ALBERT

Description: We assess uncertainties in projecting future changes in extreme storm surge height (SSH) based on typhoon data extracted from ensemble experiment results with four sea surface temperature (SST) conditions and three global warming scenarios using a single atmospheric global climate model. In particular, this study focus on typhoons passing around the Korean Peninsula (KP) defined as the region of 32 to 40° N and 122 to 132° E. It is predicted the number of the typhoons affecting the KP will decrease by 4~73% while their strength will increase by 0.8~1.4% under the given future conditions. The locations of genesis and lysis of the typhoons are expected to be shifted towards the northwest and northeast for all ensemble experiment conditions, respectively. However, the extent of their change varies depending on the future SST and global warming conditions. Storm surge simulations were carried out by using predicted typhoon data as an external force. It is found that future SST patterns and climate warming scenarios affect future typhoon characteristics, which influences values of extreme SSH and locations of the vulnerable area to storm surge under the future climate conditions. In particular, the values of extreme SSH and the locations of the vulnerable area to storm surge appear to be strongly influenced by both pathway and frequency of intense typhoons.

Description: Here, we investigate the seasonal variability in the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) cycle in the Northwest Pacific using a high-resolution biogeochemical and carbon model coupled with an operational ocean model. Results show that the contribution to DIC from air–sea CO2 exchange is generally offset by vertical mixing at the surface at all latitudes, with some seasonal variation. Biological processes in subarctic regions are evident at the surface, whereas in the subtropical region these processes take place within the euphotic layer and then DIC consumption deepens southward with latitude. Such latitudinal differences in biological processes lead to marked horizontal and vertical contrasts in the distribution of DIC, with modulation by horizontal and vertical advection–diffusion processes.

Description: Previous observational and modeling studies indicate that the wintertime North Pacific Oscillation (NPO) could significantly impact the following winter El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability via the seasonal footprinting mechanism (SFM). This study explores climate projections of this winter NPO-ENSO relation in a warming climate based on a 50-member large ensemble of climate simulations conducted with the second-generation Canadian Earth System Model (CanESM2). The ensemble mean of the 50 members can well reproduce the observed winter NPO pattern, the NPO-ENSO relationship, and the SFM process over the historical period 1950–2003. These 50 members are then employed to examine climate projections of the NPO-ENSO connection over the anthropogenic forced period 2020–2073. Results indicate that there exists a large spread of projected NPO-ENSO connections across these 50 ensemble members due to internal climate variability. Internal climate variability brings uncertainties in the projection of the winter NPO-ENSO connection originally seen in projected changes of the subtropical center of the winter NPO. The spread of projections of winter NPO-associated atmospheric anomalies over the subtropical North Pacific further results in various responses in the projections of winter and spring precipitation anomalies over the tropical North Pacific, as well as spring zonal wind anomalies over the tropical western Pacific, which eventually lead to uncertainties in the projection of the sea surface temperature anomalies in the tropical central-eastern Pacific from the following summer to winter.

Description: The interdisciplinary exchange in climate engineering research offers a unique opportunity to make assumptions more explicit for such research projects. While making assumptions explicit is the standard in all disciplinary sciences, some assumptions in the context of societal challenges can only be usefully unveiled, discussed, and verified from the perspective of other research disciplines. Results from successful interdisciplinary collaborations are then more accessible and more generalizable to actors beyond the confines of the academic community. We aim to illustrate how interdisciplinary exchange helps to unveil assumptions in research endeavors and why this is important for successful interdisciplinary collaborations. We therefore follow different stages of the German Priority Program on Climate Engineering (SPP 1689), which we use as an example case of a successful interdisciplinary project. SPP 1689 focused on risks, challenges, and opportunities of Climate Engineering from the perspectives of numerous disciplines. Major results were that the initial assessments of technologies had to be sobered, the consideration of trade-offs is crucial for the potential assessment, and governance issues appeared larger than previously considered. From the reflections of SPP 1689, we conclude with three lessons learned: (1) The project profited from egalitarian organizational structures and communicative practices, preventing the predominance from single disciplines. (2) Within the project continuous efforts were undertaken to foster interdisciplinary understanding. In addition, the flexible project structure allowed for the accommodation of research needs arising as a result of these exchanges. (3) SPP 1689 offered early career researchers a platform for professional exchange on common challenges and best practices of being a part of an interdisciplinary research project.

Description: Climate change is threatening food security in many tropical countries, where a large proportion of food is produced by vulnerable smallholder farmers. Interventions are available to offset many of the negative impacts of climate change on agriculture, and they can be tailored to local conditions often through relative modest investments. However, little quantitative information is available to guide investment or policy choices at a time when countries and development agencies are under pressure to implement policies that can help achieve Sustainable Development Goals while coping with climate change. Among smallholder adaptation options, developing seeds resilient to current and future climate shocks expected locally is one of the most important actions available now. In this paper, we used national and local data to estimate the costs of climate change to smallholder farmers in Malawi and Tanzania. We found that the benefits from adopting resilient seeds ranged between 984 million and 2.1 billion USD during 2020–2050. Our analysis demonstrates the benefits of establishing and maintaining a flexible national seed sector with participation by communities in the breeding, delivery, and adoption cycle.

Description: Systematic numerical study of near-infrared radiation formed during filamentation in air revealed the formation of robust light bullet first registered in the experiment (Chen et al. in Appl Phys B 91:219, 2008 ). The near-infrared light bullet propagates along the filament axis with the divergence 〈1 mrad and the quasi-constant duration of ~30 fs. The central wavelength of the bullet gradually increases from 860 to 900 nm during the propagation. The results of our numerical simulation are in agreement with the experiments (Chen et al. in Appl Phys B 91:219,  2008 ; Uryupina et al. in Appl Phys B 110:123, 2013 ).

Description: Flame flatness is one of the most critical factors in evaluating the performance of a flat-flame burner. In this paper, the flame flatness of a flat-flame burner is validated using a resolution-doubled one-dimensional wavelength modulation spectroscopy tomography (1D-WMST) technique that only uses one view of multiple parallel laser beams. When the interval of two neighboring parallel laser beams is Δ r , a designed novel geometry of the parallel laser beams realizes a doubled tomographic resolution of Δ r /2. Using the proposed technique, the distributions of temperature and H 2 O mole fraction in an axisymmetric premixed flame are simultaneously reconstructed and hence the flame flatness of a flat-flame burner can be validated. The flatness factor is quantitatively described by the similarity between the reconstructed and expected distributions of H 2 O mole fraction. For flat and non-flat flames, the experimental results agree well with the CFD simulation results, denoting that the resolution-doubled 1D-WMST technique provides a noninvasive, reliable and low cost way to validate the flame flatness of the flat-flame burner.

Description: We report on the optical performances of laccaic acid dye in solution at different concentrations and dye–poly(methyl methacrylate) composite thin films. The linear spectral characteristics including optical constants, i.e. refractive index ( n ) and extinction coefficient ( k ), were carried out in a comprehensive way through absorbance, fluorescence and ellipsometric studies. The nonlinear optical parameters such as nonlinear absorption coefficient β eff (or β 2 ), the imaginary third-order susceptibility (Im[ χ (3) ]) and the imaginary part of second-order hyperpolarizability ( γ ) of the samples were evaluated using the open-aperture Z-scan technique with a laser pulse duration of 10 ns at 532 nm wavelength. The corresponding numerical values of these parameters were of 10 −10 , 10 −11 and 10 −32 order, respectively. Two-photon absorption was revealed to be the main driving physical mechanism in the nonlinear response. This suggests that laccaic acid dye can be a potential candidate for NLO materials application.

