+ species are precisely determined as a function of the concentration and the state of charge. Moreover, charge-transfer coefficients are calculated with two different approaches based on Tafel slopes and through adjustment of the Butler-Volmer equation

Battery-buffered alkaline water electrolysis powered by photovoltaics

The combination of an alkaline water electrolyzer (AWE) with a battery system powered by photovoltaics (PV) for the production of green hydrogen is investigated. A model describes the power distribution between these three subsystems (AWE, battery and PV). Variation of AWE and battery power and capacity is carried out for two locations, to identify the most appropriate setup, where the highest energy usage and operating time can be reached. The battery helps to reduce the power level of the AWE. However, an estimation of the costs indicates that further optimization is necessary

Capacity balancing for vanadium redox flow batteries through continuous and dynamic electrolyte overflow

The vanadium crossover through the membrane can have a significant impact on the capacity of the vanadium redox flow battery (VFB) over long-term charge–discharge cycling. The different vanadium ions move unsymmetrically through the membrane and this leads to a build-up of vanadium ions in one half-cell with a corresponding decrease in the other. In this paper, a dynamic model is developed based on different crossover mechanisms (diffusion, migration and electro osmosis) for each of the four vanadium ions, water and protons in the electrolytes. With a simple to use approach, basic mass transport theory is used to simulate the transfer of vanadium ions in the battery. The model is validated with own measurements and can therefore predict the battery capacity as a function of time. This is used to analyse the battery performance by applying an overflow from one half-cell to the other. Different constant overflow rates were analysed with regard to an impact of the performance and electrolyte stability. It was observed that a continuous overflow increases the capacity significantly but that the electrolyte stability plays an essential role using a membrane with a big vanadium crossover. Even with a good performance, a complete remixing of the tanks is necessary to prevent electrolyte precipitations. Therefore, a dynamic overflow was determined in such a way that the capacity of the battery is maximised while the electrolytes remain stable for 200 cycles

Ergebnisse eines Simultanmodells für Zirkulation und ephemeridische Gezeiten im Weltozean

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The type of ploidy of chrysanthemum is not black or white: a comparison of a molecular approach to published cytological methods

Polyploidy is a widespread phenomenon among higher plants and a major factor shaping the structure and evolution of plant genomes. The important ornamental chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum indicum hybrid) possesses a hexaploid genome with 54 chromosomes and was classified based on its evolutionary origin and cytological methods as an allopolyploid. However, it is questionable whether cytological methods are sufficient to determine the type of ploidy, and there are more informative methods available based on molecular marker analyses. Therefore, we collected segregation data for 406 dominant molecular marker alleles [327 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLPs), 65 single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCPs) and 14 microsatellites (EST-SSRs)] in a biparental F1 population of 160 individuals. We analyzed these data for the characteristics that differ between allopolyploids and autopolyploids, including the segregation ratio of each marker, the ratio of single-dose (SD) to multi-dose (MD) markers, the ratio of SD markers in coupling to those in repulsion and the banding patterns of the SSRs. Whereas the analysis of the segregation ratio of each polymorphic marker indicated disomic (13 markers) as well as hexasomic (eight markers) inheritance, the ratio of SD markers in coupling to those in repulsion was 1:0, which is characteristic of autopolyploids. The observed ratio of SD to MD markers was 0.67:0.33 which is significantly different to the expected segregation for auto- and allohexaploids. Furthermore, the three EST-SSR alleles were inherited in all possible combinations and were not independent of each other, as expected for fixed heterozygosity in allopolyploids. Combining our results with published cytological data indicates that cultivated chrysanthemums should be classified as segmental allohexaploids.BMEL