On the relationship between the early spring Indian Ocean's sea surface temperature (SST) and the Tibetan Plateau atmospheric heat source in summer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Chenxu; Zhang, Yuanzhi; Cheng, Qiuming; Li, Yu; Jiang, Tingchen; San Liang, X.

2018-05-01

In this study, we evaluated the effects of springtime Indian Ocean's sea surface temperature (SST) on the Tibetan Plateau's role as atmospheric heat source (AHS) in summer. The SST data of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and the Hadley Centre Sea Ice and Sea Surface Temperature data set (HadISST) and the reanalysis data of the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) for 33 years (from 1979 to 2011) were used to analyze the relationship between the Indian Ocean SST and the Tibetan Plateau's AHS in summer, using the approaches that include correlation analysis, and lead-lag analysis. Our results show that some certain strong oceanic SSTs affect the summer plateau heat, specially finding that the early spring SSTs of the Indian Ocean significantly affect the plateau's ability to serve as a heat source in summer. Moreover, the anomalous atmospheric circulation and transport of water vapor are related to the Plateau heat variation.

Trends and variability in the Hadley circulation over the Last Millennium from the proxy record

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horlick, K. A.; Noone, D.; Hakim, G. J.; Tardif, R.; Anderson, D. M.; Perkins, W. A.; Erb, M. P.; Steig, E. J.

2017-12-01

The Hadley circulation (HC) is the dominant atmospheric overturning circulation controlling variability in precipitation distribution in the tropics and subtropics, affecting agricultural production and water resource allocation, among other human civilizational dependencies. A lack of pre-instrumental data-model synthesis has been cited as the barrier to diagnostic analyses of the variability in width, position, and intensity of the HC and its response to anthropogenic forcing. We analyze the HC, and its rising limb associated with the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), over the past 1000 years using the Last Millennium Reanalysis (LMR) (Hakim et al. 2016). The LMR systematically blends the dynamical constraints of climate models with a proxy network of coral, tree ring, and ice core records. It allows for a spatiotemporal analysis with robust uncertainty measures. A three dimensional analysis of LMR wind fields shows an centennial-scale circulatory trend over the last 200 years resembling that which might be expected from an ENSO and PDO-like structure. An observed aridification of both the central equatorial Pacific and the southwest United States, a strengthening of the east-west sea surface temperature and sea level pressure gradient in the equatorial Pacific, and a strengthening of the Walker overturning circulation suggest a more "La Niña-like" mean state. This is compared to our statistical description of the centennial-scale mean circulation and variability of the previous millennia. Similarly, precipitation and relative humidity trends suggest expansion and asymmetric meridional movement of the Hadley circulation as a result of asymmetric shifts in mean ITCZ position and intensity. These observations are then compared to free running model simulations, other instrumental reanalysis products, and late-Holocene aerosol, solar, and greenhouse forcings. This LMR reconstruction improves upon previous work by enabling a proxy-consistent, quantitative

Estimates of runoff using water-balance and atmospheric general circulation models

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wolock, D.M.; McCabe, G.J.

1999-01-01

The effects of potential climate change on mean annual runoff in the conterminous United States (U.S.) are examined using a simple water-balance model and output from two atmospheric general circulation models (GCMs). The two GCMs are from the Canadian Centre for Climate Prediction and Analysis (CCC) and the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research (HAD). In general, the CCC GCM climate results in decreases in runoff for the conterminous U.S., and the HAD GCM climate produces increases in runoff. These estimated changes in runoff primarily are the result of estimated changes in precipitation. The changes in mean annual runoff, however, mostly are smaller than the decade-to-decade variability in GCM-based mean annual runoff and errors in GCM-based runoff. The differences in simulated runoff between the two GCMs, together with decade-to-decade variability and errors in GCM-based runoff, cause the estimates of changes in runoff to be uncertain and unreliable.

ACTRIS Data Centre: An atmospheric data portal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Myhre, C. Lund; Fahre Vik, A.; Logna, R.; Torseth, K.; Linné, H.; O'Connor, E.

2012-04-01

ACTRIS (Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research InfraStructure Network) is a European Project aiming at integrating European ground-based stations equipped with advanced instrumentation for studying aerosols, clouds, and short-lived gas-phase species. The ACTRIS activities result in improved atmospheric measurements data made at more than 60 European sites, from numerous instruments and includes variables measured by ground based in situ and remote sensing technologies. Core variables are in situ aerosol optical, physical and chemical properties, short-lived trace gases (volatile organic carbon and nitrogen oxides), aerosol scattering and extinction profiles, and cloud properties. The ACTRIS data centre (ACTRIS DC) is giving free and open access to all data resulting from the activities of the infrastructure network, complemented with data from other relevant networks and data bases. The overall goal is to facilitate scientists and other user groups access to atmospheric observational data, and to provide mature products for analysis and interpretation of atmospheric composition change. The ACTRIS DC aims at substantially increasing the number of high-quality data by providing long-term observational data relevant to climate and air quality research produced with standardized or comparable procedures throughout the network. The backbone of the ACTRIS DC is the three core data bases: - EARLINET Data Base hosting aerosol lidar data from more than 30 European sites - EBAS hosting ground based atmospheric in situ data from more than 1000 sites globally - Cloudnet hosting remote sensing cloud data and products from 5 European sites Furthermore, a joint portal is developed combining information from various data sources to gain new information not presently available from standalone databases or networks. The data centre will provide tools and services to facilitate the use of measurements for broad user communities. Higher level and integrated products will be

View of Hadley Delta from top hatch of Apollo 15 Lunar Module after landing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1971-01-01

A view of Hadley Delta, looking southeasterly, as photographed from the top hatch of the Apollo 15 Lunar Module by Astronaut David R. Scott during his stand-up extravehicular activity just after the Lunar Module 'Falcon' touched down at the Hadly Apennine landing site. The prominent feature on the horizon in the center of the picture was called Silver Spur by the Apollo 15 crewmen. Hadley Delta mountain rises approximately 4,000 meters (about 13,124 feet) above the plain.

Telephoto lens view of Silver Spur in the Hadley Delta region from Apollo 15

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1971-01-01

A telephoto lens view of the prominent feature called Silver Spur in the Hadley Delta region, photographed during the Apollo 15 lunar surface extravehicular activity at the Hadley-Apennine landing site. The distance from the camera to the spur is about 10 miles. The field of view across the bottom is about one mile. Structural formations in the mountain are clearly visible. There are two major units. The upper unit is characterized by massive subunits, each one of which is approximately 200 feet deep. The lower major unit is characterized by thinner bedding and cross bedding.

Spanning the Pacific Ocean through Voice-Over Internet Protocol Chat with the Hadley School for the Blind--China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilson, Christie L.; Rongqiang, Xia

2007-01-01

Founded in 1920, the Hadley School for the Blind is known worldwide for its tuition-free distance-education courses for people who are visually impaired. Hadley's main school in the United States serves more than 9,000 students, and the overseas school in the People's Republic of China provides vital educational services to more than 1,000 Chinese…

Narrowing of the Upwelling Branch of the Brewer-Dobson Circulation and Hadley Cell in Chemistry-Climate Model Simulations of the 21st Century

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Feng; Stolarski, Richard S.; Pawson, Steven; Newman, Paul A.; Waugh, Darryn

2010-01-01

Changes in the width of the upwelling branch of the Brewer-Dobson circulation and Hadley cell in the 21st Century are investigated using simulations from a coupled chemistry-climate model. In these model simulations the tropical upwelling region narrows in the troposphere and lower stratosphere. The narrowing of the Brewer-Dobson circulation is caused by an equatorward shift of Rossby wave critical latitudes and Eliassen-Palm flux convergence in the subtropical lower stratosphere. In the troposphere, the model projects an expansion of the Hadley cell's poleward boundary, but a narrowing of the Hadley rising branch. Model results suggest that the narrowing of the Hadley cell ascent is also eddy-driven.

Telephoto lens view of Silver Spur in the Hadley Delta region from Apollo 15

NASA Image and Video Library

1971-07-31

AS15-84-11250 (31 July-2 Aug. 1971) --- A telephoto lens view of the prominent feature called Silver Spur in the Hadley Delta region, photographed during the Apollo 15 lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Hadley-Apennine landing site. The distance from the camera to the spur is about 10 miles. The field of view across the bottom is about one mile. Structural formations in the mountain are clearly visible. There are two major units. The upper unit is characterized by massive subunits, each one of which is approximately 200 feet deep. The lower major unit is characterized by thinner bedding and cross bedding.

Artist's concept of Hadley-Apennine landing site with LRV traverses outlined

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1971-01-01

An artist's concept of the Hadley-Apennine landing site, depicting the traverses planned on the Apollo 15 lunar landing mission using the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). The Roman numerals indicate the three periods of extravehicular activity (EVA). The Arabic numbers represent the station stops. Art work by Jerry Elmore.

The formation of Hadley Rille and implications for the geology of the Apollo 15 region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spudis, Paul D.; Swann, Gordon A.; Greeley, Ronald

1988-01-01

The results of studies of terrestrial lava tube systems and the regional and detailed site geology of the Apollo 15 area have been combined to develop a model for the formation of Hadley Rille. The regional geology of the Apennine bench formation and its relation to Mozart and Hadley Rilles is discussed. It is shown that the total thickness of mare basalt at the Apollo landing site is on the order of a few tens of meters, mostly less than 50 m. It is suggested that the role of thermal erosion in the development of sinuous rilles on the moon may be less important than previously assumed and that the assimilation of refractory highland rock types into mare basaltic magma is a minor lunar process.

View of Commemorative plaque left on moon at Hadley-Apennine landing site

NASA Image and Video Library

1971-08-01

AS15-88-11894 (31 July-2 Aug. 1971) --- A close-up view of a commemorative plaque left on the moon at the Hadley-Apennine landing site in memory of 14 NASA astronauts and USSR cosmonauts, now deceased. Their names are inscribed in alphabetical order on the plaque. The plaque was stuck in the lunar soil by astronauts David R. Scott, commander, and James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot, during their Apollo 15 lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA). The names on the plaque are Charles A. Bassett II, Pavel I. Belyayev, Roger B. Chaffee, Georgi Dobrovolsky, Theodore C. Freeman, Yuri A. Gagarin, Edward G. Givens Jr., Virgil I. Grissom, Vladimir Komarov, Viktor Patsayev, Elliot M. See Jr., Vladislav Volkov, Edward H. White II, and Clifton C. Williams Jr. The tiny, man-like object represents the figure of a fallen astronaut/cosmonaut. While astronauts Scott and Irwin descended in the Lunar Module (LM) "Falcon" to explore the Hadley-Apennine area of the moon, astronaut Alfred M. Worden, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) in lunar orbit.

The interplay of internal and forced modes of Hadley Cell expansion: lessons from the global warming hiatus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amaya, Dillon J.; Siler, Nicholas; Xie, Shang-Ping; Miller, Arthur J.

2017-09-01

The poleward branches of the Hadley Cells and the edge of the tropics show a robust poleward shift during the satellite era, leading to concerns over the possible encroachment of the globe's subtropical dry zones into currently temperate climates. The extent to which this trend is caused by anthropogenic forcing versus internal variability remains the subject of considerable debate. In this study, we use a Joint EOF method to identify two distinct modes of tropical width variability: (1) an anthropogenically-forced mode, which we identify using a 20-member simulation of the historical climate, and (2) an internal mode, which we identify using a 1000-year pre-industrial control simulation. The forced mode is found to be closely related to the top of the atmosphere radiative imbalance and exhibits a long-term trend since 1860, while the internal mode is essentially indistinguishable from the El Niño Southern Oscillation. Together these two modes explain an average of 70% of the interannual variability seen in model "edge indices" over the historical period. Since 1980, the superposition of forced and internal modes has resulted in a period of accelerated Hadley Cell expansion and decelerated global warming (i.e., the "hiatus"). A comparison of the change in these modes since 1980 indicates that by 2013 the signal has emerged above the noise of internal variability in the Southern Hemisphere, but not in the Northern Hemisphere, with the latter also exhibiting strong zonal asymmetry, particularly in the North Atlantic. Our results highlight the important interplay of internal and forced modes of tropical width change and improve our understanding of the interannual variability and long-term trend seen in observations.

The Interplay of Internal and Forced Modes of Hadley Cell Expansion: Lessons from the Global Warming Hiatus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amaya, D. J.; Siler, N.; Xie, S. P.; Miller, A. J.

2017-12-01

The poleward branches of the Hadley Cells show a robust shift poleward shift during the satellite era, leading to concerns over the possible encroachment of the globe's subtropical dry zones into currently temperate climates. The extent to which this trend is caused by anthropogenic forcing versus internal variability remains the subject of considerable debate. In this study, we us a joint EOF method to identify two distinct modes of Hadley Cell variability: (i) an anthropogenically-forced mode, which we identify using a 20-member simulation of the historical climate, and (ii) an internal mode, which identify using a 1000-year pre-industrial control simulation with a global climate model. The forced mode is found to be closely related to the TOA radiative imbalance and exhibits a long-term trend since 1860, while the internal mode is found to be essentially indistinguishable from the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Together these two modes explain an average of 70% of the interannual variability seen in model "edge indices" over the historical period. Since 1980, the superposition of forced and internal modes has resulted in a period of accelerated Hadley Cell expansion and decelerated global warming (i.e., the "hiatus"). A comparison of the change in these modes since 1980 indicates that by 2013 the signal has emerged above the noise of internal variability in the Southern Hemisphere (SH), but not in the Northern Hemisphere (NH), with the latter also exhibiting strong zonal asymmetry, particularly in the North Atlantic. Our results highlight the important interplay of internal and forced modes of Hadley Cell width change and improve our understanding of the interannual variability and long-term trend seen in observations.

Understanding the robustness of Hadley cell response to wide variations in ocean heat transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rencurrel, M. C.; Rose, B. E. J.

2017-12-01

One important aspect of our climate system is the relationship between surface climate and the poleward energy transport in the atmosphere and ocean. Previous studies have shown that increases in poleward ocean heat transport (OHT) tend to warm the midlatitudes without strongly affecting tropical SSTs, resulting in a reduction in the equator-to-pole temperature gradient. This "tropical thermostat" effect depends crucially on a slowdown of the Hadley circulation (HC), with consequent changes in surface evaporation, atmospheric water vapor, and cloudiness. Here we extend previous studies by considering a wide range of spatial patterns of OHT, which we impose in a suite of slab-ocean aquaplanet GCM simulations. The forcing patterns are idealized but sample a variety of ocean circulation features. We find that the tropical thermostat and HC slowdown effects are relatively robust across all forcing patterns. A 1 PW increase in the amplitude of the prescribed OHT spatial pattern results in a global mean warming and a roughly 5 x 1010 kg/s decrease in HC mass flux, regardless of the detailed spatial structure of the imposed OHT. While the rate of HC slowdown is relatively robust, the mechanisms driving it are less so. Smaller, equator-to-subtropical scale OHT patterns are associated with greater reduced Gross Moist Stability (GMS) than the larger-scale OHT patterns. As the imposed OHT is limited equatorward, the HC becomes less efficient at transporting energy out of the tropics, implying that GMS has a modulating effect on the dynamical response of the cell. These experiments offer some new insights on the interplay between atmospheric dynamics and the radiative and hydrological aspects of global climate.

The Influence of the Regional Hadley and Walker Circulations on Precipitation Patterns over Africa in El Niño, La Niña, and Neutral Years

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Oliveira, Cristiano Prestrelo; Aímola, Luis; Ambrizzi, Tércio; Freitas, Ana Carolina Vasques

2018-02-01

This study focuses on the differential impacts of the positive (El Niño), negative (La Niña), and neutral phases of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on precipitation over Africa during DJF and JJA, evaluated through changes in the regional Hadley and Walker Circulations. Identification of the Hadley and Walker Cells was done using stream function mass transport calculations of ERA-Interim reanalysis data from 1979 to 2014. Analysis of the spatial pattern of precipitation anomalies shows that during DJF, El Niño (La Niña) negatively (positively) impacts precipitation over the African continent. During JJA, El Niño (La Niña) influences precipitation variability over the Sahel region, producing positive (negative) anomalies. Negative precipitation anomalies associated with El Niño (DJF) over southern Africa are linked to a strengthening in subsidence of the descending branch of the regional Hadley Cell, and during JJA the negative precipitation anomalies over the Sahel are associated with a weakening of the ascending branch of the regional Hadley Cell. During La Niña events in DJF, there is a tendency toward increased convection in southern Africa, associated with a stronger ascending branch and weaker descending branch of the regional Hadley Cell. During La Niña events in JJA, positive precipitation anomalies over the Sahel are associated with an intensification of the ascending branch of the regional Hadley Cell north of the equator.

Climate Variability over India and Bangladesh from the Perturbed UK Met Office Hadley Model: Impacts on Flow and Nutrient Fluxes in the Ganges Delta System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitehead, P. G.; Caesar, J.; Crossman, J.; Barbour, E.; Ledesma, J.; Futter, M. N.

2015-12-01

A semi-distributed flow and water quality model (INCA- Integrated Catchments Model) has been set up for the whole of the Ganges- Brahmaputra- Meghna (GBM) River system in India and Bangladesh. These massive rivers transport large fluxes of water and nutrients into the Bay of Bengal via the GBM Delta system in Bangladesh. Future climate change will impact these fluxes with changing rainfall, temperature, evapotranspiration and soil moisture deficits being altered in the catchment systems. In this study the INCA model has been used to assess potential impacts of climate change using the UK Met Office Hadley Centre GCM model linked to a regionally coupled model of South East Asia, covering India and Bangladesh. The Hadley Centre model has been pururbed by varying the parameters in the model to generate 17 realisations of future climates. Some of these reflect expected change but others capture the more extreme potential behaviour of future climate conditions. The 17 realisations have been used to drive the INCA Flow and Nitrogen model inorder to generate downstream times series of hydrology and nitrate- nitrogen. The variability of the climates on these fluxes are investigated and and their likley impact on the Bay of Begal Delta considered. Results indicate a slight shift in the monsoon season with increased wet season flows and increased temperatures which alter nutrient fluxes. Societal Importance to Stakeholders The GBM Delta supports one of the most densely populated regions of people living in poverty, who rely on ecosystem services provided by the Delta for survival. These ecosystem services are dependent upon fluxes of water and nutrients. Freshwater for urban, agriculture, and aquaculture requirements are essential to livelihoods. Nutrient loads stimulate estuarine ecosystems, supporting fishing stocks, which contribute significantly the economy of Bangladesh. Thus the societal importance of upstream climate driven change change in Bangladesh are very

Analysis of bullwhip effect on supply chain with Q model using Hadley-Within approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siregar, I.; Nasution, A. A.; Matondang, N.; Persada, M. R.; Syahputri, K.

2018-02-01

This research held on a tapioca flour industry company that uses cassava as raw material to produce tapioca starch product. Problems that occur in this company is inaccurate planning, consequently there is a shortage of variation between the number of requests with the total supply is met, so it is necessary to do research with the formulation of the problem that is how to analyze the Bullwhip Effect on the supply chain using Q model through Hadley-Within approach so as not to disturb the product distribution system at the company. Product distribution system at the company, obtained by the number of requests. The 2015 forecast result is lower than actual demand for distributors and manufactures in 2016 with average percentage difference for Supermarket A distributor, Supermarket B and manufacturing respectively 38.24%, 89.57% and 43.11%. The occurrence of information distortion to the demand of this product can identify the existence of bullwhip effect on the supply chain. The proposed improvement to overcome the bullwhip effect is by doing inventory control policy with Q model using Hadley-Within approach.

Compositional variation in the Hadley Apennine region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, P. E.; Hawke, B. R.

1982-01-01

Orbital geochemical data in the Hadley Apennine region are related to typical rock compositions and used in determining the distribution of soils derived from the rock types found in this region. Orbital XRF Mg/Si and Al/Si intensities are the orbital data that are used primarily. These data are corrected for spurious interorbit variation using a modification of a previously developed method. The corrected values are than converted to % MgO and % Al2O3, respectively, from theoretical considerations, and as such are compared with similar concentrations for typical lunar rocks and soils of the Apollo 15 landing site. The relationship of the XRF values to Fe, Ti, and Th concentrations, derived from gamma-ray observations, is also considered. It is established that the orbital geochemistry data for this region are consistent with the presence of a mixture of ANT suite and Fra Mauro basalt components frequently dominated by a KREEP basalt component toward the west and by a mafic pyroclastic component toward the east.

View of Commemorative plaque left on moon at Hadley-Apennine landing site

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1971-01-01

A close-up view of a commemorative plaque left on the Moon at the Hadley-Apennine landing site in memory of 14 NASA astronauts and USSR cosmonauts, now deceased. Their names are inscribed in alphabetical order on the plaque. The plaque was stuck in the lunar soil by Astronauts David R. Scott and James B. Irwin during their Apollo 15 lunar surface extravehicular activity. The tin, man-like object represents the figure of a fallen astronaut/cosmonaut.

Robust Hadley Circulation Changes and Increasing Global Dryness Due to CO2 Warming from CMIP-5 Model Projections

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lau, William K. M.; Kim, K. M.

2015-01-01

In this paper, we investigate changes in the Hadley Circulation (HC) and their connections to increased global dryness under CO2 warming from CMIP-5 model projections. We find a strengthening of the ascending branch of the HC manifested in a deep-tropics squeeze (DTS), i.e., a deepening and narrowing of the convective zone, increased high clouds, and a rise of the level of maximum meridional mass outflow in the upper troposphere (200-100 hectopascals) of the deep tropics. The DTS induces atmospheric moisture divergence, reduces tropospheric relative humidity in the tropics and subtropics, in conjunction with a widening of the subsiding branches of the HC, resulting in increased frequency of dry events in preferred geographic locations worldwide. Among water cycle parameters examined, global dryness has the highest signal-to-noise ratio. Our results provide scientific bases for inferring that the observed tend of prolonged droughts in recent decades is likely attributable to greenhouse warming.

Predictions of extreme precipitation and sea-level rise under climate change.

PubMed

Senior, C A; Jones, R G; Lowe, J A; Durman, C F; Hudson, D

2002-07-15

Two aspects of global climate change are particularly relevant to river and coastal flooding: changes in extreme precipitation and changes in sea level. In this paper we summarize the relevant findings of the IPCC Third Assessment Report and illustrate some of the common results found by the current generation of coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs), using the Hadley Centre models. Projections of changes in extreme precipitation, sea-level rise and storm surges affecting the UK will be shown from the Hadley Centre regional models and the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory storm-surge model. A common finding from AOGCMs is that in a warmer climate the intensity of precipitation will increase due to a more intense hydrological cycle. This leads to reduced return periods (i.e. more frequent occurrences) of extreme precipitation in many locations. The Hadley Centre regional model simulates reduced return periods of extreme precipitation in a number of flood-sensitive areas of the UK. In addition, simulated changes in storminess and a rise in average sea level around the UK lead to reduced return periods of extreme high coastal water events. The confidence in all these results is limited by poor spatial resolution in global coupled models and by uncertainties in the physical processes in both global and regional models, and is specific to the climate change scenario used.

The Met Office Coupled Atmosphere/Land/Ocean/Sea-Ice Data Assimilation System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lea, Daniel; Mirouze, Isabelle; Martin, Matthew; Hines, Adrian; Guiavarch, Catherine; Shelly, Ann

2014-05-01

The Met Office has developed a weakly-coupled data assimilation (DA) system using the global coupled model HADGEM3 (Hadley Centre Global Environment Model, version 3). This model combines the atmospheric model UM (Unified Model) at 60 km horizontal resolution on 85 vertical levels, the ocean model NEMO (Nucleus for European Modeling of the Ocean) at 25 km (at the equator) horizontal resolution on 75 vertical levels, and the sea-ice model CICE at the same resolution as NEMO. The atmosphere and the ocean/sea-ice fields are coupled every 1-hour using the OASIS coupler. The coupled model is corrected using two separate 6-hour window data assimilation systems: a 4D-Var for the atmosphere with associated soil moisture content nudging and snow analysis schemes on the one hand, and a 3D-Var FGAT for the ocean and sea-ice on the other hand. The background information in the DA systems comes from a previous 6-hour forecast of the coupled model. To show the impact of coupled DA, one-month experiments have been carried out, including 1) a full atmosphere/land/ocean/sea-ice coupled DA run, 2) an atmosphere-only run forced by OSTIA SSTs and sea-ice with atmosphere and land DA, and 3) an ocean-only run forced by atmospheric fields from run 2 with ocean and sea-ice DA. In addition, 5-day forecast runs, started twice a day, have been produced from initial conditions generated by either run 1 or a combination of runs 2 and 3. The different results have been compared to each other and, whenever possible, to other references such as the Met Office atmosphere and ocean operational analyses or the OSTIA data. These all show the coupled DA system functioning well. Evidence of imbalances and initialisation shocks has also been looked for.

Evidence for Interannual to Decadal Variations in Hadley and Walker Circulations and Links to Water and Energy Fluxes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robertson, Franklin; Bosilovich, Michael; Miller, Timothy

2007-01-01

Mass and energy transports associated with the Hadley and Walker circulations are important components of the earth s climate system and are strongly linked to hydrologic processes. Interannual to decadal variation in these flows likely signify a combination of natural climate noise as well as a response to anthropgenic forcing. There remains considerable uncertainty in quantifying variations in these flows. Evidence in the surface pressure record supports a weakening of the Walker circulation over the Pacific in recent decades. Conversely the NCEP / NCAR and ERA 40 reanalyses indicate that the Hadley circulation has increased in strength over the last two decades, though these analyses depict significantly different mass circulation changes. Interestingly, the NCEP - II / DOE reanalysis contains essentially no Hadley circulation changes. Most climate model integrations anticipate a weakening of both tropical circulations associated with stronger static stability. Clearly there is much uncertainty not only with the mass transports, but also how they are linked to water and energy balance of the planet through variations in turbulent heat and radiative fluxes and horizontal exports / imports of energy. Here we examine heat and water budget variations from a number of reanalysis products and focus on the linear and nonlinear response of ENSO warm and cold events as opportunities to study budget variations over the past 15-20 years. Our analysis addresses such questions as To what extent do Hadley and Walker Cell variations compensate each other on mass and energy transport? Do static stability adjustments appear to constrain fractional precipitation response vs. fractional water vapor response? We appeal to constraints offered by GPCP precipitation, SSWI ocean evaporation estimates, and ISCCP-FD radiative fluxes, and other satellite data sets to interpret and confirm reanalysis-based diagnostics. Using our findings we also attempt to place in context the recent

Now, Here's the Weather Forecast...

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richardson, Mathew

2013-01-01

The Met Office has a long history of weather forecasting, creating tailored weather forecasts for customers across the world. Based in Exeter, the Met Office is also home to the Met Office Hadley Centre, a world-leading centre for the study of climate change and its potential impacts. Climate information from the Met Office Hadley Centre is used…

On the role of precipitation latent heating in modulating the strength and width of the Hadley circulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mathew, Sneha Susan; Kumar, Karanam Kishore

2018-05-01

The latent heat released in the clouds over the tropics plays a vital role in driving the Hadley circulation (HC). The present study discusses the influence of latent heating (LH) on the HC parameters viz., centre, strength and total width by using precipitation LH profiles derived from the space-borne observations of the Precipitation Radar (PR) onboard Tropical Rain Measuring Mission (TRMM) and meridional stream function (MSF) derived from ECMWF-Interim reanalysis. The latitude of peak latent heating, width of the latent heating distribution and the total LH released within the ascending limb of the HC are estimated and their influence on the HC centre, strength and width is quantified, for the first time. The present results show that the latitude of peak LH significantly influences the position of the HC centre with correlation coefficient of 0.90. This high correlation between these two quantities seems to be due to their co-variability with the apparent motion of the Sun across the latitudes. The intensity of the HC in the NH as well as SH shows high correlation with the latitude of peak LH with coefficients - 0.85 and - 0.78, respectively. These results indicate that farther the latitude of peak LH from the equator in the summer hemisphere, stronger is the HC intensity in the winter hemisphere. The present analysis also reveals that the total LH released within the ascending limb of HC substantially influence the total width of the HC, with correlation coefficient 0.52, as compared to the other two LH parameters. This observation can be attributed to the fact that the HC is sensitive to the latent heat release in the mid-tropospheric levels in the tropics. An attempt is also made to investigate the degree of variability of these parameters after deseasonalization and results are discussed in the light of present understanding. The significance of the present study lies in providing the observational evidence for the influence of latent heating on the HC

Robust Hadley Circulation changes and increasing global dryness due to CO2 warming from CMIP5 model projections.

PubMed

Lau, William K M; Kim, Kyu-Myong

2015-03-24

In this paper, we investigate changes in the Hadley Circulation (HC) and their connections to increased global dryness (suppressed rainfall and reduced tropospheric relative humidity) under CO2 warming from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) model projections. We find a strengthening of the HC manifested in a "deep-tropics squeeze" (DTS), i.e., a deepening and narrowing of the convective zone, enhanced ascent, increased high clouds, suppressed low clouds, and a rise of the level of maximum meridional mass outflow in the upper troposphere (200-100 hPa) of the deep tropics. The DTS induces atmospheric moisture divergence and reduces tropospheric relative humidity in the tropics and subtropics, in conjunction with a widening of the subsiding branches of the HC, resulting in increased frequency of dry events in preferred geographic locations worldwide. Among various water-cycle parameters examined, global dryness is found to have the highest signal-to-noise ratio. Our results provide a physical basis for inferring that greenhouse warming is likely to contribute to the observed prolonged droughts worldwide in recent decades.

The impact of oceanic heat transport on the atmospheric circulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lucarini, Valerio; Lunkeit, Frank

2017-04-01

A general circulation model of intermediate complexity with an idealized Earth-like aquaplanet setup is used to study the impact of changes in the oceanic heat transport on the global atmospheric circulation. Focus is on the atmospheric mean meridional circulation and global thermodynamic properties. The atmosphere counterbalances to a large extent the imposed changes in the oceanic heat transport, but, nonetheless, significant modifications to the atmospheric general circulation are found. Increasing the strength of the oceanic heat transport up to 2.5 PW leads to an increase in the global mean near-surface temperature and to a decrease in its equator-to-pole gradient. For stronger transports, the gradient is reduced further, but the global mean remains approximately constant. This is linked to a cooling and a reversal of the temperature gradient in the tropics. Additionally, a stronger oceanic heat transport leads to a decline in the intensity and a poleward shift of the maxima of both the Hadley and Ferrel cells. Changes in zonal mean diabatic heating and friction impact the properties of the Hadley cell, while the behavior of the Ferrel cell is mostly controlled by friction. The efficiency of the climate machine, the intensity of the Lorenz energy cycle and the material entropy production of the system decline with increased oceanic heat transport. This suggests that the climate system becomes less efficient and turns into a state of reduced entropy production as the enhanced oceanic transport performs a stronger large-scale mixing between geophysical fluids with different temperatures, thus reducing the available energy in the climate system and bringing it closer to a state of thermal equilibrium.

Modulation of Heavy Rainfall in the Middle East and North Africa by Madden-Julian Oscillation Using High Resolution Atmospheric General Circulation Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, L.; Stenchikov, G. L.; McCabe, M. F.; Bangalath, H. K.

2014-12-01

Recently, the modulation of subtropical rainfall by the dominant tropical intraseasonal signal of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), has been explored through the discussion of the MJO-convection-induced Kelvin and Rossby wave related teleconnection patterns. Our study focuses on characterizing the modulation of heavy rainfall in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by the MJO, using the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) global High Resolution Atmospheric Model (HIRAM) simulations (25-km; 1979-2012) and a combination of available atmospheric products from satellite, in-situ and reanalysis data. The observed Hadley Centre Global Sea Ice and Sea Surface Temperature (HadISST) and the simulated SST from GFDL's global coupled carbon-climate Earth System Models (ESM2M) are employed in HIRAM to investigate the sensitivity of the simulated heavy rainfall and MJO to SST. The future trend of the extreme rainfalls and their links to the MJO response to climate change are examined using HIRAM simulations of 2012-2050 with the RCP4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios to advance the possibility of characterization and forecasting of future extreme rainfall events in the MENA region.

Numerical simulation of the circulation of the atmosphere of Titan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hourdin, F.; Levan, P.; Talagrand, O.; Courtin, Regis; Gautier, Daniel; Mckay, Christopher P.

1992-01-01

A three dimensional General Circulation Model (GCM) of Titan's atmosphere is described. Initial results obtained with an economical two dimensional (2D) axisymmetric version of the model presented a strong superrotation in the upper stratosphere. Because of this result, a more general numerical study of superrotation was started with a somewhat different version of the GCM. It appears that for a slowly rotating planet which strongly absorbs solar radiation, circulation is dominated by global equator to pole Hadley circulation and strong superrotation. The theoretical study of this superrotation is discussed. It is also shown that 2D simulations systemically lead to instabilities which make 2D models poorly adapted to numerical simulation of Titan's (or Venus) atmosphere.

Temporal and seasonal variation of atmospheric concentrations of currently used pesticides in Champagne in the centre of Reims from 2012 to 2015

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Villiot, A.; Chrétien, E.; Drab-Sommesous, E.; Rivière, E.; Chakir, A.; Roth, E.

2018-02-01

For four years (2012-2015), pesticides were analyzed in atmospheric samples in the Centre of Reims (France). Among the analyzed substances, 28 have been quantified at least one time during the 4 sampling years. The annual cumulated pesticide concentrations were respectively 158.8, 38.5, 84.5 and 86.6 ng m-3 from 2012 to 2015, showing a great variability in the presence of pesticides in the atmosphere of the Centre of Reims. The top nine pesticides quantified in the atmosphere were cymoxanil, chlorothalonil and prosulfocarb reaching concentrations up to 13-14 ng m-3 and folpel, cyazofamid, fluazinam, pendimethalin, fenpropidin and spiroxamine reaching concentrations between 1 and 5 ng m-3. Among the nine predominant pesticides, seven of them were fungicides especially used against septoriose, mildew and oïdium occurring as well in vineyard and arable crops. Herbicides quantified were those which are used in arable crops. Insecticides especially carbaryl, chlorpyrifos ethyl and lindane were negligible in the atmosphere. The role of meteorological conditions in the development of diseases and the application rates of pesticide was related to the presence of pesticide in the atmosphere.

A Robust Response of the Hadley Circulation to Global Warming

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lau, William K M.; Kim, Kyu-Myong

2014-01-01

Tropical rainfall is expected to increase in a warmer climate. Yet, recent studies have inferred that the Hadley Circulation (HC), which is primarily driven by latent heating from tropical rainfall, is weakened under global warming. Here, we show evidence of a robust intensification of the HC from analyses of 33 CMIP5 model projections under a scenario of 1 per year CO2 emission increase. The intensification is manifested in a deep-tropics squeeze, characterized by a pronounced increase in the zonal mean ascending motion in the mid and upper troposphere, a deepening and narrowing of the convective zone and enhanced rainfall in the deep tropics. These changes occur in conjunction with a rise in the region of maximum outflow of the HC, with accelerated meridional mass outflow in the uppermost branch of the HC away from the equator, coupled to a weakened inflow in the return branches of the HC in the lower troposphere.

ATMOSPHERIC DYNAMICS OF TERRESTRIAL EXOPLANETS OVER A WIDE RANGE OF ORBITAL AND ATMOSPHERIC PARAMETERS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kaspi, Yohai; Showman, Adam P., E-mail: yohai.kaspi@weizmann.ac.il

The recent discoveries of terrestrial exoplanets and super-Earths extending over a broad range of orbital and physical parameters suggest that these planets will span a wide range of climatic regimes. Characterization of the atmospheres of warm super-Earths has already begun and will be extended to smaller and more distant planets over the coming decade. The habitability of these worlds may be strongly affected by their three-dimensional atmospheric circulation regimes, since the global climate feedbacks that control the inner and outer edges of the habitable zone—including transitions to Snowball-like states and runaway-greenhouse feedbacks—depend on the equator-to-pole temperature differences, patterns of relativemore » humidity, and other aspects of the dynamics. Here, using an idealized moist atmospheric general circulation model including a hydrological cycle, we study the dynamical principles governing the atmospheric dynamics on such planets. We show how the planetary rotation rate, stellar flux, atmospheric mass, surface gravity, optical thickness, and planetary radius affect the atmospheric circulation and temperature distribution on such planets. Our simulations demonstrate that equator-to-pole temperature differences, meridional heat transport rates, structure and strength of the winds, and the hydrological cycle vary strongly with these parameters, implying that the sensitivity of the planet to global climate feedbacks will depend significantly on the atmospheric circulation. We elucidate the possible climatic regimes and diagnose the mechanisms controlling the formation of atmospheric jet streams, Hadley and Ferrel cells, and latitudinal temperature differences. Finally, we discuss the implications for understanding how the atmospheric circulation influences the global climate.« less

Wind Streaks on Venus: Clues to Atmospheric Circulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greeley, Ronald; Schubert, Gerald; Limonadi, Daniel; Bender, Kelly C.; Newman, William I.; Thomas, Peggy E.; Weitz, Catherine M.; Wall, Stephen D.

1994-01-01

Magellan images reveal surface features on Venus attributed to wind processes. Sand dunes, wind-sculpted hills, and more than 5830 wind streaks have been identified. The streaks serve as local "wind vanes," representing wind direction at the time of streak formation and allowing the first global mapping of near-surface wind patterns on Venus. Wind streaks are oriented both toward the equator and toward the west. When streaks associated with local transient events, such as impact cratering, are deleted, the westward component is mostly lost but the equatorward component remains. This pattern is consistent with a Hadley circulation of the lower atmosphere.

Three-pattern decomposition of global atmospheric circulation: part I—decomposition model and theorems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Shujuan; Chou, Jifan; Cheng, Jianbo

2018-04-01

In order to study the interactions between the atmospheric circulations at the middle-high and low latitudes from the global perspective, the authors proposed the mathematical definition of three-pattern circulations, i.e., horizontal, meridional and zonal circulations with which the actual atmospheric circulation is expanded. This novel decomposition method is proved to accurately describe the actual atmospheric circulation dynamics. The authors used the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data to calculate the climate characteristics of those three-pattern circulations, and found that the decomposition model agreed with the observed results. Further dynamical analysis indicates that the decomposition model is more accurate to capture the major features of global three dimensional atmospheric motions, compared to the traditional definitions of Rossby wave, Hadley circulation and Walker circulation. The decomposition model for the first time realized the decomposition of global atmospheric circulation using three orthogonal circulations within the horizontal, meridional and zonal planes, offering new opportunities to study the large-scale interactions between the middle-high latitudes and low latitudes circulations.

Atmospheric footprint of the recent warming slowdown

PubMed Central

Liu, Bo; Zhou, Tianjun

2017-01-01

Growing body of literature has developed to detect the role of ocean heat uptake and transport in the recent warming slowdown between 1998–2013; however, the atmospheric footprint of the slowdown in dynamical and physical processes remains unclear. Here, we divided recent decades into the recent hiatus period and the preceding warming period (1983–1998) to investigate the atmospheric footprint. We use a process-resolving analysis method to quantify the contributions of different processes to the total temperature changes. We show that the increasing rate of global mean tropospheric temperature was also reduced during the hiatus period. The decomposed trends due to physical processes, including surface albedo, water vapour, cloud, surface turbulent fluxes and atmospheric dynamics, reversed the patterns between the two periods. The changes in atmospheric heat transport are coupled with changes in the surface latent heat flux across the lower troposphere (below approximately 800 hPa) and with cloud-related processes in the upper troposphere (above approximately 600 hPa) and were underpinned by strengthening/weakening Hadley Circulation and Walker Circulation during the warming/hiatus period. This dynamical coupling experienced a phase transition between the two periods, reminding us of the importance of understanding the atmospheric footprint, which constitutes an essential part of internal climate variability. PMID:28084457

Three-dimensional baroclinic instability of a Hadley cell for small Richardson number

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Antar, B. N.; Fowlis, W. W.

1983-01-01

For the case of a baroclinic flow whose Richardson number, Ri, is of order unity, a three-dimensional linear stability analysis is conducted on the basis of a model for a thin, horizontal, rotating fluid layer which is subjected to horizontal and vertical temperature gradients. The Hadley cell basic state and stability analysis are both based on the Navier-Stokes and energy equations, and perturbations possessing zonal, meridional, and vertical structures are considered. An attempt is made to extend the previous theoretical work on three-dimensional baroclinic instability for small Ri to a more realistic model involving the Prandtl and Ekman numbers, as well as to finite growth rates and a wider range of the zonal wavenumber. In general, it is found that the symmetric modes of maximum growth are not purely symmetric, but have a weak zonal structure.

Regarding tracer transport in Mars' winter atmosphere in the presence of nearly stationary, forced planetary waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hollingsworth, Jeffrey L.; Haberle, R. M.; Houben, Howard C.

1993-01-01

Large-scale transport of volatiles and condensates on Mars, as well as atmospheric dust, is ultimately driven by the planet's global-scale atmospheric circulation. This circulation arises in part from the so-called mean meridional (Hadley) circulation that is associated with rising/poleward motion in low latitudes and sinking/equatorward motion in middle and high latitudes. Intimately connected to the mean circulation is an eddy-driven component due to large-scale wave activity in the planet's atmosphere. During winter this wave activity arises both from traveling weather systems (i.e., barotropic and baroclinic disturbances) and from 'forced' disturbances (e.g., the thermal tides and surface-forced planetary waves). Possible contributions to the effective (net) transport circulation from forced planetary waves are investigated.

The effect of anthropogenic emissions corrections on the seasonal cycle of atmospheric CO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brooks, B. J.; Hoffman, F. M.; Mills, R. T.; Erickson, D. J.; Blasing, T. J.

2009-12-01

A previous study (Erickson et al. 2008) approximated the monthly global emission estimates of anthropogenic CO2 by applying a 2-harmonic Fourier expansion with coefficients as a function of latitude to annual CO2 flux estimates derived from United States data (Blasing et al. 2005) that were extrapolated globally. These monthly anthropogenic CO2 flux estimates were used to model atmospheric concentrations using the NASA GEOS-4 data assimilation system. Local variability in the amplitude of the simulated CO2 seasonal cycle were found to be on the order of 2-6 ppmv. Here we used the same Fourier expansion to seasonally adjust the global annual fossil fuel CO2 emissions from the SRES A2 scenario. For a total of four simulations, both the annual and seasonalized fluxes were advected in two configurations of the NCAR Community Atmosphere Model (CAM) used in the Carbon-Land Model Intercomparison Project (C-LAMP). One configuration used the NCAR Community Land Model (CLM) coupled with the CASA‧ (carbon only) biogeochemistry model and the other used CLM coupled with the CN (coupled carbon and nitrogen cycles) biogeochemistry model. All four simulations were forced with observed sea surface temperatures and sea ice concentrations from the Hadley Centre and a prescribed transient atmospheric CO2 concentration for the radiation and land forcing over the 20th century. The model results exhibit differences in the seasonal cycle of CO2 between the seasonally corrected and uncorrected simulations. Moreover, because of differing energy and water feedbacks between the atmosphere model and the two land biogeochemistry models, features of the CO2 seasonal cycle were different between these two model configurations. This study reinforces previous findings that suggest that regional near-surface atmospheric CO2 concentrations depend strongly on the natural sources and sinks of CO2, but also on the strength of local anthropogenic CO2 emissions and geographic position. This work further

Tropical Cyclone Signatures in Atmospheric Convective Available Potential Energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Studholme, Joshua; Gulev, Sergey

2016-04-01

Tropical cyclones play an important role in the climate system providing transports of energy and water vapor, forcing the ocean, and also affecting mid-latitude circulation phenomena. Tropical cyclone tracks experience strong interannual variability and in addition, longer term trend-like changes in all ocean basins. Analysis of recent historical data reveal a poleward shift in the locations of tropical cyclone tracks in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres (Kossin et al. 2014, Nature, 509, 349-352). The physical consequences of these alterations are largely unconstrained. For example, the increasing encroachment of tropical cyclone activity into the extra-tropical environment presents a novel and still poorly understood paradigm for tropical-extratropical interactions. In this respect, the role that the atmospheric convective available potential energy (CAPE) plays in the dynamics of tropical cyclones is highly interesting. The two characteristic global-scale spatial patterns in CAPE are identified using EOF analysis. The first pattern shows an abundance of CAPE in the centre of the Pacific and corresponds to the El Nino Southern Oscillation. The second one is capturing positive CAPE anomalies in the oceanic tropics and negative anomalies over equatorial Africa. Associated with these buoyancy patterns, alterations in tropical cyclone activity occur in all basins forming both zonal and meridional patterns. Atmospheric buoyancy is the trigger for deep convection, and subsequently cyclone genesis. This is the mechanism of impact upon location at the start of cyclone tracks. It is found to have less impact upon where cyclones subsequently move, whether or not they undergo extratropical transition and when and where they experience lysis. It is shown that CAPE plays a critical role in the general circulation in the tropics which in turn is the larger steering context for embedded systems within the Walker and Hadley cells. So this lack of `latter life' impact

Attribution of the 1995 and 2006 storm surge events in the southern Baltic Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klehmet, K.; Rockel, B.; von Storch, H.

2016-12-01

In November 1995 and 2006, the German Baltic Sea coast experienced severe storm surge conditions. Exceptional water level heights of about 1.8m above mean sea level were measured at German tide gauges. Extreme event attribution poses unique challenges trying to distinguish the role of anthropogenic influence, as e.g. greenhouse gas emissions or land-use changes, from natural variability. This study, which is part of the EUCLEIA project (EUropean CLimate and weather Events: Interpretation and Attribution, www. eucleia.eu), aims to estimate how the contribution of anthropogenic drivers has altered the probability of single extreme events such as the 1995 and 2006 storm surge events. We explore these aspects using two 7-member ensembles of Hadley Centre Global Environmental Model version 3-A (HadGEM3-A), the atmosphere only component of the HadGEM3, provided by the Met Office Hadley Centre. The ensemble of HadGEM3-A consists of two multi-decadal experiments from 1960-2013 - one with anthropogenic forcing factors and natural forcings representing the actual climate. The second experiment represents the natural climate including only natural forcing factors. These two 7-member ensembles of about 60km spatial resolution are used as atmospheric forcing data to drive the regional ocean model TRIM-NP in order to calculate water level in the Baltic Sea in 12.8km spatial resolution. Findings indicate some limitations of the regional model ensemble to reproduce the magnitude of extreme water levels well. It is tested whether increased spatial resolution of atmospheric forcing fields can improve the representation of Baltic Sea extreme water levels along the coast and thus add value in the attribution analysis.

Role of a cumulus parameterization scheme in simulating atmospheric circulation and rainfall in the nine-layer Goddard Laboratory for Atmospheres General Circulation Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sud, Y. C.; Chao, Winston C.; Walker, G. K.

1992-01-01

The influence of a cumulus convection scheme on the simulated atmospheric circulation and hydrologic cycle is investigated by means of a coarse version of the GCM. Two sets of integrations, each containing an ensemble of three summer simulations, were produced. The ensemble sets of control and experiment simulations are compared and differentially analyzed to determine the influence of a cumulus convection scheme on the simulated circulation and hydrologic cycle. The results show that cumulus parameterization has a very significant influence on the simulation circulation and precipitation. The upper-level condensation heating over the ITCZ is much smaller for the experiment simulations as compared to the control simulations; correspondingly, the Hadley and Walker cells for the control simulations are also weaker and are accompanied by a weaker Ferrel cell in the Southern Hemisphere. Overall, the difference fields show that experiment simulations (without cumulus convection) produce a cooler and less energetic atmosphere.

Three-dimensional baroclinic instability of a Hadley cell for small Richardson number

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Antar, B. N.; Fowlis, W. W.

1985-01-01

A three-dimensional, linear stability analysis of a baroclinic flow for Richardson number, Ri, of order unity is presented. The model considered is a thin horizontal, rotating fluid layer which is subjected to horizontal and vertical temperature gradients. The basic state is a Hadley cell which is a solution of the complete set of governing, nonlinear equations and contains both Ekman and thermal boundary layers adjacent to the rigid boundaries; it is given in a closed form. The stability analysis is also based on the complete set of equations; and perturbation possessing zonal, meridional, and vertical structures were considered. Numerical methods were developed for the stability problem which results in a stiff, eighth-order, ordinary differential eigenvalue problem. The previous work on three-dimensional baroclinic instability for small Ri was extended to a more realistic model involving the Prandtl number, sigma, and the Ekman number, E, and to finite growth rates and a wider range of the zonal wavenumber.

Climate change and the middle atmosphere. II - The impact of volcanic aerosols

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rind, D.; Balachandran, N. K.; Suozzo, R.

1992-01-01

The response of the middle atmosphere to an increase in stratospheric aerosols, normally associated with increased volcanic activity, is investigated. The aerosols are found to induce a direct stratospheric response, with warming in the tropical lower stratosphere, and cooling at higher latitudes. On the shorter time scales, this radiative effect increases tropospheric static stability at low- to midlatitudes, which reduces the intensity of the Hadley cell and Ferrel cell. There is an associated increase in tropospheric standing wave energy and a decrease in midlatitude west winds, which result in additional wave energy propagation into the stratosphere at lower midlatitudes in both hemispheres. On the longer time scale, a strong hemispheric asymmetry arises. In the Northern Hemisphere eddy energy decreases, as does the middle-atmosphere residual circulation, and widespread stratospheric cooling results. In the Southern Hemisphere, the large increase in sea ice increases the tropospheric latitudinal temperature gradient, leading to increased eddy energy, an increased middle-atmosphere residual circulation, and some high-latitude stratospheric warming.

The Effect of Changes in the Hadley Circulation on Oceanic Oxygen Minimum Zones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De La Cruz Tello, G.; Ummenhofer, C.; Karnauskas, K. B.

2014-12-01

Recent research argued that the Hadley circulation (HC) is composed of three regional cells located at the eastern edges of the ocean basins, rather than a single, globe-encircling cell as the classic textbook view suggests. The HC is expected to expand in concert with global warming, which means that the dry regions beneath the descending branches of the HC are projected to become even drier. Changes in the HC are thus likely to impact freshwater resources on land, as well as the underlying ocean in the subtropics. The eastern edges of ocean basins are characterized by oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), which are regions of very low oxygen concentrations. They affect marine life, as many animals cannot handle the stress caused by such conditions. OMZs have expanded and shoaled in the last 50 years, and they are expected to continue to do so as global climate changes. The purpose of this research is to find links between the projected changes in OMZs and the HC. The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Earth System Model 1.0 (CESM), Representative Concentration Pathways 8.5 (RCP8.5) experiment with a resolution of 0.9 by 1.25 degrees, which formed part of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5), was used for this analysis. Meridional winds and oceanic oxygen concentrations were the primarily analyzed variables. Latitudinal ocean oxygen slices demonstrate the OMZs' location along the eastern edges of ocean basins. Meridional winds overlayed with oxygen concentration are consistent with the idea that surface meridional 'Hadleywise flow' (i.e., towards the equator at the surface and towards the poles aloft) and OMZs are linked through changes in upwelling. Area-averaged time series spanning the historical period through to the end of the 21st century with RCP8.5 confirm that future changes in OMZs and the HC may be connected. Further research could lead to improved understanding of the factors that drive changes in both, which could

Tropical Cyclone Genesis: A Dynamician's Point of View

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouali, Safieddine; Leys, Jos

The paper focuses the route to the maturity of a cyclone as a twist process of the Hadley cell. The approach is qualified by a "dynamician's viewpoint" since the aerologic mechanism of the cyclone genesis is replicated without the classical tools of the meteorological fluid framework. Indeed, we introduce a pure dynamical model of a 2D vertical rotor of an airparcel to emulate the Hadley cell. Twisted by an appropriate feedback to inject geophysical forcing, the simulation displays two stretched solenoid rolls with clockwise and anticlockwise paths representing the Hadley belts wrapping the Earth. When the forcing parameter is higher, computations simulate overlapped whirlwind funnels revealing strong similarities with the structure of cyclones, hurricanes, and typhoons described in the atmospheric science literature. We conjecture that ocean-atmosphere interactions separate and convert a "slice" of the Hadley rotor into a fully tropical cyclone.

Atmospheric dynamics and habitability range in Earth-like aquaplanets obliquity simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nowajewski, Priscilla; Rojas, M.; Rojo, P.; Kimeswenger, S.

2018-05-01

We present the evolution of the atmospheric variables that affect planetary climate by increasing the obliquity by using a general circulation model (PlaSim) coupled to a slab ocean with mixed layer flux correction. We increase the obliquity between 30° and 90° in 16 aquaplanets with liquid sea surface and perform the simulation allowing the sea ice cover formation to be a consequence of its atmospheric dynamics. Insolation is maintained constant in each experiment, but changing the obliquity affects the radiation budget and the large scale circulation. Earth-like atmospheric dynamics is observed for planets with obliquity under 54°. Above this value, the latitudinal temperature gradient is reversed giving place to a new regime of jet streams, affecting the shape of Hadley and Ferrel cells and changing the position of the InterTropical Convergence Zone. As humidity and high temperatures determine Earth's habitability, we introduce the wet bulb temperature as an atmospheric index of habitability for Earth-like aquaplanets with above freezing temperatures. The aquaplanets are habitable all year round at all latitudes for values under 54°; above this value habitability decreases toward the poles due to high temperatures.

The effect of anthropogenic emissions corrections on the seasonal cycle of atmospheric CO2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hoffman, Forrest M; Erickson III, David J; Blasing, T J

A previous study (Erickson et al. 2008) approximated the monthly global emission estimates of anthropogenic CO{sub 2} by applying a 2-harmonic Fourier expansion with coefficients as a function of latitude to annual CO{sub 2} flux estimates derived from United States data (Blasing et al. 2005) that were extrapolated globally. These monthly anthropogenic CO{sub 2} flux estimates were used to model atmospheric concentrations using the NASA GEOS-4 data assimilation system. Local variability in the amplitude of the simulated CO{sub 2} seasonal cycle were found to be on the order of 2-6 ppmv. Here we used the same Fourier expansion to seasonallymore » adjust the global annual fossil fuel CO{sub 2} emissions from the SRES A2 scenario. For a total of four simulations, both the annual and seasonalized fluxes were advected in two configurations of the NCAR Community Atmosphere Model (CAM) used in the Carbon-Land Model Intercomparison Project (C-LAMP). One configuration used the NCAR Community Land Model (CLM) coupled with the CASA (carbon only) biogeochemistry model and the other used CLM coupled with the CN (coupled carbon and nitrogen cycles) biogeochemistry model. All four simulations were forced with observed sea surface temperatures and sea ice concentrations from the Hadley Centre and a prescribed transient atmospheric CO{sub 2} concentration for the radiation and land forcing over the 20th century. The model results exhibit differences in the seasonal cycle of CO{sub 2} between the seasonally corrected and uncorrected simulations. Moreover, because of differing energy and water feedbacks between the atmosphere model and the two land biogeochemistry models, features of the CO{sub 2} seasonal cycle were different between these two model configurations. This study reinforces previous findings that suggest that regional near-surface atmospheric CO{sub 2} concentrations depend strongly on the natural sources and sinks of CO{sub 2}, but also on the strength of local

The role of soil moisture in land surface-atmosphere coupling: climate model sensitivity experiments over India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, Charles; Turner, Andrew

2015-04-01

It is generally acknowledged that anthropogenic land use changes, such as a shift from forested land into irrigated agriculture, may have an impact on regional climate and, in particular, rainfall patterns in both time and space. India provides an excellent example of a country in which widespread land use change has occurred during the last century, as the country tries to meet its growing demand for food. Of primary concern for agriculture is the Indian summer monsoon (ISM), which displays considerable seasonal and subseasonal variability. Although it is evident that changing rainfall variability will have a direct impact on land surface processes (such as soil moisture variability), the reverse impact is less well understood. However, the role of soil moisture in the coupling between the land surface and atmosphere needs to be properly explored before any potential impact of changing soil moisture variability on ISM rainfall can be understood. This paper attempts to address this issue, by conducting a number of sensitivity experiments using a state-of-the-art climate model from the UK Meteorological Office Hadley Centre: HadGEM2. Several experiments are undertaken, with the only difference between them being the extent to which soil moisture is coupled to the atmosphere. Firstly, the land surface is fully coupled to the atmosphere, globally (as in standard model configurations); secondly, the land surface is entirely uncoupled from the atmosphere, again globally, with soil moisture values being prescribed on a daily basis; thirdly, the land surface is uncoupled from the atmosphere over India but fully coupled elsewhere; and lastly, vice versa (i.e. the land surface is coupled to the atmosphere over India but uncoupled elsewhere). Early results from this study suggest certain 'hotspot' regions where the impact of soil moisture coupling/uncoupling may be important, and many of these regions coincide with previous studies. Focusing on the third experiment, i

The Asian monsoon's role in atmospheric heat transport responses to orbital and millennial-scale climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGee, D.; Green, B.; Donohoe, A.; Marshall, J.

2015-12-01

Recent studies have provided a framework for understanding the zonal-mean position of the tropical rain belt by documenting relationships between rain belt latitude and atmospheric heat transport across the equator (Donohoe et al., 2013). Modern seasonal and interannual variability in globally-averaged rain belt position (often referred to as 'ITCZ position') reflects the interhemispheric heat balance, with the rain belt's displacement toward the warmer hemisphere directly proportional to atmospheric heat transport into the cooler hemisphere. Model simulations suggest that rain belt shifts are likely to have obeyed the same relationship with interhemispheric heat transport in response to past changes in orbital parameters, ice sheets, and ocean circulation. This relationship implies that even small (±1 degree) shifts in the mean rain belt require large changes in hemispheric heat budgets, placing tight bounds on mean rain belt shifts in past climates. This work has primarily viewed tropical circulation in two dimensions, as a pair of zonal-mean Hadley cells on either side of the rain belt that are displaced north and south by perturbations in hemispheric energy budgets, causing the atmosphere to transport heat into the cooler hemisphere. Here we attempt to move beyond this zonal-mean perspective, motivated by arguments that the Asian monsoon system, rather than the zonal-mean circulation, plays the dominant role in annual-mean heat transport into the southern hemisphere in the modern climate (Heaviside and Czaja, 2012; Marshall et al., 2014). We explore a range of climate change experiments, including simulations of North Atlantic cooling and mid-Holocene climate, to test whether changes in interhemispheric atmospheric heat transport are primarily driven by the mean Hadley circulation, the Asian monsoon system, or other regional-scale atmospheric circulation changes. The scalings that this work identifies between Asian monsoon changes and atmospheric heat

Strategic positioning of the ERATOSTHENES Research Centre for atmospheric remote sensing research in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mamouri, Rodanthi-Elisavet; Ansmann, Albert; Hadjimitsis, Diofantos G.; Nisantzi, Argyro; Bühl, Johannes; Michaelides, Silas; Seifert, Patric; Engelmann, Ronny; Wandinger, Ulla; Kontoes, Charalampos; Schreier, Gunter; Komodromos, Georgios; Themistocleous, Kyriacos

2017-10-01

The aim of this article is to present the importance of a permanent state-of-the-art atmospheric remote sensing ground based station in the region of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (EMME). The ERATOSTHENES Research Centre (ERC) with the vision to become a Centre of Excellence for Earth Surveillance and Space-Based Monitoring of the Environment (EXCELSIOR H2020: Teaming project) already operates (within Phase 1) a fully established EARLINETt-Cloudnet supersite at Limassol, Cyprus, for a period of 2 years, in close collaboration with the German Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), The scientific aspects of this prototype-like field campaign CyCARE (Cyprus Cloud Aerosol and Rain Experiment) - a common initiative between the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), Limassol and TROPOS- are presented in this paper. Cy-CARE has been designed by TROPOS and CUT to fill a gap in the understanding of aerosol-cloud interaction in one of the key regions of climate change and how precipitation formation is influenced by varying aerosol/pollution and meteorological conditions The guiding questions are: How may rain patterns change in future and what may be the consequences of climate change in arid regions such as EMME. EXCELSIOR is a team effort between CUT (acting as the coordinator), the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), the Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics Space Applications and Remote Sensing of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), TROPOS and the Cyprus Department of Electronic Communications of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works (DEC-MTCW) who will work together to improve the network structures significantly, resulting in Cyprus being regarded as a cornerstone of a European Network of active remote sensing of the atmosphere.

Theoretical and experimental design studies for the Atmospheric General Circulation Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fowlis, W. W.; Hathaway, D. H.; Miller, T. L.; Roberts, G. O.; Kopecky, K. J.

1985-01-01

The major criterion for the Atmospheric General Circulation Experiment (AGCE) design is that it be possible to realize strong baroclinic instability in the spherical configuration chosen. A configuration was selected in which a hemispherical shell of fluid is subjected to latitudinal temperature gradients on its spherical boundaries and the latitudinal boundaries are insulators. Work in the laboratory with a cylindrical version of this configuration revealed more instabilities than baroclinic instability. Since researchers fully expect these additional instabilities to appear in the spherical configuration also, they decided to continue the laboratory cylindrical annulus studies. Four flow regimes were identified: an axisymmetric Hadley circulation, boundary layer convection, baroclinic waves and deep thermal convection. Regime diagrams were prepared.

The rigid shell component for superrotation in planetary atmospheres: Angular momentum budget, mechanical analog and simulation of the spin up process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mayr, H. G.; Harris, I.

1981-01-01

An analysis of superrotation in the atmosphere of planets, with rotation axis perpendicular to the orbital plane is presented. As the atmosphere expands, Hadley cells develop producing a redistribution of mass and angular momentum. A three dimensional thermally driven zonally symmetric spectral model and Laplace transformation simulate the time evolution of a fluid leading from corotation under globally uniform heating to superrotation under globally nonuniform heating. For high viscosities the rigid shell component of atmospheric superrotation can be understood in analogy with a pirouette. During spin up angular momentum is transferred to the planet. For low iscosities, the process is reversed. A tendency toward geostrophy, combined with increase of surface pressure toward the poles (due to meridional mass transport), induces the atmosphere to subrotate temporarily at lower altitudes. Resultant viscous shear near the surface permits angular momentum to flow from the planet into the atmosphere propagating upwards to produce high altitude superrotation rates.

The evolving role of data scientist during 20 years of the British Atmospheric Data Centre (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pascoe, S.; Parton, G.; Pascoe, C.; Guillory, A.; da Costa, E. D.

2013-12-01

In 2014 The British Atmospheric Data Centre (BADC), now part of the Centre of Environmental Data Archival (CEDA), will celebrate its 20th anniversary. During its lifetime, most BADC staff have defined themselves as data scientists by virtue of being scientists by background and "data workers" by practice. However, the definition of data scientist has been ill defined until recently. As the term has become popularised in the world of business and general information technology, we ask ourselves to what extent the popular definition fits our profession. We observe that data science, as practised at CEDA, encompasses several roles which overlap and compliment each other as we strive to be enablers of data exploitation. For us a data scientist's skills include elements of data curation, software engineering, data infrastructure management and data-intensive research. As data science has evolved the balance between these roles has shifted in response to changes in technology, demands of the research community and funding drivers. We have had to balance our role as enablers of data exploitation, by providing services and infrastructure to the geo-science community, with our role as pioneers of data exploitation itself. By telling the story of how these roles have evolved during the 20 year history of the BADC, we aim to explore the maturing role of data scientist as practised within the geo-sciences and contrast that role with its recently popularised usage. Looking forward we will address questions about how centres of expertise, such as CEDA, can best increase the data capabilities of geo-science research as a whole in order to facilitate the transition to data-intensive science.

Maintenance and Variations of Atmospheric Subsidence in the Southeast Pacific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, C.; Lee, S.; Mechoso, C. R.; Enfield, D. B.

2010-12-01

The southeastern tropical Pacific (SEP) is characterized by large-scale subsidence, extensive and persistent stratocumulus cloud, and cold SST. The subtropical high in the South Pacific and subsidence over the SEP during the austral summer are related to the monsoonal heating over South America. Previous studies demonstrate that during the austral summer, Rossby wave response to heating associated with the South American monsoon system interacting with the midlatitude westerlies produces descending motion to the west of the South American heating, i.e., over the SEP. The Sverdrup balance demands the existence of equatorward flow beneath the region of descent, closing off the South Pacific subtropical anticyclone on its eastern flank. During seasons other than the austral summer, when convective activity over South America is weaker, other processes must be responsible for maintaining and varying the subsidence over the SEP. This paper shows that the Atlantic warm pool (AWP) is responsible for the subsidence in the SEP during the austral winter and spring. The AWP is a large body of warm water comprising the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the western tropical North Atlantic. AWP variability occurs on seasonal, interannual, and multidecadal timescales. The AWP reaches its maximum size in the boreal late summer and early fall, with large AWPs being almost three times larger than small ones. The warm pool alternates with South America as the seasonal heating source for the Hadley circulation in the Western Hemisphere. During the boreal summer and fall, a strong Hadley circulation emanates from the AWP and forks into the subsidence region of the SEP. The anomalous warm pool index is positively correlated with rainfall anomalies over the SEP where the drizzle under the stratus cloud deck appears. Large (small) warm pools strengthen (weaken) the summer Hadley circulation that emanates from the region of the warm pool into the SEP. This will change the subsidence

Dynamics of the Venus atmosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ingersoll, A. P.

1992-01-01

The superrotation of the Venus atmosphere is a major unanswered problem in planetary science. At cloud-top levels (65-70 km altitude) the atmosphere rotates with a five-day period, corresponding to an equatorial wind speed of 90 m/s. Angular velocity is roughly constant on spherical shells, and decreases linearly with altitude to zero at the surface. The direction of rotation is the same as that of the solid planet, which is retrograde--opposite to the direction of orbital motion, but the 5-day period is short compared to the 243-day spin period of the solid planet or to the mean solar day, which is 117 Earth-days at the surface. The problem with the superrotation is that shearing stresses tend to transfer angular momentum downward, and would slow the atmosphere until it is spinning with the solid planet. Some organized circulation pattern is counteracting the tendency, but the pattern has not been identified. A simple Hadley-type circulation cannot do it because such a circulation is zonally symmetric and Hide's Theorem states that in an axisymmetric circulation an extremum in angular momentum per unit mass M can exist only at the surface. Venus violates the last condition, having a maximum of retrograde M on the equator at 70-80 km altitude. This leaves waves and eddies to maintain the superrotation but the length scales and forcing mechanisms for these motions need to be specified. Possible forcing mechanisms associated with waves, eddies and tides are discussed.