Description: We demonstrate a sensor based on tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy for the detection of hydrogen fluoride (HF) gas at ambient pressure. Absorption from the HF R(1) ro-vibrational peak at ν̃  = 4038.962 cm −1 (2.476 µm) in the fundamental (Δ ν  = 1) band is measured. A quantitative spectral fit based on HITRAN data is used to account for overlapping spectral peaks of HF and water vapor, with an rms residual noise of 5 × 10 −4 absorbance units. The sensor is optimized for the detection of transient variations in HF concentration. We measure noise-equivalent concentrations for HF of 38 parts-per-trillion by volume (ppt) for 1-s integration times and 2.3 ppt for 10-min integration times.

Description: We report on the absorption profile of the monoclinic holmium-doped \(\hbox {KY}(\hbox {WO}_4)_2\) crystal near the optic axis for the maximal absorption wavelength at 1960 nm. The full angular distribution of the absorption coefficient at the vicinity of such optical singularity has been experimentally and numerically investigated. Furthermore, laser experiments along the optic axis have been carried out. So-called conical refraction laser and classical Gaussian laser operation are compared near the optic axis, taking into account the complex absorption profile.

Description: We demonstrate a novel and compact fiber-probe pressure sensor based on a micro-Fabry–Perot interferometer (FPI). The device is fabricated by splicing both ends of a short-section simplified hollow-core photonic crystal fiber (SHC-PCF) with single-mode fibers. Then, a microchannel is drilled by a femtosecond laser micromachining in the SHC-PCF to allow air to diffuse in. The pressure sensing mechanism is based on the dependence of the air refractive index on pressure. We use both theory and experiment to investigate the sensing characteristics. A micro-FPI with a length of 272 μm demonstrates a pressure sensitivity of 4.071 nm/MPa at 1580 nm and a low-temperature sensitivity of 1.1 pm/°C at atmospheric pressure. We further study the temperature cross sensitivity of the sensor under different pressures. The sensor also shows strong stability and good reversibility, and may be potentially used in pressure sensing applications.

Description: We study the thermo-optic Goos–Hänchen (TOGH) effect in a prism–waveguide coupling structure with silicon-on-insulator waveguide. Stationary-phase method is utilized to calculate the TOGH shift. When the waveguide is regarded as a two-dimensional planar waveguide, a nonlinear relation between GH shift and temperature is obtained. Based on the noticeable TOGH effect, a sensitive temperature modulator or sensor can be realized. As the waveguide width is limited, the proposed structure can be regarded as a three-dimensional rectangular waveguide. We explore the GH shift and TOGH effect for different modes propagating in rectangular waveguide which show different linear relations between GH shift and temperature, which can be used to design mode-selective device based on TO effect.

Description: We report on an experimental study of vacuum-induced suppression and enhancement of four-wave mixing (FWM) signal in a composite atom–cavity system. By scanning the additional dressing field, the suppression ratio of the FWM signal can reach 90 % compared with 40 % without cavity. We attribute the enhanced suppression and enhancement to the atom–cavity coupling arising from a vacuum-induced Raman process, which amplifies the dressing effect from the additional field. Also, the dressing asymmetry of the atom–cavity coupling is discussed and used to estimate the nonlinearity of atomic medium in the cavity. The suppression and enhancement can be interpreted by a dressed-state picture and agree with theoretical calculations. The investigation may find applications in optical switch and quantum memory controlled by cavity.

Description: By simultaneously using a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and a monolayer graphene saturable absorber (SA) in the cavity, a laser-diode-pumped dual-loss-modulated passively Q-switched Tm:LuAG laser at 2 μm is demonstrated for the first time. In comparison with the singly passively Q-switched laser with MWCNT or monolayer graphene SA, the doubly passively Q-switched laser with both MWCNT and monolayer graphene SA can generate shorter pulse width and higher peak power. A maximum pulse width compression ratio of 2.8 and a highest peak power enhancement factor of 4 were obtained at the incident pump power of 5.8 W, respectively. The experimental results show that the dual-loss modulation is an efficient method to compress the pulse widths and improve the peak powers of the Q-switched lasers at 2 μm.

Description: Photoexcitation dynamics in a three-step photoionization of atomic uranium has been investigated using time-resolved two-color three-photon and delayed three-color three-photon photoionization signals. Investigations are carried out in an atomic beam of uranium coupled to a high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer using three tunable pulsed dye lasers. Dependence of both the signals on the second-step laser photon fluence is studied. Excited-level-to-excited-level photoexcitation cross section and photoionization cross section from the second excited level are simultaneously determined by analyzing the two-color three-photon and three-color three-photon photoionization signals using population rate equation model. Using this methodology, photoexcitation and photoionization cross sections at seven values of the second-step laser wavelength have been measured. From the measured values of the photoexcitation cross sections, we have obtained excited-level-to-excited-level transition probabilities and compared these with the values reported in the literature.

Description: A theoretical analysis of the photorefractive sensitivity of Ti:PPLN ridge waveguides in comparison with conventional Ti:PPLN channel waveguides is presented. In particular, intensity-dependent photorefraction, effective indices, waveguide modes and power-dependent SHG in Ti:PPLN ridge and channel waveguides are modeled for a wide range of parameters. Results predict a much better damage resistance of Ti:PPLN waveguides with ridge geometry in comparison with conventional indiffused channels. This superiority of ridge waveguides is attributed to their higher effective refractive index contrast and more tightly confined guided modes. The theoretical predictions are supported by experimental results for second harmonic generation (SHG) at room temperature and for light-induced detuning characteristics of the phase-matching wavelength.

Description: It is firmly established in the hydrologic literature that flooding depends on both antecedent watershed wetness and precipitation. One could phrase this relationship as “heavy precipitation does not necessarily lead to high stream discharge”, but rarely do studies directly affirm this statement. We have observed several non-hydrologists mistake trends in heavy precipitation as a proxy for trends in riverine flooding. If the relationship between heavy precipitation and high discharge was more often explicitly presented, heavy precipitation may less often be misinterpreted as a proxy for discharge. In this paper, we undertake such an analysis for 390 watersheds across the contiguous U.S. We found that 99th percentile precipitation only results in 99th percentage discharge 36 % of the time. However, when conditioned on soil moisture from the Variable Infiltration Capacity model, 62 % of 99th percentile precipitation results in 99th percentile discharge during wet periods and only 13 % during dry periods. When relating trends in heavy precipitation to hydrologic response, precipitation data should, therefore, be segregated based on concurrent soil moisture. Taking this approach for climate predictions, we found that CMIP-5 atmosphere–ocean global circulation model (AOGCM) simulations for a RCP 6.0 forcing project increases in concurrence of greater than median soil wetness and extreme precipitation in the northern United States and a decrease in the south, suggesting northern regions could see an increase in very high discharges while southern regions could see decreases despite both regions having an increase in extreme precipitation. While the actual outcome is speculative given the uncertainties of the AOGCM’s, such an analysis provides a more sophisticated framework from which to evaluate the output as well as historic climate data.

Description: Probabilistic event attribution (PEA) is an important tool for assessing the contribution of climate change to extreme weather events. Here, PEA is applied to explore the climate attribution of recent extreme heat events in California’s Central Valley. Heat waves have become progressively more severe due to increasing relative humidity and nighttime temperatures, which increases the health risks of exposed communities, especially Latino farmworkers and other socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. Using a superensemble of simulations with the Hadley Centre Regional Model (HadRM3P), we find that (1) simulations of the hottest summer days during the 2000s were twice as likely to occur using observed levels of greenhouse gases than in a counterfactual world without major human activities, suggesting a strong relationship between heat extremes and the increase in human emissions of greenhouse gases, (2) detrimental impacts of heat on public health-relevant variables, such as the number of days above 40 °C, can be quantified and attributed to human activities using PEA, and (3) PEA can serve as a tool for addressing climate justice concerns of populations within developed nations who are disproportionately exposed to climate risks.

