ALBERT

Description: Impact of seawater Ca 2+ on the calcification and calcite Mg/Ca of Amphistegina lessonii Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 17463-17489, 2014 Author(s): A. Mewes, G. Langer, S. Thoms, G. Nehrke, G.-J. Reichart, L. J. de Nooijer, and J. Bijma Mg/Ca ratios in foraminiferal tests are routinely used as paleo temperature proxy, but on long timescales, also hold the potential to reconstruct past seawater Mg/Ca. Impact of both temperature and seawater Mg/Ca on Mg incorporation in foraminifera have been quantified by a number of studies. The underlying mechanism responsible for Mg incorporation in foraminiferal calcite and its sensitivity to environmental conditions, however, is not fully identified. A recently published biomineralization model (Nehrke et al., 2013) proposes a combination of transmembrane transport and seawater leakage or vacuolization to link calcite Mg/Ca to seawater Mg/Ca and explains inter-species variability in Mg/Ca ratios. To test the assumptions of this model, we conducted a culture study in which seawater Mg/Ca was manipulated by varying [Ca 2+ ] and keeping [Mg 2+ ] constant. Foraminiferal growth rates, test thickness and calcite Mg/Ca of newly formed chambers were analyzed. Results showed optimum growth rates and test thickness at Mg/Ca closest to that of ambient seawater. Calcite Mg/Ca is positively correlated to seawater Mg/Ca, indicating that not absolute seawater [Ca 2+ ] and [Mg 2+ ], but the telative ratio controls Mg/Ca in tests. These results demonstrate that the calcification process cannot be based only on seawater vacuolization, supporting the mixing model proposed by Nehrke et al. (2013). Here we, however, suggest a transmembrane transport fractionation that is not as strong as suggested by Nehrke et al. (2013).

Description: Fluxes of carbon and nutrients to the Iceland Sea surface layer and inferred primary productivity and stoichiometry Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 15399-15433, 2014 Author(s): E. Jeansson, R. G. J. Bellerby, I. Skjelvan, H. Frigstad, S. R. Ólafsdóttir, and J. Ólafsson Fluxes of carbon and nutrients to the upper 100 m of the Iceland Sea are evaluated. The study utilises hydro-chemical data from the Iceland Sea time-series station (68.00° N, 12.67° W), for the years between 1993 and 2006. By comparing data of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and nutrients in the surface layer (upper 100 m), and a sub-surface layer (100–200 m), we calculate monthly deficits in the surface, and use these to deduce the surface layer fluxes that affect the deficits: vertical mixing, horizontal advection, air–sea exchange, and biological activity. The deficits show a clear seasonality with a minimum in winter, when the mixed layer is at the deepest, and a maximum in early autumn, when biological uptake has removed much of the nutrients. The annual vertical fluxes of DIC and nitrate amounts to 1.7 ± 0.3 and 0.23 ± 0.07 mol m −2 yr −1 , respectively, and the annual air–sea uptake of atmospheric CO 2 is 4.4 ± 1.1 mol m −2 yr −1 . The biologically driven changes in DIC during the year relates to net community production (NCP), and the net annual NCP corresponds to export production, and is here calculated to 6.1 ± 0.9 mol C m −2 yr −1 . The typical, median C : N ratio during the period of net community uptake is 11, and thus clearly higher than Redfield, but is varying during the season.

Description: Technical Note: Artificial coral reef mesocosms for ocean acidification investigations Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 15463-15505, 2014 Author(s): J. Leblud, L. Moulin, A. Batigny, P. Dubois, and P. Grosjean The design and evaluation of replicated artificial mesocosms are presented in the context of a thirteen month experiment on the effects of ocean acidification on tropical coral reefs. They are defined here as (semi)-closed (i.e. with or without water change from the reef) mesocosms in the laboratory with a more realistic physico-chemical environment than microcosms. Important physico-chemical parameters (i.e. pH, p O 2 , p CO 2 , total alkalinity, temperature, salinity, total alkaline earth metals and nutrients availability) were successfully monitored and controlled. Daily variations of irradiance and pH were applied to approach field conditions. Results highlighted that it was possible to maintain realistic physico-chemical parameters, including daily changes, into artificial mesocosms. On the other hand, the two identical artificial mesocosms evolved differently in terms of global community oxygen budgets although the initial biological communities and physico-chemical parameters were comparable. Artificial reef mesocosms seem to leave enough degrees of freedom to the enclosed community of living organisms to organize and change along possibly diverging pathways.

Description: Phytoplankton community structure in the North Sea: coupling between remote sensing and automated in situ analysis at the single cell level Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 15621-15662, 2014 Author(s): M. Thyssen, S. Alvain, A. Lefèbvre, D. Dessailly, M. Rijkeboer, N. Guiselin, V. Creach, and L.-F. Artigas Phytoplankton observation in the ocean can be a challenge in oceanography. Accurate estimations of their biomass and dynamics will help to understand ocean ecosystems and refine global climate models. This requires relevant datasets of phytoplankton at a functional level and on a daily and sub meso scale. In order to achieve this, an automated, high frequency, dedicated scanning flow cytometer (SFC, Cytobuoy, NL), has been developed to cover the entire size range of phytoplankton cells whilst simultaneously taking pictures of the largest of them. This cytometer was directly connected to the water inlet of a~pocket Ferry Box during a cruise in the North Sea, 8–12 May 2011 (DYMAPHY project, INTERREG IV A "2 Seas"), in order to identify the phytoplankton community structure of near surface waters (6 m) with a high resolution spacial basis (2.2 ± 1.8 km). Ten groups of cells, distinguished on the basis of their optical pulse shapes, were described (abundance, size estimate, red fluorescence per unit volume). Abundances varied depending on the hydrological status of the traversed waters, reflecting different stages of the North Sea blooming period. Comparisons between several techniques analyzing chlorophyll a and the scanning flow cytometer, using the integrated red fluorescence emitted by each counted cell, showed significant correlations. The community structure observed from the automated flow cytometry was compared with the PHYSAT reflectance anomalies over a daily scale. The number of matchups observed between the SFC automated high frequency in situ sampling and the remote sensing was found to be two to three times better than when using traditional water sampling strategies. Significant differences in the phytoplankton community structure within the two days for which matchups were available, suggest that it is possible to label PHYSAT anomalies not only with dominant groups, but at the level of the community structure.

Description: Long term effects on regional European boreal climate due to structural vegetation changes Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 15507-15547, 2014 Author(s): J. H. Rydsaa, F. Stordal, and L. M. Tallaksen Amplified warming at high latitudes over the past decades has led to changes in the boreal and arctic climate system, such as structural changes in high latitude ecosystems and soil moisture properties. These changes trigger land-atmosphere feedbacks, through altered energy partitioning in response to changes in albedo and surface water fluxes. Local scale changes in the arctic and boreal zone may propagate to affect large scale climatic features. In this study, MODIS land surface data are used with the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF V3.5.1) and Noah LSM, in a series of experiments to simulate the influence of structural vegetation changes over a Northern European boreal ecosystem. Emphasis is placed on surface energy partitioning and near surface atmospheric variables, in order to investigate changes in atmospheric response due to observed and anticipated structural vegetation changes. We find that a northward migration of evergreen needle leaf forest into tundra regions causes an increase in latent rather than sensible heat fluxes, increased near surface temperatures and boundary layer height. Shrub expansion in tundra areas has only small effects on surface fluxes. However, it influences near surface wind speeds and boundary layer height. Northward migration of mixed forest across the present southern border of the boreal forest has largely opposite effects on surface fluxes and the near surface atmosphere, and acts to moderate the overall mean regional effects of boreal forest migration on the near surface atmosphere.

Description: Spatial variability and hotspots of soil N 2 O fluxes from intensively grazed grassland Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 15327-15360, 2014 Author(s): N. J. Cowan, P. Norman, D. Famulari, P. E. Levy, D. S. Reay, and U. M. Skiba One hundred N 2 O flux measurements were made from an area of intensively managed grazed grassland in central Scotland using a high resolution dynamic chamber method. The field contained a variety of features from which N 2 O fluxes were measured including a manure heap, patches of decaying grass silage, and areas of increased sheep activity. Individual fluxes varied significantly across the field varying from 2 to 79 000 μg N 2 O-N m −2 h −1 . Soil samples were collected at 55 locations to investigate relationships between soil properties and N 2 O flux. Fluxes of N 2 O correlated strongly with soil NO 3 − concentrations. Distribution of NO 3 − and the high spatial variability of N 2 O flux across the field are shown to be linked to the distribution of waste from grazing animals and the resultant reactive nitrogen compounds in the soil which are made available for microbiological processes. Features within the field such as shaded areas and manure heaps contained significantly higher available nitrogen than the rest of the field. Although these features only represented 1.1% of the area of the field, they contributed to over 55% of the total estimated daily N 2 O flux.

Description: Size-fractionated dissolved primary production and carbohydrate composition of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 15289-15325, 2014 Author(s): C. Borchard and A. Engel Extracellular release (ER) by phytoplankton is the major source of fresh dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in marine ecosystems and accompanies primary production during all growth phases. Little is known, so far, on size and composition of released molecules, and to which extent ER occurs passively, by leakage, or actively, by exudation. Here, we report on ER by the widespread and bloom-forming coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi grown under steady state conditions in phosphorus controlled chemostats (N : P = 29, growth rate of μ = 0.2 d −1 ). 14 C incubations were accomplished to determine primary production (PP), comprised by particulate (PO 14 C) and dissolved organic carbon (DO 14 C), and the concentration and composition of particulate combined carbohydrates (pCCHO), and of high molecular weight (〉1 kDa, HMW) dissolved combined carbohydrates (dCCHO) as major components of ER. Information on size distribution of ER products was obtained by investigating distinct size classes (

Description: A catalog of high-impact windstorms in Switzerland since 1859 Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 2867-2882, 2014 Author(s): P. Stucki, S. Brönnimann, O. Martius, C. Welker, M. Imhof, N. von Wattenwyl, and N. Philipp In recent decades, extremely hazardous windstorms have caused enormous losses to buildings, infrastructure and forests in Switzerland. This has increased societal and scientific interest in the intensity and frequency of historical high-impact storms. However, high-resolution wind data and damage statistics mostly span recent decades only. For this study, we collected quantitative (e.g., volumes of windfall timber, losses relating to buildings) and descriptive (e.g., forestry or insurance reports) information on the impact of historical windstorms. To define windstorm severity, normalized and declustered quantitative data were processed by extreme value statistics. Descriptive information was classified using a conceptual guideline. Validation with independent damage information, as well as comparison with wind measurements and a reanalysis, indicates that the most hazardous winter storms are captured, while too few moderate windstorms are detected. Strong storms in the wind measurements and reanalysis are thus added to the catalog. The final catalog encompasses approximately 240 high-impact windstorms in Switzerland since 1859. It features three robust severity classes and contains eight extreme windstorms. Evidence of high winter storm activity in the early and late 20th century compared to the mid-20th century in both damage and wind data indicates a co-variability of hazard and related damage on decadal timescales.

Description: A GIS-based model to estimate flood consequences and the degree of accessibility and operability of strategic emergency response structures in urban areas Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 2847-2865, 2014 Author(s): R. Albano, A. Sole, J. Adamowski, and L. Mancusi Efficient decision-making regarding flood risk reduction has become a priority for authorities and stakeholders in many European countries. Risk analysis methods and techniques are a useful tool for evaluating costs and benefits of possible interventions. Within this context, a methodology to estimate flood consequences was developed in this paper that is based on GIS, and integrated with a model that estimates the degree of accessibility and operability of strategic emergency response structures in an urban area. The majority of the currently available approaches do not properly analyse road network connections and dependencies within systems, and as such a loss of roads could cause significant damages and problems to emergency services in cases of flooding. The proposed model is unique in that it provides a maximum-impact estimation of flood consequences on the basis of the operability of the strategic emergency structures in an urban area, their accessibility, and connection within the urban system of a city (i.e. connection between aid centres and buildings at risk), in the emergency phase. The results of a case study in the Puglia region in southern Italy are described to illustrate the practical applications of this newly proposed approach. The main advantage of the proposed approach is that it allows for defining a hierarchy between different infrastructure in the urban area through the identification of particular components whose operation and efficiency are critical for emergency management. This information can be used by decision-makers to prioritize risk reduction interventions in flood emergencies in urban areas, given limited financial resources.

Description: Wind waves in the Black Sea: results of a hindcast study Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 2883-2897, 2014 Author(s): V. S. Arkhipkin, F. N. Gippius, K. P. Koltermann, and G. V. Surkova In this study we describe the wind wave fields in the Black Sea. The general aims of the work were the estimation of statistical wave parameters and the assessment of interannual and seasonal wave parameter variability. The domain of this study was the entire Black Sea. Wave parameters were calculated by means of the SWAN wave model on a 5 × 5 km rectangular grid. Initial conditions (wind speed and direction) for the period between 1949 and 2010 were derived from the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis. According to our calculations the average significant wave height on the Black Sea does not exceed 0.7 m. Areas of most significant heavy sea are the southwestern and the northeastern parts of the sea as expressed in the spatial distribution of significant wave heights, wave lengths and periods. Besides, long-term annual variations of wave parameters were estimated. Thus, linear trends of the annual total duration of storms and of their quantity are nearly stable over the hindcast period. However, an intensification of storm activity is observed in the 1960s–1970s.

Description: Autonomous profiling float observations of the high biomass plume downstream of the Kerguelen plateau in the Southern Ocean Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 17413-17462, 2014 Author(s): M. Grenier, A. Della Penna, and T. W. Trull Natural iron fertilisation from Southern Ocean islands results in high primary production and phytoplankton biomass accumulations readily visible in satellite ocean colour observations. These images reveal great spatial complexity with highly varying concentrations of chlorophyll, presumably reflecting both variations in iron supply and conditions favouring phytoplankton accumulation. To examine the second aspect, in particular the influences of variations in temperature and stratification, we deployed four autonomous profiling floats in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current near the Kerguelen plateau in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean. Each "bio-profiler" measured more than 250 profiles of temperature ( T ), salinity ( S ), dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll fluorescence (Chl a ), and particle backscatter in the top 300 m of the water column, sampling up to 5 profiles per day along meandering trajectories extending up to 1000 km. Comparison of surface Chl a estimates (top 50 m depth; analogous to values from satellite images) with total water column inventories revealed largely linear relationships, suggesting that dilution of chlorophyll by mixed layer depth variations plays only a minor role in the spatial distributions observed by satellite, and correspondingly that these images provide credible information on total and not just surface biomass accumulations. Regions of very high Chl a accumulation (1.5–10 μg L -1 ) were associated predominantly with a narrow T – S class of surface waters, which appears to derive from the northern Kerguelen plateau. In contrast, waters with only moderate Chl a enrichments (0.5–1.5 μg L -1 ) displayed no clear correlation with water properties, including no dependence on mixed layer depth, suggesting a diversity of sources of iron and/or its efficient dispersion across filaments of the plume. The lack of dependence on mixed layer depth also indicates a limited influence on production by light limitation. One float became trapped in a cyclonic eddy, allowing temporal evaluation of the water column in early autumn. During this period, decreasing surface Chl a inventories corresponded with decreases in oxygen inventories on sub-mixed layer density surfaces, consistent with significant export of organic matter and its respiration and storage as dissolved inorganic carbon in the ocean interior. These results are encouraging for the expanded use of autonomous observing platforms to study biogeochemical, carbon cycle, and ecological problems, although the complex blend of Lagrangian and Eulerian sampling achieved by the floats suggests that arrays rather than single floats will often be required.

Description: Factors affecting flood insurance purchase in residential properties in Johor, Malaysia Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 3297-3310, 2014 Author(s): U. G. Aliagha, T. E. Jin, W. W. Choong, M. Nadzri Jaafar, and H. M. Ali High-impact floods have become a virtually annual experience in Malaysia, yet flood insurance has remained a grossly neglected part of comprehensive integrated flood risk management. Using discriminant analysis, this study seeks to identify the demand-side variables that best predict flood insurance purchase and risk aversion between two groups of residential homeowners in three districts of Johor State, Malaysia: those who purchased flood insurance and those who did not. Our results revealed an overall 34% purchase rate, with Kota Tinggi district having the highest (44%) and thus the highest degree of flood risk aversion. The Wilks' lambda F test for equality of group means, standardised discriminant function coefficients, structure correlation, and canonical correlation has clearly shown that there are strong significant attribute differences between the two groups of homeowners, based on the measures of objective flood risk exposure, subjective risk perception, and socio-economic cum demographic variables. However, the measures of subjective risk perception were found to be more predictive of flood insurance purchase and flood risk aversion.

Description: On the use of the post-closure method uncertainty band to evaluate the performance of land surface models against eddy covariance flux data Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 16911-16951, 2014 Author(s): J. Ingwersen, K. Imukova, P. Högy, and T. Streck The energy balance of eddy covariance (EC) flux data is normally not closed. Therefore, at least if used for modeling, EC flux data are usually post-closed, i.e. the measured turbulent fluxes are adjusted so as to close the energy balance. At the current state of knowledge, however, it is not clear how to partition the missing energy in the right way. Eddy flux data therefore contain some uncertainty due to the unknown nature of the energy balance gap, which should be considered in model evaluation and the interpretation of simulation results. We propose to construct the post-closure method uncertainty band (PUB), which essentially designates the differences between non-adjusted flux data and flux data adjusted with the three post-closure methods (Bowen ratio, latent heat flux (LE) and sensible heat flux ( H ) method). To demonstrate this approach, simulations with the NOAH-MP land surface model were evaluated based on EC measurements conducted at a winter wheat stand in Southwest Germany in 2011, and the performance of the Jarvis and Ball–Berry stomatal resistance scheme was compared. The width of the PUB of the LE was up to 110 W m –2 (21% of net radiation). Our study shows that it is crucial to account for the uncertainty of EC flux data originating from lacking energy balance closure. Working with only a single post-closing method might result in severe misinterpretations in model-data comparisons.