Predicting Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Modes with a Climate Modeling Hierarchy -- Final Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Michael Ghil, UCLA; Andrew W. Robertson, IRI, Columbia Univ.; Sergey Kravtsov, U. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

The goal of the project was to determine midlatitude climate predictability associated with tropical-extratropical interactions on interannual-to-interdecadal time scales. Our strategy was to develop and test a hierarchy of climate models, bringing together large GCM-based climate models with simple fluid-dynamical coupled ocean-ice-atmosphere models, through the use of advanced probabilistic network (PN) models. PN models were used to develop a new diagnostic methodology for analyzing coupled ocean-atmosphere interactions in large climate simulations made with the NCAR Parallel Climate Model (PCM), and to make these tools user-friendly and available to other researchers. We focused on interactions between the tropics and extratropics throughmore » atmospheric teleconnections (the Hadley cell, Rossby waves and nonlinear circulation regimes) over both the North Atlantic and North Pacific, and the ocean’s thermohaline circulation (THC) in the Atlantic. We tested the hypothesis that variations in the strength of the THC alter sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic, and that the latter influence the atmosphere in high latitudes through an atmospheric teleconnection, feeding back onto the THC. The PN model framework was used to mediate between the understanding gained with simplified primitive equations models and multi-century simulations made with the PCM. The project team is interdisciplinary and built on an existing synergy between atmospheric and ocean scientists at UCLA, computer scientists at UCI, and climate researchers at the IRI.« less

Atmospheric Torques on the Solid Earth and Oceans Based on the GEOS-1 General Circulation Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sanchez, Braulio V.; Au, Andrew Y.

1998-01-01

The GEOS-1 general circulation model has been used to compute atmospheric torques on the oceans and solid Earth for the period 1980-1995. The time series for the various torque components have been analyzed by means of Fourier transform techniques. It was determined that the wind stress torque over land is more powerful than the wind stress torque over water by 55%, 42%, and 80% for the x, y, and z components respectively. This is mainly the result of power in the high frequency range. The pressure torques due to polar flattening, equatorial ellipticity, marine geoid, and continental orography were computed. The orographic or "mountain torque" components are more powerful than their wind stress counterparts (land plus ocean) by 231% (x), 191% (y), and 77% (z). The marine pressure torques due to geoidal undulations are much smaller than the orographic ones, as expected. They are only 3% (x), 4% (y), and 5% (z) of the corresponding mountain torques. The geoidal pressure torques are approximately equal in magnitude to those produced by the equatorial ellipticity of the Earth. The pressure torque due to polar flattening makes the largest contributions to the atmospheric torque budget. It has no zonal component, only equatorial ones. Most of the power of the latter, between 68% and 69%, is found in modes with periods under 15 days. The single most powerful mode has a period of 361 days. The gravitational torque ranks second in power only to the polar flattening pressure torque. Unlike the former, it does produce a zonal component, albeit much smaller (1%) than the equatorial ones. The gravitational and pressure torques have opposite signs, therefore, the gravitational torque nullifies 42% of the total pressure torque. Zonally, however, the gravitational torque amounts to only 6% of the total pressure torque. The power budget for the total atmospheric torque yields 7595 and 7120 Hadleys for the equatorial components and 966 Hadleys for the zonal. The x-component exhibits

Atmospheric Torques on the Solid Earth and Oceans Based on the GEOS-1 General Circulation Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sanchez, Braulio

1999-01-01

The GEOS-1 general circulation model has been used to compute atmospheric torques on the oceans and solid Earth for the period 1980-1995. The time series for the various torque components have been analyzed by means of Fourier transform techniques. It was determined that the wind stress torque over land is more powerful than the wind stress torque over water by 55\\%, 42\\%, and 80\\t for the x, y, and z components respectively. This is mainly the result of power in the high frequency range. The pressure torques due to polar flattening, equatorial ellipticity, marine geoid, and continental orography were computed. The orographic or "mountain torque" components are more powerful than their wind stress counterparts (land plus ocean) by 231\\% (x), 191\\% (y), and 77\\% (z). The marine pressure torques due to geoidal undulations are much smaller than the orographic ones, as expected. They are only 3\\% (x), 4\\% (y), and 5\\% (z) of the corresponding mountain torques. The geoidal pressure torques are approximately equal in magnitude to those produced by the equatorial ellipticity of the Earth. The pressure torque due to polar flattening makes the largest contributions to the atmospheric'torque budget. It has no zonal component, only equatorial ones. Most of the power of the latter, between 68\\% and 69 %, is found in modes with periods under 15 days. The single most powerful mode has a period of 361 days. The gravitational torque ranks second in power only to the polar flattening pressure torque. Unlike the former, it does produce a zonal component, albeit much smaller (1\\ ) than the equatorial ones. The gravitational and pressure torques have opposite signs, therefore, the gravitational torque nullifies 42\\% of the total pressure torque. Zonally, however, the gravitational torque amounts to only 6\\% of the total pressure torque. The power budget for the total atmospheric torque yields 7595 and 7120 Hadleys for the equatorial components and 966 Hadleys for the

The Met Office Coupled Atmosphere/Land/Ocean/Sea-Ice Data Assimilation System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lea, Daniel; Mirouze, Isabelle; King, Robert; Martin, Matthew; Hines, Adrian

2015-04-01

The Met Office has developed a weakly-coupled data assimilation (DA) system using the global coupled model HadGEM3 (Hadley Centre Global Environment Model, version 3). At present the analysis from separate ocean and atmosphere DA systems are combined to produced coupled forecasts. The aim of coupled DA is to produce a more consistent analysis for coupled forecasts which may lead to less initialisation shock and improved forecast performance. The HadGEM3 coupled model combines the atmospheric model UM (Unified Model) at 60 km horizontal resolution on 85 vertical levels, the ocean model NEMO (Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean) at 25 km (at the equator) horizontal resolution on 75 vertical levels, and the sea-ice model CICE at the same resolution as NEMO. The atmosphere and the ocean/sea-ice fields are coupled every 1-hour using the OASIS coupler. The coupled model is corrected using two separate 6-hour window data assimilation systems: a 4D-Var for the atmosphere with associated soil moisture content nudging and snow analysis schemes on the one hand, and a 3D-Var FGAT for the ocean and sea-ice on the other hand. The background information in the DA systems comes from a previous 6-hour forecast of the coupled model. To isolate the impact of the coupled DA, 13-month experiments have been carried out, including 1) a full atmosphere/land/ocean/sea-ice coupled DA run, 2) an atmosphere-only run forced by OSTIA SSTs and sea-ice with atmosphere and land DA, and 3) an ocean-only run forced by atmospheric fields from run 2 with ocean and sea-ice DA. In addition, 5-day and 10-day forecast runs, have been produced from initial conditions generated by either run 1 or a combination of runs 2 and 3. The different results have been compared to each other and, whenever possible, to other references such as the Met Office atmosphere and ocean operational analyses or the OSTIA SST data. The performance of the coupled DA is similar to the existing separate ocean and atmosphere

Acidification at the Surface in the East Sea: A Coupled Climate-carbon Cycle Model Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Young-Gyu; Seol, Kyung-Hee; Boo, Kyung-On; Lee, Johan; Cho, Chunho; Byun, Young-Hwa; Seo, Seongbong

2018-05-01

This modeling study investigates the impacts of increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration on acidification in the East Sea. A historical simulation for the past three decades (1980 to 2010) was performed using the Hadley Centre Global Environmental Model (version 2), a coupled climate model with atmospheric, terrestrial and ocean cycles. As the atmospheric CO2 concentration increased, acidification progressed in the surface waters of the marginal sea. The acidification was similar in magnitude to observations and models of acidification in the global ocean. However, in the global ocean, the acidification appears to be due to increased in-situ oceanic CO2 uptake, whereas local processes had stronger effects in the East Sea. pH was lowered by surface warming and by the influx of water with higher dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) from the northwestern Pacific. Due to the enhanced advection of DIC, the partial pressure of CO2 increased faster than in the overlying air; consequently, the in-situ oceanic uptake of CO2 decreased.

Impact of variations of gravitational acceleration on the general circulation of the planetary atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kilic, Cevahir; Raible, Christoph C.; Stocker, Thomas F.; Kirk, Edilbert

2017-01-01

Fundamental to the redistribution of energy in a planetary atmosphere is the general circulation and its meridional structure. We use a general circulation model of the atmosphere in an aquaplanet configuration with prescribed sea surface temperature and investigate the influence of the gravitational acceleration g on the structure of the circulation. For g =g0 = 9.81 ms-2 , three meridional cells exist in each hemisphere. Up to about g /g0 = 1.4 all cells increase in strength. Further increasing this ratio results in a weakening of the thermally indirect cell, such that a two- and finally a one-cell structure of the meridional circulation develops in each hemisphere. This transition is explained by the primary driver of the thermally direct Hadley cell: the diabatic heating at the equator which is proportional to g. The analysis of the energetics of the atmospheric circulation based on the Lorenz energy cycle supports this finding. For Earth-like gravitational accelerations transient eddies are primarily responsible for the meridional heat flux. For large gravitational accelerations, the direct zonal mean conversion of energy dominates the meridional heat flux.

Generation of (F+2)_AH Centres in Sodium Ion Doped KCl:CO^{2-3}

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diaf, M.; Chihi, I.; Hamaïdia, A.; Akrmi, El.

1996-01-01

We demonstrate that (F+2)AH centres of KCl may be obtained from crystals doped with K{2}CO{3} and NaCl, grown by the Czochralski method in open atmosphere. The optical properties of (F+2)AH centres thus produced are exactly the same as those of (F+2)AH centres prepared by the usual technique, which involves superoxide doping and a controlled atmosphere. Nous montrons que les centres (F+2)AH de KCl peuvent être obtenus à partir de cristaux dopés par K{2}CO{3} et NaCl, fabriqués par la méthode de Czochralski à l'air libre. Les propriétés optiques des centres (F+2)AH ainsi produits sont exactement les mêmes que celles des centres (F+2)AH préparés par la technique habituelle, qui comporte le dopage par un superoxyde et l'emploi d'une atmosphère contrôlée.

The Martian climate and energy balance models with CO2/H2O atmospheres

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoffert, M. I.

1986-01-01

The analysis begins with a seasonal energy balance model (EBM) for Mars. This is used to compute surface temperature versus x = sin(latitude) and time over the seasonal cycle. The core model also computes the evolving boundaries of the CO2 icecaps, net sublimational/condensation rates, and the resulting seasonal pressure wave. Model results are compared with surface temperature and pressure history data at Viking lander sites, indicating fairly good agreement when meridional heat transport is represented by a thermal diffusion coefficient D approx. 0.015 W/sq. m/K. Condensational wind distributions are also computed. An analytic model of Martian wind circulation is then proposed, as an extension of the EMB, which incorporates vertical wind profiles containing an x-dependent function evaluated by substitution in the equation defining the diffusion coefficient. This leads to a parameterization of D(x) and of the meridional circulation which recovers the high surface winds predicted by dynamic Mars atmosphere models (approx. 10 m/sec). Peak diffusion coefficients, D approx. 0.6 w/sq m/K, are found over strong Hadley zones - some 40 times larger than those of high-latitude baroclinic eddies. When the wind parameterization is used to find streamline patterns over Martian seasons, the resulting picture shows overturning hemispheric Hadley cells crossing the equator during solstices, and attaining peak intensities during the south summer dust storm season, while condensational winds are most important near the polar caps.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lu, Jian; Vecchi, Gabriel A.

The Hadley circulation, a prominent circulation feature characterized by rising air near the Equator and sinking air in the subtropics, defines the position of dry subtropical areas and is a fundamental regulator of the earth’s energy and momentum budgets. The character of the Hadley circulation, and its related precipitation regimes, exhibits variation and change in response to both climate variability and radiative forcing changes. The strength and position of the Hadley circulation change from year to year paced by El Niño and La Niña events. Over the last few decades of the twentieth century, the Hadley cell has expanded polewardmore » in both hemispheres, with changes in atmospheric composition (including stratospheric ozone depletion and greenhouse gas increases) thought to have contributed to its expansion. This article introduces the basic phenomenology and driving mechanism of the Hadley circulation and discusses its variations under both natural and anthropogenic climate forcings.« less

Atmospheric redistribution of reactive nitrogen and phosphorus by wildfires and implications for global carbon cycling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Randerson, J. T.; Xu, L.; Wiggins, E. B.; Chen, Y.; Riley, W. J.; Mekonnen, Z. A.; Pellegrini, A.; Mahowald, N. M.

2017-12-01

Fires are an important process regulating the redistribution of nutrients within terrestrial ecosystems. Frequently burning ecosystems such as savannas are a net source of N and P to the atmosphere each year, with atmospheric transport and dry and wet deposition increasing nutrient availability in downwind ecosystems and over the open ocean. Transport of N and P aerosols from savanna fires within the Hadley circulation contributes to nutrient deposition over tropical forests, yielding an important cross-biome nutrient transfer. Pyrodenitrification of reactive N increases with fire temperature and modified combustion efficiency, generating a global net biospheric loss of approximately 14 Tg N per year. Here we analyze atmospheric N and P redistribution using the Global Fire Emissions Database version 4s and the Accelerated Climate Modeling for Energy earth system model. We synthesize literature estimates of N and P concentrations in fire-emitted aerosols and ecosystem mass balance measurements to help constrain model estimates of these biosphere-atmosphere fluxes. In our analysis, we estimate the fraction of terrestrial net primary production (NPP) that is sustained by fire-emitted P and reactive N from upwind ecosystems. We then evaluate how recent global declines in burned area in savanna and grassland ecosystems may be changing nutrient availability in downwind ecosystems.

The Rossby Centre Regional Atmospheric Climate Model part II: application to the Arctic climate.

PubMed

Jones, Colin G; Wyser, Klaus; Ullerstig, Anders; Willén, Ulrika

2004-06-01

The Rossby Centre regional climate model (RCA2) has been integrated over the Arctic Ocean as part of the international ARCMIP project. Results have been compared to observations derived from the SHEBA data set. The standard RCA2 model overpredicts cloud cover and downwelling longwave radiation, during the Arctic winter. This error was improved by introducing a new cloud parameterization, which significantly improves the annual cycle of cloud cover. Compensating biases between clear sky downwelling longwave radiation and longwave radiation emitted from cloud base were identified. Modifications have been introduced to the model radiation scheme that more accurately treat solar radiation interaction with ice crystals. This leads to a more realistic representation of cloud-solar radiation interaction. The clear sky portion of the model radiation code transmits too much solar radiation through the atmosphere, producing a positive bias at the top of the frequent boundary layer clouds. A realistic treatment of the temporally evolving albedo, of both sea-ice and snow, appears crucial for an accurate simulation of the net surface energy budget. Likewise, inclusion of a prognostic snow-surface temperature seems necessary, to accurately simulate near-surface thermodynamic processes in the Arctic.

The El Nino-Southern Oscillation in the second Hadley Centre coupled model and its response to greenhouse warming

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Collins, M.

This paper describes El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) interannual variability simulated in the second Handley Centre coupled model under control and greenhouse warming scenarios. The model produces a very reasonable simulation of ENSO in the control experiment--reproducing the amplitude, spectral characteristics, and phase locking to the annual cycle that are observed in nature. The mechanism for the model ENSO is shown to be a mixed SST-ocean dynamics mode that can be interpreted in terms of the ocean recharge paradigm of Jin. In experiments with increased levels of greenhouse gases, no statistically significant changes in ENSO are seen until these levels approachmore » four times preindustrial values. In these experiments, the model ENSO has an approximately 20% larger amplitude, a frequency that is approximately double that of the current ENSO (implying more frequent El Ninos and La Ninas), and phase locks to the annual cycle at a different time of year. It is shown that the increase in the vertical gradient of temperature in the thermocline region, associated with the model's response to increased greenhouse gases, is responsible for the increase in the amplitude of ENSO, while the increase in meridional temperature gradients on either side of the equator, again associated with the models response to increasing greenhouse gases, is responsible for the increased frequency of ENSO events.« less

The Operational Role of the Belgian User Support and Operations Centre for the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) on-board the International Space Station.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muller, C.; Moreau, D., Sr.; Pandey, P. K.; Crosby, N. B.

2014-12-01

The Belgian User Support and Operations Centre (B.USOC) is an operational centre managing technological and scientific payloads on the International Space Station (ISS). B.USOC is the Facility Responsible Centre (FRC) for the European Space Agency's (ESA) Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) payload and also manages the Scientific Mission Centre of the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) PICARD satellite that monitors solar activity, among various other space missions. In this respect, B.USOC is ideally positioned to manage possible synergies between ASIM, the satellite TARANIS (Tool for the Analysis of RAdiation from lightNIng and Sprites), other space missions and ground-based networks. The ASIM mission (Neubert, 2009) consists of a package of two nadir instruments: one for the visible spectrum and another for X-ray and gamma-ray frequencies. In the normal operating mode "trigger mode" both instruments continuously measure, but, do not record data below certain thresholds. Another mode is a "timed mode", where, during a certain time the observations are recorded even in the absence of triggers. The "timed mode" demands a lot of flexibility from both scientific teams and B.USOC, as, ASIM's main targets of investigation (sprites and elves) are related to intense thunderstorms and thus, require reliable meteorological forecasts in the entire range of ISS latitudes. Moreover, ASIM is sensitive to a large number of phenomena of which most have a direct relationship with solar activity and therefore would probably need support from the ESA SSA (Space Situational Awareness) Space Weather Coordination Centre (SSCC) that shares the same campus with B.USOC. Local cooperation between the two centres, together with other space payloads such as TARANIS and ground-based networks will greatly optimize ASIM payload operations as well as scientific return. Neubert, T., and the ASIM Team, ASIM - an Instrument Suite for the International Space Station, Corte Workshop

The Impact of Radiation Changes on the Terrestrial Carbon Sink over the Post Pinatubo Period

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sitch, S.; Mercado, L. M.; Bellouin, N.; Boucher, O.; Huntingford, C.; Cox, P. M.

2008-12-01

The amount of solar radiation reaching the earth surface is one of the major drivers of plant photosynthesis and therefore changes in radiation are likely to indirectly have an effect on the terrestrial carbon cycle. For example, changes in surface radiation that lead to increasing diffuse surface irradiance are reported to enhance plant photosynthesis (Gu et al., 2003, Niyogi et al., 2004, Oliveira et al., 2007, Roderick et al., 2001). Solar radiation reaching the land surface has changed over the industrial era due to aerosols emitted from volcanoes and various anthropogenic sources (Kvalevag and Myhre, 2007). Such changes in total surface radiation are accompanied by changes in direct and diffuse surface solar radiation. Recent major volcanic events include the eruptions of el Chichón in 1986 and Mount Pinatubo in 1991. In this study we estimate the impact of changes in surface radiation on photosynthetic carbon uptake during the Post Pinatubo period. We use an offline version of the Hadley Centre land surface scheme (Mercado et al., 2007) modified to account for variations in direct and diffuse radiation on sunlit and shaded canopy photosynthesis. We use meteorological forcing from the Climate Research Unit Data set. Additionally short wave and photosynthetic active radiation are reconstructed from the Hadley centre climate model, which accounts for the scattering and absorption of light by tropospheric and stratospheric aerosols. We describe the development of the land carbon cycle through the Pinatubo event and diagnose the impact of changes in diffuse radiation on the atmospheric [CO2] growth-rate

Monitoring of natural factors in Czech speleotherapeutic centres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sas, D.; Navrátil, O.; Sládek, P.

1999-01-01

The work deals with the problems of volume activity of radon and its daughter products, of the concentration of positive and negative atmospheric ions and microclimatic conditions in speleotherapeutic centres Zlaté Hory (ore gallery) and Javoříčko (cave).

The Ocean-Atmosphere Hydrothermohaline Conveyor Belt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Döös, Kristofer; Kjellsson, Joakim; Zika, Jan; Laliberté, Frédéric; Brodeau, Laurent

2015-04-01

The ocean thermohaline circulation is linked to the hydrothermal circulation of the atmosphere. The ocean thermohaline circulation is expressed in potential temperature-salinity space and comprises a tropical upper-ocean circulation, a global conveyor belt cell and an Antarctic Bottom Water cell. The atmospheric hydrothermal circulation in a potential temperature-specific humidity space unifies the tropical Hadley and Walker cells as well as the midlatitude eddies into a single, global circulation. Superimposed, these thermohaline and hydrothermal stream functions reveal the possibility of a close connection between some parts of the water and air mass conversions. The exchange of heat and fresh water through the sea surface (precipiation-evaporation) and incoming solar radiation act to make near-surface air warm and moist while making surface water warmer and saltier as both air and water travel towards the Equator. In the tropics, air masses can undergo moist convection releasing latent heat by forming precipitation, thus acting to make warm surface water fresher. We propose that the Clausius-Clapeyron relationship for moist near-surface air acts like a lower bound for the atmospheric hydrothermal cell and an upper bound for the ocean thermohaline Conveyor-Belt cell. The analysis is made by combining and merging the overturning circulation of the ocean and atmosphere by relating the salinity of the ocean to the humidity of the atmosphere, where we set the heat and freshwater transports equal in the two stream functions By using simulations integrated with our Climate-Earth system model EC-Earth, we intend to produce the "hydrothermohaline" stream function of the coupled ocean-atmosphere overturning circulation in one single picture. We explore how the oceanic thermohaline Conveyor Belt can be linked to the global atmospheric hydrothermal circulation and if the water and air mass conversions in humidity-temperature-salinity space can be related and linked to each

CMIP5 models' shortwave cloud radiative response and climate sensitivity linked to the climatological Hadley cell extent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lipat, Bernard R.; Tselioudis, George; Grise, Kevin M.; Polvani, Lorenzo M.

2017-06-01

This study analyzes Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) model output to examine the covariability of interannual Southern Hemisphere Hadley cell (HC) edge latitude shifts and shortwave cloud radiative effect (SWCRE). In control climate runs, during years when the HC edge is anomalously poleward, most models substantially reduce the shortwave radiation reflected by clouds in the lower midlatitude region (LML; ˜28°S-˜48°S), although no such reduction is seen in observations. These biases in HC-SWCRE covariability are linked to biases in the climatological HC extent. Notably, models with excessively equatorward climatological HC extents have weaker climatological LML subsidence and exhibit larger increases in LML subsidence with poleward HC edge expansion. This behavior, based on control climate interannual variability, has important implications for the CO2-forced model response. In 4×CO2-forced runs, models with excessively equatorward climatological HC extents produce stronger SW cloud radiative warming in the LML region and tend to have larger climate sensitivity values than models with more realistic climatological HC extents.

Hadley circulation strength and width in a wide range of simulated climates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Agostino, R.; Adam, O.; Lionello, P.; Schneider, T.

2016-12-01

Understanding how the Hadley circulation (HC) responds to global warming is crucial because it determines climatic features such as the seasonal migration of the ITCZ, the extent of subtropical arid regions and the strength of the monsoons. Here we analyse changes in the HC strength and width in the set of PMIP3 and CMIP5 simulations, spanning a wide range of climate conditions from Last Glacial Maximum to future RCP projections. The large climate change signal emerging from comparing paleoclimate simulations to future scenarios offers the possibility to analyse the corresponding HC change and to investigate its response to large variations of the factors controlling it. The results confirm that the HC generally expands and weakens as the global mean temperature increases, consistent with results from other studies. Furthermore, we find an asymmetric HC response between the northern and southern hemisphere in the rate at which the HC edges shift poleward with global warming. The mid-latitude static stability and meridional temperature gradients affect the HC edges to different degrees in the two hemispheres. In the southern hemisphere the increase in the mid-latitude static stability is associated with a poleward shift of the southern HC edge, while in the northern hemisphere, the reduction in the meridional temperature gradient plays the dominant role in the poleward shift of the northern HC edge. The two hemispheres also exhibit very different changes of HC strength. The HC weakening with global warming occurs primarily in the northern hemisphere, while there is no change, or even a slighter weakening in the southern hemisphere. The HC changes also have pronounced seasonal signatures. The maximum poleward shift of the northern HC edge occurs one month later (from August to September) in future global warming scenarios than when comparing pre-industrial simulations with the Last Glacial Maximum.

Hadley circulation extent and strength in a wide range of simulated climates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Agostino, Roberta; Adam, Ori; Lionello, Piero; Schneider, Tapio

2017-04-01

Understanding the Hadley circulation (HC) dynamics is crucial because its changes affect the seasonal migration of the ITCZ, the extent of subtropical arid regions and the strength of the monsoons. Despite decades of study, the factors controlling its strength and extent have remained unclear. Here we analyse how HC strength and extent change over a wide range of climate conditions from the Last Glacial Maximum to future projections. The large climate change between paleoclimate simulations and future scenarios offers the chance to analyse robust HC changes and their link to large-scale factors. The HC shrinks and strengthens in the coldest simulation relative to the warmest. A progressive poleward shift of its edges is evident as the climate warms (at a rate of 0.35°lat./K in each hemisphere). The HC extent and strength both depend on the isentropic slope, which in turn is related to the meridional temperature gradient, subtropical static stability and tropopause height. In multiple robust regression analysis using these as predictors, we find that the tropical tropopause height does not add relevant information to the model beyond surface temperature. Therefore, primarily the static stability and secondarily the meridional temperature contrast together account for the bulk of the almost the total HC variance. However, the regressions leave some of the northern HC edge and southern HC strength variance unexplained. The effectiveness of this analysis is limited by the correlation among the predictors and their relationship with mean temperature. In fact, for all simulations, the tropical temperature explains well the variations of HC except its southern hemisphere intensity. Hence, it can be used as the sole predictor to diagnose the HC response to greenhouse-induced global warming. How to account for the evolution of the southern HC strength remains unclear, because of the large inter-model spread in this quantity.

Venus atmosphere from Venus Express

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Titov, Dmitri; Taylor, Fredric W.; Svedhem, Håkan; Titov, D.; Svedhem, H.; Taylor, F. W.; Bertaux, J.-L.; Drossart, P.; Haeusler, B.; Korablev, O. I.; Markiewicz, W. J.; Paetzold, M.; Piccioni, G.; Vandaele, A.-C.

Since April 2006 Venus Express has been performing a global survey of the remarkably dense, cloudy, and dynamic atmosphere of our near neighbour. A consistent picture of the climate on Venus is emerging on the basis of the new data on the global temperature structure, the com-position and its variations, the cloud morphology at various levels, the atmospheric dynamics and general circulation, and near-infrared emissions from trace species such as oxygen in the mesosphere. Vertical profiles of atmospheric temperature in the mesosphere and upper tropo-sphere show strong variability correlated with changes in the cloud top structure and many fine details indicating dynamical processes. Temperature sounding also shows that the main cloud deck at 50-60 km is convectively unstable over large portion of the planet, in agreement with the analysis of UV images. Imaging also reveals strong latitudinal variations and significant temporal changes in the global cloud top morphology, which will inevitably modulate the solar energy deposited in the atmosphere. The cloud top altitude varies from 72 km in the low and middle latitudes to 64 km in the polar region, marking vast polar depressions that form as a re-sult of the Hadley-type meridional circulation. Stellar and solar occultation measurements have revealed an extended upper haze of submicron particles and provided information on its optical properties. Solar occultation observations and deep atmosphere spectroscopy have quantified the distribution of the major trace gases H2O, SO2, CO, COS above and below the clouds, and so provided important input and validation for models of chemical cycles and dynamical trans-port. Cloud motion monitoring has characterised the mean state of the atmospheric circulation as well as its variability. Low and middle latitudes show an almost constant zonal wind speed of 100+/-20 m/s at the cloud tops and vertical wind shear of 2-3 m/s/km. Towards the pole, the wind speed drops quickly and the

General-circulation-model simulations of future snowpack in the western United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

McCabe, G.J.; Wolock, D.M.

1999-01-01

April 1 snowpack accumulations measured at 311 snow courses in the western United States (U.S.) are grouped using a correlation-based cluster analysis. A conceptual snow accumulation and melt model and monthly temperature and precipitation for each cluster are used to estimate cluster-average April 1 snowpack. The conceptual snow model is subsequently used to estimate future snowpack by using changes in monthly temperature and precipitation simulated by the Canadian Centre for Climate Modeling and Analysis (CCC) and the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research (HADLEY) general circulation models (GCMs). Results for the CCC model indicate that although winter precipitation is estimated to increase in the future, increases in temperatures will result in large decreases in April 1 snowpack for the entire western US. Results for the HADLEY model also indicate large decreases in April 1 snowpack for most of the western US, but the decreases are not as severe as those estimated using the CCC simulations. Although snowpack conditions are estimated to decrease for most areas of the western US, both GCMs estimate a general increase in winter precipitation toward the latter half of the next century. Thus, water quantity may be increased in the western US; however, the timing of runoff will be altered because precipitation will more frequently occur as rain rather than as snow.

Responses of the Tropical Atmospheric Circulation to Climate Change and Connection to the Hydrological Cycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Jian; Chadwick, Robin; Seo, Kyong-Hwan; Dong, Changming; Huang, Gang; Foltz, Gregory R.; Jiang, Jonathan H.

2018-05-01

This review describes the climate change–induced responses of the tropical atmospheric circulation and their impacts on the hydrological cycle. We depict the theoretically predicted changes and diagnose physical mechanisms for observational and model-projected trends in large-scale and regional climate. The tropical circulation slows down with moisture and stratification changes, connecting to a poleward expansion of the Hadley cells and a shift of the intertropical convergence zone. Redistributions of regional precipitation consist of thermodynamic and dynamical components, including a strong offset between moisture increase and circulation weakening throughout the tropics. This allows other dynamical processes to dominate local circulation changes, such as a surface warming pattern effect over oceans and multiple mechanisms over land. To improve reliability in climate projections, more fundamental understandings of pattern formation, circulation change, and the balance of various processes redistributing land rainfall are suggested to be important.

The dynamical core of the Aeolus 1.0 statistical-dynamical atmosphere model: validation and parameter optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Totz, Sonja; Eliseev, Alexey V.; Petri, Stefan; Flechsig, Michael; Caesar, Levke; Petoukhov, Vladimir; Coumou, Dim

2018-02-01

We present and validate a set of equations for representing the atmosphere's large-scale general circulation in an Earth system model of intermediate complexity (EMIC). These dynamical equations have been implemented in Aeolus 1.0, which is a statistical-dynamical atmosphere model (SDAM) and includes radiative transfer and cloud modules (Coumou et al., 2011; Eliseev et al., 2013). The statistical dynamical approach is computationally efficient and thus enables us to perform climate simulations at multimillennia timescales, which is a prime aim of our model development. Further, this computational efficiency enables us to scan large and high-dimensional parameter space to tune the model parameters, e.g., for sensitivity studies.Here, we present novel equations for the large-scale zonal-mean wind as well as those for planetary waves. Together with synoptic parameterization (as presented by Coumou et al., 2011), these form the mathematical description of the dynamical core of Aeolus 1.0.We optimize the dynamical core parameter values by tuning all relevant dynamical fields to ERA-Interim reanalysis data (1983-2009) forcing the dynamical core with prescribed surface temperature, surface humidity and cumulus cloud fraction. We test the model's performance in reproducing the seasonal cycle and the influence of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). We use a simulated annealing optimization algorithm, which approximates the global minimum of a high-dimensional function.With non-tuned parameter values, the model performs reasonably in terms of its representation of zonal-mean circulation, planetary waves and storm tracks. The simulated annealing optimization improves in particular the model's representation of the Northern Hemisphere jet stream and storm tracks as well as the Hadley circulation.The regions of high azonal wind velocities (planetary waves) are accurately captured for all validation experiments. The zonal-mean zonal wind and the integrated lower

The 1997/98 El Nino: A Test for Climate Models

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lu, R; Dong, B; Cess, R D

Version 3 of the Hadley Centre Atmospheric Model (HadAM3) has been used to demonstrate one means of comparing a general circulation model with observations for a specific climate perturbation, namely the strong 1997/98 El Nino. This event was characterized by the collapse of the tropical Pacific's Walker circulation, caused by the lack of a zonal sea surface temperature gradient during the El Nino. Relative to normal years, cloud altitudes were lower in the western portion of the Pacific and higher in the eastern portion. HadAM3 likewise produced the observed collapse of the Walker circulation, and it did a reasonable jobmore » of reproducing the west/east cloud structure changes. This illustrates that the 1997/98 El Nino serves as a useful means of testing cloud-climate interactions in climate models.« less

Simulation of seasonal anomalies of atmospheric circulation using coupled atmosphere-ocean model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tolstykh, M. A.; Diansky, N. A.; Gusev, A. V.; Kiktev, D. B.

2014-03-01

A coupled atmosphere-ocean model intended for the simulation of coupled circulation at time scales up to a season is developed. The semi-Lagrangian atmospheric general circulation model of the Hydrometeorological Centre of Russia, SLAV, is coupled with the sigma model of ocean general circulation developed at the Institute of Numerical Mathematics, Russian Academy of Sciences (INM RAS), INMOM. Using this coupled model, numerical experiments on ensemble modeling of the atmosphere and ocean circulation for up to 4 months are carried out using real initial data for all seasons of an annual cycle in 1989-2010. Results of these experiments are compared to the results of the SLAV model with the simple evolution of the sea surface temperature. A comparative analysis of seasonally averaged anomalies of atmospheric circulation shows prospects in applying the coupled model for forecasts. It is shown with the example of the El Niño phenomenon of 1997-1998 that the coupled model forecasts the seasonally averaged anomalies for the period of the nonstationary El Niño phase significantly better.

Three-pattern decomposition of global atmospheric circulation: part II—dynamical equations of horizontal, meridional and zonal circulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Shujuan; Cheng, Jianbo; Xu, Ming; Chou, Jifan

2018-04-01

The three-pattern decomposition of global atmospheric circulation (TPDGAC) partitions three-dimensional (3D) atmospheric circulation into horizontal, meridional and zonal components to study the 3D structures of global atmospheric circulation. This paper incorporates the three-pattern decomposition model (TPDM) into primitive equations of atmospheric dynamics and establishes a new set of dynamical equations of the horizontal, meridional and zonal circulations in which the operator properties are studied and energy conservation laws are preserved, as in the primitive equations. The physical significance of the newly established equations is demonstrated. Our findings reveal that the new equations are essentially the 3D vorticity equations of atmosphere and that the time evolution rules of the horizontal, meridional and zonal circulations can be described from the perspective of 3D vorticity evolution. The new set of dynamical equations includes decomposed expressions that can be used to explore the source terms of large-scale atmospheric circulation variations. A simplified model is presented to demonstrate the potential applications of the new equations for studying the dynamics of the Rossby, Hadley and Walker circulations. The model shows that the horizontal air temperature anomaly gradient (ATAG) induces changes in meridional and zonal circulations and promotes the baroclinic evolution of the horizontal circulation. The simplified model also indicates that the absolute vorticity of the horizontal circulation is not conserved, and its changes can be described by changes in the vertical vorticities of the meridional and zonal circulations. Moreover, the thermodynamic equation shows that the induced meridional and zonal circulations and advection transport by the horizontal circulation in turn cause a redistribution of the air temperature. The simplified model reveals the fundamental rules between the evolution of the air temperature and the horizontal, meridional

An Examination of the Hadley Sea-Surface Temperature Time Series for the Nino 3.4 Region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, Robert M.

2010-01-01

The Hadley sea-surface temperature (HadSST) dataset is investigated for the interval 1871-2008. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the degree of success in identifying and characterizing El Nino (EN) southern (ENSO) extreme events, both EN and La Nina (LN) events. Comparisons are made against both the Southern Oscillation Index for the same time interval and with published values of the Oceanic Nino Index for the interval since 1950. Some 60 ENSO extreme events are identified in the HadSST dataset, consisting of 33 EN and 27 LN events. Also, preferential associations are found to exist between the duration of ENSO extreme events and their maximum anomalous excursion temperatures and between the recurrence rate for an EN event and the duration of the last known EN event. Because the present ongoing EN is a strong event, it should persist 11 months or longer, inferring that the next EN event should not be expected until June 2012 or later. Furthermore, the decadal sum of EN-related months is found to have increased somewhat steadily since the decade of 1920-1929, suggesting that the present decade (2010-2019) possibly will see about 3-4 EN events, totaling about 37 +/- 3 EN-related months (i.e., months that meet the definition for the occurrence of an EN event).

Effects of Solar Dimming and Brightening on the Terrestrial Carbon Sink

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mercado, L. M.; Bellouin, N.; Sitch, S.; Boucher, O.; Huntingford, C.; Cox, P. M.

2008-12-01

A decrease in total solar radiation (Liepert, 2002, Stanhill and Cohen, 2001, Wild et al., 2005) has been observed at the earth surface over the 1950-1990 period, called solar dimming. Such dimming gradually started to transform into brightening in some regions of the world since the late 1980s (Wild et al. 2005). Both dimming and brightening are likely to be linked to an increase and decrease in cloud cover and scattering and absorption of light by tropospheric and stratospheric aerosols respectively (Kvalevag and Myhre, 2007). Theoretical and observational studies have shown that plant photosynthesis of forest and crop ecosystems is more efficient under diffuse light conditions (Gu et al., 2003, Niyogi et al., 2004, Oliveira et al., 2007, Roderick et al., 2001). However, this effect has not yet been accounted for in global carbon cycle simulations because such models lack the mechanism that includes the diffuse irradiance effects on photosynthesis. The aim of this study is to estimate the impact of changes in radiation during the 1900-2100 period on land productivity and carbon storage. We use an offline version of the land surface scheme of the Hadley centre model (Mercado et al., 2007) which has been modified to account for variations of direct and diffuse radiation on sunlit and shaded canopy photosynthesis. Additionally, we use short wave and photosynthetic active radiation fields reconstructed from the Hadley centre climate model which takes into account the scattering and absorption of light by tropospheric and stratospheric aerosols. We describe the simulation of the land carbon cycle through the dimming-brightening periods, and diagnose the impact that changes in diffuse radiation had on the land carbon sink. We also discuss the implications of these results for the future land carbon-sink, under likely changes in the atmospheric aerosol loading.

Interactions between atmospheric circulation, nutrient deposition, and tropical forest primary production (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Randerson, J. T.; Chen, Y.; Rogers, B. M.; Morton, D. C.; van der Werf, G.; Mahowald, N. M.

2010-12-01

Tropical forests influence regional and global climate by means of several pathways, including by modifying surface energy exchange and by forming clouds. High levels of precipitation, leaching, and soil weathering limit nutrient availability in these ecosystems. Phosphorus (P) is a key element limiting net primary production, and in some areas, including forests recovering from prior disturbance, nitrogen (N) also may limit some components of production. Here we quantified atmospheric P and N inputs to these forests from fires using satellite-derived estimates of emissions and atmospheric models. In Africa and South America, cross-biome transport of fire-emitted aerosols and reactive N gases from savannas and areas near the deforestation frontier increased deposition of P and N in interior forests. Equatorward atmospheric transport during the dry (fire) season in one hemisphere was linked with surface winds moving toward the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) in the other hemisphere. Deposition levels were higher in tropical forests in Africa than in South America because of large savanna areas with high levels of fire emissions in both southern and northern Africa. We conclude by describing a potential feedback loop by which equatorward transport of fire emissions, dust, and spores sustains the productivity of tropical forests. We specifically assessed evidence that savanna-to-forest atmospheric transport of nutrients increases forest productivity, height, and rates of evapotranspiration (ET). In parallel, we examined the degree to which increases in ET and surface roughness in tropical forests have the potential to strengthen several components of the Hadley circulation, including deep convection, equatorward return flow (near the surface), and the intensity of seasonal drought in the subtropics (thereby increasing fires). These interactions are important for understanding biogeochemical - climate interactions on millennial timescales and for quantifying how

End-of-century projections of North American atmospheric river events in CMIP5 climate models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warner, M.; Mass, C.; Salathe, E. P., Jr.

2013-12-01

Most extreme precipitation events that occur along the North American west coast are associated with narrow plumes of above-average water vapor concentration that stretch from the tropics or subtropics to the West Coast. These events generally occur during the wet season (October-March) and are referred to as atmospheric rivers (AR). ARs can cause major river management problems, damage from flooding or landslides, and loss of life. It is expected that anthropogenic global warming could lead to changes in the general circulation of the atmosphere, such as Hadley Cell expansion and jet stream and storm track shifts. Since AR events are associated with cyclonic activity that originates near and propagates along the jet stream, the jet stream configuration influences the frequency and location of AR landfall along the North American west coast. Therefore, it is probable that any changes in the general circulation of the atmosphere will result in changes in the frequency, orientation, and location of AR landfalls. Generally, along the West Coast, CMIP5 models predict increases in integrated water vapor and precipitation, and little change in low-level wind associated with AR events. In this study, CMIP5 RCP 8.5 climate models and high resolution regional climate models are used to analyze predicted changes in frequency and location of AR events impacting the West Coast from the contemporary period (1970-1999) to the end of this century (2070-2099).

Trends of atmospheric black carbon concentration over the United Kingdom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Vikas; Ravindra, Khaiwal; Sahu, Lokesh; Sokhi, Ranjeet

2018-04-01

The continuous observations over a period of 7 years (2009-2016) available at 7 locations show declining trend of atmospheric BC in the UK. Among all the locations, the highest decrease of 8 ± 3 percent per year was observed at the Marylebone road in London. The detailed analysis performed at 21 locations during 2009-2011 shows that average annual mean atmospheric BC concentration were 0.45 ± 0.10, 1.47 ± 0.58, 1.34 ± 0.31, 1.83 ± 0.46 and 9.72 ± 0.78 μgm-3 at rural, suburban, urban background, urban centre and kerbside sites respectively. Around 1 μgm-3 of atmospheric BC could be attributed to urban emission, whereas traffic contributed up to 8 μg m-3 of atmospheric BC near busy roads. Seasonal pattern was also observed at all locations except rural and kerbside location, with maximum concentrations (1.2-4 μgm-3) in winter. Further, minimum concentrations (0.3-1.2 μgm-3) were observed in summer and similar concentrations in spring and fall. At suburban and urban background locations, similar diurnal pattern were observed with atmospheric BC concentration peaks (≈1.8 μg m-3) in the morning (around 9 a.m.) and evening (7-9 p.m.) rush hours, whereas minimum concentrations were during late night hours (peak at 5 a.m.) and the afternoon hours (peak at 2 p.m.). The urban centre values show a similar morning pattern (peak at 9 a.m.; concentration - 2.5 μgm-3) in relation to background locations but only a slight decrease in concentration in the afternoon which remained above 2 μgm-3 till midnight. It is concluded that the higher flow of traffic at urban centre locations results in higher atmospheric BC concentrations throughout the day. Comparison of weekday and weekend daily averaged atmospheric BC showed maximum concentrations on Friday, having minimum levels on Sunday. This study will help to refine the atmospheric BC emission inventories and provide data for air pollution and climate change models evaluation, which are used to formulate air pollution

Potential effects of climate change on ground water in Lansing, Michigan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Croley, T.E.; Luukkonen, C.L.

2003-01-01

Computer simulations involving general circulation models, a hydrologic modeling system, and a ground water flow model indicate potential impacts of selected climate change projections on ground water levels in the Lansing, Michigan, area. General circulation models developed by the Canadian Climate Centre and the Hadley Centre generated meteorology estimates for 1961 through 1990 (as a reference condition) and for the 20 years centered on 2030 (as a changed climate condition). Using these meteorology estimates, the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory's hydrologic modeling system produced corresponding period streamflow simulations. Ground water recharge was estimated from the streamflow simulations and from variables derived from the general circulation models. The U.S. Geological Survey developed a numerical ground water flow model of the Saginaw and glacial aquifers in the Tri-County region surrounding Lansing, Michigan. Model simulations, using the ground water recharge estimates, indicate changes in ground water levels. Within the Lansing area, simulated ground water levels in the Saginaw aquifer declined under the Canadian predictions and increased under the Hadley.

Comparison of three ice cloud optical schemes in climate simulations with community atmospheric model version 5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Wenjie; Peng, Yiran; Wang, Bin; Yi, Bingqi; Lin, Yanluan; Li, Jiangnan

2018-05-01

A newly implemented Baum-Yang scheme for simulating ice cloud optical properties is compared with existing schemes (Mitchell and Fu schemes) in a standalone radiative transfer model and in the global climate model (GCM) Community Atmospheric Model Version 5 (CAM5). This study systematically analyzes the effect of different ice cloud optical schemes on global radiation and climate by a series of simulations with a simplified standalone radiative transfer model, atmospheric GCM CAM5, and a comprehensive coupled climate model. Results from the standalone radiative model show that Baum-Yang scheme yields generally weaker effects of ice cloud on temperature profiles both in shortwave and longwave spectrum. CAM5 simulations indicate that Baum-Yang scheme in place of Mitchell/Fu scheme tends to cool the upper atmosphere and strengthen the thermodynamic instability in low- and mid-latitudes, which could intensify the Hadley circulation and dehydrate the subtropics. When CAM5 is coupled with a slab ocean model to include simplified air-sea interaction, reduced downward longwave flux to surface in Baum-Yang scheme mitigates ice-albedo feedback in the Arctic as well as water vapor and cloud feedbacks in low- and mid-latitudes, resulting in an overall temperature decrease by 3.0/1.4 °C globally compared with Mitchell/Fu schemes. Radiative effect and climate feedback of the three ice cloud optical schemes documented in this study can be referred for future improvements on ice cloud simulation in CAM5.

Constraining the Late Miocene paleo-CO2 estimates through GCM model-data comparisons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bradshaw, Catherine; Pound, Matthew; Lunt, Daniel; Flecker, Rachel; Salzmann, Ulrich; Haywood, Alan; Riding, James; Francis, Jane

2010-05-01

The period following the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum experienced a continued downward trend in the δ18O record - a record acknowledged as a proxy indicator of both ice volume and temperature (Zachos et al., 2001). Given the link between atmospheric CO2 and temperature (IPCC, 2007), it could be thought that the timeline throughout the Late Miocene would show a general decline in CO2 in accordance with the δ18O record. However, examination of the palaeo-CO2 record shows a relatively flat profile across this time, or perhaps even a slight increase, but there is a wide variation in the palaeo-CO2 estimate for the differing approximation methods. We use the fully coupled atmosphere-ocean-vegetation model of the Hadley Centre, HadCM3L, which has a low resolution ocean (Hadley Centre Coupled Model, Version 3 - low resolution ocean) with TRIFFID (Top-down Representation of Interactive Foliage and Flora Including Dynamics: Cox, 2001) to generate CO2 sensitivity scenarios for the Late Miocene: 180ppmv, 280ppmv and 400ppmv, as well as a preindustrial control simulation: 280 ppmv. We also run the BIOME4 model offline to produce predicted biome distributions for each of our scenarios. We compare both marine and terrestrial modelled temperatures, and the predicted vegetation distributions for these scenarios against available palaeodata As we simulate with a coupled dynamic ocean model, we use planktonic and benthic foraminiferal-based proxy palaeotemperature estimates to compare to the modelled marine temperatures at the depths consistent with the reconstructed palaeoecology of the foraminifera. We compare our modelled terrestrial temperatures to vegetation-based proxy palaeotemperatures, and we use a newly compiled vegetation reconstruction for the Late Miocene to compare to our modelled vegetation distributions. The new Late Miocene vegetation reconstruction is based on a 200+ point database of palaeobotanical sites. Each location is classified into a biome consistent with

Asymmetric variations in the tropical ascending branches of Hadley circulations and the associated mechanisms and effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Bo

2018-03-01

This study investigates the variations in the tropical ascending branches (TABs) of Hadley circulations (HCs) during past decades, using a variety of reanalysis datasets. The northern tropical ascending branch (NTAB) and the southern tropical ascending branch (STAB), which are defined as the ascending branches of the Northern Hemisphere HC and Southern Hemisphere HC, respectively, are identified and analyzed regarding their trends and variability. The reanalysis datasets consistently show a persistent increase in STAB during past decades, whereas they show less consistency in NTAB regarding its decadalto multidecadal variability, which generally features a decreasing trend. These asymmetric trends in STAB and NTAB are attributed to asymmetric trends in the tropical SSTs. The relationship between STAB/NTAB and tropical SSTs is further examined regarding their interannual and decadal- to multidecadal variability. On the interannual time scale, the STAB and NTAB are essentially modulated by the eastern-Pacific type of ENSO, with a strengthened (weakened) STAB (NTAB) under an El Niño condition. On the decadal- to multidecadal time scale, the variability of STAB and NTAB is closely related to the southern tropical SSTs and the meridional asymmetry of global tropical SSTs, respectively. The tropical eastern Pacific SSTs (southern tropical SSTs) dominate the tropical SST-NTAB/STAB relationship on the interannual (decadal- to multidecadal) scale, whereas the NTAB is a passive factor in this relationship. Moreover, a cross-hemispheric relationship between the NTAB/STAB and the HC upper-level meridional winds is revealed.

Transregional Collaborative Research Centre 32: Patterns in Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere-Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masbou, M.; Simmer, C.; Kollet, S.; Boessenkool, K.; Crewell, S.; Diekkrüger, B.; Huber, K.; Klitzsch, N.; Koyama, C.; Vereecken, H.

2012-04-01

The soil-vegetation-atmosphere system is characterized by non-linear exchanges of mass, momentum and energy with complex patterns, structures and processes that act at different temporal and spatial scales. Under the TR32 framework, the characterisation of these structures and patterns will lead to a deeper qualitative and quantitative understanding of the SVA system, and ultimately to better predictions of the SVA state. Research in TR32 is based on three methodological pillars: Monitoring, Modelling and Data Assimilation. Focusing our research on the Rur Catchment (Germany), patterns are monitored since 2006 continuously using existing and novel geophysical and remote sensing techniques from the local to the catchment scale based on ground penetrating radar methods, induced polarization, radiomagnetotellurics, electrical resistivity tomography, boundary layer scintillometry, lidar techniques, cosmic-ray, microwave radiometry, and precipitation radars with polarization diversity. Modelling approaches involve development of scaled consistent coupled model platform: high resolution numerical weather prediction (NWP; 400m) and hydrological models (few meters). In the second phase (2011-2014), the focus is on the integration of models from the groundwater to the atmosphere for both the m- and km-scale and the extension of the experimental monitoring in respect to vegetation. The coupled modelling platform is based on the atmospheric model COSMO, the land surface model CLM and the hydrological model ParFlow. A scale consistent two-way coupling is performed using the external OASIS coupler. Example work includes the transfer of laboratory methods to the field; the measurements of patterns of soil-carbon, evapotranspiration and respiration measured in the field; catchment-scale modeling of exchange processes and the setup of an atmospheric boundary layer monitoring network. These modern and predominantly non-invasive measurement techniques are exploited in combination

The contrasting response of Hadley circulation to different meridional structure of sea surface temperature in CMIP5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Juan; Li, Jianping; Zhu, Jianlei; Li, Yang; Li, Fei

2018-02-01

The response of the Hadley circulation (HC) to the sea surface temperature (SST) is determined by the meridional structure of SST and varies according to the changing nature of this meridional structure. The capability of the models from the phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) is utilized to represent the contrast response of the HC to different meridional SST structures. To evaluate the responses, the variations of HC and SST were linearly decomposed into two components: the equatorially asymmetric (HEA for HC, and SEA for SST) and equatorially symmetric (HES for HC, and SES for SST) components. The result shows that the climatological features of HC and tropical SST (including the spatial structures and amplitude) are reasonably simulated in all the models. However, the response contrast of HC to different SST meridional structures shows uncertainties among models. This may be due to the fact that the long-term temporal variabilities of HEA, HES, and SEA are limited reproduced in the models, although the spatial structures of their long-term variabilities are relatively reasonably simulated. These results indicate that the performance of the CMIP5 models to simulate long-term temporal variability of different meridional SST structures and related HC variations plays a fundamental role in the successful reproduction of the response of HC to different meridional SST structures.

Redistribution of vegetation zones and populations of Larix sibirica Ledb. and Pinus sylvestris L. in central Siberia in a warming climate

Treesearch

N.M. Tchebakova; G.E. Rehfeldt; E.I. Parfenova

2003-01-01

Evidence for global warming over the past 200 years is overwhelming (Hulme et al. 1999), based on both direct weather observation and indirect physical and biological indicators such as retreating glaciers and snow/ice cover, increasing sea level, and longer growing seasons (IPCC 2001). Recent GCM projections of the Hadley Centre (Gordon et al. 2000) for Siberia show...

The rise of oxygen in Earth's early ocean and atmosphere.

PubMed

Lyons, Timothy W; Reinhard, Christopher T; Planavsky, Noah J

2014-02-20

The rapid increase of carbon dioxide concentration in Earth's modern atmosphere is a matter of major concern. But for the atmosphere of roughly two-and-half billion years ago, interest centres on a different gas: free oxygen (O2) spawned by early biological production. The initial increase of O2 in the atmosphere, its delayed build-up in the ocean, its increase to near-modern levels in the sea and air two billion years later, and its cause-and-effect relationship with life are among the most compelling stories in Earth's history.

Being prepared to verify the CTBT-Atmospheric Transport modeling and radionuclide analysis at the Austrian National Data Centre during the NDC Preparedness Exercise 2009

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wotawa, Gerhard; Schraick, Irene

2010-05-01

An explosion in the Kara-Zhyra mine in Eastern Kazakhstan on 28 November 2009 around 07:20 UTC was recorded by both the CTBTO seismic and infrasound networks. This event triggered a world-wide preparedness exercise among the CTBTO National Data Centres. Within an hour after the event was selected by the German NDC, a computer program developed by NDC Austria based on weather forecasts from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and from the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) was started to analyse what Radionuclide Stations of the CTBTO International Monitoring System (IMS) would be potentially affected by the release from a nuclear explosion at this place in the course of the following 3-10 days. These calculations were daily updated to consider the observed state of the atmosphere instead of the predicted one. Based on these calculations, automated and reviewed radionuclide reports from the potentially affected stations as produced by the CTBTO International Data Centre (IDC) were looked at. An additional analysis of interesting spectra was provided by the Seibersdorf Laboratories. Based on all the results coming in, no evidence whatsoever was found that the explosion in Kazakhstan was nuclear. This is in accordance with ground truth information saying that the event was caused by the detonation of more than 53 Tons of explosives as part of mining operations. A number of conclusions can be drawn from this exercise. First, the international, bilateral as well as national mechanisms and procedures in place for such an event worked smoothly. Second, the products and services from the CTBTO IDC proved to be very useful to assist the member states in their verification efforts. Last but not least, issues with the availability of data from IMS radionuclide stations do remain.

Atmospheric 7Be Concentration Changes as a Possible New Indicator for Early Warning on Indian Monsoon Onset

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terzi, L.; Kalinowski, M.; Schoeppner, M.; kusmierczyk-michulec, J.

2017-12-01

With 80 radionuclide detector systems worldwide, the International Monitoring System (IMS) offers an unprecedented opportunity to use 7Be as an aerosol tracer for global atmospheric cell dynamics. Meteorological processes such as ENSO onset, ITCZ shift, location and progression of Hadley-Ferrel cell convergence zone (HFCZ) have been reconstructed using long term timeseries of ground based 7Be observations. Cross correlation of 7Be activity concentrations also demonstrated to serve as an early warning indicator for Indian monsoons showing a possible 30-day warning prior to monsoon onset (Terzi and Kalinowski, 2017). Here we present what role phenomena that we can observe with 7Be, namely ITCZ and HFCZ, play in monsoon formation and how the prediction of monsoon onset relates to ENSO prediction. Performance, lead time and reliability of 7Be as monsoon onset indicator are then compared to current meteorological indicators. Near surface 7Be activity concentrations may help address outstanding challenges in monsoon research by integrating a new perspective across disciplines.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chemke, Rei; Kaspi, Yohai, E-mail: rei.chemke@weizmann.ac.il

The many recently discovered terrestrial exoplanets are expected to hold a wide range of atmospheric masses. Here the dynamic-thermodynamic effects of atmospheric mass on atmospheric circulation are studied using an idealized global circulation model by systematically varying the atmospheric surface pressure. On an Earth analog planet, an increase in atmospheric mass weakens the Hadley circulation and decreases its latitudinal extent. These changes are found to be related to the reduction of the convective fluxes and net radiative cooling (due to the higher atmospheric heat capacity), which, respectively, cool the upper troposphere at mid-low latitudes and warm the troposphere at highmore » latitudes. These together decrease the meridional temperature gradient, tropopause height and static stability. The reduction of these parameters, which play a key role in affecting the flow properties of the tropical circulation, weakens and contracts the Hadley circulation. The reduction of the meridional temperature gradient also decreases the extraction of mean potential energy to the eddy fields and the mean kinetic energy, which weakens the extratropical circulation. The decrease of the eddy kinetic energy decreases the Rhines wavelength, which is found to follow the meridional jet scale. The contraction of the jet scale in the extratropics results in multiple jets and meridional circulation cells as the atmospheric mass increases.« less

Sensitivity of South American tropical climate to Last Glacial Maximum boundary conditions: focus on teleconnections with tropics and extratropics (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khodri, M.; Kageyama, M.; Roche, D. M.

2009-12-01

Proxy data over tropical latitudes for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) has been interpreted as a southward shift of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and so far linked to a mechanism analogous to the modern day “meridional-mode” in the Atlantic Ocean. Here we have explored alternative mechanisms, related to the direct impact of the LGM global changes in the dry static stability on tropical moist deep convection. We have used a coupled ocean-atmosphere model capable of capturing the thermodynamical structure of the atmosphere and the tropical component of the Hadley and Walker circulations. In each experiment, we have applied either all the LGM forcings, or the individual contributions of greenhouse gases (GHG) concentrations, ice sheet topography and/or albedo to explore the hydrological response over tropical latitudes with a focus on South America. The dominant forcing for the LGM tropical temperature and precipitation changes is found to be due to the reduced GHG, through the direct effect of reduced radiative heating (Clausius-Clapeyron relationship). The LGM GHG is also responsible for increased extra-tropical static stability which strengthens the Hadley Cell. Stronger subsidence over northern tropics then produces an amplification of the northern tropics drying initially due to the direct cooling effect. The land ice sheet is also able to promote the Hadley cell feedback mostly via the topographic effect on the extra-tropical dry static stability and on the position of the subtropical jets. Our results therefore suggest that the communication between the extratropics and the tropics is tighter during LGM and does not necessarily rely on the “meridional-mode” mechanism. The Hadley cell response is constrained by the requirement that diabatic heating in the tropics balances cooling in subtropics. We show that such extratropics-tropics dependence is stronger at the LGM because of the stronger perturbation of northern extra tropical thermal and

Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement: U.S. Lake Erie Natural Gas Resource Development in Offshore Waters of New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-11-01

by the Wabash River faults in southeast Illinois and suggests control by basement faults (Hadley and Devine 1974). A smaller cluster of epicenters...E.2). Anthropogenic input to Lake Erie of mercury, lead, zinc, and cadmium exceeds that derived from natural weathering and atmospheric deposition

Tropical Pacific moisture variability: Its detection, synoptic structure and consequences in the general circulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcguirk, James P.

1990-01-01

Satellite data analysis tools are developed and implemented for the diagnosis of atmospheric circulation systems over the tropical Pacific Ocean. The tools include statistical multi-variate procedures, a multi-spectral radiative transfer model, and the global spectral forecast model at NMC. Data include in-situ observations; satellite observations from VAS (moisture, infrared and visible) NOAA polar orbiters (including Tiros Operational Satellite System (TOVS) multi-channel sounding data and OLR grids) and scanning multichannel microwave radiometer (SMMR); and European Centre for Medium Weather Forecasts (ECHMWF) analyses. A primary goal is a better understanding of the relation between synoptic structures of the area, particularly tropical plumes, and the general circulation, especially the Hadley circulation. A second goal is the definition of the quantitative structure and behavior of all Pacific tropical synoptic systems. Finally, strategies are examined for extracting new and additional information from existing satellite observations. Although moisture structure is emphasized, thermal patterns are also analyzed. Both horizontal and vertical structures are studied and objective quantitative results are emphasized.

Performance of a reconfigured atmospheric general circulation model at low resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, Xinyu; Zhou, Tianjun; Wang, Shaowu; Wang, Bin; Wan, Hui; Li, Jian

2007-07-01

Paleoclimate simulations usually require model runs over a very long time. The fast integration version of a state-of-the-art general circulation model (GCM), which shares the same physical and dynamical processes but with reduced horizontal resolution and increased time step, is usually developed. In this study, we configure a fast version of an atmospheric GCM (AGCM), the Grid Atmospheric Model of IAP/LASG (Institute of Atmospheric Physics/State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics), at low resolution (GAMIL-L, hereafter), and compare the simulation results with the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis and other data to examine its performance. GAMIL-L, which is derived from the original GAMIL, is a finite difference AGCM with 72×40 grids in longitude and latitude and 26 vertical levels. To validate the simulated climatology and variability, two runs were achieved. One was a 60-year control run with fixed climatological monthly sea surface temperature (SST) forcing, and the other was a 50-yr (1950 2000) integration with observational time-varying monthly SST forcing. Comparisons between these two cases and the reanalysis, including intra-seasonal and inter-annual variability are also presented. In addition, the differences between GAMIL-L and the original version of GAMIL are also investigated. The results show that GAMIL-L can capture most of the large-scale dynamical features of the atmosphere, especially in the tropics and mid latitudes, although a few deficiencies exist, such as the underestimated Hadley cell and thereby the weak strength of the Asia summer monsoon. However, the simulated mean states over high latitudes, especially over the polar regions, are not acceptable. Apart from dynamics, the thermodynamic features mainly depend upon the physical parameterization schemes. Since the physical package of GAMIL-L is exactly the same as the original high-resolution version of GAMIL, in which the NCAR Community

Influence of SST anomalies in low latitudes on atmospheric heat transport to the Arctic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alekseev, Genrikh; Kuzmina, Svetlana; Glok, Natalia

2017-04-01

The purpose of the study is to assess the influence of SST anomalies in the low latitudes of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans to climatic change of the winter atmospheric meridional heat transport (MAHT) to the Arctic and to propose the mechanisms of this influence. Estimates of sensible and latent heat transport to the Arctic through the "Atlantic Gate" at 70 ° N in winter (December-February) 1980-2015 fulfilled on base ERA / Interim and monthly SST from HadISST were used. Multi-dimensional cross-correlation analysis was applied. The area and month in each ocean were found with maximal correlations between SST and winter MAHT. Mean SST in selected areas for each month of 1980-2015 were calculated and its correlations with MAHT were estimated. The correlation coefficients equal from 0.57 to 0.42, and after removing the noise increased up to 0.75 with MAHT lag from 27 to 30 months. The SST and MAHT series include together with positive trend the 5-7 years fluctuations. The mechanism of SST anomalies influence on winter MAHT to the Arctic includes the interaction of atmospheric (Hadley and Ferrel circulations, jet streams, NAO) and oceanic (Gulf Stream, the North Atlantic, the Norwegian currents) circulation patterns. To justify the proposed scheme the evaluation of the links between SST anomalies, the NAO index, the Atlantic water inflow to the Barents Sea, are investigated. The study is supported with RFBR project 15-05-03512.

The Atmospheric Dynamics of Venus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sánchez-Lavega, Agustín; Lebonnois, Sebastien; Imamura, Takeshi; Read, Peter; Luz, David

2017-11-01

We review our current knowledge of the atmospheric dynamics of Venus prior to the Akatsuki mission, in the altitude range from the surface to approximately the cloud tops located at about 100 km altitude. The three-dimensional structure of the wind field in this region has been determined with a variety of techniques over a broad range of spatial and temporal scales (from the mesoscale to planetary, from days to years, in daytime and nighttime), spanning a period of about 50 years (from the 1960s to the present). The global panorama is that the mean atmospheric motions are essentially zonal, dominated by the so-called super-rotation (an atmospheric rotation that is 60 to 80 times faster than that of the planetary body). The zonal winds blow westward (in the same direction as the planet rotation) with a nearly constant speed of ˜ 100 m s^{-1} at the cloud tops (65-70 km altitude) from latitude 50°N to 50°S, then decreasing their speeds monotonically from these latitudes toward the poles. Vertically, the zonal winds decrease with decreasing altitude towards velocities ˜ 1-3 m s^{-1} in a layer of thickness ˜ 10 km close to the surface. Meridional motions with peak speeds of ˜ 15 m s^{-1} occur within the upper cloud at 65 km altitude and are related to a Hadley cell circulation and to the solar thermal tide. Vertical motions with speeds ˜1-3 m s^{-1} occur in the statically unstable layer between altitudes of ˜ 50 - 55 km. All these motions are permanent with speed variations of the order of ˜10%. Various types of wave, from mesoscale gravity waves to Rossby-Kelvin planetary scale waves, have been detected at and above cloud heights, and are considered to be candidates as agents for carrying momentum that drives the super-rotation, although numerical models do not fully reproduce all the observed features. Momentum transport by atmospheric waves and the solar tide is thought to be an indispensable component of the general circulation of the Venus atmosphere

Latitudinal Variation of Germane in Jovian Atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hyder, A.; Lunine, J. I.; Wang, D.