Description: Extreme weather events are a significant cause of loss of life and livelihoods, particularly in vulnerable countries and communities in Africa. Such events or their probability of occurring may be, or are, changing due to climate change with consequent changes in the associated risks. To adapt to, or to address loss and damage from, this changing risk we need to understand the effects of climate change on extreme weather events and their impacts. The emerging science of probabilistic event attribution can provide scientific evidence about the contribution of anthropogenic climate change to changes in risk of extreme events. This research has the potential to be useful for climate change adaptation, but there is a need to explore its application in vulnerable developing countries, particularly those in Africa, since the majority of existing event attribution studies have focused on mid-latitude events. Here we explain the methods of, and implications of, different approaches to attributing extreme weather events in an African context. The analysis demonstrates that different ways of framing attribution questions can lead to very different assessments of change in risk. Crucially, defining the most appropriate attribution question to ask is not a science decision but one that needs to be made in dialogue with those stakeholders who will use the answers. This is true of all attribution studies but may be particularly relevant in a tropical context, suggesting that collaboration between scientists and policy-makers is a priority for Africa.

Description: Two-color laser-induced incandescence (LII) measurements are carried out in diffusion flames and at the exhaust of a homemade soot generator, both fueled with ethylene and methane. Two-color prompt LII signals, their ratio and the corresponding temperature have been analyzed as a function of laser fluence. In particular, the effect of fuel, soot load and gas/particle initial temperature on LII measurements have been investigated. LII spectral measurements have also been performed in all conditions for validation. The results suggest that the incandescence is sensitive to both optical and non-optical physical properties of the particles. Moreover, soot volume fraction measurements are dependent on the laser fluence used, indicating that the soot temperature influences the refractive index absorption function. Such issues can be overcome by working at high laser fluences, where the saturation curves are independent from the experimental conditions if the soot absorption function near soot sublimation threshold is known.

Description: We develop a methodology with which to assess the effects of policy instruments on the long-term abatement and costs of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies for coal power plants. Using an expert elicitation, historical data on the determinants of technological change in energy, values from the engineering literature, and demand estimates from an integrated assessment model, we simulate ranges of outcomes between 2025 and 2095. We introduce probability distributions of all important parameters and propagate them through the model to generate probability distributions of electricity costs, abatement costs, and CO 2 avoided over time. Carbon pricing has larger effects than R&D and subsidies. But much of the range of outcomes is driven by uncertainty in other parameters, such as capital costs and returns to scale. Availability of other low carbon technologies, particularly bioenergy with CCS affects outcomes. Subsidies have the biggest impacts when they coincide with expanding manufacturing scale of CCS components. Our results point to 4 parameters for which better information is needed for future work informing technology policy to address climate change: capital costs, demonstration plants, growth constraints, and knowledge spillovers among technologies.

Description: Future bitumen production in the Athabasca Oil Sands, one of the largest remaining reserves of petroleum on the planet, is a key factor in global climate policy and politics. Climate warming in the Athabasca River Basin (ARB) has the potential to limit future streamflow availability for aquatic ecosystem needs, as well as for water withdrawals in oil sands mining operations. This study applies the land surface model IBIS and the hydrological routing algorithm THMB, with forced output from CMIP5 global climate models, to examine the response of streamflow in the ARB to climate change this century. In comparison to the small impact of water withdrawals on streamflow, climate change impacts are projected to be the primary driver of future low flow occurrences. Although winter flows are most sensitive to water withdrawals under the historical hydroclimatological regime, future climate change is projected to increase winter flows and decrease summer flows instead, with the frequency of summer low flows projected to rise by up to 85 % in the highest future emissions scenario by the end of the century. A decline in water availability due to more frequent low flows could interrupt oil sands water withdrawals and subsequent daily bitumen production for an additional 2–3 months each year by mid-century. Adaptation to climate warming in the ARB will need to recognize these changing seasonal patterns of flow in order to maintain available flows for ecological needs and water withdrawals.

Description: Recent trends in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events have raised the concern that climate change could increase flooding risks and property damage. However, a major challenge in attributing and projecting changes in disaster risk is that damage is influenced not only by the physical climate hazard, but also by non-climatic factors that shape exposure and vulnerability. Recent assessments of integrated disaster risk have been hampered by the paucity of literature analyzing local-scale interactions between hazard, exposure and vulnerability in the historical record. Here we develop an integrated empirical analysis of historical flood damage that emphasizes spatial and temporal heterogeneity in flood hazard, economic exposure and social vulnerability. Using the Midwestern United States as a testbed, we show that annual property damage from flooding is projected to increase by 13 to 17.4 % over the next two decades. At the state level, over half of the increase is driven by projected growth in housing units. However, at the county level, the dominant factor causing future damage varies, emphasizing the value of a fully integrated, spatially and temporally resolved approach to assessing flooding risk and control strategies.

Description: In this study, In 2 O 3 /Ag/MoO 3 (IAM) nano-multilayer films are designed, and optimum thickness of each layer is calculated. These films were deposited by thermal evaporation technique and then annealed in air atmosphere at different temperatures for 1 h. The effects of annealing temperature on electrical, optical, and structural properties of the IAM system were investigated. The UV–visible–near-IR transmittance and reflectance spectra confirmed that the annealing temperature has significant influence on the electro‐optical characteristics of IAM films. High-quality IAM films with a low sheet resistance of 8.2 (Ω/□) and the maximum optical transmittance of 85 % at 120 °C annealing temperature were obtained. The effect of heat treatment on surface roughness of the layers was also investigated. Figure-of-merit quantity showed that the IAM films annealed at 120 °C have the best performance. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the crystallinity of the structures enhanced with increase in annealing temperature. Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) were fabricated on IAM anodes. The current density–voltage–luminance (J–V–L) characteristic measurements show that the electroluminescence performances of OLED with IAM anode are improved compared with the conventional ITO-based device. The results indicate that the designed system is suitable for use as transparent conductive anode in optoelectronic devices.

Description: We demonstrate the effectiveness of silicon phase masks to implement spatially resolved, multispectral imaging capabilities in the range of terahertz frequencies, using a standard setup of basic interest for time-domain spectrometry with a single-cell source and a single-cell detector. Our principle primarily aims at the development of robust and inexpensive systems. It consists of appropriate space-to-time encoding, in order to ensure single-scan triggering and then take advantage of rapid and self-consistent measurements in the two-dimensional space. The process enables very efficient discrimination giving access to a relevant spatial resolution in the analysis of small size, planar assemblies made of inhomogeneous materials. Benchmark results are provided to validate the concept, thanks to prototyping phase masks with 2 × 2 pixels, prior evidencing actual performance limitations in the case of 3 × 3 pixels. Due to the frequency bandwidth of 0.1–1.5 THz in our setup and to the available operating conditions, currently acceptable pixel resolutions lie in the range of 3–4 mm. Numerical modeling by means of finite elements helps to discuss these numbers and to investigate the relevant theoretical issues, figuring the main propagation issues in connection with a sub-picosecond seed pulse throughout various masks. This involves diffraction and trailing edge effects when crossing the mask together with residual, parasitic reflections. Finally, we give a consistent prospective for improved performance, via realistic updates regarding the architecture of the setup and complementary post-processing. Further values for the attainable spatial resolution then range from 5 × 5 to 6 × 6 pixels.

Description: A combination of optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) has enabled to determinate the number densities of CH(A 2 Δ) and CH(X 2 Π) radicals simultaneously in a cascaded arc plasma reactor operating with a CH 4 /Ar mixture. It is found that the number density of CH(A 2 Δ) radical increases with discharge current at first and then decreases. However, the number density of CH(X 2 Π) radical decreases with discharge current when the rate of CH 4 flow to total flow is lower than 1 %, while it increases slightly with discharge current when the rate is 1.5 %. The results reveal that CH radicals are deviation from excitation equilibrium. Although OES is the simplest and most straightforward means to investigate the CH radical behavior, it is not enough to provide the information of the CH(X 2 Π) number density, and additional methods, such as CRDS, are needed in the cascaded arc plasma jet.