Description: Carbon, oxygen and biological productivity in the Southern Ocean in and out the Kerguelen plume: CARIOCA drifter results Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 16877-16909, 2014 Author(s): L. Merlivat, J. Boutin, and F. d'Ovidio The Kerguelen Plateau region in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean supports annually a large-scale phytoplankton bloom which is naturally fertilized with iron. As part of the second Kerguelen Ocean and Plateau compared Study expedition (KEOPS2) in austral spring (October–November 2011), one Carioca buoy was deployed east of the Kerguelen plateau. It drifted eastward downstream in the Kerguelen plume. Hourly surface measurements of p CO 2 , O 2 and ancillary observations were collected between 1 November 2011 to 12 February 2012 with the aim of characterizing the spatial and temporal variability of the biological Net Community Production (NCP) downstream the Kerguelen plateau, assess the impact of iron-induced productivity on the biological carbon consumption and consequently on the CO 2 flux exchanged at the air–sea interface. The trajectory of the buoy until mid-December was within the longitude range, 72–83° E, close to the polar front and then in the polar frontal zone, PFZ, until 97° E. From 17 November to 16 December, the buoy drifted within the Kerguelen plume following a filament carrying dissolved iron, DFe, for a total distance of 700 km. In the first part of the trajectory, the ocean surface waters are a sink for CO 2 and a source for CO 2 , with fluxes of respective mean values equal to −8 and +38 mmol CO 2 m −2 d −1 . Eastward, as the buoy escapes the iron enriched filament, the fluxes are in opposite direction, with respective mean values of +5 and −48 mmol O 2 m −2 d −1 . These numbers clearly indicate the strong impact of biological processes on the biogeochemistry in the surface waters within the Kerguelen plume in November-mid-December, while it is undetectable eastward in the PFZ from mid-December to mid-February. While the buoy follows the Fe enriched filament, simultaneous observations of dissolved inorganic carbon, DIC, and dissolved oxygen, O 2 , highlight biological events lasting from 2 to 4 days. Stoichiometric ratios, O 2 /C, between 1.1 and 1.4 are observed indicating new and regenerated production regimes. NCP estimates range from 60 to 140 mmol C m −2 d −1 . Based on the relationship between the time a water parcel has left the plateau and its iron content, we have highlighted that the main control on the value of NCP is the availability of iron in the upper water column, with the largest NCP occurring in waters that have recently left the plateau and presented the highest iron concentrations.

Description: Comparison of UV/Vis and FDOM sensors for in situ monitoring of stream DOC concentrations Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 16855-16876, 2014 Author(s): G.-Y. Yoo, Y. Jeong, E.-J. Lee, J.-H. Park, and N.-H. Oh Optical measurements using ultra-violet/visible (UV/Vis) spectrophotometric sensors and fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) sensors have recently been used as proxies of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations of streams and rivers at high temporal resolution. Despite of the merits of the sensors, temperature changes and particulate matter in water can interfere the sensor readings, over- or under-estimating DOC concentrations. However, little efforts have been made to compare responses of the two types of the sensors in natural conditions. We conducted both laboratory experiments and in situ monitoring with a UV/Vis sensor and a FDOM sensor during the three storm events in the fall of 2012 and the spring of 2013 in a forest stream in Korea in order to compare their performance. Laboratory experiments using the Suwannee River natural organic matter, humic acid, and fulvic acid demonstrated strong linear relationships between both the sensor signals and measured DOC concentrations with R 2 ≥ 0.98. Although temperature compensation might not be needed for the UV/Vis sensor, it was sensitive to relativley small changes in turbidity. In contrast, the FDOM sensor was insenstive to relatively low turbidity while the FDOM sensor outputs decreased significantly as temperature increased, requiring temperature compensated FDOM (e.g. FDOM 20 for 20 °C) for in situ monitoring of DOC. The results suggest that both sensors can be employed as a~proxy for stream DOC concentrations after temperature and turbidity compensation in a forest stream where terrestrially derived humic-like materials are dominant components.

Description: Modeling the impact of riverine DON removal by marine bacterioplankton on primary production in the Arctic Ocean Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 16953-16992, 2014 Author(s): V. Le Fouest, M. Manizza, B. Tremblay, and M. Babin The planktonic and biogeochemical dynamics of the Arctic shelves exhibit a strong variability in response to Arctic warming. In this study, in order to elucidate on the processes regulating the production of phytoplankton (PP) and bacterioplankton (BP) and their interactions, we employ a biogeochemical model coupled to a pan-Arctic ocean-sea ice model (MITgcm) to explicitly simulate and quantify the contribution of usable dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) drained by the major circum-Arctic rivers on PP and BP in a scenario of melting sea ice (1998–2011). Model simulations suggest that on average between 1998 and 2011, the removal of usable RDON by bacterioplankton is responsible of a ~26% increase of the annual BP for the whole Arctic Ocean. With respect to total PP, the model simulates an increase of ~8% on an annual basis and of ~18% in summer. Recycled ammonium is responsible for the PP increase. The recycling of RDON by bacterioplankton promotes higher BP and PP but there is no significant temporal trend in the BP : PP ratio within the ice-free shelves over the 1998–2011 period. This suggests no significant evolution in the balance between autotrophy and heterotrophy in the last decade with a constant annual flux of RDON into the coastal ocean although changes in RDON supply and further reduction in sea ice cover could potentially alter this delicate balance.

Description: Moraine-dammed lake failures in Patagonia and assessment of outburst susceptibility in the Baker Basin Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 3243-3259, 2014 Author(s): P. Iribarren Anacona, K.P. Norton, and A. Mackintosh Glacier retreat since the Little Ice Age has resulted in the development or expansion of hundreds of glacial lakes in Patagonia. Some of these lakes have produced large (≥ 10 6 m 3 ) Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) damaging inhabited areas. GLOF hazard studies in Patagonia have been mainly based on the analysis of short-term series (≤ 50 years) of flood data and until now no attempt has been made to identify the relative susceptibility of lakes to failure. Power schemes and associated infrastructure are planned for Patagonian basins that have historically been affected by GLOFs, and we now require a thorough understanding of the characteristics of dangerous lakes in order to assist with hazard assessment and planning. In this paper, the conditioning factors of 16 outbursts from moraine-dammed lakes in Patagonia were analysed. These data were used to develop a classification scheme designed to assess outburst susceptibility, based on image classification techniques, flow routine algorithms and the Analytical Hierarchy Process. This scheme was applied to the Baker Basin, Chile, where at least seven moraine-dammed lakes have failed in historic time. We identified 386 moraine-dammed lakes in the Baker Basin of which 28 were classified with high or very high outburst susceptibility. Commonly, lakes with high outburst susceptibility are in contact with glaciers and have moderate (〉 8°) to steep (〉 15°) dam outlet slopes, akin to failed lakes in Patagonia. The proposed classification scheme is suitable for first-order GLOF hazard assessments in this region. However, rapidly changing glaciers in Patagonia make detailed analysis and monitoring of hazardous lakes and glaciated areas upstream from inhabited areas or critical infrastructure necessary, in order to better prepare for hazards emerging from an evolving cryosphere.

Description: Biogeochemical indicators of peatland degradation – a case study of a temperate bog in northern Germany Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 16825-16854, 2014 Author(s): J. P. Krüger, J. Leifeld, S. Glatzel, S. Szidat, and C. Alewell Peatlands store a great proportion of the global soil carbon pool and can loose carbon via the atmosphere due to degradation. In Germany, most of the greenhouse gas emissions from organic soils are attributed to sites managed as grassland. Here we investigated a land-use gradient from near-natural wetland (NW) to an extensively managed (GE) to an intensively managed grassland site (GI), all formed in the same bog complex in northern Germany. Vertical depth profiles of δ 13 C, δ 15 N, ash content, C/N ratio, bulk density, as well as radiocarbon ages were studied to identify peat degradation and to calculate carbon loss. At all sites, including the near-natural site, δ 13 C depth profiles indicate aerobic decomposition in the upper horizons. Depth profiles of δ 15 Ndiffered significantly between sites with increasing δ 15 N values in the top layers with increasing intensity of use, indicating that the peat is more decomposed. At both grassland sites, the ash content peaked within the first centimeter. In the near-natural site, ash contents were highest in 10–60 cm depth. This indicates that not only the managed grasslands, but also the near-natural site, is influenced by anthropogenic activities, most likely due to the drainage of the surrounding area. However, we found very young peat material in the first centimeter of the NW, indicating recent peat growth. The NW site accumulates carbon today even though it is and probably was influenced by anthropogenic activities in the past indicated by δ 13 C and ash content depth profiles. Based on the enrichment of ash content and changes in bulk density, we calculated carbon loss from these sites in retrograde. As expected land use intensification leads to a higher carbon loss which is supported by the higher peat ages at the intensive managed grassland site. All investigated biogeochemical parameters together indicate degradation of peat due to (i) conversion to grassland, (ii) historical drainage as well as recent development and (iii) land use intensification.

Description: Sensitivity of the air–sea CO 2 exchange in the Baltic Sea and Danish inner waters to atmospheric short term variability Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 16993-17042, 2014 Author(s): A. S. Lansø, J. Bendtsen, J. H. Christensen, L. L. Sørensen, H. Chen, H. A. J. Meijer, and C. Geels Minimising the uncertainties in estimates of air–sea CO 2 exchange is an important step toward increasing the confidence in assessments of the CO 2 cycle. Using an atmospheric transport model makes it possible to investigate the direct impact of atmospheric parameters on the air–sea CO 2 flux along with its sensitivity to e.g. short-term temporal variability in wind speed, atmospheric mixing height and the atmospheric CO 2 concentration. With this study the importance of high spatiotemporal resolution of atmospheric parameters for the air–sea CO 2 flux is assessed for six sub-basins within the Baltic Sea and Danish inner waters. A new climatology of surface water partial pressure of CO 2 ( p CO 2 ) has been developed for this coastal area based on available data from monitoring stations and underway p CO 2 measuring systems. Parameterisations depending on wind speed were applied for the transfer velocity to calculate the air–sea CO 2 flux. Two model simulations were conducted – one including short term variability in atmospheric CO 2 (VAT), and one where it was not included (CAT). A seasonal cycle in the air–sea CO 2 flux was found for both simulations for all sub-basins with uptake of CO 2 in summer and release of CO 2 to the atmosphere in winter. During the simulated period 2005–2010 the average annual net uptake of atmospheric CO 2 for the Baltic Sea, Danish Straits and Kattegat was 287 and 471 Gg C yr -1 for the VAT and CAT simulations, respectively. The obtained difference of 184 Gg C yr -1 was found to be significant, and thus ignoring short term variability in atmospheric CO 2 does have a sizeable effect on the air–sea CO 2 exchange. The combination of the atmospheric model and the new p CO 2 fields has also made it possible to make an estimate of the marine part of the Danish CO 2 budget for the first time. A net annual uptake of 2613 Gg C yr -1 was found for the Danish waters. A large uncertainty is connected to the air–sea CO 2 flux in particular caused by the transfer velocity parameterisation and the applied p CO 2 climatology. However, the present study underlines the importance of including short term variability in the atmospheric CO 2 concentration in future model studies of the air–sea exchange in order to minimise the uncertainty.

Description: Epic landslide erosion from mountain roads in Yunnan, China – challenges for sustainable development Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 3093-3104, 2014 Author(s): R. C. Sidle, M. Ghestem, and A. Stokes Expanding systems of mountain roads in developing countries have significantly increased the risk of landslides and sedimentation, and have created vulnerabilities for residents and aquatic resources. We measured landslide erosion along seven road segments in steep terrain in the upper Salween River basin, Yunnan, China and estimated sediment delivery to channels. Landslide erosion rates along the roads ranged from 2780 to 48 235 Mg ha −1 yr −1 , the upper end of this range being the highest rate ever reported along mountain roads. The two roads with the highest landslide erosion (FG1 = 12 966 Mg ha −1 yr −1 ; DXD = 48 235 Mg ha −1 yr −1 ) had some of the highest sediment delivery rates to channels (about 80 and 86%, respectively). Overall, 3 times more landslides occurred along cut slopes compared to fill slopes, but fill slope failures had a combined mass 〉 1.3 times that of cut slope failures. Many small landslides occurred along road cuts, but these were often trapped on the road surface. Given the magnitude of the landslide problem and the lack of attention to this issue, a more sustainable approach for mountain road development is outlined based on an analysis of landslide susceptibility and how thresholds for landslide trigger mechanisms would be modified by road location and different construction techniques.

Description: Evaluation of forest fire models on a large observation database Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 3077-3091, 2014 Author(s): J. B. Filippi, V. Mallet, and B. Nader This paper presents the evaluation of several fire propagation models using a large set of observed fires. The observation base is composed of 80 Mediterranean fire cases of different sizes, which come with the limited information available in an operational context (burned surface and approximative ignition point). Simulations for all cases are carried out with four different front velocity models. The results are compared with several error scoring methods applied to each of the 320 simulations. All tasks are performed in a fully automated manner, with simulations run as first guesses with no tuning for any of the models or cases. This approach leads to a wide range of simulation performance, including some of the bad simulation results to be expected in an operational context. Disregarding the quality of the input data, it is found that the models can be ranked based on their performance and that the most complex models outperform the more empirical ones. Data and source codes used for this paper are freely available to the community.

Description: Do climate factors govern soil microbial community composition and biomass at a regional scale? Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 17729-17756, 2014 Author(s): L. Ma, C. Guo, X. Lü, S. Yuan, and R. Wang Soil microbial communities play important role in organic matter decomposition, nutrient cycling and vegetation dynamic. However, little is known about factors driving soil microbial community composition at large scales. The objective of this study was to determine whether climate dominates among environmental factors governing microbial community composition and biomass at a regional scale. Here, we compared soil microbial communities using phospholipid fatty acid method across 7 land use types from 23 locations in North-East China Transect (850 km x 50 km). The results showed that soil water availability and land use changes exhibited the dominant effects on soil microbial community composition and biomass at the regional scale, while climate factors (expressed as a function of large-scale spatial variation) did not show strong relationships with distribution of microbial community composition. Likewise, factors such as spatial structure, soil texture, nutrient availability and vegetation types were not important. Wetter soils had higher contributions of gram-positive bacteria, whereas drier soils had higher contributions of gram-negative bacteria and fungi. Heavily disturbed soils had lower contributions of gram-negative bacteria and fungi than historically disturbed and undisturbed soils. The lowest microbial biomass appeared in the wettest and driest soils. In conclusion, dominant climate factors, commonly known to structure distribution of macroorganisms, were not the most important drivers governing regional pattern of microbial communities because of inclusion of irrigated and managed practices. In comparison, soil water regime and land use types appear to be primary determinants of microbial community composition and biomass.

Description: Fossilized bioelectric wire – the trace fossil Trichichnus Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 17707-17728, 2014 Author(s): M. Kędzierski, A. Uchman, Z. Sawlowicz, and A. Briguglio The trace fossil Trichichnus is proposed as an indicator of fossil bioelectric bacterial activity at the interface oxic – anoxic zone of marine sediments. This fulfils the idea that such processes, commonly found in the modern realm, should be also present in the geological past. Trichichnus is an exceptional trace fossil due to its very thin diameter (mostly less than 1 mm) and common pyritic filling. It is ubiquitous in some fine-grained sediments, where it has been interpreted as a burrow formed deeper than any other trace fossils, below the redox boundary. Trichichnus formerly referred to as deeply burrowed invertebrates, has been found as remnant of a fossilized intrasediment bacterial mat that is pyritized. As visualized in 3-D by means of X-ray computed microtomography scanner, Trichichnus forms dense filamentous fabric, which reflects that produced by modern large, mat-forming, sulphide-oxidizing bacteria, belonging mostly to Trichichnus -related taxa, which are able to house a complex bacterial consortium. Several stages of Trichichnus formation, including filamentous, bacterial mat and its pyritization, are proposed to explain an electron exchange between oxic and suboxic/anoxic layers in the sediment. Therefore, Trichichnus can be considered a fossilized "electric wire".

Description: Nitrate limitation and ocean acidification interact with UV-B to reduce photosynthetic performance in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 17675-17706, 2014 Author(s): W. Li, K. Gao, and J. Beardall It has been proposed that ocean acidification (OA) will interact with other environmental factors to influence the overall impact of global change on biological systems. Accordingly we investigated the influence of nitrogen limitation and OA on the physiology of diatoms by growing the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum Bohlin under elevated (1000 μatm, HC) or ambient (390 μatm, LC) levels of CO 2 with replete (110 μmol L -1 , HN) or reduced (10 μmol L -1 , LN) levels of NO 3 - and subjecting the cells to solar radiation with or without UV irradiance to determine their susceptibility to UV radiation (280–400 nm). Our results indicate that OA and UVB induced significantly higher inhibition of both the photosynthetic rate and quantum yield under LN than under HN conditions. UVA or/and UVB increased the cells' non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) regardless of the CO 2 levels. Under LN and OA conditions, activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase activities were enhanced, along with the highest sensitivity to UVB and the lowest ratio of repair to damage of PSII. HC-grown cells showed a faster recovery rate of yield under HN but not under LN conditions. The finding that nitrate limitation and ocean acidification interact with UV-B to reduce photosynthetic performance of the diatom P. tricornutum implies that ocean primary production and the marine biological C pump will be affected by the OA under multiple stressors.

Description: Vegetation heterogeneity and landscape position exert strong controls on soil CO 2 efflux in a moist, Appalachian watershed Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 17631-17673, 2014 Author(s): J. W. Atkins, H. E. Epstein, and D. L. Welsch In topographically complex watersheds, landscape position and vegetation heterogeneity can alter the soil water regime through both lateral and vertical redistribution, respectively. These alterations of soil moisture may have significant impacts on the spatial heterogeneity of biogeochemical cycles throughout the watershed. To evaluate how landscape position and vegetation heterogeneity affect soil CO 2 efflux ( F SOIL ) we conducted observations across the Weimer Run watershed (373 ha), located near Davis, West Virginia, for three growing seasons with varying precipitation (2010 – 1042 mm; 2011 – 1739 mm; 2012 – 1244 mm; precipitation data from BDKW2 station, MesoWest, University of Utah). An apparent soil temperature threshold of 11 °C at 12 cm depth on F SOIL was observed in our data – where F SOIL rates greatly increase in variance above this threshold. For analysis, F SOIL values above this threshold were isolated and examined. Differences in F SOIL among years were apparent by elevation ( F 4,633 = 3.17; p = 0.013) and by vegetation cover ( F 4, 633 = 2.96; p = 0.019). For the Weimer Run watershed, vegetation exerts the major control on soil CO 2 efflux ( F SOIL ), with the plots beneath shrubs at all elevations for all years showing the greatest mean rates of F SOIL (6.07 μmol CO 2 m -2 s -1 ) compared to plots beneath closed-forest canopy (4.69 μmol CO 2 m -2 s -1 ) and plots located in open, forest gaps (4.09 μmol CO 2 m -2 s -1 ) plots. During periods of high soil moisture, we find that CO 2 efflux rates are constrained and that maximum efflux rates in this system occur during periods of average to below average soil water availability. These findings offer valuable insight into the processes occurring within these topographically complex, temperate and humid systems, and the interactions of abiotic and biotic factors mediating biogeochemical cycles. With possible changing rainfall patterns as predicted by climate models, it is important to understand the couplings between water and carbon cycling at the watershed and landscape scales, and their potential dynamics under global change scenarios.

