ALBERT

Description: Highlights: • GEOTRACES releases its first integrated and quality controlled Intermediate Data Product 2014 (IDP2014). • The IDP2014 digital data are available at http://www.bodc.ac.uk/geotraces/data/idp2014/ in 4 different formats. • The eGEOTRACES Electronic Atlas at http://egeotraces.org/ provides 329 section plots and 90 animated 3D tracer scenes. • The new 3D scenes provide geographical and bathymetric context crucial for tracer assessment and interpretation. Abstract: The GEOTRACES Intermediate Data Product 2014 (IDP2014) is the first publicly available data product of the international GEOTRACES programme, and contains data measured and quality controlled before the end of 2013. It consists of two parts: (1) a compilation of digital data for more than 200 trace elements and isotopes (TEIs) as well as classical hydrographic parameters, and (2) the eGEOTRACES Electronic Atlas providing a strongly inter-linked on-line atlas including more than 300 section plots and 90 animated 3D scenes. The IDP2014 covers the Atlantic, Arctic, and Indian oceans, exhibiting highest data density in the Atlantic. The TEI data in the IDP2014 are quality controlled by careful assessment of intercalibration results and multi-laboratory data comparisons at cross-over stations. The digital data are provided in several formats, including ASCII spreadsheet, Excel spreadsheet, netCDF, and Ocean Data View collection. In addition to the actual data values the IDP2014 also contains data quality flags and 1-σ data error values where available. Quality flags and error values are useful for data filtering. Metadata about data originators, analytical methods and original publications related to the data are linked to the data in an easily accessible way. The eGEOTRACES Electronic Atlas is the visual representation of the IDP2014 data providing section plots and a new kind of animated 3D scenes. The basin-wide 3D scenes allow for viewing of data from many cruises at the same time, thereby providing quick overviews of large-scale tracer distributions. In addition, the 3D scenes provide geographical and bathymetric context that is crucial for the interpretation and assessment of observed tracer plumes, as well as for making inferences about controlling processes.

Description: Climate drivers are key stress factors affecting upland rice yields in Sahel because the region is vulnerable to unfavorable weather and has a very low adaptive capacity. This study modeled upland rice yield responses to climate factors using multiple linear regression, boosted tree regression, and artificial neural networks (ANNs). Four ANNs were explored: ANNMLP (multilayer perceptron), ANNPNN (probabilistic neural network), ANNGFF (generalized feedforward), and ANNLR (linear regression). Then the modeled rice yield function was calibrated and tested against the observed yield data and climate variables of three provinces of Burkina Faso, West Africa. The global climate model (GCM) outputs under the AR4-SR-A1B, A2, and B1 mean ensemble CO2 emissions scenarios were then downscaled and used as input of the calibrated yield response model, in order to forecast yield trends over 2052. The results are three-fold: first, rain (R = 0.402) is the most dominant climate driver in Sahel, followed by the maximum and minimum temperatures (R = -0.313 and R = -0.237, respectively), which clearly reduce yield. Second, the ANNPNN (R = 0.952, MSE = 0.033 ton/ha, NMSE = 0.109 ton/ha, MAE = 0.115 ton/ha) has a great capability in rice yield responses function modeling outperforming boosted tree (R = 0.920, MSE = 0.077 ton/ha, NMSE = 0.208 ton/ha, MAE = 0.223 ton/ha) and the multiple linear regression (R = 0.385, MSE = 0.259 ton/ha, NMSE = 0.852 ton/ha, MAE = 0.340 ton/ha). All linear models performed unsatisfactorily. Third, the projected yields showed a gap of 57.29% with the site-recorded maximum average yields over 2052. From application of ANNPNN, we anticipate that site-specific rice yield may substantially decline with climate change, as rainfall is projected to decrease while temperatures increase. These results should assist in identifying priority adaptation measures for Sahel, such as village rainwater catchment basins supplemented with adapted irrigation technologies, to enhance the resilience of crops.

Description: The GEOTRACES Intermediate Data Product 2017 (IDP2017) is the second publicly available data product of the international GEOTRACES programme, and contains data measured and quality controlled before the end of 2016. The IDP2017 includes data from the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, Southern and Indian oceans, with about twice the data volume of the previous IDP2014. For the first time, the IDP2017 contains data for a large suite of biogeochemical parameters as well as aerosol and rain data characterising atmospheric trace element and isotope (TEI) sources. The TEI data in the IDP2017 are quality controlled by careful assessment of intercalibration results and multi-laboratory data comparisons at crossover stations. The IDP2017 consists of two parts: (1) a compilation of digital data for more than 450 TEIs as well as standard hydrographic parameters, and (2) the eGEOTRACES Electronic Atlas providing an on-line atlas that includes more than 590 section plots and 130 animated 3D scenes. The digital data are provided in several formats, including ASCII, Excel spreadsheet, netCDF, and Ocean Data View collection. Users can download the full data packages or make their own custom selections with a new on-line data extraction service. In addition to the actual data values, the IDP2017 also contains data quality flags and 1-σ data error values where available. Quality flags and error values are useful for data filtering and for statistical analysis. Metadata about data originators, analytical methods and original publications related to the data are linked in an easily accessible way. The eGEOTRACES Electronic Atlas is the visual representation of the IDP2017 as section plots and rotating 3D scenes. The basin-wide 3D scenes combine data from many cruises and provide quick overviews of large-scale tracer distributions. These 3D scenes provide geographical and bathymetric context that is crucial for the interpretation and assessment of tracer plumes near ocean margins or along ridges. The IDP2017 is the result of a truly international effort involving 326 researchers from 22 countries. This publication provides the critical reference for unpublished data, as well as for studies that make use of a large cross-section of data from the IDP2017.