Description: In this paper, we present a numerical study based on 3D FDTD (finite-difference time-domain) simulations that demonstrate the high sensitivity of the optical response of a bowtie nano-aperture antenna (BNA), engraved at the apex of a metal-coated tip, to the distance variation between it and a given substrate. This study mainly discussed the case of the collection mode regime of the BNA and considered the case of two different substrates (high and low refractive index). The coupling between the substrate and the BNA may greatly affect the properties of the optical resonance of the nano-antenna. A blueshift of the resonance wavelength, as large as \(\frac{\varDelta \lambda }{\lambda }=0.3\) , is obtained when the tip moves away over only 10 nm from the substrate (InP) interface. These results open the way to the design of stand-alone optical near-field probes that allow faithful interaction control with a given sample as a function of the distance between them.

Description: Religious beliefs, an important element of culture, influence adaptation to climate change. Less understood is how changing beliefs shape the adaptive capacity of communities responding to climate change. In the last century sub-Saharan Africa has experienced a transformation in beliefs. Since 1900 Christians have increased 70-fold while in rural areas Traditional Beliefs and associated Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) continue to influence the lived practices of vulnerable rural communities. Using two case studies of rural communities in Malawi (Bolero) and Zambia (Monze) we explore how Christianity and Traditional beliefs (and associated TEK) co-exist and assess if, and how, holding multiple belief systems affects climate-sensitive livelihood practices of food production. In Bolero we observed a lack of tensions between belief systems with Traditional leaders and elders noting the flexibility of adhering to both belief systems. In Monze however, basing livelihood decisions on the practice of rain-rituals resulted in strong tensions. In both communities elders noted their concern of how changing beliefs affect adherence to TEK management practices. We find that culture and beliefs play an important role in adaptive capacity but are not static. In the context of changing beliefs, adaptive capacity will be influenced by how different belief systems co-exist and how epistemological and intergenerational frictions are negotiated. As climate services become the focus of research and government interventions in vulnerable regions, avoiding culturally and economically expensive mal-adaptation will require giving attention to the complexity and dynamism of changing religious landscapes.

Description: The present paper describes the research of the optical device for two-dimensional straightness measurement of technological machines. Mathematical study of an optical device, operating on the phase principle and measuring transversal displacements of machine parts in two directions ( X and Y ) during their linear longitudinal motion in a machine (alongside the Z axis), is presented. How to estimate the range of travel along the Z axis is analytically shown. At this range, the measurer gives correct measurements of transverse displacement. The necessary distance from the objective focus to the image plane was defined mathematically. The sample results of measuring the displacement of the table of a technological machine by using the optical device are presented in the paper. This optical device for non-contact straightness measurement can be used for measurement straightness in turning, milling, drilling, grinding machines and other technological machines, also in geodesy and cartography, and for moving accuracy testing of mechatronic devices, robotics and others.

Description: Non-resonant laser-induced thermal acoustics (LITA), a four-wave mixing technique, was applied to post-shock flows within a shock tube. Simultaneous single-shot determination of temperature, speed of sound and flow velocity behind incident and reflected shock waves at different pressure and temperature levels are presented. Measurements were performed non-intrusively and without any seeding. The paper describes the technique and outlines its advantages compared to more established laser-based methods with respect to the challenges of shock tube experiments. The experiments include argon and nitrogen as test gas at temperatures of up to 1000 K and pressures of up to 43 bar. The experimental data are compared to calculated values based on inviscid one-dimensional shock wave theory. The single-shot uncertainty of the technique is investigated for worst-case test conditions resulting in relative standard deviations of 1, 1.7 and 3.4 % for Mach number, speed of sound and temperature, respectively. For all further experimental conditions, calculated values stay well within the 95 % confidence intervals of the LITA measurement.

Description: Airflow induced by femtosecond laser (800 nm/1 kHz/25 fs) filamentation with different lengths was investigated in a laboratory cloud chamber. Various filament lengths were generated by adjusting laser energy and lens focal length. It was found that airflow patterns are closely related to filament intensity and length. Intense and long filaments are beneficial in updraft generation with large vortices above the filament, while intense and short filaments tend to promote the formation of well-contacted vortices below the filament. Differently patterned airflows induced elliptical snow piles with different masses. We simulated airflow in a cloud chamber numerically taking laser filaments as heat sources. The mechanisms of differently patterned airflow and snow formation induced by filaments were discussed.

Description: Tissue simulators, the so-called tissue phantoms, have been used to mimic human tissue for spectroscopic applications. Phantoms’ design depends on patterning the optical properties, namely absorption and scattering coefficients which characterize light propagation mechanisms inside the tissues. In this work, two calibration models based on measurements adopting integrating sphere systems have been used to determine the optical properties of the studied solid phantoms. Integrating sphere measurement results were fed into the calibration models using the multiple polynomial regression method and Newton–Raphson algorithm. The third-order polynomials have been used for optical properties predictions. Good agreement between the two models has been obtained. Role of solid phantoms’ components, namely titanium dioxide as a scatterer and black carbon as an absorber, has been discussed. Both of the two components showed observable effects on the absorption and scattering of light inside the solid tissue phantoms.

Description: We report a novel time-resolved photoacoustic-based technique for studying the thermal decomposition mechanisms of some secondary explosives such as RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine), picric acid, 4,6-dinitro-5-(4-nitro-1 H -imidazol-1-yl)-1 H -benzo[ d ] [ 1 – 3 ] triazole, and 5-chloro-1-(4-nitrophenyl)-1 H -tetrazole. A comparison of the thermal decomposition mechanisms of these secondary explosives was made by detecting NO 2 molecules released under controlled pyrolysis between 25 and 350 °C. The results show excellent agreement with the thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TGA–DTA) results. A specially designed PA cell made of stainless steel was filled with explosive vapor and pumped using second harmonic, i.e., λ  = 532 nm, pulses of duration 7 ns at a 10 Hz repetition rate, obtained using a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. The use of a combination of PA and TGA–DTA techniques enables the study of NO 2 generation, and this method can be used to scale the performance of these explosives as rocket fuels. The minimum detection limits of the four explosives were 38 ppmv to 69 ppbv, depending on their respective vapor pressures.

Description: For the first time, spatial distribution of major and trace elements has been studied in cholesterol gallstones using time-of-flight secondary mass ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS). The TOF-SIMS has been used to study the elemental constituents of the center and surface parts of the gallstone sample. We have classified the gallstone sample using Fourier transform spectroscopy. The detected elements in cholesterol gallstone sample were carbon (C), hydrogen (H), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), potassium (K), strontium (Sr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb). The detected molecules in the cholesterol gallstone were CH 3 + , CO 3 + , CaCO 3 + and C 3 H + . Our results revealed that the contents of these elements in cholesterol gallstone were higher in the center part than that in the surface part. In the present paper, we have also presented the UV–Vis spectroscopic studies of the center and surface parts of the gallstone sample which indicated the presence of a higher content of cholesterol in the surface part and bilirubin in the center part.

Description: Numerical experiments are carried out to calculate continuum emissivity and opacity of plasmas produced from laser-irradiated Au and Pb targets as hohlraum wall materials. Targets are considered to be solid or porous with different initial densities. Simulation results show a good agreement compared with the measured data. The results show that under identical conditions, X-ray emission is higher for Au plasma; however, by decreasing initial densities, X-ray yield enhancement is greater for Pb plasma. By using a Pb target with initial density of about 1.14 g cm −3 instead of solid Au target, the same X-ray yield even more can be obtained. Calculations also show that in the conditions of solid density targets, Pb plasma offers a little lower opacity in soft X-ray region. Decreasing initial density of Pb causes its opacity to increase and get closer to the opacity of solid Au which in turn reduces energy losses in hohlraum wall.