Description: Daily burned area and carbon emissions from boreal fires in Alaska Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 17579-17629, 2014 Author(s): S. Veraverbeke, B. M. Rogers, and J. T. Randerson Boreal fires burn carbon-rich organic soils, thereby releasing large quantities of trace gases and aerosols that influence atmospheric composition and climate. To better understand the factors regulating boreal fire emissions, we developed a statistical model of carbon consumption by fire for Alaska with a spatial resolution of 500 m and a temporal resolution of one day. We used the model to estimate variability in carbon emissions between 2001 and 2012. Daily burned area was mapped using imagery from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer combined with perimeters from the Alaska Large Fire Database. Carbon consumption was calibrated using available field measurements from black spruce forests in Alaska. We built two nonlinear multiplicative models to separately predict above- and belowground carbon consumption by fire in response to environmental variables including elevation, day of burning within the fire season, pre-fire tree cover and the differenced normalized burn ratio (dNBR). Higher belowground consumption occurred later in the season and for mid-elevation regions. Aboveground and belowground consumption also increased as a function of tree cover and the dNBR, suggesting a causal link between the processes regulating these two components of consumption. Between 2001 and 2012, the median fuel consumption was 2.48 kg C m -2 and the median pixel-based uncertainty (SD of prediction error) was 0.38 kg C m -2 . There were considerable amounts of burning in other cover types than black spruce and consumption in pure black spruce stands was generally higher. Fuel consumption originated primarily from the belowground fraction (median = 2.30 kg C m -2 for all cover types and 2.63 kg C m -2 for pure black spruce stands). Total carbon emissions varied considerably from year to year, with the highest emissions occurring during 2004 (67 Tg C), 2005 (44 Tg C), 2009 (25 Tg C), and 2002 (16 Tg C) and a mean of 14 Tg C per year between 2001 and 2012. Our analysis highlights the importance of accounting for the spatial heterogeneity within fuels and consumption when extrapolating emissions in space and time. This data on daily burned area and emissions may be useful for in understanding controls and limits on fire growth, and predicting potential feedbacks of changing fire regimes.

Description: Flux variations and vertical distributions of microzooplankton (Radiolaria) in the western Arctic Ocean: environmental indices in a warming Arctic Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 16645-16701, 2014 Author(s): T. Ikenoue, K. R. Bjørklund, S. B. Kruglikova, J. Onodera, K. Kimoto, and N. Harada The vertical distribution of radiolarians was investigated using a vertical multiple plankton sampler (100–0, 250–100, 500–250 and 1000–500 m water depths, 62 μm mesh size) at the Northwind Abyssal Plain and southwestern Canada Basin in September 2013. To investigate seasonal variations in the flux of radiolarians in relation to sea-ice and water masses, time series sediment trap system was moored at Station NAP (75°00' N, 162°00' W, bottom depth 1975 m) in the western Arctic Ocean during October 2010–September 2012. We showed characteristics of fourteen abundant radiolarian taxa related to the vertical hydrographic structure in the western Arctic Ocean. We found the Ceratocyrtis histricosus , a warm Atlantic water species, in net samples, indicating that it has extended its habitat into the Pacific Winter Water. The radiolarian flux was comparable to that in the North Pacific Oceans. Amphimelissa setosa was dominant during the open water and the beginning and the end of ice cover seasons with well-grown ice algae, ice fauna and with alternation of stable water masses and deep vertical mixing. During the sea-ice cover season, however, oligotrophic and cold-water tolerant Actinommidae was dominant and the productivity of radiolaria was lower and its species diversity was greater, which might be associated with the seasonal increase of solar radiation that induce the growth of algae on the ice and the other phytoplankton species under the sea-ice. These indicated that the dynamics of sea-ice was a major factor affecting the productivity, distribution, and composition of radiolarian fauna.

Description: Observation-based modelling of permafrost carbon fluxes with accounting for deep carbon deposits and thermokarst activity Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 16599-16643, 2014 Author(s): T. Schneider von Deimling, G. Grosse, J. Strauss, L. Schirrmeister, A. Morgenstern, S. Schaphoff, M. Meinshausen, and J. Boike High-latitude soils store vast amounts of perennially frozen and therefore inert organic matter. With rising global temperatures and consequent permafrost degradation, a part of this carbon store will become available for microbial decay and eventual release to the atmosphere. We have developed a simplified, two-dimensional multi-pool model to estimate the strength and timing of future carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ) fluxes from newly thawed permafrost carbon (i.e. carbon thawed when temperatures rise above pre-industrial levels). We have especially simulated carbon release from deep deposits in Yedoma regions by describing abrupt thaw under thermokarst lakes. The computational efficiency of our model allowed us to run large, multi-centennial ensembles under various scenarios of future warming to express uncertainty inherent to simulations of the permafrost-carbon feedback. Under moderate warming of the representative concentration pathway (RCP) 2.6 scenario, cumulated CO 2 fluxes from newly thawed permafrost carbon amount to 20 to 58 petagrammes of carbon (Pg-C) (68% range) by the year 2100 and reach 40 to 98 Pg-C in 2300. The much larger permafrost degradation under strong warming (RCP8.5) results in cumulated CO 2 release of 42–141 and 157–313 Pg-C (68% ranges) in the years 2100 and 2300, respectively. Our estimates do only consider fluxes from newly thawed permafrost but not from soils already part of the seasonally thawed active layer under preindustrial climate. Our simulated methane fluxes contribute a few percent to total permafrost carbon release yet they can cause up to 40% of total permafrost-affected radiative forcing in the 21st century (upper 68% range). We infer largest methane emission rates of about 50 Tg-CH 4 year –1 around the mid of the 21st century when simulated thermokarst lake extent is at its maximum and when abrupt thaw under thermokarst lakes is accounted for. CH 4 release from newly thawed carbon in wetland-affected deposits is only discernible in the 22nd and 23rd century because of the absence of abrupt thaw processes. We further show that release from organic matter stored in deep deposits of Yedoma regions does crucially affect our simulated circumpolar methane fluxes. The additional warming through the release from newly thawed permafrost carbon proved only slightly dependent on the pathway of anthropogenic emission and amounts about 0.03–0.14 °C (68% ranges) by end of the century. The warming increased further in the 22nd and 23rd century and was most pronounced under the RCP6.0 scenario with adding 0.16–0.39 °C (68% range) to simulated global mean surface air temperatures in the year 2300.

Description: Distribution of black carbon in Ponderosa pine litter and soils following the High Park wildfire Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 16799-16824, 2014 Author(s): C. M. Boot, M. Haddix, K. Paustian, and M. F. Cotrufo Black carbon (BC), the heterogeneous product of burned biomass, is a critical component in the global carbon cycle, yet timescales and mechanisms for incorporation into the soil profile are not well understood. The High Park Fire, which took place in northwestern Colorado in the summer of 2012, provided an opportunity to study the effects of both fire intenstiy and geomorphology on properties of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and BC in the Cache La Poudre River drainage. We sampled montane Ponderosa pine litter, 0–5 cm soils, and 5–15 cm soils four months post-fire in order to examine the effects of slope and burn intensity on %C, C stocks, %N and black carbon (g kg −1 C, and g m −2 ). We developed and implemented the benzene polycarboxylic acid (BPCA) method for quantifying BC. With regard to slope, we found that steeper slopes had higher C : N than shallow slopes, but that there was no difference in black carbon content or stocks. BC content was greatest in the litter in burned sites (19 g kg −1 C), while BC stocks were greatest in the 5–15 cm subsurface soils (23 g m −2 ). At the time of sampling, none of the BC deposited on the land surface post-fire had been incorporated into to either the 0–5 cm or 5–15 cm soil layers. The ratio of B5CA : B6CA (less condensed to more condensed BC) indicated there was significantly more older, more processed BC at depth. Total BC soil stocks were relatively low compared to other fire-prone grassland and boreal forest systems, indicating most of the BC produced in this system is likely transported off the surface through erosion events. Future work examining mechanisms for BC transport will be required for understanding the role BC plays in the global carbon cycle.

Description: Evaluating the performance of commonly used gas analysers for methane eddy covariance flux measurements: the InGOS inter-comparison field experiment Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 797-852, 2014 Author(s): O. Peltola, A. Hensen, C. Helfter, L. Belelli Marchesini, F. C. Bosveld, W. C. M. van den Bulk, J. A. Elbers, S. Haapanala, J. Holst, T. Laurila, A. Lindroth, E. Nemitz, T. Röckmann, A. T. Vermeulen, and I. Mammarella The performance of eight fast-response methane (CH 4 ) gas analysers suitable for eddy covariance flux measurements were tested at a grassland site near the Cabauw tall tower (Netherlands) during June 2012. The instruments were positioned close to each other in order to minimize the effect of varying turbulent conditions. The moderate CH 4 fluxes observed at the location, of the order of 25 nmol m −2 s −1 , provided a suitable signal for testing the instruments' performance. Generally, all analysers tested were able to quantify the concentration fluctuations at the frequency range relevant for turbulent exchange and were able to deliver high-quality data. The tested cavity ring-down spectrometer (CRDS) instruments from Picarro, models G2311-f and G1301-f, were superior to other CH 4 analysers with respect to instrumental noise. As an open-path instrument susceptible to the effects of rain, the LI-COR LI-7700 achieved lower data coverage and also required larger density corrections; however, the system is especially useful for remote sites that are restricted in power availability. In this study the open-path LI-7700 results were compromised due to a data acquisition problem in our data-logging setup. Some of the older closed-path analysers tested do not measure H 2 O vapour concentrations alongside CH 4 (i.e. FMA1 and DLT-100 by Los Gatos Research) and this complicates data processing since the required corrections for dilution and spectroscopic interactions have to be based on external information. To overcome this issue, we used H 2 O mole fractions measured by other gas analysers, adjusted them with different methods and then applied them to correct the CH 4 fluxes. Following this procedure we estimated a bias on the order of 0.1 g (CH 4 ) m −2 (8% of the measured mean flux) in the processed and corrected CH 4 fluxes on a monthly scale due to missing H 2 O concentration measurements. Finally, cumulative CH 4 fluxes over 14 days from three closed-path gas analysers, G2311-f (Picarro Inc.), FGGA (Los Gatos Research) and FMA2 (Los Gatos Research), which were measuring H 2 O vapour concentrations in addition to CH 4 , agreed within 3% (355–367 mg (CH 4 ) m −2 ) and were not clearly different from each other, whereas the other instruments derived total fluxes which showed small but distinct differences (±10%, 330–399 mg (CH 4 ) m −2 ).

Description: Phytoplanktonic response to contrasted Saharan dust deposition events during mesocosm experiments in LNLC environment Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 753-796, 2014 Author(s): C. Ridame, J. Dekaezemacker, C. Guieu, S. Bonnet, S. L'Helguen, and F. Malien The response of the phytoplanktonic community (primary production and algal biomass) to contrasted Saharan dust events (wet and dry deposition) was studied in the framework of the DUNE "a DUst experiment in a low-Nutrient, low-chlorophyll Ecosystem" project. We simulated realistic dust deposition events (10 g m −2 ) into large mesocosms (52 m 3 ). Three distinct experimental dust additions were conducted in June 2008 (DUNE-1-P: simulation of a wet deposition, DUNE-1-Q: simulation of a dry deposition) and 2010 (DUNE-2-R1, -R2: simulation of 2 successive wet depositions) in the northwestern oligotrophic Mediterranean Sea. No changes in primary production (PP) and chlorophyll a concentration (Chl a ) were observed after a dry deposition event while a wet deposition event resulted in a rapid (24 h after dust additions), strong (up 2.4 fold) and long (at least a week duration) increase in PP and Chl a . We show that in addition to being a source of dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), simulated wet deposition events were also a significant source of NO 3 − (net increases up to +9.8 μM NO 3 − at 0.1 m depth) to the nutrient depleted surface waters due to cloud processes and mixing with anthropogenic species such as HNO3. The dry deposition event was shown to be a negligible source of NO 3 − . By transiently increasing DIP and NO 3 − concentrations in P-N starved surface waters, wet deposition of Saharan dust was able to relieve the potential N or NP co-limitation of the phytoplanktonic activity. Due to the higher input of NO 3 − relative to DIP, a wet deposition event resulted in a strong increase in the NO 3 − /DIP ratio from initially 〈 6 to over 150 at the end of the DUNE-2-R1 experiment suggesting a switch from an initial N or NP co-limitation towards a severe P limitation. We also show that the contribution of new production to PP increased after wet dust deposition events from initially 15% to 60–70% 24 h after seeding, indicating a switch from a regenerated-production based system to a new-production based system. DUNE experiments show that wet and dry dust deposition events induce contrasted responses of the phytoplanktonic community due to differences in the atmospheric supply of bioavailable new nutrients. Our results from original mesocosm experiments demonstrate that atmospheric dust wet deposition greatly influences primary productivity and algal biomass in LNLC environments, changes nutrient stocks and alters the NO 3 − /DIP ratio leading to a switch in the nutrient limitation of the phytoplanktonic activity.

Description: Can current moisture responses predict soil CO 2 efflux under altered precipitation regimes? A synthesis of manipulation experiments Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 853-899, 2014 Author(s): S. Vicca, M. Bahn, M. Estiarte, E. E. van Loon, R. Vargas, G. Alberti, P. Ambus, M. A. Arain, C. Beier, L. P. Bentley, W. Borken, N. Buchmann, S. L. Collins, G. de Dato, J. S. Dukes, C. Escolar, P. Fay, G. Guidolotti, P. J. Hanson, A. Kahmen, G. Kröel-Dulay, T. Ladreiter-Knauss, K. S. Larsen, E. Lellei-Kovacs, E. Lebrija-Trejos, F. T. Maestre, S. Marhan, M. Marshall, P. Meir, Y. Miao, J. Muhr, P. A. Niklaus, R. Ogaya, J. Peñuelas, C. Poll, L. E. Rustad, K. Savage, A. Schindlbacher, I. K. Schmidt, A. R. Smith, E. D. Sotta, V. Suseela, A. Tietema, N. van Gestel, O. van Straaten, S. Wan, U. Weber, and I. A. Janssens As a key component of the carbon cycle, soil CO 2 efflux (SCE) is being increasingly studied to improve our mechanistic understanding of this important carbon flux. Predicting ecosystem responses to climate change often depends on extrapolation of current relationships between ecosystem processes and their climatic drivers to conditions not yet experienced by the ecosystem. This raises the question to what extent these relationships remain unaltered beyond the current climatic window for which observations are available to constrain the relationships. Here, we evaluate whether current responses of SCE to fluctuations in soil temperature and soil water content can be used to predict SCE under altered rainfall patterns. Of the 58 experiments for which we gathered SCE data, 20 were discarded because either too few data were available, or inconsistencies precluded their incorporation in the analyses. The 38 remaining experiments were used to test the hypothesis that a model parameterized with data from the control plots (using soil temperature and water content as predictor variables) could adequately predict SCE measured in the manipulated treatment. Only for seven of these 38 experiments, this hypothesis was rejected. Importantly, these were the experiments with the most reliable datasets, i.e., those providing high-frequency measurements of SCE. Accordingly, regression tree analysis demonstrated that measurement frequency was crucial; our hypothesis could be rejected only for experiments with measurement intervals of less than 11 days, and was not rejected for any of the 24 experiments with larger measurement intervals. This highlights the importance of high-frequency measurements when studying effects of altered precipitation on SCE, probably because infrequent measurement schemes have insufficient capacity to detect shifts in the climate-dependencies of SCE. We strongly recommend that future experiments focus more strongly on establishing response functions across a broader range of precipitation regimes and soil moisture conditions. Such experiments should make accurate measurements of water availability, they require high-frequency SCE measurements and they should consider both instantaneous responses and the potential legacy effects of climate extremes. This is important, because we demonstrated that at least for some ecosystems, current moisture responses cannot be extrapolated to predict SCE under altered rainfall.

Description: Goal-oriented networks and capacity building for natural hazards – examples in the Dresden region Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 81-94, 2014 Author(s): G. Hutter Networks and networking are important for building social capacities for natural hazards. However, up to now, it has been an open question which types of networks contribute to capacity building under certain circumstances. The paper focuses on the type of a goal-oriented network. The distinction between goal orientation and goal directedness is used to show the following: goal directedness of networks to build capacities for natural hazards involves intensive and continuous processes of "sensemaking" (Weick, 1995) to specify the network goal. This process of specifying an initial goal statement is important in small and large networks at the regional level. The governance form of a lead organization network facilitates goal specification. The paper illustrates these findings through evidence from two case studies conducted in the Dresden region in Germany.

Description: Technical Note: Simple formulations and solutions of the dual-phase diffusive transport for biogeochemical modeling Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 1587-1611, 2014 Author(s): J. Y. Tang and W. J. Riley Representation of gaseous diffusion in variably saturated near-surface soils is becoming more common in land biogeochemical models, yet the formulations and numerical solution algorithms applied vary widely. We present three different but equivalent formulations of the dual-phase (gaseous and aqueous) tracer diffusion transport problem that is relevant to a wide class of volatile tracers in land biogeochemical models. Of these three formulations (i.e., the gas-primary, aqueous-primary, and bulk tracer based formulations), we contend the gas-primary formulation is the most convenient for modeling tracer dynamics in biogeochemical models. We then provide finite volume approximation to the gas-primary equation and evaluate its accuracy against three analytical models: one for steady-state soil CO 2 dynamics, one for steady-state soil CO 2 dynamics, and one for transient tracer diffusion from a constant point source into two different sequentially aligned medias. All evaluations demonstrated good accuracy of the numerical approximation. We expect our result will standardize an efficient mechanistic numerical method for solving relatively simple, multi-phase, one-dimensional diffusion problems in land models.

Description: Assessing the quality of landslide susceptibility maps – case study Lower Austria Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 95-118, 2014 Author(s): H. Petschko, A. Brenning, R. Bell, J. Goetz, and T. Glade Landslide susceptibility maps are helpful tools to identify areas potentially prone to future landslide occurrence. As more and more national and provincial authorities demand for these maps to be computed and implemented in spatial planning strategies, several aspects of the quality of the landslide susceptibility model and the resulting classified map are of high interest. In this study of landslides in Lower Austria, we focus on the model form uncertainty to assess the quality of a flexible statistical modelling technique, the generalized additive model (GAM). The study area (15 850 km 2 ) is divided into 16 modelling domains based on lithology classes. A model representing the entire study area is constructed by combining these models. The performances of the models are assessed using repeated k -fold cross-validation with spatial and random subsampling. This reflects the variability of performance estimates arising from sampling variation. Measures of spatial transferability and thematic consistency are applied to empirically assess model quality. We also analyse and visualize the implications of spatially varying prediction uncertainties regarding the susceptibility map classes by taking into account the confidence intervals of model predictions. The 95% confidence limits fall within the same susceptibility class in 85% of the study area. Overall, this study contributes to advancing open communication and assessment of model quality related to statistical landslide susceptibility models.

