Aspects of seasonality and flood generating circulation patterns in a mountainous catchment in south-eastern Germany

International audienceAnalyses of discharge series, precipitation fields and flood producing atmospheric circulation patterns reveal that two governing flood regimes exist in the Mulde catchment in south-eastern Germany: frequent floods during the winter and less frequent but sometimes extreme floods during the summer. Differences in the statistical parameters skewness and coefficient of variation of the discharge data can be found from west to east and are discussed in the context of landscape parameters that influence the discharge. Annual maximum discharge series were assigned to the triggering Großwetterlage in order to evaluate which circulation patterns are likely to produce large floods. It can be shown that the cyclone Vb-weather regime generates the most extreme flood events in the Mulde catchment, whereas westerly winds produce frequently small floods. Vb-weather regimes do not always trigger large flood events in the study area, but large floods are mostly generated by these weather patterns. Based on these findings, it is necessary to revise the traditional flood frequency analysis approach and develop new approaches which can handle different flood triggering processes within the dataset

Model system development and uncertainty for the provisionary management of extreme floods in large river basins

International audienceA research project is introduced in which a modelling system is being developed to quantify risks of extreme flooding in large river basins. In the system, computer models and modules are coupled to simulate the functional chain: hydrology - hydraulics - polder diversion - dyke failure - flooding - damage estimate - risk assessment. In order to reduce uncertainty in flood frequency analyses, data sets are complimented with information from historical chronicles and artwork. Probable maximum precipitation and discharge are calculated to indicate upper bounds of meteorological and hydrological extremes. Uncertainty analysis is investigated for different degrees of model complexity and compared at different basin scales

CEDIM Risk Explorer ? a map server solution in the project "Risk Map Germany"

International audienceThe project "Risk Map Germany" at the Center for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Technology (CEDIM) aims at visualizing hazards, vulnerabilities and risks associated with natural and man made hazards. CEDIM as an interdisciplinary project unified various expertise like earthquake, storm and flood disaster research. Our aim was to visualize the manifold data exploration in thematic maps. The implemented Web-GIS solution "CEDIM Risk Explorer" represents the map visualizations of the different risk research. This Web-GIS integrates results from interdisciplinary work as maps of hazard, vulnerability and risk in one application and offers therefore new cognitions to the user by enabling visual comparisons. The present paper starts with a project introduction and a literature review of distributed GIS environments. Further the methods of map realization and visualization in the selected technical solution is worked out. Finally, the conclusions give the perspectives for future developments to the "CEDIM Risk Explorer"

Review of the flood risk management system in Germany after the major flood in 2013

Widespread flooding in June 2013 caused damage costs of €6 to 8 billion in Germany, and awoke many memories of the floods in August 2002, which resulted in total damage of €11.6 billion and hence was the most expensive natural hazard event in Germany up to now. The event of 2002 does, however, also mark a reorientation toward an integrated flood risk management system in Germany. Therefore, the flood of 2013 offered the opportunity to review how the measures that politics, administration, and civil society have implemented since 2002 helped to cope with the flood and what still needs to be done to achieve effective and more integrated flood risk management. The review highlights considerable improvements on many levels, in particular (1) an increased consideration of flood hazards in spatial planning and urban development, (2) comprehensive property-level mitigation and preparedness measures, (3) more effective flood warnings and improved coordination of disaster response, and (4) a more targeted maintenance of flood defense systems. In 2013, this led to more effective flood management and to a reduction of damage. Nevertheless, important aspects remain unclear and need to be clarified. This particularly holds for balanced and coordinated strategies for reducing and overcoming the impacts of flooding in large catchments, cross-border and interdisciplinary cooperation, the role of the general public in the different phases of flood risk management, as well as a transparent risk transfer system. Recurring flood events reveal that flood risk management is a continuous task. Hence, risk drivers, such as climate change, land-use changes, economic developments, or demographic change and the resultant risks must be investigated at regular intervals, and risk reduction strategies and processes must be reassessed as well as adapted and implemented in a dialogue with all stakeholders

Beam test performance of a prototype module with Short Strip ASICs for the CMS HL-LHC tracker upgrade

The Short Strip ASIC (SSA) is one of the four front-end chips designed for the upgrade of the CMS Outer Tracker for the High Luminosity LHC. Together with the Macro-Pixel ASIC (MPA) it will instrument modules containing a strip and a macro-pixel sensor stacked on top of each other. The SSA provides both full readout of the strip hit information when triggered, and, together with the MPA, correlated clusters called stubs from the two sensors for use by the CMS Level-1 (L1) trigger system. Results from the first prototype module consisting of a sensor and two SSA chips are presented. The prototype module has been characterized at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility using a 120 GeV proton beam.Peer reviewe