Description: We report the two-photon interference properties of a photon pair generated in a type-II collinear periodically poled KTiOPO 4 (PPKTP) crystal pumped by a 406-nm diode laser capable of producing a single or dual longitudinal mode (LM). When the Hong–Ou–Mandel (HOM) interference signals in the PPKTP crystal pumped by a dual-mode diode laser were investigated at various crystal temperatures, it was found that the maximum visibility of the HOM interference signal depends on the relative strength of the dual LMs of the pump laser. The HOM interference pattern was numerically calculated considering the dual LM components of the pump laser diode and the crystal temperature, and was found to be in good agreement with the experimental results.

Description: One- and two-ring aromatics such as toluene and naphthalene are frequently used molecular tracer species in laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) imaging diagnostics. Quantifying LIF signal intensities requires knowledge of the photo-physical processes that determine the fluorescence quantum yield. Collision-induced and intramolecular energy transfer processes in the excited electronic state closely interact under practical conditions. They can be separated through experiments at variable low pressures. Effective fluorescence lifetimes of gaseous toluene, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, anisole, naphthalene, and 1-methylnaphthalene diluted in CO 2 were measured after picosecond laser excitation at 266 nm and time-resolved detection of fluorescence intensities. Measurements in an optically accessible externally heated cell between 296 and 475 K and 0.010–1 bar showed that effective fluorescence lifetimes generally decrease with temperature, while the influence of the bath-gas pressure depends on the respective target species and temperature. The results provide non-radiative and fluorescence rate constants and experimentally validate the effect of photo-induced cooling.

Description: We present a mid-infrared pulsed cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) setup based on difference frequency mixing of a tunable dye laser pumped by a Nd:YAG laser and the residual 1064 nm pulse in a temperature-stabilized lithium niobate (LiNbO 3 ) crystal. The performances of such a spectrometer have been investigated by studying the absorption spectrum of methane around 3 µm at room temperature. Our results show a minimum detectable absorption coefficient of 5 × 10 −8  cm −1 . Our approach combines the excellent sensitivity of CRDS with the wide tunable range of difference frequency generation (DFG) with a dye laser. However, the relatively low resolution of this spectrometer prevents the quantification of methane in a wide pressure range. To our knowledge, we report here the first realization and application of a pulsed DFG-based CRDS experiment used for sensitive trace gas detection.

Description: A telescope-grating-deformable scheme is proposed to compensate the angular dispersion of ultrabroadband spectrum. A simple design consideration is formulated based on the large angular dispersion of the idler from noncollinear optical parametric amplification. A proof of principle experiment is demonstrated. A 3-μJ ultrabroadband near-infrared pulse with spectrum range from 700 to 1400 nm has been generated. The technique has great potential to provide an ultrabroadband seed with negligible angular dispersion for high-power amplification of few-cycle pulses.

Description: Climate-related extreme weather events can result in the loss of drinking water access. We assessed the relative vulnerability of 3143 United States (U.S.) counties to loss of drinking water access due to droughts, floods, and cyclones. Five vulnerability assessment models from the literature were compared, each differing in the aggregation method used to combine the three determinants of vulnerability (V) – exposure (E), sensitivity (S), and adaptive capacity (AC). Exposure scores were calculated using historical occurrence data, sensitivity scores were determined from the intrinsic resilience of the drinking water technologies, and adaptive capacity scores were calculated from nine socioeconomic indicators. Our results showed that models V  =  E  +  S  +  AC and V  =  E  +  S – AC were the same, as were models V  =  E  ×  S  ×  AC and V  =  E  ×  S  ÷  AC . Between these two model forms (form 1: V  =  E  +  S  +  AC and V  =  E  +  S – AC ; form 2: V  =  E  ×  S  ×  AC and V  =  E  ×  S  ÷  AC ), scores from one model form could be used to predict scores from the second model form, with R-squared values ranging from 0.61 to 0.82 depending on the extreme weather event type. A fifth model, V  = ( E – AC ) ×  S was not found to correlate with any of the other four models. We used V  =  E  +  S  +  AC as our reference model as this resulted in a more uniform distribution of counties in each of the five intervals of vulnerability. Comparing the vulnerability scores identified the counties with greatest vulnerability to losing access to drinking water due to floods, droughts, and cyclones. Our results can be used to inform evidence-based decisions such as allocation of resources and implementation of adaptation strategies.

Description: Up-conversion can be the main mechanism of energy losses in laser glasses with high concentration of erbium ions. This investigation is devoted to the evaluation of up-conversion parameters in several phosphate and silicate Er-doped glasses. Analysis of the luminescent lifetime shortening at high excitation level has shown that the up-conversion parameters in different glasses can differ by an order of magnitude. The smallest up-conversion was observed in Ba crown silicate glass and Li–Ln-phosphate glass.

Description: Wavefront aberrations are one of the largest uncertainty factors in present atom interferometers. We present a detailed numerical and experimental analysis of this effect based on measured aberrations from optical windows. By placing windows into the Raman beam path of our atomic gravimeter, we verify for the first time the induced bias in very good agreement with theory. Our method can be used to reduce the uncertainty in atomic gravimeters by one order of magnitude, resulting in an error of 〈3 × 10 −10 g, and it is suitable in a wide variety of atom interferometers with thermal or ultracold atoms. We discuss the limitations of our method, potential improvements, and its role in future generation experiments.

Description: In this review, we have discussed the potential application of the emerging imaging modality, i.e., optical coherence tomography (OCT) for glucose monitoring in biological tissues. OCT provides monitoring of glucose diffusion in different fibrous tissues like in sclera by determining the permeability rate with acceptable accuracy both in type 1 and in type 2 diabetes. The maximum precision of glucose measurement in Intralipid suspensions, for example, with the OCT technique yields the accuracy up to 4.4 mM for 10 % Intralipid and 2.2 mM for 3 % Intralipid.

Description: Optical-feedback cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy is a highly sensitive trace gas sensing technique that relies on feedback from a resonant intracavity field to successively lock the laser to the cavity as the wavelength is scanned across a molecular absorption with a comb of resonant frequencies. V-shaped optical cavities have been favoured in the past in order to avoid additional feedback fields from non-resonant reflections that potentially suppress the locking to the resonant cavity frequency. A model of the laser–cavity coupling demonstrates, however, that the laser can stably lock to a resonant linear cavity, within certain constraints on the relative intensity of the two feedback sources. By mode mismatching the field into the linear cavity, we have shown that it is theoretically and practically possible to spatially filter out the unwanted non-resonant component in order for the resonant field to dominate the feedback competition at the laser. A 5.3  \(\upmu \hbox {m}\)  cw quantum cascade laser scanning across a \(\hbox {CO}_2\) absorption feature demonstrated stable locking to achieve a minimum detectable absorption coefficient of \(2.7\,\times \,10^{-9}\,\hbox {cm}^{-1}\) for 1-s averaging. Detailed investigations of feedback effects on the laser output verified the validity of our theoretical models.

Description: A new method of pump-coupling in diode-pumped alkali vapor amplifier is reported, which uses ring-LD to tightly surround the alkali vapor cell for directly coupled side-pumping. The kinetic and fluid dynamic modeling, numerical approaches of the ring-LD side-pumped configuration are proposed and applied to the static and the flowing-gas Cs vapor amplifiers. Pump intensity and temperature distribution in the cell are simulated. Influences of some important factors on laser power are calculated and analyzed. Comparisons of different pumped configurations are made, demonstrating the highest utilizing efficiency of pump power of the ring-LD side-pumped configuration. Thus the model is very helpful for designing high-power side-pumped alkali vapor amplifiers.

