COVID-19, A Global Health Concern Requiring Science-Based Solutions

Scientifically-based concrete action points to reduce the spread, lessen the impact, reduce the concerns of the wider population, and avoid further outbreaks for governments, organizations, and individuals are neededFinal Published versio

Ten new insights in climate science 2020 – a horizon scan

Non-technical summary We summarize some of the past year's most important findings within climate change-related research. New research has improved our understanding of Earth's sensitivity to carbon dioxide, finds that permafrost thaw could release more carbon emissions than expected and that the uptake of carbon in tropical ecosystems is weakening. Adverse impacts on human society include increasing water shortages and impacts on mental health. Options for solutions emerge from rethinking economic models, rights-based litigation, strengthened governance systems and a new social contract. The disruption caused by COVID-19 could be seized as an opportunity for positive change, directing economic stimulus towards sustainable investments. Technical summary A synthesis is made of ten fields within climate science where there have been significant advances since mid-2019, through an expert elicitation process with broad disciplinary scope. Findings include: (1) a better understanding of equilibrium climate sensitivity; (2) abrupt thaw as an accelerator of carbon release from permafrost; (3) changes to global and regional land carbon sinks; (4) impacts of climate change on water crises, including equity perspectives; (5) adverse effects on mental health from climate change; (6) immediate effects on climate of the COVID-19 pandemic and requirements for recovery packages to deliver on the Paris Agreement; (7) suggested long-term changes to governance and a social contract to address climate change, learning from the current pandemic, (8) updated positive cost–benefit ratio and new perspectives on the potential for green growth in the short- and long-term perspective; (9) urban electrification as a strategy to move towards low-carbon energy systems and (10) rights-based litigation as an increasingly important method to address climate change, with recent clarifications on the legal standing and representation of future generations. Social media summary Stronger permafrost thaw, COVID-19 effects and growing mental health impacts among highlights of latest climate science

Hydrochemistry and environmental isotopes (18^{18}O, 2^{2}H, 3^{3}H, 3^{3}He/4^{4}He) of groundwater and floodwater in the great area of Hurghada, Eastern Desert of Egypt

Porous and fractured aquifers exist in the area of Hurghada, Eastern Desert of Egypt, whose recharge processes through the common flash floods are not identified. Hydrochemical parameters, stable isotopes ¹⁸O, ²H and tritium in floodwater and groundwater were applied in the area subject to study. Additionally, He isotopes were investigated in the deep wells in the faulted zone at the Abu Shaar Plateau. ³H activity in all sampled points lies below the detection limit excluding a recent recharge component in groundwater. However, the hydrochemical ratios and the stable isotope signature confirm that the shallow wells and springs (Red Sea Hills group) are being recharged from modern precipitation. The hydrochemical parameters of the deep wells at the Abu Shaar Plateau (coastal plain group) confirm another origin for the ions rather than the modern precipitation. Together with the ¹⁸O and ²H values, the Br/Cl ratio of this group confirms the absence of seawater intrusion component and the role of the fault as a hydraulic barrier. These ¹⁸O and ²H values deviate from the GMWL confirming an evaporation effect and colder infiltration conditions and reveal strongly a possible mixing with the Nubian Sandstone in the region. The ³He/⁴He ratio confirms a mantle contribution of 2% from the total He components

Thermal impact of blue infrastructure: Casestudy Cheonggyecheon, Seoul (Korea)

Higher densities tend to experience a relatively hotter surface temperature, compared to their peri-urban surroundings. This artificial heat stress in cities is denoted the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. Urban geometry, landscape, land surfaces and anthropogenic waste heat are cited as the UHIs’ key contributors. However, magnitude and distribution of the UHI effect varies in different cities due to different regional climates, urban landuse patterns and scales of investigation. Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea, is influenced like many other large cities by the urban heat phenomena. The urban heat phenomena are typical for a metropolitan area that is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas due to human activities. Special geographical and political conditions are combined with a high population density, remarkable high-rise buildings and small open spaces are characteristic for Seoul. The city of Seoul (9.8 Million inhabitants) is located in a valley surrounded by mountains in the north and south.Furthermore, in 1972 a restricted development zone (RDZ) precinct was established by the government. This is essentially a Greenbelt that has a size of 1,567 km². This greenbelt is more than two times larger than the city of Seoul. Seoul has an area of 605 km². All urban development within the RDZ has been prohibited during the last four decades.The calculated land surface temperature (LST) in this paper was obtained by using the satellite Landsat-7. It was carried out a calibration of the data on the probe specificity, the emission and the transmittance. The resolution of the images is 30 meters. Satellite maps are available for free at the NASA based remote sensing platform (Earthexplorer 2015)

Hydrochemistry and environmental isotopes (18O, 2H, 3H, 3He/4He) of groundwater and floodwater in the great area of Hurghada, Eastern Desert of Egypt

Porous and fractured aquifers exist in the area of Hurghada, Eastern Desert of Egypt, whose recharge processes through the common flash floods are not identified. Hydrochemical parameters, stable isotopes 18O, 2H and tritium in floodwater and groundwater were applied in the area subject to study. Additionally, He isotopes were investigated in the deep wells in the faulted zone at the Abu Shaar Plateau. 3H activity in all sampled points lies below the detection limit excluding a recent recharge component in groundwater. However, the hydrochemical ratios and the stable isotope signature confirm that the shallow wells and springs (Red Sea Hills group) are being recharged from modern precipitation. The hydrochemical parameters of the deep wells at the Abu Shaar Plateau (coastal plain group) confirm another origin for the ions rather than the modern precipitation. Together with the 18O and 2H values, the Br/Cl ratio of this group confirms the absence of seawater intrusion component and the role of the fault as a hydraulic barrier. These 18O and 2H values deviate from the GMWL confirming an evaporation effect and colder infiltration conditions and reveal strongly a possible mixing with the Nubian Sandstone in the region. The 3He/4He ratio confirms a mantle contribution of 2% from the total He components.Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEA

Temporal reasoning in trajectories using an ontological modelling approach

Nowadays, with growing use of location-aware, wirelessly connected, mobile devices, we can easily capture trajectories of mobile objects. To exploit these raw trajectories, we need to enhance them with semantic information. Several research fields are currently focusing on semantic trajectories to support inferences and queries to help users validate and discover more knowledge about mobile objects. The inference mechanism is needed for queries on semantic trajectories connected to other sources of information. Time and space knowledge are fundamental sources of information used by the inference operation on semantic trajectories. This article discusses new approach for inference mechanisms on semantic trajectories. The proposed solution is based on an ontological approach for modelling semantic trajectories integrating time concepts and rules. We present a case study with experiments, optimization and evaluation to show the complexity of inference and queries. Then, we introduce a refinement algorithm based on temporal neighbour to enhance temporal inference. The results show the positive impact of our propos al on reducing the complexity of the inference mechanism