Search

The predominant climatological wind regime in summer over the Greek Seas and especially over the Aegean Sea is undoubtedly the Etesian winds system, very well known since the time of the ancient Greeks, who first identified and described its main characteristics. The Etesian winds have been under continuous and intensive research since early 1900s, and numerous papers have been published, which have revealed all the secrets associated with the physical mechanisms responsible for their creation and maintenance. The ordinary synoptic situation, which is closely associated with the appearance of spells of Etesian winds outbreaks over the Aegean Sea, refers to cases in which the Subtropical Jet Stream (SJS) is situated over the Greek mainland. Then the frontal surfaces associated with the Polar Jet Stream (PJS), or a polar jet streak, passing through Greece from the north can cause severe weather in northern Greece as far south as Larisa (39.39° N, 22.26° E). Precipitation does not usually occur south of Larisa, because the SJS constitutes a barrier to the southward extension of the upper half of the frontal surface. In this case, cold advection occurs in the lower troposphere, resulting in a drop in temperatures even in southern Greece, due to the establishment of an Etesian winds outbreak. Thereafter, these north-easterly winds persist for a long time, weakening gradually, following the variation of the pressure gradient due to the combination of the mobile dynamic anticyclone positioned over the Balkans, after the passage of the cold front and the permanent Cyprus surface low. The main goal of this article is to investigate how much the case of a time period around 9 July 2022 differs from the conceptual model mentioned above, as deep convection occurred over all of Greece over three successive days, breaking the Etesian winds regime and defeating the low tropospheric stability usually accompanying this wind regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This STEM paper will study the Time Series data file Raleigh Temps.jmp in the JMP sample Library, which contains maximum monthly temperatures measured in degrees Fahrenheit from 1980 to 1990. The objective of this paper is to forecast the Raleigh Temperature for 1990 to 2010. Among the four STEM components, the Science studied is Climatology or the study of the Earth's Weather patterns; Technology is used to predict the Raleigh Max Monthly Temperature for the next twenty years; Engineering focuses on comparing Different Statistical Models on the Time Series Data, and mathematical tools like Statistics are applied. Most traditional and modern Data mining platforms can visualize the data distribution, Normal Quantile, Normal Mixture, Outliers very well, detect process capability and process stability, build Multiple Regression Model and identify month as the main factor, detect Clusters or Principal Components through Eigen Analysis, and use Neural Network or Partition Trees to build the Transfer Function Profiler. The major findings among these non-Time Series Platforms are that there is month to month cyclic behavior within each year but no year-to-year trend pattern is detected. However, there are several limitations among these non-time series platforms. It cannot decompose the seasonal component (cyclic month-month) from the trend component (year to year), cannot determine the relative strength of the "seasonal" and "trend" components, cannot determine the optimal smoothing setting if the curve is highly modulated, and cannot forecast or predict future points. JMP Time Series and Forecast platform were further used on the same time series data file. The Time Series decomposition statistics were utilized to separate the seasonal component from the trend component, and the smoothing technique cleaned the Forecasting Error. Seasonal lag was detected and confirmed by the Autocorrelation Function (ACF) plot and Variogram plot. The Time Series Forecast Platform can help predict Raleigh Temperature for 1990 to 2010 based on the 1980 to 1990 data. Authors are also continuing this Time Series STEM project on the following areas -- Decomposition and Smoothing Statistics, Non-Seasonal and Seasonal ARIMA Models, and Forecasting and Prediction Interval Statistics. Time Series Analysis is not just popularly used in Finance Forecasting but also powerful for predicting any future uncertainty from the Time Series data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forecast of a convective situation is achieved not only through the analysis of the synoptic situation as well as with the help of instability indicators. These are determined either by means of data obtained from aerologic surveys or by using numerical models. The data presented in the paper are obtained using the model ALADIN (Aire Limitée Adaptation Dynamique Développement InterNational) model. Run instability indicators were KI, TTI (Total Totals Index) and CTI (Cross Totals Index) CAPE and MOCON. The analysis focused on 18 representative cases of instability during the period 2005- 2009, that affected western Romania, with a frontal nature as well as in the same air mass, for the analysis of the relationships between instability indicator thresholds, convective structures and associated radar echoes. For this paper, we chose a representative case describing a mesoscale convective system associated with the meteorological phenomena typical of a supercell. Atmospheric instability is manifested by a wide range of phenomena that led to damage and, in the most unfortunate circumstances, to human victims. The case observed storms, hail, torrential rains, not mentioning the "ordinary" thunderstorm phenomena. The case differed from others for at least two reasons: the front passage during the night was preceded by prefrontal mass instability and the mesoscale convective system has benefited from the contribution of two consecutive supercellulare structures, with considerable vertical development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of the analysis of the safety climate as an important segment in the efficient achievement of project goals. The paper aims to validate and test the proposed conceptual model of safety climate. Hence the SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) methodology was