Description: Within the frame of the one-electron approximation, we calculate the electron binding energies of the \(\hbox {Na}_{55}^-\) cluster which allows for the identification of the icosahedral structure of the cluster through comparison with experimental photoelectron spectroscopy data. The surface of the icosahedral cluster is represented as a slightly deformed spherical surface, and the corresponding splitting of the energy levels caused by this symmetry reduction is calculated. Subsequently, we demonstrate that the calculated energies of photoelectrons agree very well with the experimental values. This gives an unambiguous demonstration of the role of the cluster structure in photoelectron spectra, whereas electronic shell filling effects are less important.

Description: Turbulent mixing is highly important in flows that involve heat and mass transfer. Information on turbulent heat flux is needed to validate the mixing models implemented in numerical simulations. The calculation of turbulent heat fluxes requires instantaneous information on temperature and velocity. Even using minimally intrusive laser optical methods, simultaneous measurement of temperature and velocity is still a challenge. In this study, thermographic phosphor particles are used for simultaneous thermometry and velocimetry: conventional particle image velocimetry is combined with temperature-dependent spectral shifts of BAM:Eu 2+ phosphor particles upon UV excitation. The novelty of this approach is the analysis of systematic errors and verification using the well-known properties of a heated turbulent jet issuing into a low velocity, cold coflow. The analysis showed that systematic errors caused by laser fluence, multiple scattering, or preferential signal absorption can be reduced such that reliable measurement of scalar fluxes becomes feasible, which is a prerequisite for applying the method to more complex heat transfer problems.

Description: Implementing an effective climate policy is one of the main challenges for the future. Curbing greenhouse gas emissions can prevent future irreversible impacts of climate change. Climate policy is therefore crucial for present and future generations. Nonetheless, one may wonder whether future economic and social development could be harmed by climate policy. This paper addresses this question by examining recent developments in international climate policy and considering different levels of cooperation that may arise in light of the outcomes of the Conference of the Parties held in Doha. The paper analyses how various climate policy scenarios would enhance sustainability and whether there is a trade-off between climate policy and economic development and social cohesion. This is done by using a new comprehensive indicator, the FEEM Sustainability Index (FEEM SI), which aggregates several economic, social, and environmental indicators. The FEEM SI is built into a recursive-dynamic computable general equilibrium model of the world economy, thus offering the possibility of projecting all indicators into the future and of delivering a perspective assessment of sustainability under different future climate policy scenarios. We find that the environmental component of sustainability improves at the regional and world level thanks to the implementation of climate policies. Overall sustainability increases in all scenarios since the economic and social components are affected negatively yet marginally. This analysis does not include explicitly climate change damages and this may lead to underestimating the benefits of policy actions. If the USA, Canada, Japan and Russia did not contribute to mitigating emissions, sustainability in these countries would decrease and the overall effectiveness of climate policy in enhancing global sustainability would be offset.

Description: This study provides the first attempt in quantifying the uncertainties in future urban climate projections due to regional climate models and metropolitan-scale urban planning scenarios. Targeted for the 2050s Augusts in Tokyo, Japan, dynamical downscaling simulations are conducted using two regional climate models, the WRF and NHRCM models, both downscaled from the global climate model MIROC5 under the RCP4.5 scenario. Both regional climate models are coupled with appropriate urban canopy models to accurately evaluate the urban climate. The projected 10-year mean temperature increases for the 2050s Augusts in the central Tokyo are roughly 2.4 °C and 2.2 °C, for the WRF and NHRCM models, respectively, with a roughly 0.2 °C difference between the two. Urban scenario experiments with the WRF model indicate that the compact city urban scenario can reduce the August mean temperature of surrounding residential areas by 0.4 °C, while the dispersed city scenario can increase the temperature by 0.1 °C. On the other hand, impact of urban scenarios on the temperature increase in central Tokyo is comparative or less than the surrounding areas. The impacts of urban scenario and regional climate model differences are larger in nighttime than in daytime, but are at most 0.6 °C. The results indicate that the uncertainties with the regional climate models and urban scenario are significantly less than those in emission scenarios or global climate model projections.

Description: Multicolor deep-ultraviolet femtosecond pulses are generated in a spectral range of 220–300 nm with pulse energies exceeding 1 μJ. Pulses with shorter wavelengths are also generated with the shortest wavelength of 185 nm. These pulses are generated through cascaded four-wave mixing induced in hydrogen gas by use of three-color femtosecond pump pulses at 1200, 800, and 267 nm. The third pulse dramatically enhances the intensities of the multicolor deep-ultraviolet pulses. The cross-phase modulation induced by the two intense near-infrared pulses broadens the spectral width of each multicolor emission, resulting in a spectral width supporting a transform-limited duration shorter than 10 fs.

Description: In this work, we present a modification to conventional X-rays fluorescence using electrons as excitation source and compare it with the traditional X-ray excitation for the study of pigments. For this purpose, we have constructed a laser-based source capable to produce X-rays as well as electrons. Because of the large penetration depth of X-rays, the collected fluorescence signal is a combination of several material layers of the artwork under study. However, electrons are stopped in the first layers, allowing a more superficial analysis. We show that the combination of both excitation sources can provide extremely valuable information about the structure of the artwork.

Description: A correction for the undesirable effects of direct and indirect cross-interference from water vapour on ammonia (NH 3 ) measurements was developed using an optical laser sensor based on cavity ring-down spectroscopy. This correction relied on new measurements of the collisional broadening due to water vapour of two NH 3 spectral lines in the near infra-red (6548.6 and 6548.8 cm −1 ), and on the development of novel stable primary standard gas mixtures (PSMs) of ammonia prepared by gravimetry in passivated gas cylinders at 100 μmol mol −1 . The PSMs were diluted dynamically to provide calibration mixtures of dry and humidified ammonia atmospheres of known composition in the nmol mol −1 range and were employed as part of establishing a metrological traceability chain to improve the reliability and accuracy of ambient ammonia measurements. The successful implementation of this correction will allow the extension of this rapid on-line spectroscopic technique to exposure chamber validation tests under controlled conditions and ambient monitoring in the field.

Description: In this paper, we analyze the influence of large-scale segmentation errors in the morphology of high-performance optical gratings. It is thus assumed that the optical grating under consideration (typical lateral extends S are 10–1000 mm) can be spatially decomposed into a great many but unique sub-segments ( \(\ll S\) ; typical extends are 10–100  \(\upmu \mathrm{m}\) ). Any violation of the perfect periodicity will result in the generation of stray light, especially Rowland ghosts, which radiate into a small angular region around the grating’s diffraction orders. In this paper, we focus on three different kinds of segmentation errors. On the one hand, there are statistic as well as deterministic alignment errors between otherwise perfect sub-segments. On the other hand, we analyze the effect of chirping of geometrical parameters, i.e., the groove width, within every sub-segment. Most importantly, we find that the particular type of imperfection results in a unique characteristic of the according stray light spectrum which thus acts as a fingerprint. We come to this conclusion on three different ways. First, we rely on a simple theoretical model that is based on scalar diffraction theory. Second, we have performed rigorous numerical simulations for a high aspect ratio purely dielectric spectrometer grating ( \(\hbox {period} = {667}\,\mathrm{nm}\) ). Third, the very same grating was then fabricated by e-beam lithography and its stray light spectrum was measured with a purposely designed optical setup. Eventually, all different routes to analyze the problem turn out to be in very good agreement, and we are confident that stray light measurements can be used as an important tool in the detection of fabrication imperfections.