2017-12-01

Wang et al (2016) presented a chemical-dynamical model for Jupiter's atmosphere that predicted abundances of Germane and other disequilibrium species as a function of latitude, under the assumption that only vertical transport is relevant and no horizontal advection occurs. The model disagrees with the latitudinal distributions derived from high-resolution spectral data acquired from the CRIRES instrument at the VLT as described in Giles et al. 2017. Wang et al. 2016 predicts a maximum molar abundance of Germane at (0.7±0.2) ppb with depletion at higher latitudes, while Giles et al. 2017 predicts a constant molar abundance of Germane at 0.58 ppb with no depletion. We explore an empirical horizontal term for the diffusive transport coefficient as a function of latitude, which does not produce a satisfactory result unless highly arbitrary variations of the vertical eddy mixing term as a function of latitude are imposed. We therefore also explore a horizontal wind from the equator that produces a constant latitudinal profile by transporting Germane-rich gas to the poles, effectively producing a Hadley cell. References: Giles, R. S., Fletcher, L. N., & Irwin, P. G. (2017). Latitudinal variability in Jupiter's tropospheric disequilibrium species: GeH 4, AsH 3 and PH 3. Icarus, 289, 254-269. Wang, D., Lunine, J.I., Mousis, O., 2016. Modeling the disequilibrium species for Jupiter and Saturn: implications for Juno and Saturn entry probe. Icarus 276, 21-38.

Mesoscale simulations of atmospheric flow and tracer transport in Phoenix, Arizona

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ge; Ostoja-Starzewski, Martin

2006-09-01

Large urban centres located within confining rugged or complex terrain can frequently experience episodes of high concentrations of lower atmospheric pollution. Metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona (United States), is a good example, as the general population is occasionally subjected to high levels of lower atmospheric ozone, carbon monoxide and suspended particulate matter. As a result of dramatic but continuous increase in population, the accompanying environmental stresses and the local atmospheric circulation that dominates the background flow, an accurate simulation of the mesoscale pollutant transport across Phoenix and similar urban areas is becoming increasingly important. This is particularly the case in an airshed, such as that of Phoenix, where the local atmospheric circulation is complicated by the complex terrain of the area.

Decadal-timescale changes of the Atlantic overturning circulation and climate in a coupled climate model with a hybrid-coordinate ocean component

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Persechino, A.; Marsh, R.; Sinha, B.; Megann, A. P.; Blaker, A. T.; New, A. L.

2012-08-01

A wide range of statistical tools is used to investigate the decadal variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and associated key variables in a climate model (CHIME, Coupled Hadley-Isopycnic Model Experiment), which features a novel ocean component. CHIME is as similar as possible to the 3rd Hadley Centre Coupled Model (HadCM3) with the important exception that its ocean component is based on a hybrid vertical coordinate. Power spectral analysis reveals enhanced AMOC variability for periods in the range 15-30 years. Strong AMOC conditions are associated with: (1) a Sea Surface Temperature (SST) anomaly pattern reminiscent of the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) response, but associated with variations in a northern tropical-subtropical gradient; (2) a Surface Air Temperature anomaly pattern closely linked to SST; (3) a positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)-like pattern; (4) a northward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The primary mode of AMOC variability is associated with decadal changes in the Labrador Sea and the Greenland Iceland Norwegian (GIN) Seas, in both cases linked to the tropical activity about 15 years earlier. These decadal changes are controlled by the low-frequency NAO that may be associated with a rapid atmospheric teleconnection from the tropics to the extratropics. Poleward advection of salinity anomalies in the mixed layer also leads to AMOC changes that are linked to processes in the Labrador Sea. A secondary mode of AMOC variability is associated with interannual changes in the Labrador and GIN Seas, through the impact of the NAO on local surface density.

The Carbon-Land Model Intercomparison Project (C-LAMP): A Model-Data Comparison System for Evaluation of Coupled Biosphere-Atmosphere Models

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hoffman, Forrest M; Randerson, Jim; Thornton, Peter E

2009-01-01

The need to capture important climate feebacks in general circulation models (GCMs) has resulted in new efforts to include atmospheric chemistry and land and ocean biogeochemistry into the next generation of production climate models, now often referred to as Earth System Models (ESMs). While many terrestrial and ocean carbon models have been coupled to GCMs, recent work has shown that such models can yield a wide range of results, suggesting that a more rigorous set of offline and partially coupled experiments, along with detailed analyses of processes and comparisons with measurements, are warranted. The Carbon-Land Model Intercomparison Project (C-LAMP) providesmore » a simulation protocol and model performance metrics based upon comparisons against best-available satellite- and ground-based measurements (Hoffman et al., 2007). C-LAMP provides feedback to the modeling community regarding model improvements and to the measurement community by suggesting new observational campaigns. C-LAMP Experiment 1 consists of a set of uncoupled simulations of terrestrial carbon models specifically designed to examine the ability of the models to reproduce surface carbon and energy fluxes at multiple sites and to exhibit the influence of climate variability, prescribed atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}), nitrogen (N) deposition, and land cover change on projections of terrestrial carbon fluxes during the 20th century. Experiment 2 consists of partially coupled simulations of the terrestrial carbon model with an active atmosphere model exchanging energy and moisture fluxes. In all experiments, atmospheric CO{sub 2} follows the prescribed historical trajectory from C{sup 4}MIP. In Experiment 2, the atmosphere model is forced with prescribed sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and corresponding sea ice concentrations from the Hadley Centre; prescribed CO{sub 2} is radiatively active; and land, fossil fuel, and ocean CO{sub 2} fluxes are advected by the model. Both sets of

Linking the South Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and the Global Monsoons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopez, H.; Dong, S.; Goni, G. J.; Lee, S. K.

2016-02-01

This study tested the hypothesis whether low frequency decadal variability of the South Atlantic meridional heat transport (SAMHT) influences decadal variability of the global monsoons. A multi-century run from a state-of-the-art coupled general circulation model is used as basis for the analysis. Our findings indicate that multi-decadal variability of the South Atlantic Ocean plays a key role in modulating atmospheric circulation via interhemispheric changes in Atlantic Ocean heat content. Weaker SAMHT produces anomalous ocean heat divergence over the South Atlantic resulting in negative ocean heat content anomaly about 15 years later. This, in turn, forces a thermally direct anomalous interhemispheric Hadley circulation in the atmosphere, transporting heat from the northern hemisphere (NH) to the southern hemisphere (SH) and moisture from the SH to the NH, thereby intensify (weaken) summer (winter) monsoon in the NH and winter (summer) monsoon in the SH. Results also show that anomalous atmospheric eddies, both transient and stationary, transport heat northward in both hemispheres producing eddy heat flux convergence (divergence) in the NH (SH) around 15-30°, reinforcing the anomalous Hadley circulation. Overall, SAMHT decadal variability leads its atmospheric response by about 15 years, suggesting that the South Atlantic is a potential predictor of global climate variability.

The Copernicus S5P Mission Performance Centre / Validation Data Analysis Facility for TROPOMI operational atmospheric data products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Compernolle, Steven; Lambert, Jean-Christopher; Langerock, Bavo; Granville, José; Hubert, Daan; Keppens, Arno; Rasson, Olivier; De Mazière, Martine; Fjæraa, Ann Mari; Niemeijer, Sander

2017-04-01

Sentinel-5 Precursor (S5P), to be launched in 2017 as the first atmospheric composition satellite of the Copernicus programme, carries as payload the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) developed by The Netherlands in close cooperation with ESA. Designed to measure Earth radiance and solar irradiance in the ultraviolet, visible and near infrared, TROPOMI will provide Copernicus with observational data on atmospheric composition at unprecedented geographical resolution. The S5P Mission Performance Center (MPC) provides an operational service-based solution for various QA/QC tasks, including the validation of S5P Level-2 data products and the support to algorithm evolution. Those two tasks are to be accomplished by the MPC Validation Data Analysis Facility (VDAF), one MPC component developed and operated at BIRA-IASB with support from S[&]T and NILU. The routine validation to be ensured by VDAF is complemented by a list of validation AO projects carried out by ESA's S5P Validation Team (S5PVT), with whom interaction is essential. Here we will introduce the general architecture of VDAF, its relation to the other MPC components, the generic and specific validation strategies applied for each of the official TROPOMI data products, and the expected output of the system. The S5P data products to be validated by VDAF are diverse: O3 (vertical profile, total column, tropospheric column), NO2 (total and tropospheric column), HCHO (tropospheric column), SO2 (column), CO (column), CH4 (column), aerosol layer height and clouds (fractional cover, cloud-top pressure and optical thickness). Starting from a generic validation protocol meeting community-agreed standards, a set of specific validation settings is associated with each data product, as well as the appropriate set of Fiducial Reference Measurements (FRM) to which it will be compared. VDAF collects FRMs from ESA's Validation Data Centre (EVDC) and from other sources (e.g., WMO's GAW, NDACC and TCCON). Data

Towards an exploitation of IAGOS atmospheric composition measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marshall, Julia; Gerbig, Christoph; Petzold, Andreas; Zahn, Andreas

2015-04-01

IAGOS, In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System, has installed instrumentation on a growing fleet of commercial airliners in order to continuously monitor atmospheric composition around the globe. IAGOS is providing accurate in situ observations of greenhouse gases (GHGs), reactive gases, aerosols, and cloud particles at high spatial resolution in the free atmosphere, thereby covering the essential climate variables (ECVs) for atmospheric composition as designated by the GCOS programme (Implementation Plan for the Global Observing System for Climate in Support of the UNFCCC, 2010). The greenhouse gas measurements made by IAGOS will be submitted to the WMO/GAW World Data Centre for Greenhouse Gases (WDCGG). Within the EU FP7 project IGAS (IAGOS for the GMES Atmospheric Service), the links between this new data stream and scientific users, including the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, are being improved. This includes the provision of measurements in both near-real-time and delayed mode, and improved accessibility to the data through linkages to the databases of both the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) flight campaign archive and the Copernicus data archive. Work has been undertaken to investigate the use of the near-real-time profile measurements in order to correct bias in satellite measurements assimilated by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service. Documentation of the QA/QC procedures and measurement techniques for each instrument have been formalized and reviewed by external experts, to provide users with a measurement traceable to WMO standards. The representativeness of the measurements has been assessed, to better interpret results in polluted regions and near the tropopause. The potential impact of the GHG measurements on regional scale flux inversions has been quantified, which is relevant for ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observing System). Finally, tools have been developed to use the measurements for validation of satellite column

Using a Very Large Ensemble to Examine the Role of the Ocean in Recent Warming Trends.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sparrow, S. N.; Millar, R.; Otto, A.; Yamazaki, K.; Allen, M. R.

2014-12-01

Results from a very large (~10,000 member) perturbed physics and perturbed initial condition ensemble are presented for the period 1980 to present. A set of model versions that can shadow recent surface and upper ocean observations are identified and the range of uncertainty in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) assessed. This experiment uses the Met Office Hadley Centre Coupled Model version 3 (HadCM3), a coupled model with fully dynamic atmosphere and ocean components as part of the climateprediction.net distributive computing project. Parameters are selected so that the model has good top of atmosphere radiative balance and simulations are run without flux adjustments that "nudge" the climate towards a realistic state, but have an adverse effect on important ocean processes. This ensemble provides scientific insights on the possible role of the AMOC, among other factors, in climate trends, or lack thereof, over the past 20 years. This ensemble is also used to explore how the occurrence of hiatus events of different durations varies for models with different transient climate response (TCR). We show that models with a higher TCR are less likely to produce a 15-year warming hiatus in global surface temperature than those with a lower TCR.

Stratiform clouds and their interaction with atmospheric motion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, John H. E.; Shirer, Hampton N.

1990-01-01

During 1989 and 1990, the researchers saw the publication of two papers and the submission of a third for review on work supported primarily by the previous contract, NAS8-36150; the delivery of an invited talk at the SIAM Conference on Dynamical Systems in Orlando, Florida; and the start of two new projects on the radiative effects of stratocumulus on the large-scale flow. The published papers discuss aspects of stratocumulus circulations (Laufersweiler and Shirer, 1989) and the Hadley to Rossby regime transition in rotating spherical systems (Higgins and Shirer, 1990). The submitted paper (Haack and Shirer, 1990) discusses a new nonlinear model of roll circulations that are forced both dynamically and thermally. The invited paper by H. N. Shirer and R. Wells presented an objective means for determining appropriate truncation levels for low-order models of flows involving two incommensurate periods; this work has application to the Hadley to Rossby transition problem in quasi-geostrophic flows (Moroz and Holmes, 1984). The new projects involve the development of a multi-layered quasi-geostrophic channel model for study of the modulation of the large-scale flow by stratocumulus clouds that typically develop off the coasts of continents. In this model the diabatic forcing in the lowest layer will change in response to the (parameterized) development of extensive fields of stratocumulus clouds. To guide creation of this parameterization scheme, researchers are producing climatologies of stratocumulus frequency and the authors correlate these frequencies with the phasing and amplitude of the large-scale flow pattern. Researchers discuss the above topics in greater detail.

Value of Bulk Heat Flux Parameterizations for Ocean SST Prediction

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-01

Generalized Digital Environmental Model ( GDEM ) climatology (NAVO- CEANO, 2003). The density difference values were chosen so that the layers tend to...Monthly mean temperature and salinity from the GDEM climatology in August are used to initialize the model. There is a relaxation to monthly mean SSS...and European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS) data are used in ERA-40. The SST/Ice data set produced by the Hadley Centre and National Oceanic and

Recent Trends of the Tropical Hydrological Cycle Inferred from Global Precipitation Climatology Project and International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhou, Y. P.; Xu, Kuan-Man; Sud, Y. C.; Betts, A. K.

2011-01-01

Scores of modeling studies have shown that increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere impact the global hydrologic cycle; however, disagreements on regional scales are large, and thus the simulated trends of such impacts, even for regions as large as the tropics, remain uncertain. The present investigation attempts to examine such trends in the observations using satellite data products comprising Global Precipitation Climatology Project precipitation and International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project cloud and radiation. Specifically, evolving trends of the tropical hydrological cycle over the last 20-30 years were identified and analyzed. The results show (1) intensification of tropical precipitation in the rising regions of the Walker and Hadley circulations and weakening over the sinking regions of the associated overturning circulation; (2) poleward shift of the subtropical dry zones (up to 2deg/decade in June-July-August (JJA) in the Northern Hemisphere and 0.3-0.7deg/decade in June-July-August and September-October-November in the Southern Hemisphere) consistent with an overall broadening of the Hadley circulation; and (3) significant poleward migration (0.9-1.7deg/decade) of cloud boundaries of Hadley cell and plausible narrowing of the high cloudiness in the Intertropical Convergence Zone region in some seasons. These results support findings of some of the previous studies that showed strengthening of the tropical hydrological cycle and expansion of the Hadley cell that are potentially related to the recent global warming trends.

On Comparing Precision Orbit Solutions of Geodetic Satellites Given Several Atmospheric Density Models

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-08-01

Astrodynamics, drag, atmospheric density, geodesy 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT UU 18. NUMBER OF PAGES 12 19a...Translation of ’Le satellite de geodesie ’Starlette’,’ Groupe de Recherches de Geodesie Spatiale, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, Bretigny-sur-Orge

[Socio-ecological study of the therapeutic milieu in a modern rehabilitation centre (author's transl)].

PubMed

Heftner, E; Höller, H

1978-11-01

The article presents a data survey carried out by means of a questionnaire, the "ward atmosphere scale" described by Moos (1966--1974), U.S.A. In Austria, the effects of socio-ecological influences are examined for the first time at the rehabilitation centre in Hochegg. The data refer to autumn 1975. At that time attempts were made at Hochegg rehabilitation centre to develop a staff-centred guidance style and a client-centred therapeutic milieu in the sense of a therapeutic community. The patients were offered therapeutic programmes which were to the greatest possible degree tailored to their individual needs whilst not interferring with the patients' spontaneity and personal initiative. The analysis of the variables used in Hochegg are illustrated and compared with the mean values of the American results. It is pointed out that studies of existing conditions performed in an endeavour to create more human working conditions, are met with disapprouval. The first results of the survey are intended to be used as the basis for the improvement of the questionnaire and are helpful in decision-making regarding the development of therapeutic styles which meet the needs of the patient, regarding staff management and architectural influences.

Atlas of the global distribution of atmospheric heating during the global weather experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schaack, Todd K.; Johnson, Donald R.

1991-01-01

Global distributions of atmospheric heating for the annual cycle of the Global Weather Experiment are estimated from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Level 3b data set. Distributions of monthly, seasonally, and annually averaged heating are presented for isentropic and isobaric layers within the troposphere and for the troposphere as a whole. The distributions depict a large-scale structure of atmospheric heating that appears spatially and temporally consistent with known features of the global circulation and the seasonal evolution.

Effects of the seasonal cycle on superrotation in planetary atmospheres

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mitchell, Jonathan L.; Vallis, Geoffrey K.; Potter, Samuel F.

2014-05-20

The dynamics of dry atmospheric general circulation model simulations forced by seasonally varying Newtonian relaxation are explored over a wide range of two control parameters and are compared with the large-scale circulation of Earth, Mars, and Titan in their relevant parameter regimes. Of the parameters that govern the behavior of the system, the thermal Rossby number (Ro) has previously been found to be important in governing the spontaneous transition from an Earth-like climatology of winds to a superrotating one with prograde equatorial winds, in the absence of a seasonal cycle. This case is somewhat unrealistic as it applies only ifmore » the planet has zero obliquity or if surface thermal inertia is very large. While Venus has nearly vanishing obliquity, Earth, Mars, and Titan (Saturn) all have obliquities of ∼25° and varying degrees of seasonality due to their differing thermal inertias and orbital periods. Motivated by this, we introduce a time-dependent Newtonian cooling to drive a seasonal cycle using idealized model forcing, and we define a second control parameter that mimics non-dimensional thermal inertia of planetary surfaces. We then perform and analyze simulations across the parameter range bracketed by Earth-like and Titan-like regimes, assess the impact on the spontaneous transition to superrotation, and compare Earth, Mars, and Titan to the model simulations in the relevant parameter regime. We find that a large seasonal cycle (small thermal inertia) prevents model atmospheres with large thermal Rossby numbers from developing superrotation by the influences of (1) cross-equatorial momentum advection by the Hadley circulation and (2) hemispherically asymmetric zonal-mean zonal winds that suppress instabilities leading to equatorial momentum convergence. We also demonstrate that baroclinic instabilities must be sufficiently weak to allow superrotation to develop. In the relevant parameter regimes, our seasonal model simulations compare

``Supemodeling" by Coupling Multiple Atmospheres to A Single Ocean Simulates Single-ITCZ Climatology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duane, G. S.; Shen, M. L.; Keenlyside, N. S.

2017-12-01

If the members of an ensemble of different models are allowed to interact with one another in run time, predictive skill can be improved as compared to that of any individual model or any average of individual model outputs. Inter-model connections in such an interactive ensemble can be trained, using historical data, so that the resulting ``supermodel" synchronizes with reality when observations are continuously assimilated, as in weather prediction. In climate-projection mode, the supermodel, after training, reproduces the attractor of the real system. We consider a variant of full supermodeling in which the models are only connected via the fluxes at the ocean-atmosphere interface. Two ECHAM atmospheres that differ in their convection parametrization schemes are thus connected to a single, shared ocean. The atmospheres partially synchronize at lower levels in the tropics, giving more realistic SST patterns than the constituent models: Although the constituent models both exhibit double ITCZ's, with cold tongues that extend too far west, the supermodel has the desired single ITCZ [Shen et al., Geophys. Res. Lett. 2016]. Here we explain the physical mechanism through which the supermodel removes even defects that are shared. One model (Nordeng) produces an unrealistically large zonal wind stress that results in upwelling of cold water and westward extension of the cold tongue. The other model (Tiedtke) produces an unrealistically small zonal wind stress that also implies a reduced wind stress curl off the equator because of Hadley-Walker coupling. The reduced wind stress curl leads to downwelling off the equator, and resultant upwelling of cold water at the equator through the tropical ocean cell. Thus the two constituent models give erroneous patterns of the same type, while the supermodel, which combines the models dynamically, avoids the error. If the models were linear, the errors of the two models would average; the success of the supermodel depends on

Quantifying the impact of El Niño-driven variations in temperature and precipitation on regional atmospheric CO2 growth rate variations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keppel-Aleks, G.; Butterfield, Z.; Doney, S. C.; Dlugokencky, E. J.; Miller, J.; Morton, D. C.

2017-12-01

Quantifying the climatic drivers of variations in atmospheric CO2 observations over a range of timescales is necessary to develop a mechanistic understanding of the global carbon cycle that will enable prediction of future changes. Here, we combine NOAA cooperative global air sampling network CO2 observations, remote sensing data, and a flux perturbation model to quantify the feedbacks between interannual variability in physical climate and the atmospheric CO2 growth rate. In particular, we focus on the differences between the 1997/1998 El Niño and the 2015/2016 El Niño during which atmospheric CO2 increased at an unprecedented rate. The flux perturbation model was trained on data from 1997 to 2012, and then used to predict regional atmospheric CO2 growth rate anomalies for the period from 2013 through 2016. Given gridded temperature anomalies from the Hadley Center's Climate Research Unit (CRU), precipitation anomalies from the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP), and fire emissions from the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFEDv4s), the model was able to the reproduce regional growth rate variations observed at marine boundary layer stations in the NOAA network, including the rapid CO2 growth rate in 2015/2016. The flux perturbation model output suggests that the carbon cycle responses differed for1997 and 2015 El Niño periods, with tropical precipitation anomalies causing a much larger net flux of CO2 to the atmosphere during the latter period, while direct fire emissions dominated the former. The flux perturbation model also suggests that high temperature stress in the Northern Hemisphere extratropics contributed almost one-third of the CO2 growth rate enhancement during the 2015 El Niño. We use satellite-based metrics for atmospheric column CO2, vegetation, and moisture to corroborate the regional El Niño impacts from the flux perturbation model. Finally, we discuss how these observational results and independent data on ocean air-sea flux

Changes in the width of the tropical belt due to simple radiative forcing changes in the GeoMIP simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Nicholas A.; Seidel, Dian J.; Birner, Thomas; Davis, Sean M.; Tilmes, Simone

2016-08-01

Model simulations of future climates predict a poleward expansion of subtropical arid climates at the edges of Earth's tropical belt, which would have significant environmental and societal impacts. This expansion may be related to the poleward shift of the Hadley cell edges, where subsidence stabilizes the atmosphere and suppresses precipitation. Understanding the primary drivers of tropical expansion is hampered by the myriad forcing agents in most model projections of future climate. While many previous studies have examined the response of idealized models to simplified climate forcings and the response of comprehensive climate models to more complex climate forcings, few have examined how comprehensive climate models respond to simplified climate forcings. To shed light on robust processes associated with tropical expansion, here we examine how the tropical belt width, as measured by the Hadley cell edges, responds to simplified forcings in the Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project (GeoMIP). The tropical belt expands in response to a quadrupling of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and contracts in response to a reduction in the solar constant, with a range of a factor of 3 in the response among nine models. Models with more surface warming and an overall stronger temperature response to quadrupled carbon dioxide exhibit greater tropical expansion, a robust result in spite of inter-model differences in the mean Hadley cell width, parameterizations, and numerical schemes. Under a scenario where the solar constant is reduced to offset an instantaneous quadrupling of carbon dioxide, the Hadley cells remain at their preindustrial width, despite the residual stratospheric cooling associated with elevated carbon dioxide levels. Quadrupled carbon dioxide produces greater tropical belt expansion in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere. This expansion is strongest in austral summer and autumn. Ozone depletion has been argued to cause

Projected Changes in Evapotranspiration Rates over Northeast Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Costa, Alexandre; Guimarães, Sullyandro; Vasconcelos, Francisco, Jr.; Sales, Domingo; da Silva, Emerson

2015-04-01

Climate simulations were performed using a regional model (Regional Atmospheric Modeling System, RAMS 6.0) driven by data from one of the CMIP5 models (Hadley Centre Global Environmental Model, version 2 - Earth System, HadGEM2-ES) over two CORDEX domains (South America and Central America) for the heavy-emission scenario (RCP8.5). Potential evapotranspiraion data from the RCM and from the CMIP5 global models were analyzed over Northeast Brazil, a semiarid region with a short rainy season (usually February to May in its northern portion due to the seasonal shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone) and over which droughts are frequent. Significant changes in the potential evapotranspiration were found, with most models showing a increasing trend along the 21st century, which are expected to alter the surface water budget, increasing the current water deficit (precipitation is currently much smaller than potential evapotranspiration). Based on the projections from the majority of the models, we expect important impacts over local agriculture and water resources over Northeast Brazil.

Idealized climate change simulations with a high-resolution physical model: HadGEM3-GC2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Senior, Catherine A.; Andrews, Timothy; Burton, Chantelle; Chadwick, Robin; Copsey, Dan; Graham, Tim; Hyder, Pat; Jackson, Laura; McDonald, Ruth; Ridley, Jeff; Ringer, Mark; Tsushima, Yoko

2016-06-01

Idealized climate change simulations with a new physical climate model, HadGEM3-GC2 from The Met Office Hadley Centre are presented and contrasted with the earlier MOHC model, HadGEM2-ES. The role of atmospheric resolution is also investigated. The Transient Climate Response (TCR) is 1.9 K/2.1 K at N216/N96 and Effective Climate Sensitivity (ECS) is 3.1 K/3.2 K at N216/N96. These are substantially lower than HadGEM2-ES (TCR: 2.5 K; ECS: 4.6 K) arising from a combination of changes in the size of climate feedbacks. While the change in the net cloud feedback between HadGEM3 and HadGEM2 is relatively small, there is a change in sign of its longwave and a strengthening of its shortwave components. At a global scale, there is little impact of the increase in atmospheric resolution on the future climate change signal and even at a broad regional scale, many features are robust including tropical rainfall changes, however, there are some significant exceptions. For the North Atlantic and western Europe, the tripolar pattern of winter storm changes found in most CMIP5 models is little impacted by resolution but for the most intense storms, there is a larger percentage increase in number at higher resolution than at lower resolution. Arctic sea-ice sensitivity shows a larger dependence on resolution than on atmospheric physics.

Comparing atmosphere-land surface feedbacks from models within the tropics (CALM). Part 1: Evaluation of CMIP5 GCMs to simulate the land surface-atmosphere feedback

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, C.; Allan, R.; Kniveton, D.

2012-04-01

stronger at the seasonal timescale. These results also suggest that there are "hotspots" of high linear gradients between precipitation and soil moisture, corresponding to regions experiencing heavy rainfall. Secondly, in a comparison of these relationships across all available models, preliminary results suggest that there is high variability in the ability of the models to reproduce the observed correlations between precipitation and soil moisture. All models show weaker correlations than in the observed at daily timescales. Finally, one of the models (namely HadGEM2-ES, from the UK Met Office Hadley Centre) will be focused upon as an example case study. Here, preliminary findings suggest a difference between the model and the observations in the timings of the correlations, with the model showing the highest positive correlations when precipitation leads soil moisture by one day.

RTEMS Centre - Support and Maintenance Centre to RTEMS Operating System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva, H.; Constantino, A.; Freitas, D.; Coutinho, M.; Faustino, S.; Mota, M.; Colaço, P.; Sousa, J.; Dias, L.; Damjanovic, B.; Zulianello, M.; Rufino, J.

2009-05-01

RTEMS CENTRE - Support and Maintenance Centre to RTEMS Operating System is a joint ESA/Portuguese Task Force initiative to develop a support and maintenance centre to the Real-Time Executive for Multiprocessor Systems (RTEMS). This paper gives a high level visibility of the progress, the results obtained and the future work in the RTEMS CENTRE [6] and in the RTEMS Improvement [7] projects. RTEMS CENTRE started officially in November 2006, with the RTEMS 4.6.99.2 version. A full analysis of RTEMS operating system was produced. The architecture was analysed in terms of conceptual, organizational and operational concepts. The original objectives [1] of the centre were primarily to create and maintain technical expertise and competences in this RTOS, to develop a website to provide the European Space Community an entry point for obtaining support (http://rtemscentre.edisoft.pt), to design, develop, maintain and integrate some RTEMS support tools (Timeline Tool, Configuration and Management Tools), to maintain flight libraries and Board Support Packages, to develop a strong relationship with the World RTEMS Community and finally to produce some considerations in ARINC-653, DO-178B and ECSS E-40 standards. RTEMS Improvement is the continuation of the RTEMS CENTRE. Currently the RTEMS, version 4.8.0, is being facilitated for a future qualification. In this work, the validation material is being produced following the Galileo Software Standards Development Assurance Level B [5]. RTEMS is being completely tested, errors analysed, dead and deactivated code removed and tests produced to achieve 100% statement and decision coverage of source code [2]. The SW to exploit the LEON Memory Management Unit (MMU) hardware will be also added. A brief description of the expected implementations will be given.

Atmospheric Corrosivity at Australian and Overseas Airbases and Airports

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-07-01

climatic conditions, the correlation between the GCIA and weight loss data from aluminium alloy coupons exposed in the open at 38 sites in the US...corrosivity. The test consists of an aluminium wire wrapped around a copper bolt exposed in the atmosphere for three months; the weight loss of the wire...Abbreviations/Acronyms AAC Army Aviation Centre AB Air Base ADF Australian Defence Force AFB Air Force Base Al aluminium ANGB Air National Guard Base

Birth centre confinement at the Queen Victoria Medical Centre. I. Obstetric and neonatal outcome.

PubMed

Campbell, J; Hudson, H; Lumley, J; Morris, N; Rao, J; Spensley, J

1981-10-03

A review of hte first 175 confinements at the Queen Victoria Medical Centre Birth Centre is presented. The design, structure and function of hte Birth Centre is described and the safety of the programme demonstrated. Seventy-four pregnancies (42%) accepted for Birth Centre confinement required transfer because of antepartum or intrapartum complications. There were satisfactory obstetric and neonatal outcomes in all pregnancies. The first year's experience has allowed a reassessment of the risk factors, which will permit greater use of the Birth Centre without any increases risk to mothers or babies.

The Search for Centre

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nunes, April

2006-01-01

This paper acknowledges the importance of a dancer's centre but likewise highlights the problematic nature of the communication of this concept from dance teacher to student. After a brief introduction of orthodox approaches in finding centre, this paper suggests a method of locating centre through the ancient somatic technique.

The Mars Analysis Correction Data Assimilation (MACDA): A reference atmospheric reanalysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montabone, Luca; Read, Peter; Lewis, Stephen; Steele, Liam; Holmes, James; Valeanu, Alexandru

2016-07-01

The Mars Analysis Correction Data Assimilation (MACDA) dataset version 1.0 contains the reanalysis of fundamental atmospheric and surface variables for the planet Mars covering a period of about three Martian years (late MY 24 to early MY 27). This has been produced by data assimilation of retrieved thermal profiles and column dust optical depths from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor/Thermal Emission Spectrometer (MGS/TES), which have been assimilated into a Mars global climate model (MGCM) using the Analysis Correction scheme developed at the UK Meteorological Office. The MACDA v1.0 reanalysis is publicly available, and the NetCDF files can be downloaded from the archive at the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis/British Atmospheric Data Centre (CEDA/BADC). The variables included in the dataset can be visualised using an ad-hoc graphical user interface (the "MACDA Plotter") at the following URL: http://macdap.physics.ox.ac.uk/ MACDA is an ongoing collaborative project, and work is currently undertaken to produce version 2.0 of the Mars atmospheric reanalysis. One of the key improvements is the extension of the reanalysis period to nine martian years (MY 24 through MY 32), with the assimilation of NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter/Mars Climate Sounder (MRO/MCS) retrievals of thermal and dust opacity profiles. MACDA 2.0 is also going to be based on an improved version of the underlying MGCM and an updated scheme to fully assimilate (radiative active) tracers, such as dust and water ice.

VLF Science at Indian Centre for Space Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chakrabarti, Sandip Kumar

2016-07-01

Indian Centre for Space Physics has been monitoring VLF signals from stations around the world at its laboratories at Kolkata and Sitapur (Ionospheric and Earthquake Research Centre) as well as at several places throughout India when in a campaign mode. We have been interested to study high energy events from space, such as solar flares and gamma ray bursts. We have made studies during multiple solar eclipses and most importantly made substantial progress in the problem of lithosphere-ionosphere coupling while understanding various types of anomalies prior to major earthquakes. Other effects such as AGWs and LEPs are being studied. We have experience of two antarctic expedition and obtained VLF data from both Maitri and Bharati stations of India, which revealed, among other things, how the signal attenuation can indicate the extent of ice mass in Antarctica. We have been able to reproduce various VLF perturbation events using Atmospheric Chemical evolution model coupled with LWPC code. For instance we have reproduced solar flare induced VLF amplitude perturbation pattern by completely ab initio calculation. We also targeted the inverse problem, namely, deduction of the injected radiation spectra from space from the VLF signal alone, thereby establishing that the Earth can be used as a gigantic detector. These interesting results would be presented in my review talk.

Observing Weather in Venus's Lower Atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, E. F.; Bullock, M. A.; Chanover, N. J.; Lemmon, M. T.

2003-05-01

The rotation rate of Venus's sulfuric acid clouds is roughly 60 times greater than that of the solid surface, a phenomenon which is only partially understood. To help learn more about the details of the cloud motions, we observed Venus on three occasions near the past two inferior conjunctions at 2.3 microns, a window which transmits thermal radiation emanating from the lower scale heights of the atmosphere. Clouds block the thermal radiation in this wavelength band and show up as silhouettes on Venus's night side. We tracked atmospheric features to estimate their rates and directions. Several previous investigators have used 2.3 micron imaging to track Venus's clouds (e.g., Carlson et al. 1991, Crisp et al. 1991, Chanover et al. 1998). We compare our results to these previous investigations and to a solid-body rotator. We find no clear trend relating rotation rate to latitude. Instead, we often see local features with different rotation rates and different meridional directions from their neighbors within a latitudinal zone. These motions suggest that we are seeing snapshots of eddies in the mid-latitudes. Thick cloud cover is nearly always present at the equatorial latitudes and at both poles. The intermediate latitudes show thin cloud cover which is often broken into several narrow latitudinal ``zones,'' although these zones are certainly unlike belts and zones seen on Jupiter and Saturn, if only because (a) they are ephemeral on timescales of days and (b) they often have orientations that are up to 15 degrees away from the horizontal. As Crisp et al. (1991) suggest, these clearer regions could be the result of downwelling, possibly a manifestation of Hadley cells in the lower cloud deck. In approximately ten percent of our images we see turbulent-looking edges of the cloudy equatorial region, suggesting significant shear between adjacent latitudinal zones. Mark Bullock acknowledges support from NASA's Planetary Atmospheres and NSF's Planetary Astronomy programs

Metrics for Success in the Preservation of Scientific Data at the STFC Centre for Environmental Data Archival (CEDA).

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawrence, B.; Pepler, S.

2009-04-01

CEDA (http://www.ceda.ac.uk) hosts three main data centres: the British Atmospheric Data Centre (http://badc.nerc.ac.uk), the NERC Earth Observation Data Centre (http://neodc.nerc.ac.uk), and the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change Dedicated Data Centre (http://ipcc-data.org) as well as components of many national and international projects. CEDA recieves both core funding (from the UK Natural Environment Research Council) and per project funding (from a variety of sources). However, all funders require metrics assessing success. In the case of preservation it is hard to measure success - usage alone is not enough, since next year someone may use currently unused data if it is well preserved, and so it is the act of preservation which in this case marks success. Even where data is accessed, it is not necessarily used. Hence at CEDA we have three key focii in our approach to metrics: measuring direct website access, benchmarking procedures against best practice, and hopefully soon, recording data citation. In this presentation we cover how we are addressing each of these three areas.

Operational coupled atmosphere - ocean - ice forecast system for the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faucher, M.; Roy, F.; Desjardins, S.; Fogarty, C.; Pellerin, P.; Ritchie, H.; Denis, B.

2009-09-01

A fully interactive coupled atmosphere-ocean-ice forecasting system for the Gulf of St. Lawrence (GSL) has been running in experimental mode at the Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC) for the last two winter seasons. The goal of this project is to provide more accurate weather and sea ice forecasts over the GSL and adjacent coastal areas by including atmosphere-oceanice interactions in the CMC operational forecast system using a formal coupling strategy between two independent modeling components. The atmospheric component is the Canadian operational GEM model (Côté et al. 1998) and the oceanic component is the ocean-ice model for the Gulf of St. Lawrence developed at the Maurice Lamontagne Institute (IML) (Saucier et al. 2003, 2004). The coupling between those two models is achieved by exchanging surface fluxes and variables through MPI communication. The re-gridding of the variables is done with a package developed at the Recherche en Prevision Numerique centre (RPN, Canada). Coupled atmosphere - ocean - ice forecasts are issued once a day based on 00GMT data. Results for the past two years have demonstrated that the coupled system produces improved forecasts in and around the GSL during all seasons, proving that atmosphere-ocean-ice interactions are indeed important even for short-term Canadian weather forecasts. This has important implications for other coupled modeling and data assimilation partnerships that are in progress involving EC, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the National Defense (DND). Following this experimental phase, it is anticipated that this GSL system will be the first fully interactive coupled system to be implemented at CMC.

Atmospheric Transport Modelling and Radionuclide Analysis for the NPE 2015 scenario

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ross, J. Ole; Bollhöfer, Andreas; Heidmann, Verena; Krais, Roman; Schlosser, Clemens; Gestermann, Nicolai; Ceranna, Lars

2017-04-01

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) prohibits all kinds of nuclear explosions. The International Monitoring System (IMS) is in place and at about 90% complete to verify compliance with the CTBT. The stations of the waveform technologies are capable to detect seismic, hydro-acoustic and infrasonic signals for detection, localization, and characterization of explosions. For practicing Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) verification procedures and interplay between the International Data Centre (IDC) and National Data Centres (NDC), prepardness exercises (NPE) are regularly performed with selected events of fictitious CTBT-violation. The German NDC's expertise for radionuclide analyses and operation of station RN33 is provided by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) while Atmospheric Transport Modelling (ATM) for CTBT purposes is performed at the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) for the combination of the radionuclide findings with waveform evidence. The radionuclide part of the NPE 2015 scenario is tackled in a joint effort by BfS and BGR. First, the NPE 2015 spectra are analysed, fission products are identified, and respective activity concentrations are derived. Special focus is on isotopic ratios which allow for source characterization and event timing. For atmospheric backtracking the binary coincidence method is applied for both, SRS fields from IDC and WMO-RSMC, and for in-house backward simulations in higher resolution for the first affected samples. Results are compared with the WebGrape PSR and the spatio-temporal domain with high atmospheric release probability is determined. The ATM results together with the radionuclide fingerprint are used for identification of waveform candidate events. Comparative forward simulations of atmospheric dispersion for candidate events are performed. Finally the overall consistency of various source scenarios is assessed and a fictitious government briefing on

Masses and luminosities for 342 stars from the PennState-Toruń Centre for Astronomy Planet Search

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adamczyk, M.; Deka-Szymankiewicz, B.; Niedzielski, A.

2016-03-01

Aims: We present revised basic astrophysical stellar parameters: the masses, luminosities, ages, and radii for 342 stars from the PennState-Toruń Centre for Astronomy Planet Search. For 327 stars the atmospheric parameters were already available in the literature. For the other 15 objects we also present spectroscopic atmospheric parameters: the effective temperatures, surface gravities, and iron abundances. Methods: Spectroscopic atmospheric parameters were obtained with a standard spectroscopic analysis procedure, using ARES and MOOG, or TGVIT codes. To refine the stellar masses, ages, and luminosities, we applied a Bayesian method. Results: The revised stellar masses for 342 stars and their uncertainties are generally lower than previous estimates. Atmospheric parameters for 13 objects are determined here for the first time. Table 3 is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/587/A119

Non-linear photochemical pathways in laser-induced atmospheric aerosol formation

PubMed Central

Mongin, Denis; Slowik, Jay G.; Schubert, Elise; Brisset, Jean-Gabriel; Berti, Nicolas; Moret, Michel; Prévôt, André S. H.; Baltensperger, Urs; Kasparian, Jérôme; Wolf, Jean-Pierre

2015-01-01

We measured the chemical composition and the size distribution of aerosols generated by femtosecond-Terawatt laser pulses in the atmosphere using an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS). We show that nitric acid condenses in the form of ammonium nitrate, and that oxidized volatile organics also contribute to particle growth. These two components account for two thirds and one third, respectively, of the dry laser-condensed mass. They appear in two different modes centred at 380 nm and 150 nm. The number concentration of particles between 25 and 300 nm increases by a factor of 15. Pre-existing water droplets strongly increase the oxidative properties of the laser-activated atmosphere, substantially enhancing the condensation of organics under laser illumination. PMID:26450172

Setting up infrasonic propagation simulation using the latest real-time atmospheric specifications at the IDC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brachet, N.; Mialle, P.; Brown, D.; Coyne, J.; Drob, D.; Virieux, J.; Garcés, M.

2009-04-01

The International Data Centre (IDC) of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBTO) Preparatory Commission in Vienna is pursuing its automatic processing effort for the return of infrasound data processing into operations in 2009. Concurrently, work is also underway to further improve this process by enhancing the modeling of the infrasound propagation in the atmosphere and then by labeling the phases in order to improve the event categorization and location. In 2008, the IDC acquired WASP-3D Sph (Windy Atmospheric Sonic Propagation) (Virieux et al., 2004) a 3-D ray-tracing based long range propagation software that accounts for the heterogeneity of the atmosphere. Once adapted to the IDC environment, WASP-3 Sph has been used to improve the understanding of infrasound wave propagation and has been compared with the 1-D ray tracing Taupc software (Garcés and Drob, 2007) at the IDC. In addition to performing the infrasound propagation simulation, different atmospheric models are available at the IDC, either real-time: ECMWF (European Centre for Middle-range Weather Forecast), or empiric: HWM93 (Horizontal Wind Model) and HWM07 (Drob, 2008), used in their initial format or interpolated into G2S (Ground to Space) model. The IDC infrasound reference database is used for testing, comparing and validating the various propagation software and atmospheric specifications. Moreover all the performed simulations are giving feedback on the quality of the infrasound reference events and provide useful information to improve their location by refining infrasonic wave propagation characteristics. The results of this study are presented for a selection of reference events and they will help the IDC designing and defining short and mid-term enhancements of the infrasound automatic and interactive processing to take into account the spatial and temporal heterogeneities of the atmosphere.

The atmosphere- and hydrosphere-correlated signals in GPS observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bogusz, Janusz; Boy, Jean-Paul; Klos, Anna; Figurski, Mariusz

2015-04-01

The circulation of surface geophysical fluids (e.g. atmosphere, ocean, continental hydrology, etc.) induces global mass redistribution at the Earth's surface, and then surface deformations and gravity variations. The deformations can be reliably recorded by permanent GPS observations nowadays. The loading effects can be precisely modelled by convolving outputs from global general circulation models and Green's functions describing the Earth's response. Previously published papers showed that either surface gravity records or space-based observations can be efficiently corrected for atmospheric loading effects using surface pressure fields from atmospheric models. In a similar way, loading effects due to continental hydrology can be corrected from precise positioning observations. We evaluated 3-D displacement at the selected ITRF2008 core sites that belong to IGS (International GNSS Service) network due to atmospheric, oceanic and hydrological circulation using different models. Atmospheric and induced oceanic loading estimates were computed using the ECMWF (European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts) operational and reanalysis (ERA interim) surface pressure fields, assuming an inverted barometer ocean response or a barotropic ocean model forced by air pressure and winds (MOG2D). The IB (Inverted Barometer) hypothesis was classically chosen, in which atmospheric pressure variations are fully compensated by static sea height variations. This approximation is valid for periods exceeding typically 5 to 20 days. At higher frequencies, dynamic effects cannot be neglected. Hydrological loading were provided using MERRA land (Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications - NASA reanalysis for the satellite era using a major new version of the Goddard Earth Observing System Data Assimilation System Version 5 (GEOS-5)) for the different stations. After that we compared the results to the GPS-derived time series of North, East and Up components. The

Interannual Variability of Regional Hadley Circulation Intensity Over Western Pacific During Boreal Winter and Its Climatic Impact Over Asia-Australia Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Ruping; Chen, Shangfeng; Chen, Wen; Hu, Peng

2018-01-01

This study investigates interannual variability of boreal winter regional Hadley circulation over western Pacific (WPHC) and its climatic impacts. A WPHC intensity index (WPHCI) is defined as the vertical shear of the divergent meridional winds. It shows that WPHCI correlates well with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). To investigate roles of the ENSO-unrelated part of WPHCI (WPHCIres), variables that are linearly related to the Niño-3 index have been removed. It reveals that meridional sea surface temperature gradient over the western Pacific plays an essential role in modulating the WPHCIres. The climatic impacts of WPHCIres are further investigated. Below-normal (above-normal) precipitation appears over south China (North Australia) when WPHCIres is stronger. This is due to the marked convergence (divergence) anomalies at the upper troposphere, divergence (convergence) at the lower troposphere, and the accompanied downward (upward) motion over south China (North Australia), which suppresses (enhances) precipitation there. In addition, a pronounced increase in surface air temperature (SAT) appears over south and central China when WPHCIres is stronger. A temperature diagnostic analysis suggests that the increase in SAT tendency over central China is primarily due to the warm zonal temperature advection and subsidence-induced adiabatic heating. In addition, the increase in SAT tendency over south China is primarily contributed by the warm meridional temperature advection. Further analysis shows that the correlation of WPHCIres with the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) is weak. Thus, this study may provide additional sources besides EAWM and ENSO to improve understanding of the Asia-Australia climate variability.

Effects of unstratified and centre-stratified randomization in multi-centre clinical trials.

PubMed

Anisimov, Vladimir V

2011-01-01

This paper deals with the analysis of randomization effects in multi-centre clinical trials. The two randomization schemes most often used in clinical trials are considered: unstratified and centre-stratified block-permuted randomization. The prediction of the number of patients randomized to different treatment arms in different regions during the recruitment period accounting for the stochastic nature of the recruitment and effects of multiple centres is investigated. A new analytic approach using a Poisson-gamma patient recruitment model (patients arrive at different centres according to Poisson processes with rates sampled from a gamma distributed population) and its further extensions is proposed. Closed-form expressions for corresponding distributions of the predicted number of the patients randomized in different regions are derived. In the case of two treatments, the properties of the total imbalance in the number of patients on treatment arms caused by using centre-stratified randomization are investigated and for a large number of centres a normal approximation of imbalance is proved. The impact of imbalance on the power of the study is considered. It is shown that the loss of statistical power is practically negligible and can be compensated by a minor increase in sample size. The influence of patient dropout is also investigated. The impact of randomization on predicted drug supply overage is discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Defining and describing birth centres in the Netherlands - a component study of the Dutch Birth Centre Study.

PubMed

Hermus, M A A; Boesveld, I C; Hitzert, M; Franx, A; de Graaf, J P; Steegers, E A P; Wiegers, T A; van der Pal-de Bruin, K M

2017-07-03

During the last decade, a rapid increase of birth locations for low-risk births, other than conventional obstetric units, has been seen in the Netherlands. Internationally some of such locations are called birth centres. The varying international definitions for birth centres are not directly applicable for use within the Dutch obstetric system. A standard definition for a birth centre in the Netherlands is lacking. This study aimed to develop a definition of birth centres for use in the Netherlands, to identify these centres and to describe their characteristics. International definitions of birth centres were analysed to find common descriptions. In July 2013 the Dutch Birth Centre Questionnaire was sent to 46 selected Dutch birth locations that might qualify as birth centre. Questions included: location, reason for establishment, women served, philosophies, facilities that support physiological birth, hotel-facilities, management, environment and transfer procedures in case of referral. Birth centres were visited to confirm the findings from the Dutch Birth Centre Questionnaire and to measure distance and time in case of referral to obstetric care. From all 46 birth locations the questionnaires were received. Based on this information a Dutch definition of a birth centre was constructed. This definition reads: "Birth centres are midwifery-managed locations that offer care to low risk women during labour and birth. They have a homelike environment and provide facilities to support physiological birth. Community midwives take primary professional responsibility for care. In case of referral the obstetric caregiver takes over the professional responsibility of care." Of the 46 selected birth locations 23 fulfilled this definition. Three types of birth centres were distinguished based on their location in relation to the nearest obstetric unit: freestanding (n = 3), alongside (n = 14) and on-site (n = 6). Transfer in case of referral was necessary for all

The Wmo Global Atmosphere Watch Programme: Global Framework for Atmospheric Composition Observations and Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarasova, O. A.; Jalkanen, L.

2010-12-01

The WMO Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Programme is the only existing long-term international global programme providing an international coordinated framework for observations and analysis of the chemical composition of the atmosphere. GAW is a partnership involving contributors from about 80 countries. It includes a coordinated global network of observing stations along with supporting facilities (Central Facilities) and expert groups (Scientific Advisory Groups, SAGs and Expert Teams, ETs). Currently GAW coordinates activities and data from 27 Global Stations and a substantial number of Regional and Contributing Stations. Station information is available through the GAW Station Information System GAWSIS (http://gaw.empa.ch/gawsis/). There are six key groups of variables which are addressed by the GAW Programme, namely: ozone, reactive gases, greenhouse gases, aerosols, UV radiation and precipitation chemistry. GAW works to implement integrated observations unifying measurements from different platforms (ground based in situ and remote, balloons, aircraft and satellite) supported by modeling activities. GAW provides data for ozone assessments, Greenhouse Gas Bulletins, Ozone Bulletins and precipitation chemistry assessments published on a regular basis and for early warnings of changes in the chemical composition and related physical characteristics of the atmosphere. To ensure that observations can be used for global assessments, the GAW Programme has developed a Quality Assurance system. Five types of Central Facilities dedicated to the six groups of measurement variables are operated by WMO Members and form the basis of quality assurance and data archiving for the GAW global monitoring network. They include Central Calibration Laboratories (CCLs) that host primary standards (PS), Quality Assurance/Science Activity Centres (QA/SACs), World Calibration Centers (WCCs), Regional Calibration Centers (RCCs), and World Data Centers (WDCs) with responsibility for

A neutron star with a carbon atmosphere in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant.

PubMed

Ho, Wynn C G; Heinke, Craig O

2009-11-05

The surface of hot neutron stars is covered by a thin atmosphere. If there is accretion after neutron-star formation, the atmosphere could be composed of light elements (H or He); if no accretion takes place or if thermonuclear reactions occur after accretion, heavy elements (for example, Fe) are expected. Despite detailed searches, observations have been unable to confirm the atmospheric composition of isolated neutron stars. Here we report an analysis of archival observations of the compact X-ray source in the centre of the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant. We show that a carbon atmosphere neutron star (with low magnetic field) produces a good fit to the spectrum. Our emission model, in contrast with others, implies an emission size consistent with theoretical predictions for the radius of neutron stars. This result suggests that there is nuclear burning in the surface layers and also identifies the compact source as a very young ( approximately 330-year-old) neutron star.

Birth centre confinement at the Queen Victoria Medical Centre: four years' experience.

PubMed

Morris, N; Campbell, J; Biro, M A; Lumley, J; Rao, J; Spensley, J

1986-06-09

A review of the first four years of the functioning of the birth centre at the Queen Victoria Medical Centre is presented. In that time, 1040 pregnant women were accepted for confinement there. Of these, 52 withdrew for non-obstetric reasons, while 470 were transferred to alternative obstetrical care--274 because of antepartum complications and 196 because of intrapartum problems. Therefore, 518 women were delivered in the birth centre. The care of the women is entrusted almost entirely to a team of midwives and this review demonstrates an enviable safety record.

Modelling of The Atmospheric Chemistry of Organic Nitrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winsland, N.

Organic nitrates are linked to the formation of tropospheric ozone and the cycling and transport of nitrogen-containing species in the atmosphere. Few laboratory stud- ies have been carried out on the reactions of organic nitrates. Photolysis quantum yield studies and UV absorption spectra have been carried out for the simple alkyl nitrates and PAN. Studies of PAN and ethyl nitrate with other atmospheric components (the hydroxyl radical - OH - and the chlorine atom - Cl) have been carried out to mea- sure their rates of reaction. However, the products and mechanisms of these reactions are poorly understood. We present here the results of modelling the reactions of the C1-C8 alkyl nitrates and PAN with the hydroxyl radical. These models are based on information from current literature and from photochemical reactor studies carried out at the Environment Institute, EU Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy. These studies give us a more detailed understanding of the mechanisms and products of the atmospheric loss of organic nitrates due to reaction with the hydroxyl radical. Preliminary studies show that the major products are aldehydes, ketones, nitro-oxy aldehydes, nitro-oxy ketones, NOx and nitric acid.

Interhemispheric Changes in Atlantic Ocean Heat Content and Their Link to Global Monsoons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopez, H.; Lee, S. K.; Dong, S.; Goni, G. J.

2015-12-01

This study tested the hypothesis whether low frequency decadal variability of the South Atlantic meridional heat transport (SAMHT) influences decadal variability of the global monsoons. A multi-century run from a state-of-the-art coupled general circulation model is used as basis for the analysis. Our findings indicate that multi-decadal variability of the South Atlantic Ocean plays a key role in modulating atmospheric circulation via interhemispheric changes in Atlantic Ocean heat content. Weaker SAMHT produces anomalous ocean heat divergence over the South Atlantic resulting in negative ocean heat content anomaly about 15 years later. This, in turn, forces a thermally direct anomalous interhemispheric Hadley circulation in the atmosphere, transporting heat from the northern hemisphere (NH) to the southern hemisphere (SH) and moisture from the SH to the NH, thereby intensify (weaken) summer (winter) monsoon in the NH and winter (summer) monsoon in the SH. Results also show that anomalous atmospheric eddies, both transient and stationary, transport heat northward in both hemispheres producing eddy heat flux convergence (divergence) in the NH (SH) around 15-30°, reinforcing the anomalous Hadley circulation. The effect of eddies on the NH (SH) poleward of 30° is opposite with heat flux divergence (convergence), which must be balanced by sinking (rising) motion, consistent with a poleward (equatorward) displacement of the jet stream and mean storm track. The mechanism described here could easily be interpreted for the case of strong SAMHT, with the reverse influence on the interhemispheric atmospheric circulation and monsoons. Overall, SAMHT decadal variability leads its atmospheric response by about 15 years, suggesting that the South Atlantic is a potential predictor of global climate variability.

Improving SLCF Science in the Himalayan Region: ICIMOD's Atmosphere Initiative

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panday, A. K.; Pradhan, B. B.; Surapipith, V.

2013-12-01

What fraction of the black carbon arriving on Yala Glacier in Langtang, Nepal, is from cooking fires in the houses in the valley below? What fraction is from elsewhere in rural Nepal? What fraction is from industrial and transport sources in Kathmandu? What fraction is from northern India and beyond? What fraction is from the high altitude forest fires that take place during March or April? Effectively mitigating the impacts of black carbon and other short-lived climate forcers requires detailed understanding not just of emissions and impacts, but also of the atmospheric transport pathways that connect the two. In mountainous areas of the Hindu-Kush Himalaya detailed quantitative knowledge about emissions, atmospheric processes, and impacts is still largely missing. The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is an intergovernmental organization covering Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, China, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. ICIMOD's recently established Atmosphere Initiative not only assesses mitigation options and contributes to policy and capacity building in the region, but also works actively to promote collaboration among researchers in the region, while building up an in-house team whose research will address key questions about SLCF. In Spring 2013 ICIMOD's Atmosphere Initiative, in collaboration with the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam, Germany, carried out the largest field campaign to date in Nepal, hosting instruments belonging to dozens of institutions around the world, at nine field site within and upwind of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. The dataset that has been collected gives unprecedented insights into the emissions and atmospheric processes taking place downwind of and within the largest urban agglomeration in the Himalaya region. Meanwhile, in collaboration with national partner institutions, ICIMOD is in the process of setting up one atmospheric observatory each in Bhutan and in

Amazon Basin climate under global warming: the role of the sea surface temperature.

PubMed

Harris, Phil P; Huntingford, Chris; Cox, Peter M

2008-05-27

The Hadley Centre coupled climate-carbon cycle model (HadCM3LC) predicts loss of the Amazon rainforest in response to future anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. In this study, the atmospheric component of HadCM3LC is used to assess the role of simulated changes in mid-twenty-first century sea surface temperature (SST) in Amazon Basin climate change. When the full HadCM3LC SST anomalies (SSTAs) are used, the atmosphere model reproduces the Amazon Basin climate change exhibited by HadCM3LC, including much of the reduction in Amazon Basin rainfall. This rainfall change is shown to be the combined effect of SSTAs in both the tropical Atlantic and the Pacific, with roughly equal contributions from each basin. The greatest rainfall reduction occurs from May to October, outside of the mature South American monsoon (SAM) season. This dry season response is the combined effect of a more rapid warming of the tropical North Atlantic relative to the south, and warm SSTAs in the tropical east Pacific. Conversely, a weak enhancement of mature SAM season rainfall in response to Atlantic SST change is suppressed by the atmospheric response to Pacific SST. This net wet season response is sufficient to prevent dry season soil moisture deficits from being recharged through the SAM season, leading to a perennial soil moisture reduction and an associated 30% reduction in annual Amazon Basin net primary productivity (NPP). A further 23% NPP reduction occurs in response to a 3.5 degrees C warmer air temperature associated with a global mean SST warming.

Projected changes in rainfall and temperature over homogeneous regions of India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patwardhan, Savita; Kulkarni, Ashwini; Rao, K. Koteswara

2018-01-01

The impact of climate change on the characteristics of seasonal maximum and minimum temperature and seasonal summer monsoon rainfall is assessed over five homogeneous regions of India using a high-resolution regional climate model. Providing REgional Climate for Climate Studies (PRECIS) is developed at Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research, UK. The model simulations are carried out over South Asian domain for the continuous period of 1961-2098 at 50-km horizontal resolution. Here, three simulations from a 17-member perturbed physics ensemble (PPE) produced using HadCM3 under the Quantifying Model Uncertainties in Model Predictions (QUMP) project of Hadley Centre, Met. Office, UK, have been used as lateral boundary conditions (LBCs) for the 138-year simulations of the regional climate model under Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) A1B scenario. The projections indicate the increase in the summer monsoon (June through September) rainfall over all the homogeneous regions (15 to 19%) except peninsular India (around 5%). There may be marginal change in the frequency of medium and heavy rainfall events (>20 mm) towards the end of the present century. The analysis over five homogeneous regions indicates that the mean maximum surface air temperatures for the pre-monsoon season (March-April-May) as well as the mean minimum surface air temperature for winter season (January-February) may be warmer by around 4 °C towards the end of the twenty-first century.

Recent Science from the Cape Verde Atmospheric Observatory (CVAO)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Read, Katie; Lee, James; Punjabi, Shalini; Carpenter, Lucy; Lewis, Alastair; Moller, Sarah; Mendes Neves, Luis; Fleming, Zoe; Evans, Mat; Arnold, Steve; Hopkins, James

2013-04-01

submitted regularly on daily, monthly and yearly timescales to the World Centre for the Greenhouse Gases (WDCGG) http://gaw.kishou.go.jp/wdcgg/ in addition to the British Atmospheric Data Centre (BADC) http://badc.nerc.ac.uk/home/index.html along with associated instrument metadata. The observatory has recently been audited by GAW for O3, CO and the greenhouse gas species. Lee et al., (2010) Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 1031-1055. Carpenter et al., (2010), J. Atmos. Chem., 67, 2, 87-140. Read et al., (2012), ES & T.,46, 20, 11028-11039.

Investigation of the Moisture Recycling Ratio over South America: A Modelling Approach using HadCM3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charan Pattnayak, Kanhu; Gloor, Emanuel; Tindall, Julia; Briener, Roel

2017-04-01

It is a well-known fact that precipitation relies on terrestrial evaporation (moisture recycling). This study makes use of new definitions of moisture recycling from van der Ent, et al. 2010 to study the complete process of continental moisture feedback. Earlier studies have shown that there exist many regions over the globe that relies heavily on recycled moisture as well as that supplies moisture. In South America, the Río de la Plata basin depends on evaporation from the Amazon forest for 70% of its water resources. Stable water isotope (δ18O) can be used, as a good proxy for precipitation and it is a better tool to study convective processes and hydrological cycle. Analysing the δ18O would help to identify the moisture source for precipitation. In this study, we try to explain to the relation between δ18O and the moisture recycling ratio using atmospheric component of Hadley Centre Coupled Climate Model (HadCM3). And also we analyse the impact of land cover change on δ18O and the moisture recycling ratio. Further, we will analyse the changes of moisture recycling pattern from pre-industrial to the present scenario.

Changes of tropical cyclone landfalls in South China throughout the twenty-first century

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lok, Charlie C. F.; Chan, Johnny C. L.

2017-12-01

The nested regional climate/mesoscale modelling system developed by the authors is applied to the Hadley Centre Global Environment Model version 2-Earth System global model outputs to project future changes of landfalling tropical cyclone (TC) activity in the South China region. Results show that the modelling system is capable of reproducing the current TC landfall climatology, although it exhibits a noticeable southward bias of TC activity of in the western North Pacific. Future projections show a continuous northward migration of TC activity in the western North Pacific throughout the twenty-first century. Fewer TCs making landfall in South China are projected in the late century, but these landfalling TCs tend to be more intense. Investigations in the large-scale environment suggest that despite warmer sea surface temperature and weaker vertical wind shear, the drier and less cyclonic lower atmosphere all-season is responsible for the reduced TC activity. However, once a TC is formed, the environment it stays in is as wet as today and so it can intensify further than the present-day TCs. Inter-annual variability is also explored, and the influence of the ENSO variation appears to be smaller.

Is microbiolgy an alternative route to photochemistry in atmospheric chemistry?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaitilingom, M.; Parazols, M.; Sancelme, M.; Deguillaume, L.; Mailhot, G.; Delort, A.-M.

2009-04-01

Until very recently scientists from atmospheric sciences focussed their studies on physical and chemical phenomena taking place in cloud water phase neglecting the presence of active microorganisms in this medium. For instance, considering atmospheric chemistry, solar light is considered as the predominant catalyser for chemical reactions occurring in the atmosphere. However recent studies show that living and active microorganisms, including bacteria, yeasts and fungi, are present in the atmospheric water phase and could play an active role in chemistry of clouds. Indeed living microorganisms are clearly biocatalysts which could transform organic compounds as an alternative route to photochemistry. The objective of our project is to bring answers to this new scientific question by a multidisciplinary approach involving atmospheric physicists, photochemists and microbiologists. Microorganisms have been isolated and identified in cloud water sampled at the puy de Dôme summit which is an atmospheric observatory and a European referenced site. Laboratory experiments were carried out to evaluate the potential of organic species (carboxylic acids) degradation by the photochemical or microbiological ways. The project was centred on few carboxylic acids among them succinic, acetic, formic and oxalic acids (the most important organic acids in cloud water sampled at Puy de Dôme). Degradation rates were measured during biodegradation alone (Pseudomonas syringae), photochemistry alone (hydrogen peroxide + light) and combing both processed using artificial reconstituted cloud water. Our first results show that the obtained degradation rates are in the range of order.

Galileo infrared imaging spectroscopy measurements at venus

USGS Publications Warehouse

Carlson, R.W.; Baines, K.H.; Encrenaz, Th.; Taylor, F.W.; Drossart, P.; Kamp, L.W.; Pollack, James B.; Lellouch, E.; Collard, A.D.; Calcutt, S.B.; Grinspoon, D.; Weissman, P.R.; Smythe, W.D.; Ocampo, A.C.; Danielson, G.E.; Fanale, F.P.; Johnson, T.V.; Kieffer, H.H.; Matson, D.L.; McCord, T.B.; Soderblom, L.A.

1991-01-01

During the 1990 Galileo Venus flyby, the Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer investigated the night-side atmosphere of Venus in the spectral range 0.7 to 5.2 micrometers. Multispectral images at high spatial resolution indicate substantial cloud opacity variations in the lower cloud levels, centered at 50 kilometers altitude. Zonal and meridional winds were derived for this level and are consistent with motion of the upper branch of a Hadley cell. Northern and southern hemisphere clouds appear to be markedly different. Spectral profiles were used to derive lower atmosphere abundances of water vapor and other species.

Tropical teleconnections via the ocean and atmosphere induced by Southern Ocean deep convective events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marinov, I.; Cabre, A.; Gunn, A.; Gnanadesikan, A.

2016-12-01

The current generation (CMIP5) of Earth System Models (ESMs) shows a huge variability in their ability to represent Southern Ocean (SO) deep-ocean convection and Antarctic Bottom Water, with a preference for open-sea convection in the Weddell and Ross gyres. A long control simulation in a coarse 3o resolution ESM (the GFDL CM2Mc model) shows a highly regular multi-decadal oscillation between periods of SO open sea convection and non-convective periods. This process also happens naturally, with different frequencies and durations of convection across most CMIP5 models under preindustrial forcing (deLavergne et al, 2014). Here we assess the impact of SO deep convection and resulting sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies on the tropical atmosphere and ocean via teleconnections, with a focus on interannual to multi-decadal timescales. We combine analysis of our low-resolution coupled model with inter-model analysis across historical CMIP5 simulations. SST cooling south of 60S during non-convective decades triggers a stronger, northward shifted SH Hadley cell, which results in intensified northward cross-equatorial moist heat transport and a poleward shift in the ITCZ. Resulting correlations between the cross-equatorial atmospheric heat transport and ITCZ location are in good agreement with recent theories (e.g. Frierson et al. 2013; Donohoe et al. 2014). Lagged correlations between a SO convective index and cross-equatorial heat transports (in the atmosphere and ocean), as well as various tropical (and ENSO) climate indices are analyzed. In the ocean realm, we find that non-convective decades result in weaker AABW formation and weaker ACC but stronger Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) formation, likely as a result of stronger SO westerlies (more positive SAM). The signals of AABW and AAIW are seen in the tropics on short timescales of years to decades in the temperature, heat storage and heat transport anomalies and also in deep and intermediate ocean oxygen. Most

Analysis of different models for atmospheric correction of meteosat infrared images. A new approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pérez, A. M.; Illera, P.; Casanova, J. L.