applied. Statistical analysis was performed using the software package SPSS 18.0 and Smart PLS 3. The five-hypothesis model was developed and tested on a sample of 96 participants employed in 6 project-based companies, whose main activity was the realization of infrastructure projects. Results of empirical research confirm the formulated hypotheses, but show significant differences in the strength of the observed impacts. Within research conclusions the special emphasis is placed on those safety climate factors whose improvement would increase the efficiency of project tasks realization. Finally, the results indicate the fact that development of an adequate safety climate positively influences the efficient achievement of project results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses historical analysis of climate science in the US (from its late colonial origins and into its projected futures) to argue that the dynamics of how scientists came to measure, know, and understand climate have changed over time as a result of struggles within the scientific enterprise intersecting with state-making practices and broader practices of government. I theorize this process as meteorological government. I define meteorological government as the process by which actors deploy meteorological knowledge to constitute, categorize, and calculate climatic and social orders simultaneously. This paper outlines the basis for this theory, drawing from empirical analyses of three consecutive transformations in basic understandings of climate. The first understanding, prevalent from 1780 to the 1840s encompassed 'climate' as a body/atmospheric dynamic. Meteorologists elaborated a colonial worldview that held bodies and climates to be intertwined and, in the American context, undergoing rapid changes. This locus transformed when meteorology, as a scientific enterprise, intersected bureaucratic state formation and industrial capitalism from the 1850s to 1920. Over the course of this period, professional climatologists helped to rationalize climate as a statistically "stable" (that is, temporally unchanging) category tied to delineated geographic areas. Weather and climate were successfully integrated into both a capitalist economic order and the supporting material infrastructures that helped to make nature legible to the circulation of capital. Meteorological government in these terms began to unravel in the mid-20th century. In particular, as a result of the tight integration of atmospheric scientists and new scientific institutions in the post-WWII context, scientists elaborated an understanding of global climate as a radically destabilizing system. A conundrum ensued by the 1980s, when climate science became politicized in a way that fragmented the existing and emerging relationships between science, the state, and capital. I conclude by showing how a historicized theory of meteorological government sheds light on the plausible long-term future relationship between climate change, science, and govemmentality, which likely entails a fragmentation of climate expertise and a central concern with geopolitical security for protected and "adaptive" classes. To the latter, the full paper will draw on empirical analysis of 'climate security' expertise and suggest how that may field may become dominant--and deeply problematic--in a post- Trump or otherwise immediately counter-populist political environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the relevance of oil exploration to climate activism in Aotearoa New Zealand. Qualitative data were collected through 66 interviews and 44 participant observations of events (including environmental conferences, community meetings, and public rallies) between 2013 and 2014. At the time of this study, New Zealand was positioning itself to become a major explorer and extractor of oil and gas for global consumption. This study finds that for marginalized climate activists undermined by skeptics and an uninterested or overburdened public, national efforts to become an emergent O&G frontier reenergized their climate action and awareness raising efforts. Those who remobilized reached three calculations: 1) As a public issue, climate change was "tired," "depressing," and "dead;" 2) An oil rig was tangible and offshore risks were known; and 3) Resisting O&G exploration was a climate action (although in many public settings the connection was best unsaid). For climate activists, speaking openly and critically about oil exploration was one way to act surreptitiously on climate change. In addition, this paper weaves age and issue into an analysis of climate change. There were distinct age differences in terms of style of action (growing protest among young adults versus dawning awareness among older adults) and sentiment (anger and frustration among young adults versus obligation and guilt among older adults). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes experiences with Eco-A, an interactive installation for children and youth. The installation was designed to engage children and youth in active conversation around environmental and climate issues. It was developed using research through design (RtD), i.e., the practice of using design thinking, design processes and artifacts as inquiry methodology. Eco-A was made to help us to explore design spaces for youth and children's engagement with environmental issues and climate change. The installation was used as part of a larger exhibit City Kids at Sentralen, a culture house in Oslo. The paper summarizes our findings from observing Eco-A in use by children and youth, reflections on how well our design decisions supported the desired engagement, and knowledge gained towards future design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In preparation for creating an institutional transformation strategy, researchers conducted a multi-year self-study (NSF ADVANCE 0811076) to identify career advancement and navigation barriers for current women faculty at a large private university and establish how well the university addresses issues important to the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women STEM faculty. Results of a faculty climate survey, objective human resources data review, and benchmarking led to the identification of barriers in the areas of career navigation, climate, and flexibility in work/life management balance which have been previously reported. 