Description: The effect of land-use change on the net exchange rates of greenhouse gases: a meta-analytical approach Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 1053-1095, 2014 Author(s): D.-G. Kim and M. U. F. Kirschbaum One of the environmental impacts of land-use change (LUC) is a change in the net exchange of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O). Here we summarize findings based on a new global database containing data sets of changes in soil organic carbon stocks and soil CH 4 and N 2 O fluxes. We combine that with estimates of biomass carbon stock changes and enteric CH 4 emissions following LUC. Data were expressed in common units by converting net CH 4 and N 2 O fluxes to CO 2 equivalents (CO 2 eq) using established global warming potentials, and carbon-stock changes were converted to annual net fluxes by averaging stock changes over 100 yr. Conversion from natural forest to cropland resulted in the greatest increase in net GHG fluxes, while conversion of cropland to secondary forest resulted in the greatest reduction in net GHG emissions. Specifically, LUC from natural forest to crop and grasslands led to net fluxes of 6.2 ± 1.6 (Mean ± 95% confidence intervals) and 4.8 ± 1.6 t CO 2 eq ha −1 yr −1 to the atmosphere, respectively. Conversely, conversion from crop and grasslands to secondary forest reduced net emissions by 6.1 ± 4.1 and 3.9 ± 1.2 t CO 2 eq ha −1 yr −1 , respectively. Land-use change impacts were generally dominated by changes in biomass carbon. A retrospective analysis indicated that LUC from natural forests to agricultural lands contributed a cumulative 1326 ± 449 Gt CO 2 eq between 1765 and 2005, which is equivalent to average emissions of 5.5 ± 1.6 Gt CO 2 eq yr −1 . This study demonstrates how specific LUCs can positively or negatively affect net GHG fluxes to the atmosphere.

Description: High temperature decreases the PIC / POC ratio and increases phosphorus requirements in Coccolithus pelagicus (Haptophyta) Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 1021-1051, 2014 Author(s): A. C. Gerecht, L. Šupraha, B. Edvardsen, I. Probert, and J. Henderiks Rising ocean temperatures will likely increase stratification of the water column and reduce nutrient input into the photic zone. This will increase the likelihood of nutrient limitation in marine microalgae, leading to changes in the abundance and composition of phytoplankton communities, which in turn will affect global biogeochemical cycles. Calcifying algae, such as coccolithophores, influence the carbon cycle by fixing CO 2 into particulate organic carbon (POC) through photosynthesis and into particulate inorganic carbon (PIC) through calcification. As calcification produces a net release of CO 2 , the ratio of PIC / POC determines whether coccolithophores act as a source (PIC / POC 〉 1) or a sink (PIC / POC 〈 1) of atmospheric CO 2 . We studied the effect of phosphorus (P-) limitation and temperature stress on the physiology and PIC / POC ratios of two subspecies of Coccolithus pelagicus . This large and heavily calcified species (PIC / POC generally 〉 1.5) is a major contributor to calcite export from the photic zone into deep-sea reservoirs. Phosphorus limitation did not influence exponential growth rates in either subspecies, but P-limited cells had significantly lower cellular P-content. A 5 °C temperature increase did not affect exponential growth rates either, but nearly doubled cellular P-content under both high and low phosphate availability. The PIC / POC ratios did not differ between P-limited and nutrient-replete cultures, but at elevated temperature (from 10 to 15 °C) PIC / POC ratios decreased by 40–60%. Our results suggest that elevated temperature may intensify P-limitation due to a higher P-requirement to maintain growth and POC production rates, possibly reducing abundances in a warmer ocean. Under such a scenario C. pelagicus may decrease its calcification rate relative to photosynthesis, resulting in PIC / POC ratios 〈 1 and favouring CO 2 -sequestration over release. Phosphorus limitation by itself is unlikely to cause changes in the PIC / POC ratio in this species.

Description: Integrating microbial physiology and physiochemical principles in soils with the MIcrobial-MIneral Carbon Stabilization (MIMICS) model Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 1147-1185, 2014 Author(s): W. R. Wieder, A. S. Grandy, C. M. Kallenbach, and G. B. Bonan Previous modeling efforts document divergent responses of microbial explicit soil biogeochemistry models when compared to traditional models that implicitly simulate microbial activity, particularly following environmental perturbations. However, microbial models are needed that capture current soil biogeochemical theories emphasizing the relationships between litter quality, functional differences in microbial physiology, and the physical protection of microbial byproducts in forming stable soil organic matter (SOM). To address these limitations we introduce the MIcrobial-MIneral Carbon Stabilization (MIMICS) model. In MIMICS, the turnover of litter and SOM pools are governed by temperature sensitive Michaelis–Menten kinetics and the activity of two physiologically distinct microbial functional types. The production of microbial residues through microbial turnover provides inputs to SOM pools that are considered physically or chemically protected. Soil clay content determines the physical protection of SOM in different soil environments. MIMICS adequately simulates the mean rate of leaf litter decomposition observed at a temperate and boreal forest sites, and captures observed effects of litter quality on decomposition rates. Initial results from MIMICS suggest that soil C storage can be maximized in sandy soils with low-quality litter inputs, whereas high-quality litter inputs may maximize SOM accumulation in finely textured soils that physically stabilize microbial products. Assumptions in MIMICS about the degree to which microbial functional types differ in the production, turnover, and stabilization of microbial residues provides a~mechanism by which microbial communities may influence SOM dynamics in mineral soils. Although further analyses are needed to validate model results, MIMICS allows us to begin exploring theoretical interactions between substrate quality, microbial community abundance, and the formation of stable SOM.

Description: Review Article: Structural flood-protection measures referring to several European case studies Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 135-142, 2014 Author(s): A. Kryžanowski, M. Brilly, S. Rusjan, and S. Schnabl The paper presents a review of structural measures that were taken to cope with floods in some cities along the Danube River, such as Vienna, Bratislava, and Belgrade. These cities were also considered as case studies within the KULTURisk project. The structural measures are reviewed and compared to each other according to the type, duration of application, the return period of the design flood event, how the project measures are integrated into spatial planning and the problems that occur in the flood defences today. Based on this review, some suggestions are given on how to improve the flood risk management in flood-prone areas.

Description: Modeling volcanic ash resuspension – application to the 14–18 October 2011 outbreak episode in central Patagonia, Argentina Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 119-133, 2014 Author(s): A. Folch, L. Mingari, M. S. Osores, and E. Collini Volcanic fallout deposits from the June 2011 Cordón Caulle eruption on central Patagonia were remobilized in several occasions months after their emplacement. In particular, during 14–18 October 2011, an intense outbreak episode generated widespread volcanic clouds that were dispersed across Argentina, causing multiple impacts in the environment, affecting the air quality and disrupting airports. Fine ash particles in volcanic fallout deposits can be resuspended under favorable meteorological conditions, particularly during strong wind episodes in arid environments with low soil moisture and poor vegetation coverage. As opposed to eruption-formed ash clouds, modeling of resuspension-formed ash clouds has received little attention. In consequence, there are no emission schemes specially developed and calibrated for resuspended volcanic ash, and few operational products exists to model and forecast the formation and dispersal of resuspension ash clouds. Here we implement three dust emission schemes of increasing complexity in the FALL3D tephra dispersal model and use the 14–18 October 2011 outbreak episode as a model test case. We calibrate the emission schemes and validate the results of the coupled WRF–ARW (Weather Research and Forecasting – Advanced Research WRF)/FALL3D modeling system using satellite imagery and measurements of visibility (a quantity related to total suspended particle concentration at the surface) and particulate matter (PM 10 ) concentration at several meteorological and air quality stations located at Argentina and Uruguay. Our final goal is to test the capability of the modeling system to become, in the near future, an operational forecast product for volcanic ash resuspension events.

Description: Resource utilization and trophic position of nematodes and harpacticoid copepods in and adjacent to Zostera noltii beds Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 1277-1308, 2014 Author(s): A.-M. Vafeiadou, P. Materatski, H. Adão, M. De Troch, and T. Moens This study examines the resource use and trophic position of nematodes and harpacticoid copepods at the genus/species level in an estuarine food web in Zostera noltii beds and in adjacent bare sediments, using the natural abundance of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes. Microphytobenthos is among the main resources of most taxa, but seagrass-associated resources (i.e. seagrass detritus and epiphytes) also contribute to meiobenthos nutrition, with seagrass detritus being available also in deeper sediments and in unvegetated patches close to seagrass beds. A predominant dependence on chemoautotrophic bacteria was demonstrated for the nematode genus Terschellingia and the copepod family Cletodidae. A predatory feeding mode is illustrated for Paracomesoma and other Comesomatidae, which were previously considered first-level consumers (deposit feeders) according to their buccal morphology. The considerable variation found in both resource use and trophic level among nematode genera from the same feeding type, and even among congeneric nematode species, shows that interpretation of nematode feeding ecology based purely on mouth morphology should be avoided.

Description: Seasonal contribution of terrestrial organic matter and biological oxygen demand to the Baltic Sea from three contrasting river catchments Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 1355-1382, 2014 Author(s): H. E. Reader, C. A. Stedmon, and E. S. Kritzberg To examine the potential influence of terrestrially derived DOM on the Baltic Sea, a year-long study of dissolved organic matter (DOM) was performed in three river catchments in Sweden. One catchment drains into the Bothnian Sea, while two southern catchments drain into the Baltic Proper. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations were positively correlated with discharge from forested catchments over the year and while the overall concentrations of DOC were several times higher in the southern two catchments, annual loading of DOC was on the same order for all three catchments, due to differences in discharge. Biological oxygen demand (BOD) was used as a proxy for the lability of carbon in the system. The range of BOD values was similar for all three catchments, however, the ratio of BOD to DOC (an indication of the labile fraction) in Ume älv was four times higher than in the southern two catchments. Total annual BOD loading to the Baltic Sea was twice as high in the northern catchment. Lower winter temperatures and preservation of organic matter in the northern catchment combined with an intense spring flood help to explain the higher concentrations of labile carbon in the northern catchment. Lower lability of DOM as well as higher colour in the southern catchments suggest that wetlands (i.e. peat bogs) may be the dominant source of DOM in these catchments, particularly in periods of low flow. With climate change expected to increase precipitation events and temperatures across the region, the supply and quality of DOM delivered to the Baltic Sea can also be expected to change. Our results indicate that DOM supply will be more stable throughout the year, and potentially have a lower bioavailability.

Description: Responses of nitrous oxide emissions to nitrogen and phosphorus additions in two tropical plantations with N-fixing vs. non-N-fixing tree species Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 1413-1442, 2014 Author(s): W. Zhang, X. Zhu, Y. Luo, R. Rafique, H. Chen, J. Huang, and J. Mo Leguminous tree plantations at phosphorus (P) limited sites may result in higher rates of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions, however, the effects of nitrogen (N) and P applications on soil N 2 O emissions from plantations with N-fixing vs. non-N-fixing tree species has rarely been studied in the field. We conducted an experimental manipulation of N and P additions in two tropical plantations with Acacia auriculiformis ( AA ) and Eucalyptus urophylla ( EU ) tree species in South China. The objective was to determine the effects of N- or P-addition alone, as well as NP application together on soil N 2 O emissions from tropical plantations with N-fixing vs. non-N-fixing tree species. We found that the average N 2 O emission from control was greater in AA (2.26 ± 0.06 kg N 2 O-N ha −1 yr −1 ) than in EU plantation (1.87 ± 0.05 kg N 2 O-N ha −1 yr −1 ). For the AA plantation, N-addition stimulated the N 2 O emission from soil while P-addition did not. Applications of N with P together significantly decreased N 2 O emission compared to N-addition alone, especially in high level treatment plots (decreased by 18%). In the EU plantation, N 2 O emissions significantly decreased in P-addition plots compared with the controls, however, N- and NP-additions did not. The differing response of N 2 O emissions to N- or P-addition was attributed to the higher initial soil N status in the AA than that of the EU plantation, due to symbiotic N fixation in the former. Our results suggest that atmospheric N deposition potentially stimulates N 2 O emissions from leguminous tree plantations in the tropics, whereas P fertilization has the potential to mitigate N deposition-induced N 2 O emissions from such plantations.

Description: An ensemble approach to simulate CO 2 emissions from natural fires Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 1443-1478, 2014 Author(s): A. V. Eliseev, I. I. Mokhov, and A. V. Chernokulsky This paper presents ensemble simulations with the global climate model developed at the A. M. Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences (IAP RAS CM). These simulations were forced by historical reconstruction of external forcings for 850–2005 AD and by the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) scenarios till year 2300. Different ensemble members were constructed by varying the governing parameters of the IAP RAS CM module to simulate natural fires. These members are constrained by the GFED–3.1 observational data set and further subjected to Bayesian averaging. This approach allows to select only changes in fire characteristics which are robust within the constrained ensemble. In our simulations, the present-day (1998–2011 AD) global area burnt due to natural fires is (2.1 ± 0.4) × 10 6 km 2 yr −1 (ensemble means and intra-ensemble standard deviations are presented), and the respective CO 2 emissions in the atmosphere are (1.4 ± 0.2) PgC yr −1 . The latter value is in agreement with the corresponding observational estimates. Regionally, the model underestimates CO 2 emissions in the tropics; in the extra-tropics, it underestimates these emissions in north-east Eurasia and overestimates them in Europe. In the 21st century, the ensemble mean global burnt area is increased by 13% (28%, 36%, 51%) under scenario RCP 2.6 (RCP 4.5, RCP 6.0, RCP 8.5). The corresponding global emissions increase is 14% (29%, 37%, 42%). In the 22nd–23rd centuries, under the mitigation scenario RCP 2.6 the ensemble mean global burnt area and respective CO 2 emissions slightly decrease, both by 5% relative to their values in year 2100. Under other RCP scenarios, these variables continue to increase. Under scenario RCP 8.5 (RCP 6.0, RCP 4.5) the ensemble mean burnt area in year 2300 is higher by 83% (44%, 15%) than its value in year 2100, and the ensemble mean CO 2 emissions are correspondingly higher by 31% (19%, 9%). All changes of natural fire characteristics in the 21st–23rd centuries are associated mostly with the corresponding changes in boreal regions of Eurasia and North America. However, under the RCP 8.5 scenario, increase of the burnt area and CO 2 emissions in boreal regions during the 22nd–23rd centuries are accompanied by the respective decreases in the tropics and subtropics.

Description: Perspectives of the microbial carbon pump with special references to microbial respiration and ecological efficiency Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 1479-1533, 2014 Author(s): H. Dang and N. Jiao Although respiration consumes fixed carbon and produce CO 2 , it provides energy for essential biological processes of an ecosystem, including the microbial carbon pump (MCP). In MCP-driving biotransformation of labile DOC to recalcitrant DOC (RDOC), microbial respiration provides the metabolic energy for environmental organic substrate sensing, cellular enzyme syntheses and catalytic processes such as uptake, secretion, modification, fixation and storage of carbon compounds. The MCP efficiency of a heterotrophic microorganism is thus related to its energy production efficiency and hence to its respiration efficiency. Anaerobically respiring microbes usually have lower energy production efficiency and lower energy-dependent carbon transformation efficiency, and consequently lower MCP efficiency at per cell level. This effect is masked by the phenomena that anoxic environments often store more organic matter. Here we point out that organic carbon preservation and RDOC production is different in mechanisms, and anaerobically respiring ecosystems could also have lower MCP ecological efficiency. Typical cases can be found in large river estuarine ecosystems. Due to strong terrigenous input of nutrients and organic matter, estuarine ecosystems usually experience intense heterotrophic respiration processes that rapidly consume dissolved oxygen, potentially producing hypoxic and anoxic zones in the water column. The lowered availability of dissolved oxygen and the excessive supply of nutrients such as nitrate from river input prompt enhanced anaerobic respiration processes. Thus, some nutrients may be consumed by anaerobically respiring heterotrophic microorganisms, instead of being utilized by phytoplankton for carbon fixation and primary production. In this situation, the ecological functioning of the estuarine ecosystem is altered and the ecological efficiency is lowered, as less carbon is fixed and less energy is produced. Ultimately this would have negatively impacts on the ecological functioning and efficiency of the MCP which depends on both organic carbon and energy supply.

Description: Annual CO 2 budget and seasonal CO 2 exchange signals at a High Arctic permafrost site on Spitsbergen, Svalbard archipelago Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 1535-1559, 2014 Author(s): J. Lüers, S. Westermann, K. Piel, and J. Boike The annual variability of CO 2 exchange in most ecosystems is primarily driven by the activities of plants and soil microorganisms. However, little is known about the carbon balance and its controlling factors outside the growing season in arctic regions dominated by soil freeze/thaw-processes, long-lasting snow cover, and several months of darkness. This study presents a complete annual cycle of the CO 2 net ecosystem exchange (NEE) dynamics for a High Arctic tundra area on the west coast of Svalbard based on eddy-covariance flux measurements. The annual cumulative CO 2 budget is close to zero grams carbon per square meter per year, but shows a very strong seasonal variability. Four major CO 2 exchange seasons have been identified. (1) During summer (ground snow-free), the CO 2 exchange occurs mainly as a result of biological activity, with a predominance of strong CO 2 assimilation by the ecosystem. (2) The autumn (ground snow-free or partly snow-covered) is dominated by CO 2 respiration as a result of biological activity. (3) In winter and spring (ground snow-covered), low but persistent CO 2 release occur, overlain by considerable CO 2 exchange events in both directions associated with changes of air masses and air and atmospheric CO 2 pressure. (4) The snow melt season (pattern of snow-free and snow-covered areas), where both, meteorological and biological forcing, resulting in a visible carbon uptake by the high arctic ecosystem. Data related to this article are archived under: http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.809507 .

Description: Sensitivity and evaluation of current fire risk and future projections due to climate change: the case study of Greece Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 143-153, 2014 Author(s): A. Karali, M. Hatzaki, C. Giannakopoulos, A. Roussos, G. Xanthopoulos, and V. Tenentes Current trends in the Mediterranean climate, and more specifically in Greece, indicate longer and more intense summer droughts that even extend out of season. In connection to this, the frequency of forest fire occurrence and intensity is on the rise. In the present study, the Canadian Fire Weather Index (FWI) is used in order to investigate the relationship between fire risk and meteorological conditions in Greece. FWI is a meteorologically based index designed in Canada and used worldwide, including the Mediterranean Basin, to estimate fire danger in a generalised fuel type based solely on weather observations. Here, an evaluation of the index is initially performed for the Greek territory using fire observations that cover a 15 yr period. Three critical fire risk threshold values are established for the area of Greece based on daily mean meteorological data: FWI = 15, FWI = 30 and FWI = 45, increasing from the northwest to the southeast. Subsequently, a regional climate model is employed providing input for the FWI system to investigate the impacts of climate change on fire risk for two future time periods, 2021–2050 and 2071–2100, under the A1B emissions scenario. Days with critical fire risk are expected to increase by as many as 50 days per year by the end of the century.