Description: While the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is continuously improving its communication, visualisation has taken a back seat to more pressing issues. The consequence is a set of IPCC imagery where our understanding of perception remains empirically unchallenged. The visual design (defined in this study as the method, technique, and style used to create a visual) directly affects perception and yet, we know very little about how people intuitively respond to visuals depicting climate science. This study examines the perception of four images from the IPCC summary report for policymakers and two open sourced infographics. Using a group-administered study we found the visual design to have a significant impact on a novice readers ability to associate relevant words with an image. While the visuals part of the summary for policymakers educed a sense of confidence, a well-designed infographic left readers feeling less confident. The veneer of legitimacy associated with IPCC visuals is because they look scientific, whereas infographic images were found to look less serious. We acknowledge the accessibility of an infographic but urge IPCC authors to use it with caution, as any negative impact on scientific credibility is an unwanted feature in IPCC communication.

Description: Freshwater ecosystems in many parts of the world have been severely affected by past management practices that have altered the volume, timing and quality of water flows and caused a decline in their ecological health. Some of these systems are also experiencing the negative impacts of climate change. Adaptation to climate change and the continual need to address existing ecological damage poses ongoing challenges for freshwater managers. In this paper we propose and discuss a Catchment Assessment Framework (CAF) that is used to evaluate existing and potential freshwater management actions, such as riparian revegetation and habitat connectivity, for their adaptation potential. The CAF was developed as a tool for prioritizing low risk climate change adaptation options in Australian catchment management. The CAF enables catchment managers and technical experts to assess management actions against seven inter-related criteria to provide a holistic assessment: relevance to the catchment; climate change adaptation potential, including potential for maladaptation and benefit under different climate scenarios; ecosystem service benefits; compatibility with other actions; implementation constraints; socio-economic consequences; and a risk assessment. It was developed and applied by assessing nine management options with stakeholders in three catchments within the Murray-Darling Basin in south-eastern Australia. We found that while management options are undertaken as a response to existing degradation, they can be used as building blocks for a climate change adaptation strategy that considers a range of different but complementary measures to better manage climate-related risk. The CAF enables practitioners to assess the advantages of a range of adaptation options and to subject them to their wider decision making and management planning.

Description: This paper compares projections over the twenty-first century of SO 2 , BC, and OC emissions from three technologically detailed, long-term integrated assessment models. The character of the projections and the response of emissions due to a comprehensive climate policy are discussed focusing on the sectoral level. In a continuation of historical experience, aerosol and precursor emissions are increasingly decoupled from carbon dioxide emissions over the twenty-first century due to a combination of emission controls and technology shifts over time. Implementation of a comprehensive climate policy further reduces emissions, although there is significant variation in this response by sector and by model: the response has many similarities between models for the energy transformation and transportation sectors, with more diversity in the response for the building and industrial sectors. Much of these differences can be traced to specific characteristics of reference case end-use and supply-side technology deployment and emissions control assumptions, which are detailed by sector.

Description: We report diffusion coefficients of optically pumped lithium atoms in helium buffer gas. The free-induction decay and the spin-echo signals of ground-state atoms were optically detected in an external magnetic field with the addition of field gradient. Lithium hot vapor was produced in a borosilicate-glass cell at a temperature between 290 and \(360\,^{\circ }\hbox {C}\) . The simple setup using the glass cells enabled lithium atomic spectroscopy in a similar way to other alkali-metal atoms and study of the collisional properties of lithium atoms in a hot-vapor phase.

Description: Household flood management measures can significantly reduce the risk from flooding. Understanding the factors that influence the uptake of measures has important implications for the design of measures to induce people to take charge of risk mitigation. We investigate the impact of flood action groups in communities in Scotland on the uptake of four measures: insurance, flood warnings, sandbags and floodgates applying regression analysis using a cross-sectional survey ( n  = 124). The groups were formed in response to the threat from flooding in those communities, and offer information and training on household flood management measures. We use the theoretical framework of Protection Motivation Theory, and compare uptake of the measures before and after the foundation of the flood action groups, as well as in the near future. The models show positive adoption effects for flood warnings, floodgates and to an extent for insurance, and a positive correlation with increased confidence of implementing and belief in the effectiveness of the measures. The effect is significant if specific information on the measures was provided, indicating the importance of tailored content. We conclude that appropriately designed flood action groups can be a cost-effective way of increasing the uptake of household flood management measures.

Description: Research reveals that liberals and conservatives in the United States diverge about their beliefs regarding climate change. We show empirically that political affiliation also matters with respect to climate related risks such as flooding from hurricanes. Our study is based on a survey conducted 6 months after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 of over 1,000 residents in flood-prone areas in New York City. Democrats’ perception of their probability of suffering flood damage is significantly higher than Republicans’ and they are also more likely to invest in individual flood protection measures. However, 50% more Democrats than Republicans in our sample expect to receive federal disaster relief after a major flood. These results highlight the importance of taking into account value-based considerations in designing disaster risk management policies.

Description: We propose and demonstrate a laser frequency stabilization scheme which generates a dispersion-like tunable Doppler-free dichroic lock (TDFDL) signal. This signal offers a wide tuning range for lock point (i.e. zero-crossing) without compromising on the slope of the locking signal. The method involves measurement of magnetically induced dichroism in an atomic vapour for a weak probe laser beam in the presence of a counter-propagating strong pump laser beam. A simple model is presented to explain the basic principles of this method to generate the TDFDL signal. The spectral shift in the locking signal is achieved by tuning the frequency of the pump beam. The TDFDL signal is shown to be useful for locking the frequency of a cooling laser used for magneto-optical trap (MOT) for 87 Rb atoms.

Description: Detection of multiple transitions in NO and H 2 O using multi-mode absorption spectroscopy, MUMAS, with a quantum cascade laser, QCL, operating at 5.3 μm at scan rates up to 10 kHz is reported. The linewidth of longitudinal modes of the QCL is derived from pressure-dependent fits to experimental MUMAS data. Variations in the spectral structure of the broadband, multi-mode, output of the commercially available QCL employed are analysed to provide accurate fits of modelled MUMAS signatures to the experimental data.

Description: We propose a novel approach to site-resolved detection of a 2D gas of ultracold atoms in an optical lattice. A near-resonant laser beam is coherently scattered by the atomic array, and after passing a lens its interference pattern is holographically recorded by superimposing it with a reference laser beam on a CCD chip. Fourier transformation of the recorded intensity pattern reconstructs the atomic distribution in the lattice with single-site resolution. The holographic detection method requires only about two hundred scattered photons per atom in order to achieve a high reconstruction fidelity of 99.9 %. Therefore, additional cooling during detection might not be necessary even for light atomic elements such as lithium. Furthermore, first investigations suggest that small aberrations of the lens can be post-corrected in imaging processing.

Description: A 2030 climate and energy policy framework was endorsed by the European Council in 2014. The main elements are a binding 40 % greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target compared to 1990, a renewable energy share of 27 %, and an energy savings target of at least 27 % by 2030. In this paper, we assess the impact of these targets on the European land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF) sector using a Europe focused global land use model linked with a detailed forest management model. We show that implementing a 40 % GHG emission reduction target by 2030 may only have a small negative impact on the domestic LULUCF sink if the additional biomass demand for energy is mostly met through ligno-cellulosic energy crops rather than forest removals. However, if the increased biomass demand were met through higher rates of forest harvest removals, a more negative impact on the LULUCF sink could be expected.

Description: We experimentally demonstrate that the spectral resolution of Fourier transform interferometer could be greatly enhanced by using the dispersive property of semiconductor GaAs in the near infrared region and obtain the frequency distribution of the input light from interference pattern by defining a new frequency transform factor. The results show the effectiveness of this method in the slow light interference system.