Search for heavy resonances decaying to Z(ν¯ν)V(q¯q′) in proton-proton collisions at √s=13 TeV

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 CERN.A search is presented for heavy bosons decaying to Z(ν¯ν)V(q¯q′), where V can be a W or a Z boson. A sample of proton-proton collision data at √s=13  TeV was collected by the CMS experiment during 2016–2018. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 137  fb−1. The event categorization is based on the presence of high-momentum jets in the forward region to identify production through weak vector boson fusion. Additional categorization uses jet substructure techniques and the presence of large missing transverse momentum to identify W and Z bosons decaying to quarks and neutrinos, respectively. The dominant standard model backgrounds are estimated using data taken from control regions. The results are interpreted in terms of radion, W′ boson, and graviton models, under the assumption that these bosons are produced via gluon-gluon fusion, Drell–Yan, or weak vector boson fusion processes. No evidence is found for physics beyond the standard model. Upper limits are set at 95% confidence level on various types of hypothetical new bosons. Observed (expected) exclusion limits on the masses of these bosons range from 1.2 to 4.0 (1.1 to 3.7) TeV.Peer reviewe

Measurements of production cross sections of the Higgs boson in the four-lepton final state in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

Production cross sections of the Higgs boson are measured in the H -> ZZ -> 4l (l = e, mu) decay channel. A data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected by the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb(-1) is used. The signal strength modifier mu, defined as the ratio of the Higgs boson production rate in the 4l channel to the standard model (SM) expectation, is measured to be mu = 0.94 +/- 0.07 (stat)(-0.08)(+0.09) (syst) at a fixed value of m(H) = 125.38 GeV. The signal strength modifiers for the individual Higgs boson production modes are also reported. The inclusive fiducial cross section for the H -> 4l process is measured to be 2.84(-0.22)(+0.23) (stat)(-0.21)(+0.26) (syst) fb, which is compatible with the SM prediction of 2.84 +/- 0.15 fb for the same fiducial region. Differential cross sections as a function of the transverse momentum and rapidity of the Higgs boson, the number of associated jets, and the transverse momentum of the leading associated jet are measured. A new set of cross section measurements in mutually exclusive categories targeted to identify production mechanisms and kinematical features of the events is presented. The results are in agreement with the SM predictions.Peer reviewe

Observation of a New Excited Beauty Strange Baryon Decaying to Xi(-)(b)pi(+)pi(-)

The Xi(-)(b)pi(+)pi(-) invariant mass spectrum is investigated with an event sample of proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016-2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb(-1). The ground state Xi(-)(b) is reconstructed via its decays to J/psi Xi(-) and J/psi Lambda K-. A narrow resonance, labeled Xi(b)(6100)(-), is observed at a Xi(-)(b)pi(+)pi(-) invariant mass of 6100.3 +/- 0.2(stat) +/- 0.1(syst) +/- 0.6(Xi(-)(b)) MeV, where the last uncertainty reflects the precision of the Xi(-)(b) baryon mass. The upper limit on the Xi(b)(6100)(-) natural width is determined to be 1.9 MeV at 95% confidence level. The low Xi(b)(6100)(-) signal yield observed in data does not allow a measurement of the quantum numbers of the new state. However, following analogies with the established excited Xi(c) baryon states, the new Xi(b)(6100)(-) resonance and its decay sequence are consistent with the orbitally excited Xi(- )(b)baryon, with spin and parity quantum numbers J(P) = 3/2(-).Peer reviewe

HIV/AIDS, declining family resources and the community safety net

Families play central roles in the HIV/AIDS pandemic, caring for both orphaned children and the ill. This extra caregiving depletes two family resources essential for supporting children: time and money. We use recent data from published studies in sub-Saharan Africa to illustrate deficits and document community responses. In Botswana, parents caring for the chronically ill had less time for their preschool children (74 versus 96 hours per month) and were almost twice as likely to leave children home alone (53% versus 27%); these children experienced greater health and academic problems. Caregiving often prevented adults from working full time or earning their previous level of income; 47% of orphan caregivers and 64% of HIV/AIDS caregivers reported financial difficulties due to caregiving. Communities can play an important role in helping families provide adequate childcare and financial support. Unfortunately, while communities commonly offer informal assistance, the value of such support is not adequate to match the magnitude of need: 75% of children's families in Malawi received assistance from their social network, but averaging only US$81 annually. We suggest communities can strengthen the capacity of families by implementing affordable quality childcare for 0–6 year olds, after-school programming for older children and youth, supportive care for ill children and parents, microlending to enhance earnings, training to increase access to quality jobs, decent working conditions, social insurance for the informal sector, and income and food transfers when families are unable to make ends meet