Description: Spatio-temporal variability of soil respiration in a spruce-dominated headwater catchment in western Germany Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 691-728, 2014 Author(s): A. Y. Bossa and B. Diekkrüger CO 2 production and transport from forest floors is an important component of the carbon cycle and is closely related to the global atmosphere CO 2 concentration. If we are to understand the feedback between soil processes and atmospheric CO 2 , we need to know more about the spatio-temporal variability of this soil respiration under different environmental conditions. In this study, long-term measurements were conducted in a spruce-dominated forest ecosystem in western Germany. Multivariate analysis-based similarities between different measurements sites led to the detection of site clusters along two CO 2 emission axes: (1) mainly controlled by soil temperature and moisture condition, and (2) mainly controlled by root biomass and the forest floor litter. The combined effects of soil temperature and soil moisture were used as a time-dependent rating factor affecting the optimal CO 2 production and transport at cluster level. High/moderate/weak time-dependent rating factors were associated with the different clusters. The process-based most distant clusters were identified using specified pattern characteristics: the reaction rates in the soil layers, the activation energy for bio-chemical reactions, the water sorption and desorption constant, the root biomass factor, the litter layer factor and the organic matter factor. A HYDRUS-1D model system was inversely used to compute soil hydraulic parameters from soil moisture measurements. Heat transport parameters were adjusted based on observed soil temperatures. The results were used to adjust CO 2 production and transport characteristics such as the molecular diffusion coefficient of carbon dioxide in air and water and the CO 2 production by soil microorganisms and plant roots under optimal conditions for each cluster. Although the uncertainty associated with the HYDRUS-1-D simulations is higher, the results were consistent with both the multivariate clustering and the time-dependent rating of site production/transport. Finally, four clusters with significantly different environmental conditions (i.e., permanent high soil moisture condition, accumulated litter amount, high variability in soil moisture content, dominant temperature-dependence) were found relevant in explaining the spatio-temporal variability of CO 2 efflux and providing reference specific characteristic values for the investigated area.

Description: Magnetic quantification of Fe and S bound as magnetosomal greigite in laminated sapropels in deeper basins of the Baltic Sea Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 729-752, 2014 Author(s): M. Reinholdsson and I. Snowball Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) biomineralize magnetite and/or greigite for navigation purposes and it have been suggested that their magnetosomes make a significant contribution to the burial of Fe (and S and O) in sedimentary environments. To test this hypothesis and improve our understanding of MTBs impact on the rate of burial of these two elements we have quantified the abundance of Fe and S bound as greigite magnetofossils in laminated Baltic Sea sapropels, which were formed during periods of hypoxia and anoxia, using mineral magnetic measurements. Fluxes of Fe and S in the form of preserved greigite magnetofossils were calculated for three sedimentary sequences. The magnetosomal Fe (and S) fluxes range between 0.19 and 1.46 × 10 −6 g cm −2 yr −1 (0.15 and 1.12 × 10 −6 g cm −2 yr −1 ), and varied in time and space. The contribution of magnetosomal Fe to total Fe fluxes is relatively low, 〈 0.2%, although its contribution can be important in other stratified waters that suffer from hypoxia/anoxia. We show that the magnetosomal fluxes of Fe in the Baltic Sea are, however, similar to fluxes of Fe derived from mineral magnetic studies of magnetite magnetosomes in organic rich, varved freshwater lake sediments in Sweden.

Description: Controls on pH in surface waters of northwestern European shelf seas Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 943-974, 2014 Author(s): V. M. C. Rérolle, M. Ribas-Ribas, V. Kitidis, I. Brown, D. C. E. Bakker, G. A. Lee, T. Shi, M. C. Mowlem, and E. P. Achterberg We present here a high resolution surface water pH dataset obtained in the Northwest European shelf seas in summer 2011. This is the first time that pH has been measured at such a high spatial resolution (10 measurements h –1 ) in this region. The aim of our paper is to investigate the carbonate chemistry dynamics of the surface water using pH and ancillary data. The main processes controlling the pH distribution along the ship's transect, and their relative importance, were determined using a statistical approach. The study highlights the impact of biological activity, temperature and riverine inputs on the carbonate chemistry dynamics of the shelf seas surface water. For this summer cruise, the biological activity formed the main control of the pH distribution along the cruise transect. Variations in chlorophyll and nutrients explained 29% of the pH variance along the full transect and as much as 68% in the northern part of the transect. In contrast, the temperature distribution explained ca. 50% of the pH variation in the Skagerrak region. Riverine inputs were evidenced by high dissolved organic carbon (DOC) levels in the Strait of Moyle (northern Irish Sea) and the southern North Sea with consequent remineralisation processes and a reduction in pH. The DOC distribution described 15% of the pH variance along the full transect. This study highlights the high spatial variability of the surface water pH in shelf seawaters where a range of processes simultaneously impacts the carbonate chemistry.

Description: Characterisation of NO production and consumption: new insights by an improved laboratory dynamic chamber technique Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 1187-1275, 2014 Author(s): T. Behrendt, P. R. Veres, F. Ashuri, G. Song, M. Flanz, B. Mamtimin, M. Bruse, J. Williams, and F. X. Meixner Biogenic NO x emissions from natural and anthropogenically influenced soils are currently estimated to amount to 9 Tg a −1 , hence a significant fraction of global NO x emissions (45 Tg a −1 ). During the last three decades, a large number of field measurements have been performed to quantify biogenic NO emissions. To study biogenic NO emissions as a function of soil moisture, soil temperature, and soil nutrients, several laboratory approaches have been developed to estimate local/regional NO emissions by suitable up-scaling. This study presents an improved and automated laboratory dynamic chamber system (consisting of six individual soil chambers) for investigation and quantification of all quantities necessary to characterize biogenic NO release from soil (i.e., net NO release rate, NO production and consumption rate, and respective Q 10 values). In contrast to former versions of the laboratory dynamic chamber system, the four experiments for complete characterization can now be performed on a single soil sample, whereas former studies had to be performed on four sub-samples. This study discovered that the sub-sample variability biased former measurements of net NO release rates tremendously. Furthermore, it was also shown that the previously reported variation of optimum soil moisture (i.e., where a maximum net NO release rate occurs) between individual sub-samples is most likely a methodical artefact of former versions of the laboratory dynamic chamber system. A comprehensive and detailed methodical concept description of the improved laboratory dynamic chamber system is provided. Response of all quantities (necessary to characterize net NO release) to soil temperature and NO mixing ratio of the flushing air-stream are determined by automatic monitoring of these variables during one single drying-out experiment with one single soil sample only. The method requires precise measurements of NO mixing ratio at the inlet and outlet of each soil chamber; finally, four pairs of inlet/outlet NO mixing ratios are sufficient to derive all necessary quantities. Soil samples from drylands exhibit particularly low NO production, but even lower NO consumption rates. However, with the improved laboratory dynamic chamber system those low levels can be quantified, as well as corresponding NO compensation point mixing ratios and respective Q 10 values. It could be shown, that the NO compensation point mixing ratio seems to be generally independent of gravimetric soil moisture content, but, particularly for dryland soils, strongly dependent on soil temperature. New facilities have been included into the improved system (e.g. for investigation of net release rates of other trace gases, namely CO 2 and VOCs). First results are shown for net release rates of acetone (C 3 H 6 O), acetaldehyde (C 2 H 4 O) and CO 2 . This new system is thus able to simultaneously investigate potential mechanistic links between NO, multitudinous VOC and CO 2 .

Description: Degradation changes stable carbon isotope depth profiles in palsa peatlands Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 1383-1412, 2014 Author(s): J. P. Krüger, J. Leifeld, and C. Alewell Palsa peatlands are a significant carbon pool in the global carbon cycle and are projected to change by global warming due to accelerated permafrost thaw. Our aim was to use stable carbon isotopes as indicators of palsa degradation. Depth profiles of stable carbon isotopes generally reflect organic matter dynamics in soils with an increase of δ 13 C values during aerobic decomposition and stable or decreasing δ 13 C values with depth during anaerobic decomposition. Stable carbon isotope depth profiles of undisturbed and degraded sites of hummocks as well as hollows at three palsa peatlands in northern Sweden were used to investigate the degradation processes. The depth patterns of stable isotopes clearly differ between intact and degraded hummocks at all sites. Erosion and cryoturbation at the degraded sites significantly changes the stable carbon isotope depth profiles. At the intact hummocks the uplifting of peat material by permafrost is indicated by a turning in the δ 13 C depth trend and this assessment is supported by a change in the C / N ratios. For hollows isotope patterns were less clear, but some hollows and degraded hollows in the palsa peatlands show differences in their stable carbon isotope depth profiles indicating enhanced degradation rates. We conclude that the degradation of palsa peatlands by accelerated permafrost thawing could be identified with stable carbon isotope depth profiles. At intact hummocks δ 13 C depth patterns display the uplifting of peat material by a change in peat decomposition processes.

Description: Vapor pressure deficit controls on fire ignition and fire spread in boreal forest ecosystems Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 1309-1353, 2014 Author(s): F. Sedano and J. T. Randerson Climate-driven changes in the fire regime within boreal forest ecosystems are likely to have important effects on carbon cycling and species composition. In the context of improving fire management options and developing more realistic scenarios of future change, it is important to understand how meteorology regulates different fire processes, including ignition, daily fire spread rates, and cumulative annual burned area. Here we combined MODIS active fires (MCD14ML), MODIS imagery (MOD13A1) and ancillary historic fire perimeter information to produce a dataset of daily fire spread maps of Alaska for the period 2002–2011. This approach provided a spatial and temporally continuous representation of fire progression and a precise identification of ignition and extinction locations and dates for each wildfire. The fire-spread maps were analyzed together with daily vapor pressure deficit (VPD) observations from the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) and lightning strikes from the Alaska Lightning Detection Network (ALDN). We found a significant relationship between daily VPD and probability that a lightning strike would develop into a fire ignition. In the first 5 days after ignition, above average VPD increased the probability that fires would grow to large or very large sizes. Strong relationships also were identified between VPD and burned area at several levels of temporal and spatial aggregation. As a consequence of regional coherence in meteorology, ignition, daily fire spread rates, and fire extinction events were often synchronized across different fires in interior Alaska. At a regional scale, the sum of positive VPD anomalies during the fire season was positively correlated with annual burned area during the NARR era (1979–2011; R 2 = 0.45). Some of the largest fires we mapped had slow initial growth, indicating opportunities may exist for suppression efforts to adaptively manage these forests for climate change. The results of our spatiotemporal analysis provide new information about temporal and spatial dynamics of wildfires and have implications for modeling the terrestrial carbon cycle.

Description: The influence of the geo-morphological and sedimentological settings on the distribution of epibenthic assemblages on a flat topped hill on the over-deepened shelf of the Western Weddell Sea Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 1631-1672, 2014 Author(s): B. Dorschel, J. Gutt, D. Piepenburg, M. Schröder, and J.-E. Arndt Epibenthos communities play an important role in the marine ecosystems of the Weddell Sea. Information on the factors controlling their structure and distribution are, however, still rare. Especially the interactions between environmental factors and biotic assemblages are not fully understood. Nachtigaller Hill, a newly discovered seabed structure on the over-deepened shelf of the Northwest Weddell Sea (Southern Ocean), offers a unique site to study these interactions in a high-latitude Antarctic setting. Based on high-resolution bathymetry, geo-referenced biological data, the effect of the terrain and related environmental parameters on the epibenthos was assessed. At Nachtigaller Hill, both geo-morphological and biological data showed complex distribution patterns, reflecting local processes such as iceberg scouring and locally amplified bottom currents. This variability is also generally reflected in the variable epibenthos distribution patterns although statistical analyses did not show strong correlations between the selected environmental parameters and species abundances. By analysing the interactions between environmental and biological patterns, this study provides crucial information towards a better understanding of the factors and processes that drive epibenthos communities on the shelves of the Weddell Sea and probably also on other Antarctic shelves.

Description: Future climate variability impacts on potential erosion and soil organic carbon in European croplands Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 1561-1585, 2014 Author(s): M. van der Velde, J. Balkovič, C. Beer, N. Khabarov, M. Kuhnert, M. Obersteiner, R. Skalský, W. Xiong, and P. Smith We investigate the impact of future climate variability on the potential vulnerability of soils to erosion and the consequences for soil organic carbon (SOC) in European croplands. Soil erosion is an important carbon flux not characterized in Earth System Models. We use a~European implementation of EPIC, driven by reference climate data (CNTRL), and climate data with reduced variability (REDVAR). Whether erosion regimes will change across European cropland depends on the spatial conjunction of expected changes in climate variability and physiographic conditions conducive to erosion. We isolated the effect of erosion by performing simulations with and without erosion. Median CNTRL and REDVAR erosion rates equalled 14.4 and 9.1 ton ha −1 , and 19.1 and 9.7, for 1981–2010 and 2071–2100, respectively. The total amount of carbon lost from European cropland due to erosion was estimated at 769 Tg C for 1981–2010 (from a total storage of 6197 Tg C without erosion) under CNTRL climate. Climate trend impacts reduce the European cropland SOC stock by 578 Tg C without – and by 683 Tg C with erosion, from 1981 to 2100. Climate variability compounds these impacts and decreases the stock by an estimated 170 Tg without erosion and by 314 Tg C with erosion, by the end of the century. Future climate variability and erosion will thus compound impacts on SOC stocks arising from gradual climate change alone.

Description: Fluctuations of sulfate, S-bearing amino acids and magnesium in a giant clam shell Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 1613-1629, 2014 Author(s): T. Yoshimura, Y. Tamenori, H. Kawahata, and A. Suzuki We used micro-X-ray fluorescence combined with X-ray photoabsorption spectroscopy to investigate speciation-specific sulfur profiles in the inner shell layer of a giant clam ( Hippopus hippopus ). The sulfate, S-bearing amino acids, and total sulfur profiles indicated that inorganic sulfate was the dominant component in the shell of this bivalve. Sulfur profiles in the inner shell layer showed clear annual fluctuations that varied by more than one order of magnitude, from 〈 50 to 1420 ppm, and sulfate and total sulfur maxima became higher with age, whereas no ontogenetic trend was noticeable in the profile of S-bearing amino acids. A changes in the carbonate ion concentration in the calcifying fluid would suggest that an ontogenetic increase in the relative activity of sulfate ions to carbonate ions in the calcifying fluid affects sulfate concentrations in the shells. These results suggest that trace sulfur profiles in the shell of the giant clam may reflect both cyclic shell growth related to environmental factors such as insolation and temperature and ontogenetic changes of the calcifying fluid chemistry mediated by physiological processes. The observed S profile implies a clear change in calcifying fluid chemistry towards less alkaline condition with age. Magnesium fluctuations suggested that Mg was incorporated into the shells at high growth rates during warm seasons. The spectrum of Mg K -edge XANES and comparison of Mg and S-bearing amino acids profiles indicated that a pronounced effect of the organic fraction or disordered phases were observed in aragonitic shell of H. hippopus rather than regulated substitution into the aragonite crystal lattice.

Description: CO 2 and CH 4 in sea ice from a subarctic fjord Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 4047-4083, 2014 Author(s): O. Crabeck, B. Delille, D. N. Thomas, N. X. Geilfus, S. Rysgaard, and J. L. Tison We present CH 4 concentration [CH 4 ] and the partial pressure of CO 2 ( p CO 2 ) in bulk sea ice from subarctic, land-fast sea ice in the Kapisillit fjord, Greenland. The bulk ice [CH 4 ] ranged from 1.8 to 12.1 nmol L −1 , which corresponds to a partial pressure range of 3 to 28 ppmv. This is markedly higher than the average atmospheric methane content of 1.9 ppmv. Most of the trapped methane within the sea ice was evidently contained inside bubbles, and only a minor portion was dissolved in the brine. The bulk ice p CO 2 ranged from 60 to 330 ppmv showing that sea ice at temperatures above −4 °C is under-saturated compared to the atmosphere (390 ppmv). Our study adds to the few existing studies of CH 4 and CO 2 in sea ice and concludes that sub-arctic sea can be a sink for atmospheric CO 2 , while being a net source of CH 4 . Processes related to the freezing and melting of sea ice represents large unknowns to the exchange of CO 2 but also CH 4 . It is therefore imperative to assess the consequences of these unknowns through further field campaigns and targeted research under other sea ice conditions at both hemispheres.

Description: Assessment methodology for the prediction of landslide dam hazard Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 557-567, 2014 Author(s): S. F. Dal Sasso, A. Sole, S. Pascale, F. Sdao, A. Bateman Pinzòn, and V. Medina This paper represents a contribution to the study of hazard caused by the interaction between landslides and river courses. The effects of such interferences are often catastrophic and could include the formation of upstream lakes, potential dam failure, river bed dynamics and morphological alterations. These scenarios could be substantially reduced if it was possible to predict the eventuality that a moving landslide would block the river. This is a complex topic because it involves composite geomorphic phenomena concerning both hillslope and river systems and their interpretation, through model approaches, is still under development and testing. In this study, a methodology developed in the framework of European Research Project IMPRINTS (FP7) was adopted and integrated in order to identify the areas of triggering and propagation of landslides and to characterize the possible scenarios of the interaction with river networks. Different deterministic and probabilistic approaches, calibrated using a case test in the middle valley of the Noce River in Basilicata (Italy), were applied and compared at basin scale.

Description: Landslide and slope stability evaluation in the historical town of Kruja, Albania Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 545-556, 2014 Author(s): Y. Muceku and O. Korini This paper describes landslides and slope stability evaluation in the urban area of Kruja, Albania. Kruja is a historical and heritage center, due to the existence of many important cultural monuments, including "Skanderbeg" castle and Bazaar square, etc. The urban area of Kruja has been affected by landslide effects, in the past and also the present. From this phenomenon many engineering objects such as buildings, roads, etc., are damaged and demolished. From engineering geological mapping at scale 1:5000 it is observed that many active landslides have dramatically increased in activity since the 1980s. The landslide types found in the studied area are earthslides, debris flow, as well as rockfall and rock rolling. Also, from field works and laboratory analysis, the slope stability of the whole urban area has been determined; for this purpose the studied zone is divided into stable and unstable areas, which helps to better understand mass movement activity as one of the most harmful hazards of geodynamic phenomena.