A comparative study of several atmospheric correction models has been carried out. As primary data, atmospheric profiles of temperature and humidity obtained from radiosoundings on cloud-free days have been used. Special attention has been paid to the model used operationally in the European Space operations Centre (ESOC) for sea temperature calculations. The atmospheric correction results are expressed in terms of the increase in the brightness temperature and the surface temperature. A difference of up to a maximum of 1.4 degrees with respect to the correction obtained in the studied models has been observed. The radiances calculated by models are also compared with those obtained directly from the satellite. The temperature corrections by the latter are greater than the former in practically every case. As a result of this, the operational calibration coefficients should be first recalculated if we wish to apply an atmospheric correction model to the satellite data. Finally, a new simplified calculation scheme which may be introduced into any model is proposed.

Perceptual centres in speech - an acoustic analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scott, Sophie Kerttu

Perceptual centres, or P-centres, represent the perceptual moments of occurrence of acoustic signals - the 'beat' of a sound. P-centres underlie the perception and production of rhythm in perceptually regular speech sequences. P-centres have been modelled both in speech and non speech (music) domains. The three aims of this thesis were toatest out current P-centre models to determine which best accounted for the experimental data bto identify a candidate parameter to map P-centres onto (a local approach) as opposed to the previous global models which rely upon the whole signal to determine the P-centre the final aim was to develop a model of P-centre location which could be applied to speech and non speech signals. The first aim was investigated by a series of experiments in which a) speech from different speakers was investigated to determine whether different models could account for variation between speakers b) whether rendering the amplitude time plot of a speech signal affects the P-centre of the signal c) whether increasing the amplitude at the offset of a speech signal alters P-centres in the production and perception of speech. The second aim was carried out by a) manipulating the rise time of different speech signals to determine whether the P-centre was affected, and whether the type of speech sound ramped affected the P-centre shift b) manipulating the rise time and decay time of a synthetic vowel to determine whether the onset alteration was had more affect on P-centre than the offset manipulation c) and whether the duration of a vowel affected the P-centre, if other attributes (amplitude, spectral contents) were held constant. The third aim - modelling P-centres - was based on these results. The Frequency dependent Amplitude Increase Model of P-centre location (FAIM) was developed using a modelling protocol, the APU GammaTone Filterbank and the speech from different speakers. The P-centres of the stimuli corpus were highly predicted by attributes of

The Mars Analysis Correction Data Assimilation (MACDA): A reference atmospheric reanalysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montabone, Luca; Lewis, Stephen R.; Steele, Liam J.; Holmes, James; Read, Peter L.; Valeanu, Alexandru; Smith, Michael D.; Kass, David; Kleinboehl, Armin; LMD Team, MGS/TES Team, MRO/MCS Team

2016-10-01

The Mars Analysis Correction Data Assimilation (MACDA) dataset version 1.0 contains the reanalysis of fundamental atmospheric and surface variables for the planet Mars covering a period of about three Martian years (late MY 24 to early MY 27). This four-dimensional dataset has been produced by data assimilation of retrieved thermal profiles and column dust optical depths from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor/Thermal Emission Spectrometer (MGS/TES), which have been assimilated into a Mars global climate model (MGCM) using the Analysis Correction scheme developed at the UK Meteorological Office.The MACDA v1.0 reanalysis is publicly available, and the NetCDF files can be downloaded from the archive at the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis/British Atmospheric Data Centre (CEDA/BADC). The variables included in the dataset can be visualised using an ad-hoc graphical user interface (the "MACDA Plotter") located at the following URL: http://macdap.physics.ox.ac.uk/The first paper about MACDA reanalysis of TES retrievals appeared in 2006, although the acronym MACDA was not yet used at that time. Ten years later, MACDA v1.0 has been used by several researchers worldwide and has contributed to the advancement of the knowledge about the martian atmosphere in critical areas such as the radiative impact of water ice clouds, the solsticial pause in baroclinic wave activity, and the climatology and dynamics of polar vortices, to cite only a few. It is therefore timely to review the scientific results obtained by using such Mars reference atmospheric reanalysis, in order to understand what priorities the user community should focus on in the next decade.MACDA is an ongoing collaborative project, and work funded by NASA MDAP Programme is currently undertaken to produce version 2.0 of the Mars atmospheric reanalysis. One of the key improvements is the extension of the reanalysis period to nine martian years (MY 24 through MY 32), with the assimilation of NASA's Mars Reconnaissance

A topographically forced asymmetry in the martian circulation and climate.

PubMed

Richardson, Mark I; Wilson, R John

2002-03-21

Large seasonal and hemispheric asymmetries in the martian climate system are generally ascribed to variations in solar heating associated with orbital eccentricity. As the orbital elements slowly change (over a period of >104 years), characteristics of the climate such as dustiness and the vigour of atmospheric circulation are thought to vary, as should asymmetries in the climate (for example, the deposition of water ice at the northern versus the southern pole). Such orbitally driven climate change might be responsible for the observed layering in Mars' polar deposits by modulating deposition of dust and water ice. Most current theories assume that climate asymmetries completely reverse as the angular distance between equinox and perihelion changes by 180 degrees. Here we describe a major climate mechanism that will not precess in this way. We show that Mars' global north-south elevation difference forces a dominant southern summer Hadley circulation that is independent of perihelion timing. The Hadley circulation, a tropical overturning cell responsible for trade winds, largely controls interhemispheric transport of water and the bulk dustiness of the atmosphere. The topography therefore imprints a strong handedness on climate, with water ice and the active formation of polar layered deposits more likely in the north.

RTEMS CENTRE- Support and Maintenance CENTRE to RTEMS Operating System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva, H.; Constantino, A.; Coutunho, M.; Freitas, D.; Faustino, S.; Mota, M.; Colaço, P.; Zulianello, M.

2008-08-01

RTEMS stands for Real-Time Operating System for Multiprocessor Systems. It is a full featured Real Time Operating System that supports a variety of open APIs and interface standards. It provides a high performance environment for embedded applications, including a fixed-priority preemptive/non-preemptive scheduler, a comprehensive set of multitasking operations and a large range of supported architectures. Support and maintenance CENTRE to RTEMS operating system (RTEMS CENTRE) is a joint initiative of ESA-Portugal Task force, aiming to build a strong technical competence in the space flight (on- board) software, to offer support, maintenance and improvements to RTEMS. This paper provides a high level description of the current and future activities of the RTEMS CENTRE. It presents a brief description of the RTEMS operating system, a description of the tools developed and distributed to the community [1] and the improvements to be made to the operating system, including facilitation for the qualification of RTEMS (4.8.0) [2] for the space missions.

A System for Receiving and Analyzing Meteorological Satellite Data at Small Meteorological/Oceanographic Centres or Aboard Ship,

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-10-01

across the Alboran Sea at different times over three days, not corrected for atmospheric attenuation. 22 13. Near-infrared image of the central...areas often develop very differently from those over the deep oceans or those over the centres of the continents. There are a number of such...thereby limiting the amount of information con- veyed. To redisplay the data in a way that enhances different levels usually requires storage on analogue

Future Projections of Air Temperature and Precipitation for the CORDEX-MENA Domain by Using RegCM4.3.5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ozturk, Tugba; Turp, M. Tufan; Türkeş, Murat; Kurnaz, M. Levent

2015-04-01

In this study, the projected changes for the periods of 2016 - 2035, 2046 - 2065, and 2081 - 2100 in the seasonal averages of air temperature and precipitation variables with respect to the reference period of 1981 - 2000 were examined for the Middle East and North Africa region. In this context, Regional Climate Model (RegCM4.3.5) of ICTP (International Centre for Theoretical Physics) was run by using two different global climate models. MPI-ESM-MR global climate model of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology and HadGEM2 of the Met Office Hadley Centre were dynamically downscaled to 50 km for the CORDEX-MENA domain. The projections were realized according to the RCP4.5 and the RCP8.5 emission scenarios of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change).

Assessment of atmospheric mercury emissions in Finland

PubMed

Mukherjee; Melanen; Ekqvist; Verta

2000-10-02

This paper is part of the study of atmospheric emissions of heavy metals conducted by the Finnish Environment Institute in collaboration with the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) under the umbrella of the Finnish Ministry of the Environment. The scope of our study is limited solely to anthropogenic mercury that is emitted directly to the atmosphere. This article addresses emission factors and trends of atmospheric mercury emissions during the 1990s and is based mainly on the database of the Finnish Environmental Administration. In addition, data based on the measurements taken by the VTT regarding emission factors have been used to estimate emissions of mercury from the incineration of waste. The study indicates that the total emission of mercury has decreased from 1140 kg in 1990 to 620 kg in 1997, while industrial and energy production have been on the increase simultaneously. The 45% emission reduction is due to improved gas cleaning equipment, process changes, automation, the installation of flue gas desulfurization process in coal-fired power plants and strict pollution control laws. In the past, some authors have estimated a higher mercury emission in Finland. In this study, it is also observed that there are no big changes in the quality of raw materials. Estimated emission factors can be of great help to management for estimating mercury emissions and also its risk assessment.

The politics of patient-centred care.

PubMed

Kreindler, Sara A

2015-10-01

Despite widespread belief in the importance of patient-centred care, it remains difficult to create a system in which all groups work together for the good of the patient. Part of the problem may be that the issue of patient-centred care itself can be used to prosecute intergroup conflict. This qualitative study of texts examined the presence and nature of intergroup language within the discourse on patient-centred care. A systematic SCOPUS and Google search identified 85 peer-reviewed and grey literature reports that engaged with the concept of patient-centred care. Discourse analysis, informed by the social identity approach, examined how writers defined and portrayed various groups. Managers, physicians and nurses all used the discourse of patient-centred care to imply that their own group was patient centred while other group(s) were not. Patient organizations tended to downplay or even deny the role of managers and providers in promoting patient centredness, and some used the concept to advocate for controversial health policies. Intergroup themes were even more obvious in the rhetoric of political groups across the ideological spectrum. In contrast to accounts that juxtaposed in-groups and out-groups, those from reportedly patient-centred organizations defined a 'mosaic' in-group that encompassed managers, providers and patients. The seemingly benign concept of patient-centred care can easily become a weapon on an intergroup battlefield. Understanding this dimension may help organizations resolve the intergroup tensions that prevent collective achievement of a patient-centred system. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Exploring coupled 4D-Var data assimilation using an idealised atmosphere-ocean model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Polly; Fowler, Alison; Lawless, Amos; Haines, Keith

2014-05-01

The successful application of data assimilation techniques to operational numerical weather prediction and ocean forecasting systems has led to an increased interest in their use for the initialisation of coupled atmosphere-ocean models in prediction on seasonal to decadal timescales. Coupled data assimilation presents a significant challenge but offers a long list of potential benefits including improved use of near-surface observations, reduction of initialisation shocks in coupled forecasts, and generation of a consistent system state for the initialisation of coupled forecasts across all timescales. In this work we explore some of the fundamental questions in the design of coupled data assimilation systems within the context of an idealised one-dimensional coupled atmosphere-ocean model. The system is based on the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Integrated Forecast System (IFS) atmosphere model and a K-Profile Parameterisation (KKP) mixed layer ocean model developed by the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) climate group at the University of Reading. It employs a strong constraint incremental 4D-Var scheme and is designed to enable the effective exploration of various approaches to performing coupled model data assimilation whilst avoiding many of the issues associated with more complex models. Working with this simple framework enables a greater range and quantity of experiments to be performed. Here, we will describe the development of our simplified single-column coupled atmosphere-ocean 4D-Var assimilation system and present preliminary results from a series of identical twin experiments devised to investigate and compare the behaviour and sensitivities of different coupled data assimilation methodologies. This includes comparing fully and weakly coupled assimilations with uncoupled assimilation, investigating whether coupled assimilation can eliminate or lessen initialisation shock in coupled model forecasts, and

A zonally symmetric model for the monsoon-Hadley circulation with stochastic convective forcing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De La Chevrotière, Michèle; Khouider, Boualem

2017-02-01

Idealized models of reduced complexity are important tools to understand key processes underlying a complex system. In climate science in particular, they are important for helping the community improve our ability to predict the effect of climate change on the earth system. Climate models are large computer codes based on the discretization of the fluid dynamics equations on grids of horizontal resolution in the order of 100 km, whereas unresolved processes are handled by subgrid models. For instance, simple models are routinely used to help understand the interactions between small-scale processes due to atmospheric moist convection and large-scale circulation patterns. Here, a zonally symmetric model for the monsoon circulation is presented and solved numerically. The model is based on the Galerkin projection of the primitive equations of atmospheric synoptic dynamics onto the first modes of vertical structure to represent free tropospheric circulation and is coupled to a bulk atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) model. The model carries bulk equations for water vapor in both the free troposphere and the ABL, while the processes of convection and precipitation are represented through a stochastic model for clouds. The model equations are coupled through advective nonlinearities, and the resulting system is not conservative and not necessarily hyperbolic. This makes the design of a numerical method for the solution of this system particularly difficult. Here, we develop a numerical scheme based on the operator time-splitting strategy, which decomposes the system into three pieces: a conservative part and two purely advective parts, each of which is solved iteratively using an appropriate method. The conservative system is solved via a central scheme, which does not require hyperbolicity since it avoids the Riemann problem by design. One of the advective parts is a hyperbolic diagonal matrix, which is easily handled by classical methods for hyperbolic equations, while

The digital eczema centre utrecht.

PubMed

van Os-Medendorp, Harmieke; van Veelen, Carien; Hover, Maaike; Eland-de Kok, Petra; Bruijnzeel-Koomen, Carla; Sonnevelt, Gert-Jan; Mensing, Geert; Pasmans, Suzanne

2010-01-01

The University Medical Centre Utrecht (UMC Utrecht) has developed an eczema portal that combines e-consulting, monitoring and self-management training by a dermatology nurse online for patients and parents of young children with atopic dermatitis (AD). Patient satisfaction with the portal was high. It could be extended to become a Digital Eczema Centre for multidisciplinary collaboration between health-care providers from different locations and the patient. Before starting the construction of the Digital Eczema Centre, the feasibility was examined by carrying out a business case analysis. The purposes, strength and weaknesses showed that the Digital Eczema Centre offered opportunities to improve care for patients with AD. The financial analysis resulted in a medium/best case scenario with a positive result of euro50-240,000 over a period of five years. We expect that the Digital Eczema Centre will increase the accessibility and quality of care. The web-based patient record and the digital chain-of-care promote the involvement of patients, parents and multidisciplinary teams as well as the continuity and coordination of care.

Teaching and Learning Centres: Towards Maturation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Challis, Di; Holt, Dale; Palmer, Stuart

2009-01-01

Approximately 70% of Australian Teaching and Learning Centres have been restructured and/or have undergone leadership changes in the last three years. The volatility of this environment reflects the number of significant challenges faced by Teaching and Learning Centres. In determining what makes Centres successful, the issues that are likely to…

Small Steps towards Student-Centred Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobs, George M.; Toh-Heng, Hwee Leng

2013-01-01

Student centred learning classroom practices are contrasted with those in teacher centred learning classrooms. The discussion focuses on the theoretical underpinnings of the former, and provides nine steps and tips on how to implement student centred learning strategies, with the aim of developing the 21st century skills of self-directed and…

Can Chemistry Teachers' Centres Survive?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garforth, F. M.

1972-01-01

The difficulties faced by the Hull Chemistry Teachers' Centre in England are discussed. The lack of finances and time, as well as organizational difficulties in relationship with Science Centres and universities are among the problems. (TS)

El Nino, from 1870 to 2014, and other Atmospheric Circulation Forcing by Extreme Apparitions of the Eight Annual, Continental Scale, Aerosol Plumes in the Satellite Era which Point to a Possible Cause for the Current Californian Drought

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potts, K. A.

2015-12-01

Eight continental scale aerosol plumes exist each year as the enclosed image shows. Apparitions of seven plumes only exist for a few months in the same season each year whilst the East Asian Plume is visible all year. The aerosol optical depth (AOD) of all the plumes varies enormously interannually with two studies showing the surface radiative forcing of the South East Asian Plume (SEAP) as -150W/m2 and -286W/m2/AOD. I show that the SEAP, created by volcanic aerosols (natural) and biomass burning and gas flares in the oil industry (anthropogenic), is the sole cause of all El Nino events, the greatest interannual perturbation of the atmospheric circulation system. The SEAP creates an El Nino by absorbing solar radiation at the top of the plume which heats the upper atmosphere and cools the surface. This creates a temperature inversion compared to periods without the plume and reduces convection. With reduced convection in SE Asia, the Maritime Continent, the Trade Winds blowing across the Pacific are forced to relax as their exit into the Hadley and Walker Cells is constrained and the reduced Trade Wind speed causes the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) to rise in the central tropical Pacific Ocean as there is a strong negative correlation between wind speed and SST. The warmer SST in the central Pacific creates convection in the region which further reduces the Trade Wind speed and causes the Walker Cell to reverse - a classic El Nino. Having established the ability of such extreme aerosol plumes to create El Nino events I will then show how the South American, West African, Middle East and SEAP plumes create drought in the Amazon, Spain, Darfur and Australia as well as causing the extremely warm autumn and winter in Europe in 2006-07. All these effects are created by the plumes reducing convection in the region of the plume which forces the regional Hadley Cells into anomalous positions thereby creating persistent high pressure cells in the mid latitudes. This

Preliminary analysis of the Nocturnal Atmospheric Boundary Layer during the experimental campaign CIBA 2008

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yagüe, C.; Maqueda, G.; Ramos, D.; Sastre, M.; Viana, S.; Serrano, E.; Morales, G.; Ayarzagüena, B.; Viñas, C.; Sánchez, E.

2009-04-01

An Atmospheric Boundary Layer campaign was developed in Spain along June 2008 at the CIBA (Research Centre for the Lower Atmosphere) site which is placed on a fairly homogeneous terrain in the centre of an extensive plateau (41°49' N, 4°56' W). Different instrumentation at several levels was available on a new 10m meteorological mast, including temperature and humidity sensors, wind vanes and cup anemometers, as well as one sonic anemometer. Besides, two quartz-based microbarometers were installed at 50 and 100m on the main permanent 100m tower placed at CIBA. Three additional microbarometers were deployed on the surface on a triangular array of approximately 200 m side, and a tethered balloon was used in order to record vertical profiles of temperature, wind and humidity up to 1000m. Finally, a GRIMM particle monitor (MODEL 365), which can be used to continuously measure each six seconds simultaneously the PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 values, was deployed at 1.5m. This work will show some preliminary results from the campaign CIBA 2008, analysing the main physical processes present in the atmospheric Nocturnal Boundary Layer (NBL), the different stability periods observed and the corresponding turbulent parameters, as well as the coherent structures detected. The pressure perturbations measured from the surface and tower levels make possible to study the main wave parameters from wavelet transform, and compared the structures detected by the microbarometers with those detected in the wind and particles records.

The Effect of Dust on the Martian Polar Vortices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guzewich, Scott D.; Toigo, A. D.; Waugh, D. W.

2016-01-01

The influence of atmospheric dust on the dynamics and stability of the martian polar vortices is examined, through analysis of Mars Climate Sounder observations and MarsWRF general circulation model simulations. We show that regional and global dust storms produce transient vortex warming events that partially or fully disrupt the northern winter polar vortex for brief periods. Increased atmospheric dust heating alters the Hadley circulation and shifts the downwelling branch of the circulation poleward, leading to a disruption of the polar vortex for a period of days to weeks. Through our simulations, we find this effect is dependent on the atmospheric heating rate, which can be changed by increasing the amount of dust in the atmosphere or by altering the dust optical properties (e.g., single scattering albedo). Despite this, our simulations show that some level of atmospheric dust is necessary to produce a distinct northern hemisphere winter polar vortex.

The effect of dust on the martian polar vortices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guzewich, Scott D.; Toigo, A. D.; Waugh, D. W.

2016-11-01

The influence of atmospheric dust on the dynamics and stability of the martian polar vortices is examined, through analysis of Mars Climate Sounder observations and MarsWRF general circulation model simulations. We show that regional and global dust storms produce ;transient vortex warming; events that partially or fully disrupt the northern winter polar vortex for brief periods. Increased atmospheric dust heating alters the Hadley circulation and shifts the downwelling branch of the circulation poleward, leading to a disruption of the polar vortex for a period of days to weeks. Through our simulations, we find this effect is dependent on the atmospheric heating rate, which can be changed by increasing the amount of dust in the atmosphere or by altering the dust optical properties (e.g., single scattering albedo). Despite this, our simulations show that some level of atmospheric dust is necessary to produce a distinct northern hemisphere winter polar vortex.

Sensitivity of the Greenland Ice Sheet to Pliocene sea surface temperatures

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hill, Daniel J.; Dolan, Aisling M.; Haywood, Alan M.; Hunter, Stephen J.; Stoll, Danielle K.

2010-01-01

PRISM3).Use of these different SSTswithin theHadley CentreGCM(GeneralCirculationModel) and BASISM (BritishAntarctic Survey Ice Sheet Model), consistently show large reductions of Pliocene Greenland ice volumes compared to modern. The changes in climate introduced by the use of different SST reconstructions do change the predicted ice volumes, mainly through precipitation feedbacks. However, the models show a relatively low sensitivity of modelled Greenland ice volumes to different mid-Piacenzian SST reconstructions, with the largest SST induced changes being 20% of Pliocene ice volume or less than a metre of sea-level rise.

Transregional Collaborative Research Centre 32: Patterns in Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere-Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simmer, C.; Thiele-Eich, I.

2015-12-01

The Collaborative Research Centre TR32 has the goal to perform pattern-based prediction of states and fluxes of water, CO2 and energy in terrestrial systems across scales. For this, the TR32 set up the following three elements during the past nine years: measurement techniques that allow us to characterize and monitor the spatiotemporal dynamics and evolution of system properties across scales, a cross-scale, multi-compartment terrestrial system modeling approach that includes all relevant processes using the terrestrial model platform TerrSysMP and state variable assimilation and parameter estimation methods. We will present examples of how the TR32 utilizes these three elements to improve our understanding of the water cycle. The available soil moisture monitoring network consisting of e.g. cosmic-ray sensors or an in situ NMR slim-line logging tool has been helpful in understanding the interactions of plant growth and soil moisture dynamics. New algorithms derive soil moisture from satellite based SAR systems, which showed potential for the derivation of surface roughness and vegetation information. For surface precipitation, a radar composite using observations from two dual-polarized X-band Doppler radars provides nearly 100% coverage of the Rur catchment. To also be able to include other precipitation observations which occur at different temporal and spatial resolutions, such as rain gauges, a high resolution space-time precipitation model is being developed. Commercial microwave links used for cell phone communication have also been experimented with to improve polarimetric quantitative precipitation estimation. In addition, uncertainty plays a major role with respect to the central goal of the TR32 and is taken into account in various ways. For example, model uncertainty in the Rur catchment results in large parts from anthropogenic activities such as e.g. drainage patterns in fields, the control of the Rur discharge, groundwater pumping, storage lakes

High resolution global climate modelling; the UPSCALE project, a large simulation campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mizielinski, M. S.; Roberts, M. J.; Vidale, P. L.; Schiemann, R.; Demory, M.-E.; Strachan, J.; Edwards, T.; Stephens, A.; Lawrence, B. N.; Pritchard, M.; Chiu, P.; Iwi, A.; Churchill, J.; del Cano Novales, C.; Kettleborough, J.; Roseblade, W.; Selwood, P.; Foster, M.; Glover, M.; Malcolm, A.

2014-01-01

The UPSCALE (UK on PRACE: weather-resolving Simulations of Climate for globAL Environmental risk) project constructed and ran an ensemble of HadGEM3 (Hadley centre Global Environment Model 3) atmosphere-only global climate simulations over the period 1985-2011, at resolutions of N512 (25 km), N216 (60 km) and N96 (130 km) as used in current global weather forecasting, seasonal prediction and climate modelling respectively. Alongside these present climate simulations a parallel ensemble looking at extremes of future climate was run, using a time-slice methodology to consider conditions at the end of this century. These simulations were primarily performed using a 144 million core hour, single year grant of computing time from PRACE (the Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe) in 2012, with additional resources supplied by the Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC) and the Met Office. Almost 400 terabytes of simulation data were generated on the HERMIT supercomputer at the high performance computing center Stuttgart (HLRS), and transferred to the JASMIN super-data cluster provided by the Science and Technology Facilities Council Centre for Data Archival (STFC CEDA) for analysis and storage. In this paper we describe the implementation of the project, present the technical challenges in terms of optimisation, data output, transfer and storage that such a project involves and include details of the model configuration and the composition of the UPSCALE dataset. This dataset is available for scientific analysis to allow assessment of the value of model resolution in both present and potential future climate conditions.

High-resolution global climate modelling: the UPSCALE project, a large-simulation campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mizielinski, M. S.; Roberts, M. J.; Vidale, P. L.; Schiemann, R.; Demory, M.-E.; Strachan, J.; Edwards, T.; Stephens, A.; Lawrence, B. N.; Pritchard, M.; Chiu, P.; Iwi, A.; Churchill, J.; del Cano Novales, C.; Kettleborough, J.; Roseblade, W.; Selwood, P.; Foster, M.; Glover, M.; Malcolm, A.

2014-08-01

The UPSCALE (UK on PRACE: weather-resolving Simulations of Climate for globAL Environmental risk) project constructed and ran an ensemble of HadGEM3 (Hadley Centre Global Environment Model 3) atmosphere-only global climate simulations over the period 1985-2011, at resolutions of N512 (25 km), N216 (60 km) and N96 (130 km) as used in current global weather forecasting, seasonal prediction and climate modelling respectively. Alongside these present climate simulations a parallel ensemble looking at extremes of future climate was run, using a time-slice methodology to consider conditions at the end of this century. These simulations were primarily performed using a 144 million core hour, single year grant of computing time from PRACE (the Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe) in 2012, with additional resources supplied by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Met Office. Almost 400 terabytes of simulation data were generated on the HERMIT supercomputer at the High Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS), and transferred to the JASMIN super-data cluster provided by the Science and Technology Facilities Council Centre for Data Archival (STFC CEDA) for analysis and storage. In this paper we describe the implementation of the project, present the technical challenges in terms of optimisation, data output, transfer and storage that such a project involves and include details of the model configuration and the composition of the UPSCALE data set. This data set is available for scientific analysis to allow assessment of the value of model resolution in both present and potential future climate conditions.

Minister unveils new nanotech centres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dumé, Belle

2009-06-01

Three new nanotechnology research centres are to be set up in France as part of a €70m government plan to help French companies in the sector. Researchers at the new centres, which will be located in Grenoble, Saclay (near Paris) and Toulouse, will be encouraged to collaborate with industry to develop new nanotech-based products. Dubbed NANO-INNOV, the new plan includes €46m for two new buildings at Saclay, with the rest being used to buy new equipment at the three centres and to fund grant proposals from staff to the French National Research Agency (ANR).

Typology of birth centres in the Netherlands using the Rainbow model of integrated care: results of the Dutch Birth Centre Study.

PubMed

Boesveld, Inge C; Bruijnzeels, Marc A; Hitzert, Marit; Hermus, Marieke A A; van der Pal-de Bruin, Karin M; van den Akker-van Marle, M E; Steegers, Eric A P; Franx, Arie; de Vries, Raymond G; Wiegers, Therese A

2017-06-21

The goal of integrated care is to offer a continuum of care that crosses the boundaries of public health, primary, secondary, and tertiary care. Integrated care is increasingly promoted for people with complex needs and has also recently been promoted in maternity care systems to improve the quality of care. Especially when located near an obstetric unit, birth centres are considered to be ideal settings for the realization of integrated care. At present, however, we know very little about the degree of integration in these centres and we do not know if increased levels of integration improve the quality of the care delivered. The Dutch Birth Centre Study is designed to evaluate birth centres and their contribution to the Dutch maternity care system. The aim of this particular sub-study is to classify birth centres in clusters with similar characteristics based on integration profiles, to support the evaluation of birth centre care. This study is based on the Rainbow Model of Integrated Care. We used a survey followed by qualitative interviews in 23 birth centres in the Netherlands to determine which integration profiles can be distinguished and to describe their discriminating characteristics. Cluster analysis was used to classify the birth centres. Birth centres were classified into three clusters: 1)"Mono-disciplinary-oriented birth centres" (n = 10): which are mainly owned by primary care organizations and established as physical facilities to provide an alternative birthplace for low risk births; 2) "Multi-disciplinary-oriented birth centres" (n = 6): which are mainly multi-disciplinary oriented and can be regarded as facilities to give birth, with a focus on integrated birth care; 3) "Mixed Cluster of birth centres" (n = 7): which have a range of organizational forms that differentiate them from centres in the other clusters. We identified a recognizable classification, with similar characteristics between birth centres in the clusters. The results of

Patient-centred outcomes research: perspectives of patient stakeholders.

PubMed

Chhatre, Sumedha; Gallo, Joseph J; Wittink, Marsha; Schwartz, J Sanford; Jayadevappa, Ravishankar

2017-11-01

To elicit patient stakeholders' experience and perspectives about patient-centred care. Qualitative. A large urban healthcare system. Four patient stakeholders who are prostate cancer survivors. Experience and perspectives of patient stakeholders regarding patient-centred care and treatment decisions. Our patient stakeholders represented a diverse socio-demographic group. The patient stakeholders identified engagement and dialogue with physicians as crucial elements of patient-centred care model. The degree of patient-centred care was observed to be dependent on the situations. High severity conditions warranted a higher level of patient involvement, compared to mild conditions. They agreed that patient-centred care should not mean that patients can demand inappropriate treatments. An important attribute of patient-centred outcomes research model is the involvement of stakeholders. However, we have limited knowledge about the experience of patient stakeholders in patient-centred outcomes research. Our study indicates that patient stakeholders offer a unique perspective as researchers and policy-makers aim to precisely define patient-centred research and care.

First ever in-situ density measurements in Venus' polar upper atmosphere by combined drag and torque measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Svedhem, Håkan; Mueller, Michael; Mueller-Wodarg, Ingo

Information on the atmospheric density in the altitude range 150-200 km in the atmosphere of Venus is difficult to gather remotely. The Pioneer Venus Orbiter Neutral Mass Spectrometer measured gas densities in the equatorial upper atmosphere in-situ, but no such measurements have ever been made in the polar regions of Venus. The Venus Express spacecraft on its orbit approaches the planet in the northern polar region, but is not equipped with a mass spectrometer instrument for in-situ gas density measurements. By reducing the pericentre altitude the total mass density can however be measured in situ by monitoring the orbital decay caused by the drag on the spacecraft by the atmosphere via direct tracking of the Doppler signal on the telecommunication link. Such measurements have been performed with Venus Express several times during the last year as part of the Venus Express Atmospheric Drag Experiment (VExADE). The results indicate a large variability within only a few days and have led to questions if these variations are real or within the uncertainty of the measurements. A completely different and independent measurement is given by monitoring the torque asserted by the atmosphere on the spacecraft. This is done by monitoring the momentum accumulated in the reaction wheels during the pericentre pass and at the same time considering all other perturbing forces. This requires the spacecraft to fly in an asymmetric attitude with respect to the centre of gravity, centre of drag and the velocity vector. This technique has proven very sensitive, in particular if the asymmetry is large, and offers a further method of measuring atmospheric densities in-situ that previously had not been explored with the Venus Express spacecraft. Similar measurements have been done in the past by Magellan at Venus and by Cassini at Titan. First torque measurements carried out during last years' low pericentre passes have confirmed the density measurements by the VExADE drag measurements

Communicating astronomy by the Unizul Science Centre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beesham, A.; Beesham, N.

2015-03-01

The University of Zululand, situated along the east coast of KwaZulu-Natal, has a thriving Science Centre (USC) situated in the developing port city of Richards Bay. Over 30 000 learners visit the centre annually, and it consists of an exhibition area, an auditorium, lecture areas and offices. The shows consist of interactive games, science shows, competitions, quizzes and matriculation workshops. Outreach activities take place through a mobile science centre for schools and communities that cannot visit the centre.

The selection function of the LAMOST Spectroscopic Survey of the Galactic Anti-centre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, B.-Q.; Liu, X.-W.; Yuan, H.-B.; Xiang, M.-S.; Huang, Y.; Wang, C.; Zhang, H.-W.; Tian, Z.-J.

2018-05-01

We present a detailed analysis of the selection function of the LAMOST Spectroscopic Survey of the Galactic Anti-centre (LSS-GAC). LSS-GAC was designed to obtain low-resolution optical spectra for a sample of more than 3 million stars in the Galactic anti-centre. The second release of value-added catalogues of the LSS-GAC (LSS-GAC DR2) contains stellar parameters, including radial velocity, atmospheric parameters, elemental abundances, and absolute magnitudes deduced from 1.8 million spectra of 1.4 million unique stars targeted by the LSS-GAC between 2011 and 2014. For many studies using this data base, such as those investigating the chemodynamical structure of the Milky Way, a detailed understanding of the selection function of the survey is indispensable. In this paper, we describe how the selection function of the LSS-GAC can be evaluated to sufficient detail and provide selection function corrections for all spectroscopic measurements with reliable parameters released in LSS-GAC DR2. The results, to be released as new entries in the LSS-GAC value-added catalogues, can be used to correct the selection effects of the catalogue for scientific studies of various purposes.

The "magic" of tutorial centres in Hong Kong: An analysis of media marketing and pedagogy in a tutorial centre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koh, Aaron

2014-12-01

Why do more than three-quarters of Hong Kong's senior secondary students flock to tutorial centres like moths to light? What is the "magic" that is driving the popularity of the tutorial centre enterprise? Indeed, looking at the ongoing boom of tutorial centres in Hong Kong (there are almost 1,000 of them), it is difficult not to ask these questions. This paper examines the phenomenon of tutorial centres in Hong Kong and seeks to understand what draws students to these centres. Combining theories of marketing semiotics and emotion studies, the author investigates the pivotal role of media marketing in generating the "magic" of tutorial centres, whose advertising strategy includes, for example, a display of billboard posters featuring stylishly-dressed "celebrity teachers". The author reviews some of the literature available on the subject of tutorial centres. In a case study approach, he then maps out the pedagogy he observed in an English tutorial class, seeking heuristic insights into the kind of teaching students in the study were looking for. He argues that part of the "magical" attraction of what are essentially "cram schools" is their formulaic pedagogy of teaching and reinforcing exam skills. Finally, the paper considers the social implications of the tutorial centre industry in terms of media marketing of education and unequal access to tutorial services.

Climatology of Global Swell-Atmosphere Interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Semedo, Alvaro

2016-04-01

, but also where the wind speed is lowest and consequently the wave age is high. A detailed global climatology of the wave age and swell steepness parameters, based on the ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) ERA-Interim reanalysis is presented. It will be shown, in line with previous studies, that the global climatological patterns of the wave age confirm the global dominance of the World Ocean by swell waves. The areas of the ocean where the highest interaction of swell waves and the lower atmosphere can be expected are also presented.

El Niño/Southern Oscillation response to global warming

PubMed Central

Latif, M.; Keenlyside, N. S.

2009-01-01

The El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon, originating in the Tropical Pacific, is the strongest natural interannual climate signal and has widespread effects on the global climate system and the ecology of the Tropical Pacific. Any strong change in ENSO statistics will therefore have serious climatic and ecological consequences. Most global climate models do simulate ENSO, although large biases exist with respect to its characteristics. The ENSO response to global warming differs strongly from model to model and is thus highly uncertain. Some models simulate an increase in ENSO amplitude, others a decrease, and others virtually no change. Extremely strong changes constituting tipping point behavior are not simulated by any of the models. Nevertheless, some interesting changes in ENSO dynamics can be inferred from observations and model integrations. Although no tipping point behavior is envisaged in the physical climate system, smooth transitions in it may give rise to tipping point behavior in the biological, chemical, and even socioeconomic systems. For example, the simulated weakening of the Pacific zonal sea surface temperature gradient in the Hadley Centre model (with dynamic vegetation included) caused rapid Amazon forest die-back in the mid-twenty-first century, which in turn drove a nonlinear increase in atmospheric CO2, accelerating global warming. PMID:19060210

Indian Ocean corals reveal crucial role of World War II bias for twentieth century warming estimates.

PubMed

Pfeiffer, M; Zinke, J; Dullo, W-C; Garbe-Schönberg, D; Latif, M; Weber, M E

2017-10-31

The western Indian Ocean has been warming faster than any other tropical ocean during the 20 th century, and is the largest contributor to the global mean sea surface temperature (SST) rise. However, the temporal pattern of Indian Ocean warming is poorly constrained and depends on the historical SST product. As all SST products are derived from the International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere dataset (ICOADS), it is challenging to evaluate which product is superior. Here, we present a new, independent SST reconstruction from a set of Porites coral geochemical records from the western Indian Ocean. Our coral reconstruction shows that the World War II bias in the historical sea surface temperature record is the main reason for the differences between the SST products, and affects western Indian Ocean and global mean temperature trends. The 20 th century Indian Ocean warming pattern portrayed by the corals is consistent with the SST product from the Hadley Centre (HadSST3), and suggests that the latter should be used in climate studies that include Indian Ocean SSTs. Our data shows that multi-core coral temperature reconstructions help to evaluate the SST products. Proxy records can provide estimates of 20 th century SST that are truly independent from the ICOADS data base.

El Nino/Southern Oscillation response to global warming.

PubMed

Latif, M; Keenlyside, N S

2009-12-08

The El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon, originating in the Tropical Pacific, is the strongest natural interannual climate signal and has widespread effects on the global climate system and the ecology of the Tropical Pacific. Any strong change in ENSO statistics will therefore have serious climatic and ecological consequences. Most global climate models do simulate ENSO, although large biases exist with respect to its characteristics. The ENSO response to global warming differs strongly from model to model and is thus highly uncertain. Some models simulate an increase in ENSO amplitude, others a decrease, and others virtually no change. Extremely strong changes constituting tipping point behavior are not simulated by any of the models. Nevertheless, some interesting changes in ENSO dynamics can be inferred from observations and model integrations. Although no tipping point behavior is envisaged in the physical climate system, smooth transitions in it may give rise to tipping point behavior in the biological, chemical, and even socioeconomic systems. For example, the simulated weakening of the Pacific zonal sea surface temperature gradient in the Hadley Centre model (with dynamic vegetation included) caused rapid Amazon forest die-back in the mid-twenty-first century, which in turn drove a nonlinear increase in atmospheric CO(2), accelerating global warming.

Assessing recent warming using instrumentally homogeneous sea surface temperature records.

PubMed

Hausfather, Zeke; Cowtan, Kevin; Clarke, David C; Jacobs, Peter; Richardson, Mark; Rohde, Robert

2017-01-01

Sea surface temperature (SST) records are subject to potential biases due to changing instrumentation and measurement practices. Significant differences exist between commonly used composite SST reconstructions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Extended Reconstruction Sea Surface Temperature (ERSST), the Hadley Centre SST data set (HadSST3), and the Japanese Meteorological Agency's Centennial Observation-Based Estimates of SSTs (COBE-SST) from 2003 to the present. The update from ERSST version 3b to version 4 resulted in an increase in the operational SST trend estimate during the last 19 years from 0.07° to 0.12°C per decade, indicating a higher rate of warming in recent years. We show that ERSST version 4 trends generally agree with largely independent, near-global, and instrumentally homogeneous SST measurements from floating buoys, Argo floats, and radiometer-based satellite measurements that have been developed and deployed during the past two decades. We find a large cooling bias in ERSST version 3b and smaller but significant cooling biases in HadSST3 and COBE-SST from 2003 to the present, with respect to most series examined. These results suggest that reported rates of SST warming in recent years have been underestimated in these three data sets.

Perspectives on recycling centres and future developments.

PubMed

Engkvist, I-L; Eklund, J; Krook, J; Björkman, M; Sundin, E

2016-11-01

The overall aim of this paper is to draw combined, all-embracing conclusions based on a long-term multidisciplinary research programme on recycling centres in Sweden, focussing on working conditions, environment and system performance. A second aim is to give recommendations for their development of new and existing recycling centres and to discuss implications for the future design and organisation. Several opportunities for improvement of recycling centres were identified, such as design, layout, ease with which users could sort their waste, the work environment, conflicting needs and goals within the industry, and industrialisation. Combining all results from the research, which consisted of different disciplinary aspects, made it possible to analyse and elucidate their interrelations. Waste sorting quality was recognized as the most prominent improvement field in the recycling centre system. The research identified the importance of involving stakeholders with different perspectives when planning a recycling centre in order to get functionality and high performance. Practical proposals of how to plan and build recycling centres are given in a detailed checklist. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Double blanket effect caused by two layers of black carbon aerosols escalates warming in the Brahmaputra River Valley.

PubMed

Rahul, P R C; Bhawar, R L; Ayantika, D C; Panicker, A S; Safai, P D; Tharaprabhakaran, V; Padmakumari, B; Raju, M P

2014-01-14

First ever 3-day aircraft observations of vertical profiles of Black Carbon (BC) were obtained during the Cloud Aerosol Interaction and Precipitation Enhancement Experiment (CAIPEEX) conducted on 30(th) August, 4(th) and 6(th) September 2009 over Guwahati (26° 11'N, 91° 44'E), the largest metropolitan city in the Brahmaputra River Valley (BRV) region. The results revealed that apart from the surface/near surface loading of BC due to anthropogenic processes causing a heating of 2 K/day, the large-scale Walker and Hadley atmospheric circulations associated with the Indian summer monsoon help in the formation of a second layer of black carbon in the upper atmosphere, which generates an upper atmospheric heating of ~2 K/day. Lofting of BC aerosols by these large-scale circulating atmospheric cells to the upper atmosphere (4-6 Km) could also be the reason for extreme climate change scenarios that are being witnessed in the BRV region.

Patient-centred care: a review for rehabilitative audiologists.

PubMed

Grenness, Caitlin; Hickson, Louise; Laplante-Lévesque, Ariane; Davidson, Bronwyn

2014-02-01

This discussion paper aims to synthesise the literature on patient-centred care from a range of health professions and to relate this to the field of rehabilitative audiology. Through review of the literature, this paper addresses five questions: What is patient-centred care? How is patient-centred care measured? What are the outcomes of patient-centred care? What are the factors contributing to patient-centred care? What are the implications for audiological rehabilitation? Literature review and synthesis. Publications were identified by structured searches in PubMed, Cinahl, Web of Knowledge, and PsychInfo, and by inspecting the reference lists of relevant articles. Few publications from within the audiology profession address this topic and consequently a review and synthesis of literature from other areas of health were used to answer the proposed questions. This paper concludes that patient-centred care is in line with the aims and scope of practice for audiological rehabilitation. However, there is emerging evidence that we still need to inform the conceptualisation of patient-centred audiological rehabilitation. A definition of patient-centred audiological rehabilitation is needed to facilitate studies into the nature and outcomes of it in audiological rehabilitation practice.

Review of CERN Data Centre Infrastructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andrade, P.; Bell, T.; van Eldik, J.; McCance, G.; Panzer-Steindel, B.; Coelho dos Santos, M.; Traylen and, S.; Schwickerath, U.

2012-12-01

The CERN Data Centre is reviewing strategies for optimizing the use of the existing infrastructure and expanding to a new data centre by studying how other large sites are being operated. Over the past six months, CERN has been investigating modern and widely-used tools and procedures used for virtualisation, clouds and fabric management in order to reduce operational effort, increase agility and support unattended remote data centres. This paper gives the details on the project's motivations, current status and areas for future investigation.

The "Magic" of Tutorial Centres in Hong Kong: An Analysis of Media Marketing and Pedagogy in a Tutorial Centre

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koh, Aaron

2014-01-01

Why do more than three-quarters of Hong Kong's senior secondary students flock to tutorial centres like moths to light? What is the "magic" that is driving the popularity of the tutorial centre enterprise? Indeed, looking at the ongoing boom of tutorial centres in Hong Kong (there are almost 1,000 of them), it is difficult not to ask…

Comparison of planned menus and centre characteristics with foods and beverages served in New York City child-care centres.

PubMed

Breck, Andrew; Dixon, L Beth; Kettel Khan, Laura

2016-10-01

The present study evaluated the extent to which child-care centre menus prepared in advance correspond with food and beverage items served to children. The authors identified centre and staff characteristics that were associated with matches between menus and what was served. Menus were collected from ninety-five centres in New York City (NYC). Direct observation of foods and beverages served to children were conducted during 524 meal and snack times at these centres between April and June 2010, as part of a larger study designed to determine compliance of child-care centres with city health department regulations for nutrition. Child-care centres were located in low-income neighbourhoods in NYC. Overall, 87 % of the foods and beverages listed on the menus or allowed as substitutions were served. Menu items matched with foods and beverages served for all major food groups by >60 %. Sweets and water had lower match percentages (40 and 32 %, respectively), but water was served 68 % of the time when it was not listed on the menu. The staff person making the food and purchasing decisions predicted the match between the planned or substituted items on the menus and the foods and beverages served. In the present study, child-care centre menus included most foods and beverages served to children. Menus planned in advance have potential to be used to inform parents about which child-care centre to send their child or what foods and beverages their enrolled children will be offered throughout the day.

Comparison of planned menus and centre characteristics with foods and beverages served in New York City child-care centres

PubMed Central

Breck, Andrew; Dixon, L Beth; Khan, Laura Kettel

2016-01-01

Objective The present study evaluated the extent to which child-care centre menus prepared in advance correspond with food and beverage items served to children. The authors identified centre and staff characteristics that were associated with matches between menus and what was served. Design Menus were collected from ninety-five centres in New York City (NYC). Direct observation of foods and beverages served to children were conducted during 524 meal and snack times at these centres between April and June 2010, as part of a larger study designed to determine compliance of child-care centres with city health department regulations for nutrition. Setting Child-care centres were located in low-income neighbourhoods in NYC. Results Overall, 87% of the foods and beverages listed on the menus or allowed as substitutions were served. Menu items matched with foods and beverages served for all major food groups by > 60%. Sweets and water had lower match percentages (40 and 32%, respectively), but water was served 68% of the time when it was not listed on the menu. The staff person making the food and purchasing decisions predicted the match between the planned or substituted items on the menus and the foods and beverages served. Conclusions In the present study, child-care centre menus included most foods and beverages served to children. Menus planned in advance have potential to be used to inform parents about which child-care centre to send their child or what foods and beverages their enrolled children will be offered throughout the day. PMID:27280341

The illusion of client-centred practice.

PubMed

Gupta, Jyothi; Taff, Steven D

2015-07-01

A critical analysis of occupational therapy practice in the corporate health care culture in a free market economy was undertaken to demonstrate incongruence with the profession's philosophical basis and espoused commitment to client-centred practice. The current practice of occupational therapy in the reimbursement-driven practice arena in the United States is incongruent with the profession's espoused philosophy and values of client-centred practice. Occupational therapy differentiates itself from medicine's expert model aimed at curing disease and remediating impairment, by its claim to client-centred practice focused on restoring health through occupational enablement. Practice focused on impairment and function is at odds with the profession's core tenet, occupation, and minimizes the lasting impact of interventions on health and well-being. The profession cannot unleash the therapeutic power of human occupation in settings where body systems and body functions are not occupation-ready at the requisite levels for occupational participation. Client-centred practice is best embodied by occupation-focused interventions in the natural environment of everyday living. Providing services that are impairment-focused in unfamiliar settings is not a good fit for client-centred practice, which is the unique, authentic, and sustainable orientation for the profession.

The obtaining relative position of lunar centre masses and centre of the figure in selenocentric catalogues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nefedjev, Yu. A.; Valeev, S. G.; Rizvanov, N. G.; Mikeev, R. R.; Varaksina, N. Yu.

2010-05-01

The relative position of lunar center masses relative to center of the figure in Kazan and Kiev selenocentric catalogues was customized. The expansions by spherical harmonics N=5 degree and order of the lunar function h(λ, β) with using the package ASNI USTU were executed. Module of the expansion of the local area to surfaces to full sphere was used. The parameters of cosmic missions are given for comparison (SAI; Bills, Ferrari). The normalized coefficients from expansions for eight sources hypsometric information are obtained: - Clementine (N=40), - Kazan (N=5), - Kiev (N=5), - SAI (N=10; Chuikova (1975)), - Bills, Ferrari, - Каguуа (Selena, Japan mission), - ULCN (The Uuified Lunaz Control Network 2005). The displacements of the lunar centre figure relative to lunar centre of the masses were defined from equations (Chuikova (1975)). The results of the obtaining relative position of the lunar centre masses and centre of the figure in Kazan selenocentric catalogue give good agreement with modern cosmic mission data.

The Imperial College Thermophysical Properties Data Centre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angus, S.; Cole, W. A.; Craven, R.; de Reuck, K. M.; Trengove, R. D.; Wakeham, W. A.

1986-07-01

The IUPAC Thermodynamic Tables Project Centre in London has at its disposal considerable expertise on the production and utilization of high-accuracy equations of state which represent the thermodynamic properties of substances. For some years they have been content to propagate this information by the traditional method of book production, but the increasing use of the computer in industry for process design has shown that an additional method was needed. The setting up of the IUPAC Transport Properties Project Centre, also at Imperial College, whose products would also be in demand by industry, afforded the occasion for a new look at the problem. The solution has been to set up the Imperial College Thermophysical Properties Data Centre, which embraces the two IUPAC Project Centres, and for it to establish a link with the existing Physical Properties Data Service of the Institution of Chemical Engineers, thus providing for the dissemination of the available information without involving the Centres in problems such as those of marketing and advertising. This paper outlines the activities of the Centres and discusses the problems in bringing their products to the attention of industry in suitable form.

Recent Reanalysis Activities at ECMWF: Results from ERA-20C and Plans for ERA5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dragani, R.; Hersbach, H.; Poli, P.; Pebeuy, C.; Hirahara, S.; Simmons, A.; Dee, D.

2015-12-01

This presentation will provide an overview of the most recent reanalysis activities performed at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). A pilot reanalysis of the 20th-century (ERA-20C) has recently been completed. Funded through the European FP7 collaborative project ERA-CLIM, ERA-20C is part of a suite of experiments that also includes a model-only integration (ERA-20CM) and a land-surface reanalysis (ERA-20CL). Its data assimilation system is constrained by only surface observations obtained from ISPD (3.2.6) and ICOADS (2.5.1). Surface boundary conditions are provided by the Hadley Centre (HadISST2.1.0.0) and radiative forcing follows CMIP5 recommended data sets. First-guess uncertainty estimates are based on a 10-member ensemble of Data Assimilations, ERA-20C ensemble, run prior to ERA-20C using ten SST and sea-ice realizations from the Hadley Centre. In November 2014, the European Commission entrusted ECMWF to run on its behalf the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) aiming at producing quality-assured information about the past, current and future states of the climate at both European and global scales. Reanalysis will be one of the main components of the C3S portfolio and the first one to be produced is a global modern era reanalysis (ERA5) covering the period from 1979 onwards. Based on a recent version of the ECMWF data assimilation system, ERA5 will replace the widely used ERA-Interim dataset. This new production will benefit from a much improved model, and better characterized and exploited observations compared to its predecessor. The first part of the presentation will focus on the ERA-20C production, provide an overview of its main characteristics and discuss some of the key results from its assessment. The second part of the talk will give an overview of ERA5, and briefly discuss some of its challenges.

The Dutch Birth Centre Study: study design of a programmatic evaluation of the effect of birth centre care in the Netherlands.

PubMed

Hermus, Marieke A A; Wiegers, Therese A; Hitzert, Marit F; Boesveld, Inge C; van den Akker-van Marle, M Elske; Akkermans, Henk A; Bruijnzeels, Marc A; Franx, Arie; de Graaf, Johanna P; Rijnders, Marlies E B; Steegers, Eric A P; van der Pal-de Bruin, Karin M

2015-07-16

Birth centres are regarded as settings where women with uncomplicated pregnancies can give birth, assisted by a midwife and a maternity care assistant. In case of (threatening) complications referral to a maternity unit of a hospital is necessary. In the last decade up to 20 different birth centres have been instituted in the Netherlands. This increase in birth centres is attributed to various reasons such as a safe and easy accessible place of birth, organizational efficiency in integration of care and direct access to obstetric hospital care if needed, and better use of maternity care assistance. Birth centres are assumed to offer increased integration and quality of care and thus to contribute to better perinatal and maternal outcomes. So far there is no evidence for this assumption as no previous studies of birth centres have been carried out in the Netherlands. The aims are 1) Identification of birth centres and measuring integration of organization and care 2) Measuring the quality of birth centre care 3) Effects of introducing a birth centre on regional quality and provision of care 4) Cost-effectiveness analysis 5) In depth longitudinal analysis of the organization and processes in birth centres. Different qualitative and quantitative methods will be used in the different sub studies. The design is a multi-centre, multi-method study, including surveys, interviews, observations, and analysis of registration data and documents. The results of this study will enable users of maternity care, professionals, policy makers and health care financers to make an informed choice about the kind of birth location that is appropriate for their needs and wishes.

Methanogenic diversity and activity in hypersaline sediments of the centre of the Napoli mud volcano, Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

PubMed

Lazar, Cassandre Sara; Parkes, R John; Cragg, Barry A; L'Haridon, Stéphane; Toffin, Laurent

2011-08-01

Submarine mud volcanoes are a significant source of methane to the atmosphere. The Napoli mud volcano, situated in the brine-impacted Olimpi Area of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, emits mainly biogenic methane particularly at the centre of the mud volcano. Temperature gradients support the suggestion that Napoli is a cold mud volcano with moderate fluid flow rates. Biogeochemical and molecular genetic analyses were carried out to assess the methanogenic activity rates, pathways and diversity in the hypersaline sediments of the centre of the Napoli mud volcano. Methylotrophic methanogenesis was the only significant methanogenic pathway in the shallow sediments (0-40 cm) but was also measured throughout the sediment core, confirming that methylotrophic methanogens could be well adapted to hypersaline environments. Hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis was the dominant pathway below 50 cm; however, low rates of acetoclastic methanogenesis were also present, even in sediment layers with the highest salinity, showing that these methanogens can thrive in this extreme environment. PCR-DGGE and methyl coenzyme M reductase gene libraries detected sequences affiliated with anaerobic methanotrophs (mainly ANME-1) as well as Methanococcoides methanogens. Results show that the hypersaline conditions in the centre of the Napoli mud volcano influence active biogenic methane fluxes and methanogenic/methylotrophic diversity. © 2011 Society for Applied Microbiology and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Results of a zonally truncated three-dimensional model of the Venus middle atmosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Newman, M.

1992-01-01

Although the equatorial rotational speed of the solid surface of Venus is only 4 m s(exp-1), the atmospheric rotational speed reaches a maximum of approximately 100 m s(exp-1) near the equatorial cloud top level (65 to 70 km). This phenomenon, known as superrotation, is the central dynamical problem of the Venus atmosphere. We report here the results of numerical simulations aimed at clarifying the mechanism for maintaining the equatorial cloud top rotation. Maintenance of an equatorial rotational speed maximum above the surface requires waves or eddies that systematically transport angular momentum against its zonal mean gradient. The zonally symmetric Hadley circulation is driven thermally and acts to reduce the rotational speed at the equatorial cloud top level; thus wave or eddy transport must counter this tendency as well as friction. Planetary waves arising from horizontal shear instability of the zonal flow (barotropic instability) could maintain the equatorial rotation by transporting angular momentum horizontally from midlatitudes toward the equator. Alternatively, vertically propagating waves could provide the required momentum source. The relative motion between the rotating atmosphere and the pattern of solar heating, which as a maximum where solar radiation is absorbed near the cloud tops, drives diurnal and semidiurnal thermal tides that propagate vertically away from the cloud top level. The effect of this wave propagation is to transport momentum toward the cloud top level at low latitudes and accelerate the mean zonal flow there. We employ a semispectral primitive equation model with a zonal mean flow and zonal wavenumbers 1 and 2. These waves correspond to the diurnal and semidiurnal tides, but they can also be excited by barotropic or baroclinic instability. Waves of higher wavenumbers and interactions between the waves are neglected. Symmetry about the equator is assumed, so the model applies to one hemisphere and covers the altitude range 30 to

The nitrogen-vacancy colour centre in diamond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doherty, Marcus W.; Manson, Neil B.; Delaney, Paul; Jelezko, Fedor; Wrachtrup, Jörg; Hollenberg, Lloyd C. L.

2013-07-01

The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) colour centre in diamond is an important physical system for emergent quantum technologies, including quantum metrology, information processing and communications, as well as for various nanotechnologies, such as biological and sub-diffraction limit imaging, and for tests of entanglement in quantum mechanics. Given this array of existing and potential applications and the almost 50 years of NV research, one would expect that the physics of the centre is well understood, however, the study of the NV centre has proved challenging, with many early assertions now believed false and many remaining issues yet to be resolved. This review represents the first time that the key empirical and ab initio results have been extracted from the extensive NV literature and assembled into one consistent picture of the current understanding of the centre. As a result, the key unresolved issues concerning the NV centre are identified and the possible avenues for their resolution are examined.

Long-term measurements of atmospheric trace gases (CO2, CH4, N2O, SF6, CO, H2), O2, and δ13CH4 isotopes at Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory, UK: past, present and future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manning, Andrew C.; Forster, Grant L.; Oram, David E.; Reeves, Claire E.; Pickers, Penelope A.; Barningham, S. Thomas; Sturges, William T.; Bandy, Brian; Nisbet, Euan G.; Lowry, David; Fisher, Rebecca; Fleming, Zoe

2016-04-01

The Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory (WAO) is situated on the north Norfolk Coast (52.95°N, 1.13°E) in the United Kingdom and is run by the University of East Anglia (UEA), with support from the UK National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS). In 2016, the WAO became a UK-ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observing System) monitoring station. Since 2008, we have been collecting high-precision long-term in situ measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), oxygen (O2), carbon monoxide (CO) and molecular hydrogen (H2), as well as regular bag sampling for δ13CH4. In early 2013, the measurement of atmospheric methane (CH4) commenced, and nitrous oxide (N2O) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) began in 2014. We summarise the CO2, O2, CH4, N2O, SF6, CO, H2 and δ13CH4 measurements made to date and highlight some key features observed (e.g. seasonal cycles, long-term trends, pollution events and deposition events). We summarise how the long-term measurements fit into other broader projects which have helped to support the long term time-series at WAO over the years, and highlight how we contribute to broader global atmospheric observation networks.

Exploiting the chaotic behaviour of atmospheric models with reconfigurable architectures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russell, Francis P.; Düben, Peter D.; Niu, Xinyu; Luk, Wayne; Palmer, T. N.

2017-12-01

Reconfigurable architectures are becoming mainstream: Amazon, Microsoft and IBM are supporting such architectures in their data centres. The computationally intensive nature of atmospheric modelling is an attractive target for hardware acceleration using reconfigurable computing. Performance of hardware designs can be improved through the use of reduced-precision arithmetic, but maintaining appropriate accuracy is essential. We explore reduced-precision optimisation for simulating chaotic systems, targeting atmospheric modelling, in which even minor changes in arithmetic behaviour will cause simulations to diverge quickly. The possibility of equally valid simulations having differing outcomes means that standard techniques for comparing numerical accuracy are inappropriate. We use the Hellinger distance to compare statistical behaviour between reduced-precision CPU implementations to guide reconfigurable designs of a chaotic system, then analyse accuracy, performance and power efficiency of the resulting implementations. Our results show that with only a limited loss in accuracy corresponding to less than 10% uncertainty in input parameters, the throughput and energy efficiency of a single-precision chaotic system implemented on a Xilinx Virtex-6 SX475T Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) can be more than doubled.

Quantification of an atmospheric nucleation and growth process as a single source of aerosol particles in a city

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salma, Imre; Varga, Veronika; Németh, Zoltán

2017-12-01

Effects of a new aerosol particle formation (NPF) and particle diameter growth process as a single source of atmospheric particle number concentrations were evaluated and quantified on the basis of experimental data sets obtained from particle number size distribution measurements in the city centre and near-city background of Budapest for 5 years. Nucleation strength factors for a nucleation day (NSFNUC) and for a general day (NSFGEN) were derived separately for seasons and full years. The former characteristic represents the concentration increment of ultrafine (UF) particles specifically on nucleation days with respect to accumulation-mode (regional background) concentrations (particles with equivalent diameters of 100-1000 nm; N100-1000) due solely to the nucleation process. The latter factor expresses the contribution of nucleation to particle numbers on general days; thus, it represents a longer time interval such as season or year. The nucleation source had the largest effect on the concentrations around noon and early afternoon, as expected. During this time interval, it became the major source of particles in the near-city background. Nucleation increased the daily mean concentrations on nucleation days by mean factors of 2.3 and 1.58 in the near-city background and city centre, respectively. Its effect was largest in winter, which was explained by the substantially lower N100-1000 levels on nucleation days than those on non-nucleation days. On an annual timescale, 37 % of the UF particles were generated by nucleation in the near-city background, while NPF produced 13 % of UF particles in the city centre. The differences among the annual mean values, and among the corresponding seasonal mean values, were likely caused by the variability in controlling factors from year to year. The values obtained represent the lower limits of the contributions. The shares determined imply that NPF is a non-negligible or substantial source of particles in near

Student-Centred and Teacher-Centred Learning Environment in Pre-Vocational Secondary Education: Psychological Needs, and Motivation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smit, Karin; de Brabander, Cornelis J.; Martens, Rob L.

2014-01-01

In this study the perception of psychological needs and motivation in a student-centred and a teacher-centred learning environment are compared, using Self Determination Theory as a framework. The self-report Intrinsic Motivation Inventory was completed by 230 students (mean age 16.1 years) in pre-vocational secondary education. School records on…

Atmospheric limb sounding with imaging FTS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friedl-Vallon, Felix; Riese, Martin; Preusse, Peter; Oelhaf, Hermann; Fischer, Herbert

Imaging Fourier transform spectrometers in the thermal infrared are a promising new class of sensors for atmospheric science. The availability of fast and sensitive large focal plane arrays with appropriate spectral coverage in the infrared region allows the conception and construction of innovative sensors for Nadir and Limb geometry. Instruments in Nadir geometry have already reached prototype status (e.g. Geostationary Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer / U. Wisconsin and NASA) or are in Phase A study (infrared sounding mission on Meteosat third generation / ESA and EUMETSAT). The first application of the new technical possibilities to atmospheric limb sounding from space, the Imaging Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (IMIPAS), is currently studied by industry in the context of preparatory work for the next set of ESA earth explorers. The scientific focus of the instrument is on the processes controlling the composition of the mid/upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. The instrument concept of IMIPAS has been conceived at the research centres Karlsruhe and J¨lich. The development of a precursor instrument (GLORIA-AB) at these research institutions u started already in 2005. The instrument will be able to fly on board of various airborne platforms. First scientific missions are planned for the second half of the year 2009 on board the new German research aircraft HALO. This airborne sensor serves its own scientific purpose, but it also provides a test bed to learn about this new instrument class and its peculiarities and to learn to exploit and interpret the wealth of information provided by a limb imaging IR Fourier transform spectrometer. The presentation will discuss design considerations and challenges for GLORIA-AB and put them in the context of the planned satellite application. It will describe the solutions found, present first laboratory figures of merit for the prototype instrument and outline the new scientific

Deformation-induced structural transition in body-centred cubic molybdenum

PubMed Central

Wang, S. J.; Wang, H.; Du, K.; Zhang, W.; Sui, M. L.; Mao, S. X.

2014-01-01

Molybdenum is a refractory metal that is stable in a body-centred cubic structure at all temperatures before melting. Plastic deformation via structural transitions has never been reported for pure molybdenum, while transformation coupled with plasticity is well known for many alloys and ceramics. Here we demonstrate a structural transformation accompanied by shear deformation from an original <001>-oriented body-centred cubic structure to a <110>-oriented face-centred cubic lattice, captured at crack tips during the straining of molybdenum inside a transmission electron microscope at room temperature. The face-centred cubic domains then revert into <111>-oriented body-centred cubic domains, equivalent to a lattice rotation of 54.7°, and ~15.4% tensile strain is reached. The face-centred cubic structure appears to be a well-defined metastable state, as evidenced by scanning transmission electron microscopy and nanodiffraction, the Nishiyama–Wassermann and Kurdjumov–Sachs relationships between the face-centred cubic and body-centred cubic structures and molecular dynamics simulations. Our findings reveal a deformation mechanism for elemental metals under high-stress deformation conditions. PMID:24603655

Centre-Based Child Care Quality in Urban Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ishimine, Karin; Wilson, Rachel

2009-01-01

This study investigates the quality of childcare centres in urban Australian communities designated according to different bands of Centre Location Demographics (CLD). Childcare centres were assessed using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale- Revised Edition (ECERS-R) and the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Extension (ECERS-E).…

Student-Centred Learning (SCL): Roles Changed?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Onurkan Aliusta, Gülen; Özer, Bekir

2017-01-01

This paper addresses the espoused and enacted practices of high school teachers with regard to student-centred learning (SCL). Explanatory mixed-method design, where quantitative strand is followed by qualitative one, is employed. While the quantitative strand aims to explore teachers' perceptions regarding the extent student-centred teacher and…

Elderly Care Centre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wagiman, Aliani; Haja Bava Mohidin, Hazrina; Ismail, Alice Sabrina

2016-02-01

The demand for elderly centre has increased tremendously abreast with the world demographic change as the number of senior citizens rose in the 21st century. This has become one of the most crucial problems of today's era. As the world progress into modernity, more and more people are occupied with daily work causing the senior citizens to lose the care that they actually need. This paper seeks to elucidate the best possible design of an elderly care centre with new approach in order to provide the best service for them by analysing their needs and suitable activities that could elevate their quality of life. All these findings will then be incorporated into design solutions so as to enhance the living environment for the elderly especially in Malaysian context.