Description: Characteristics of a ZnSe:Fe 2+ laser operating at room temperature of active polycrystalline elements with large transversal dimensions are investigated. The active elements had a shape of plates with diameters D  = 25–63 mm and width of ~4 mm, doped from two sides with iron ions by the diffusion method. The plates were doped in the process of hot isostatic pressing at an argon pressure of 100 MPa and temperature of 1250 °C for 75–151 h. The laser was pumped by a non-chain electrodischarge HF laser operated in a single-pulse mode. The employment of active elements with greater transversal dimensions resulted in a suppressed transversal parasitic oscillation at large diameters of the pumping spot. The generation energy of 1.43 J with the slope efficiency η slope  = 53 % and the total efficiency with respect to the energy absorbed in an active element η abs  ≈ 48 % was obtained on the sample of diameter D  = 63 mm.

Description: Transboundary river basins face significant threats from climate change, with the need for adaptation widely noted. In this paper we develop a theoretically-rooted indicator-based evaluation framework to identify transboundary river basins where the need for adaptation support is pronounced and prioritize where attention is best placed. The framework combines indicators which capture the broad level potential to adapt (adaptive capacity) and the actual preparedness for adaptation (adaptation readiness) at the level of transboundary institutions. Adaptive capacity and adaptation readiness have not previously been evaluated and compared within a single framework, and by combining them we gain a more comprehensive and nuanced basis for characterising and evaluating the adaptation landscape and diagnosing opportunities and constraints for adaptation. We apply the framework to 42 transboundary basins in Mediterranean Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, which account for 15 % of global transboundary river basins, are home to over 550 million people, and cover 8 % of Earth’s total land area. We find: 1) There is widespread need for improving national and transboundary institutional support for adaptation spanning basins of various economic, physical, and demographic characteristics; 2) Many transboundary basins in Africa have low adaptive capacity, but were found to have high readiness to begin adapting if resources were available; and 3) Improved coverage of River Basin Organisations and treaties with mandates to recognise and respond actively to climate change would underpin adaptation efforts across basins.

Description: By 15 December 2015, 187 countries had submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) summarising their climate actions after 2020 in the context of the Paris Agreement. We used a unified framework to assess the mitigation components of INDCs covering 105 countries (representing approximately 91 % of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2012) with a special focus on the G20 economies. We estimated the required reduction effort by comparing the greenhouse gas emission targets implied by the INDCs with the projected levels resulting from current mitigation policies. The resulting projected global reduction effort amounts to approximately 4–6 GtCO 2 eq by 2030, of which the G20 economies are responsible for the largest share, in particular Brazil, China, the EU, and the United States. Despite these reductions, the global and G20 emission level is still projected to be higher in 2030 than it was in 2010. We compared the ambition levels of individual INDCs by analysing various indicators. Our analysis shows, for instance, that INDCs imply that greenhouse gas emissions of Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, and South Korea peak before 2025, and of China, India and South Africa by 2030 or later.

Description: The hole transport buffer layer (HTL) known as PEDOT:PSS is found to be sensitive to polar solvents often used in the preparation of solution-processed perovskite-based solar cell. We employed \(\hbox {CH}_{3}\,\hbox {NH}_{3}\,\hbox {PbI}_{3}\) perovskite absorber sandwiched between two charge transport layers to analyze the effect of precursor solvent. By introducing skin-depth interfacial defect layer (IDL) on PEDOT:PSS film we studied the overall performance of the devices using one-dimensional device simulator. Both enhanced conductivity and variations in valence band offset (VBO) of IDL were considered to analyze device performance. A power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the devices was found to grow by 35 % due to increased conductivity of IDL by a factor of 1000. Furthermore, we noted a drastic reduction in PCE of the device by reducing the work function of IDL by more than 0.3eV . The thickness of interfacial defect layer was also analyzed and found to decrease the PCE of the devices by 18 % for fourfold increase in IDL thickness. The analysis was remarkably reproduced the experimentally generated device parameters and will help to understand the underlying physical process in perovskite-based solar cell.

Description: We present a diode laser system optimized for laser cooling and atom interferometry with ultra-cold rubidium atoms aboard sounding rockets as an important milestone toward space-borne quantum sensors. Design, assembly and qualification of the system, combing micro-integrated distributed feedback (DFB) diode laser modules and free space optical bench technology, is presented in the context of the MAIUS (Matter-wave Interferometry in Microgravity) mission. This laser system, with a volume of 21 l and total mass of 27 kg, passed all qualification tests for operation on sounding rockets and is currently used in the integrated MAIUS flight system producing Bose–Einstein condensates and performing atom interferometry based on Bragg diffraction. The MAIUS payload is being prepared for launch in fall 2016. We further report on a reference laser system, comprising a rubidium stabilized DFB laser, which was operated successfully on the TEXUS 51 mission in April 2015. The system demonstrated a high level of technological maturity by remaining frequency stabilized throughout the mission including the rocket’s boost phase.

Description: We demonstrate fourfold coherent combining in a gas-filled hollow-fiber compressor with 92 % efficiency. Our passive approach relies on the use of carefully oriented birefringent plates for temporal pulse dividing and combining. We perform a detailed theoretical and experimental analysis of the effects degrading the combining process, as polarization change or nonlinear interactions between pulse replicas. We show how to overcome these limitations to generate 10-fs output pulses with high temporal quality.

Description: Characteristics of annular beams propagating through atmospheric turbulence along a downlink path and an uplink path are studied in detail by using numerical simulation method. It is found that in downlink the influence of atmospheric turbulence on the characteristics is quite different from that in uplink because of the altitude-dependent index structure constant. It is shown that, when the zenith angle θ is not large enough, it is always \(\sigma_{{I\,{\text{up}}}}^{2} 〉 \sigma_{{I\,{\text{down}}}}^{2}\) on propagation whatever the value of the obscure ratio ε is, where \(\sigma_{{I\,{\text{up}}}}^{2}\) and \(\sigma_{{I\,{\text{down}}}}^{2}\) are the on-axis scintillation index in uplink and downlink, respectively. However, when θ is large enough, \(\sigma_{{I\,{\text{down}}}}^{2}\) is close to \(\sigma_{{I\,{\text{up}}}}^{2}\) as the propagation distance z increases, and \(\sigma_{{I\,{\text{up}}}}^{2}\) and \(\sigma_{{I\,{\text{down}}}}^{2}\) overlap each other as ε increases. Furthermore, as z increases, \(\sigma_{{I\,{\text{up}}}}^{2}\) approaches an asymptotical value when θ is not large enough, and the saturation phenomenon of \(\sigma_{{I\,{\text{up}}}}^{2}\) appears when θ is large enough. But the asymptotical value and the saturation phenomenon of \(\sigma_{{I\,{\text{down}}}}^{2}\) never appear. On the other hand, the energy focusability in downlink is better than that in uplink, and the difference of energy focusability between a downlink and an uplink increases with increasing θ or decreasing ε . In addition, in downlink there may exist sidelobes of intensity distributions when θ is not large enough, but the sidelobes never appear in uplink.

Description: We study the dispersion of the extraordinary dielectric function real and imaginary parts in the wide terahertz-frequency range of the lowest polariton branch for bulk LiNbO 3 and Mg:LiNbO 3 crystals. At frequencies 0.1–2.5 THz, both dispersion parts are measured by means of standard time-domain terahertz spectroscopy, and at higher frequencies up to 5.5 THz, the dielectric function real part is determined using a common scheme of spontaneous parametric down-conversion under near-forward Raman scattering by phonon polaritons. A special approach is applied for measuring of the dielectric function imaginary part at frequencies 1–3 THz, based on the analysis of visibility of three-wave second-order interference under spontaneous parametric down-conversion. The generalized approximate expressions are obtained for complex dielectric function dispersion within the lower polariton branches of LiNbO 3 and Mg:LiNbO 3 . It is shown that the well-known decrease in terahertz-wave absorption of lithium niobate crystals under Mg-doping is caused by changes in the defect structure and reduction of coupling of the terahertz-frequency polaritons with Debye relaxational mode.