Description: Results of the post flash-flood disaster investigations in the Transylvanian Depression (Romania) during the last decade (2001–2010) Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 535-544, 2014 Author(s): V. Arghiuş, A. Ozunu, I. Samara, and G. Roşian Flash-flood disasters are very rare in the Transylvanian Depression. In the last decades just three events were signalled in the study area, all of them during the last 10 years. The flash floods occurring in the study area during the last decade had a significant impact on several localities situated at the Transylvanian Depression border. Based on the post flash-flood investigation, the present study intends to find out the main characteristics of the flash floods and the causes that have led to disasters in a region rarely affected by such kinds of events. Analyzing the hydrological data, it has been seen that the maximum intensity of the flash floods was observed in the upper and middle basins. By comparing the unit peak discharges from the studied region with other specific peak discharges related to the significant flash floods from Romania, it was noticed that the events from the Transylvanian Depression have moderate to low intensity. On the other hand, the results showed that besides high stream power and unexpected character common to flash floods, the inappropriate flood risk management measures increased the dimension of the negative effects, leading to tens of lives lost and economical damages of tens of millions of dollars.

Description: Application of GA–SVM method with parameter optimization for landslide development prediction Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 525-533, 2014 Author(s): X. Z. Li and J. M. Kong Prediction of the landslide development process is always a hot issue in landslide research. So far, many methods for landslide displacement series prediction have been proposed. The support vector machine (SVM) has been proved to be a novel algorithm with good performance. However, the performance strongly depends on the right selection of the parameters ( C and γ) of the SVM model. In this study, we present an application of genetic algorithm and support vector machine (GA–SVM) method with parameter optimization in landslide displacement rate prediction. We selected a typical large-scale landslide in a hydro-electrical engineering area of southwest China as a case. On the basis of analyzing the basic characteristics and monitoring data of the landslide, a single-factor GA–SVM model and a multi-factor GA–SVM model of the landslide were built. Moreover, the models were compared with single-factor and multi-factor SVM models of the landslide. The results show that the four models have high prediction accuracies, but the accuracies of GA–SVM models are slightly higher than those of SVM models, and the accuracies of multi-factor models are slightly higher than those of single-factor models for the landslide prediction. The accuracy of the multi-factor GA–SVM models is the highest, with the smallest root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.0009 and the highest relation index (RI) of 0.9992.

Description: The anomalous low and high temperatures of 2012 over Greece – an explanation from a meteorological and climatological perspective Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 501-507, 2014 Author(s): K. Tolika, P. Maheras, I. Pytharoulis, and C. Anagnostopoulou 2012 was the hottest year in Greece on the basis of the available record dating back to 1958, displaying at the same time the widest annual temperature range. During the summer and autumn months, numerous regions in the domain of study experienced record-breaking maximum and minimum temperatures. Conversely, the winter period was particularly cold and January one of the coldest months over the last 55 yr. The analysis of the cold period indicates that the synoptic conditions resemble the positive phase of the Eastern Mediterranean Pattern (EMP). The predominance of these cool conditions seems to be related primarily to an intense NNW or NNE atmospheric circulation, as a consequence of the positive EMP phase. Moreover, the reduction in the floating sea ice emerges as a key driver of the formation of a low-pressure pattern and the reinforcement of the trough south of Scandinavia, which in turn strengthened the Siberia High east of the trough. This reinforcement resulted in a blocking pattern and in favorable conditions for the EMP formation. The atmospheric circulation during the prolonged high-temperature period resembles, respectively, the negative phase of North Sea–Caspian Pattern teleconnection. The observed positive pole, in conjunction with the strong southwestern circulation, results in temperature increases and in the development of a smooth pressure field that contributes to the weakening of the Etesian winds and therefore to calm conditions over the continental areas.

Description: Evaluation of wildland fire smoke plume dynamics and aerosol load using UV scanning lidar and fire–atmosphere modelling during the Mediterranean Letia 2010 experiment Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 509-523, 2014 Author(s): V. Leroy-Cancellieri, P. Augustin, J. B. Filippi, C. Mari, M. Fourmentin, F. Bosseur, F. Morandini, and H. Delbarre Vegetation fires emit large amount of gases and aerosols which are detrimental to human health. Smoke exposure near and downwind of fires depends on the fire propagation, the atmospheric circulations and the burnt vegetation. A better knowledge of the interaction between wildfire and atmosphere is a primary requirement to investigate fire smoke and particle transport. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the usefulness of an UV scanning lidar to characterise the fire smoke plume and consequently validate fire–atmosphere model simulations. An instrumented burn was conducted in a Mediterranean area typical of ones frequently subject to wildfire with low dense shrubs. Using lidar measurements positioned near the experimental site, fire smoke plume was thoroughly characterised by its optical properties, edge and dynamics. These parameters were obtained by combining methods based on lidar inversion technique, wavelet edge detection and a backscatter barycentre technique. The smoke plume displacement was determined using a digital video camera coupled with the lidar. The simulation was performed using a mesoscale atmospheric model in a large eddy simulation configuration (Meso-NH) coupled to a fire propagation physical model (ForeFire), taking into account the effect of wind, slope and fuel properties. A passive numerical scalar tracer was injected in the model at fire location to mimic the smoke plume. The simulated fire smoke plume width remained within the edge smoke plume obtained from lidar measurements. The maximum smoke injection derived from lidar backscatter coefficients and the simulated passive tracer was around 200 m. The vertical position of the simulated plume barycentre was systematically below the barycentre derived from the lidar backscatter coefficients due to the oversimplified properties of the passive tracer compared to real aerosol particles. Simulated speed and horizontal location of the plume compared well with the observations derived from the videography and lidar method, suggesting that fire convection and advection were correctly taken into account.

Description: A model-based study of the wind regime over the Corinthian Gulf Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 459-472, 2014 Author(s): I. Koletsis, V. Kotroni, and K. Lagouvardos The Corinthian Gulf is a narrow sea-level passage surrounded by a steep complex topography that consists of high mountains as well as elevated and sea-level gaps and straits. The complex terrain is expected to affect the wind flow in the area that often experiences high winds, with important consequences on the commercial and recreational activities over the gulf's maritime area. For that reason, a model-based study of the wind regime over the Corinthian Gulf has been created, as observational data over the area are recent and spatially sparse. Analysis of 5 yr of data from the fifth-generation Penn State/NCAR mesoscale model (MM5) model reveals that the wind regime of the gulf is greatly influenced by the topography. Easterly winds occur more frequently and are stronger in the maritime area in the western edge of the gulf, with a frequency of occurrence on the order of 70%. Moreover, the most intense wind events at this area occur during the winter season (December, January, and February). Finally the paper also provides a discussion on the synoptic patterns, which lead to the strongest wind events in the studied area.

Description: Event-adjusted evaluation of weather and climate extremes Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 473-483, 2014 Author(s): M. Müller and M. Kaspar After an overview of existing methods, we present a novel method of "event-adjusted" evaluation of extremeness of weather and climate events. It is based on optimization of both the considered area and the time duration for every event. The method consists of three steps: (i) estimation of return periods of a representative variable at individual sites, performed separately for various time windows; (ii) spatial interpolation of the point return period data; and (iii) searching the area and the time window in which the extremeness of the event was maximum. The extremeness is quantified as the common logarithm of the spatial geometric mean of the return periods multiplied by the radius of a circle of the same area as the one over which the geometric mean is taken. The maximum product is referred to as the weather extremity index (WEI). Two precipitation events, which affected the Czech Republic in May and in August 2010, were evaluated by the WEI for illustration. Validation of the method on sufficiently long data series is still needed. Moreover, the WEI is generally applicable regardless of the studied phenomenon (heavy rains, heat waves, windstorms, etc.). This makes it possible to study various weather and climate extremes from the viewpoint of possible recent and future changes in their frequency, seasonal distribution, and circulation conditions accompanying them.

Description: Investigating volcanic hazard in Cape Verde Islands through geophysical monitoring: network description and first results Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 485-499, 2014 Author(s): B. Faria and J. F. B. D. Fonseca We describe a new geophysical network deployed in the Cape Verde Archipelago for the assessment and monitoring of volcanic hazards as well as the first results from the network. Across the archipelago, the ages of volcanic activity range from ca. 20 Ma to present. In general, older islands are in the east and younger ones are in the west, but there is no clear age progression of eruptive activity as widely separated islands have erupted contemporaneously on geological timescales. The overall magmatic rate is low, and there are indications that eruptive activity is episodic, with intervals between episodes of intense activity ranging from 1 to 4 Ma. Although only Fogo Island has experienced eruptions (mainly effusive) in the historic period (last 550 yr), Brava and Santo Antão have experienced numerous geologically recent eruptions, including violent explosive eruptions, and show felt seismic activity and geothermal activity. Evidence for recent volcanism in the other islands is more limited and the emphasis has therefore been on monitoring of the three critical islands of Fogo, Brava and Santo Antão, where volcanic hazard levels are highest. Geophysical monitoring of all three islands is now in operation. The first results show that on Fogo, the seismic activity is dominated by hydrothermal events and volcano-tectonic events that may be related to settling of the edifice after the 1995 eruption; in Brava by volcano-tectonic events (mostly offshore), and in Santo Antão by volcano-tectonic events, medium-frequency events and harmonic tremor. Both in Brava and in Santo Antão, the recorded seismicity indicates that relatively shallow magmatic systems are present and causing deformation of the edifices that may include episodes of dike intrusion.

Description: Karst show caves – how DTN technology as used in space assists automatic environmental monitoring and tourist protection – experiment in Postojna Cave Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 443-457, 2014 Author(s): F. Gabrovšek, B. Grašič, M. Z. Božnar, P. Mlakar, M. Udén, and E. Davies The paper presents an experiment demonstrating a novel and successful application of delay- and disruption-tolerant networking (DTN) technology for automatic data transfer in a karst cave early warning and measuring system. The experiment took place inside the Postojna Cave in Slovenia, which is open to tourists. Several automatic meteorological measuring stations are set up inside the cave, as an adjunct to the surveillance infrastructure; the regular data transfer provided by the DTN technology allows the surveillance system to take on the role of an early warning system (EWS). One of the stations is set up alongside the railway tracks, which allows the tourist to travel inside the cave by train. The experiment was carried out by placing a DTN "data mule" (a DTN-enabled computer with WiFi connection) on the train and by upgrading the meteorological station with a DTN-enabled WiFi transmission system. When the data mule is in the wireless drive-by mode, it collects measurement data from the station over a period of several seconds as the train without stopping passes the stationary equipment, and delivers data at the final train station by the cave entrance. This paper describes an overview of the experimental equipment and organization allowing the use of a DTN system for data collection and an EWS inside karst caves where there is regular traffic of tourists and researchers.

Description: Numerical simulations of tsunamis generated by underwater volcanic explosions at Karymskoye lake (Kamchatka, Russia) and Kolumbo volcano (Aegean Sea, Greece) Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 401-412, 2014 Author(s): M. Ulvrová, R. Paris, K. Kelfoun, and P. Nomikou Increasing human activities along the coasts of the world provoke the necessity to assess tsunami hazard from different sources (earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity). In this paper, we simulate tsunamis generated by underwater volcanic explosions from (1) a submerged vent in a shallow water lake (Karymskoye Lake, Kamchatka), and (2) from Kolumbo submarine volcano (7 km NE of Santorini, Aegean Sea, Greece). The 1996 tsunami in Karymskoye lake is a well-documented example and thus serves as a case study for validating the calculations. The numerical model reproduces realistically the tsunami run-ups measured onshore. Systematic numerical study of tsunamis generated by explosions of the Kolumbo volcano is then conducted for a wide range of energies. Results show that in case of reawakening, the Kolumbo volcano might represent a significant tsunami hazard for the northern, eastern and southern coasts of Santorini, even for small-power explosions.

Description: The snow storm of 8 March 2010 in Catalonia (Spain): a paradigmatic wet-snow event with a high societal impact Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 427-441, 2014 Author(s): M. C. Llasat, M. Turco, P. Quintana-Seguí, and M. Llasat-Botija A heavy precipitation event swept over Catalonia (NE Spain) on 8 March 2010, with a total amount that exceeded 100 mm locally and snowfall of more than 60 cm near the coast. Unusual for this region and at this time of the year, this snowfall event affected mainly the coastal region and was accompanied by thunderstorms and strong wind gusts in some areas. Most of the damage was due to "wet snow", a kind of snow that favours accretion on power lines and causes line-breaking and subsequent interruption of the electricity supply. This paper conducts an interdisciplinary analysis of the event to show its great societal impact and the role played by the recently developed social networks (it has been called the first "Snowfall 2.0"), as well to analyse the meteorological factors associated with the major damage, and to propose an indicator that could summarise them. With this aim, the paper introduces the event and its societal impact and compares it with other important snowfalls that have affected the Catalan coast, using the PRESSGAMA database. The second part of the paper shows the event's main meteorological features and analyses the near-surface atmospheric variables responsible for the major damage through the application of the SAFRAN (Système d'analyse fournissant des renseignements atmosphériques à la neige) mesoscale analysis, which, together with the proposed "wind, wet-snow index" (WWSI), allows to estimate the severity of the event. This snow storm provides further evidence of our vulnerability to natural hazards and highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in analysing societal impact and the meteorological factors responsible for this kind of event.

Description: Regional economic impacts of natural hazards – the case of the 2005 Alpine flood event in Tyrol (Austria) Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 359-378, 2014 Author(s): C. Pfurtscheller Natural hazards have substantial impacts on economies on all scales. While the measurement of direct effects seems manageable, less is known about the dimensions of economic effects, especially on local and regional scales. The lack of standardized terminology, empirical data and methods currently hampers profound decision support. In our study of the 2005 flood event in the Federal State of Tyrol (Austria), which triggered about 264 million Euros in direct losses, we surveyed companies from all sectors of the economy to identify the drivers of economic effects. The main aim of the study was to assess the regional economic impacts on the gross regional product by the 2005 floods without macro-economic modelling techniques using bottom-up data. Using basic quantitative and qualitative methods, we established and analysed a data pool of questionnaire and interview results as well as direct loss data. Based on this empirical evidence, we estimated the decline in gross regional product in the study area at NUTS-3 level. We observed that disrupted traffic networks, for instance, had very negative effects on the regional economy. In addition, we identified economic winners of severe hazard impacts and estimated the amount of increasing economic flows (economic stimuli), based on compensation payments. Finally, the net effect can be estimated balancing the negative and positive effects of the flood event. The methods and results of this study can help to improve ex post loss estimations, and with it, ex ante methods for the cost efficiency of risk reduction measures, e.g. cost–benefit analysis. However, much effort is needed to improve the data basis on economic effects measured as a change in economic flows.

Description: The value of integrating information from multiple hazards for flood risk analysis and management Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 379-400, 2014 Author(s): J. T. Castillo-Rodríguez, I. Escuder-Bueno, L. Altarejos-García, and A. Serrano-Lombillo This article presents a methodology for estimating flood risk in urban areas integrating pluvial flooding, river flooding and failure of both small and large dams. The first part includes a review of basic concepts on flood risk analysis, evaluation and management. Flood risk analyses may be developed at local, regional and national level, however a general methodology to perform a quantitative flood risk analysis including different flood hazards is still required. The second part describes the proposed methodology, which presents an integrated approach – combining pluvial, river flooding and flooding from dam failure, as applied to a case study: an urban area located downstream of a dam under construction. The methodology enhances the approach developed within the SUFRI project ("Sustainable Strategies of Urban Flood Risk Management to cope with the residual risk", 2009–2011). This article also shows how outcomes from flood risk analysis provide better and more complete information to inform authorities, local entities and the stakeholders involved in decision-making with regard to flood risk management.

Description: Efficient GIS-based model-driven method for flood risk management and its application in central China Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 331-346, 2014 Author(s): Y. Liu, J. Zhou, L. Song, Q. Zou, J. Guo, and Y. Wang In recent years, an important development in flood management has been the focal shift from flood protection towards flood risk management. This change greatly promoted the progress of flood control research in a multidisciplinary way. Moreover, given the growing complexity and uncertainty in many decision situations of flood risk management, traditional methods, e.g., tight-coupling integration of one or more quantitative models, are not enough to provide decision support for managers. Within this context, this paper presents a beneficial methodological framework to enhance the effectiveness of decision support systems, through the dynamic adaptation of support regarding the needs of the decision-maker. In addition, we illustrate a loose-coupling technical prototype for integrating heterogeneous elements, such as multi-source data, multidisciplinary models, GIS tools and existing systems. The main innovation is the application of model-driven concepts, which put the system in a state of continuous iterative optimization. We define the new system as a model-driven decision support system (MDSS ). Two characteristics that differentiate the MDSS are as follows: (1) it is made accessible to non-technical specialists; and (2) it has a higher level of adaptability and compatibility. Furthermore, the MDSS was employed to manage the flood risk in the Jingjiang flood diversion area, located in central China near the Yangtze River. Compared with traditional solutions, we believe that this model-driven method is efficient, adaptable and flexible, and thus has bright prospects of application for comprehensive flood risk management.

Description: Rainfall thresholds for shallow landslide occurrence in Calabria, southern Italy Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 317-330, 2014 Author(s): C. Vennari, S. L. Gariano, L. Antronico, M. T. Brunetti, G. Iovine, S. Peruccacci, O. Terranova, and F. Guzzetti In many areas, rainfall is the primary trigger of landslides. Determining the rainfall conditions responsible for landslide occurrence is important, and may contribute to saving lives and properties. In a long-term national project for the definition of rainfall thresholds for possible landslide occurrence in Italy, we compiled a catalogue of 186 rainfall events that resulted in 251 shallow landslides in Calabria, southern Italy, from January 1996 to September 2011. Landslides were located geographically using Google Earth®, and were given a mapping and a temporal accuracy. We used the landslide information, and sub-hourly rainfall measurements obtained from two complementary networks of rain gauges, to determine cumulated event vs. rainfall duration ( ED ) thresholds for Calabria. For this purpose, we adopted an existing method used to prepare rainfall thresholds and to estimate their associated uncertainties in central Italy. The regional thresholds for Calabria were found to be nearly identical to previous ED thresholds for Calabria obtained using a reduced set of landslide information, and slightly higher than the ED thresholds obtained for central Italy. We segmented the regional catalogue of rainfall events with landslides in Calabria into lithology, soil regions, rainfall zones, and seasonal periods. The number of events in each subdivision was insufficient to determine reliable thresholds, but allowed for preliminary conclusions about the role of the environmental factors in the rainfall conditions responsible for shallow landslides in Calabria. We further segmented the regional catalogue based on administrative subdivisions used for hydro-meteorological monitoring and operational flood forecasting, and we determined separate ED thresholds for the Tyrrhenian and the Ionian coasts of Calabria. We expect the ED rainfall thresholds for Calabria to be used in regional and national landslide warning systems. The thresholds can also be used for landslide hazard and risk assessments, and for erosion and landscape evolution studies, in the study area and in similar physiographic regions in the Mediterranean area.