Data assimilation of GNSS zenith total delays from a Nordic processing centre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindskog, Magnus; Ridal, Martin; Thorsteinsson, Sigurdur; Ning, Tong

2017-11-01

Atmospheric moisture-related information estimated from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) ground-based receiver stations by the Nordic GNSS Analysis Centre (NGAA) have been used within a state-of-the-art kilometre-scale numerical weather prediction system. Different processing techniques have been implemented to derive the moisture-related GNSS information in the form of zenith total delays (ZTDs) and these are described and compared. In addition full-scale data assimilation and modelling experiments have been carried out to investigate the impact of utilizing moisture-related GNSS data from the NGAA processing centre on a numerical weather prediction (NWP) model initial state and on the ensuing forecast quality. The sensitivity of results to aspects of the data processing, station density, bias-correction and data assimilation have been investigated. Results show benefits to forecast quality when using GNSS ZTD as an additional observation type. The results also show a sensitivity to thinning distance applied for GNSS ZTD observations but not to modifications to the number of predictors used in the variational bias correction applied. In addition, it is demonstrated that the assimilation of GNSS ZTD can benefit from more general data assimilation enhancements and that there is an interaction of GNSS ZTD with other types of observations used in the data assimilation. Future plans include further investigation of optimal thinning distances and application of more advanced data assimilation techniques.

Atmospheric Gravity Waves (AGWs) as the driver of seismo-ionospheric coupling: recent major earthquakes of Nepal and Imphal - case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chakraborty, Suman; Chakrabarti, Sandip Kumar; Sasmal, Sudipta

2016-07-01

An important channel of the lithosphere-atmosphere-ionosphere coupling (LAIC) is the acoustic and gravity wave channel where the atmospheric gravity waves (AGW) play the most important part. Atmospheric waves are excited due to seismic gravitational vibrations before earthquakes and their effects on the atmosphere are the sources for seismo-ionospheric coupling which are manifested as perturbations in Very Low Frequency (VLF)/Low Frequency (LF) signal (amplitude/phase). For our study, we chose the recent major earthquakes that took place in Nepal and Imphal. The Nepal earthquake occurred on 12th May, 2015 at 12:50 pm local time (07:05 UTC) with Richter scale magnitude of M = 7.3 and depth 10 km (6.21 miles) at southeast of Kodari. The Imphal earthquake occurred on 4th January, 2016 at 4:35 am local time (23:05 UTC , 3rd January, UTC) with Richter scale magnitude of M = 6.7 and depth 55 km (34.2 miles). The data has been collected from Ionospheric and Earthquake Research Centre (IERC) of Indian Centre for Space Physics (ICSP) transmitted from JJI station of Japan. We performed both Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and wavelet analysis on the VLF data for a couple of days before and after the major earthquakes. For both earthquakes, we observed wave like structures with periods of almost an hour before and after the earthquake day. The wave like oscillations after the earthquake may be due to the aftershock effects. We also observed that the amplitude of the wave like structures depends on the location of the epicenter between the transmitting and the receiving points and also on the depth of the earthquake.

The Irish Centre for Talented Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilheany, Sheila

2005-01-01

Conducting potency tests on penicillin, discussing rocket technology with a NASA astronaut, analysing animal bone fragments from medieval times, these are just some of the activities which occupy the time of students at The Irish Centre for Talented Youth. The Centre identifies young students with exceptional academic ability and then provides…

Documentation Centre of the Association of African Universities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chateh, Peter

This report presents the results of a study of the Documentation Centre of the Association of African Universities (AAU) undertaken to work out proposals for the rational organization of the Centre, and to explore the possibility of computerizing the Centre and linking it with other centers which provide automated documentation services. The…

Atmospheric electricity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stepanenko, V. D.

Papers are presented on a wide range of studies of atmospheric electricity, from the problem of the global atmospheric-electricity circuit to the effects of atmospheric electricity on ground-based facilities and biological objects. The main topics considered are general problems of atmospheric electricity, studies of atmospheric ions and aerosols, cloud electricity, studies of lightning-storm activity and atmospherics, and lightning protection.

Atmospheric Sciences Meet Astronomy: Mutual Benefits from two Different Approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kausch, Wolfgang; Noll, Stefan; Kimeswenger, Stefan; Kondrak, Matthias; Unterguggenberger, Stefanie; Przybilla, Norbert; Lakićević, Maša; Zeilinger, Werner

2016-04-01

ENVISAT (MIPAS instrument), Aura (MLS), and TIMED (SABER), and modelled data from the Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS), and the ERA/MACC reanalysis from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). In this presentation we give an overview on our methods to link these various data, the impact/application of these data on atmospheric sciences and observations with classical and future astro-particle Cherenkov telescopes, and present recent results.

[The Adamant, an unusual care centre].

PubMed

Khidichian, Frédéric

2011-01-01

The day care centre of the central Paris area has established itself in an unusual location--a 650 m2 floating building moored on the right bank of the Seine. Patients and caregivers were involved in the design of this original and ecological care centre, which places the emphasis on comfort and safety.

The climate of Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haberle, R. M.

1986-05-01

The composition of the primitive Martian atmosphere and its development into the present environment are described. The primitive atmosphere consisted of water vapor, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen released from rocks; the greenhouse effect which maintained the surface temperature above the frost point of water is examined. Volcanic activity reduced the greenhouse effect and along with CO2 removal from the atmosphere caused a lowering of the planet temperature. The global circulation patterns on earth and Mars are compared; the similarities in the circulation patterns and Mars' seasonal variations are studied. The carbon dioxide and water cycles on Mars are analyzed; the carbon dioxide cycle determines seasonal variations in surface pressure and the behavior of the water cycle. The behavior of the atmospheric dust and the relationship between the seasonal dust cycle and Hadley circulation are investigated. The periodic variations in the three orbital parameters of Mars, which affect the climate by changing the seasonal and latitudinal distribution of incoming solar energy are discussed

Centre of the Cell: Science Comes to Life.

PubMed

Balkwill, Frances; Chambers, Katie

2015-01-01

Centre of the Cell is a unique biomedical science education centre, a widening participation and outreach project in London's East End. This article describes Centre of the Cell's first five years of operation, the evolution of the project in response to audience demand, and the impact of siting a major public engagement project within a research laboratory.

Waste management in primary healthcare centres of Iran.

PubMed

Mesdaghinia, Alireza; Naddafi, Kazem; Mahvi, Amir Hossein; Saeedi, Reza

2009-06-01

The waste management practices in primary healthcare centres of Iran were investigated in the present study. A total of 120 primary healthcare centres located across the country were selected using the cluster sampling method and the current situation of healthcare waste management was determined through field investigation. The quantities of solid waste and wastewater generation per outpatient were found to be 60 g outpatient(-1) day(-1) and 26 L outpatient(-1) day(-1), respectively. In all of the facilities, sharp objects were separated almost completely, but separation of other types of hazardous healthcare solid waste was only done in 25% of the centres. The separated hazardous solid waste materials were treated by incineration, temporary incineration and open burning methods in 32.5, 8.3 and 42.5% of the healthcare centres, respectively. In 16.7% of the centres the hazardous solid wastes were disposed of without any treatment. These results indicate that the management of waste materials in primary healthcare centres in Iran faced some problems. Staff training and awareness, separation of healthcare solid waste, establishment of the autoclave method for healthcare solid waste treatment and construction of septic tanks and disinfection units in the centres that were without access to a sewer system are the major measures that are suggested for improvement of the waste management practices.

Learner-centred teaching in a non-learner-centred world: An interpretive phenomenological study of the lived experience of clinical nursing faculty.

PubMed

Oyelana, Olabisi; Martin, Donna; Scanlan, Judith; Temple, Beverley

2018-08-01

With the growing complexities in the contemporary health care system, there is a challenge of preparing nurses for the practice demands. To this end, learner-centred teaching has emerged in many nursing curricula in Canada and evidence indicates its effectiveness in developing the essential practice skills in nursing students. It is important to examine the experience of the clinical faculty members who implement learner-centred teaching, as doing so would provide an insight to the factors that may hinder the implementation of learner-centred teaching in the practice settings. This phenomenological study aimed to address two research questions: what does learner-centred teaching mean to clinical nurse faculty? What is the lived experience of clinical nursing faculty who incorporate learner-centred teaching? Ten clinical nurse faculty members who had at least two years of clinical teaching experience volunteered to participate in the study. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview guide and audio recorder. Additional data sources included a demographic survey and a reflective journal. Multiple sub-themes emerged from this study from which three significant themes were consolidated: diversity of meanings, facilitators of LCT, and barriers to LCT. However, an overarching theme of "learner-centred teaching in a non-learner-centred world" was coined from participants' accounts of their experiences of barriers in incorporating LCT in the practice settings. A collaborative effort between faculty and the stakeholders is paramount to a successful implementation of learner-centred teaching in practice settings. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Reconciling evidence‐based medicine and patient‐centred care: defining evidence‐based inputs to patient‐centred decisions

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Abstract Evidence‐based and patient‐centred health care movements have each enhanced the discussion of how health care might best be delivered, yet the two have evolved separately and, in some views, remain at odds with each other. No clear model has emerged to enable practitioners to capitalize on the advantages of each so actual practice often becomes, to varying degrees, an undefined mishmash of each. When faced with clinical uncertainty, it becomes easy for practitioners to rely on formulas for care developed explicitly by expert panels, or on the tacit ones developed from experience or habit. Either way, these tendencies towards ‘cookbook’ medicine undermine the view of patients as unique particulars, and diminish what might be considered patient‐centred care. The sequence in which evidence is applied in the care process, however, is critical for developing a model of care that is both evidence based and patient centred. This notion derives from a paradigm for knowledge delivery and patient care developed over decades by Dr. Lawrence Weed. Weed's vision enables us to view evidence‐based and person‐centred medicine as wholly complementary, using computer tools to more fully and reliably exploit the vast body of collective knowledge available to define patients’ uniqueness and identify the options to guide patients. The transparency of the approach to knowledge delivery facilitates meaningful practitioner–patient dialogue in determining the appropriate course of action. Such a model for knowledge delivery and care is essential for integrating evidence‐based and patient‐centred approaches. PMID:26456314

Reconciling evidence-based medicine and patient-centred care: defining evidence-based inputs to patient-centred decisions.

PubMed

Weaver, Robert R

2015-12-01

Evidence-based and patient-centred health care movements have each enhanced the discussion of how health care might best be delivered, yet the two have evolved separately and, in some views, remain at odds with each other. No clear model has emerged to enable practitioners to capitalize on the advantages of each so actual practice often becomes, to varying degrees, an undefined mishmash of each. When faced with clinical uncertainty, it becomes easy for practitioners to rely on formulas for care developed explicitly by expert panels, or on the tacit ones developed from experience or habit. Either way, these tendencies towards 'cookbook' medicine undermine the view of patients as unique particulars, and diminish what might be considered patient-centred care. The sequence in which evidence is applied in the care process, however, is critical for developing a model of care that is both evidence based and patient centred. This notion derives from a paradigm for knowledge delivery and patient care developed over decades by Dr. Lawrence Weed. Weed's vision enables us to view evidence-based and person-centred medicine as wholly complementary, using computer tools to more fully and reliably exploit the vast body of collective knowledge available to define patients' uniqueness and identify the options to guide patients. The transparency of the approach to knowledge delivery facilitates meaningful practitioner-patient dialogue in determining the appropriate course of action. Such a model for knowledge delivery and care is essential for integrating evidence-based and patient-centred approaches. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[Definition of endometriosis expert centres].

PubMed

Chanavaz-Lacheray, I; Darai, E; Descamps, P; Agostini, A; Poilblanc, M; Rousset, P; Bolze, P-A; Panel, P; Collinet, P; Hebert, T; Graesslin, O; Martigny, H; Brun, J-L; Dechaud, H; Mezan De Malartic, C; Piechon, L; Wattiez, A; Chapron, C; Golfier, F

2018-03-01

The Collège national des gynécologues obstétriciens français (CNGOF), in agreement with the Société de chirurgie gynécologique et pelvienne (SCGP), has set up a commission in 2017 to define endometriosis expert centres, with the aim of optimizing endometriosis care in France. The committee included members from university and general hospitals as well as private facilities, representing medical, surgical and radiological aspects of endometriosis care. Opinion of endometriosis patients' associations was obtained prior to writing this work. The final text was presented and unanimously validated by the members of the CNGOF Board of Directors at its meeting of October 13, 2017. Based on analysis of current management of endometriosis and the last ten years opportunities in France, the committee has been able to define the contours of endometriosis expert centres. The objectives, production specifications, mode of operation, missions and funding for these centres were described. The following missions have been specifically defined: territorial organization, global and referral care, communication and teaching as well as research and evaluation. Because of its daily impact for women and its economic burden in France, endometriosis justifies launching of expert centres throughout the country with formal accreditation by health authorities, ideally as part of the National Health Plan. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The Role of Parents' Educational Level and Centre Type in Parent Satisfaction with Early Childhood Care Centres: A Study in Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelesidou, Sofia; Chatzikou, Maria; Tsiamagka, Evmorfia; Koutra, Evangelia; Abakoumkin, Georgios; Tseliou, Eleftheria

2017-01-01

This research examines specific facets of parent satisfaction with childcare centres, namely satisfaction with parent-centre communication and the educational services they provide, as well as respective parent beliefs. These were investigated in relation to centre type (private vs public) and parents' education. Parents of different educational…

Influences of Forest Tree Species and Early Spring Temperature on Surface-Atmosphere Transfers of Water and Carbon in the Northeastern U.S.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hadley, J. L.; Kuzeja, P.; Mulcahy, T.; Singh, S.

2008-12-01

Influences of Forest Tree Species and Early Spring Temperature on Surface-Atmosphere Transfers of Water and Carbon in the Northeastern U.S. Julian Hadley, Paul Kuzeja, Safina Singh and Thomas Mulcahy Transfers of water vapor from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere affect regional hydrology, weather and climate over short time scales, and forest-atmosphere CO2 exchange affects global climate over long timescales. To better understand these effects for forests dominated by two very different tree species, we measured forest-atmosphere water vapor and CO2 transfers by the eddy flux technique to at two sites in central Massachusetts USA for three years. Average annual evapotranspiration (ET) for a young deciduous forest dominated by red oak (Quercus rubra L., the most abundant tree species in the area), was about 430 mm or 25 percent greater than for a coniferous forest dominated by 100 to 230 year old eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis L.). The difference in ET was most pronounced in July and August when the deciduous forest lost about 50 percent more water by ET in the average year (192 mm for oak forest versus 130 mm for hemlock). These data indicate that if deciduous trees with similar physiology to red oak replace hemlocks, summertime ET will increase while summer streamflow, soil water content and the extent of year- round wetlands will decrease. Increased summertime ET should also lead to slightly higher regional atmospheric humidity and precipitation. Hemlock-to-deciduous forest conversion has occurred from North Carolina to southern New England and is continuing northward as a lethal insect pest, the hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand) continues to kill hemlocks. Average annual carbon storage for the old hemlock forest in our study was about 3.3 Mg C/ha, nearly equal to the average for the deciduous forest, 3.5 Mg C/ha. This calls into question ecological theory that predicts large declines in the rate of carbon uptake for old forests, and

Towards more Global Coordination of Atmospheric Electricity Measurements (GloCAEM)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicoll, Keri; Harrison, Giles

2017-04-01

Earth's atmospheric electrical environment has been studied since the 1750s but its more recent applications to science questions around clouds and climate highlight the incompleteness of our understanding, in part due to lack of suitable global measurements. The Global Electric Circuit (GEC) sustains the near-surface fair weather (FW) electric field, which is present globally in regions which are not strongly electrically disturbed by weather or pollution. It can be measured routinely at the surface using well established instrumentation such as electric field mills. Despite the central role of lightning as a weather hazard and the potentially widespread importance of charge for atmospheric processes, research is hampered by the fragmented nature of surface atmospheric electricity measurements. This makes anything other than local studies in fortuitous fair weather conditions difficult. In contrast to detection of global lightning using satellite measurements and ground-based radio networks, the FW electric field and GEC cannot be measured by remote sensing and no similar measurement networks exist for its study. This presents an opportunity as many researchers worldwide now make high temporal resolution measurements of the FW electric field routinely, which is neither coordinated nor exploited. The GLOCAEM (Global Coordination of Atmospheric Electricity Measurements) project is currently bringing some of these experts together to make the first steps towards an effective global network for FW atmospheric electricity monitoring. A specific objective of the project is to establish the first modern archive of international FW atmospheric electric field data in close to real time to allow global studies of atmospheric electricity to be straightforwardly and robustly performed. Data will be archived through the UK Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA) and will be available for download by users from early 2018. Both 1 second and 1 minute electric field data

Addiction research centres and the nurturing of creativity The Norwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF).

PubMed

Bramness, Jørgen G; Clausen, Thomas; Duckert, Fanny; Ravndal, Edle; Waal, Helge

2011-08-01

The Norwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF) at the University of Oslo is a newly established, clinical addiction research centre. It is located at the Oslo University Hospital and has a major focus on opioid dependency, investigating Norwegian opioid maintenance treatment (OMT), with special interest in OMT during pregnancy, mortality, morbidity and criminality before, during and after OMT and alternatives to OMT, such as the use of naltrexone implants. The well-developed health registries of Norway are core assets that also allow the opportunity for other types of substance abuse research. This research includes health services, abuse of prescription drugs and drugs of abuse in connection with traffic. The centre also focuses upon comorbidity, investigating the usefulness and limitations of psychometric instruments, drug abuse in different psychiatric treatment settings and internet-based interventions for hazardous alcohol consumption. © 2010 The Authors, Addiction © 2010 Society for the Study of Addiction.

On the energy flux in acoustic waves in the solar atmosphere .

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bello González, N.; Flores Soriano, M.; Kneer, F.; Okunev, O.

The energy supply for the radiative losses of the quiet solar chromosphere is studied. Time sequences from quiet Sun disc centre were obtained with the ``Göttingen'' Fabry-Pérot spectrometer at the Vacuum Tower Telescope, Observatorio del Teide/Tenerife, in the non-magnetic Fe I 5576 Å line. The data were reconstructed with speckle methods. The velocities as measured at the line minimum were subjected to Fourier and wavelet analysis. The energy fluxes were corrected for the transmission of the solar atmosphere. We find an energy flux of ˜ 3 000 W m-2 at a height of h=250 km. Approximately 2/3 of it is carried by waves in the 5-10 mHz range, and 1/3 in the 10-20 mHz band. The waves occur predominantly above inter-granular areas. We speculate that the acoustic flux in waves with periods shorter than the acoustic cutoff period (U≈190 s) can contribute to the basal heating of the solar chromosphere, in addition to atmospheric gravity waves.

Global land-atmosphere coupling associated with cold climate processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dutra, Emanuel

This dissertation constitutes an assessment of the role of cold processes, associated with snow cover, in controlling the land-atmosphere coupling. The work was based on model simulations, including offline simulations with the land surface model HTESSEL, and coupled atmosphere simulations with the EC-EARTH climate model. A revised snow scheme was developed and tested in HTESSEL and EC-EARTH. The snow scheme is currently operational at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts integrated forecast system, and in the default configuration of EC-EARTH. The improved representation of the snowpack dynamics in HTESSEL resulted in improvements in the near surface temperature simulations of EC-EARTH. The new snow scheme development was complemented with the option of multi-layer version that showed its potential in modeling thick snowpacks. A key process was the snow thermal insulation that led to significant improvements of the surface water and energy balance components. Similar findings were observed when coupling the snow scheme to lake ice, where lake ice duration was significantly improved. An assessment on the snow cover sensitivity to horizontal resolution, parameterizations and atmospheric forcing within HTESSEL highlighted the role of the atmospheric forcing accuracy and snowpack parameterizations in detriment of horizontal resolution over flat regions. A set of experiments with and without free snow evolution was carried out with EC-EARTH to assess the impact of the interannual variability of snow cover on near surface and soil temperatures. It was found that snow cover interannual variability explained up to 60% of the total interannual variability of near surface temperature over snow covered regions. Although these findings are model dependent, the results showed consistency with previously published work. Furthermore, the detailed validation of the snow dynamics simulations in HTESSEL and EC-EARTH guarantees consistency of the results.

Apollo 15 - Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Panorama

NASA Image and Video Library

1971-08-02

S71-43943 (2 Aug. 1971) --- Mosaic photographs which compose a 360-degree panoramic view of the Apollo 15 Hadley-Apennine landing site, taken near the close of the third lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) by astronauts David Scott and James Irwin. This group of photographs was designated the Rover "RIP" Pan because the Lunar Roving Vehicle was parked in its final position prior to the two crewmen returning to the Lunar Module. The astronaut taking the pan was standing 325 feet east of the Lunar Module (LM). The Rover was parked about 300 feet east of the LM. This mosaic covers a field of view from about north-northeast to about south. Visible on the horizon from left to right are: Mount Hadley; high peaks of the Apennine Mountains which are farther in the distance than either Mount Hadley or Hadley Delta Mountain; Silver Spur on the Apennine Front; and the eastern portion of Hadley Delta. Note Rover tracks in the foreground. The numbers of the other two views composing the 360-degree pan are S71-43940 and S71-43942.

High-resolution measurements from the airborne Atmospheric Nitrogen Dioxide Imager (ANDI)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawrence, J. P.; Anand, J. S.; Vande Hey, J. D.; Leigh, R. R.; Monks, P. S.; Leigh, R. J.

2015-06-01

Nitrogen Dioxide is both a primary pollutant with direct health effects and a key precursor of the secondary pollutant ozone. This paper reports on the development, characterisation and test flight of the Atmospheric Nitrogen Dioxide Imager (ANDI) remote sensing system. The ANDI system includes an imaging (UV)-vis grating spectrometer able to capture scattered sunlight spectra for the determination of tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations by way of DOAS slant column density and vertical column density measurements. Results are shown for an ANDI test flight over Leicester City in the UK. Retrieved NO2 columns at a surface resolution of 80 m x 20 m revealed hot spots in a series of locations around Leicester City, including road junctions, the train station, major car parks, areas of heavy industry, a nearby airport (East Midlands) and a power station (Ratcliffe-on-Soar). In the city centre the dominant source of NO2 emissions was identified as road traffic, contributing to a background concentration as well as producing localised hot spots. Quantitative analysis revealed a significant urban increment over the city centre which increased throughout the flight.

High-resolution measurements from the airborne Atmospheric Nitrogen Dioxide Imager (ANDI)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawrence, J. P.; Anand, J. S.; Vande Hey, J. D.; White, J.; Leigh, R. R.; Monks, P. S.; Leigh, R. J.

2015-11-01

Nitrogen dioxide is both a primary pollutant with direct health effects and a key precursor of the secondary pollutant ozone. This paper reports on the development, characterisation and test flight of the Atmospheric Nitrogen Dioxide Imager (ANDI) remote sensing system. The ANDI system includes an imaging UV/Vis grating spectrometer able to capture scattered sunlight spectra for the determination of tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations by way of DOAS slant column density and vertical column density measurements. Results are shown for an ANDI test flight over Leicester City in the UK on a cloud-free winter day in February 2013. Retrieved NO2 columns gridded to a surface resolution of 80 m × 20 m revealed hotspots in a series of locations around Leicester City, including road junctions, the train station, major car parks, areas of heavy industry, a nearby airport (East Midlands) and a power station (Ratcliffe-on-Soar). In the city centre the dominant source of NO2 emissions was identified as road traffic, contributing to a background concentration as well as producing localised hotspots. Quantitative analysis revealed a significant urban increment over the city centre which increased throughout the flight.

Anatomy of ridge discontinuities, transform fault and overlapping spreading centre, at the slow spreading sedimented Andaman Sea Spreading Centre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jourdain, A.; Singh, S. C.; Klinger, Y.

2013-12-01

Transform faults are the major discontinuities and define the main segment boundaries along spreading centres but their anatomy is poorly understood because of their complex seafloor morphology, even though they are observed at all types of spreading centres. Here, we present high-resolution seismic reflection images across the sedimented Andaman Sea Transform Fault where the sediments record the faulting and allow studying the evolution of the transform fault both in space and time. Furthermore, sediments allow the imaging of the faults down to the Moho depth that provides insight on the interplay between tectonic and magmatic processes. On the other hand, overlapping spreading centres (OSC) are small-scale discontinuities, possibly transient, and are observed only along fast or intermediate spreading centres. Exceptionally, an overlapping spreading centre is present at the slow spreading Andaman Sea Spreading Centre, which, we suggest, is due to the presence of thick sediments that hamper the efficient hydrothermal circulation allowing magma to stay much longer in the crust at different depths, and up to close to the segment ends, leading to the development of an overlapping spreading. The seismic reflection images across the OSC indicate the presence of large magma bodies in the crust. Seismic images also provide images of active faults allowing to study the link between faulting and magmatism. Interestingly, an earthquake swarm occurred at propagating limb of the OSC in 2006, after the great 2004 Andaman-Sumatra earthquake of Mw=9.3, highlighting the migration of the OSC westward. In this paper, we will show seismic reflection images and interpret these images in the light of bathymetry and earthquake data, and provide the anatomy of the ridge discontinuities along the slow spreading sedimented Andaman Sea Spreading Centre.

An Exploration of Mechanisms for Mediating the Influence of Extratropical Glaciation on the Tropical Climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierrehumbert, R. T.; Frierson, D. M.

2006-05-01

To obtain a better understanding of the basic mechanisms by which the atmosphere transmits extratropical influences into the tropics, we have analyzed a series of general circulation model experiments carried out with idealized continental boundary conditions. These experiments were carried out with the FOAM1.5 model, which is in essence a portable Beowulf-oriented reimplementation of CCM3. In accord with our focus on the atmosphere in this work, the atmospheric model is coupled to a mixed-layer ocean with lateral ocean heat flux set to zero. The continental geometry consists of a pair of zonally symmetric continents, one centered on each pole. The Southern Hemisphere continent extends to 65S, and is kept glaciated in all experiments. The Northern Hemisphere continent extends to 42N, and is glaciated in the NHCOLD experiment but bare land in the NHWARM experiment. Sea ice feedback was suppressed in these simulations, but given the geometry of the Northern Hemisphere continent, the NHCOLD case can be taken as representing the combined forcing due to land glaciation and equatorward advance of sea ice. These experiments allow us to examine, in a very clean way, the response of the tropics to a very large extratropical cooling imposed at the surface, in a model which is energetically closed. Comparison of the two simulations has yielded the following results. The principal means by which the midlatitude glaciation affects the tropics is via a marked increase in poleward NH wintertime sensible heat flux, which is uncompensated by reduction in latent heat flux. The coupling of the storm tracks to the tropics is weak, however, and causes only a moderate cooling in the Northern subtropics and hardly any south of the Equator. The dynamics behind this barrier effect are discussed. The increased sensible heat flux,however, causes a considerable strengthening of the Hadley circulation; this strengthening allows the ITCZ precipitation to remain approximately unchanged between

Addiction research centres and the nurturing of creativity: The Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia, Canada

PubMed Central

Stockwell, Tim; Reist, Dan; Macdonald, Scott; Benoit, Cecilia; Jansson, Mikael

2015-01-01

The Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia (CARBC) was established as a multi-campus and multi-disciplinary research centre administered by the University of Victoria (UVic) in late 2003. Its core funding is provided from interest payments on an endowment of CAD$10.55 million. It is supported by a commitment to seven faculty appointments in various departments at UVic. The Centre has two offices, an administration and research office in Victoria and a knowledge exchange unit in Vancouver. The two offices are collaborating on the implementation of CARBC’s first 5-year plan which seeks to build capacity in British Columbia for integrated multi-disciplinary research and knowledge exchange in the areas substance use, addictions and harm reduction. Present challenges include losses to the endowment caused by the 2008/2009 economic crisis and difficulties negotiating faculty positions with the university administration. Despite these hurdles, to date each year has seen increased capacity for the Centre in terms of affiliated scientists, funding and staffing as well as output in terms of published reports, electronic resources and impacts on policy and practice. Areas of special research interest include: drug testing in the work-place, epidemiological monitoring, substance use and injury, pricing and taxation policies, privatization of liquor monopolies, poly-substance use, health determinants of indigenous peoples, street-involved youth and other vulnerable populations at risk of substance use problems. Further information about the Centre and its activities can be found on http://www.carbc.ca. PMID:20078479

Energy efficiency in U.K. shopping centres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mangiarotti, Michela

Energy efficiency in shopping centres means providing comfortable internal environment and services to the occupants with minimum energy use in a cost-effective and environmentally sensitive manner. This research considers the interaction of three factors affecting the energy efficiency of shopping centres: i) performance of the building fabric and services ii) management of the building in terms of operation, control, maintenance and replacement of the building fabric and services, and company's energy policy iii) occupants' expectation for comfort and awareness of energy efficiency. The aim of the investigation is to determine the role of the above factors in the energy consumption and carbon emissions of shopping centres and the scope for reducing this energy usage by changing one or all the three factors. The study also attempts to prioritize the changes in the above factors that are more cost-effective at reducing that energy consumption and identify the benefits and main economic and legal drivers for energy efficiency in shopping centres. To achieve these targets, three case studies have been analysed. Using energy data from bills, the performance of the selected case studies has been assessed to establish trends and current energy consumption and carbon emissions of shopping centres and their related causes. A regression analysis has attempted to break down the energy consumption of the landlords' area by end-use to identify the main sources of energy usage and consequently introduce cost-effective measures for saving energy. A monitoring and occupants' survey in both landlords' and tenants' areas have been carried out at the same time to compare the objective data of the environmental conditions with the subjective impressions of shoppers and shopkeepers. In particular, the monitoring aimed at assessing the internal environment to identify possible causes of discomfort and opportunities for introducing energy saving measures. The survey looked at

SPOT4 Management Centre

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Labrune, Yves; Labbe, X.; Roussel, A.; Vielcanet, P.

1994-01-01

In the context of the CNES SPOT4 program CISI is particularly responsible for the development of the SPOT4 Management Centre, part of the SPOT4 ground control system located at CNES Toulouse (France) designed to provide simultaneous control over two satellites. The main operational activities are timed to synchronize with satellite visibilities (ten usable passes per day). The automatic capability of this system is achieved through agenda services (sequence of operations as defined and planned by operator). Therefore, the SPOT4 Management Centre offers limited, efficient and secure human interventions for supervision and decision making. This paper emphasizes the main system characteristics as degree of automation, level of dependability and system parameterization.

The British society for gynaecological endoscopy endometriosis centres project.

PubMed

Saridogan, Ertan; Byrne, Dominic

2013-01-01

Management of advanced endometriosis frequently requires a multidisciplinary team approach and international guidelines suggest treatment in centres of expertise. Due to variability of published outcome data, prospective data collection and standardisation of reporting systems have been suggested to improve our understanding of surgical outcomes. The British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy (BSGE) Endometriosis Centres were established to manage rectovaginal endometriosis, to collect treatment and outcome data, and to provide these data to patients, clinicians and healthcare commissioners. The BSGE Endometriosis Centres Project works on the principle of voluntary participation. Centres that would like to be recognised or accredited as a BSGE Endometriosis Centre need to fulfil a number of basic requirements including working in appropriate multidisciplinary clinical teams, auditing their outcome and having sufficient workload to maintain their surgical skills. The project has already had an impact on where the patients with advanced endometriosis are treated in the United Kingdom. Patients and healthcare professionals are becoming aware of their presence and more patients with the condition are being referred to these centres. It is also expected that the accredited centre status would be required for funding by healthcare commissioners for this type endometriosis. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Addiction research centres and the nurturing of creativity: National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, India--a profile.

PubMed

Ray, Rajat; Dhawan, Anju; Chopra, Anita

2013-10-01

The National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) is a part of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, a premier autonomous medical university in India. This article provides an account of its origin and its contribution to the field of substance use disorder at the national and international levels. Since its establishment, the NDDTC has played a major role in the development of various replicable models of care, the training of post-graduate students of psychiatry, research, policy development and planning. An assessment of the magnitude of drug abuse in India began in the early 1990s and this was followed by a National Survey on Extent, Patterns and Trends of Drug Abuse in 2004. Several models of clinical care have been developed for population subgroups in diverse settings. The centre played an important role in producing data and resource material which helped to scale up opioid substitution treatment in India. A nationwide database on the profile of patients seeking treatment (Drug Abuse Monitoring System) at government drug treatment centres has also been created. The centre has provided valuable inputs for the Government of India's programme planning. Besides clinical studies, research has also focused on pre-clinical studies. Capacity-building is an important priority, with training curricula and resource material being developed for doctors and paramedical staff. Many of these training programmes are conducted in collaboration with other institutions in the country. The NDDTC has received funding from several national and international organizations for research and scientific meetings, and, most recently (2012), it has been designated as a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Substance Abuse. © 2012 The Authors, Addiction © 2012 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Climate change projections for Tamil Nadu, India: deriving high-resolution climate data by a downscaling approach using PRECIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bal, Prasanta Kumar; Ramachandran, A.; Geetha, R.; Bhaskaran, B.; Thirumurugan, P.; Indumathi, J.; Jayanthi, N.

2016-02-01

In this paper, we present regional climate change projections for the Tamil Nadu state of India, simulated by the Met Office Hadley Centre regional climate model. The model is run at 25 km horizontal resolution driven by lateral boundary conditions generated by a perturbed physical ensemble of 17 simulations produced by a version of Hadley Centre coupled climate model, known as HadCM3Q under A1B scenario. The large scale features of these 17 simulations were evaluated for the target region to choose lateral boundary conditions from six members that represent a range of climate variations over the study region. The regional climate, known as PRECIS, was then run 130 years from 1970. The analyses primarily focus on maximum and minimum temperatures and rainfall over the region. For the Tamil Nadu as a whole, the projections of maximum temperature show an increase of 1.0, 2.2 and 3.1 °C for the periods 2020s (2005-2035), 2050s (2035-2065) and 2080s (2065-2095), respectively, with respect to baseline period (1970-2000). Similarly, the projections of minimum temperature show an increase of 1.1, 2.4 and 3.5 °C, respectively. This increasing trend is statistically significant (Mann-Kendall trend test). The annual rainfall projections for the same periods indicate a general decrease in rainfall of about 2-7, 1-4 and 4-9 %, respectively. However, significant exceptions are noticed over some pockets of western hilly areas and high rainfall areas where increases in rainfall are seen. There are also indications of increasing heavy rainfall events during the northeast monsoon season and a slight decrease during the southwest monsoon season. Such an approach of using climate models may maximize the utility of high-resolution climate change information for impact-adaptation-vulnerability assessments.

Taiwanese maternal health in the postpartum nursing centre.

PubMed

Hung, Chich-Hsiu; Yu, Ching-Yun; Ou, Chu-Chun; Liang, Wei-Wen

2010-04-01

To investigate the association between postpartum stress as well as social support and the general health status of women recently discharged from postpartum nursing centres where the ritual of Tso-Yueh-Tzu is followed. Taiwanese women stay in postpartum nursing centres to take care of their newborn babies and perform the traditional Chinese ritual of Tso-Yueh-Tzu, the custom of a postpartum month-long rest. A non-experimental research design was used in the study. Two hundred and fifty-eight postpartum women who had stayed in postpartum nursing centres for at least 20 days were recruited at eight postpartum nursing centres in the Kaohsiung metropolitan area of southern Taiwan. They were administered the Hung Postpartum Stress Scale, the Social Support Scale and the Chinese Health Questionnaire. Women without minor psychiatric morbidity had higher social support, lower postpartum stress and longer length-of-stays in the postpartum care centre than women with minor psychiatric morbidity. Postpartum stress revolved around changes in body shape. A one-point increase in postpartum stress increased the likelihood that a mother would suffer minor psychiatric morbidity by 1.04 times; while giving birth to a boy decreased that likelihood by 0.51 times. This study found Tso-Yueh-Tzu as practised in postpartum nursing centres gave the postpartum women the opportunity to receive tangible support and, therefore, helped decrease postpartum stress and improved their general health. The greatest source of postpartum stress was concern over negative body changes. The postpartum nursing centre plays an important role in helping postpartum Taiwanese women observe the traditional ritual of Tso-Yueh-Tzu and in improving these women's general health. These centres may want to pay more attention to providing exercise that promotes body toning and relaxation.

Seismological investigation of the National Data Centre Preparedness Exercise 2013

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gestermann, Nicolai; Hartmann, Gernot; Ross, J. Ole; Ceranna, Lars

2015-04-01

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) prohibits all kinds of nuclear explosions conducted on Earth - underground, underwater or in the atmosphere. The verification regime of the CTBT is designed to detect any treaty violation. While the data of the International Monitoring System (IMS) is collected, processed and technically analyzed at the International Data Centre (IDC) of the CTBT-Organization, National Data Centres (NDC) of the member states provide interpretation and advice to their government concerning suspicious detections. The NDC Preparedness Exercises (NPE) are regularly performed dealing with fictitious treaty violations to practice the combined analysis of CTBT verification technologies. These exercises should help to evaluate the effectiveness of analysis procedures applied at NDCs and the quality, completeness and usefulness of IDC products for example. The exercise trigger of NPE2013 is a combination of a tempo-spatial indication pointing to a certain waveform event and simulated radionuclide concentrations generated by forward Atmospheric Transport Modelling based on a fictitious release. For the waveform event the date (4 Sept. 2013) is given and the region is communicated in a map showing the fictitious state of "Frisia" at the Coast of the North Sea in Central Europe. The potential connection between the waveform and radionuclide evidence remains unclear for exercise participants. The verification task was to identify the waveform event and to investigate potential sources of the radionuclide findings. The final question was whether the findings are CTBT relevant and justify a request for On-Site-Inspection in "Frisia". The seismic event was not included in the Reviewed Event Bulletin (REB) of the IDC. The available detections from the closest seismic IMS stations lead to a epicenter accuracy of about 24 km which is not sufficient to specify the 1000 km2 inspection area in case of an OSI. With use of data from local stations and

Critiquing Child-Centred Pedagogy to Bring Children and Early Childhood Educators into the Centre of a Democratic Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Langford, Rachel

2010-01-01

Child-centred pedagogy is both an enduring approach and a revered concept in Western-based teacher preparation. This article weaves together major critiques of child-centred pedagogy that draw on critical feminist, postmodernist and post-structural theories. These critiques have particular relevance for conceptualizing what it can mean to be, and…

First detection of Mars atmospheric hydroxyl: CRISM Near-IR measurement versus LMD GCM simulation of OH Meinel band emission in the Mars polar winter atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Todd Clancy, R.; Sandor, Brad J.; García-Muñoz, Antonio; Lefèvre, Franck; Smith, Michael D.; Wolff, Michael J.; Montmessin, Franck; Murchie, Scott L.; Nair, Hari

2013-09-01

Visible and near-IR Meinel band emissions originate from excited OH in the terrestrial upper atmosphere (Meinel, I.A.B. [1950]. Astrophys. J. 111, 555. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/145296), and have recently been detected in the Venus nightside upper mesosphere (Piccioni, G. et al. [2008]. Astron. Astrophys. 483, L29-L33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:200809761). Meinel band observations support key studies of transport and photochemistry in both of these atmospheres. In the case of Mars, OH regulates the basic stability of the CO2 atmosphere to photolytic decomposition (to CO and O2, e.g. Parkinson, T.D., Hunten, D.M. [1972]. J. Atmos. Sci. 29, 1380-1390. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1972)029<1380:SAAOOO>2.0.CO;2), and yet has never been measured. We present the first detection of Mars atmospheric OH, associated with CRISM near-IR spectral limb observations of polar night Meinel band emissions centered at 1.45 and 2.9 μm. Meinel band (1-0), (2-1), and (2-0) average limb intensities of 990 ± 280, 1060 ± 480, and 200 ± 100 kiloRayleighs (kR), respectively, are determined for 70-90 NS polar winter latitudes over altitudes of 40-56 km. Additional OH bands, such as (3-2), (3-1), and (4-2), present ⩽1σ measurements. Uncertainty in the (4-2) band emission rate contributes to increased uncertainty in the determination of the O2(1Δg) (0-0)/(0-1) band emission ratio A00/A01=47-12+26. An average profile retrieval for Mars OH polar nightglow indicates 45-55 km altitude levels for volume emission rates (VER) of 0.4 (2-0) to 2 (1-0, 2-1) × 104 photons/(cm3 s). Similar to polar night O2(1Δg) emission (e.g. Clancy, R.T. et al. [2012]. J. Geophys. Res. (Planets) 117, E00J10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2011JE004018), Meinel OH band emission is supported by upper level, winter poleward transport of O and H in the deep Hadley solsticial circulations of Mars. The retrieved OH emission rates are compared to polar winter OH nightglow simulated by the LMD (Laboratoire

Reducing cooling energy consumption in data centres and critical facilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cross, Gareth

Given the rise of our everyday reliance on computers in all walks of life, from checking the train times to paying our credit card bills online, the need for computational power is ever increasing. Other than the ever-increasing performance of home Personal Computers (PC's) this reliance has given rise to a new phenomenon in the last 10 years ago. The data centre. Data centres contain vast arrays of IT cabinets loaded with servers that perform millions of computational equations every second. It is these data centres that allow us to continue with our reliance on the internet and the PC. As more and more data centres become necessary due to the increase in computing processing power required for the everyday activities we all take for granted so the energy consumed by these data centres rises. Not only are more and more data centres being constructed daily, but operators are also looking at ways to squeeze more processing from their existing data centres. This in turn leads to greater heat outputs and therefore requires more cooling. Cooling data centres requires a sizeable energy input, indeed to many megawatts per data centre site. Given the large amounts of money dependant on the successful operation of data centres, in particular for data centres operated by financial institutions, the onus is predominantly on ensuring the data centres operate with no technical glitches rather than in an energy conscious fashion. This report aims to investigate the ways and means of reducing energy consumption within data centres without compromising the technology the data centres are designed to house. As well as discussing the individual merits of the technologies and their implementation technical calculations will be undertaken where necessary to determine the levels of energy saving, if any, from each proposal. To enable comparison between each proposal any design calculations within this report will be undertaken against a notional data facility. This data facility will

Addressing model error through atmospheric stochastic physical parametrizations: impact on the coupled ECMWF seasonal forecasting system.

PubMed

Weisheimer, Antje; Corti, Susanna; Palmer, Tim; Vitart, Frederic

2014-06-28

The finite resolution of general circulation models of the coupled atmosphere-ocean system and the effects of sub-grid-scale variability present a major source of uncertainty in model simulations on all time scales. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts has been at the forefront of developing new approaches to account for these uncertainties. In particular, the stochastically perturbed physical tendency scheme and the stochastically perturbed backscatter algorithm for the atmosphere are now used routinely for global numerical weather prediction. The European Centre also performs long-range predictions of the coupled atmosphere-ocean climate system in operational forecast mode, and the latest seasonal forecasting system--System 4--has the stochastically perturbed tendency and backscatter schemes implemented in a similar way to that for the medium-range weather forecasts. Here, we present results of the impact of these schemes in System 4 by contrasting the operational performance on seasonal time scales during the retrospective forecast period 1981-2010 with comparable simulations that do not account for the representation of model uncertainty. We find that the stochastic tendency perturbation schemes helped to reduce excessively strong convective activity especially over the Maritime Continent and the tropical Western Pacific, leading to reduced biases of the outgoing longwave radiation (OLR), cloud cover, precipitation and near-surface winds. Positive impact was also found for the statistics of the Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO), showing an increase in the frequencies and amplitudes of MJO events. Further, the errors of El Niño southern oscillation forecasts become smaller, whereas increases in ensemble spread lead to a better calibrated system if the stochastic tendency is activated. The backscatter scheme has overall neutral impact. Finally, evidence for noise-activated regime transitions has been found in a cluster analysis of mid

Canadian Educational Development Centre Websites: More Ebb than Flow?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simmons, Nicola

2010-01-01

This paper examines information portrayed on Canadian educational development (ED) centre websites and, in particular, whether information that corresponds to questions compiled from a literature search of ED centre practices is readily available from centre websites. This study phase is part of a larger national study of Canadian educational…

Remote tropical and sub-tropical responses to Amazon deforestation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Badger, Andrew M.; Dirmeyer, Paul A.

2016-05-01

Replacing natural vegetation with realistic tropical crops over the Amazon region in a global Earth system model impacts vertical transport of heat and moisture, modifying the interaction between the atmospheric boundary layer and the free atmosphere. Vertical velocity is decreased over a majority of the Amazon region, shifting the ascending branch and modifying the seasonality of the Hadley circulation over the Atlantic and eastern Pacific oceans. Using a simple model that relates circulation changes to heating anomalies and generalizing the upper-atmosphere temperature response to deforestation, agreement is found between the response in the fully-coupled model and the simple solution. These changes to the large-scale dynamics significantly impact precipitation in several remote regions, namely sub-Saharan Africa, Mexico, the southwestern United States and extratropical South America, suggesting non-local climate repercussions for large-scale land use changes in the tropics are possible.

Need and feasibility of telemedicine in non-urban day care centres.

PubMed

Setia, Monika; DelliFraine, Jami L

2010-01-01

There appear to have been no studies of telemedicine in rural day care centres. We have assessed the feasibility of using telemedicine in eight rural day care centres in Pennsylvania, from the day care centres' perspective. The average number of children in these centres was 76 (range 20-150). The centres sent an average of 4.7 children home each month because of illness. Using telephone and face-to-face interviews, we assessed their perceived need for and familiarity with telemedicine, as well as their openness and preparedness for implementing telemedicine. Most day care centres reported a need for telemedicine and were open to learning how to use it. Some centres were concerned about adequate space for the equipment, but overall, the centres felt that their resources were adequate. Telemedicine in rural day care centres appears to be feasible, and would have the potential to save time and money for parents, as well as perhaps improving health care for children in rural areas.

Adaptive mapping functions to the azimuthal anisotropy of the neutral atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gegout, P.; Biancale, R.; Soudarin, L.

2011-10-01

The anisotropy of propagation of radio waves used by global navigation satellite systems is investigated using high-resolution observational data assimilations produced by the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecast. The geometry and the refractivity of the neutral atmosphere are built introducing accurate geodetic heights and continuous formulations of the refractivity and its gradient. Hence the realistic ellipsoidal shape of the refractivity field above the topography is properly represented. Atmospheric delays are obtained by ray-tracing through the refractivity field, integrating the eikonal differential system. Ray-traced delays reveal the anisotropy of the atmosphere. With the aim to preserve the classical mapping function strategy, mapping functions can evolve to adapt to high-frequency atmospheric fluctuations and to account for the anisotropy of propagation by fitting at each site and time the zenith delays and the mapping functions coefficients. Adaptive mapping functions (AMF) are designed with coefficients of the continued fraction form which depend on azimuth. The basic idea is to expand the azimuthal dependency of the coefficients in Fourier series introducing a multi-scale azimuthal decomposition which slightly changes the elevation functions with the azimuth. AMF are used to approximate thousands of atmospheric ray-traced delays using a few tens of coefficients. Generic recursive definitions of the AMF and their partial derivatives lead to observe that the truncation of the continued fraction form at the third term and the truncation of the azimuthal Fourier series at the fourth term are sufficient in usual meteorological conditions. Delays' and elevations' mapping functions allow to store and to retrieve the ray-tracing results to solve the parallax problem at the observation level. AMF are suitable to fit the time-variable isotropic and anisotropic parts of the ray-traced delays at each site at each time step and to provide GPS range

Ecosystem responses in the southern Caribbean Sea to global climate change

PubMed Central

Taylor, Gordon T.; Muller-Karger, Frank E.; Thunell, Robert C.; Scranton, Mary I.; Astor, Yrene; Varela, Ramon; Ghinaglia, Luis Troccoli; Lorenzoni, Laura; Fanning, Kent A.; Hameed, Sultan; Doherty, Owen

2012-01-01

Over the last few decades, rising greenhouse gas emissions have promoted poleward expansion of the large-scale atmospheric Hadley circulation that dominates the Tropics, thereby affecting behavior of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Expression of these changes in tropical marine ecosystems is poorly understood because of sparse observational datasets. We link contemporary ecological changes in the southern Caribbean Sea to global climate change indices. Monthly observations from the CARIACO Ocean Time-Series between 1996 and 2010 document significant decadal scale trends, including a net sea surface temperature (SST) rise of ∼1.0 ± 0.14 °C (±SE), intensified stratification, reduced delivery of upwelled nutrients to surface waters, and diminished phytoplankton bloom intensities evident as overall declines in chlorophyll a concentrations (ΔChla = −2.8 ± 0.5%⋅y−1) and net primary production (ΔNPP = −1.5 ± 0.3%⋅y−1). Additionally, phytoplankton taxon dominance shifted from diatoms, dinoflagellates, and coccolithophorids to smaller taxa after 2004, whereas mesozooplankton biomass increased and commercial landings of planktivorous sardines collapsed. Collectively, our results reveal an ecological state change in this planktonic system. The weakening trend in Trade Winds (−1.9 ± 0.3%⋅y−1) and dependent local variables are largely explained by trends in two climatic indices, namely the northward migration of the Azores High pressure center (descending branch of Hadley cell) by 1.12 ± 0.42°N latitude and the northeasterly progression of the ITCZ Atlantic centroid (ascending branch of Hadley cell), the March position of which shifted by about 800 km between 1996 and 2009. PMID:23071299

Indian Ocean and Indian summer monsoon: relationships without ENSO in ocean-atmosphere coupled simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crétat, Julien; Terray, Pascal; Masson, Sébastien; Sooraj, K. P.; Roxy, Mathew Koll

2017-08-01

The relationship between the Indian Ocean and the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) and their respective influence over the Indo-Western North Pacific (WNP) region are examined in the absence of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in two partially decoupled global experiments. ENSO is removed by nudging the tropical Pacific simulated sea surface temperature (SST) toward SST climatology from either observations or a fully coupled control run. The control reasonably captures the observed relationships between ENSO, ISM and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). Despite weaker amplitude, IODs do exist in the absence of ENSO and are triggered by a boreal spring ocean-atmosphere coupled mode over the South-East Indian Ocean similar to that found in the presence of ENSO. These pure IODs significantly affect the tropical Indian Ocean throughout boreal summer, inducing a significant modulation of both the local Walker and Hadley cells. This meridional circulation is masked in the presence of ENSO. However, these pure IODs do not significantly influence the Indian subcontinent rainfall despite overestimated SST variability in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean compared to observations. On the other hand, they promote a late summer cross-equatorial quadrupole rainfall pattern linking the tropical Indian Ocean with the WNP, inducing important zonal shifts of the Walker circulation despite the absence of ENSO. Surprisingly, the interannual ISM rainfall variability is barely modified and the Indian Ocean does not force the monsoon circulation when ENSO is removed. On the contrary, the monsoon circulation significantly forces the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal SSTs, while its connection with the western tropical Indian Ocean is clearly driven by ENSO in our numerical framework. Convection and diabatic heating associated with above-normal ISM induce a strong response over the WNP, even in the absence of ENSO, favoring moisture convergence over India.

Amazonian forest dieback under climate-carbon cycle projections for the 21st century

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cox, P. M.; Betts, R. A.; Collins, M.; Harris, P. P.; Huntingford, C.; Jones, C. D.

The first GCM climate change projections to include dynamic vegetation and an interactive carbon cycle produced a very significant amplification of global warming over the 21st century. Under the IS92a ``business as usual'' emissions scenario CO2 concentrations reached about 980ppmv by 2100, which is about 280ppmv higher than when these feedbacks were ignored. The major contribution to the increased CO2 arose from reductions in soil carbon because global warming is assumed to accelerate respiration. However, there was also a lesser contribution from an alarming loss of the Amazonian rainforest. This paper describes the phenomenon of Amazonian forest dieback under elevated CO2 in the Hadley Centre climate-carbon cycle model.

A certification/accreditation model for Haemophilia Centres in Italy

PubMed Central

Mannucci, Pier Mannuccio; Menichini, Ivana

2014-01-01

Background The Italian Association of Haemophilia Centres has developed a voluntary programme of professional accreditation of Haemophilia Centres, run by its members. Participation in the programme, which aims to foster staff involvement in clinical governance, includes both medical personnel and nurses. Materials and methods Accreditation is awarded provided the candidate Haemophilia Centre is able to adhere to a pre-established set of quality standards and meet a number of clinical and organisational requirements, previously defined on the basis of evidence-based medicine. Self-evaluation is the first step in the programme, followed by a site visit by a team of peer professionals experienced in quality auditing. Results The programme has so far involved 21 Italian Haemophilia Centres. The comparison between self- and peer-evaluation revealed less discrepancies for disease-related than for organisational requirements, the latter being met to a lesser degree by most Haemophilia Centres. Discussion This programme of professional accreditation developed by the Italian Association of Haemophilia Centres has the potential to describe, monitor and improve clinical and organisational performances in the management of patients with haemophilia and allied inherited coagulation disorders. It should also be seen as a contribution to the implementation of the strategy for improving professional governance in Haemophilia Centres. PMID:24922289

The DIY Digital Medical Centre.

PubMed

Timmis, James Kenneth; Timmis, Kenneth

2017-09-01

Healthcare systems worldwide are confronted with major economic, organizational and logistical challenges. Historic evolution of health care has led to significant healthcare sector fragmentation, resulting in systemic inefficiencies and suboptimal resource exploitation. To attain a sustainable healthcare model, fundamental, system-wide improvements that effectively network, and ensure fulfilment of potential synergies between sectors, and include and facilitate coherent strategic planning and organisation of healthcare infrastructure are needed. Critically, they must be specifically designed to sustainably achieve peak performance within the current policy environment for cost-control, and efficiency and quality improvement for service delivery. We propose creation of a new healthcare cluster, to be embedded in existing healthcare systems. It consists of (i) local 24/7 walk-in virtually autonomous do-it-yourself Digital Medical Centres performing routine diagnosis, monitoring, prevention, treatment and standardized documentation and health outcome assessment/reporting, which are online interfaced with (ii) regional 24/7 eClinician Centres providing on-demand clinical supervision/assistance to Digital Medical Centre patients. Both of these are, in turn, online interfaced with (iii) the National Clinical Informatics Centre, which houses the national patient data centre (cloud) and data analysis units that conduct patient- and population-level, personalized and predictive(-medicine) intervention optimization analyses. The National Clinical Informatics Centre also interfaces with biomedical research and prioritizes and accelerates the translation of new discoveries into clinical practice. The associated Health Policy Innovation and Evaluation Centre rapidly integrates new findings with health policy/regulatory discussions. This new cluster would synergistically link all health system components in a circular format, enable not only access by all arms of the health

Reaching the Students that Student-Centred Learning Cannot Reach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hockings, Christine

2009-01-01

Student-centred learning has the potential to engage a more academically diverse student body than the more conventional teacher-centred approaches. In spite of the evidence in favour of student-centred learning, a recent study showed that it was ineffective for around 30% of undergraduates in a large and diverse group studying business operations…

Atmospheric Nitrogen Inputs to the Ocean and their Impact

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jickells, Tim D.

2016-04-01

, even with the increased transport across shelf to the open ocean from low latitude fluvial systems identified. 1. School of Environmental Science University of East Anglia UK 2. Energy Research Centre University of Cape Town SA 3. Department of Biological Sciences University of S California USA 4. Departments of Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences Texas A&M University USA 5. JRC Ispra Italy 6. Department of Oceanography Dalhousie University Canada 7. Department of Environmental Sciences U. Virginia USA 8. Department of Chemistry, University of Crete, Greece 9. Department of Biology Dalhousie University, Canada 10. School of Environmental Science and Engineering Pohang University S Korea. 11. Faculty of Geosciences University of Utrecht Netherlands 12. Department of Earth System Science University of California at Irvine USA 13. WMO Geneva 14. Department of Geography University of California USA 15. GEOMAR Keil Germany 16. Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami, USA 17. Geosciences Division at Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, India 18. Department of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, Canada 19. School of Environmentak Sciences, U Liverpool UK 20. Center for International Collaboration, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo Japan 21. Oak Ridge Associated Universities USA

Investigation of Titan's surface and atmosphere photometric functions using the Cassini/VIMS instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cornet, Thomas; Altobelli, Nicolas; Rodriguez, Sébastien; Maltagliati, Luca; Le Mouélic, Stéphane; Sotin, Christophe; Brown, Robert; Barnes, Jason; Buratti, Bonnie; Baines, Kevin; Clark, Roger; Nicholson, Phillip

2015-04-01

After 106 flybys spread over 10 years, the Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) instrument acquired 33151 hyperspectral cubes pointing at the surface of Titan on the dayside. Despite this huge amount of data available for surface studies, and due to the strong influence of the atmosphere (methane absorption and haze scattering), Titan's surface is only visible with VIMS in 7 spectral atmospheric windows centred at 0.93, 1.08, 1.27, 1.59, 2.01, 2.7-2.8 and 5 microns. Atmospheric scattering and absorption effects dominate Titan's spectrum at wavelengths shorter than 3 microns, while the 5 micron window, almost insensitive to the haze scattering, only presents a reduced atmospheric absorption contribution to the signal recorded by VIMS. In all cases, the recorded I/F represents an apparent albedo, which depends on the atmospheric contributions and the surface photometry at each wavelength. We therefore aim to determine real albedo values for Titan's surface by finding photometric functions for the surface and the atmosphere that could be used as a basis for empirical corrections or Radiative Transfer calculations. After updating the navigation of the VIMS archive, we decomposed the entire VIMS data set into a MySQL relational database gathering the viewing geometry, location, time (season) and I/F (for pure atmosphere and surface-atmosphere images) for each pixel of the 33151 individual VIMS cubes. We then isolated all the VIMS pixels where Titan's surface has been repeatedly imaged at low phase angles (< 20 degrees) in order to characterize phase curves for the surface at 5 microns and for the atmosphere. Among these, the T88 flyby appears noteworthy, with a "Emergence-Phase Function (EPF)"-type observation: 25 cubes acquired during the same flyby, over the same area (close to Tortola Facula, in relatively dark terrains), at a constant incidence and with varying emergence and phase (from 0 to 60 degrees) angles. The data clearly exhibit an increase

Dynamical and thermodynamical coupling between the North Atlantic subtropical high and the marine boundary layer clouds in boreal summer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Wei; Li, Wenhong; Deng, Yi; Yang, Song; Jiang, Jonathan H.; Huang, Lei; Liu, W. Timothy

2018-04-01

This study investigates dynamical and thermodynamical coupling between the North Atlantic subtropical high (NASH), marine boundary layer (MBL) clouds, and the local sea surface temperatures (SSTs) over the North Atlantic in boreal summer for 1984-2009 using NCEP/DOE Reanalysis 2 dataset, various cloud data, and the Hadley Centre sea surface temperature. On interannual timescales, the summer mean subtropical MBL clouds to the southeast of the NASH is actively coupled with the NASH and local SSTs: a stronger (weaker) NASH is often accompanied with an increase (a decrease) of MBL clouds and abnormally cooler (warmer) SSTs along the southeast flank of the NASH. To understand the physical processes between the NASH and the MBL clouds, the authors conduct a data diagnostic analysis and implement a numerical modeling investigation using an idealized anomalous atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM). Results suggest that significant northeasterly anomalies in the southeast flank of the NASH associated with an intensified NASH tend to induce stronger cold advection and coastal upwelling in the MBL cloud region, reducing the boundary surface temperature. Meanwhile, warm advection associated with the easterly anomalies from the African continent leads to warming over the MBL cloud region at 700 hPa. Such warming and the surface cooling increase the atmospheric static stability, favoring growth of the MBL clouds. The anomalous diabatic cooling associated with the growth of the MBL clouds dynamically excites an anomalous anticyclone to its north and contributes to strengthening of the NASH circulation in its southeast flank. The dynamical and thermodynamical couplings and their associated variations in the NASH, MBL clouds, and SSTs constitute an important aspect of the summer climate variability over the North Atlantic.

Climate change and potato cropping in the Peruvian Altiplano

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanabria, J.; Lhomme, J. P.

2013-05-01

The potential impacts of climate change on potatoes cropping in the Peruvian highlands (Altiplano) is assessed using climate projections for 2071-2100, obtained from the HadRM3P regional atmospheric model of the Hadley Centre. The atmospheric model is run under two different special report on emission scenarios: high CO2 concentration (A2) and moderate CO2 concentration (B2) for four locations situated in the surroundings of Lake Titicaca. The two main varieties of potato cultivated in the area are studied: the Andean potato ( Solanum tuberosum) and the bitter potato ( Solanum juzepczukii). A simple process-oriented model is used to quantify the climatic impacts on crops cycles and yields by combining the effects of temperature on phenology, of radiation and CO2 on maximum yield and of water balance on yield deficit. In future climates, air temperature systematically increases, precipitation tends to increase at the beginning of the rainy season and slightly decreases during the rest of the season. The direct effects of these climatic changes are earlier planting dates, less planting failures and shorter crop cycles in all the four locations and for both scenarios. Consequently, the harvesting dates occur systematically earlier: roughly in January for the Andean potato instead of March in the current situation and in February for the bitter potato instead of April. Overall, yield deficits will be higher under climate change than in the current climate. There will be a strong negative impact on yields for S. tuberosum (stronger under A2 scenario than under B2); the impact on S. juzepczukii yields, however, appears to be relatively mixed and not so negative.

European hospital managers' perceptions of patient-centred care.

PubMed

Taylor, Angelina; Groene, Oliver

2015-01-01

The spotlight has recently been placed on managers' responsibility for patient-centred care as a result of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust failings. In previous research, clinicians reported that managers do not have an adequate structured plan for implementing patient-centred care. The purpose of this paper is to assess the perceptions of European hospital management with respect to factors affecting the implementation of a patient-centred approach. In total, 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with hospital managers (n=10), expert country informants (n=2), patient organisations (n=2) and a user representative (n=1) from around Europe. Participants were purposively and snowball sampled. Interviews were analysed using framework analysis. Most participants felt that current levels of patient-centred care are inadequate, but accounted that there were a number of macro, meso and micro challenges they faced in implementing this approach. These included budget constraints, political and historical factors, the resistance of clinicians and other frontline staff. Organisational culture emerged as a central theme, shaped by these multi-level factors and influencing the way in which patient-centred care was borne out in the hospital. Participants proposed that the needs of patients might be better met through increasing advocacy by patient organisations and greater staff contact with patients. This study is the first of its kind to obtain management views from around Europe. It offers an insight into different models of how patient-centred care is realised by management. It indicates that managers see the value of a patient-centred approach but that they feel restricted by a number of factors at multiple levels.

Promotion in Call Centres: Opportunities and Determinants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gorjup, Maria Tatiana; Valverde, Mireia; Ryan, Gerard

2008-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the quality of jobs in call centres by focusing on the opportunities for promotion in this sector. More specifically, the research questions focus on discovering whether promotion is common practise in the call centre sector and on identifying the factors that affect this.…

Triangles with Given Distances from a Centre

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maloo, Alok K.; Lal, Arbind K.; Singh, Arindama

2002-01-01

There are four Euclidean centres of a triangle--the circumcentre, the centroid, the incentre and the orthocentre. In this article, the authors prove the following: if the centre is the incentre (resp. orthocentre) then there exists a triangle with given distances of its vertices from its incentre (resp. orthocentre). They also consider uniqueness…

Professional relationships between general practitioners and pharmacists in health centres.

PubMed Central

Harding, G; Taylor, K M

1990-01-01

The inclusion of pharmacies in health centres has created opportunities for general practitioners to become better acquainted with the potential contribution of pharmacists to health care. A qualitative study has been made to explore the extent to which this potential has been realized. Ten health centres with an integral pharmacy were selected, one from each of the regional health authorities in England which had at least one such health centre. Interviews were conducted with 13 general practitioners and 10 pharmacists working in the health centres. Nine general practitioners working in health centres without pharmacies and 10 community pharmacists were also interviewed. General practitioners' attitudes towards health centre pharmacists appeared to differ markedly from the attitudes of colleagues working in relative isolation from pharmacists. It appears that general practitioners working closely with the pharmacist develop a collaborative approach to health care. PMID:2271280

Is a family-centred initiative a family-centred service? A case of a Conductive Education setting for children with cerebral palsy.

PubMed

Schenker, R; Parush, S; Rosenbaum, P; Rigbi, A; Yochman, A

2016-11-01

From the moment a child is diagnosed as having cerebral palsy, families have to cope on a daily basis with the multifaceted challenges of life-long disability management. Family-centred service is embraced as a 'best practice' model because of accumulating evidence supporting its positive influence on parents and children's outcomes. Nevertheless, research comparing parent and provider perspectives on family-centred practices of educational service providers in education settings is scarce. The aims of this study were to compare the extent to which parents and conductors experience the service delivery in Tsad Kadima, the Association for Conductive Education in Israel, as being family-centred, as well as comparing parents' perception of different educational settings as being family-centred. Measurements of family-centeredness, the Israeli Measure of Processes of Care for families (MPOC-20) and for service providers (MPOC-SP), were administrated to 38 teacher conductors and 83 families of children with cerebral palsy (aged 1-14), from different conductive educational settings. Parents and conductors perceive Conductive Education service as being highly family centred in most domains, rating respectful and supportive care the highest and providing general information the lowest, thus indicating an area where improvements should be made. Parents perceived the service they receive to be more family-centred than conductor's perception about their own activities. In addition, educational setting (day care, pre-school and school) was found to be associated with parent's scores. The current study, which is the first to examine family-centred service provision in a conductive special education setting, from the perspectives of both parents and conductors, provides significant evidence for high-quality services in these settings. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Is "Object-Centred Neglect" a Homogeneous Entity?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gainotti, Guido; Ciaraffa, Francesca

2013-01-01

The nature of object-centred (allocentric) neglect and the possibility of dissociating it from egocentric (subject-centred) forms of neglect are controversial. Originally, allocentric neglect was described by and in patients who reproduced all the elements of a multi-object scene, but left unfinished the left side of one or more of them. More…

Perspectives of methods of laser monitoring of the atmosphere and sea surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pashayev, Arif; Tunaboylu, Bahadir; Usta, Metin; Sadixov, Ilham; Allahverdiyev, Kerim

2016-01-01

Laser monitoring (remote sensing) may be considered as the science of collecting and interpreting information about the atmosphere, earth and sea using sensors on earth, on platforms in our atmosphere (airplanes, balloons) or in space (satellites) without being in direct physical contact with them. Remote sensing by LIDARs (Light Identification Detection and Ranging) has wide applications as technique to probe the Earth's atmosphere, ocean and land surfaces. LIDARs are widely used to get knowledge of spatial and temporal variations in meteorological quantities (e.g. temperature, humidity, clouds and aerosol properties) and to monitor the changes in these quantities on different timescales. Subject of the present work is quite wide. It is rather difficult to perform analysis and to provide full knowledge about existing information. In the present work, in addition to the literature data, the information will be provided also about KA-09 aerosol LIDAR developed at the Marmara Research Centre of TÜBITAK (Turkish Scientific and technological Research Council) and also about KA-14 LIDAR developed at the National Aviation Academy of Azerbaijan for remote sensing of contaminations on water surfaces taking place during oil-gas production. The main goal of this paper is to give students insight in different remote sensing instruments and techniques (including their perspectives) that are used for the derivation of meteorological quantities and obtaining the information about water surface.