Description: GIS and remote sensing techniques for the assessment of land use change impact on flood hydrology: the case study of Yialias basin in Cyprus Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 413-426, 2014 Author(s): D. D. Alexakis, M. G. Grillakis, A. G. Koutroulis, A. Agapiou, K. Themistocleous, I. K. Tsanis, S. Michaelides, S. Pashiardis, C. Demetriou, K. Aristeidou, A. Retalis, F. Tymvios, and D. G. Hadjimitsis Floods are one of the most common natural disasters worldwide, leading to economic losses and loss of human lives. This paper highlights the hydrological effects of multi-temporal land use changes in flood hazard within the Yialias catchment area, located in central Cyprus. A calibrated hydrological model was firstly developed to describe the hydrological processes and internal basin dynamics of the three major subbasins, in order to study the diachronic effects of land use changes. For the implementation of the hydrological model, land use, soil and hydrometeorological data were incorporated. The climatic and stream flow data were derived from rain and flow gauge stations located in the wider area of the watershed basin. In addition, the land use and soil data were extracted after the application of object-oriented nearest neighbor algorithms of ASTER satellite images. Subsequently, the cellular automata (CA)–Markov chain analysis was implemented to predict the 2020 land use/land cover (LULC) map and incorporate it to the hydrological impact assessment. The results denoted the increase of runoff in the catchment area due to the recorded extensive urban sprawl phenomenon of the last decade.

Description: Preface: Understanding dynamics and current developments of climate extremes in the Mediterranean region Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 309-316, 2014 Author(s): R. F. Garcia-Herrera, P. Lionello, and U. Ulbrich

Description: Development of an operational modeling system for urban heat islands: an application to Athens, Greece Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 347-358, 2014 Author(s): T. M. Giannaros, D. Melas, I. A. Daglis, and I. Keramitsoglou The urban heat island (UHI) effect is one prominent form of localized anthropogenic climate modification. It represents a significant urban climate problem since it occurs in the layer of the atmosphere where almost all daily human activities take place. This paper presents the development of a high-resolution modeling system that could be used for simulating the UHI effect in the context of operational weather forecasting activities. The modeling system is built around a state-of-the-art numerical weather prediction model, properly modified to allow for the better representation of the urban climate. The model performance in terms of simulating the near-surface air temperature and thermal comfort conditions over the complex urban area of Athens, Greece, is evaluated during a 1.5-month operational implementation in the summer of 2010. Results from this case study reveal an overall satisfactory performance of the modeling system. The discussion of the results highlights the important role that, given the necessary modifications, a meteorological model can play as a supporting tool for developing successful heat island mitigation strategies. This is further underlined through the operational character of the presented modeling system.

Description: A data-based comparison of flood frequency analysis methods used in France Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 295-308, 2014 Author(s): K. Kochanek, B. Renard, P. Arnaud, Y. Aubert, M. Lang, T. Cipriani, and E. Sauquet Flood frequency analysis (FFA) aims at estimating quantiles with large return periods for an extreme discharge variable. Many FFA implementations are used in operational practice in France. These implementations range from the estimation of a pre-specified distribution to continuous simulation approaches using a rainfall simulator coupled with a rainfall–runoff model. This diversity of approaches raises questions regarding the limits of each implementation and calls for a nation-wide comparison of their predictive performances. This paper presents the results of a national comparison of the main FFA implementations used in France. More accurately, eight implementations are considered, corresponding to the local, regional and local-regional estimation of Gumbel and Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distributions, as well as the local and regional versions of a continuous simulation approach. A data-based comparison framework is applied to these eight competitors to evaluate their predictive performances in terms of reliability and stability, using daily flow data from more than 1000 gauging stations in France. Results from this comparative exercise suggest that two implementations dominate their competitors in terms of predictive performances, namely the local version of the continuous simulation approach and the local-regional estimation of a GEV distribution. More specific conclusions include the following: (i) the Gumbel distribution is not suitable for Mediterranean catchments, since this distribution demonstrably leads to an underestimation of flood quantiles; (ii) the local estimation of a GEV distribution is not recommended, because the difficulty in estimating the shape parameter results in frequent predictive failures; (iii) all the purely regional implementations evaluated in this study displayed a quite poor reliability, suggesting that prediction in completely ungauged catchments remains a challenge.

Description: Which data for quantitative landslide susceptibility mapping at operational scale? Case study of the Pays d'Auge plateau hillslopes (Normandy, France) Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 569-588, 2014 Author(s): M. Fressard, Y. Thiery, and O. Maquaire This paper aims at assessing the impact of the data set quality for landslide susceptibility mapping using multivariate statistical modelling methods at detailed scale. This research is conducted on the Pays d'Auge plateau (Normandy, France) with a scale objective of 1 / 10 000, in order to fit the French guidelines on risk assessment. Five sets of data of increasing quality (considering accuracy, scale fitting, and geomorphological significance) and cost of acquisition are used to map the landslide susceptibility using logistic regression. The best maps obtained with each set of data are compared on the basis of different statistical accuracy indicators (ROC curves and relative error calculation), linear cross correlation and expert opinion. The results highlight that only high-quality sets of data supplied with detailed geomorphological variables (i.e. field inventory and surficial formation maps) can predict a satisfying proportion of landslides in the study area.

Description: Estimating net anthropogenic nitrogen inputs (NANI) in the Lake Dianchi Basin of China Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 4123-4150, 2014 Author(s): W. Gao, R. W. Howarth, B. Hong, D. P. Swaney, and H. C. Guo Net anthropogenic nitrogen inputs (NANI) with components of atmospheric N deposition, synthetic N fertilizer, agricultural N fixation and N in net food and feed imports from 15 catchments in Lake Dianchi Basin were determined over an 11 year period (2000–2010). The 15 catchments range in size from 44 km 2 to 316 km 2 with an average of 175 km 2 . To reduce uncertainty from scale change methodology, results from data extracting by area-weighting and land use-weighting methods were compared. Results show that methodology for extrapolating data from county scale to watersheds has a great influence on NANI computation for catchments in the Lake Dianchi Basin, and estimates of NANI between two methods have an average difference of 30% on catchments basis while a smaller difference (15%) was observed on the whole Lake Dianchi Basin basis. The riverine N export has stronger linear relationship with NANI computed by land use-weighting method, which we believe is more reliable. Overall, nitrogen inputs assessed by the NANI approach for the Lake Dianchi Basin are 9900 kg N km −2 yr −1 , ranging from 6600 to 28 000 kg N km −2 yr −1 among the 15 catchments. Synthetic N fertilizer is the largest component of NANI in most subwatersheds. On average, riverine flux of nitrogen in catchments of the Lake Dianchi Basin averages 83% of NANI, far higher than generally observed in North America and Europe. Saturated N sinks and limited capacity for denitrification in rivers may be responsible for this high percent of riverine N export. A negative intercept observed in the linear relationship between NANI and riverine N export suggests the influence of pollution control measures on N flux in small watershed. The NANI methodology should be applicable in small watersheds when sufficiently detailed data are available to estimate its components.

Description: Lena River Delta formation during the Holocene Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 4085-4122, 2014 Author(s): D. Bolshiyanov, A. Makarov, and L. Savelieva The Lena River Delta, the largest delta of the Arctic Ocean, differs from other deltas because it consists mainly of organomineral sediments, commonly called peat, that contain a huge organic carbon reservoir. The analysis of Delta sediment radiocarbon ages showed that they could not have formed as peat during floodplain bogging, but accumulated when Laptev Sea water level was high and green mosses and sedges grew and were deposited on the surface of flooded marshes. The Lena River Delta formed as organomineral masses and layered sediments accumulated during transgressive phases when sea level rose. In regressive phases, the islands composed of these sediments and other, more ancient islands were eroded. Each new sea transgression led to further accumulation of layered sediments. As a result of alternating transgressive and regressive phases the first alluvial-marine terrace formed, consisting of geological bodies of different ages. Determining the formation age of different areas of the first terrace and other marine terraces on the coast allowed the periods of increasing (8–6 Ka, 4.5–4 Ka, 2.5–1.5 Ka, 0.4–0.2 Ka) and decreasing (5 Ka, 3 Ka, 0.5 Ka) Laptev Sea levels to be distinguished in the Lena Delta area.

Description: A red tide alga grown under ocean acidification up-regulates its tolerance to lower pH by increasing its photophysiological functions Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 6303-6328, 2014 Author(s): S.-W. Chen, J. Beardall, and K.-S. Gao Phaeocystis globosa , a red tide alga, often forms blooms in or adjacent to coastal waters and experiences changes of pH and seawater carbonate chemistry caused by either diel/periodic fluctuation in biological activity, human activity or, in the longer term, ocean acidification due to atmospheric CO 2 rise. We examined the photosynthetic physiology of this species while growing it under different pH levels induced by CO 2 enrichment and investigated its acclimation to carbonate chemistry changes under different light levels. Short-term exposure to reduced pH nbs (7.70) decreased the alga's photosynthesis and light use efficiency. However, acclimation to the reduced pH level for 1–19 generations led to recovered photosynthetic activity, being equivalent to that of cells grown under pH 8.07 (control), though such acclimation required a different time span (number of generations) under different light regimes. The low-pH grown cells increased their contents of chlorophyll and carotenoids with prolonged acclimation to the acidification, with increased photosynthetic quantum yield and decreased non-photochemical quenching. The specific growth rate of the low-pH grown cells also increased to emulate that grown under the ambient pH level. This study clearly shows that Phaeocystis globosa is able to acclimate to seawater acidification by increasing its energy capture and decreasing its non-photochemcial energy loss.

Description: The low temperature hyperalkaline hydrothermal system of the Prony bay (New Caledonia) Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 6221-6267, 2014 Author(s): C. Monnin, V. Chavagnac, C. Boulart, B. Ménez, M. Gérard, E. Gérard, M. Quéméneur, G. Erauso, A. Postec, L. Guentas-Dombrowski, C. Payri, and B. Pelletier The terrestrial hyperalkaline springs of the Prony bay (southern lagoon, New Caledonia) have been known since the XIXth century, but a recent high resolution bathymetric survey of the seafloor has revealed the existence of numerous submarine structures similar to the well-known Aiguille de Prony, which are also the location of high pH fluid discharge into the lagoon. During the HYDROPRONY cruise (28 October to 13 November 2011) samples of waters, gases and concretions have been collected by scuba divers at underwater vents. Four of these sampling sites are located in the Prony bay at depths up to 50 m. One (Bain des Japonais spring) is also in the Prony Bay but uncovered at low tide and another (Rivière des Kaoris spring) is on land slightly above the seawater level at high tide. We report the chemical composition (Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cl, SO 4 , Dissolved Inorganic Carbon, SiO 2 (aq)) of 45 water samples collected at 6 sites of high pH water discharge, as well as the composition of gases. Temperatures reach 37 °C at the Bain des Japonais and 32 °C at the spring of the Kaoris. Gas bubbling was observed only at these two springs. The emitted gases contain between 12 and 30% of hydrogen in volume of dry gas, 6 to 14% of methane, and 56 to 72% of nitrogen, with trace amounts of carbon dioxide, ethane and propane. pH values and salinities of all the 45 collected water samples range from the seawater values (8.2 and 35 g L −1 ) to hyperalkaline freshwaters of the Ca-OH type (pH 11 and salinities as low as 0.3 g L −1 ) showing that the collected samples are always a mixture of a hyperalkaline fluid of meteoric origin and ambient seawater. Cl-normalized concentrations of dissolved major elements first show that the Bain des Japonais is distinct from the other sites. Waters collected at this site are three component mixtures involving the high pH fluid, the lagoon seawater and the river water from the nearby Rivière du Carénage. The chemical compositions of the hyperalkaline end members (at pH 11) are not significantly different from one site to the other although the sites are several km away from each other and are located on different ultramafic substrata. The very low salinity of the hyperalkaline end members shows that seawater does not percolate through the ultramafic formation. Mixing of the hyperalkaline hydrothermal end member with local seawater produces large ranges and very sharp gradients of pH, salinity and dissolved element concentrations. There is a major change in the composition of the water samples at a pH around 10, which delimitates the marine environment from the hyperalkaline environment. The redox potential evolves toward negative values at high pH indicative of the reducing conditions due to bubbling of the H 2 -rich gas. The calculation of the mineral saturation states carried out for the Na-K-Ca-Mg-Cl-SO 4 -DIC-SiO 2 -H2O system shows that this change is due to the onset of brucite formation. While the saturation state of the Ca-carbonates over the whole pH range is typical of that found in a normal marine environment, Mg- and Mg-Ca-carbonates (magnesite, hydromagnesite, huntite, dolomite) exhibit very large supersaturations with maximum values at pH around 10, very well marked for the Bain des Japonais, emphasizing the role of water mixing in mineral formation. The discharge of high pH waters of meteoric origin into the lagoon marine environment makes the hydrothermal system of the Prony bay unique compared to other low temperature serpentinizing environments such as Oman (fully continental) or Lost City (fully marine).

Description: Disparities between Phaeocystis in situ and optically-derived carbon biomass and growth rates: potential effect on remote-sensing primary production estimates Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 6119-6149, 2014 Author(s): L. Peperzak, H. J. van der Woerd, and K. R. Timmermans The oceans play a pivotal role in the global carbon cycle. Unfortunately, the daily production of organic carbon, the product of phytoplankton standing stock and growth rate cannot be measured globally by discrete oceanographic methods. Instead, optical proxies from Earth-orbiting satellites must be used. To test the accuracy of optically-derived proxies of phytoplankton physiology and growth rate, standard ex situ data from the wax and wane of a Phaeocystis bloom in laboratory mesocosms were compared with hyperspectral reflectance data. Chlorophyll biomass could be estimated accurately from reflectance using specific chlorophyll absorption algorithms. However, the conversion of chlorophyll (Chl) to carbon (C) was obscured by the observed increase in C : Chl under nutrient-limited growth. C : Chl was inversely correlated ( r 2 = 0.88) with Photosystem II quantum efficiency (Fv/Fm), the in situ fluorometric oceanographic proxy for growth rate. In addition, the optical proxy for growth rate, the quantum efficiency of fluorescence ϕ was linearly correlated to Fv/Fm ( r 2 = 0.84), but not – as by definition – by using total phytoplankton absorption, because during nutrient-limited growth the concentrations of non-fluorescent light-absorbing pigments increased. As a consequence, none of the three proxies (C : Chl, Fv/Fm, φ) was correlated to carbon or cellular phytoplankton growth rates. Therefore, it is concluded that although satellite derived estimates of chlorophyll biomass may be accurate, physiologically-induced non-linear shifts in growth rate proxies may obscure accurate phytoplankton growth rates and hence global carbon production estimates.

Description: Quantification of iron-rich volcanogenic dust emissions and deposition over ocean from Icelandic dust sources Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 5941-5967, 2014 Author(s): O. Arnalds, H. Olafsson, and P. Dagsson-Waldhauserova Iceland has extremely active dust sources that result in large scale emissions and deposition on land and sea. The dust has volcanogenic origin of basaltic composition with about 10 % Fe content. We used two independent methods to quantify dust emission from Iceland and dust deposition on sea. Firstly, aerial extent (map) of deposition on land was extended to ocean areas around Iceland. Secondly, survey of number of dust events over the past decades and calculations of emissions and sea deposition for the dust storms were made. The results show total emissions range from 30.5 (dust event based calculation) to 40.1 million tons (map calculation), which places Iceland among the most active dust sources on Earth. Ocean deposition ranges between 5.5 (dust events calculations) and 13.8 million tons (map calculation). Calculated iron deposition from Icelandic dust ranges between 0.56 to 1.4 million tons, which are distributed over wide areas (〉 370 000 km 2 ) and consist of fine reactive volcanic materials. The paper provides the first quantitative estimate of total dust emissions and oceanic deposition from Iceland. Iron is a limiting nutrient for primary production in the oceans around Iceland and the dust is likely to affect Fe levels in Icelandic ocean waters.

Description: Coseismic slip inversion based on InSAR arc measurements Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 649-656, 2014 Author(s): C. Wang, X. Ding, and Q. Li We present a new method for inverting coseismic slip distribution based on arc measurements of InSAR interferograms. The method only solves the integer ambiguities on the selected arcs so that the challenging task from global unwrapping of low coherence interferograms can be avoided. The simulated experiment results show that the new method recovered the given slip distribution well at different coherence quality levels. However, the conventional method with global interferogram unwrapping fails when the interferogram has some isolated areas. In addition, the new method is capable of using surface rupture offset data gathered in the field. We apply the proposed method to study the 2010 Yushu, China Ms 7.1 earthquake. Inclusion of field data can help to enhance the results of fault slip inversion. It derives a maximum slip of ∼3 m, larger than the published coseismic slip results on this event, but agreeing with the largest offset of 3.2 m from field investigation.

Description: A new approach to flood vulnerability assessment for historic buildings in England Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 1035-1048, 2014 Author(s): V. Stephenson and D. D'Ayala The recent increase in frequency and severity of flooding in the UK has led to a shift in the perception of risk associated with flood hazards. This has extended to the conservation community, and the risks posed to historic structures that suffer from flooding are particularly concerning for those charged with preserving and maintaining such buildings. In order to fully appraise the risks in a manner appropriate to the complex issue of preservation, a new methodology is presented here that studies the nature of the vulnerability of such structures, and places it in the context of risk assessment, accounting for the vulnerable object and the subsequent exposure of that object to flood hazards. The testing of the methodology is carried out using three urban case studies and the results of the survey analysis provide guidance on the development of fragility curves for historic structures exposed to flooding. This occurs through appraisal of vulnerability indicators related to building form, structural and fabric integrity, and preservation of architectural and archaeological values. Key findings of the work include determining the applicability of these indicators to fragility analysis, and the determination of the relative vulnerability of the three case study sites.

Description: Trimethylamine emissions in animal husbandry Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 6519-6553, 2014 Author(s): J. Sintermann, S. Schallhardt, M. Kajos, M. Jocher, A. Bracher, A. Münger, D. Johnson, A. Neftel, and T. Ruuskanen Degradation of plant material by animals is an important transformation pathway in the nitrogen (N) cycle. During the involved processes, volatile reduced alkaline nitrogen compounds, mainly ammonia (NH 3 ) and aliphatic amines such as trimethylamine (TMA), are formed. Today, animal husbandry is estimated to constitute a main source of aliphatic amines into the atmosphere with TMA being the main emitted compound. Here, we show how the interaction between faeces and urine in animal production systems provides the primary source for agricultural TMA emissions. Excreted urine contains large quantities of urea and TMA-N-oxide, which are transformed into NH 3 and TMA, respectively, via enzymatic processes provided by microbes present in faeces. TMA emissions from areas polluted with urine-faeces mixture are on average in the order of 10 to 50 nmol m −2 s −1 . Released amines promote secondary aerosol particle formation in the agricultural emission plume. The atmospheric lifetime of TMA, which was estimated to be in the order of 30 to 1000 s, is determined by the condensation on aerosol particles.