UV LED lighting for automated crystal centring

PubMed Central

Chavas, Leonard M. G.; Yamada, Yusuke; Hiraki, Masahiko; Igarashi, Noriyuki; Matsugaki, Naohiro; Wakatsuki, Soichi

2011-01-01

A direct outcome of the exponential growth of macromolecular crystallography is the continuously increasing demand for synchrotron beam time, both from academic and industrial users. As more and more projects entail screening a profusion of sample crystals, fully automated procedures at every level of the experiments are being implemented at all synchrotron facilities. One of the major obstacles to achieving such automation lies in the sample recognition and centring in the X-ray beam. The capacity of UV light to specifically react with aromatic residues present in proteins or with DNA base pairs is at the basis of UV-assisted crystal centring. Although very efficient, a well known side effect of illuminating biological samples with strong UV sources is the damage induced on the irradiated samples. In the present study the effectiveness of a softer UV light for crystal centring by taking advantage of low-power light-emitting diode (LED) sources has been investigated. The use of UV LEDs represents a low-cost solution for crystal centring with high specificity. PMID:21169682

Automatic centring and bonding of lenses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krey, Stefan; Heinisch, J.; Dumitrescu, E.

2007-05-01

We present an automatic bonding station which is able to center and bond individual lenses or doublets to a barrel with sub micron centring accuracy. The complete manufacturing cycle includes the glue dispensing and UV curing. During the process the state of centring is continuously controlled by the vision software, and the final result is recorded to a file for process statistics. Simple pass or fail results are displayed to the operator at the end of the process.

Centre vortex removal restores chiral symmetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trewartha, Daniel; Kamleh, Waseem; Leinweber, Derek B.

2017-12-01

The influence of centre vortices on dynamical chiral symmetry breaking is investigated through the light hadron spectrum on the lattice. Recent studies of the quark propagator and other quantities have provided evidence that centre vortices are the fundamental objects underpinning dynamical chiral symmetry breaking in {SU}(3) gauge theory. For the first time, we use the chiral overlap fermion action to study the low-lying hadron spectrum on lattice ensembles consisting of Monte Carlo, vortex-removed, and vortex-projected gauge fields. We find that gauge field configurations consisting solely of smoothed centre vortices are capable of reproducing all the salient features of the hadron spectrum, including dynamical chiral symmetry breaking. The hadron spectrum on vortex-removed fields shows clear signals of chiral symmetry restoration at light values of the bare quark mass, while at heavy masses the spectrum is consistent with a theory of weakly interacting constituent quarks.

Assessment of ART centres in India: client perspectives.

PubMed

Sogarwal, Ruchi; Bachani, Damodar

2009-05-01

Drug adherence and quality of antiretroviral therapy (ART) services are the keys for the successful ART programme. Hence, an attempt has been made to assess ART centres in India from client perspectives that are receiving services from the centres. Data were gathered through exit interviews with 1366 clients from 27 ART centres that were selected on the basis of drug adherence and client load. Analyses revealed that more than 80 per cent of the clients reported overall satisfaction with the services availed from the centre and 60 per cent reported that the quality of life has improved to a great extent after getting ART. Most of the clients strongly demanded to open ART centre in each district for better access as that will increase drug adherence and eventually control the HIV progression. It has been found that as many as 14% of respondents, ever been on ART, reported non-adherence and 70% of them cited distance and economic factors as the reasons for non-adherence. Study concludes that while majority of the clients were satisfied with ART services, shortage of staff, high level of non-drug adherence, long distances and poor referring system are the weak areas requiring attention.

WINDII, the wind imaging interferometer on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shepherd, G. G.; Thuillier, G.; Gault, W. A.; Solheim, B. H.; Hersom, C.; Alunni, J. M.; Brun, J.-F.; Brune, S.; Charlot, P.; Cogger, L. L.

1993-01-01

The WIND imaging interferometer (WINDII) was launched on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) on September 12, 1991. This joint project, sponsored by the Canadian Space Agency and the French Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, in collaboration with NASA, has the responsibility of measuring the global wind pattern at the top of the altitude range covered by UARS. WINDII measures wind, temperature, and emission rate over the altitude range 80 to 300 km by using the visible region airglow emission from these altitudes as a target and employing optical Doppler interferometry to measure the small wavelength shifts of the narrow atomic and molecular airglow emission lines induced by the bulk velocity of the atmosphere carrying the emitting species. The instrument used is an all-glass field-widened achromatically and thermally compensated phase-stepping Michelson interferometer, along with a bare CCD detector that images the airglow limb through the interferometer. A sequence of phase-stepped images is processed to derive the wind velocity for two orthogonal view directions, yielding the vector horizontal wind. The process of data analysis, including the inversion of apparent quantities to vertical profiles, is described.

A Generic Ground Framework for Image Expertise Centres and Small-Sized Production Centres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sellé, A.

2009-05-01

Initiated by the Pleiadas Earth Observation Program, the CNES (French Space Agency) has developed a generic collaborative framework for its image quality centre, highly customisable for any upcoming expertise centre. This collaborative framework has been design to be used by a group of experts or scientists that want to share data and processings and manage interfaces with external entities. Its flexible and scalable architecture complies with the core requirements: defining a user data model with no impact on the software (generic access data), integrating user processings with a GUI builder and built-in APIs, and offering a scalable architecture to fit any preformance requirement and accompany growing projects. The CNES jas given licensing grants for two software companies that will be able to redistribute this framework to any customer.

Objective classification of atmospheric circulation over southern Scandinavia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Linderson, Maj-Lena

2001-02-01

A method for calculating circulation indices and weather types following the Lamb classification is applied to southern Scandinavia. The main objective is to test the ability of the method to describe the atmospheric circulation over the area, and to evaluate the extent to which the pressure patterns determine local precipitation and temperature in Scania, southernmost Sweden. The weather type classification method works well and produces distinct groups. However, the variability within the group is large with regard to the location of the low pressure centres, which may have implications for the precipitation over the area. The anticyclonic weather type dominates, together with the cyclonic and westerly types. This deviates partly from the general picture for Sweden and may be explained by the southerly location of the study area. The cyclonic type is most frequent in spring, although cloudiness and amount of rain are lowest during this season. This could be explained by the occurrence of weaker cyclones or low air humidity during this time of year. Local temperature and precipitation were modelled by stepwise regression for each season, designating weather types as independent variables. Only the winter season-modelled temperature and precipitation show a high and robust correspondence to the observed temperature and precipitation, even though <60% of the precipitation variance is explained. In the other seasons, the connection between atmospheric circulation and the local temperature and precipitation is low. Other meteorological parameters may need to be taken into account. The time and space resolution of the mean sea level pressure (MSLP) grid may affect the results, as many important features might not be covered by the classification. Local physiography may also influence the local climate in a way that cannot be described by the atmospheric circulation pattern alone, stressing the importance of using more than one observation series.

Psychiatric rehabilitation in community-based day centres: motivation and satisfaction.

PubMed

Eklund, Mona; Tjörnstrand, Carina

2013-11-01

This study investigated attendees' motivation and motives for participation in day centres and their satisfaction with the rehabilitation, while also addressing the influence of day centre orientation (work- or meeting-place orientation), gender and age. Ninety-three Swedish day centre attendees participated in a cross-sectional study and completed questionnaires about motivation, motives, and satisfaction with the rehabilitation. Data were analysed with non-parametric statistics. The participants were highly motivated for going to the day centre and set clear goals for their rehabilitation. Female gender, but not age, was associated with stronger motivation. The strongest motives for going to the day centre were getting structure to the day and socializing. Attendees at work-oriented day centres more often expressed that they went there to get structure to the day and gain social status. Satisfaction with the rehabilitation was high, and the most common wishes for further opportunities concerned earning money and learning new things. The rehabilitation largely seemed to meet the attendees' needs, but the findings indicated that further developments were desired, such as participation in work on the open market and more work-like occupations in the day centre, accompanied by some kind of remuneration.

Changing Atmospheric Acidity and the Oceanic Solubility of Nutrients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baker, Alex; Sarin, Manmohan; Duce, Robert; Jickells, Tim; Kanakidou, Maria; Myriokefalitakis, Stelios; Ito, Akinori; Turner, David; Mahowald, Natalie; Middag, Rob; Guieu, Cecile; Gao, Yuan; Croot, Peter; Shelley, Rachel; Perron, Morgane

2017-04-01

The atmospheric deposition of nutrients to the ocean is known to play a significant role in the marine carbon cycle. The impact of such deposition is dependent on the identity of the nutrient in question (e.g., N, P, Fe, Co, Zn, Ni, Cd), the location of the deposition, and the bioavailability of the deposited nutrient. Bioavailability is largely governed by the chemical speciation of a nutrient and, in general, insoluble species are not bioavailable. For Fe and P (and perhaps the other nutrient trace metals) solubility increases during transport through the atmosphere. The causes of this increase are complex, but interactions of aerosol particles with acids appears to play a significant role. Emissions of acidic (SO2 and NOx) and alkaline (NH3) gases have increased significantly since the Industrial Revolution, with a net increase in atmospheric acidity. This implies that Fe and P solubility may also have increased over this time period, potentially resulting in increased marine productivity. More recently, pollution controls have decreased emissions of SO2 from some regions and further reductions in SO2 and NOx are likely in the future. Emissions of NH3 are much more difficult to control however, and are projected to stabilise or increase slightly to the end of this century. Future anthropogenic emissions are thus likely to change the acidity of the atmosphere downwind of major urban / industrial centres, with potential consequences for the supply of soluble nutrients to the ocean. To address these issues UN/GESAMP Working Group 38, The Atmospheric Input of Chemicals to the Ocean, is convening a workshop on this topic at the University of East Anglia in February, 2017. The goals of this workshop are to review and synthesize the current scientific information on the solubility of aerosol-associated key biogeochemical elements, the biogeochemical controls on aerosol solubility, and the pH sensitivity of those controls; to consider the likely changes in solubility of

White-centred retinal haemorrhages (Roth spots).

PubMed

Ling, R; James, B

1998-10-01

Roth spots (white-centred retinal haemorrhages) were classically described as septic emboli lodged in the retina of patients with subacute bacterial endocarditis. Indeed many have considered Roth spots pathognomonic for this condition. More recent histological evidence suggests, however, that they are not foci of bacterial abscess. Instead, they are nonspecific and may be found in many other diseases. A review of the histology and the pathogenesis of these white-centred haemorrhages will be provided, along with the work-up of the differential diagnosis.

Family-centred care delivery

PubMed Central

Mayo-Bruinsma, Liesha; Hogg, William; Taljaard, Monica; Dahrouge, Simone

2013-01-01

Abstract Objective To determine whether models of primary care service delivery differ in their provision of family-centred care (FCC) and to identify practice characteristics associated with FCC. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Primary care practices in Ontario (ie, 35 salaried community health centres, 35 fee-for-service practices, 32 capitation-based health service organizations, and 35 blended remuneration family health networks) that belong to 4 models of primary care service delivery. Participants A total of 137 practices, 363 providers, and 5144 patients. Main outcome measures Measures of FCC in patient and provider surveys were based on the Primary Care Assessment Tool. Statistical analyses were conducted using linear mixed regression models and generalized estimating equations. Results Patient-reported FCC scores were high and did not vary significantly by primary care model. Larger panel size in a practice was associated with lower odds of patients reporting FCC. Provider-reported FCC scores were significantly higher in community health centres than in family health networks (P = .035). A larger number of nurse practitioners and clinical services on-site were both associated with higher FCC scores, while scores decreased as the number of family physicians in a practice increased and if practices were more rural. Conclusion Based on provider and patient reports, primary care reform strategies that encourage larger practices and more patients per family physician might compromise the provision of FCC, while strategies that encourage multidisciplinary practices and a range of services might increase FCC. PMID:24235195

Remote sensing of atmospheric water vapor from synthetic aperture radar interferometry: case studies in Shanghai, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Liang; Liu, Min; Guo, Lixin; He, Xiufeng; Gao, Guoping

2016-10-01

The estimation of atmospheric water vapor with high resolution is important for operational weather forecasting, climate monitoring, atmospheric research, and numerous other applications. The 40 m×40 m and 30 m×30 m differential precipitable water vapor (ΔPWV) maps are generated with C- and L-band synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) images over Shanghai, China, respectively. The ΔPWV maps are accessed via comparisons with the spatiotemporally synchronized PWV measurements from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Interim reanalysis at the finest resolution and global positioning system observations, respectively. Results reveal that the ΔPWV maps can be estimated from both C- and L-band InSAR images with an accuracy of better than 2.0 mm, which, therefore, demonstrates the ability of InSAR observations at both C- and L-band to detect the water vapor distribution with high spatial resolution.

Delineation of Areas Contributing Water to the Dry Brook Public-Supply Well, South Hadley, Massachusetts

USGS Publications Warehouse

Garabedian, Stephen P.; Stone, Janet Radway

2004-01-01

Areas contributing water to the Dry Brook public-supply well in South Hadley, Massachusetts, were delineated with a numerical ground-water-flow model that is based on geologic and hydrologic information for the confined sand and gravel aquifer pumped by the supply well. The study area is along the Connecticut River in central Massachusetts, about 12 miles north of Springfield, Massachusetts. Geologic units in the study area consist of Mesozoic-aged sedimentary and igneous bedrock, late-Pleistocene glaciolacustrine sediments, and recent alluvial deposits of the Connecticut River flood plain. Dry Brook Hill, immediately south of the supply well, is a large subaqueous lacustrine fan and delta formed during the last glacial retreat by sediment deposition into glacial Lake Hitchcock from a meltwater tunnel that was likely near where the Connecticut River cuts through the Holyoke Range. The sediments that compose the aquifer grade from very coarse sand and gravel along the northern flank of the hill, to medium sands in the body of the hill, and to finer-grained sediments along the southern flank of the hill. The interbedded and overlapping fine-grained lacustrine sediments associated with Dry Brook Hill include varved silt and clay deposits. These fine-grained sediments form a confining bed above the coarse-grained aquifer at the supply well and partially extend under the Connecticut River adjacent to the supply well. Ground-water flow in the aquifer supplying water to Dry Brook well was simulated with the U.S. Geological Survey ground-water-flow modeling code MODFLOW. The Dry Brook aquifer model was calibrated to drawdown data collected from 8 observation wells during an aquifer test conducted by pumping the supply well for 10 days at a rate of 122.2 cubic feet per minute (ft3/min; 914 gallons per minute) and to water levels collected from observation wells across the study area. Generally, the largest hydraulic conductivity values used in the model were in the sand and

Centre vortex removal restores chiral symmetry

DOE PAGES

Trewartha, Daniel; Kamleh, Waseem; Leinweber, Derek B.

2017-11-15

The influence of centre vortices on dynamical chiral symmetry breaking is investigated through the light hadron spectrum on the lattice. Recent studies of the quark propagator and other quantities have provided evidence that centre vortices are the fundamental objects underpinning dynamical chiral symmetry breaking in SU(3) gauge theory. For the first time, we use the chiral overlap fermion action to study the low-lying hadron spectrum on lattice ensembles consisting of Monte Carlo, vortex-removed, and vortex-projected gauge fields. We find that gauge field configurations consisting solely of smoothed centre vortices are capable of reproducing all the salient features of the hadronmore » spectrum, including dynamical chiral symmetry breaking. In conclusion, the hadron spectrum on vortex-removed fields shows clear signals of chiral symmetry restoration at light values of the bare quark mass, while at heavy masses the spectrum is consistent with a theory of weakly-interacting constituent quarks.« less

Characteristics of sub-daily precipitation extremes in observed data and regional climate model simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beranová, Romana; Kyselý, Jan; Hanel, Martin

2018-04-01

The study compares characteristics of observed sub-daily precipitation extremes in the Czech Republic with those simulated by Hadley Centre Regional Model version 3 (HadRM3) and Rossby Centre Regional Atmospheric Model version 4 (RCA4) regional climate models (RCMs) driven by reanalyses and examines diurnal cycles of hourly precipitation and their dependence on intensity and surface temperature. The observed warm-season (May-September) maxima of short-duration (1, 2 and 3 h) amounts show one diurnal peak in the afternoon, which is simulated reasonably well by RCA4, although the peak occurs too early in the model. HadRM3 provides an unrealistic diurnal cycle with a nighttime peak and an afternoon minimum coinciding with the observed maximum for all three ensemble members, which suggests that convection is not captured realistically. Distorted relationships of the diurnal cycles of hourly precipitation to daily maximum temperature in HadRM3 further evidence that underlying physical mechanisms are misrepresented in this RCM. Goodness-of-fit tests indicate that generalised extreme value distribution is an applicable model for both observed and RCM-simulated precipitation maxima. However, the RCMs are not able to capture the range of the shape parameter estimates of distributions of short-duration precipitation maxima realistically, leading to either too many (nearly all for HadRM3) or too few (RCA4) grid boxes in which the shape parameter corresponds to a heavy tail. This means that the distributions of maxima of sub-daily amounts are distorted in the RCM-simulated data and do not match reality well. Therefore, projected changes of sub-daily precipitation extremes in climate change scenarios based on RCMs not resolving convection need to be interpreted with caution.

Cold chain status at immunisation centres in Ethiopia.

PubMed

Berhane, Y; Demissie, M

2000-09-01

Child immunisation is among the most cost-effective ways of preventing premature child deaths, and the potency of vaccines, crucial for vaccine efficacy, is dependent on effective management of the cold chain at all levels of vaccine handling. To assess the status of the cold chain at peripheral vaccine stores in Ethiopia. Institution based cross-sectional survey in two rural and one urban administrative areas were included in the study. Sixty seven health institutions providing static vaccination services were included in the study but cold chain system was assessed fully in only sixty four. Data were collected by interviewing health workers and by directly observing the cold chain equipment and records using structured forms. Conditions of the cold chain system were described based on 64 of the 67 centres visited, three were excluded because of non-functioning cold chain. Complete temperature record was observed in 37 (57.8%) of the centres. Thermometer was not available in four (6.3%) and thermometer reading was found to be outside the optimal range in another seven (10.9%) centres. Vaccine storage in the refrigerator was not proper in 47 (73.4%) centres. Majority of the centres had neither trained personnel nor budget for maintenance of the cold chain. There is a real danger of vaccines losing their potency at these centres even if they were potent on arrival. Relevant training for those handling the cold chain, improving the maintenance conditions of refrigerators and introduction of cold chain monitoring devises are recommended.

The Jovian Atmospheres

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allison, Michael (Editor); Travis, Larry D. (Editor)

1986-01-01

A conference on the atmosphere of Jupiter produced papers in the areas of thermal and ortho-para hydrogen structure, clouds and chemistry, atmospheric structure, global dynamics, synoptic features and processes, atmospheric dynamics, and future spaceflight opportunities. A session on the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune was included, and the atmosphere of Saturn was discussed in several papers.

The Role of Science Centres and Planetariums

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lomb, Nick

Science centres planetariums and similar places such as visitor centres and public observatories have an essential role to play in school education. Even in states where astronomy is in the curriculum teachers often have a limited knowledge of the subject. Consequently they are happy to bring their students to a place where they can be instructed by professional astronomy educators. Where astronomy is not on the curriculum the centres provide teachers with the opportunity of using the appeal of astronomy to excite students about science. In this paper we will look at a number of examples of what science centres and planetariums provide to school students. Sydney Observatory is open for school visits throughout each school term. Visits are highly structured making use of all the facilities of the observatory in informing the students and exciting them about astronomy. Facilities available include a new interactive 3-D theatre a very small planetarium modern and historic telescopes an exhibition and a lecture room. A planetarium is an invaluable resource for teaching and stimulating the interest of students. Australian planetariums include ones in Melbourne Canberra and Launceston. Some of their experiences in reaching school audiences will be discussed.

Using drama to improve person-centred dementia care.

PubMed

Kontos, Pia C; Mitchell, Gail J; Mistry, Bhavnita; Ballon, Bruce

2010-06-01

We implemented a 12-week drama-based educational intervention to introduce to dementia practitioners person-centred care that emphasizes the notion of embodied selfhood (defined as non-verbal self-expression). Person-centred dementia care guidelines emphasize the assessment of individual needs, and where appropriate, the use of non-pharmacological interventions before resorting to pharmacological management. However, dementia care is not consistent with these guidelines suggesting conceptual limitations and reliance on passive knowledge translation strategies. Focus groups and semi-structured interviews with practitioners (n = 24) in two nursing homes in central Canada were undertaken to assess the effectiveness of the drama-based components of the intervention. Our findings suggest that drama was effective as an educational modality, and helped implement the person-centred approach into practice. Significant practice outcomes included: new awareness that residents' body movements and dispositions can convey meaning; seeking biographical information from families; increased time efficiency; and supporting residents' independence. Our findings make an important contribution to person-centred dementia care by broadening the notion of personhood, and by facilitating implementation using drama. As an enhancement of person-centred care, the support of embodied selfhood may significantly improve residents' quality of life, quality of care, and practitioners' care-giving experience. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Tests for qualitative treatment-by-centre interaction using a 'pushback' procedure.

PubMed

Ciminera, J L; Heyse, J F; Nguyen, H H; Tukey, J W

1993-06-15

In multicentre clinical trials using a common protocol, the centres are usually regarded as being a fixed factor, thus allowing any treatment-by-centre interaction to be omitted from the error term for the effect of treatment. However, we feel it necessary to use the treatment-by-centre interaction as the error term if there is substantial evidence that the interaction with centres is qualitative instead of quantitative. To make allowance for the estimated uncertainties of the centre means, we propose choosing a reference value (for example, the median of the ordered array of centre means) and converting the individual centre results into standardized deviations from the reference value. The deviations are then reordered, and the results 'pushed back' by amounts appropriate for the corresponding order statistics in a sample from the relevant distribution. The pushed-back standardized deviations are then restored to the original scale. The appearance of opposite signs among the destandardized values for the various centres is then taken as 'substantial evidence' of qualitative interaction. Procedures are presented using, in any combination: (i) Gaussian, or Student's t-distribution; (ii) order-statistic medians or outward 90 per cent points of the corresponding order statistic distributions; (iii) pooling or grouping and pooling the internally estimated standard deviations of the centre means. The use of the least conservative combination--Student's t, outward 90 per cent points, grouping and pooling--is recommended.

The oral food desensitization in the Italian allergy centres.

PubMed

Meglio, P; Caminiti, L; Pajno, G B; Dello Iacono, I; Tripodi, S; Verga, M C; Martelli, A

2015-05-01

Attempts aimed at inducing food tolerance through oral food desensitization (OFD) for the treatment of IgE-mediated food allergies are increasing. In Italy, a number of allergy centres offer this procedure. To collect information on how these centres are organized, how patients are selected, the methods used to administer OFD and how adverse reactions are managed. A questionnaire was e-mailed to all the Italian allergy centres offering OFD. The survey shows a high degree of variability between centres. A correct diagnosis of food allergy is crucial for selecting patients for OFD. In the Italian allergy centres, oral food challenges are mostly open label (84%), but in 16% of cases they are single-blind (8%) or double-blind (8%). A high proportion of allergy centres (83%) offer OFD to children presenting forms of anaphylaxis triggered by traces--or very low doses--of food allergen. The majority of allergy centres (76%) enroll patients over 3 years of age, with 44% enrolling patients above the age of 5. Not-controlled asthma, unreliability of parents in the management of OFD and/or risk of adverse events, are the main reasons for exclusion from the procedure. Although OFD may sometimes be successful and may be considered a valid alternative to an elimination diet, further randomized controlled trials are needed, in order to clarify some controversial points, such as the characteristics of the child undergoing OFD, and the methods of food preparation and administration. Moreover, further studies should further investigate OFD safety, efficacy and costs.

The Global Atmosphere Watch Aerosol Programme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baltensperger, U.

2003-04-01

The Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) programme is a WMO sponsored activity and currently supported by about 80 WMO member countries. It is the goal of GAW to develop and maintain long-term measurements of atmospheric constituents in order to detect trends, develop aerosol predictive capabilities and understand proc- esses. With respect to aerosols, the objective of GAW is to support a global network determining the spatio-temporal distribution of aerosol properties related to climate forcing and air quality up to multi-decadal time scales. The GAW network consists of 22 Global stations and some 300 Regional stations. The Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) for Aerosols will soon publish their recommendations for aerosol measurements. Each site should have an acceptable aerosol sampling inlet. Regional stations measure aerosol optical depth, as well as the aerosol light scattering and absorption coefficient. If possible these should be complemented by routine mass concentration and composition measurements in two aerosol size fractions. At Global stations, a larger number of measurements are desirable. These include the Regional parameters list above as well as the light scattering, hemispheric backscat- tering, and absorption coefficients at various wavelengths, aerosol number concen- tration, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentration at 0.5% supersaturation, and diffuse, global and direct solar radiation. Additional parameters such as the aerosol size distribution, detailed size fractionated chemical composition, dependence of aerosol properties on relative humidity, CCN concentration at various supersatura- tions, and the vertical distribution of aerosol properties should be measured intermit- tently at Global stations. Examples from the Jungfraujoch (Swiss Alps, 3580 m asl) will be given, where many of the parameters listed above are measured. Data are delivered to and made available by the World Data Centre for Aerosols (WDCA, located in Ispra, Italy http

Optimizing Data Centre Energy and Environmental Costs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aikema, David Hendrik

Data centres use an estimated 2% of US electrical power which accounts for much of their total cost of ownership. This consumption continues to grow, further straining power grids attempting to integrate more renewable energy. This dissertation focuses on assessing and reducing data centre environmental and financial costs. Emissions of projects undertaken to lower the data centre environmental footprints can be assessed and the emission reduction projects compared using an ISO-14064-2-compliant greenhouse gas reduction protocol outlined herein. I was closely involved with the development of the protocol. Full lifecycle analysis and verifying that projects exceed business-as-usual expectations are addressed, and a test project is described. Consuming power when it is low cost or when renewable energy is available can be used to reduce the financial and environmental costs of computing. Adaptation based on the power price showed 10--50% potential savings in typical cases, and local renewable energy use could be increased by 10--80%. Allowing a fraction of high-priority tasks to proceed unimpeded still allows significant savings. Power grid operators use mechanisms called ancillary services to address variation and system failures, paying organizations to alter power consumption on request. By bidding to offer these services, data centres may be able to lower their energy costs while reducing their environmental impact. If providing contingency reserves which require only infrequent action, savings of up to 12% were seen in simulations. Greater power cost savings are possible for those ceding more control to the power grid operator. Coordinating multiple data centres adds overhead, and altering at which data centre requests are processed based on changes in the financial or environmental costs of power is likely to increase this overhead. Tests of virtual machine migrations showed that in some cases there was no visible increase in power use while in others power use

Work on Planetary Atmospheres and Planetary Atmosphere Probes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lester, Peter

1999-01-01

A summary final report of work accomplished is presented. Work was performed in the following areas: (1) Galileo Probe science analysis, (2) Galileo probe Atmosphere Structure Instrument, (3) Mars Pathfinder Atmosphere Structure/Meteorology instrument, (4) Mars Pathfinder data analysis, (5) Science Definition for future Mars missions, (6) Viking Lander data analysis, (7) winds in Mars atmosphere Venus atmospheric dynamics, (8) Pioneer Venus Probe data analysis, (9) Pioneer Venus anomaly analysis, (10) Discovery Venus Probe Titan probe instrument design, and (11) laboratory studies of Titan probe impact phenomena. The work has resulted in more than 10 articles published in archive journals, 2 encyclopedia articles, and many working papers. This final report is organized around the four planets on which there was activity, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Titan, with a closing section on Miscellaneous Activities. A major objective was to complete the fabrication, test, and evaluation of the atmosphere structure experiment on the Galileo probe, and to receive, analyze and interpret data received from the spacecraft. The instrument was launched on April 14, 1989. Calibration data were taken for all experiment sensors. The data were analyzed, fitted with algorithms, and summarized in a calibration report for use in analyzing and interpreting data returned from Jupiter's atmosphere. The sensors included were the primary science pressure, temperature and acceleration sensors, and the supporting engineering temperature sensors. Computer programs were written to decode the Experiment Data Record and convert the digital numbers to physical quantities, i.e., temperatures, pressures, and accelerations. The project office agreed to obtain telemetry of checkout data from the probe. Work to extend programs written for use on the Pioneer Venus project included: (1) massive heat shield ablation leading to important mass loss during entry; and (2) rapid planet rotation, which introduced

Thermal Band Atmospheric Correction Using Atmospheric Profiles Derived from Global Positioning System Radio Occultation and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pagnutti, Mary; Holekamp, Kara; Stewart, Randy; Vaughan, Ronald D.

2006-01-01

This Rapid Prototyping Capability study explores the potential to use atmospheric profiles derived from GPS (Global Positioning System) radio occultation measurements and by AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) onboard the Aqua satellite to improve surface temperature retrieval from remotely sensed thermal imagery. This study demonstrates an example of a cross-cutting decision support technology whereby NASA data or models are shown to improve a wide number of observation systems or models. The ability to use one data source to improve others will be critical to the GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems) where a large number of potentially useful systems will require auxiliary datasets as input for decision support. Atmospheric correction of thermal imagery decouples TOA radiance and separates surface emission from atmospheric emission and absorption. Surface temperature can then be estimated from the surface emission with knowledge of its emissivity. Traditionally, radiosonde sounders or atmospheric models based on radiosonde sounders, such as the NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration) ARL (Air Resources Laboratory) READY (Real-time Environmental Application and Display sYstem), provide the atmospheric profiles required to perform atmospheric correction. Unfortunately, these types of data are too spatially sparse and too infrequently taken. The advent of high accuracy, global coverage, atmospheric data using GPS radio occultation and AIRS may provide a new avenue for filling data input gaps. In this study, AIRS and GPS radio occultation derived atmospheric profiles from the German Aerospace Center CHAMP (CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload), the Argentinean Commission on Space Activities SAC-C (Satellite de Aplicaciones Cientificas-C), and the pair of NASA GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellites are used as input data in atmospheric radiative transport modeling based on the MODTRAN (MODerate resolution atmospheric

Precipitation in Madeira island and atmospheric rivers in the winter seasons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Couto, Flavio T.; Salgado, Rui; João Costa, Maria; Prior, Victor

2016-04-01

This study aims to analyse the distribution of the daily accumulated precipitation in the Madeira's highlands over a 10-year period, as well as the main characteristics associated with atmospheric rivers (ARs) affecting the island during 10 winter seasons, and their impact in the rainfall amounts recorded near the mountain crest in the south-eastern part of the island. The period between September 2002 and November 2012 is considered for the analysis. The ARs have been identified from the total precipitable water vapour field extracted from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS). The AIRS observations were downloaded for a domain covering large part of the North Atlantic Ocean. The precipitable water vapour field from the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) analysis was also used aiming to support the AIRS data when there was no satellite information over the island. The daily accumulated precipitation at surface showed generally drier summers, while the highest accumulated precipitation are recorded mainly during the winter, although some significant events may occur also in autumn and spring seasons. The patterns of the precipitable water vapour field when ARs reach the island were investigated, and even if great part of the atmospheric rivers reaches the island in a dissipation stage, some rivers are heavy enough to reach the Madeira Island. In this situation, the water vapour transport could be observed in two main configurations and transporting significant water vapour amounts toward the Madeira from the tropical region. This study lead to conclude that the atmospheric rivers, when associated to high values of precipitable water vapour over the island can provide favourable conditions to the development of precipitation, sometimes associated with high amounts. However, it was also found that many cases of high to extreme accumulated precipitation at the surface were not associated to this kind of moisture transport.

Assuring optimal trauma care: the role of trauma centre accreditation

PubMed Central

Simons, Richard; Kirkpatrick, Andrew

2002-01-01

Optimal care of the injured patient requires the delivery of appropriate, definitive care shortly after injury. Over the last 30 to 40 years, civilian trauma systems and trauma centres have been developed in the United States based on experience gained in military conflicts, particularly in Korea and Vietnam. A similar process is evolving in Canada. National trauma committees in the US and Canada have defined optimal resources to meet the goal of rapid, appropriate care in trauma centres. They have introduced programs (verification or accreditation) to externally audit trauma centre performance based on these guidelines. It is generally accepted that implementing trauma systems results in decreased preventable death and improved survival after trauma. What is less clear is the degree to which each facet of trauma system development contributes to this improvement. The relative importance of national performance guidelines and trauma centre audit as integral steps toward improved outcomes following injury are reviewed. Current Trauma Association of Canada guidelines for trauma centres are presented and the process of trauma centre accreditation is discussed. PMID:12174987

White-centred retinal haemorrhages (Roth spots).

PubMed Central

Ling, R.; James, B.

1998-01-01

Roth spots (white-centred retinal haemorrhages) were classically described as septic emboli lodged in the retina of patients with subacute bacterial endocarditis. Indeed many have considered Roth spots pathognomonic for this condition. More recent histological evidence suggests, however, that they are not foci of bacterial abscess. Instead, they are nonspecific and may be found in many other diseases. A review of the histology and the pathogenesis of these white-centred haemorrhages will be provided, along with the work-up of the differential diagnosis. Images Figure 1 Figure 2 PMID:10211348

Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory as Cultural Centre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mickaelian, A. M.; Farmanyan, S. V.

2016-12-01

NAS RA V. Ambartsumian Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory is presented as a cultural centre for Armenia and the Armenian nation in general. Besides being scientific and educational centre, the Observatory is famous for its unique architectural ensemble, rich botanical garden and world of birds, as well as it is one of the most frequently visited sightseeing of Armenia. In recent years, the Observatory has also taken the initiative of the coordination of the Cultural Astronomy in Armenia and in this field, unites the astronomers, historians, archaeologists, ethnographers, culturologists, literary critics, linguists, art historians and other experts.

The atmospheric emission method of calculating the neutral atmosphere and charged particle densities in the upper atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McElroy, Kenneth L., Jr.

1992-12-01

A method is presented for the determination of neutral gas densities in the ionosphere from rocket-borne measurements of UV atmospheric emissions. Computer models were used to calculate an initial guess for the neutral atmosphere. Using this neutral atmosphere, intensity profiles for the N2 (0,5) Vegard-Kaplan band, the N2 Lyman-Birge-Hopfield band system, and the OI2972 A line were calculated and compared with the March 1990 NPS MUSTANG data. The neutral atmospheric model was modified and the intensity profiles recalculated until a fit with the data was obtained. The neutral atmosphere corresponding to the intensity profile that fit the data was assumed to be the atmospheric composition prevailing at the time of the observation. The ion densities were then calculated from the neutral atmosphere using a photochemical model. The electron density profile calculated by this model was compared with the electron density profile measured by the U.S. Air Force Geophysics Laboratory at a nearby site.

Design Considerations for an Intensive Autism Treatment Centre

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deochand, Neil; Conway, Alissa A.; Fuqua, R. Wayne

2015-01-01

Individuals with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) who display severe and challenging behaviour sometimes require centre-based intensive applied behaviour analysis (ABA) therapy to meet their health, safety and educational needs. Unfortunately, despite the need for centre-based treatment, there is a paucity of empirical research on building and…

A Survey on Evaluation Practices in Teaching and Learning Centres

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kolomitro, Klodiana; Anstey, Lauren M.

2017-01-01

There is general consensus that teaching and learning centres have a positive impact on promoting and supporting a culture that values teaching and learning, yet there is limited evidence on how centres evaluate their work. For this purpose, a survey was developed and administered to the directors of 88 Canadian centres; 46 of which completed the…

Six essential roles of health promotion research centres: the Atlantic Canada experience

PubMed Central

Langille, Lynn L.; Crowell, Sandra J.; Lyons, Renée F.

2009-01-01

SUMMARY Over the past 20 years, the federal government and universities across Canada have directed resources towards the development of university-based health promotion research centres. Researchers at health promotion research centres in Canada have produced peer-reviewed papers and policy documents based on their work, but no publications have emerged that focus on the specific roles of the health promotion research centres themselves. The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework, based on an in-depth examination of one centre, to help identify the unique roles of health promotion research centres and to clarify the value they add to promoting health and advancing university goals. Considering the shifting federal discourse on health promotion over time and the vulnerability of social and health sciences to changes in research funding priorities, health promotion research centres in Canada and elsewhere may need to articulate their unique roles and contributions in order to maintain a critical focus on health promotion research. The authors briefly describe the Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre (AHPRC), propose a framework that illustrates six essential roles of health promotion research centres and describe the policy contexts and challenges of health promotion research centres. The analysis of research and knowledge translation activities over 15 years at AHPRC sheds light on the roles that health promotion research centres play in applied research. The conclusion raises questions regarding the value of university-based research centres and challenges to their sustainability. PMID:19171668

Clarifying the role of mean centring in multicollinearity of interaction effects.

PubMed

Shieh, Gwowen

2011-11-01

Moderated multiple regression (MMR) is frequently employed to analyse interaction effects between continuous predictor variables. The procedure of mean centring is commonly recommended to mitigate the potential threat of multicollinearity between predictor variables and the constructed cross-product term. Also, centring does typically provide more straightforward interpretation of the lower-order terms. This paper attempts to clarify two methodological issues of potential confusion. First, the positive and negative effects of mean centring on multicollinearity diagnostics are explored. It is illustrated that the mean centring method is, depending on the characteristics of the data, capable of either increasing or decreasing various measures of multicollinearity. Second, the exact reason why mean centring does not affect the detection of interaction effects is given. The explication shows the symmetrical influence of mean centring on the corrected sum of squares and variance inflation factor of the product variable while maintaining the equivalence between the two residual sums of squares for the regression of the product term on the two predictor variables. Thus the resulting test statistic remains unchanged regardless of the obvious modification of multicollinearity with mean centring. These findings provide a clear understanding and demonstration on the diverse impact of mean centring in MMR applications. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

Development and piloting the Woman Centred Care Scale (WCCS).

PubMed

Brady, Susannah; Bogossian, Fiona; Gibbons, Kristen

2017-06-01

In midwifery we espouse a woman centred care approach to practice, yet in midwifery education no valid instrument exists with which to measure the performance of these behaviours in midwifery students. To develop and validate an instrument to measure woman centred care behaviours in midwifery students. We identified four core concepts; woman's sphere, holism, self-determination and the shared power relationship. We mapped 18 individual descriptive care behaviours (from the Australian National Competency Standards for the Midwife) to these concepts to create an instrument to articulate and measure care behaviours that are specifically woman centred. Review by expert midwifery clinicians ensured face, content and construct validity of the scale and predictive validity and reliability were tested in a simulated learning environment. Midwifery students were video recorded performing a clinical skill and the videos were reviewed and rated by two expert clinicians who assessed the woman centred care behaviours demonstrated by the students (n=69). Test and re-test reliability of the instrument was high for each of the individual raters (Kappa 0.946 and 0.849 respectively p<0.001). However, when raters were compared there were differences between their scores suggesting variation in their expectations of woman centred care behaviours (Kappa 0.470, p<0.001). Midwifery students who had repeated exposures to higher levels of simulation fidelity demonstrated higher levels of woman centred care behaviours. The WCCS has implications for education and the wider midwifery profession in recognising and maintaining practice consistent with the underlying philosophy of woman centred care. Copyright © 2016 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Implementing Responsibility Centre Budgeting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vonasek, Joseph

2011-01-01

Recently, institutes of higher education (universities) have shown a renewed interest in organisational structures and operating methodologies that generate productivity and innovation; responsibility centre budgeting (RCB) is one such process. This paper describes the underlying principles constituting RCB, its origin and structural elements, and…

Vocational Centres in Fiji Schools: A Needs Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McBeath, Clare

2005-01-01

A needs analysis was conducted into the issues facing the Technical and Vocational Education sector in Fiji. Vocational Centre teachers, Principals and an Education Officer were interviewed, and their responses analysed. The survey pointed to the difficulties currently experienced by the Vocational Centres in the face of poor facilities and…

Recognizing a Centre of Excellence in Ontario's Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Litwin, Jeffrey M.

2012-01-01

The term "Centre of Excellence" is increasingly used by Ontario's colleges with the expectation of portraying a superior level of proficiency, expertise, or investment in a particular academic discipline or program cluster. This paper proposes that the term Centre of Excellence should have a clearer definition so that when one of…

Atmospheric Electricity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aplin, Karen; Fischer, Georg

2018-02-01

Electricity occurs in atmospheres across the Solar System planets and beyond, spanning spectacular lightning displays in clouds of water or dust, to more subtle effects of charge and electric fields. On Earth, lightning is likely to have existed for a long time, based on evidence from fossilized lightning strikes in ancient rocks, but observations of planetary lightning are necessarily much more recent. The generation and observations of lightning and other atmospheric electrical processes, both from within-atmosphere measurements, and spacecraft remote sensing, can be readily studied using a comparative planetology approach, with Earth as a model. All atmospheres contain charged molecules, electrons, and/or molecular clusters created by ionization from cosmic rays and other processes, which may affect an atmosphere's energy balance both through aerosol and cloud formation, and direct absorption of radiation. Several planets are anticipated to host a "global electric circuit" by analogy with the circuit occurring on Earth, where thunderstorms drive current of ions or electrons through weakly conductive parts of the atmosphere. This current flow may further modulate an atmosphere's radiative properties through cloud and aerosol effects. Lightning could potentially have implications for life through its effects on atmospheric chemistry and particle transport. It has been observed on many of the Solar System planets (Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) and it may also be present on Venus and Mars. On Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn, lightning is thought to be generated in deep water and ice clouds, but discharges can be generated in dust, as for terrestrial volcanic lightning, and on Mars. Other, less well-understood mechanisms causing discharges in non-water clouds also seem likely. The discovery of thousands of exoplanets has recently led to a range of further exotic possibilities for atmospheric electricity, though lightning detection beyond our Solar System

[The response of the upper respiratory tract to the impact of atmospheric pollution].

PubMed

Mukhamadiev, R A; Ismagilov, Sh M

2015-01-01

The present literature review characterizes the environmental conditions in the Russian Federation in general and the Republic of Tatarstan in particular with special reference to the influence of atmospheric pollution on the development and the clinical picture of the diseases of the respiratory organs including pathology of the upper respiratory tract in the populations of the industrial centres and other environmentally unfriendly areas. The views of the domestic and foreign authors concerning the role of the environmental factors in the clinical picture of the upper respiratory tract disorders are described in detail. The authors emphasize the necessity of the further investigationsinto this problem and the development of the methods for the prevention of diseases of the upper respiratory react.

Macroturbulence in Very High Resolution Atmospheric Models: Evidence for Two Scaling Regimes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Straus, D. M.

2010-12-01

The macro-turbulent properties of the atmosphere's circulation are examined in a number of very high resolution seasonal simulations using the global Nonhydrostatic ICosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM) at 7-km horizontal resolution (40 levels), and the forecast model of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) at T1279 and T2047 spectral resolutions (90-levels). These simulations were carried out as part of an extraordinary collaborative project between the Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies (COLA), the University of Tokyo, the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), ECMWF, and the National Institute of Computational Sciences (NICS) The goals of the analysis are to document the rotational and divergence kinetic energy spectral characteristics, to shed light on the different scaling regimes obtained and the role of non-hydrostatic dynamics, and to asses the effects of the smallest scales on the cascades of energy. Simulations with all the models show some evidence of two scaling regimes (power law with steep slope, and a distinctly more shallow slope at smaller scales) for both rotational and divergent kinetic energy. The strength of the evidence for the two-regimes, as well as the wavenumber ranges in which they occur, do differ between models. Analysis of different time scale contributions to the spectra lend insight into the energy transfer mechanism. The implications for dynamical theories of turbulent energy exchange are discussed, as well as difference in approach to compared with multiplicative cascade theories.

Offshore Wind Energy Climate Projection Using UPSCALE Climate Data under the RCP8.5 Emission Scenario

PubMed Central

Gross, Markus; Magar, Vanesa

2016-01-01

In previous work, the authors demonstrated how data from climate simulations can be utilized to estimate regional wind power densities. In particular, it was shown that the quality of wind power densities, estimated from the UPSCALE global dataset in offshore regions of Mexico, compared well with regional high resolution studies. Additionally, a link between surface temperature and moist air density in the estimates was presented. UPSCALE is an acronym for UK on PRACE (the Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe)—weather-resolving Simulations of Climate for globAL Environmental risk. The UPSCALE experiment was performed in 2012 by NCAS (National Centre for Atmospheric Science)-Climate, at the University of Reading and the UK Met Office Hadley Centre. The study included a 25.6-year, five-member ensemble simulation of the HadGEM3 global atmosphere, at 25km resolution for present climate conditions. The initial conditions for the ensemble runs were taken from consecutive days of a test configuration. In the present paper, the emphasis is placed on the single climate run for a potential future climate scenario in the UPSCALE experiment dataset, using the Representation Concentrations Pathways (RCP) 8.5 climate change scenario. Firstly, some tests were performed to ensure that the results using only one instantiation of the current climate dataset are as robust as possible within the constraints of the available data. In order to achieve this, an artificial time series over a longer sampling period was created. Then, it was shown that these longer time series provided almost the same results than the short ones, thus leading to the argument that the short time series is sufficient to capture the climate. Finally, with the confidence that one instantiation is sufficient, the future climate dataset was analysed to provide, for the first time, a projection of future changes in wind power resources using the UPSCALE dataset. It is hoped that this, in turn, will

Offshore Wind Energy Climate Projection Using UPSCALE Climate Data under the RCP8.5 Emission Scenario.

PubMed

Gross, Markus; Magar, Vanesa

2016-01-01

In previous work, the authors demonstrated how data from climate simulations can be utilized to estimate regional wind power densities. In particular, it was shown that the quality of wind power densities, estimated from the UPSCALE global dataset in offshore regions of Mexico, compared well with regional high resolution studies. Additionally, a link between surface temperature and moist air density in the estimates was presented. UPSCALE is an acronym for UK on PRACE (the Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe)-weather-resolving Simulations of Climate for globAL Environmental risk. The UPSCALE experiment was performed in 2012 by NCAS (National Centre for Atmospheric Science)-Climate, at the University of Reading and the UK Met Office Hadley Centre. The study included a 25.6-year, five-member ensemble simulation of the HadGEM3 global atmosphere, at 25km resolution for present climate conditions. The initial conditions for the ensemble runs were taken from consecutive days of a test configuration. In the present paper, the emphasis is placed on the single climate run for a potential future climate scenario in the UPSCALE experiment dataset, using the Representation Concentrations Pathways (RCP) 8.5 climate change scenario. Firstly, some tests were performed to ensure that the results using only one instantiation of the current climate dataset are as robust as possible within the constraints of the available data. In order to achieve this, an artificial time series over a longer sampling period was created. Then, it was shown that these longer time series provided almost the same results than the short ones, thus leading to the argument that the short time series is sufficient to capture the climate. Finally, with the confidence that one instantiation is sufficient, the future climate dataset was analysed to provide, for the first time, a projection of future changes in wind power resources using the UPSCALE dataset. It is hoped that this, in turn, will provide

Jupiter's interior and deep atmosphere: The initial pole-to-pole passes with the Juno spacecraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bolton, S. J.; Adriani, A.; Adumitroaie, V.; Allison, M.; Anderson, J.; Atreya, S.; Bloxham, J.; Brown, S.; Connerney, J. E. P.; DeJong, E.; Folkner, W.; Gautier, D.; Grassi, D.; Gulkis, S.; Guillot, T.; Hansen, C.; Hubbard, W. B.; Iess, L.; Ingersoll, A.; Janssen, M.; Jorgensen, J.; Kaspi, Y.; Levin, S. M.; Li, C.; Lunine, J.; Miguel, Y.; Mura, A.; Orton, G.; Owen, T.; Ravine, M.; Smith, E.; Steffes, P.; Stone, E.; Stevenson, D.; Thorne, R.; Waite, J.; Durante, D.; Ebert, R. W.; Greathouse, T. K.; Hue, V.; Parisi, M.; Szalay, J. R.; Wilson, R.

2017-05-01

On 27 August 2016, the Juno spacecraft acquired science observations of Jupiter, passing less than 5000 kilometers above the equatorial cloud tops. Images of Jupiter's poles show a chaotic scene, unlike Saturn's poles. Microwave sounding reveals weather features at pressures deeper than 100 bars, dominated by an ammonia-rich, narrow low-latitude plume resembling a deeper, wider version of Earth's Hadley cell. Near-infrared mapping reveals the relative humidity within prominent downwelling regions. Juno's measured gravity field differs substantially from the last available estimate and is one order of magnitude more precise. This has implications for the distribution of heavy elements in the interior, including the existence and mass of Jupiter's core. The observed magnetic field exhibits smaller spatial variations than expected, indicative of a rich harmonic content.

Determining requirements for patient-centred care: a participatory concept mapping study.

PubMed

Ogden, Kathryn; Barr, Jennifer; Greenfield, David

2017-11-28

Recognition of a need for patient-centred care is not new, however making patient-centred care a reality remains a challenge to organisations. We need empirical studies to extend current understandings, create new representations of the complexity of patient-centred care, and guide collective action toward patient-centred health care. To achieve these ends, the research aim was to empirically determine what organisational actions are required for patient-centred care to be achieved. We used an established participatory concept mapping methodology. Cross-sector stakeholders contributed to the development of statements for patient-centred care requirements, sorting statements into groupings according to similarity, and rating each statement according to importance, feasibility, and achievement. The resultant data were analysed to produce a visual concept map representing participants' conceptualisation of patient-centred care requirements. Analysis included the development of a similarity matrix, multidimensional scaling, hierarchical cluster analysis, selection of the number of clusters and their labels, identifying overarching domains and quantitative representation of rating data. The outcome was the development of a conceptual map for the Requirements of Patient-Centred Care Systems (ROPCCS). ROPCCS incorporates 123 statements sorted into 13 clusters. Cluster labels were: shared responsibility for personalised health literacy; patient provider dynamic for care partnership; collaboration; shared power and responsibility; resources for coordination of care; recognition of humanity - skills and attributes; knowing and valuing the patient; relationship building; system review evaluation and new models; commitment to supportive structures and processes; elements to facilitate change; professional identity and capability development; and explicit education and learning. The clusters were grouped into three overarching domains, representing a cross-sectoral approach

Paediatric ECMO at low-volume paediatric cardiac centres in the Nordic countries.

PubMed

Veien, M; Lindberg, L; Tynkkynen, P; Ravn, H B

2015-03-01

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a life-saving resource-intensive technology for patients with respiratory and/or circulatory failure. We aimed to evaluate outcome data from three Nordic paediatric centres comparing with data from the International Registry of the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) and selected high-volume single-centre studies. One-hundred nineteen patients < 19 years from 2002 to 2012 were enrolled. Data on demographics and outcome were collected using a standardised registration form. Outcome data were compared with the ELSO registry and high-volume single-centre studies. Demographics, indications and diagnosis were similar to the ELSO register. Survival after ECMO was similar to outcome data from the ELSO register, apart from paediatric cardiac ECMO, where a significantly better survival to discharge was seen in the Nordic centres (68% vs. 49%; P = 0.03). Comparison with high-volume centres in the period after 2005 demonstrated a significantly better survival after cardiac ECMO in a single high-volume centre study, whereas four studies had significantly lower survival after cardiac ECMO. No significant difference was seen in children receiving respiratory ECMO in the Nordic centres and high-volume centres. Survival after ECMO in three low-volume Nordic centres demonstrated comparable outcome data with ELSO data and data from high-volume centres. We believe regular quality assurance surveys, as the present study, should be performed in order to maintain excellent therapy within the individual ECMO centres. © 2015 The Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Low-Income Parents' Adult Interactions at Childcare Centres

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reid, Jeanne L.; Martin, Anne; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne

2017-01-01

Little is known about the extent and nature of low-income parents' interactions with other parents and staff at childcare centres, despite the potential for these interactions to provide emotional, informational, and instrumental support. This study interviewed 51 parents at three childcare centres in low-income neighbourhoods in New York City.…

Investigating Teachers' Views of Student-Centred Learning Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seng, Ernest Lim Kok

2014-01-01

Conventional learning is based on low levels of students' participation where students are rarely expected to ask questions or to challenge the theories of the academic. A paradigm shift in curriculum has resulted in implementing student-centred learning (SCL) approach, putting students as the centre of the learning process. This mode of…

Centre-related variability in hospital admissions of patients with spondyloarthritis.

PubMed

Andrés, Mariano; Sivera, Francisca; Pérez-Vicente, Sabina; Carmona, Loreto; Vela, Paloma

2016-09-01

The aim of this study was to explore the variability in hospital admissions of patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA) in Spain, and the centre factors that may influence that variability. Descriptive cross-sectional study, part of the emAR II study, performed in Spain (2009-2010). Health records of patients with a diagnosis of SpA and at least one visit to the rheumatology units within the previous 2 years were reviewed. Variables related to hospital admissions, to the SpA, and to the patient and centre were collected. A multilevel logistic regression analysis of random intercept with non-random slopes was performed to assess variability between centres. From 45 centres, 1168 patients' health records were reviewed. Main SpA forms were ankylosing spondylitis (55.2 %) and psoriatic arthritis (22.2 %). A total of 248 admissions were registered for 196 patients (19.2 %, n = 1020). An adjusted variability of 17.6 % in hospitalizations between centres was noted. The following hospital-related factors showed a significant association with admissions: the total number of admissions of the centre, the existence of electronic admission, and the availability of ultrasound in rheumatology. However, these factors only explained 42.9 % of the inter-centre variability. The risk of a patient with SpA of being admitted could double (median OR 2.09), depending on the hospital where the patient was being managed. Hospital admissions of patients with SpA varied between hospitals due to centre characteristics. Further studies are needed to ascertain which specific factors may be causing the variation, as studied variables explained less than half of the variability.

The impact of resolution on the dynamics of the martian global atmosphere: Varying resolution studies with the MarsWRF GCM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toigo, Anthony D.; Lee, Christopher; Newman, Claire E.; Richardson, Mark I.

2012-09-01

We investigate the sensitivity of the circulation and thermal structure of the martian atmosphere to numerical model resolution in a general circulation model (GCM) using the martian implementation (MarsWRF) of the planetWRF atmospheric model. We provide a description of the MarsWRF GCM and use it to study the global atmosphere at horizontal resolutions from 7.5° × 9° to 0.5° × 0.5°, encompassing the range from standard Mars GCMs to global mesoscale modeling. We find that while most of the gross-scale features of the circulation (the rough location of jets, the qualitative thermal structure, and the major large-scale features of the surface level winds) are insensitive to horizontal resolution over this range, several major features of the circulation are sensitive in detail. The northern winter polar circulation shows the greatest sensitivity, showing a continuous transition from a smooth polar winter jet at low resolution, to a distinct vertically “split” jet as resolution increases. The separation of the lower and middle atmosphere polar jet occurs at roughly 10 Pa, with the split jet structure developing in concert with the intensification of meridional jets at roughly 10 Pa and above 0.1 Pa. These meridional jets appear to represent the separation of lower and middle atmosphere mean overturning circulations (with the former being consistent with the usual concept of the “Hadley cell”). Further, the transition in polar jet structure is more sensitive to changes in zonal than meridional horizontal resolution, suggesting that representation of small-scale wave-mean flow interactions is more important than fine-scale representation of the meridional thermal gradient across the polar front. Increasing the horizontal resolution improves the match between the modeled thermal structure and the Mars Climate Sounder retrievals for northern winter high latitudes. While increased horizontal resolution also improves the simulation of the northern high

Atmospheric Habitable Zones in Y Dwarf Atmospheres

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yates, Jack S.; Palmer, Paul I.; Biller, Beth

We use a simple organism lifecycle model to explore the viability of an atmospheric habitable zone (AHZ), with temperatures that could support Earth-centric life, which sits above an environment that does not support life. To illustrate our model, we use a cool Y dwarf atmosphere, such as WISE J085510.83–0714442.5, whose 4.5–5.2 μ m spectrum shows absorption features consistent with water vapor and clouds. We allow organisms to adapt to their atmospheric environment (described by temperature, convection, and gravity) by adopting different growth strategies that maximize their chance of survival and proliferation. We assume a constant upward vertical velocity through themore » AHZ. We found that the organism growth strategy is most sensitive to the magnitude of the atmospheric convection. Stronger convection supports the evolution of more massive organisms. For a purely radiative environment, we find that evolved organisms have a mass that is an order of magnitude smaller than terrestrial microbes, thereby defining a dynamical constraint on the dimensions of life that an AHZ can support. Based on a previously defined statistical approach, we infer that there are of the order of 10{sup 9} cool Y brown dwarfs in the Milky Way, and likely a few tens of these objects are within 10 pc from Earth. Our work also has implications for exploring life in the atmospheres of temperate gas giants. Consideration of the habitable volumes in planetary atmospheres significantly increases the volume of habitable space in the galaxy.« less

Colour centre recovery in yttria-stabilised zirconia: photo-induced versus thermal processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Costantini, Jean-Marc; Touati, Nadia; Binet, Laurent; Lelong, Gérald; Guillaumet, Maxime; Beuneu, François

2018-05-01

The photo-annealing of colour centres in yttria-stabilised zirconia (YSZ) was studied by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy upon UV-ray or laser light illumination, and compared to thermal annealing. Stable hole centres (HCs) were produced in as-grown YSZ single crystals by UV-ray irradiation at room temperature (RT). The HCs produced by 200-MeV Au ion irradiation, as well as the F+-type centres (? centres involving oxygen vacancies) were left unchanged upon UV illumination. In contrast, a significant photo-annealing of the latter point defects was achieved in 1.4-MeV electron-irradiated YSZ by 553-nm laser light irradiation at RT. Almost complete photo-bleaching was achieved by laser irradiation inside the absorption band of ? centres centred at a wavelength 550 nm. Thermal annealing of these colour centres was also followed by UV-visible absorption spectroscopy showing full bleaching at 523 K. Colour-centre evolutions by photo-induced and thermally activated processes are discussed on the basis of charge exchange processes between point defects.

Quantifying Methane Emissions from the Arctic Ocean Seabed to the Atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Platt, Stephen; Pisso, Ignacio; Schmidbauer, Norbert; Hermansen, Ove; Silyakova, Anna; Ferré, Benedicte; Vadakkepuliyambatta, Sunil; Myhre, Gunnar; Mienert, Jürgen; Stohl, Andreas; Myhre, Cathrine Lund

2016-04-01

Large quantities of methane are stored under the seafloor in the shallow waters of the Arctic Ocean. Some of this is in the form of hydrates which may be vulnerable to deomposition due to surface warming. The Methane Emissions from Arctic Ocean to Atmosphere MOCA, (http://moca.nilu.no/) project was established in collaboration with the Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate (CAGE, https://cage.uit.no/). In summer 2014, and summer and autumn 2015 we deployed oceanographic CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, Depth) stations and performed state-of-the-art atmospheric measurements of CH4, CO2, CO, and other meteorological parameters aboard the research vessel Helmer Hanssen west of Prins Karl's Forland, Svalbard. Air samples were collected for isotopic analysis (13C, 2H) and quantification of other hydrocarbons (ethane, propane, etc.). Atmospheric measurements are also available from the nearby Zeppelin Observatory at a mountain close to Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. We will present data from these measurements that show an upper constraint of the methane flux in measurement area in 2014 too low to influence the annual CH4 budget. This is further supported by top-down constraints (maximum release consistent with observations at the Helmer Hansen and Zeppelin Observatory) determined using FLEXPART foot print sensitivities and the OsloCTM3 model. The low flux estimates despite the presence of active seeps in the area (numerous gas flares were observed using echo sounding) were apparently due to the presence of a stable ocean pycnocline at ~50 m.

Science Centres: A Resource for School and Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pilo, Miranda; Mantero, Alfonso; Marasco, Antonella

2011-01-01

We present a science centre established in Genoa on an agreement between Municipality of Genoa and Department of Physics of University of Genoa. The aim is to offer children, young people and community an opportunity to approach science in a playful way. The centre staffs guide the visitors through the exhibits, attracting their interests towards…

From serenity to halcyon birth centre.

PubMed

Gutteridge, Kathryn

2013-01-01

This article follows the journey of Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust quest for improving normal birth outcomes for a complex and diverse population. The opportunities that led to commissioning a colocated and freestanding birth centre are explored and how the design was influenced by less clinical beliefs about birth. Through the story of both birth centre developments, Kathryn Gutteridge shows the changes that have been seen in both clinical outcomes and families'comments. From a failing maternity service to a beacon of light where midwifery care and a belief that 'your birth in our home' really matters.

Atmospheric Mercury Deposition Monitoring – National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP)

EPA Science Inventory

The National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) developed and operates a collaborative network of atmospheric mercury monitoring sites based in North America – the Atmospheric Mercury Network (AMNet). The justification for the network was growing interest and demand from many ...

Simultaneity of centres in ℤ q -equivariant systems.

PubMed

Giné, Jaume; Llibre, Jaume; Valls, Claudia

2018-05-01

We study the simultaneous existence of centres for two families of planar Z q -equivariant systems. First, we give a short review about Z q -equivariant systems. Next, we present the necessary and sufficient conditions for the simultaneous existence of centres for a Z 2 -equivariant cubic system and for a Z 2 -equivariant quintic system.

Different Images of Science at Nordic Science Centres

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davidsson, Eva; Jakobsson, Anders

2007-01-01

Science centres aim to present science in ways that will attract visitors and enhance public interest in, and knowledge of, science. But what images and different aspects of science are visitors confronted with at Nordic science centres? This study aims to explore the different aspects of science that are displayed and the ways in which these…

Cost-effectiveness of planned birth in a birth centre compared with alternative planned places of birth: results of the Dutch Birth Centre study

PubMed Central

Hermus, Marieke, MAA; Boesveld, Inge, IC; Franx, Arie; van der Pal-de Bruin, Karin, KM; Steegers, Eric, EAP; van den Akker-van Marle, EIske, ME

2017-01-01

Objectives To estimate the cost-effectiveness of a planned birth in a birth centre compared with alternative planned places of birth for low-risk women. In addition, a distinction has been made between different types of locations and integration profiles of birth centres. Design Economic evaluation based on a prospective cohort study. Setting 21 Dutch birth centres, 46 hospital locations where midwife-led birth was possible and 110 midwifery practices where home birth was possible. Participants 3455 low-risk women under the care of a community midwife at the start of labour in the Netherlands within the study period 1 July 2013 to 31 December 2013. Main outcome measures Costs and health outcomes of birth for different planned places of birth. Healthcare costs were measured from start of labour until 7 days after birth. The health outcomes were assessed by the Optimality Index-NL2015 (OI) and a composite adverse outcomes score. Results The total adjusted mean costs for births planned in a birth centre, in a hospital and at home under the care of a community midwife were €3327, €3330 and €2998, respectively. There was no difference between the score on the OI for women who planned to give birth in a birth centre and that of women who planned to give birth in a hospital. Women who planned to give birth at home had better outcomes on the OI (higher score on the OI). Conclusions We found no differences in costs and health outcomes for low-risk women under the care of a community midwife with a planned birth in a birth centre and in a hospital. For nulliparous and multiparous low-risk women, planned birth at home was the most cost-effective option compared with planned birth in a birth centre. PMID:28893750

International Seismological Centre

USGS Publications Warehouse

Spall, H.; Hughes, A.

1979-01-01

The International Seismological Centre had its origins when the British seismologist Professor John Milne returned to England from Japan in 1895 to retire at Shide on the Isle of Eight. In cooperation with the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Milne had set up a number of seismographic stations around the world and, while Tokyo, had published a Catalogue of 8,33 Earthquakes Recorded in Japan, 1885-1892. 

F-actin mechanics control spindle centring in the mouse zygote

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaigne, Agathe; Campillo, Clément; Voituriez, Raphaël; Gov, Nir S.; Sykes, Cécile; Verlhac, Marie-Hélène; Terret, Marie-Emilie

2016-01-01

Mitotic spindle position relies on interactions between astral microtubules nucleated by centrosomes and a rigid cortex. Some cells, such as mouse oocytes, do not possess centrosomes and astral microtubules. These cells rely only on actin and on a soft cortex to position their spindle off-centre and undergo asymmetric divisions. While the first mouse embryonic division also occurs in the absence of centrosomes, it is symmetric and not much is known on how the spindle is positioned at the exact cell centre. Using interdisciplinary approaches, we demonstrate that zygotic spindle positioning follows a three-step process: (1) coarse centring of pronuclei relying on the dynamics of an F-actin/Myosin-Vb meshwork; (2) fine centring of the metaphase plate depending on a high cortical tension; (3) passive maintenance at the cell centre. Altogether, we show that F-actin-dependent mechanics operate the switch between asymmetric to symmetric division required at the oocyte to embryo transition.

Sustaining the Leaders of Children's Centres: The Role of Leadership Mentoring

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

John, Karen

2008-01-01

Leadership mentoring is a central component of the National Professional Qualification in Integrated Centre Leadership (NPQICL), which is designed to develop robust, creative and courageous children's centre leaders. Mentoring provides a safe, supportive and confidential space in which leaders can discuss the challenges of leading their centres.…

Joint US Navy/US Air Force climatic study of the upper atmosphere. Volume 1: January

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Changery, Michael J.; Williams, Claude N.; Dickenson, Michael L.; Wallace, Brian L.

1989-07-01

The upper atmosphere was studied based on 1980 to 1985 twice daily gridded analyses produced by the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts. This volume is for the month of January. Included are global analyses of: (1) Mean temperature standard deviation; (2) Mean geopotential height standard deviation; (3) Mean density standard deviation; (4) Mean density standard deviation (all for 13 levels - 1000, 850, 700, 500, 400, 300, 250, 200, 150, 100, 70, 50, 30 mb); (5) Mean dew point standard deviation for the 13 levels; and (6) Jet stream at levels 500 through 30 mb. Also included are global 5 degree grid point wind roses for the 13 pressure levels.

Multisensor Retrieval of Atmospheric Properties.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boba Stankov, B.

1998-09-01

the lower troposphere from the ground-based Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS); total water vapor measurements from the Global Positioning System; specific humidity gradient profiles from the wind-profiling radar/RASS system; surface meteorological observations from standard instruments; cloud-base heights from a lidar ceilometer; temperature from the Aeronautical Radio, Incorporated Communication, Addressing and Reporting System aboard commercial airlines; and brightness temperature observations from TOVS.Data from the experiment conducted in the late summer of 1995 at Point Loma, California, were used for comparisons of MRAP results and 20 nearby rawinsonde releases to assess the statistical error estimates of MRAP. The temperature profiles had a bias of -0.27°C and a standard deviation of 1.56°C for the entire troposphere. Dewpoint profile retrievals did not have an overall accuracy as high as that of the temperature profiles but they exhibited a markedly improved standard deviation and bias in the lower atmosphere when the wind profiler/RASS specific humidity gradient information was available as a further constraint on the process. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) model profiles of humidity and temperature for the grid point nearest to the Point Loma site were also used for comparison with the rawinsonde soundings to establish the usefulness of MRAP profiles to the weather forecasting community. The comparison showed that the vertical resolution of the ECMWF model profiles within the planetary boundary layer is not capable of detecting sharp gradients.

27. PLAN OF STRINGERS TO BE REPLACED (with 'Present Stringers' ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

27. PLAN OF STRINGERS TO BE REPLACED (with 'Present Stringers' written over the word 'stringers' in the original) SOUTH HADLEY FALLS BRIDGE, HOLYOKE, MASS. Scale 11/2' = 1' 1/1/23 P.E. Bond City Engr. - Holyoke Bridge, Spanning Connecticut River, between Holyoke & South Hadley Falls, Holyoke, Hampden County, MA

Stakeholder perceptions of a nurse led walk-in centre.

PubMed

Parker, Rhian M; Desborough, Jane L; Forrest, Laura E

2012-11-05

As many countries face primary care medical workforce shortages and find it difficult to provide timely and affordable care they seek to find new ways of delivering first point of contact health care through developing new service models. In common with other areas of rural and regional Australia, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is currently experiencing a general practitioner (GP) workforce shortage which impacts significantly on the ability of patients to access GP led primary care services. The introduction of a nurse led primary care Walk-in Centre in the ACT aimed to fulfill an unmet health care need in the community and meet projected demand for health care services as well as relieve pressure on the hospital system. Stakeholders have the potential to influence health service planning and policy, to advise on the potential of services to meet population health needs and to assess how acceptable health service innovation is to key stakeholder groups. This study aimed to ascertain the views of key stakeholders about the Walk-in Centre. Stakeholders were purposively selected through the identification of individuals and organisations which had organisational or professional contact with the Walk-in Centre. Semi structured interviews around key themes were conducted with seventeen stakeholders. Stakeholders were generally supportive of the Walk-in Centre but identified key areas which they considered needed to be addressed. These included the service's systems, full utilisation of the nurse practitioner role and adequate education and training. It was also suggested that a doctor could be available to the Centre as a source of referral for patients who fall outside the nurses' scope of practice. The location of the Centre was seen to impact on patient flows to the Emergency Department. Nurse led Walk-in Centres are one response to addressing primary health care medical workforce shortages. Whilst some stakeholders have reservations about the model others

Managing Data and Facilitating Science: A spectrum of activities in the Centre for Environmental Data Archival. (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawrence, B.; Bennett, V.; Callaghan, S.; Juckes, M. N.; Pepler, S.

2013-12-01

The UK Centre for Environmental Data Archival (CEDA) hosts a number of formal data centres, including the British Atmospheric Data Centre (BADC), and is a partner in a range of national and international data federations, including the InfraStructure for the European Network for Earth system Simulation, the Earth System Grid Federation, and the distributed IPCC Data Distribution Centres. The mission of CEDA is to formally curate data from, and facilitate the doing of, environmental science. The twin aims are symbiotic: data curation helps facilitate science, and facilitating science helps with data curation. Here we cover how CEDA delivers this strategy by established internal processes supplemented by short-term projects, supported by staff with a range of roles. We show how CEDA adds value to data in the curated archive, and how it supports science, and show examples of the aforementioned symbiosis. We begin by discussing curation: CEDA has the formal responsibility for curating the data products of atmospheric science and earth observation research funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). However, curation is not just about the provider community, the consumer communities matter too, and the consumers of these data cross the boundaries of science, including engineers, medics, as well as the gamut of the environmental sciences. There is a small, and growing cohort of non-science users. For both producers and consumers of data, information about data is crucial, and a range of CEDA staff have long worked on tools and techniques for creating, managing, and delivering metadata (as well as data). CEDA "science support" staff work with scientists to help them prepare and document data for curation. As one of a spectrum of activities, CEDA has worked on data Publication as a method of both adding value to some data, and rewarding the effort put into the production of quality datasets. As such, we see this activity as both a curation and a

Reframing the focus from a family-centred to a child-centred care approach for children's healthcare.

PubMed

Coyne, Imelda; Hallström, Inger; Söderbäck, Maja

2016-05-01

In this article, we argue for a conceptual move from family-centred care (FCC) to a child-centred care approach and the implications for clinical nursing practice. Firstly, we argue that the parents and professional dominance constructs an asymmetric relationship towards the child, which may take away the focus from the child; Secondly, we need to renew efforts to promote the fundamental principles of protection, promotion and participation rights for children and young people according to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child declaration and thirdly, we need to strengthen the child's perspective and to view the child as an agent representing own experiences and wishes to be respected and negotiated. © The Author(s) 2016.

Modelled and observed changes in aerosols and surface solar radiation over Europe between 1960 and 2009

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turnock, S. T.; Spracklen, D. V.; Carslaw, K. S.; Mann, G. W.; Woodhouse, M. T.; Forster, P. M.; Haywood, J.; Johnson, C. E.; Dalvi, M.; Bellouin, N.; Sanchez-Lorenzo, A.

2015-08-01

Substantial changes in anthropogenic aerosols and precursor gas emissions have occurred over recent decades due to the implementation of air pollution control legislation and economic growth. The response of atmospheric aerosols to these changes and the impact on climate are poorly constrained, particularly in studies using detailed aerosol chemistry-climate models. Here we compare the HadGEM3-UKCA (Hadley Centre Global Environment Model-United Kingdom Chemistry and Aerosols) coupled chemistry-climate model for the period 1960-2009 against extensive ground-based observations of sulfate aerosol mass (1978-2009), total suspended particle matter (SPM, 1978-1998), PM10 (1997-2009), aerosol optical depth (AOD, 2000-2009), aerosol size distributions (2008-2009) and surface solar radiation (SSR, 1960-2009) over Europe. The model underestimates observed sulfate aerosol mass (normalised mean bias factor (NMBF) = -0.4), SPM (NMBF = -0.9), PM10 (NMBF = -0.2), aerosol number concentrations (N30 NMBF = -0.85; N50 NMBF = -0.65; and N100 NMBF = -0.96) and AOD (NMBF = -0.01) but slightly overpredicts SSR (NMBF = 0.02). Trends in aerosol over the observational period are well simulated by the model, with observed (simulated) changes in sulfate of -68 % (-78 %), SPM of -42 % (-20 %), PM10 of -9 % (-8 %) and AOD of -11 % (-14 %). Discrepancies in the magnitude of simulated aerosol mass do not affect the ability of the model to reproduce the observed SSR trends. The positive change in observed European SSR (5 %) during 1990-2009 ("brightening") is better reproduced by the model when aerosol radiative effects (ARE) are included (3 %), compared to simulations where ARE are excluded (0.2 %). The simulated top-of-the-atmosphere aerosol radiative forcing over Europe under all-sky conditions increased by > 3.0 W m-2 during the period 1970-2009 in response to changes in anthropogenic emissions and aerosol concentrations.

Imprint of CO2 emission in atmosphere and biosphere on the basis of 14C and 13C measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pazdur, Anna; Gabryś, Alicja; Kuc, Tadeusz; Pawełczyk, Sławomira; Piotrowska, Natalia; Rakowski, Andrzej; Różański, Kazimierz; Sensuła, Barbara

2015-04-01

As is shown in the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report, the observed climate changes are caused, among others, by human activity. Mainly emission of CO2 to the atmosphere coming from the burning of fossil fuels, can have dire consequences for life on Earth and development of humankind. The report uses, among others, data obtained from isotopic measurements in the biosphere. Measurements of 14C and 13C concentration in modern atmospheric carbon dioxide and biosphere allow the determination of the decrease of the concentration of this isotope. Furthermore, the magnitude of emission to the atmosphere of carbon dioxide not containing the isotope 14C can be estimated on this basis. Such emission stems from fossil fuel combustion - petroleum, natural gas and black coal. A sensitive bioindicator of the emission are annual tree rings. The measurements of 14C concentration in tree ring material using AMS allow to see its seasonal changes. Trees, treated as an archive of changes in conjunction with information about the isotopic composition of carbon can be used for monitoring of environment as sensitive bioindicators on local, as well as on the global scale. Regular investigations of isotopic composition of carbon in trees have been carried out in the GADAM Centre for the urban areas of both Poland and worldwide. This method can be applied in the study of the emission of CO2 to the atmosphere and its spatial and temporal distribution connected with the production of energy by power plants based on fossil fuel combustion for the area of southern Poland. Modelling of CO2 emission using both 14C and 13C carbon isotopes measured in pine tree rings on the background of climatic changes will be presented. The national ecological policy in the era of global warming requires the manufacturers of energy to get involved in the development of methods suitable for monitoring the state of the environment. Hence, the interest in the area of monitoring the fossil fuel

The structural requirements for immunoglobulin aggregates to localize in germinal centres.

PubMed Central

Embling, P H; Evans, H; Guttierez, C; Holborow, E J; Johns, P; Johnson, P M; Papamichail, M; Stanworth, D R

1978-01-01

The capacity of non-heat-aggregated monoclonal human immunoglobulins of different classes, to localize in murine splenic germinal centres within 24 h of intravenous injection has been investigated. It has been shown that at least trimerization of polyclonal IgG must occur before any germinal centre trapping is manifest. Studies of complement fixation by these IgG preparations in vivo, together with studies of the germinal centre trapping of various monoclonal immunoglobulins, have indicated that the sole structural requirement for germinal centre localization of immunoglobulin aggregates is the ability to fix complement. Results suggest that immunoglobulin aggregates are transported to germinal centres via membrane C3 receptors of mobile cells, and then are released with loss of complement to become fixed to dendritic macrophages by a separate mechanism. PMID:363602

Mathematics in Student-­Centred Inquiry Learning: Student Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calder, Nigel

2013-01-01

This paper examines how mathematical understandings might be facilitated through student-centred inquiry. Data is drawn from a research project on student-centred inquiry learning that situated mathematics within authentic problem-solving contexts and involved students in a collaboratively constructed curriculum. A contemporary interpretive frame…

The Middle Atmosphere Program: A special project for the Antarctic Middle Atmosphere (AMA)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hirasawa, T.

1982-01-01

Areas of concern are: dynamics, structure, and atmospheric composition of the middle atmosphere in Antarctica; particle precipitation and interaction of the middle atmosphere with the lower ionosphere; atmospheric pollution; and the difference between the northern and southern polar middle atmosphere.

Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory as Cultural Centre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mickaelian, A. M.; Farmanyan, S. V.

2017-07-01

NAS RA V. Ambartsumian Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory is presented as a cultural centre for Armenia and the Armenian nation in general. Besides being scientific and educational centre, the Observatory is famous for its unique architectural ensemble, rich botanical garden and world of birds, as well as it is one of the most frequently visited sightseeing of Armenia. In recent years, the Observatory has also taken the initiative of the coordination of the Cultural Astronomy in Armenia and in this field, unites the astronomers, historians, archaeologists, ethnographers, culturologists, literary critics, linguists, art historians and other experts. Keywords: Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory, architecture, botanic garden, tourism, Cultural Astronomy.

Thermal Properties of the ESR Centres in Speleothem Samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ulusoy, Ü.; Anbar, Gül

2007-04-01

The paramagnetic centres used for ESR (Electron Spin Resonance) dating method should be thermally stable which is the main factor limiting the range of this method. In this work, thermal stabilities of the ESR centres in the cave deposites from the Aladaǧlar Massive and Alanya in Turkey has been investigated. The life times of the dating signal were calculated as about 4.0 and 3.7 years for G06 and G08 samples at the 10 °C depositing temperature. The activation energies of the centres are obtained the same, 0.7eV for both samples.

On the improvement of wave and storm surge hindcasts by downscaled atmospheric forcing: application to historical storms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bresson, Émilie; Arbogast, Philippe; Aouf, Lotfi; Paradis, Denis; Kortcheva, Anna; Bogatchev, Andrey; Galabov, Vasko; Dimitrova, Marieta; Morvan, Guillaume; Ohl, Patrick; Tsenova, Boryana; Rabier, Florence

2018-04-01

Winds, waves and storm surges can inflict severe damage in coastal areas. In order to improve preparedness for such events, a better understanding of storm-induced coastal flooding episodes is necessary. To this end, this paper highlights the use of atmospheric downscaling techniques in order to improve wave and storm surge hindcasts. The downscaling techniques used here are based on existing European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts reanalyses (ERA-20C, ERA-40 and ERA-Interim). The results show that the 10 km resolution data forcing provided by a downscaled atmospheric model gives a better wave and surge hindcast compared to using data directly from the reanalysis. Furthermore, the analysis of the most extreme mid-latitude cyclones indicates that a four-dimensional blending approach improves the whole process, as it assimilates more small-scale processes in the initial conditions. Our approach has been successfully applied to ERA-20C (the 20th century reanalysis).

Face-centred cubic to body-centred cubic phase transformation under [1 0 0] tensile loading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Hongxian; Yu, Jiayun; Yu, Tao; Yin, Fuxing

2018-06-01

Molecular dynamics simulation was used to verify a speculation of the existence of a certain face-centred cubic (FCC) to body-centred cubic (BCC) phase transformation pathway. Four FCC metals, Ni, Cu, Au and Ag, were stretched along the [1 0 0] direction at various strain rates and temperatures. Under high strain rate and low temperature, and beyond the elastic limit, the bifurcation of the FCC phase occurred with sudden contraction along one lateral direction and expansion along the other lateral direction. When the lattice constant along the expansion direction converged with that of the stretched direction, the FCC phase transformed into an unstressed BCC phase. By reducing the strain rate or increasing the temperature, dislocation or 'momentum-induced melting' mechanisms began to control the plastic deformation of the FCC metals, respectively.

Electron-impact vibrational excitation of the hydroxyl radical in the nighttime upper atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, Laurence; Brunger, Michael J.

2018-02-01

Chemical processes produce vibrationally excited hydroxyl (OH) in a layer centred at an altitude of about 87 km in the Earth's atmosphere. Observations of this layer are used to deduce temperatures in the mesosphere and to observe the passage of atmospheric gravity waves. Due to the low densities and energies at night of electrons at the relevant altitude, it is not expected that electron-impact excitation of OH would be significant. However, there are unexplained characteristics of OH densities and radiative emissions that might be explained by electron impact. These are measurements of higher than expected densities of OH above 90 km and of emissions at higher energies that cannot be explained by the chemical production processes. This study simulates the role of electron impact in these processes, using theoretical cross sections for electron-impact excitation of OH. The simulations show that electron impact, even in a substantial aurora, cannot fully explain these phenomena. However, in the process of this investigation, apparent inconsistencies in the theoretical cross sections and reaction rates were found, indicating that measurements of electron-impact excitation of OH are needed to resolve these problems and scale the theoretical predictions to allow more accurate simulations.

Linking the rise of atmospheric oxygen to growth in the continental phosphorus inventory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cox, Grant M.; Lyons, Timothy W.; Mitchell, Ross N.; Hasterok, Derrick; Gard, Matthew

2018-05-01

The concentration of atmospheric oxygen (pO2) is thought to have increased throughout Earth history, punctuated by rapid increases ca. 2.4 and 0.8 billion years ago near the beginning and end of the Proterozoic Eon. As photosynthesis is the largest source of free O2, the reigning paradigm of rising O2 levels centres around biologic metabolism. Here we show that the phosphorus content of igneous rocks correlates, in a first-order sense, with secular increases in O2 through time, suggesting that rising O2 levels are affected by long-term mantle cooling and its effect on the continental phosphorus inventory. Because phosphorus is the limiting nutrient for primary productivity, its availability has fundamental control over the efficiency of oxygenic photosynthesis, pointing to a previously unrecognized role of the solid Earth in biologic and atmospheric evolution. Furthermore, as many bio-essential elements are effectively incompatible in the mantle, this relationship has implications for any terrestrial planet. All planets will cool, and those with efficient plate tectonic convection will cool more rapidly. We are left concluding that the speed of such cooling may affect pattern of biological evolution on any habitable planet.

Atmospheric Plasma Depainting

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-11-19

Atmospheric Plasma Depainting Peter Yancey Atmospheric Plasma Solutions, Inc. Report Documentation Page Form ApprovedOMB No. 0704-0188...00-00-2014 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Atmospheric Plasma Depainting 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d...PROJECT NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Atmospheric Plasma Solutions, Inc,11301

Dust sources and atmospheric circulation in concert controlling Saharan dust emission and transport towards the Western Mediterranean Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schepanski, Kerstin; Mallet, Marc; Heinold, Bernd; Ulrich, Max

2017-04-01

Dust transported from north African source regions towards Europe is a ubiquitous phenomenon in the Mediterranean region, a geographic region that is in part densely populated. Besides its impacts on the atmospheric radiation budget, dust suspended in the atmosphere results in reduced air quality, which is generally sensed as a reduction in quality of life. Furthermore, the exposure to dust aerosols enhances the prevalence of respiratory diseases, which reduces the general human wellbeing, and ultimately results in an increased loss of working hours due to illness and hospitalization rates. Characteristics of the atmospheric dust life cycle that determine dust transport will be presented with focus on the ChArMEx special observation period in June and July 2013 using the atmosphere-dust model COSMO-MUSCAT (COSMO: Consortium for Small-scale MOdeling; MUSCAT: MUltiScale Chemistry Aerosol Transport Model). Modes of atmospheric circulation were identified from empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of the geopotential height at 850 hPa for summer 2013 and compared to EOFs calculated from 1979-2015 ERA-Interim reanalysis. Generally, two different phases were identified. They are related to the eastward propagation of the subtropical ridge into the Mediterranean basin, the position of the Saharan heat low, and the predominant Iberian heat low. The relation of these centres of action illustrates a dipole pattern for enhanced (reduced) dust emission fluxes, stronger (weaker) meridional dust transport, and consequent increase (decrease) atmospheric dust concentrations and deposition fluxes. In concert, the results from this study aim at illustrating the relevance of knowing the dust source locations in concert with the atmospheric circulation. Ultimately, this study addresses the question of what is finally transported towards the Mediterranean basin and Europe from which source regions - and fostered by which atmospheric circulation pattern. Outcomes from this study

Inquiry-Based Learning: An Educational Reform Based upon Content-Centred Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McLoughlin, M. Padraig M. M.

2009-01-01

The author of this paper posits that inquiry-based learning (IBL) enacted via a modified Moore method (MMM) is a content-driven pedagogy; as such it is content-centred not instructor-centred or student-centred. The MMM is a philosophy of education where student must master material by doing; not simply discussing, reading, or seeing it and that…

Amazon collapse in the next century: exploring the sensitivity to climate and model formulation uncertainties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Booth, B.; Collins, M.; Harris, G.; Chris, H.; Jones, C.

2007-12-01

A number of recent studies have highlighted the risk of abrupt dieback of the Amazon Rain Forest as the result of climate changes over the next century. The recent 2005 Amazon drought brought wider acceptance of the idea that that climate drivers will play a significant role in future rain forest stability, yet that stability is still subject to considerable degree of uncertainty. We present a study which seeks to explore some of the underlying uncertainties both in the climate drivers of dieback and in the terrestrial land surface formulation used in GCMs. We adopt a perturbed physics approach which forms part of a wider project which is covered in an accompanying abstract submitted to the multi-model ensembles session. We first couple the same interactive land surface model to a number of different versions of the Hadley Centre atmosphere-ocean model that exhibit a wide range of different physical climate responses in the future. The rainforest extent is shown to collapse in all model cases but the timing of the collapse is dependent on the magnitude of the climate drivers. In the second part, we explore uncertainties in the terrestrial land surface model using the perturbed physics ensemble approach, perturbing uncertain parameters which have an important role in the vegetation and soil response. Contrasting the two approaches enables a greater understanding of the relative importance of climatic and land surface model uncertainties in Amazon dieback.

Comparison of mid-Pliocene climate predictions produced by the HadAM3 and GCMAM3 General Circulation Models

USGS Publications Warehouse

Haywood, A.M.; Chandler, M.A.; Valdes, P.J.; Salzmann, U.; Lunt, D.J.; Dowsett, H.J.

2009-01-01

The mid-Pliocene warm period (ca. 3 to 3.3??million years ago) has become an important interval of time for palaeoclimate modelling exercises, with a large number of studies published during the last decade. However, there has been no attempt to assess the degree of model dependency of the results obtained. Here we present an initial comparison of mid-Pliocene climatologies produced by the Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research atmosphere-only General Circulation Models (GCMAM3 and HadAM3). Whilst both models are consistent in the simulation of broad-scale differences in mid-Pliocene surface air temperature and total precipitation rates, significant variation is noted on regional and local scales. There are also significant differences in the model predictions of total cloud cover. A terrestrial data/model comparison, facilitated by the BIOME 4 model and a new data set of Piacenzian Stage land cover [Salzmann, U., Haywood, A.M., Lunt, D.J., Valdes, P.J., Hill, D.J., (2008). A new global biome reconstruction and data model comparison for the Middle Pliocene. Global Ecology and Biogeography 17, 432-447, doi:10.1111/j.1466-8238.2007.00381.x] and combined with the use of Kappa statistics, indicates that HadAM3-based biome predictions provide a closer fit to proxy data in the mid to high-latitudes. However, GCMAM3-based biomes in the tropics provide the closest fit to proxy data. ?? 2008 Elsevier B.V.

Sampling of Atmospheric Precipitation and Deposits for Analysis of Atmospheric Pollution

PubMed Central

Skarżyńska, K.; Polkowska, Ż; Namieśnik, J.

2006-01-01

This paper reviews techniques and equipment for collecting precipitation samples from the atmosphere (fog and cloud water) and from atmospheric deposits (dew, hoarfrost, and rime) that are suitable for the evaluation of atmospheric pollution. It discusses the storage and preparation of samples for analysis and also presents bibliographic information on the concentration ranges of inorganic and organic compounds in the precipitation and atmospheric deposit samples. PMID:17671615

Student centred teaching methods in a Chinese setting.

PubMed

Clarke, Janice

2010-01-01

This paper offers a discussion about using Western, student centred teaching methods with Chinese student nurses. There is increasing interest from Chinese nurse educators in student centred learning and an increase in partnerships between Chinese and Western universities. This paper suggests that the assumption that Western teaching methods are superior is now questioned and transferring Western style teaching to China requires a high degree of cultural sensitivity.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Information Centres and Services

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-09-01

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF INFORMATION CENTRES AND SERVICES Accession For ZTIS GRA&I DTIC TAB Unarnnounoed 0- Justilfication By Distribution/ Availability...Recommending effective ways for the member nations to use their research and development capabilities for the common benefit of the NATO community; - Providing...evaluation is done. It proposes various strategies for altering the centres and services so that effectiveness is improved; in so doing, it covers

Off-Centre Effects in the Triplet Relaxed Excited State of Ga+ Centres in CsBr:Ga Crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalder, K.; Korrovits, V.; Nagirnyi, V.; Stolovits, A.; Zazubovich, S.; Babin, V.

1997-06-01

Spectra, polarization and decay kinetics of the triplet and singlet emission of Ga+ centres in CsBr:Ga crystals have been studied in the temperature range of 0.1 to 400 K. It has been found that the triplet AX and AT emission bands coincide. Two slow components have been observed in the decay kinetics of each emission at T < 1.5 K and explained by the tunnel splitting of the metastable minima of the corresponding triplet relaxed excited state. It points to the off-centre displacement of a Ga+ ion from a crystal lattice site both in the tetragonal (T) and in the trigonal (X) Jahn-Teller minima.

Organizational and operational capabilities of specialist centres for children with psychomotor disability in Abidjan.

PubMed

Alloh, D; Nandjui, B; Bombo, J; Manou, B; Twoolys, A; Alloukou, R; Ake, N; Konate-Konan, E; Pillah, L; Coulibaly, A

2009-06-01

To describe the organizational and operational capabilities of specialized centres for children with psychomotor disability in Abidjan, Republic of Côte d'Ivoire. This descriptive study was carried out from February to May, 2006 at the various specialized centres for children with psychomotor disability that exist in the district of Abidjan. The procedure comprised a clinical description of the disabled children admitted to these centres and an assessment of the centres' organization and operational capabilities. Six specialist centres for children with psychomotor disability were identified, namely the Infant Guidance Centre, the Awakening and Stimulation Centre for disabled Children, the "Sainte-Magdeleine" Centre, the Medical and Training Institute, the "Page Blanche" institute and the "Colombes Notre Dame de la Paix" Centre. Among the children, 97.15% were day patients, 66.37% were mentally challenged, 30.96% had psychomotor impairment and 2.66% had motor impairments. The level of organization varied but the centres nevertheless had operational administrative, medical and paramedical staff, despite the absence of certain specialties. However, the lack of personnel, equipment and infrastructure is hindering the delivery of adequate services to the children. In Abidjan District, reception centres for children with psychomotor impairments are essentially privately run. Organizational and operational performances were suboptimal, with a low carer-to-patient ratio. Reinforcement of the centres' operational capabilities appears to be necessary.

Atmosphere Impact Losses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schlichting, Hilke E.; Mukhopadhyay, Sujoy

2018-02-01

Determining the origin of volatiles on terrestrial planets and quantifying atmospheric loss during planet formation is crucial for understanding the history and evolution of planetary atmospheres. Using geochemical observations of noble gases and major volatiles we determine what the present day inventory of volatiles tells us about the sources, the accretion process and the early differentiation of the Earth. We further quantify the key volatile loss mechanisms and the atmospheric loss history during Earth's formation. Volatiles were accreted throughout the Earth's formation, but Earth's early accretion history was volatile poor. Although nebular Ne and possible H in the deep mantle might be a fingerprint of this early accretion, most of the mantle does not remember this signature implying that volatile loss occurred during accretion. Present day geochemistry of volatiles shows no evidence of hydrodynamic escape as the isotopic compositions of most volatiles are chondritic. This suggests that atmospheric loss generated by impacts played a major role during Earth's formation. While many of the volatiles have chondritic isotopic ratios, their relative abundances are certainly not chondritic again suggesting volatile loss tied to impacts. Geochemical evidence of atmospheric loss comes from the {}3He/{}^{22}Ne, halogen ratios (e.g., F/Cl) and low H/N ratios. In addition, the geochemical ratios indicate that most of the water could have been delivered prior to the Moon forming impact and that the Moon forming impact did not drive off the ocean. Given the importance of impacts in determining the volatile budget of the Earth we examine the contributions to atmospheric loss from both small and large impacts. We find that atmospheric mass loss due to impacts can be characterized into three different regimes: 1) Giant Impacts, that create a strong shock transversing the whole planet and that can lead to atmospheric loss globally. 2) Large enough impactors (m_{cap} ≳ √{2

Brightness Variations in the Solar Atmosphere as Seen by SOHO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brkovic, A.; Rüedi, I.; Solanki, S. K.; Huber, M. C. E.; Stenflo, J. O.; Stucki, K.; Harrison, R.; Fludra, A.

We present preliminary results of a statistical analysis of the brightness variations of solar features at different levels in the solar atmosphere. We observed quiet Sun regions at disc centre using the Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer (CDS) onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). We find significant variability at all time scales in all parts of the quiet Sun, from darkest intranetwork to brightest network. Such variations are observed simultaneously in the chromospheric He I 584.33 Angstroms (2 \\cdot 10^4 K) line, the transition region O V 629.74 Angstroms (2.5 \\cdot 10^5 K) and coronal Mg IX 368.06 Angstroms (10^6 K) line. The relative variability is independent of brightness and most of the variability appears to take place on time scales longer than 5 minutes for all 3 spectral lines. No significant differences are observed between the different data sets.

Developing and testing the patient-centred innovation questionnaire for hospital nurses.

PubMed

Huang, Ching-Yuan; Weng, Rhay-Hung; Wu, Tsung-Chin; Lin, Tzu-En; Hsu, Ching-Tai; Hung, Chiu-Hsia; Tsai, Yu-Chen

2018-03-01

Develop the patient-centred innovation questionnaire for hospital nurses and establish its validity and reliability. Patient-centred care has been adopted by health care managers in their efforts to improve health care quality. It is regarded as a core concept for developing innovation. A cross-sectional study was employed to collect data from hospital nurses in Taiwan. This study was divided into two stages: pilot study and main study. In the main study, 596 valid responses were collected. This study adopted reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and selected nurse innovation scale as a criterion to test criterion-related validity. Five-dimension patient-centred innovation questionnaire was proposed: access and practicability, co-ordination and communication, sharing power and responsibility, care continuity, family and person focus. Each dimension demonstrated a reliability of 0.89-0.98. All dimensions had acceptable convergent and discriminate validity. The patient-centred innovation questionnaire and nurse innovation scale exhibited a significantly positive correlation. Patient-centred innovation questionnaire not only had a good theoretical basis but also had sufficient reliability and construct validity, and criterion-related validity. Patient-centred innovation questionnaire could give a measure for evaluating the implementation of patient-centred care and could be used as a management tool during the process of nurse innovation. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The NERC Data Assimilation Research Centre and Envisat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

LAHOZ, W. A.

2001-12-01

The NERC Data Assimilation Research Centre (DARC), a Centre of Excellence in Earth Observation, has been recently set up in the UK. DARC is a distributed centre, with participation from the universities of Reading, Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh, and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. It has strong links with the UK Met Office, and with European data assimilation groups. One of the remits of DARC is the exploitation of research satellite data (e.g. from ESA's Envisat, due to be launched in November 2001). This presentation will describe the participation of DARC in the Envisat programme. This participation involves: (1) the calibration/validation of Envisat data using an NWP assimilation system, and (2) the production of 4-d quality-controlled datasets of temperature, ozone and water vapour from Envisat using an NWP assimilation system.

A Brief History of the J.P. Das Developmental Disabilities Centre

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sobsey, Dick

2008-01-01

The J.P. Das Developmental Disabilities Centre celebrated its 40th anniversary on September 1, 2007, followed by The University of Alberta's 100th anniversary in 2008. The year 2008 also brought the appointment of a new Director for the Centre. As the immediate past Director of the Centre, the author recounts some of the history of the J.P. Das…

The Aqua-planet Experiment (APE): Response to Changed Meridional SST Profile

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williamson, David L.; Blackburn, Michael; Nakajima, Kensuke; Ohfuchi, Wataru; Takahashi, Yoshiyuki O.; Hayashi, Yoshi-Yuki; Nakamura, Hisashi; Ishiwatari, Masaki; Mcgregor, John L.; Borth, Hartmut;

Atmospheric neutrons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Korff, S. A.; Mendell, R. B.; Merker, M.; Light, E. S.; Verschell, H. J.; Sandie, W. S.

1979-01-01

Contributions to fast neutron measurements in the atmosphere are outlined. The results of a calculation to determine the production, distribution and final disappearance of atmospheric neutrons over the entire spectrum are presented. An attempt is made to answer questions that relate to processes such as neutron escape from the atmosphere and C-14 production. In addition, since variations of secondary neutrons can be related to variations in the primary radiation, comment on the modulation of both radiation components is made.

Work experiences among attendees of day centres for people with psychiatric disabilities.

PubMed

Eklund, Mona; Sandlund, Mikael

2015-01-01

It is possible that people with psychiatric disabilities who visit day centres have previous work experiences that may be seen as resources for their current engagement in day centre activities. Research in this respect seems to lack, however. To investigate work experiences among attendees at day centres for people with psychiatric disabilities and relationships with current type of day centre (work-oriented, meeting place-oriented or mixed), engagement in day centre activities, motivation and socio-demographic and health-related factors. Seventy-seven attendees responded to questionnaires. Global Assessment of Functioning, GAF, was also used. Work was categorised into Group I (professionals, semi-professionals), Group II (clerical support, services workers) and Group III (e.g. craft workers, elementary occupations). Almost everyone had previously had open-market employment; more than half for ≥ 10 years. Group I was more common in mixed centres, Group II in meeting place-oriented ones and Group III in work-oriented ones. Group I more frequently had college degree and was rated high on GAF functioning. Women were over-represented in Group II, and men in Group III and in meeting place-oriented centres. Attending mixed centres was more likely when having a college degree, scoring high on GAF functioning and being highly engaged in activities. Attendees at work-oriented day centres were characterised by being motivated for spending time alone and reporting a diagnosis of psychosis. The participants had unused working capacity. No clear-cut relationships were found between work experiences and the investigated correlates.

Cyclic strain rate effects in fatigued face-centred and body-centred cubic metals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mughrabi, Haël

2013-09-01

The present work deals mainly with the effect and the use of strain rate and temperature changes during cyclic deformation as a means to obtain valuable information on the thermally activated dislocation glide processes, based on the assessment of reversible changes of the thermal effective stress and of transient changes of the athermal stress. The importance of closed-loop testing in true plastic strain control with constant cyclic plastic strain rate throughout the cycle is explained and emphasized, especially with respect to the case of strain rate sensitive materials. Stress responses of face-centred cubic and body-centred cubic (bcc) metals to cyclic strain rate changes are presented to illustrate that the deformation modes of these two classes of materials differ characteristically at temperatures below that the so-called knee temperature of bcc metals. When such tests are performed in cyclic saturation, the temperature and strain rate dependence of bcc metals can be measured very accurately on one and the same specimen, permitting a thorough analysis of thermal activation.

Bureaucracy, professionalization and school centred innovation strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morris, Paul

1990-03-01

This paper examines an attempt to promote a school centred innovation strategy within a highly centralized educational system. The School Based Curriculum Project Scheme, which was introduced into Hong Kong in 1988, is analysed in terms of a professional-bureaucratic dichotomy. It is argued that the operational details of the scheme are designed to satisfy a range of bureaucratic concerns and these are not conducive to promoting the professional work ethic which is required for school centred innovation. Finally the paper identifies the implications which arise for policies designed to promote curriculum innovation.

Hemispherically asymmetric trade wind changes as signatures of past ITCZ shifts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGee, David; Moreno-Chamarro, Eduardo; Green, Brian; Marshall, John; Galbraith, Eric; Bradtmiller, Louisa

2018-01-01

The atmospheric Hadley cells, which meet at the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), play critical roles in transporting heat, driving ocean circulation and supplying precipitation to the most heavily populated regions of the globe. Paleo-reconstructions can provide concrete evidence of how these major features of the atmospheric circulation can change in response to climate perturbations. While most such reconstructions have focused on ITCZ-related rainfall, here we show that trade wind proxies can document dynamical aspects of meridional ITCZ shifts. Theoretical expectations based on angular momentum constraints and results from freshwater hosing simulations with two different climate models predict that ITCZ shifts due to anomalous cooling of one hemisphere would be accompanied by a strengthening of the Hadley cell and trade winds in the colder hemisphere, with an opposite response in the warmer hemisphere. This expectation of hemispherically asymmetric trade wind changes is confirmed by proxy data of coastal upwelling and windblown dust from the Atlantic basin during Heinrich stadials, showing trade wind strengthening in the Northern Hemisphere and weakening in the Southern Hemisphere subtropics in concert with southward ITCZ shifts. Data from other basins show broadly similar patterns, though improved constraints on past trade wind changes are needed outside the Atlantic Basin. The asymmetric trade wind changes identified here suggest that ITCZ shifts are also marked by intensification of the ocean's wind-driven subtropical cells in the cooler hemisphere and a weakening in the warmer hemisphere, which induces cross-equatorial oceanic heat transport into the colder hemisphere. This response would be expected to prevent extreme meridional ITCZ shifts in response to asymmetric heating or cooling. Understanding trade wind changes and their coupling to cross-equatorial ocean cells is key to better constraining ITCZ shifts and ocean and atmosphere dynamical

Closing the gender leadership gap: a multi-centre cross-country comparison of women in management and leadership in academic health centres in the European Union.

PubMed

Kuhlmann, Ellen; Ovseiko, Pavel V; Kurmeyer, Christine; Gutiérrez-Lobos, Karin; Steinböck, Sandra; von Knorring, Mia; Buchan, Alastair M; Brommels, Mats

2017-01-06

Women's participation in medicine and the need for gender equality in healthcare are increasingly recognised, yet little attention is paid to leadership and management positions in large publicly funded academic health centres. This study illustrates such a need, taking the case of four large European centres: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Germany), Karolinska Institutet (Sweden), Medizinische Universität Wien (Austria), and Oxford Academic Health Science Centre (United Kingdom). The percentage of female medical students and doctors in all four countries is now well within the 40-60% gender balance zone. Women are less well represented among specialists and remain significantly under-represented among senior doctors and full professors. All four centres have made progress in closing the gender leadership gap on boards and other top-level decision-making bodies, but a gender leadership gap remains relevant. The level of achieved gender balance varies significantly between the centres and largely mirrors country-specific welfare state models, with more equal gender relations in Sweden than in the other countries. Notably, there are also similar trends across countries and centres: gender inequality is stronger within academic enterprises than within hospital enterprises and stronger in middle management than at the top level. These novel findings reveal fissures in the 'glass ceiling' effects at top-level management, while the barriers for women shift to middle-level management and remain strong in academic positions. The uneven shifts in the leadership gap are highly relevant and have policy implications. Setting gender balance objectives exclusively for top-level decision-making bodies may not effectively promote a wider goal of gender equality. Academic health centres should pay greater attention to gender equality as an issue of organisational performance and good leadership at all levels of management, with particular attention to academic enterprises

Influence of atmospheric convection on the long and short-range transport of Xe133 emissions.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kusmierczyk-Michulec, Jolanta; Krysta, Monika; Gheddou, Abdelhakim; Nikkinen, Mika

2014-05-01

The International Monitoring System (IMS) developed by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) is a global system of monitoring stations, using four complementary technologies: seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound and radionuclide. Data from all stations, belonging to IMS, are collected and transmitted to the International Data Centre (IDC) in Vienna, Austria. The radionuclide network comprises 79 stations, of which more than 60 are certified. The aim of radionuclide stations is a global monitoring of radioactive aerosols and radioactive noble gases supported by the atmospheric transport modelling (ATM). The ATM system is based on the Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Model, FLEXPART, designed for calculating the long-range and mesoscale dispersion of air pollution from point sources. In the operational configuration only the transport of the passive tracer is simulated. The question arises whether including other atmospheric processes, like convection, will improve results. To answer this question a series of forward simulations was conducted, assuming the maximum transport of 14 days. Each time 2 runs were performed: one with convection and one without convection. The release point was at the ANSTO facility in Australia. Due to the fact that CTBTO has recently received a noble gas emission inventory from the ANSTO facility we had a chance to do more accurate simulations. Studies have been performed to link Xe133 emissions with detections at the IMS stations supported by the ATM. The geographical localization to some extend justifies the assumption that the only source of Xe133 observed at the neighbouring stations, e.g. AUX04, AUX09 and NZX46, comes from the ANSTO facility. In simulations the analysed wind data provided by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) were used with the spatial resolution of 0.5 degree. The results of quantitative and qualitative comparison will be presented.

Atmospheric fall-out of metals around the Murano glass-making district (Venice, Italy).

PubMed

Rossini, Paolo; Matteucci, Gabriele; Guerzoni, Stefano

2010-01-01

Marghera industrial zone, thus, indicating a similar or even higher level of contamination. Principal component analysis confirmed significant contamination from the glassworks. As shown by our study, atmospheric loadings of metals around Murano are significant. These observations confirm that emissions from Murano also significantly influence atmospheric deposition in the Venice area. Specifically, the mean daily Cd flux in the most affected area, which includes the whole of the historic city centre of Venice, is approximately 18 microg m(-2) day(-1), i.e. more than 65 times higher than the Dutch limit and more than three times higher than that of Germany. On the basis of our data, there is a clear-cut need for remedial action in the Lagoon of Venice. Monitoring is indispensable, so that the efficacy of remedial measures can be evaluated and appropriate information about risks for human health and well-being can be made available. The atmospheric compartment must also be considered by Italian and European law which, until now, has not yet established any standard for atmospheric deposition.

The increase in September precipitation in the Mediterranean region as a result of changes in atmospheric circulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nojarov, Peter

2017-04-01

The study analyzes changes in September precipitation in the Mediterranean region and their possible causes. The research period is 1950-2014. The main finding is that the reduction in aerosol pollution over Europe in the late twentieth century has led to an upward shift of air temperatures in the region, which in turn has reduced the meridional temperature gradient, leading to weakening and shift to the north of the Azores High (the north end of Hadley circulation). This northward shift placed the Mediterranean region in an area with decreasing SLP, which results in an increase in the number or intensity of cyclones, increase in cloudiness and precipitation and a decrease in air temperatures. In the period 1995-2014 the region (especially its eastern part) lies within the boundaries of Inter Tropical Convergence Zone in September.

A Cross-Sectional Study of Indoor Tanning in Fitness Centres.

PubMed

Huang, Christina M; Kirchhof, Mark G

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a human carcinogen and is associated with the development of skin cancer. The promotion of indoor tanning (IT) at fitness centres is of particular concern as it reinforces the idea that a tan is associated with health and fitness. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of IT in fitness centres, with an emphasis on determining the financial costs, adherence to regulations, and safety precautions. Ten cities, representing 9 different Canadian provinces, were chosen for the study. From each province, a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 30 fitness centres were randomly selected from the Yellow Pages website. Each fitness centre was contacted by the principal investigator and inquiries were made from a consumer's perspective. Of the 203 gyms surveyed, 43% (88/203) offered tanning facilities. Of these, 10.23% (9/88) were found to be noncompliant with the provincial IT regulations for age and/or time between tanning sessions. Despite the known risks of IT, not all fitness centres are compliant with provincial legislations regarding IT, and some continue to promote tanning access to minors.

Hands-On versus Teacher-Centred Experiments in Soil Ecology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Randler, Christoph; Hulde, Madeleine

2007-01-01

This study focused on differences between teacher-centred and learner-centred experiments in soil ecology. After a pilot study, we selected three experiments simple enough to be carried out by pupils even with little experience in self-determined learning and hands-on practice. The sample comprised 123 fifth and sixth graders from a middle school…

Low-Centred Polygons and Alas-Like Basins as Geological Markers of Warming Trends Late in Mars' History

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soare, R. J.; Conway, S. J.; Godin, E.; Osinski, G.; Hawkswell, J.; Bina, A.

2017-12-01

Expansive assemblages of low/high centred (ice-wedge) polygons and (polygonised) flat-floored thermokarst-basins (alases) are ubiquitous on Earth where the permafrost is continuous, metres to decametres-thick and ice rich, i.e. the Tuktoyaktuk Coastlands of northern Canada and the Yamal Peninsula of eastern Russia. These assemblages are geological bellwethers of transient and on occasion, long-term rises of sub-aerial and thaw-generating mean temperatures, for two principal reasons. First, high-centred (ice-wedge) polygons evolve from low-centred (ice-wedge) polygons when ice wedges that have aggraded and uplift overlying sediments above the elevation datum at the polygon centres, degrade, by thaw, and induce the loss of elevation below that datum. Second, thermokarst terrain comprises sediments whose pore volume is exceeded by the presence of water ice. A thermokarst basin (an alas) forms if and only when this ice undergoes thermal destabilisation and where thaw-generated meltwater is lost by evaporation or drainage. Spatially-associated and morphologically-similar assemblages of polygons and basins are commonplace throughout the mid-latitudes of eastern Utopia Planitia (UP), Mars. Under current conditions of extreme aridity, low atmospheric-pressure and frigid mean-temperatures, the widespread formation of ice-rich terrain by freeze-thaw cycling, let alone of near-surface ice-wedges and/or thermokarst basins, seems implausible. Against this environmental backdrop, sublimation seemingly stands alone in being able to revise ice-rich landscapes. However, multiple strands of data point to the possible periglacial-assemblages (PPAs) being youthful but not current in their formation. First, the sub-regional and dark-toned terrain incised by the PPAs is cratered more densely than would be expected. Second, the PPAs reside at a lower relative and absolute elevation than a light-toned and region-wide latitude-dependent mantle that is generally thought to be very recent in

Parallel Computation of Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave Coupled Storm Surge Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, K.; Yamashita, T.

2003-12-01

Ocean-atmosphere interactions are very important in the formation and development of tropical storms. These interactions are dominant in exchanging heat, momentum, and moisture fluxes. Heat flux is usually computed using a bulk equation. In this equation air-sea interface supplies heat energy to the atmosphere and to the storm. Dynamical interaction is most often one way in which it is the atmosphere that drives the ocean. The winds transfer momentum to both ocean surface waves and ocean current. The wind wave makes an important role in the exchange of the quantities of motion, heat and a substance between the atmosphere and the ocean. Storm surges can be considered as the phenomena of mean sea-level changes, which are the result of the frictional stresses of strong winds blowing toward the land and causing the set level and the low atmospheric pressure at the centre of the cyclone can additionally raise the sea level. In addition to the rise in water level itself, another wave factor must be considered. A rise of mean sea level due to white-cap wave dissipation should be considered. In bounded bodies of water, such as small seas, wind driven sea level set up is much serious than inverted barometer effects, in which the effects of wind waves on wind-driven current play an important role. It is necessary to develop the coupled system of the full spectral third-generation wind-wave model (WAM or WAVEWATCH III), the meso-scale atmosphere model (MM5) and the coastal ocean model (POM) for simulating these physical interactions. As the component of coupled system is so heavy for personal usage, the parallel computing system should be developed. In this study, first, we developed the coupling system of the atmosphere model, ocean wave model and the coastal ocean model, in the Beowulf System, for the simulation of the storm surge. It was applied to the storm surge simulation caused by Typhoon Bart (T9918) in the Yatsushiro Sea. The atmosphere model and the ocean model have

Joint US Navy/US Air Force climatic study of the upper atmosphere. Volume 7: July

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Changery, Michael J.; Williams, Claude N.; Dickenson, Michael L.; Wallace, Brian L.

1989-07-01

The upper atmosphere was studied based on 1980 to 1985 twice daily gridded analysis produced by the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts. This volume is for the month of July. Included are global analyses of: (1) Mean temperature/standard deviation; (2) Mean geopotential height/standard deviation; (3) Mean density/standard deviation; (4) Height and vector standard deviation (all at 13 pressure levels - 1000, 850, 700, 500, 400, 300, 250, 200, 150, 100, 70, 50, 30 mb); (5) Mean dew point standard deviation at levels 1000 through 30 mb; and (6) Jet stream at levels 500 through 30 mb. Also included are global 5 degree grid point wind roses for the 13 pressure levels.

Joint US Navy/US Air Force climatic study of the upper atmosphere. Volume 10: October

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Changery, Michael J.; Williams, Claude N.; Dickenson, Michael L.; Wallace, Brian L.

1989-07-01

The upper atmosphere was studied based on 1980 to 1985 twice daily gridded analysis produced by the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts. This volume is for the month of October. Included are global analyses of: (1) Mean temperature/standard deviation; (2) Mean geopotential height/standard deviation; (3) Mean density/standard deviation; (4) Height and vector standard deviation (all at 13 pressure levels - 1000, 850, 700, 500, 400, 300, 250, 200, 150, 100, 70, 50, 30 mb); (5) Mean dew point/standard deviation at levels 1000 through 30 mb; and (6) Jet stream at levels 500 through 30 mb. Also included are global 5 degree grid point wind roses for the 13 pressure levels.

Joint US Navy/US Air Force climatic study of the upper atmosphere. Volume 3: March

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Changery, Michael J.; Williams, Claude N.; Dickenson, Michael L.; Wallace, Brian L.

1989-11-01

The upper atmosphere was studied based on 1980 to 1985 twice daily gridded analysis produced by the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts. This volume is for the month of March. Included are global analyses of: (1) Mean Temperature Standard Deviation; (2) Mean Geopotential Height Standard Deviation; (3) Mean Density Standard Deviation; (4) Height and Vector Standard Deviation (all for 13 pressure levels - 1000, 850, 700, 500, 400, 300, 250, 200, 150, 100, 70, 50, 30 mb); (5) Mean Dew Point Standard Deviation for levels 1000 through 30 mb; and (6) Jet stream for levels 500 through 30 mb. Also included are global 5 degree grid point wind roses for the 13 pressure levels.

Joint US Navy/US Air Force climatic study of the upper atmosphere. Volume 2: February

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Changery, Michael J.; Williams, Claude N.; Dickenson, Michael L.; Wallace, Brian L.

1989-09-01

The upper atmosphere was studied based on 1980 to 1985 twice daily gridded analyses produced by the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts. This volume is for the month of February. Included are global analyses of: (1) Mean temperature standard deviation; (2) Mean geopotential height standard deviation; (3) Mean density standard deviation; (4) Height and vector standard deviation (all for 13 pressure levels - 1000, 850, 700, 500, 400, 300, 250, 200, 150, 100, 70, 50, 30 mb); (5) Mean dew point standard deviation for the 13 levels; and (6) Jet stream for levels 500 through 30 mb. Also included are global 5 degree grid point wind roses for the 13 pressure levels.

Joint US Navy/US Air Force climatic study of the upper atmosphere. Volume 4: April

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Changery, Michael J.; Williams, Claude N.; Dickenson, Michael L.; Wallace, Brian L.

1989-07-01

The upper atmosphere was studied based on 1980 to 1985 twice daily gridded analyses produced by the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts. This volume is for the month of April. Included are global analyses of: (1) Mean temperature standard deviation; (2) Mean geopotential height standard deviation; (3) Mean density standard deviation; (4) Height and vector standard deviation (all for 13 pressure levels - 1000, 850, 700, 500, 400, 300, 250, 200, 150, 100, 70, 50, 30 mb); (5) Mean dew point standard deviation for the 13 levels; and (6) Jet stream for levels 500 through 30 mb. Also included are global 5 degree grid point wind roses for the 13 pressure levels.

Mars dust storms - Interannual variability and chaos

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ingersoll, Andrew P.; Lyons, James R.

1993-01-01

The hypothesis is that the global climate system, consisting of atmospheric dust interacting with the circulation, produces its own interannual variability when forced at the annual frequency. The model has two time-dependent variables representing the amount of atmospheric dust in the northern and southern hemispheres, respectively. Absorption of sunlight by the dust drives a cross-equatorial Hadley cell that brings more dust into the heated hemisphere. The circulation decays when the dust storm covers the globe. Interannual variability manifests itself either as a periodic solution in which the period is a multiple of the Martian year, or as an aperiodic (chaotic) solution that never repeats. Both kinds of solution are found in the model, lending support to the idea that interannual variability is an intrinsic property of the global climate system. The next step is to develop a hierarchy of dust-circulation models capable of being integrated for many years.

System-centred tobacco management: from 'whole-person' to 'whole-system' change.

PubMed

Bonevski, Billie

2014-01-01

Patient-centred tobacco management is a pragmatic approach for helping smokers achieve their goals in terms of either cessation or harm reduction. However, the success of the approach is dependent on clinicians embracing and delivering it as intended. There are a number of structural and systemic organisational barriers which are limiting clinician-delivered patient-centred tobacco dependence. In response, 'whole system' approaches which help support clinicians in the delivery of patient-centred tobacco management are required. Health system changes to support clinicians and facilitate the delivery of patient-centred tobacco management are worth further investigation, particularly in settings where tobacco smoking rates are high. © 2013 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

The changing interface between district hospital cardiology and the major cardiac centres

PubMed Central

1997-01-01

The national priority for reducing mortality and morbidity from cardiovascular disease, the resulting expansion in the number of consultant cardiologists, and the reforms of the National Health Service have produced significant changes in delivery of care for cardiac patients and in the relations between district general hospitals (DGH) and the old regional cardiac centres. 1.2 The British Cardiac Society, the Medical Royal Colleges of Physicians of London and Edinburgh, and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow established a working group to make recommendations on the most appropriate evolution of these changes to secure high quality care in a cost-effective and professionally rewarding environment. The principal conclusions of the working group were: i) The establishment of new cardiac catheterisation laboratories in DGHs remote from a major cardiac centre should be encouraged provided the workload is adequate to ensure efficient use of the facility. ii) Cardiologists working in districts close to a major centre should be encouraged to catheterise their patients at the centre. iii) Close liaison of the district cardiologist with a cardiac surgeon and interventionist is vitally important. iv) The centres will be required to provide tertiary care for emergency and urgent cases from their traditional catchment area, specialised expertise for the management of rare and difficult cases, and angioplasty. Some centres will also offer complex electrophysiology, and ablation techniques. v) The centres must also provide routine cardiology services for their local district, facilities for cardiac catheterisation for DGH cardiologists, and training for doctors, nurses, technicians, and radiographers. vi) Some centres will be linked with paediatric cardiology and paediatric cardiac surgical units. vii) District cardiac centres will be required to provide a full non-invasive diagnostic service and emergency care for patients referred by general practitioners

Problems and Prospects of Education Resource Centres in Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ekanem, Johnson Efiong

2015-01-01

Nigeria has good policies on Education and one of such policies is the establishment of Education Resource Centres in every State of the Federation, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The need is clearly articulated in the National Policy on Education. Despite the lofty plan, most of the centres are not fulfilling the need for their…

Geochemical cycles of atmospheric gases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, J. C. G.; Drever, J. I.

1988-01-01

The processes that control the atmosphere and atmospheric changes are reviewed. The geochemical cycles of water vapor, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and minor atmospheric constituents are examined. Changes in atmospheric chemistry with time are discussed using evidence from the rock record and analysis of the present atmosphere. The role of biological evolution in the history of the atmosphere and projected changes in the future atmosphere are considered.

Atmospheric Fluorescence Yield

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, James H., Jr.; Christl, M. J.; Fountain, W. F.; Gregory, J. C.; Martens, K.; Sokolsky, P.; Whitaker, Ann F. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Several existing and planned experiments estimate the energies of ultra-high energy cosmic rays from air showers using the atmospheric fluorescence from these showers. Accurate knowledge of the conversion from atmospheric fluorescence to energy loss by ionizing particles in the atmosphere is key to this technique. In this paper we discuss a small balloon-borne instrument to make the first in situ measurements versus altitude of the atmospheric fluorescence yield. The instrument can also be used in the lab to investigate the dependence of the fluorescence yield in air on temperature, pressure and the concentrations of other gases that present in the atmosphere. The results can be used to explore environmental effects on and improve the accuracy of cosmic ray energy measurements for existing ground-based experiments and future space-based experiments.

Nurse middle managers contributions to patient-centred care: A 'managerial work' analysis.

PubMed

Lalleman, Pcb; Smid, Gac; Dikken, J; Lagerwey, M D; Schuurmans, M J

2017-10-01

Nurse middle managers are in an ideal position to facilitate patient-centred care. However, their contribution is underexposed in literature due to difficulties to articulate this in practice. This paper explores how nurse middle managers contribute to patient-centred care in hospitals. A combination of time-use analysis and ethnographic work was used to disclose their contribution to patient-centred care at a micro level. Sixteen nurse managers were shadowed for over 560 hours in four hospitals. Some nurse middle managers seldom contribute to patient-centred care. Others are involved in direct patient care, but this does not result in patient-centred practices. At one hospital, the nurse middle managers did contribute to patient-centred care. Here balancing between "organizing work" and "caring work" is seen as a precondition for their patient-centeredness. Other important themes are feedback mechanisms; place matters; with whom to talk and how to frame the issues at stake; and behavioral style. Both "hands-on" and "heads-on" caring work of nurse middle managers enhances their patient-centeredness. This study is the first of its kind to obtain insight in the often difficult to articulate "doings" of nurse middle managers with regard to patient-centred care through combining time-use analysis with ethnographic work. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A macro perspective for client-centred practice in curricula: Critique and teaching methods.

PubMed

Fleming-Castaldy, Rita P

2015-07-01

Client-centred practice is often eclipsed by social, economic, and political inequities. Ignoring these realities obstructs clients' goal attainment. The author advocates for the integration of a macro perspective inclusive of participation barriers and supports in occupational therapy curricula and seeks to motivate educators to adopt teaching approaches that develop students' abilities to address the complexities of client-centred practice. This article integrates a critical analysis of the literature on client-centred practice with reflexivity on disability studies and autoethnography. Educational standards require students to learn about the social, economic, and political contexts that impact on client-centred practice and the need for advocacy to enable participation. Theoretical support of a macro perspective for client-centred practice is strongly evident in the literature. Information on methods for teaching students how to actualize these concepts in practice is scant. Thus, strategies to inform the integration of a macro perspective into curricula and concrete activities to develop students' competencies for empowered client-centred practice are required. Educators have an ethical responsibility to critique their pedagogy to determine whether they are adequately preparing students for client-centred practice. The focus must move from teaching a micro perspective of client-centred practice to a macro perspective that enables occupational justice and empowerment.

Atmospheric Photochemistry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Massey, Harrie; Potter, A. E.

1961-01-01

The upper atmosphere offers a vast photochemical laboratory free from solid surfaces, so all reactions take place in the gaseous phase. At 30 km altitude the pressure has fallen to about one-hundredth of that at ground level, and we shall, rather arbitrarily, regard the upper atmosphere as beginning at that height. By a little less than 100 km the pressure has fallen to 10(exp -3) mm Hg and is decreasing by a power of ten for every 15 km increase in altitude. Essentially we are concerned then with the photochemistry of a nitrogen-oxygen mixture under low-pressure conditions in which photo-ionization, as well as photodissociation, plays an important part. Account must also be taken of the presence of rare constituents, such as water vapour and its decomposition products, including particularly hydroxyl, oxides of carbon, methane and, strangely enough, sodium, lithium and calcium. Many curious and unfamiliar reactions occur in the upper atmosphere. Some of them are luminescent, causing the atmosphere to emit a dim light called the airglow. Others, between gaseous ions and neutral molecules, are almost a complete mystery at this time. Similar interesting phenomena must occur in other planetary atmospheres, and they might be predicted if sufficient chemical information were available.

Audit of tumour histopathology reviewed by a regional oncology centre.

PubMed Central

Prescott, R J; Wells, S; Bisset, D L; Banerjee, S S; Harris, M

1995-01-01

AIMS--To analyse the diagnostic differences in reporting tumour histopathology between a district general hospital and a regional oncology centre. METHODS--Tumour histopathology reports (n = 227) extracted from Bolton General Hospital files between 1988 and 1992 were compared with the corresponding Christie Hospital (oncology centre) reports, the same material having been seen at both hospitals. RESULTS--Diagnostic agreement existed in 77% of all cases. The incidence of major discrepancies was 8.37%. Of the diagnoses, 19 (36%) cases involved major discrepancies and 34 (64%) cases minor discrepancies. Most discrepancies occurred in the lymphoma group and involved subclassification of Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Ki1 anaplastic large cell lymphoma and T cell rich B cell lymphoma were problematic diagnoses. The correct grading of follicle centre cell lymphomas using the Kiel classification was another problem area. In 19 cases certain aspects of immunohistochemistry produced discrepancies. In one case an incorrect diagnosis was made at the oncology centre and in another both centres gave an incorrect diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS--Areas of diagnostic difficulty mainly involve the subclassification of lymphomas. Review of tumour pathology by experts is recommended, at least in certain categories, to ensure correct diagnosis and uniformity in subclassification of tumours. PMID:7730487

Educational inequalities in patient-centred care: patients' preferences and experiences

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Educational attainment is strongly related to specific health outcomes. The pathway in which individual patient-provider interactions contribute to (re)producing these inequalities has yet to be studied. In this article, the focus is on differences between less and more highly educated patients in their preferences for and experiences with patient-centred care., e.g. shared decision making, receiving understandable explanations and being able to ask questions. Methods Data are derived from several Consumer Quality-index (CQ-index) studies. The CQ-index is a family of standardized instruments which are used in the Netherlands to measure quality of care from the patient’s perspective. Results The educational level of patients is directly related to the degree of importance patients attribute to specific aspects of patient-centred care. It has a minor influence on the experienced level of shared decision making, but not on experiences regarding other aspects of patient-centred care. Conclusions All patients regard patient-centred care as important and report positive experiences. However, there is a discrepancy between patient preferences for patient-centred care on one hand and the care received on the other. Less educated patients might receive ‘too much’, and more highly educated patients ‘too little’ in the domains of communication, information and shared decision making. PMID:22900589

Acoustic waves in the solar atmosphere at high spatial resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bello González, N.; Flores Soriano, M.; Kneer, F.; Okunev, O.

2009-12-01

Aims. The energy supply for the radiative losses of the quiet solar chromosphere is studied. On the basis of high spatial resolution data, we investigate the amount of energy flux carried by acoustic waves in the solar photosphere. Methods: Time sequences from quiet Sun disc centre were obtained with the “Göttingen” Fabry-Perot spectrometer at the Vacuum Tower Telescope, Observatorio del Teide/Tenerife, in the non-magnetic Fe i 5576 Å line. The data were reconstructed with speckle methods. The velocity and intensity fluctuations at line minimum were subjected to Fourier and wavelet analyses. The energy fluxes at frequencies higher than the acoustic cutoff frequency (period U ≈ 190 s) were corrected for the transmission of the solar atmosphere, which reduces the signal from short-period waves. Results: Both Fourier and wavelet analysis give an amount of energy flux of ~3000 W m-2 at a height h = 250 km. Approximately 2/3 of it is carried by waves in the 5-10 mHz range, and 1/3 in the 10-20 mHz band. Extrapolation of the flux spectra gives an energy flux of 230-400 W m-2 at frequencies ν > 20 mHz. We find that the waves occur predominantly above inter-granular areas. Conclusions: We conclude that the acoustic flux in waves with periods shorter than the acoustic cutoff period can contribute to the basal heating of the solar chromosphere, in addition to the atmospheric gravity waves found recently.

The Atmosphere.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ingersoll, Andrew P.

1983-01-01

The composition and dynamics of the earth's atmosphere are discussed, considering the atmosphere's role in distributing the energy of solar radiation received by the earth. Models of this activity which help to explain climates of the past and predict those of the future are also considered. (JN)

Audit of sweat testing: a first report from Italian Cystic Fibrosis Centres.

PubMed

Cirilli, Natalia; Padoan, Rita; Raia, Valeria

2008-09-01

Cystic Fibrosis diagnosis is confirmed using sweat test. The aim of our study was to evaluate current techniques and methodologies in use at Italian CF Care Centres. A series of questions related to the performance of the sweat test was collected by all CF Care Centres in Italy. Answers were compared with UK and NCCLS guidelines. 39/41 Centres replied to the questionnaire. A good adherence to guidelines was registered for storing samples before analysis in 90.9%, while performing CF diagnosis by at least two sweat tests, and chloride analysis were reported respectively in 100% and 75.7% of Centres. Some inconsistencies were registered for minimum acceptable sweat quantity and time to collect sweat inadequate in respectively 42.5% and 24.2% of Centres, while performing quality control procedures and referring to an external quality assessment scheme were found inadequate in respectively 54.6% and 100%. 57.6% didn't provide any appropriate analytical ranges and only 15.1% of Centres offered proper information to patients/parents. A report form, including sweat quantity, reference ranges and interpretation, was adequate only for 9.4 up to 41.4% of CF Centres. Our study showed areas of inconsistencies in sweat testing current practices in Italy and highlights the need for evidence based national guidelines to improve practice and management strategies.

Psychometric evaluation of the Arabic language person-centred climate questionnaire-staff version.

PubMed

Aljuaid, Mohammed; Elmontsri, Mustafa; Edvardsson, David; Rawaf, Salman; Majeed, Azeem

2018-05-01

To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Arabic language person-centred climate questionnaire-staff version. There have been increasing calls for a person-centred rather than a disease-centred approach to health care. A limited number of tools measure the extent to which care is delivered in a person-centred manner, and none of these tools have been validated for us in Arab settings. The validated form of the person-centred climate questionnaire-staff version was translated into Arabic and distributed to 152 health care staff in teaching and non-teaching hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Statistical estimates of validity and reliability were used for psychometric evaluation. Items on the Arabic form of the person-centred climate questionnaire-staff version had high reliability (Cronbach's alpha .98). Cronbach's alpha values for the three sub-scales (safety, everydayness and community), were .96, .97 and .95 respectively. Internal consistency was also high and measures of validity were very good. Arabic form of the person-centred climate questionnaire-staff version provides a valid and reliable way to measure the degree of perceived person-centredness. The tool can be used for comparing levels of person-centredness between wards, units, and public and private hospitals. The tool can also be used to measure the extent of person-centredness in health care settings in other Arab countries. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A person-centred and thriving-promoting intervention in nursing homes - study protocol for the U-Age nursing home multi-centre, non-equivalent controlled group before-after trial.