Description: Accumulation of nitrogen and organic matter during primary succession of Leymus arenarius dunes on the volcanic island Surtsey, Iceland Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 6591-6613, 2014 Author(s): G. Stefansdottir, A. L. Aradottir, and B. D. Sigurdsson The volcanic island of Surtsey has been a natural laboratory where the primary succession of flora and fauna has been monitored, since it emerged from the N-Atlantic Ocean in 1963. We quantified the accumulation rates of nitrogen (N) and soil organic matter (SOM) in a 37 year long chronosequence of Leymus arenarius dunes in order to illuminate the spatiotemporal patterns in their build-up in primary succession. The Leymus dune area, volume and height grew exponentially over time. Aboveground plant biomass, cover or number of shoots per unit area did not change significantly with time, but root biomass accumulated with time, giving a root-shoot ratio of 19. The dunes accumulated on average 6.6 kg N ha −1 year −1 , which was 3.5 times more than is received annually by atmospheric deposition. The extensive root system of Leymus seems to effectively retain and accumulate large part of the annual N deposition, not only deposition directly on the dunes but also from the adjacent unvegetated areas. SOM per unit area increased exponentially with dune age, but the accumulation of roots, aboveground biomass and SOM was more strongly linked to soil N than time: 1 g m −2 increase in soil N led on the average to 6 kg C m −2 increase in biomass and SOM. The Leymus dunes, where most of the N has been accumulated, will therefore probably act as hot-spots for further primary succession of flora and fauna on the tephra sands of Surtsey.

Description: Soil CO 2 efflux from mountainous windthrow areas: dynamics over 12 years post-disturbance Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 6383-6417, 2014 Author(s): M. Mayer, B. Matthews, A. Schindlbacher, and K. Katzensteiner Windthrow driven changes in carbon (C) allocation and soil microclimate can affect soil carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) efflux ( F soil ) of forest ecosystems. Although F soil is the dominant C flux following stand-replacing disturbance, the effects of catastrophic windthrow on F soil are still poorly understood. We measured F soil at a montane mixed forest site and at a subalpine spruce forest site from 2009 until 2012. Both sites consisted of undisturbed forest stands and two adjacent windthrow areas which differed in time since disturbance. The combination of chronosequence and direct time-series approaches enabled us to investigate F soil dynamics over 12 years post-disturbance. In the initial phase after disturbance (1–6 years), F soil rates did not differ significantly from those of the undisturbed stands, but in the later phase (9–12 years after disturbance) F soil rates were significantly higher than corresponding undisturbed stand values. The higher F soil rates in the later phase post-disturbance are likely explained by a dense vegetation cover and correspondingly higher autotrophic respiration rates. Soil temperature increased significantly following windthrow (by 2.9–4.8 °C) especially in the initial phase post-disturbance when vegetation cover was sparse. A significant part (20–36%) of F soil from the windthrow areas was thus attributed to disturbance induced changes in soil temperature. According to our estimates, ~500 to 700 g C m −2 yr −1 are released via F soil from south-facing forest sites in the Austrian Calcareous Alps in the initial 6 years after windthrow. With high game pressure suppressing primary production in these areas, post-disturbance loss of ecosystem C to the atmosphere is likely to be substantial unless management is proactive in regenerating such sites. An increase in the frequency of forest disturbance by windthrow could therefore decrease soil C stocks and positively feedback on rising atmospheric CO 2 concentrations.

Description: Daytime identification of summer hailstorm cells from MSG data Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 1017-1033, 2014 Author(s): A. Merino, L. López, J. L. Sánchez, E. García-Ortega, E. Cattani, and V. Levizzani Identifying deep convection is of paramount importance, as it may be associated with extreme weather phenomena that have significant impact on the environment, property and populations. A new method, the hail detection tool (HDT), is described for identifying hail-bearing storms using multispectral Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) data. HDT was conceived as a two-phase method, in which the first step is the convective mask (CM) algorithm devised for detection of deep convection, and the second a hail mask algorithm (HM) for the identification of hail-bearing clouds among cumulonimbus systems detected by CM. Both CM and HM are based on logistic regression models trained with multispectral MSG data sets comprised of summer convective events in the middle Ebro Valley (Spain) between 2006 and 2010, and detected by the RGB (red-green-blue) visualization technique (CM) or C-band weather radar system of the University of León. By means of the logistic regression approach, the probability of identifying a cumulonimbus event with CM or a hail event with HM are computed by exploiting a proper selection of MSG wavelengths or their combination. A number of cloud physical properties (liquid water path, optical thickness and effective cloud drop radius) were used to physically interpret results of statistical models from a meteorological perspective, using a method based on these "ingredients". Finally, the HDT was applied to a new validation sample consisting of events during summer 2011. The overall probability of detection was 76.9 % and the false alarm ratio 16.7 %.

Description: Assessing effects of permafrost thaw on C fluxes based on a multi-year modeling across a permafrost thaw gradient at Stordalen, Sweden Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 3963-3999, 2014 Author(s): J. Deng, C. Li, S. Frolking, Y. Zhang, K. Bäckstrand, and P. Crill Northern peatlands in permafrost regions contain large amount of organic carbon (C) in the soil. Climate warming and associated permafrost degradation are expected to have significant impacts on the C balance of these ecosystems, but the magnitude is uncertain. We incorporated a permafrost model, Northern Ecosystem Soil Temperature (NEST), into a biogeochemical model, DeNitrification-DeComposition (DNDC), to model C dynamics in high-latitude peatland ecosystems. The enhanced model was applied to assess effects of permafrost thaw on C fluxes of a sub-arctic peatland at Stordalen, Sweden. DNDC simulated soil freeze/thaw dynamics, net ecosystem exchange of CO 2 (NEE), and CH 4 fluxes across three typical land cover types, which represent different stages in the process of ongoing permafrost thaw at Stordalen. Model results were compared with multi-year field measurements and the validation indicates that DNDC was able to simulate observed differences in soil thaw, NEE, and CH 4 fluxes across the three land cover types at Stordalen. Consistent with the results from field studies, the modeled C fluxes across the permafrost thaw gradient demonstrate that permafrost thaw and the associated changes in soil hydrology and vegetation increase net uptake of C from the atmosphere, but also increase the radiative forcing impacts on climate due to increased CH 4 emissions. This study indicates the potential of utilizing biogeochemical models, such as DNDC, to predict soil thermal regime in permafrost areas and to investigate impacts of permafrost thaw on ecosystem C fluxes after incorporating a permafrost component into the model framework.

Description: Three variables are better than one: detection of european winter windstorms causing important damages Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 981-993, 2014 Author(s): M.-S. Deroche, M. Choux, F. Codron, and P. Yiou In this paper, we present a new approach for detecting potentially damaging European winter windstorms from a multi-variable perspective. European winter windstorms being usually associated with extra-tropical cyclones (ETCs), there is a coupling between the intensity of the surface wind speeds and other meso-scale and large-scale features characteristic of ETCs. Here we focus on the relative vorticity at 850 hPa and the sea level pressure anomaly, which are also used in ETC detection studies, along with the ratio of the 10 m wind speed to its 98th percentile. When analysing 10 events known by the insurance industry to have caused extreme damages, we find that they share an intense signature in each of the 3 fields. This shows that the relative vorticity and the mean sea level pressure have a predictive value of the intensity of the generated windstorms. The 10 major events are not the most intense in any of the 3 variables considered separately, but we show that the combination of the 3 variables is an efficient way of extracting these events from a reanalysis data set.

Description: Modeling extreme wave heights from laboratory experiments with the nonlinear Schrödinger equation Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 959-968, 2014 Author(s): H. D. Zhang, C. Guedes Soares, Z. Cherneva, and M. Onorato Spatial variation of nonlinear wave groups with different initial envelope shapes is theoretically studied first, confirming that the simplest nonlinear theoretical model is capable of describing the evolution of propagating wave packets in deep water. Moreover, three groups of laboratory experiments run in the wave basin of CEHIPAR (Canal de Experiencias Hidrodinámicas de El Pardo, known also as El Pardo Model Basin) was founded in 1928 by the Spanish Navy. are systematically compared with the numerical simulations of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Although a little overestimation is detected, especially in the set of experiments characterized by higher initial wave steepness, the numerical simulation still displays a high degree of agreement with the laboratory experiments. Therefore, the nonlinear Schrödinger equation catches the essential characteristics of the extreme waves and provides an important physical insight into their generation. The modulation instability, resulting from the quasi-resonant four-wave interaction in a unidirectional sea state, can be indicated by the coefficient of kurtosis, which shows an appreciable correlation with the extreme wave height and hence is used in the modified Edgeworth–Rayleigh distribution. Finally, some statistical properties on the maximum wave heights in different sea states have been related with the initial Benjamin–Feir index.

Description: Seismic vulnerability assessment of school buildings in Tehran city based on AHP and GIS Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 969-979, 2014 Author(s): M. Panahi, F. Rezaie, and S. A. Meshkani The objective of the current study is to evaluate the seismic vulnerability of school buildings in Tehran city based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and geographical information system (GIS). To this end, the peak ground acceleration, slope, and soil liquefaction layers were utilized for developing a geotechnical map. Also, the construction materials of structures, age of construction, the quality, and the seismic resonance coefficient layers were defined as major factors affecting the structural vulnerability of school buildings. Then, the AHP method was applied to assess the priority rank and weight of criteria (layers) and alternatives (classes) of each criterion via pairwise comparison in all levels. Finally, the geotechnical and structural spatial layers were overlaid to develop the seismic vulnerability map of school buildings in Tehran. The results indicated that only in 72 (about 3%) out of 2125 school buildings of the study area will the destruction rate be very high and therefore their reconstruction should seriously be considered.

Description: Constraint of soil moisture on CO 2 efflux from tundra lichen, moss, and tussock in Council, Alaska using a hierarchical Bayesian model Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 5903-5939, 2014 Author(s): Y. Kim, K. Nishina, N. Chae, S. Park, Y. Yoon, and B. Lee The tundra ecosystem is quite vulnerable to drastic climate change in the Arctic, and the quantification of carbon dynamics is of significant importance in response to thawing permafrost, changes in the snow-covered period and snow and shrub community extent, and the decline of sea ice in the Arctic. Here, CO 2 efflux measurements using a manual chamber system within a 40 m × 40 m (5 m interval; 81 total points) plot were conducted in dominant tundra vegetation on the Seward Peninsula of Alaska, during the growing seasons of 2011 and 2012, for the assessment of the driving parameters of CO 2 efflux. We applied a hierarchical Bayesian (HB) model – which is a function of soil temperature, soil moisture, vegetation type and thaw depth – to quantify the effect of environmental parameters on CO 2 efflux, and to estimate growing season CO 2 emission. Our results showed that average CO 2 efflux in 2011 is 1.4-fold higher than in 2012, resulting from the distinct difference in soil moisture between the two years. Tussock-dominated CO 2 efflux is 1.4 to 2.3 times higher than those measured in lichen and moss communities, reflecting tussock as a significant CO 2 source in the Arctic, with wide area distribution on a circumpolar scale. CO 2 efflux followed soil temperature nearly exponentially from both the observed data and the posterior medians of the HB model. This reveals soil temperature as the most important parameter in regulating CO 2 efflux, rather than soil moisture and thaw depth. Obvious changes in soil moisture during the growing seasons of 2011 and 2012 resulted in an explicit difference in CO 2 efflux – 742 and 539 g CO 2 m −2 period −1 in 2011 and 2012, respectively, suggesting that the 2012 CO 2 emission rate was constrained by 27% (95% credible interval: 17–36%) compared to 2011, due to higher soil moisture from severe rain. Estimated growing season CO 2 emission rate ranged from 0.86 Mg CO 2 period −1 in 2012 to 1.2 Mg CO 2 period −1 in 2011 within a 40 m × 40 m plot, corresponding to 86% and 80% of the annual CO 2 emission rates within the Alaska western tundra ecosystem. Therefore, the HB model can be readily applied to observed CO 2 efflux, as it demands only four environmental parameters and can also be effective for quantitatively assessing the driving parameters of CO 2 efflux.

Description: Facing and managing natural disasters in the Sporades islands, Greece Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, 14, 995-1005, 2014 Author(s): P. Karanikola, T. Panagopoulos, S. Tampakis, M. I. Karantoni, and G. Tsantopoulos The region of the Sporades islands located in central Greece is at the mercy of many natural phenomena, such as earthquakes due to the marine volcano Psathoura and the rift of Anatolia, forest fires, floods, landslides, storms, hail, snowfall and frost. The present work aims at studying the perceptions and attitudes of the residents regarding how they face and manage natural disasters. A positive public response during a hazard crisis depends not only upon the availability and good management of a civil defense plan but also on the knowledge and perception of the possible hazards by the local population. It is important for the stakeholders to know what the citizens expect so that the necessary structures can be developed in the phase of preparation and organization. The residents were asked their opinion about what they think should be done by the stakeholders after a catastrophic natural disaster, particularly about the immediate response of stakeholders and their involvement and responsibilities at different, subsequent intervals of time following the disaster. The residents were also asked about the most common disasters that happen in their region and about the preparation activities of the stakeholders.

Description: Contrasting responses of terrestrial ecosystem production to hot temperature extreme regimes between grassland and forest Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 5997-6017, 2014 Author(s): Y. Zhang, M. Voigt, and H. Liu Observational data during the past several decades show faster increase of hot temperature extremes over land than changes in mean temperature. Towards more extreme temperature is expected to affect terrestrial ecosystem function. However, the ecological impacts of hot extremes on vegetation production remain uncertain across biomes in natural climatic conditions. In this study, we investigated the effects of hot temperature extremes on aboveground net primary production (ANPP) by combining MODIS EVI dataset and in situ climatic records during 2000 to 2009 from 12 long-term experimental sites across biomes and climates. Our results showed that higher mean annual maximum temperatures ( T max ) greatly reduced grassland production, and yet enhanced forest production after removing the effects of precipitation. Relative decreases in ANPP were 16% for arid grassland and 7% for mesic grassland, and the increase were 5% for forest. We also observed a significant positive relationship between interannual ANPP and T max for forest biome ( R 2 = 0.79, P 〈 0.001). This line of evidence suggests that hot temperature extreme leads to contrasting ecosystem-level response of vegetation production to warming climate between grassland and forest. Given that many terrestrial ecosystem models use average daily temperature as input, predictions of ecosystem production should consider these contrasting responses to more hot temperature extreme regimes associated with climate change.

Description: The temperature sensitivity of organic matter decay in tidal marshes Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 6019-6037, 2014 Author(s): M. L. Kirwan, G. R. Guntenspergen, and J. A. Langley Approximately half of marine carbon sequestration takes place in coastal wetlands, including tidal marshes, where ecosystems accumulate organic matter to build soil elevation and survive sea level rise. The long-term viability of marshes, and their carbon pools, depends in part on how the balance between productivity and decay responds to climate change. Here, we report the sensitivity of soil organic matter decay in tidal marshes to seasonal and latitudinal variations in temperature measured over a 3 year period. We find a moderate increase in decay rate at warmer temperatures (3–6% °C −1 , Q 10 = 1.3–1.5). Despite the profound differences between microbial metabolism in wetlands and uplands, our results indicate a strong conservation of temperature sensitivity. Moreover, simple comparisons with organic matter production suggest that elevated atmospheric CO 2 and warmer temperatures will accelerate carbon accumulation in marsh soils, and enhance their ability to survive sea level rise.

Description: Bio-geographic classification of the Caspian Sea Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 4409-4450, 2014 Author(s): F. Fendereski, M. Vogt, M. R. Payne, Z. Lachkar, N. Gruber, A. Salmanmahiny, and S. A. Hosseini Like other inland seas, the Caspian Sea (CS) has been influenced by climate change and anthropogenic disturbance during recent decades, yet the scientific understanding of this water body remains poor. In this study, an eco-geographical classification of the CS based on physical information derived from space and in-situ data is developed and tested against a set of biological observations. We used a two-step classification procedure, consisting of (i) a data reduction with self-organizing maps (SOMs) and (ii) a synthesis of the most relevant features into a reduced number of marine ecoregions using the Hierarchical Agglomerative Clustering (HAC) method. From an initial set of 12 potential physical variables, 6 independent variables were selected for the classification algorithm, i.e., sea surface temperature (SST), bathymetry, sea ice, seasonal variation of sea surface salinity (DSSS), total suspended matter (TSM) and its seasonal variation (DTSM). The classification results reveal a robust separation between the northern and the middle/southern basins as well as a separation of the shallow near-shore waters from those off-shore. The observed patterns in ecoregions can be attributed to differences in climate and geochemical factors such as distance from river, water depth and currents. A comparison of the annual and monthly mean Chl a concentrations between the different ecoregions shows significant differences (Kruskal–Wallis rank test, P 〈 0.05). In particular, we found differences in phytoplankton phenology, with differences in the date of bloom initiation, its duration and amplitude between ecoregions. A first qualitative evaluation of differences in community composition based on recorded presence-absence patterns of 27 different species of plankton, fish and benthic invertebrate also confirms the relevance of the ecoregions as proxies for habitats with common biological characteristics.

Description: Disentangling the response of forest and grassland energy exchange to heatwaves under idealized land–atmosphere coupling Biogeosciences Discussions, 11, 5969-5995, 2014 Author(s): C. C. van Heerwaarden and A. J. Teuling This study investigates the difference in land–atmosphere interactions between grassland and forest during typical heat wave conditions in order to understand the controversial results of Teuling et al. (2010) (T10, hereafter), who have found the systematic occurrence of higher sensible heat fluxes over forest than over grassland during heat wave conditions. With a simple, but accurate coupled land–atmosphere model, we are able to reproduce the findings of T10 for both normal summer and heat wave conditions, and to carefully explore the sensitivity of the coupled land–atmosphere system to changes in incoming radiation and early-morning temperature. Our results emphasize the importance of fast processes during the onset of heat waves, since we are able to explain the results of T10 without having to take into account changes in soil moisture. In order to disentangle the contribution of differences in several static and dynamic properties between forest and grassland, we have performed an experiment in which new land use types are created that are equal to grassland, but with one of its properties replaced by that of forest. From these, we conclude that the closure of stomata in the presence of dry air is by far the most important process in creating the different behavior of grassland and forest during the onset of a heat wave. However, we conclude that for a full explanation of the results of T10 also the other properties (albedo, roughness and the ratio of minimum stomatal resistance to leaf-area index) play an important, but indirect role; their influences mainly consist of strengthening the feedback that leads to the closure of the stomata by providing more energy that can be converted into sensible heat. The model experiment also confirms that, in line with the larger sensible heat flux, higher atmospheric temperatures occur over forest.