PubMed

Edvardsson, David; Sjögren, Karin; Lood, Qarin; Bergland, Ådel; Kirkevold, Marit; Sandman, Per-Olof

2017-01-17

The literature suggests that person-centred care can contribute to quality of life and wellbeing of nursing home residents, relatives and staff. However, there is sparse research evidence on how person-centred care can be operationalised and implemented in practice, and the extent to which it may promote wellbeing and satisfaction. Therefore, the U-Age nursing home study was initiated to deepen the understanding of how to integrate person-centred care into daily practice and to explore the effects and meanings of this. The study aims to evaluate effects and meanings of a person-centred and thriving-promoting intervention in nursing homes through a multi-centre, non-equivalent controlled group before-after trial design. Three nursing homes across three international sites have been allocated to a person-centred and thriving-promoting intervention group, and three nursing homes have been allocated to an inert control group. Staff at intervention sites will participate in a 12-month interactive educational programme that operationalises thriving-promoting and person-centred care three dimensions: 1) Doing a little extra, 2) Developing a caring environment, and 3) Assessing and meeting highly prioritised psychosocial needs. A pedagogical framework will guide the intervention. The primary study endpoints are; residents' thriving, relatives' satisfaction with care and staff job satisfaction. Secondary endpoints are; resident, relative and staff experiences of the caring environment, relatives' experience of visiting their relative and the nursing home, as well as staff stress of conscience and perceived person-centredness of care. Data on study endpoints will be collected pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at a six-month follow up. Interviews will be conducted with relatives and staff to explore experiences and meanings of the intervention. The study is expected to provide evidence that can inform further research, policy and practice development on if and how

Ninety day mortality following pancreatoduodenectomy in England: has the optimum centre volume been identified?

PubMed

Liu, Z; Peneva, I S; Evison, F; Sahdra, S; Mirza, D F; Charnley, R M; Savage, R; Moss, P A; Roberts, K J

2018-06-09

Mortality following pancreatoduodenectomy is related to centre volume although the optimal volume is not defined. Patients undergoing PD between 2001 and 2016 were identified from UK national databases. The effects of patient variables, centre volume and time period upon 90 day mortality were studied. 90 day mortality (970/14,935, 6.5%) was related to advanced age, comorbidity, diagnosis, ethnicity, deprivation, centre volume and time period. Mortality rates fell markedly from 10.0% in 2001-4 to 4.1% in 2013-16. There was no difference in 90 day mortality between high (36 -60 PD per year) and very high volume (>60) centres. However, patients operated upon at very high volume centres were more elderly (66, 58 -73 vs 65, 56 -72; median, IQR; p = 0.006), deprived (38.7 vs 34.6%; p < 0.001) and co morbid (48.9 vs 46.1%; p = 0.027). Although a plateau in the centre volume and mortality relationship appears to have been demonstrated those patients treated at the highest volume centres were at higher risk of mortality. This data suggests therefore that to further understand outcomes from specialist centres characteristics of the patient population should be defined, not just centre volume. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Birth centres and the national maternity services review: response to consumer demand or compromise?

PubMed

Dahlen, H; Jackson, M; Schmied, V; Tracy, S; Priddis, H

2011-12-01

In February 2009 the Improving Maternity Services in Australia - The Report of the Maternity Services Review (MSR) was released and recommended improving women's access to and availability of birth centres. It was unclear if this was in response to an overwhelming request for birth centres in the submissions received by the commonwealth or a compromise for excluding homebirth from the maternity service reforms. The aim of this paper was to examine what was said in the submissions to the MSR about birth centres. Data for this study comprised 832 submissions to the MSR that are publicly available on the Commonwealth of Australia Department of Health and Ageing website. All 832 submissions were downloaded, and read for any mention of the words 'birth centre', 'birth center'. Content analysis was used to categorise and report the data. Of the 832 submissions to the MSR 197 (24%) mentioned birth centres while 470 (60%) of the submissions mentioned homebirth. Only 31 (4%) of the submissions to the Maternity Review mentioned birth centres without mentioning home birth also. Most of the submissions emphasised that 'everything should be on the menu' when it came to place of birth and care provider. Reasons for choosing a birth centre were identified as: 'the best compromise available, 'the right and natural way' and 'the birth centre as safe'. Women had certain requirements of a birth centre that included: 'continuity of carer', 'midwife led', 'a sanctum from medicalised care', 'resources to cope with demand', 'close to home', and 'flexible guidelines and admission criteria'. Women weighed up a series of requirements when deciding whether to give birth in a birth centre. The recommendation by the MSR to expand birth centres and ignore home birth is at odds with the strong view expressed that 'everything should be on the menu'. The requirements women described of birth centre care are also at odds with current trends. If there is to be an expansion of birth centres, service

Laser writing of coherent colour centres in diamond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yu-Chen; Salter, Patrick S.; Knauer, Sebastian; Weng, Laiyi; Frangeskou, Angelo C.; Stephen, Colin J.; Ishmael, Shazeaa N.; Dolan, Philip R.; Johnson, Sam; Green, Ben L.; Morley, Gavin W.; Newton, Mark E.; Rarity, John G.; Booth, Martin J.; Smith, Jason M.

2017-02-01

Optically active point defects in crystals have gained widespread attention as photonic systems that could be applied in quantum information technologies. However, challenges remain in the placing of individual defects at desired locations, an essential element of device fabrication. Here we report the controlled generation of single negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV-) centres in diamond using laser writing. Aberration correction in the writing optics allows precise positioning of the vacancies within the diamond crystal, and subsequent annealing produces single NV- centres with a probability of success of up to 45 ± 15%, located within about 200 nm of the desired position in the transverse plane. Selected NV- centres display stable, coherent optical transitions at cryogenic temperatures, a prerequisite for the creation of distributed quantum networks of solid-state qubits. The results illustrate the potential of laser writing as a new tool for defect engineering in quantum technologies, and extend laser processing to the single-defect domain.

Evaluation of the 7-km GEOS-5 Nature Run

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gelaro, Ronald; Putman, William M.; Pawson, Steven; Draper, Clara; Molod, Andrea; Norris, Peter M.; Ott, Lesley; Prive, Nikki; Reale, Oreste; Achuthavarier, Deepthi;

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vallis, Geoffrey K.

The project had two main components. The first concerns estimating the climate sensitivity in the presence of forcing uncertainty and natural variability. Climate sensitivity is the increase in the average surface temperature for a given increase in greenhouse gases, for example a doubling of carbon dioxide. We have provided new, probabilistic estimates of climate sensitivity using a simple climate model an the observed warming in the 20th century, in conjunction with ideas in data assimilation and parameter estimation developed in the engineering community. The estimates combine the uncertainty in the anthropogenic aerosols with the uncertainty arising because of natural variability.more » The second component concerns how the atmospheric circulation itself might change with anthropogenic global warming. We have shown that GCMs robustly predict an increase in the length scale of eddies, and we have also explored the dynamical mechanisms whereby there might be a shift in the latitude of the jet stream associated with anthropogenic warming. Such shifts in the jet might cause large changes in regional climate, potentially larger than the globally-averaged signal itself. We have also shown that the tropopause robustly increases in height with global warming, and that the Hadley Cell expands, and that the expansion of the Hadley Cell is correlated with the polewards movement of the mid-latitude jet.« less

An annually-resolved stalagmite tropical cyclone reconstruction from Belize reveals a northward shift in North Atlantic storm track position since 1550 C.E.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baldini, Lisa; Baldini, James; McElwaine, Jim; Frappier, Amy; Asmerom, Yemane; Liu, Kam-biu; Prufer, Keith; Ridley, Harriet; Polyak, Victor; Kennett, Douglas; Macpherson, Colin; Aquino, Valorie; Awe, Jaime; Breitenbach, Sebastian

2017-04-01

Hurricanes are large-scale atmospheric phenomena that typically produce high volume, high intensity, and isotopically depleted rainfall. Such storms have the ability to alter the isotopic composition of the groundwater reservoir, imparting a uniquely negative isotopic fingerprint to actively growing stalagmites. In regions influenced by the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), large volumes of rainfall delivered during the wet season can obscure the tropical cyclone (TC) rainfall proxy signal. Coupled annually resolved carbon and oxygen isotope ratios were used to isolate the low δ18O TC signal from the isotopically more enriched background rainfall associated with seasonal ITCZ migration. The new composite stalagmite proxy record yielded a 99.7% significant correlation with the western Caribbean-filtered HURDAT2 database over the instrumental record based on a non-parametric bootstrap approach. The new annually-resolved TC reconstruction for the western Caribbean spans the last 450 years and reveals a peak in western Caribbean TCs at 1650 C.E. and a gradual decline until a marked decrease is observed at the start of the Industrial Era. Comparison with documentary records of TC occurrence along the US eastern seaboard reveals a clear pattern of north-eastward TC track migration since peak Little Ice Age cooling. This pattern is consistent with natural warming since the Little Ice Age temperature minimum and with anthropogenic influences after industrialisation. Satellite observations reveal Hadley cell expansion has occurred over the last three decades and modelling studies implicate rising atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations as the driver. Our results suggest that Hadley cell position and width is a major control on hurricane track position and that future emissions scenarios (continued rising greenhouse gases coupled with decreasing Northern Hemisphere aerosol emissions) are likely to increase storm risk to the north-eastern USA.

Cardiac patients' perception of patient-centred care: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Esmaeili, Maryam; Cheraghi, Mohammad A; Salsali, Mahvash

2016-03-01

The aim of this study was to explore cardiac patients' perception of patient-centred care. Despite patient's importance in the process of care, less attention has been paid to experiences and expectations of patients in definitions of patient-centred care. As patients are an important element in process of patient-centred care, organizing care programs according to their perceptions and expectations will lead to enhanced quality of care and greater patient satisfaction. This study is a descriptive qualitative study. Content analysis approach was performed for data analysis. Participants were 18 cardiac patients (10 women and 8 men) hospitalized in coronary care units of teaching hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences. We collected the study data through conducting personal face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The participants' perceptions of patient-centred care fell into three main themes including managing patients uncertainty, providing care with more flexibility and establishing a therapeutic communication. The second theme consisted of two sub-themes: empathizing with patients and having the right to make independent decisions. Receiving patient-centred care is essential for cardiac patients. Attention to priorities and preferences of cardiac patients and making decisions accordingly is among effective strategies for achieving patient-centred care. Cardiac care unit nurses ought to be aware that in spite of technological developments and advances, it is still important to pay attention to patients' needs and expectations in order to achieve patient satisfaction. In planning care programs, they should consider accountability towards patients' needs, flexibility in process of care and establishing medical interactions as an effective strategy for improving quality of care. © 2014 British Association of Critical Care Nurses.

Titan's atmosphere and climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hörst, S. M.

2017-03-01

Titan is the only moon with a substantial atmosphere, the only other thick N2 atmosphere besides Earth's, the site of extraordinarily complex atmospheric chemistry that far surpasses any other solar system atmosphere, and the only other solar system body with stable liquid currently on its surface. The connection between Titan's surface and atmosphere is also unique in our solar system; atmospheric chemistry produces materials that are deposited on the surface and subsequently altered by surface-atmosphere interactions such as aeolian and fluvial processes resulting in the formation of extensive dune fields and expansive lakes and seas. Titan's atmosphere is favorable for organic haze formation, which combined with the presence of some oxygen-bearing molecules indicates that Titan's atmosphere may produce molecules of prebiotic interest. The combination of organics and liquid, in the form of water in a subsurface ocean and methane/ethane in the surface lakes and seas, means that Titan may be the ideal place in the solar system to test ideas about habitability, prebiotic chemistry, and the ubiquity and diversity of life in the universe. The Cassini-Huygens mission to the Saturn system has provided a wealth of new information allowing for study of Titan as a complex system. Here I review our current understanding of Titan's atmosphere and climate forged from the powerful combination of Earth-based observations, remote sensing and in situ spacecraft measurements, laboratory experiments, and models. I conclude with some of our remaining unanswered questions as the incredible era of exploration with Cassini-Huygens comes to an end.

Force-induced chemical reactions on the metal centre in a single metalloprotein molecule.

PubMed

Zheng, Peng; Arantes, Guilherme M; Field, Martin J; Li, Hongbin

2015-06-25

Metalloproteins play indispensable roles in biology owing to the versatile chemical reactivity of metal centres. However, studying their reactivity in many metalloproteins is challenging, as protein three-dimensional structure encloses labile metal centres, thus limiting their access to reactants and impeding direct measurements. Here we demonstrate the use of single-molecule atomic force microscopy to induce partial unfolding to expose metal centres in metalloproteins to aqueous solution, thus allowing for studying their chemical reactivity in aqueous solution for the first time. As a proof-of-principle, we demonstrate two chemical reactions for the FeS4 centre in rubredoxin: electrophilic protonation and nucleophilic ligand substitution. Our results show that protonation and ligand substitution result in mechanical destabilization of the FeS4 centre. Quantum chemical calculations corroborated experimental results and revealed detailed reaction mechanisms. We anticipate that this novel approach will provide insights into chemical reactivity of metal centres in metalloproteins under biologically more relevant conditions.

Force-induced chemical reactions on the metal centre in a single metalloprotein molecule

PubMed Central

Zheng, Peng; Arantes, Guilherme M.; Field, Martin J.; Li, Hongbin

2015-01-01

Metalloproteins play indispensable roles in biology owing to the versatile chemical reactivity of metal centres. However, studying their reactivity in many metalloproteins is challenging, as protein three-dimensional structure encloses labile metal centres, thus limiting their access to reactants and impeding direct measurements. Here we demonstrate the use of single-molecule atomic force microscopy to induce partial unfolding to expose metal centres in metalloproteins to aqueous solution, thus allowing for studying their chemical reactivity in aqueous solution for the first time. As a proof-of-principle, we demonstrate two chemical reactions for the FeS4 centre in rubredoxin: electrophilic protonation and nucleophilic ligand substitution. Our results show that protonation and ligand substitution result in mechanical destabilization of the FeS4 centre. Quantum chemical calculations corroborated experimental results and revealed detailed reaction mechanisms. We anticipate that this novel approach will provide insights into chemical reactivity of metal centres in metalloproteins under biologically more relevant conditions. PMID:26108369

Transitional and Transformational Spaces: Mentoring Young Academics through Writing Centres

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Archer, Arlene; Parker, Shabnam

2016-01-01

The effectiveness of writing centre interventions on student writing in higher education has been well-documented in academic literacies studies. This paper changes the focus of investigation from student to consultant and, consequently, explores the way in which an academic writing centre can function as a mentoring environment for young…

Leading an Effective Improvement and Development Programme for Children's Centres

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weston, Gill; Tyler, Mary

2015-01-01

This article reviews the process and achievements of leadership of an improvement and development programme for children's centres in the context of public value and Ofsted inspection. It analyses how the capacity has been developed of children's centre managers to work more strategically and collectively. Distributed leadership theory is applied…

Research Informed Science Enrichment Programs at the Gravity Discovery Centre

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Venville, Grady; Blair, David; Coward, David; Deshon, Fred; Gargano, Mark; Gondwe, Mzamose; Heary, Auriol; Longnecker, Nancy; Pitts, Marina; Zadnik, Marjan

2012-01-01

Excursions to museums and science centres generally are great fun for students and teachers. The potential educational benefits beyond enjoyment, however, are rarely realised or analysed for their efficacy. The purpose of this paper is to describe four educational enrichment programs delivered at the Gravity Discovery Centre (GDC), near Gingin,…

Comparison of three models of ownership of community health centres in China: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Wei, Xiaolin; Yang, Nan; Gao, Yang; Wong, Samuel Y S; Wong, Martin C S; Wang, Jiaji; Wang, Harry H X; Li, Donald K T; Tang, Jinling; Griffiths, Sian M

2015-07-01

Community health centres are the main form of provision of primary care in China. There are three models: government managed, hospital managed and private. Our aim was to describe and compare primary care under the three ownership models. Four aspects of primary care were studied: services, organization, financing and human resources. Interviews were undertaken with 60 managerial and professional staff in 13 community health centres in the Pearl River Delta region in 2010. Three community health centres were selected in the capital city and two were selected from each of the other five cities. Thematic framework analysis was conducted. Government-managed community health centres received the largest public funding, followed by hospital-managed community health centres, while private community health centres received the least. Private community health centres were the smallest in scale and provided lower quality public health services compared with the other two models. Patient out-of-pocket costs accounted for the majority of the revenue in all models of community health centres despite improved government funding for preventive services. General challenges such as the shortage of public funding, the exclusion of migrants in the funding for preventive services, low capacity in human resources and the separation of clinical and preventive care in community health centres were identified in all three models of community health centres. The ownership and management of a community health centre greatly influence the service it provides. Private community health centres are in a disadvantaged position to deliver high quality clinical and preventive care. © The Author(s) 2015.

Reference and Standard Atmosphere Models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Dale L.; Roberts, Barry C.; Vaughan, William W.; Parker, Nelson C. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

This paper describes the development of standard and reference atmosphere models along with the history of their origin and use since the mid 19th century. The first "Standard Atmospheres" were established by international agreement in the 1920's. Later some countries, notably the United States, also developed and published "Standard Atmospheres". The term "Reference Atmospheres" is used to identify atmosphere models for specific geographical locations. Range Reference Atmosphere Models developed first during the 1960's are examples of these descriptions of the atmosphere. This paper discusses the various models, scopes, applications and limitations relative to use in aerospace industry activities.

Improving the layout of recycling centres by use of lean production principles.

PubMed

Sundin, Erik; Björkman, Mats; Eklund, Mats; Eklund, Jörgen; Engkvist, Inga-Lill

2011-06-01

There has been increased focus on recycling in Sweden during recent years. This focus can be attributed to external environmental factors such as tougher legislation, but also to the potential gains for raw materials suppliers. Recycling centres are important components in the Swedish total recycling system. Recycling centres are manned facilities for waste collection where visitors can bring, sort and discard worn products as well as large-sized, hazardous, and electrical waste. The aim of this paper was to identify and describe the main flows and layout types at Swedish recycling centres. The aim was also to adapt and apply production theory for designing and managing recycling centre operations. More specifically, this means using lean production principles to help develop guidelines for recycling centre design and efficient control. Empirical data for this research was primarily collected through interviews and questionnaires among both visitors and employees at 16 Swedish recycling centres. Furthermore, adapted observation protocols have been used in order to explore visitor activities. There was also close collaboration with a local recycling centre company, which shared their layout experiences with the researchers in this project. The recycling centres studied had a variety of problems such as queues of visitors, overloading of material and improper sorting. The study shows that in order to decrease the problems, the recycling centres should be designed and managed according to lean production principles, i.e. through choosing more suitable layout choices with visible and linear flows, providing better visitor information, and providing suitable technical equipment. Improvements can be achieved through proper planning of the layout and control of the flow of vehicles, with the result of increased efficiency and capacity, shorter visits, and cleaner waste fractions. The benefits of a lean production mindset include increased visitor capacity, waste

Heterogeneous atmospheric chemistry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schryer, D. R.

1982-01-01

The present conference on heterogeneous atmospheric chemistry considers such topics concerning clusters, particles and microparticles as common problems in nucleation and growth, chemical kinetics, and catalysis, chemical reactions with aerosols, electron beam studies of natural and anthropogenic microparticles, and structural studies employing molecular beam techniques, as well as such gas-solid interaction topics as photoassisted reactions, catalyzed photolysis, and heterogeneous catalysis. Also discussed are sulfur dioxide absorption, oxidation, and oxidation inhibition in falling drops, sulfur dioxide/water equilibria, the evidence for heterogeneous catalysis in the atmosphere, the importance of heterogeneous processes to tropospheric chemistry, soot-catalyzed atmospheric reactions, and the concentrations and mechanisms of formation of sulfate in the atmospheric boundary layer.

The Tehran Book Processing Centre.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harvey, John F.

Establishment of the Tehran Book Processing Centre (Tebroc) was proposed in the Spring of 1968. This document is a descriptive and historical account of the center, and a description of its contributions to Iranian processing development. The center was modeled, to a certain extent, after Bro-Dart's Alanar in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Tebroc was…

Observation of The Top of The Atmosphere Outgoing Longwave Radiation Using The Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget Sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spencer, G.; Llewellyn-Jones, D.

In the summer of 2002 the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite is due to be launched. On board the MSG satellite is the Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget (GERB) sensor. This is a new radiometer that will be able to observe and measure the outgoing longwave radiation from the top of the atmosphere for the whole ob- served Earth disc, due to its unique position in geostationary orbit. Every 15 minutes the GERB sensor will make a full Earth disc observation, centred on the Greenwich meridian. Thus, the GERB sensor will provide unprecedented coupled temporal and spatial resolution of the outgoing longwave radiation (4.0 to 30.0 microns), by first measuring the broadband radiation (0.32 to 30.0 microns) and then subtracting the measured reflected shortwave solar radiation (0.32 to 4.0 microns), from the earth- atmosphere system. The GERB sensor is able to make measurements to within an accuracy of 1 W/sq. m. A forward model is being developed at Leicester to simulate the data from the GERB sensor for representative geophysical scenes and to investigate key parameters and processes that will affect the top of the atmosphere signal. At the heart of this model is a line-by-line radiative transfer model, the Oxford Reference Forward Model (RFM) that is to be used with model atmospheres generated from ECMWF analysis data. When MSG is launched, cloud data from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI), also on board, is to be used in conjunction with GERB data.

A Useful Tool for Atmospheric Correction and Surface Temperature Estimation of Landsat Infrared Thermal Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rivalland, Vincent; Tardy, Benjamin; Huc, Mireille; Hagolle, Olivier; Marcq, Sébastien; Boulet, Gilles

2016-04-01

Land Surface temperature (LST) is a critical variable for studying the energy and water budgets at the Earth surface, and is a key component of many aspects of climate research and services. The Landsat program jointly carried out by NASA and USGS has been providing thermal infrared data for 40 years, but no associated LST product has been yet routinely proposed to community. To derive LST values, radiances measured at sensor-level need to be corrected for the atmospheric absorption, the atmospheric emission and the surface emissivity effect. Until now, existing LST products have been generated with multi channel methods such as the Temperature/Emissivity Separation (TES) adapted to ASTER data or the generalized split-window algorithm adapted to MODIS multispectral data. Those approaches are ill-adapted to the Landsat mono-window data specificity. The atmospheric correction methodology usually used for Landsat data requires detailed information about the state of the atmosphere. This information may be obtained from radio-sounding or model atmospheric reanalysis and is supplied to a radiative transfer model in order to estimate atmospheric parameters for a given coordinate. In this work, we present a new automatic tool dedicated to Landsat thermal data correction which improves the common atmospheric correction methodology by introducing the spatial dimension in the process. The python tool developed during this study, named LANDARTs for LANDsat Automatic Retrieval of surface Temperature, is fully automatic and provides atmospheric corrections for a whole Landsat tile. Vertical atmospheric conditions are downloaded from the ERA Interim dataset from ECMWF meteorological organization which provides them at 0.125 degrees resolution, at a global scale and with a 6-hour-time step. The atmospheric correction parameters are estimated on the atmospheric grid using the commercial software MODTRAN, then interpolated to 30m resolution. We detail the processing steps

Greenhouse effect in the atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smirnov, B. M.

2016-04-01

Average optical atmospheric parameters for the infrared spectrum range are evaluated on the basis of the Earth energetic balance and parameters of the standard atmosphere. The average optical thickness of the atmosphere is u ≈ 2.5 and this atmospheric emission is originated at altitudes below 10 km. Variations of atmospheric radiative fluxes towards the Earth and outward are calculated as a function of the concentration of \\text{CO}2 molecules for the regular model of molecular spectrum. As a result of doubling of the \\text{CO}2 concentration the change of the global Earth temperature is (0.4 +/- 0.2) \\text{K} if other atmospheric parameters are conserved compared to the value (3.0 +/- 1.5) \\text{K} under real atmospheric conditions with the variation of the amount of atmospheric water. An observed variation of the global Earth temperature during the last century (0.8 ^\\circ \\text{C}) follows from an increase of the mass of atmospheric water by 7% or by conversion of 1% of atmospheric water in aerosols.

Molecular Identification of Human Fungal Pathogens

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-01

reported this period: Drees M, Wickes BL, Gupta M, Hadley S. Lecythophora mutabilis prosthetic valve endocarditis in a diabetic patient. Med Mycol. (2007...Wickes BL, Gupta M, Hadley S. 2007. Lecythophora mutabilis prosthetic valve endocarditis in a diabetic patient. Med Mycol. 45:463-467. 9...information: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713694156 Lecythophora mutabilis prosthetic valve endocarditis in a diabetic patient Marci

"Getting Practical" and the National Network of Science Learning Centres

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chapman, Georgina; Langley, Mark; Skilling, Gus; Walker, John

2011-01-01

The national network of Science Learning Centres is a co-ordinating partner in the Getting Practical--Improving Practical Work in Science programme. The principle of training provision for the "Getting Practical" programme is a cascade model. Regional trainers employed by the national network of Science Learning Centres trained the cohort of local…

Examination and Evaluation of Websites of Science Centres in Turkey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bozdogan, Aykut Emre; Bozdogan, Kerem

2016-01-01

Science centres which have a considerable importance and functions in developed countries are intended to be popularized in Turkey. At this point considering the fact that the first contact between science centres and visitors is usually provided with websites, it is quite important that the content of these websites should be designed and…

Atmospheric Models for Aerocapture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Justus, C. G.; Duval, Aleta; Keller, Vernon W.

2003-01-01

There are eight destinations in the Solar System with sufficient atmosphere for aerocapture to be a viable aeroassist option - Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and its moon Titan, Uranus, and Neptune. Engineering-level atmospheric models for four of these targets (Earth, Mars, Titan, and Neptune) have been developed for NASA to support systems analysis studies of potential future aerocapture missions. Development of a similar atmospheric model for Venus has recently commenced. An important capability of all of these models is their ability to simulate quasi-random density perturbations for Monte Carlo analyses in developing guidance, navigation and control algorithms, and for thermal systems design. Similarities and differences among these atmospheric models are presented, with emphasis on the recently developed Neptune model and on planned characteristics of the Venus model. Example applications for aerocapture are also presented and illustrated. Recent updates to the Titan atmospheric model, in anticipation of applications for trajectory and atmospheric reconstruct of Huygens Robe entry at Titan, are discussed. Recent updates to the Mars atmospheric model, in support of ongoing Mars aerocapture systems analysis studies, are also presented.

Atmospheric density models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mueller, A. C.

1977-01-01

An atmospheric model developed by Jacchia, quite accurate but requiring a large amount of computer storage and execution time, was found to be ill-suited for the space shuttle onboard program. The development of a simple atmospheric density model to simulate the Jacchia model was studied. Required characteristics including variation with solar activity, diurnal variation, variation with geomagnetic activity, semiannual variation, and variation with height were met by the new atmospheric density model.

Developing a Partnership between the Riverina Environmental Education Centre and Charles Sturt University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boylan, Colin; Collin, Keith

2006-01-01

A collaborative partnership has evolved between the Riverina Environmental Education Centre (REEC) and Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga. The Riverina Environmental Education Centre (REEC) is one of 24 Department of Education and Training environmental education centres in New South Wales (see www.reec.nsw.edu.au). As part of this…

A comparative concept analysis of centring vs. opening meditation processes in health care.

PubMed

Birx, Ellen

2013-08-01

To report an analysis and comparison of the concepts centring and opening meditation processes in health care. Centring and opening meditation processes are included in nursing theories and frequently recommended in health care for stress management. These meditation processes are integrated into emerging psychotherapy approaches and there is a rapidly expanding body of neuroscience research distinguishing brain activity associated with different types of meditation. Currently, there is a lack of theoretical and conceptual clarity needed to guide meditation research in health care. A search of healthcare literature between 2006-2011 was conducted using Alt HealthWatch, CINAHL, PsychNET and PubMed databases using the keywords 'centring' and 'opening' alone and in combination with the term 'meditation.' For the concept centring, 10 articles and 11 books and for the concept opening 13 articles and 10 books were included as data sources. Rodgers' evolutionary method of concept analysis was used. Centring and opening are similar in that they both involve awareness in the present moment; both use a gentle, effortless approach; and both have a calming effect. Key differences include centring's focus on the individual's inner experience compared with the non-dual, spacious awareness of opening. Centring and opening are overlapping, yet distinct meditation processes. The term meditation cannot be used in a generic way in health care. The differences between centring and opening have important implications for the further development of unitary-transformative nursing theories. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Experiences of women who planned birth in a birth centre compared to alternative planned places of birth. Results of the Dutch Birth Centre Study.

PubMed

Hitzert, Marit; Hermus, Marieke A A; Scheerhagen, Marisja; Boesveld, Inge C; Wiegers, Therese A; van den Akker-van Marle, M Elske; van Dommelen, Paula; van der Pal-de Bruin, Karin M; de Graaf, Johanna P

2016-09-01

to assess the experiences with maternity care of women who planned birth in a birth centre and to compare them to alternative planned places of birth, by using the responsiveness concept of the World Health Organization. this study is a cross-sectional study using the ReproQ questionnaire filled out eight to ten weeks after birth. The primary outcome was responsiveness of birth care. Secondary outcomes included overall grades for birth care and experiences with the birth centre services. Regression analyses were performed to compare experiences among the planned places of birth. The study is part of the Dutch Birth Centre Study. the women were recruited by 82 midwifery practices in the Netherlands, within the study period 1 August 2013 and 31 December 2013. a total of 2162 women gave written consent to receive the questionnaire and 1181 (54.6%) women completed the questionnaire. women who planned to give birth at a birth centre: (1) had similar experiences as the women who planned to give birth in a hospital receiving care of a community midwife. (2) had significantly less favourable experiences than the women who planned to give birth at home. Differences during birth were seen on the domains dignity (OR=1.58, 95% CI=1.09-2.27) and autonomy (OR=1.77, 95% CI=1.25-2.51), during the postpartum period on the domains social considerations (OR=1.54, 95% CI=1.06-2.25) and choice and continuity (OR=1.43, 95% CI=1.00-2.03). (3) had significantly better experiences than the women who planned to give birth in a hospital under supervision of an obstetrician. Differences during birth were seen on the domains dignity (OR=0.51, 95% CI=0.31-0.81), autonomy (OR=0.59, 95% CI=0.35-1.00), confidentiality (OR=0.57, 95% CI=0.36-0.92) and social considerations (OR=0.47, 95% CI=0.28-0.79). During the postpartum period differences were seen on the domains dignity (OR=0.61, 95% CI=0.38-0.98), autonomy (OR=0.52, 95% CI=0.31-0.85) and basic amenities (OR=0.52, 95% CI=0.30-0.88). More than 80

Assuring measurement quality in person-centred healthcare

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pendrill, L. R.

2018-03-01

Is it realistic to aspire to the same kind of quality-assurance of measurement in person-centred care, currently being implemented in healthcare globally, as is established in the physical sciences and engineering? Ensuring metrological comparability (‘traceability’) and reliably declaring measurement uncertainty when assessing patient ability or increased social capital are however challenging for subjective measurements often characterised by large dispersion. Drawing simple analogies between ‘instruments’ in the social sciences—questionnaires, ability tests, etc—and engineering instruments such as thermometers does not go far enough. A possible way forward, apparently equally applicable to both physical and social measurement, seems to be to model inferences in terms of performance metrics of a measurement system. Person-centred care needs person-centred measurement and a full picture of the measurement process when man acts as a measurement instrument is given in the present paper. This complements previous work by presenting the process, step by step, from the observed indication (e.g. probability of success, P success, of achieving a task), through restitution with Rasch measurement theory, to the measurand (e.g. task difficulty). Rasch invariant measure theory can yield quantities—‘latent’ (or ‘explanatory’) variables such as task challenge or person ability—with characteristics akin to those of physical quantities. Metrological references for comparability via traceability and reliable estimates of uncertainty and decision risks are then in reach even for perceptive measurements (and other qualitative properties). As a case study, the person-centred measurement of cognitive ability is examined, as part of the EU project EMPIR 15HLT04 NeuroMet, for Alzheimer’s, where better analysis of correlations with brain atrophy is enabled thanks to the Rasch metrological approach.

Bubble propagation in Hele-Shaw channels with centred constrictions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Franco-Gómez, Andrés; Thompson, Alice B.; Hazel, Andrew L.; Juel, Anne

2018-04-01

We study the propagation of finite bubbles in a Hele-Shaw channel, where a centred occlusion (termed a rail) is introduced to provide a small axially uniform depth constriction. For bubbles wide enough to span the channel, the system’s behaviour is similar to that of semi-infinite fingers and a symmetric static solution is stable. Here, we focus on smaller bubbles, in which case the symmetric static solution is unstable and the static bubble is displaced towards one of the deeper regions of the channel on either side of the rail. Using a combination of experiments and numerical simulations of a depth-averaged model, we show that a bubble propagating axially due to a small imposed flow rate can be stabilised in a steady symmetric mode centred on the rail through a subtle interaction between stabilising viscous forces and destabilising surface tension forces. However, for sufficiently large capillary numbers Ca, the ratio of viscous to surface tension forces, viscous forces in turn become destabilising thus returning the bubble to an off-centred propagation regime. With decreasing bubble size, the range of Ca for which steady centred propagation is stable decreases, and eventually vanishes through the coalescence of two supercritical pitchfork bifurcations. The depth-averaged model is found to accurately predict all the steady modes of propagation observed experimentally, and provides a comprehensive picture of the underlying steady bifurcation structure. However, for sufficiently large imposed flow rates, we find that initially centred bubbles do not converge onto a steady mode of propagation. Instead they transiently explore weakly unstable steady modes, an evolution which results in their break-up and eventual settling into a steady propagating state of changed topology.

Active mode-locked operation of a diode pumped colour-centre laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazighi, K.; Doualan, J. L.; Hamel, J.; Margerie, J.; Mounier, D.; Ostrovsky, A.

1991-09-01

The cw laser diode pumping of an (F +2) ∗ colour centre laser has been recently demonstrated in our laboratory. The intensity of the pumping diode can easily be hf modulated. We present here the first experiments in which the colour centre laser is synchronously pumped at the mode spacing frequency, resulting in the emission of clean, regularly spaced pulses. The opto-electronic feedback is a very promising method of obtaining such a pulsed operation of a diode pumped colour centre laser without the use of an external hf oscillator.

Impact erosion of planetary atmospheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shuvalov, Valery

1999-06-01

The problem of planetary atmospheres evolution due to impacts of large cosmic bodies was investigated by Ahrens, O'Keefe, Cameron, Hunten and others. These studies were focused mainly on the atmosphere growth under impact devolatilization and atmosphere losses due to escape of high velocity ejecta. Most of the results concerning atmosphere erosion were based on assumption that atmosphere itself does not influence significantly on the ejecta evolution. However more detailed investigations show that atmospheric drag is important at least for 1-10km impactors. From the other hand the theory of large explosions in an exponential atmosphere is not applicable in the case under consideration because of the influence of a trail created during the body flight through the atmosphere. In the present study the problem of 1-10km asteroid impacts against the Earth is investigated with the use of multi-material hydrocode SOVA. This code is similar to the widely used CTH system and allows to model all stages of the impact (penetration into the atmosphere, collision with the ground surface covered by water basin, ejecta evolution). The air mass ejected from each altitude depending on impactor size and velocity is determined. Apart from the impacts into the present-day atmosphere, the erosion of the dense Proto-Atmosphere is also considered.

Comparison of aerosol optical properties above clouds between POLDER and AeroCom models over the South East Atlantic Ocean during the fire season

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peers, F.; Bellouin, N.; Waquet, F.; Ducos, F.; Goloub, P.; Mollard, J.; Myhre, G.; Skeie, R. B.; Takemura, T.; Tanré, D.; Thieuleux, F.; Zhang, K.

2016-04-01

Aerosol properties above clouds have been retrieved over the South East Atlantic Ocean during the fire season 2006 using satellite observations from POLDER (Polarization and Directionality of Earth Reflectances). From June to October, POLDER has observed a mean Above-Cloud Aerosol Optical Thickness (ACAOT) of 0.28 and a mean Above-Clouds Single Scattering Albedo (ACSSA) of 0.87 at 550 nm. These results have been used to evaluate the simulation of aerosols above clouds in five Aerosol Comparisons between Observations and Models (Goddard Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART), Hadley Centre Global Environmental Model 3 (HadGEM3), European Centre Hamburg Model 5-Hamburg Aerosol Module 2 (ECHAM5-HAM2), Oslo-Chemical Transport Model 2 (OsloCTM2), and Spectral Radiation-Transport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS)). Most models do not reproduce the observed large aerosol load episodes. The comparison highlights the importance of the injection height and the vertical transport parameterizations to simulate the large ACAOT observed by POLDER. Furthermore, POLDER ACSSA is best reproduced by models with a high imaginary part of black carbon refractive index, in accordance with recent recommendations.

Identifying Centres of Plant Biodiversity in South Australia

PubMed Central

Guerin, Greg R.; Biffin, Ed; Baruch, Zdravko; Lowe, Andrew J.

2016-01-01

We aimed to identify regional centres of plant biodiversity in South Australia, a sub-continental land area of 983,482 km2, by mapping a suite of metrics. Broad-brush conservation issues associated with the centres were mapped, specifically climate sensitivity, exposure to habitat fragmentation, introduced species and altered fire regimes. We compiled 727,417 plant species records from plot-based field surveys and herbarium records and mapped the following: species richness (all species; South Australian endemics; conservation-dependent species; introduced species); georeferenced weighted endemism, phylogenetic diversity, georeferenced phylogenetic endemism; and measures of beta diversity at local and state-wide scales. Associated conservation issues mapped were: climate sensitivity measured via ordination and non-linear modelling; habitat fragmentation represented by the proportion of remnant vegetation within a moving window; fire prone landscapes assessed using fire history records; invasive species assessed through diversity metrics, species distribution and literature. Compared to plots, herbarium data had higher spatial and taxonomic coverage but records were more biased towards major transport corridors. Beta diversity was influenced by sampling intensity and scale of comparison. We identified six centres of high plant biodiversity for South Australia: Western Kangaroo Island; Southern Mount Lofty Ranges; Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands; Southern Flinders Ranges; Southern Eyre Peninsula; Lower South East. Species composition in the arid-mediterranean ecotone was the most climate sensitive. Fragmentation mapping highlighted the dichotomy between extensive land-use and high remnancy in the north and intensive land-use and low remnancy in the south. Invasive species were most species rich in agricultural areas close to population centres. Fire mapping revealed large variation in frequency across the state. Biodiversity scores were not always

Evaluation of telemedicine centres in Madhya Pradesh, Central India.

PubMed

Bali, Surya; Gupta, Arti; Khan, Asif; Pakhare, Abhijit

2016-04-01

In a developing country such as India, there is substantial inequality in health care distribution. Telemedicine facilities were established in Madhya Pradesh in 2007-2008. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the infrastructure, equipment, manpower, and functional status of Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO) telemedicine nodes in Madhya Pradesh. All district hospitals and medical colleges with nodes were visited by a team of three members. The study was conducted from December 2013-January 2014. The team recorded the structural facility situation and physical conditions on a predesigned pro forma. The team also conducted interviews with the nodal officers, data entry operator and other relevant people at these centres. Of the six specialist nodes, four were functional and two were non-functional. Of 10 patient nodes, two nodes were functional, four were semi-functional and four were non-functional. Most of the centres were not working due to a problem with their satellite modem. The overall condition of ISRO run telemedicine centres in Madhya Pradesh was found to be poor. Most of these centres failed to provide telemedicine consultations. We recommend replacing this system with another cost effective system available in the state wide area network (SWAN). We suggest the concept of the virtual out-patient department. © The Author(s) 2015.

Evaluation of the Training Centre Infrastructure Fund (TCIF). Final Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, 2009

2009-01-01

The Training Centre Infrastructure Fund (TCIF) was initially announced in Budget 2004 and represented an immediate measure of the broader Workplace Skills Strategy. TCIF was a three-year $25 million pilot project, designed to address the growing need for union-employer training centres to replace aging equipment and simulators that were not up to…

The UK Haemophilia Doctors Organisation triennial audit of UK Comprehensive Care Haemophilia Centres.

PubMed

Wilde, J T

2012-07-01

Under the auspices of the United Kingdom Haemophilia Doctors Organisation (UKHCDO) the UK Comprehensive Care Haemophilia Centres (CCCs) have undergone a three yearly formal audit assessment since 1993. This report describes the evolution of the audit process and details the findings of the most recent audit round, the sixth since inception. The audit reports from the 2009 audit round were reviewed by the audit organizing group and a structured analysis of the data was compiled. CCCs in the UK offer a high standard of comprehensive care services. The main areas of concern were the state of the premises (seven centres), lack of dental services (seven centres), physiotherapy (seven centres) and social work support (11 centres). Major concerns were identified at eight centres requiring a formal letter from the chairman of UKHCDO to the chief executive of the host trust. Since inception of the triennial audit process centre report recommendations have resulted in major improvements in the services available at UK CCCs. The audit process is considered to be a highly effective means of improving the quality of care for patients with bleeding disorders and can be used as a model for the introduction of a similar process in other countries. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

First results of the Nordic and Baltic GNSS Analysis Centre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lahtinen, Sonja; Pasi, Häkli; Jivall, Lotti; Kempe, Christina; Kollo, Karin; Kosenko, Ksenija; Pihlak, Priit; Prizginiene, Dalia; Tangen, Oddvar; Weber, Mette; Paršeliūnas, Eimuntas; Baniulis, Rimvydas; Galinauskas, Karolis

2018-03-01

The Nordic Geodetic Commission (NKG) has launched a joint NKG GNSS Analysis Centre that aims to routinely produce high qualityGNSS solutions for the common needs of the NKG and the Nordic and Baltic countries. A consistent and densified velocity field is needed for the constraining of the gla-cial isostatic adjustment (GIA) modelling that is a key component of maintaining the national reference frame realisations in the area. We described the methods of the NKG GNSS Analysis Centre including the defined processing setup for the local analysis centres (LAC) and for the combination centres.We analysed the results of the first 2.5 years (2014.5-2016). The results showed that different subnets were consistent with the combined solution within 1-2 mm level. We observed the so called network effect affecting our reference frame alignment. However, the accuracy of the reference frame alignment was on a few millimetre level in the area of the main interest (Nordic and Baltic Countries). TheNKGGNSS AC was declared fully operational in April 2017.

Person-centred Leadership: a relational approach to leadership derived through action research.

PubMed

Cardiff, Shaun; McCormack, Brendan; McCance, Tanya

2018-04-21

How does person-centred leadership manifest in clinical nursing. Person-centred practice fosters healthful relationships and is gaining increasing attention in nursing and healthcare, but nothing is known about the influence of a person-centred approach to leadership practice. Most leadership models used in nursing were originally developed outside of nursing. A three year participatory action research study where participant leaders planned, researched and learned from their practice development. After an orientation phase, four action spirals focused on: critical and creative reflective inquiries into leadership practice change; leading the implementation and evaluation of a new nursing system; facilitating storytelling sessions with staff and annually reflecting on personal leadership change. Multiple data gathering methods offered insight into leadership development from several perspectives. Critical and creative thematic data analysis revealed a set of attributes, relational processes and contextual factors that influenced the being and becoming of a person-centred leader. Comparing the findings with nursing leadership literature supports a conceptual framework for person-centred leadership. Person-centred leadership is a complex, dynamic, relational and contextualised practice that aims to enable associates and leaders achieve self-actualisation, empowerment and wellbeing. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Lunar Roving Vehicle photographed against lunar background during EVA

NASA Image and Video Library

1971-08-01

AS15-88-11901 (31 July-2 Aug. 1971) --- The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is photographed alone against the desolate lunar background during the third Apollo 15 lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Hadley-Apennine landing site. This view is looking north. The west edge of Mount Hadley is at the upper right edge of the picture. Mount Hadley rises approximately 4,500 meters (about 4,765 feet) above the plain. The most distant lunar feature visible is approximately 25 kilometers (about 15.5 statute miles) away. While astronauts David R. Scott, commander; and James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot, descended in the Lunar Module (LM) "Falcon" to explore the moon, astronaut Alfred M. Worden, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) in lunar orbit.

Differences in care burden of patients undergoing dialysis in different centres in the netherlands.

PubMed

de Kleijn, Ria; Uyl-de Groot, Carin; Hagen, Chris; Diepenbroek, Adry; Pasker-de Jong, Pieternel; Ter Wee, Piet

2017-06-01

A classification model was developed to simplify planning of personnel at dialysis centres. This model predicted the care burden based on dialysis characteristics. However, patient characteristics and different dialysis centre categories might also influence the amount of care time required. To determine if there is a difference in care burden between different categories of dialysis centres and if specific patient characteristics predict nursing time needed for patient treatment. An observational study. Two hundred and forty-two patients from 12 dialysis centres. In 12 dialysis centres, nurses filled out the classification list per patient and completed a form with patient characteristics. Nephrologists filled out the Charlson Comorbidity Index. Independent observers clocked the time nurses spent on separate steps of the dialysis for each patient. Dialysis centres were categorised into four types. Data were analysed using regression models. In contrast to other dialysis centres, academic centres needed 14 minutes more care time per patient per dialysis treatment than predicted in the classification model. No patient characteristics were found that influenced this difference. The only patient characteristic that predicted the time required was gender, with more time required to treat women. Gender did not affect the difference between measured and predicted care time. Differences in care burden were observed between academic and other centres, with more time required for treatment in academic centres. Contribution of patient characteristics to the time difference was minimal. The only patient characteristics that predicted care time were previous transplantation, which reduced the time required, and gender, with women requiring more care time. © 2017 European Dialysis and Transplant Nurses Association/European Renal Care Association.

Global atmospheric monitoring of noble gases: insight into transport processes in the southern hemisphere.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kusmierczyk-Michulec, J.; Kalinowski, M.; Bourgouin, P.; Schoeppner, M.

2017-12-01

The International Monitoring System (IMS) developed by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) is a global system of monitoring stations, using four complementary technologies: seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound and radionuclide. Data from all stations, belonging to IMS, are collected and transmitted to the International Data Centre (IDC) in Vienna, Austria. The radionuclide network comprises 80 stations, of which 31 stations are located in the Southern Hemisphere. The aim of radionuclide stations is a global monitoring of radioactive aerosols and radioactive noble gases supported by atmospheric transport modeling (ATM). The air mass trajectory provides a "link" between a radionuclide release and a detection confirmed by radionuclide measurements. One of the important noble gases, monitored on a daily basis, is xenon. It can be produced either during a nuclear explosion with a high fission yield, and thus be considered as an important tracer to prove the nuclear character of an explosion, or be emitted from nuclear power plants (NPPs) or from isotope production facilities (IPFs). On the southern hemisphere the number of IPF is rather limited in comparison to the northern hemisphere. Among the major sources are: the ANSTO facility in Sydney (Australia), CNEA in Ezeiza (Argentina), BaTek/INUKI in Jakarta (Indonesia) and NECSA in Pelindaba (South Africa). This study will demonstrate the examples of seasonal contribution of Xe-133 emissions from major sources as observed at selected IMS stations located in the southern hemisphere. It will show as well examples of the atmospheric transport from the northern to the southern hemisphere, and the influence of strong atmospheric convection.

Modelling exoplanet atmospheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rauer, Heike

While the number of known extrasolar planets is steadily increasing recent years have shown the beginning of a new phase of our understanding of exoplanets due to the spectroscopic determi-nation of their atmospheric composition. Atmospheres of hot extrasolar giant gas planets have already been investigated by UV, optical and IR spectroscopy today. In future, spectroscopy of large, terrestrial planets ("super-Earth"), in particular planets in the habitable zone of their parent star, will be a major goal of investigation. Planning future space satellite observations of super-Earths requires modelling of atmospheres of terrestrial planets in different environments, such as e.g. central star type, orbital distance, as well as different atmospheric compositions. Whether planets able to support life "as we know it" exist outside our solar system is one of the most profound questions today. It can be addressed by characterizing the atmospheres of ter-restrial extrasolar planets searching for spectroscopic absorption bands of biomarker molecules. An overview of expected planetary conditions in terms of their habitability will be presented for several model scenarios of terrestrial extrasolar planets.

Girls' Groups and Boys' Groups at a Municipal Technology Centre

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salminen-Karlsson, Minna

2007-01-01

This article describes the Swedish initiative of municipal technology centres from a gender point of view. These centres provide after-school technology education for children aged 6-16. By means of an ethnographic study, the effects of the use of single-sex groups in increasing the interest of girls and boys in technical activities have been…

Is trauma centre care helpful for less severely injured patients?

PubMed

Helling, Thomas S; Nelson, Paul W; Moore, B Todd; Kintigh, Denise; Lainhart, Kathy

2005-11-01

Trauma centres have been shown to reduce the number of preventable deaths from serious injuries. This is due largely to the rapid response of surgeons and health care teams to resuscitate, evaluate, and operate if necessary. Less is known about the effectiveness of trauma centre care on those patients who have not incurred immediate life-threatening problems and may not be as critically injured. The purpose of this study was to review the use of physician and hospital resources for this patient population to determine whether trauma team and trauma centre care is helpful or even needed. This was a retrospective study of consecutive trauma patients (n=1592) admitted from 1998 to 2002 to the trauma service of an urban level I trauma centre and recorded in the hospital trauma registry. Patients were triaged in a tiered response to more or less severely injured. All patients' care was directed by trauma surgeons. Of the 1592 patients, 398 (25%) received a full trauma team response (Class I), 1194 were less seriously injured (Class II). The ISS for the Class I patients was 19+/-18 and for Class II patients 10+/-10. Nineteen percent of Class II patients had an ISS>15. Overall mortality in Class II patients was 2% including 20 unexpected deaths. Four hundred and three Class II patients (34%) had multisystem injuries. Of the Class II patients 423 (35%) were sent to the ICU or OR from the ED, 106 of whom required an immediate operation and 345 required an operation prior to discharge. Complications developed in 129 patients (11%), the majority of which were pulmonary. A large proportion of those patients thought initially to be less severely injured required resources available in a trauma centre, including specialty care, intensive care, and operating room accessibility. Over one-third of these patients had multisystem injuries and almost 20% were considered major trauma, needing prioritisation of care and expertise ideally found in a trauma centre environment

Climate Impacts of CALIPSO-Guided Corrections to Black Carbon Aerosol Vertical Distributions in a Global Climate Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovilakam, Mahesh; Mahajan, Salil; Saravanan, R.; Chang, Ping

2017-10-01

We alleviate the bias in the tropospheric vertical distribution of black carbon aerosols (BC) in the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM4) using the Cloud-Aerosol and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO)-derived vertical profiles. A suite of sensitivity experiments are conducted with 1x, 5x, and 10x the present-day model estimated BC concentration climatology, with (corrected, CC) and without (uncorrected, UC) CALIPSO-corrected BC vertical distribution. The globally averaged top of the atmosphere radiative flux perturbation of CC experiments is ˜8-50% smaller compared to uncorrected (UC) BC experiments largely due to an increase in low-level clouds. The global average surface temperature increases, the global average precipitation decreases, and the ITCZ moves northward with the increase in BC radiative forcing, irrespective of the vertical distribution of BC. Further, tropical expansion metrics for the poleward extent of the Northern Hemisphere Hadley cell (HC) indicate that simulated HC expansion is not sensitive to existing model biases in BC vertical distribution.

Venus' superrotation, mixing length theory and eddy diffusion - A parametric study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mayr, H. G.; Harris, I.; Schatten, K. H.; Stevens-Rayburn, D. R.; Chan, K. L.

1988-01-01

The concept of the Hadley mechanism is adopted to describe the axisymmetric circulation of the Venus atmosphere. It is shown that, for the atmosphere of a slowly rotating planet such as Venus, a form of the nonliner 'closure' (self-consistent solution) of the fluid dynamics system which constrains the magnitude of the eddy diffusion coefficients can be postulated. A nonlinear one-layer spectral model of the zonally symmetric circulation was then used to establish the relationship between the heat source, the meridional circulation, and the eddy diffusion coefficients, yielding large zonal velocities. Computer experiments indicated that proportional changes in the heat source and eddy diffusion coefficients do not significantly change the zonal velocities. It was also found that, for large eddy diffusion coefficients, the meridional velocity is virtually constant; below a threshold in the diffusion rate, the meridional velocity decreases; and, for large eddy diffusion and small heating rates, the zonal velocities decrease with decreasing planetary rotation rates.

Ancient deuterostome origins of vertebrate brain signalling centres.

PubMed

Pani, Ariel M; Mullarkey, Erin E; Aronowicz, Jochanan; Assimacopoulos, Stavroula; Grove, Elizabeth A; Lowe, Christopher J

2012-03-14

Neuroectodermal signalling centres induce and pattern many novel vertebrate brain structures but are absent, or divergent, in invertebrate chordates. This has led to the idea that signalling-centre genetic programs were first assembled in stem vertebrates and potentially drove morphological innovations of the brain. However, this scenario presumes that extant cephalochordates accurately represent ancestral chordate characters, which has not been tested using close chordate outgroups. Here we report that genetic programs homologous to three vertebrate signalling centres-the anterior neural ridge, zona limitans intrathalamica and isthmic organizer-are present in the hemichordate Saccoglossus kowalevskii. Fgf8/17/18 (a single gene homologous to vertebrate Fgf8, Fgf17 and Fgf18), sfrp1/5, hh and wnt1 are expressed in vertebrate-like arrangements in hemichordate ectoderm, and homologous genetic mechanisms regulate ectodermal patterning in both animals. We propose that these genetic programs were components of an unexpectedly complex, ancient genetic regulatory scaffold for deuterostome body patterning that degenerated in amphioxus and ascidians, but was retained to pattern divergent structures in hemichordates and vertebrates. © 2012 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved

Teaching clinical skills in developing countries: are clinical skills centres the answer?

PubMed

Stark, Patsy; Fortune, F

2003-11-01

There is growing international interest in teaching clinical skills in a variety of contexts, one of which is Clinical Skills Centres. The drivers for change making Skills Centres an important adjunct to ward and ambulatory teaching come both from within and outside medical education. Educationally, self-directed learning is becoming the accepted norm, encouraging students to seek and maximize learning opportunities. There are global changes in health care practice, increased consumerism and increasing student numbers. In some countries, professional recommendations influence what is taught. Increasingly, core skills curricula and outcome objectives are being defined. This explicit definition encourages assessment of the core skills. In turn, all students require equal opportunities to learn how to practise the skills safely and competently. The moves towards interprofessional education make joint learning in a"neutral" setting, like a Clinical Skills Centre, appear particularly attractive. To discuss the potential role of Clinical Skills Centres in skills training in developing countries and to consider alternative options. Many developing countries seek to establish Clinical Skills Centres to ensure effective and reliable skills teaching. However, the model may not be appropriate,because fully equipped Clinical Skills Centres are expensive to set up, staff; and run. They are not the only way to achieve high quality clinical teaching. Suggested options are based on the philosophy and teaching methods successfully developed in Clinical Skills Centres that may fulfil the local needs to achieve low cost and high quality clinical teaching which is reflective of the local health needs and cultural expectations.

Urban atmospheres

PubMed Central

Gandy, Matthew

2017-01-01

What is an urban atmosphere? How can we differentiate an ‘atmosphere’ from other facets of urban consciousness and experience? This essay explores some of the wider cultural, political, and philosophical connotations of atmospheres as a focal point for critical reflections on space and subjectivity. The idea of an ‘affective atmosphere’ as a distinctive kind of mood or shared corporeal phenomenon is considered in relation to recent developments in phenomenology, extended conceptions of agency, and new understandings of materialism. The essay draws in particular on the changing characteristics of air and light to reflect on different forms of sensory experience and their wider cultural and political connotations. The argument highlights some of the tensions and anomalies that permeate contemporary understandings of urban atmospheres. PMID:29278257

Changes in atmospheric circulation between solar maximum and minimum conditions in winter and summer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jae Nyung

2008-10-01

Statistically significant climate responses to the solar variability are found in Northern Annular Mode (NAM) and in the tropical circulation. This study is based on the statistical analysis of numerical simulations with ModelE version of the chemistry coupled Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) general circulation model (GCM) and National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis. The low frequency large scale variability of the winter and summer circulation is described by the NAM, the leading Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) of geopotential heights. The newly defined seasonal annular modes and its dynamical significance in the stratosphere and troposphere in the GISS ModelE is shown and compared with those in the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis. In the stratosphere, the summer NAM obtained from NCEP/NCAR reanalysis as well as from the ModelE simulations has the same sign throughout the northern hemisphere, but shows greater variability at low latitudes. The patterns in both analyses are consistent with the interpretation that low NAM conditions represent an enhancement of the seasonal difference between the summer and the annual averages of geopotential height, temperature and velocity distributions, while the reverse holds for high NAM conditions. Composite analysis of high and low NAM cases in both the model and observation suggests that the summer stratosphere is more "summer-like" when the solar activity is near a maximum. This means that the zonal easterly wind flow is stronger and the temperature is higher than normal. Thus increased irradiance favors a low summer NAM. A quantitative comparison of the anti-correlation between the NAM and the solar forcing is presented in the model and in the observation, both of which show lower/higher NAM index in solar maximum/minimum conditions. The summer NAM in the troposphere obtained from NCEP/NCAR reanalysis has a dipolar zonal structure with maximum

Reference Atmosphere for Mercury

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Killen, Rosemary M.

2002-01-01

We propose that Ar-40 measured in the lunar atmosphere and that in Mercury's atmosphere is due to current diffusion into connected pore space within the crust. Higher temperatures at Mercury, along with more rapid loss from the atmosphere will lead to a smaller column abundance of argon at Mercury than at the Moon, given the same crustal abundance of potassium. Because the noble gas abundance in the Hermean atmosphere represents current effusion, it is a direct measure of the crustal potassium abundance. Ar-40 in the atmospheres of the planets is a measure of potassium abundance in the interiors, since Ar-40 is a product of radiogenic decay of K-40 by electron capture with the subsequent emission of a 1.46 eV gamma-ray. Although the Ar-40 in the Earth's atmosphere is expected to have accumulated since the late bombardment, Ar-40 in the atmospheres of Mercury and the Moon is eroded quickly by photoionization and electron impact ionization. Thus, the argon content in the exospheres of the Moon and Mercury is representative of current effusion rather than accumulation over the lifetime of the planet.

Transboundary atmospheric lead pollution.

PubMed

Erel, Yigal; Axelrod, Tamar; Veron, Alain; Mahrer, Yitzak; Katsafados, Petros; Dayan, Uri

2002-08-01

A high-temporal resolution collection technique was applied to refine aerosol sampling in Jerusalem, Israel. Using stable lead isotopes, lead concentrations, synoptic data, and atmospheric modeling, we demonstrate that lead detected in the atmosphere of Jerusalem is not only anthropogenic lead of local origin but also lead emitted in other countries. Fifty-seven percent of the collected samples contained a nontrivial fraction of foreign atmospheric lead and had 206Pb/207Pb values which deviated from the local petrol-lead value (206Pb/207Pb = 1.113) by more than two standard deviations (0.016). Foreign 206Pb/207Pb values were recorded in Jerusalem on several occasions. The synoptic conditions on these dates and reported values of the isotopic composition of lead emitted in various countries around Israel suggest that the foreign lead was transported to Jerusalem from Egypt, Turkey, and East Europe. The average concentration of foreign atmospheric lead in Jerusalem was 23 +/- 17 ng/m3, similar to the average concentration of local atmospheric lead, 21 +/- 18 ng/ m3. Hence, the load of foreign atmospheric lead is similar to the load of local atmospheric lead in Jerusalem.

Newtonian CAFE: a new ideal MHD code to study the solar atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González-Avilés, J. J.; Cruz-Osorio, A.; Lora-Clavijo, F. D.; Guzmán, F. S.

2015-12-01

We present a new code designed to solve the equations of classical ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) in three dimensions, submitted to a constant gravitational field. The purpose of the code centres on the analysis of solar phenomena within the photosphere-corona region. We present 1D and 2D standard tests to demonstrate the quality of the numerical results obtained with our code. As solar tests we present the transverse oscillations of Alfvénic pulses in coronal loops using a 2.5D model, and as 3D tests we present the propagation of impulsively generated MHD-gravity waves and vortices in the solar atmosphere. The code is based on high-resolution shock-capturing methods, uses the Harten-Lax-van Leer-Einfeldt (HLLE) flux formula combined with Minmod, MC, and WENO5 reconstructors. The divergence free magnetic field constraint is controlled using the Flux Constrained Transport method.

Antimicrobial resistance pattern of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates from peripheral health centres and STD clinic attendees of a tertiary care centre in India.

PubMed

Bala, M; Ray, K; Gupta, S M

2008-06-01

The aim of the study was to compare the antimicrobial resistance pattern of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates from urban and rural peripheral health centres and from sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic attendees. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of 191 N. gonorrhoeae isolates (165 isolates from STD clinic attendees and 26 from peripheral health centres) was carried out in Delhi, India, using the calibrated dichotomous sensitivity technique for penicillin, tetracycline, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, spectinomycin and nalidixic acid, and minimum inhibitory concentrations were determined using E-test. Penicillin-resistant, ciprofloxacin-resistant, penicillinase-producing N. gonorrhoeae and tetracycline-resistant N. gonorrhoeae strains were higher in STD clinic attendees than in peripheral health centres, probably because of less antibiotic pressure in the peripheral areas. High-level resistance to ciprofloxacin and multiresistant strains were also higher in STD clinic attendees. The present study emphasizes the importance of surveillance of antimicrobial resistance of N. gonorrhoeae in different population subgroups in order to monitor the spread of multiresistant strains and to update the national treatment recommendations.

Atmospheric Models for Aerocapture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Justus, C. G.; Duvall, Aleta L.; Keller, Vernon W.

2004-01-01

There are eight destinations in the solar System with sufficient atmosphere for aerocapture to be a viable aeroassist option - Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and its moon Titan, Uranus, and Neptune. Engineering-level atmospheric models for four of these targets (Earth, Mars, Titan, and Neptune) have been developed for NASA to support systems analysis studies of potential future aerocapture missions. Development of a similar atmospheric model for Venus has recently commenced. An important capability of all of these models is their ability to simulate quasi-random density perturbations for Monte Carlo analyses in developing guidance, navigation and control algorithm, and for thermal systems design. Similarities and differences among these atmospheric models are presented, with emphasis on the recently developed Neptune model and on planned characteristics of the Venus model. Example applications for aerocapture are also presented and illustrated. Recent updates to the Titan atmospheric model are discussed, in anticipation of applications for trajectory and atmospheric reconstruct of Huygens Probe entry at Titan.

Discrepancies Between Prototype International Data Centre, International Seismological Centre & USGS Seismic Magnitudes

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-01

International Seismological C -DTRA 01-00-C-0074 Centre & USGS Seismic Magnitudes PE - 462D PR- AE TA - EJ 6. AUTHOR(S) WU - DH0203 9 Paul G. Richards, John P...Defense Threat Reduction Agency 8725 John J. Kingman Road, MS 6201 "a Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6201 ’ DTRA-TR-06-15 Discrepancies Between Prototype...0 Z March 2007 "I 20070420395 Li DTRA 01 -00-C-0074 M Paul G. Richards, et al. Prepared by: Columbia University Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory 61

Barriers and facilitators to the implementation of person-centred care in different healthcare contexts.

PubMed

Moore, Lucy; Britten, Nicky; Lydahl, Doris; Naldemirci, Öncel; Elam, Mark; Wolf, Axel

2017-12-01

To empower patients and improve the quality of care, policy-makers increasingly adopt systems to enhance person-centred care. Although models of person-centredness and patient-centredness vary, respecting the needs and preferences of individuals receiving care is paramount. In Sweden, as in other countries, healthcare providers seek to improve person-centred principles and address gaps in practice. Consequently, researchers at the University of Gothenburg Centre for Person-Centred Care are currently delivering person-centred interventions employing a framework that incorporates three routines. These include eliciting the patient's narrative, agreeing a partnership with shared goals between patient and professional, and safeguarding this through documentation. To explore the barriers and facilitators to the delivery of person-centred care interventions, in different contexts. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 18 researchers from seven research studies across contrasting healthcare settings. Interviews were transcribed, translated and thematically analysed, adopting some basic features of grounded theory. The ethical code of conduct was followed and conformed to the ethical guidelines adopted by the Swedish Research Council. Barriers to the implementation of person-centred care covered three themes: traditional practices and structures; sceptical, stereotypical attitudes from professionals; and factors related to the development of person-centred interventions. Facilitators included organisational factors, leadership and training and an enabling attitude and approach by professionals. Trained project managers, patients taking an active role in research and adaptive strategies by researchers all helped person-centred care delivery. At the University of Gothenburg, a model of person-centred care is being initiated and integrated into practice through research. Knowledgeable, well-trained professionals facilitate the routines of narrative

From gene to structure: The protein factory of the NBICS Centre of Kurchatov Institute

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boyko, K. M.; Lipkin, A. V.; Popov, V. O., E-mail: vpopov@inbi.ras.ru

2013-05-15

The Protein Factory was established at the Centre for Nano, Bio, Info, Cognitive, and Social Sciences and Technologies (NBICS Centre) of the National Research Centre 'Kurchatov Institute' in 2010. The Protein Factory, together with the Centre for Synchrotron Radiation and Nanotechnology, promote research on structural biology. This paper presents the technology platforms developed at the Protein Factory and the facilities available for researchers. The main projects currently being performed at the Protein Factory are briefly described.

Observation and control of blinking nitrogen-vacancy centres in discrete nanodiamonds.