1-4 Opportunities for reducing barriers and launching new interventions were assembled into a comprehensive institutional transformation strategy funded in 2012 by NSF ADVANCE (1209115). The goal of this funded project, referred to as AdvanceRIT, increases the representation and advancement of women STEM faculty by creating new interventions, structures, and resources to support faculty career navigation while promoting supportive and aligned cultural change. An additional emphasis adapts interventions to address the needs of key sub-populations including women of color and deaf and hard-of-hearing women faculty. The AdvanceRIT project: 1) refines and strengthens targeted institutional structures; 2) improves the quality of women faculty's work life; 3) aligns institutional, administrative, and informal systems of power and resources to support and sustain progress towards the project goal; and 4) enhances the working environment and support career advancement for women faculty that supports career goals for all faculty. Initiatives within the AdvanceRIT project that are focused on career navigation include the Connectivity Series, Connect Grants Program, Resource Allocation Committee (RAC), Women of Color Connectivity Series and P & T SMARTS, Promotion Package Preparation (P3) Group, AdvanceRIT Team Leadership Development and Team Building Efforts, Dual Career Assistance Program, and Faculty Evaluation Policy/Practice. This paper describes a subset of the AdvanceRIT career navigation activities, outcomes and evaluation, and progress towards sustaining these efforts beyond the length of the current AdvanceRIT funded project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous technical progress, nature being constantly enslaved by human, industrialization, the Earth's drastically changed surface have caused a global ecological crisis. Among the primary global environmental problems there is environmental pollution, water pollution with industrial, agricultural and domestic waste, soil degradation, deforestation, loss of biodiversity. The planet overpopulation leads to unsustainable use of natural resources and their depletion. Most methods of producing energy cause varying degrees of adverse changes in the environment. A man feels all these manifestations, firstly, through the climate change and climate catastrophes. Climate catastrophes can be defined as the cost of economic damage caused by climate-related disasters, i.e. by the processes of long-lived /meso-macro-scale processes (in the range from intra-seasonal to multi-decadal climate variability). The paper examines the human activities' influencing the changes in the natural environment, activities which lead to climate disasters. The goal of the research is to build a model of climate disasters' change caused by human activities' factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changing the physical conditions of the Earth's atmosphere include temperature and distribution of rainfall, which has a wide impact on various sectors of human life. According to the Indonesia Food Security Monitoring Bulletin, Komodo Meteorological Station in East Nusa Tenggara (hereafter denoted as NTT) Province in Indonesia has reported that Komodo was the one of first priority in the classification of districts experiencing drought impacts from climate change that occurred in Indonesia. The study aimed to climate projection in Komodo using the Quantile Matching Bootstrap (QMB) method, which is the block bootstrap simulation technique combined with a quantile prediction and matching method for simulating future daily climate data. The projected data is influenced by the relationship of predictors derived from the Global Climate Models to the observed data. The study was carried out by examining daily rainfall and daily maximum temperature observed data from Komodo Meteorological Station. In this paper, the performance of the QMB approach is improved by three different quantiles i.e. 10th, 50th, and 90th percentiles. The result for QMB produces the average coverage rate for the prediction intervals of around 80%. By using out of sample validation techniques, the results show that this method has successfully projected daily rainfall and daily maximum temperature during rainy season as well as transition from dry season to rainy season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comparison of two mathematical models of photovoltaic modules, namely: a Real Photovoltaic model and an Improved Photovoltaic Model. These models were evaluated to test their accuracy and predict electrical performance, for the purpose of selecting the suitable model under arid climate conditions. An experimental study using two PV technologies mounted in an outdoor setting, namely amorphous silicon (a-Si) and polycrystalline, is then conducted to validate the mathematical model. Results show a good agreement between experiment and simulation using the improved model for the both PV technologies that adequate to simulate the PV production of two technologies under arid climate, a with good coefficient of determination equaling 0.9672 for the polycrystalline and 0.9957 for amorphous technology. This validation represents a useful tool for researchers in this field and for professional use cases in this location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents results from CFD simulations, which aim to provide the best air distribution in a small climate chamber. Inside the climate chamber, the target volume, an exposure box, is placed. Two different ventilation approaches were tested ("diffusion ceiling" and "diffusion floor") with 27 cases simulation cases altogether. The results obtained allow to assess the best case, which is further used for the building of both the climate chamber and the exposure box. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we calculate the Signal-to-Noise (SNR) ratio of a 3-channel commercial (Raymetics) volcanic ash detection system, (LR111-D300), already operating under Met Office organization. The methodology for the accurate estimation is presented for day and nighttime conditions. The results show that SNR values are higher than 10 for ranges up to 13 km for both nighttime and daytime conditions. This is a quite good result compared with other values presented in bibliography and proves that such system is able to detect volcanic ash over a range of 20 km. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the added-value brought by Net Effective Temperature (NET) index and its comparison with the already in-use Temperature-Humidity Index (THI) in characterizing the thermal comfort conditions in Romania during the warm season (May-September). In this context, two approaches are applied: (a) one based on the NET threshold values at daily scale obtained from the 30-years local climatology and (b) by using a comfort scale on monthly mean NET values. The second approach is further used to examine the changes in the comfort classes under climate change scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though common opinion holds that beliefs about climate change are highly "polarized"--dividing Americans into two clear camps of believers and non believers--this paper finds that climate action itself is highly disorganized. Based on interviews with approximately 60 individuals employed at organizations highly engaged in the climate change public sphere, we find little consensus regarding what "counts" as climate action in the first place, and identify a proliferation of various strategies, even among climate believers. Instead, we argue that the understanding of climate change as "polarizing" arises from the particular action context of this issue. Where socially-established routes of meaningful or effective action are lacking, individuals have little basis for pushing back against others' accounts of their motives. Though there exist both "conservative" and "liberal" narratives of others' climate action--which we call "virtue signaling" and "denialism"--climate change strategies are diverse and idiosyncratic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The persistent underrepresentation of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) women faculty has led to a blossoming of scholarship seeking to understand the challenges women encounter in these fields. Research points to negative workplace climate as a central culprit contributing to negative outcomes among STEM women faculty members. In this paper, we explore how two aspects of workplace climate--gender harassment and sexual harassment climate--are linked to job burnout, turnover intentions, psychological distress, and self-rated physical health. Using data from STEM faculty at a mid-sized university located in the upper Midwest (N = 117 faculty members), we find that perceptions the institution will treat sexual harassment charges seriously (sexual harassment climate) is negatively related to men's job burnout and psychological distress and positively related to men's self-rated physical health. In contrast, sexual harassment climate was not significant in predicting any outcomes among women faculty. Instead, gender harassment features more prominently in the experiences of STEM women faculty, with gender harassment associated with lower self-rated physical health and higher turnover intentions among women. Taken together, our findings extend the existing literature by documenting that outcomes for STEM men faculty are more strongly shaped by the institutional climate surrounding sexual harassment, whereas women's outcomes are more closely linked to witnessing actual forms of gender harassment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On September 20, 2017 Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico; the destruction was unprecedented. In the wake of the storm, grassroots mobilization for a sustainable and just recovery for Puerto Rico took root. This paper provides a qualitative analyses of the Just Recovery coalition formation using social movement scholarship and world-systems approach, informed by a decolonial perspective. More explicit in this work is the intent to illuminate grievances embedded in socio-historical and political conflict as a means to contextualize sources of contention contributing to the rise of collaborative collective action and the convergence of several organizations. Study of the JustRecovery campaign provides an opportunity to explore how environmental instability from a natural disaster can become a catalyst for mobilization when deep-rooted grievances become more salient. It provides a theoretical contribution recognizing strengths of the political process model (McAdam 1982) and the framing perspective (Snow et al. 1986), but more so it emphasizes the importance and need to delineate historical context through world-systems theory, specifically with regard to the tensions arising from coloniality. Using archival data and the collation of extant literature, this work draws connections between historical, socio-political processes that have contributed to contention by examining policies and legislation tied to historic and present day colonialism in Puerto Rico, with a focus on food systems and agrarian change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While climate change seems an obvious phenomenon, but what causes the climate to change is still debated. There are many people, including some scientists who are skeptical about the role of humanity in the process and argue that climate change is a natural phenomenon caused by "the Little Ice Age" as they call it and has nothing or little to do with human activities on earth. Others argue that what is happening to the climate today is mostly manmade. The latter group refer to a substantial body of peer reviewed scientific research that shows humans playing major role in the increase in greenhouse gasses, which is responsible for the climate change. No matter what causes climate to change, the economic impact of it cannot be ignored. The purpose of this paper is to briefly review climate change and what causes it, and then focus on the social and economic impact of climate change on Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Egypt is characterized by a hot desert climate. Most of the residential building occupants suffering from indoor environment because of the high indoor Temperature and the majority of buildings have poor design related to the climate. This paper investigates different passive design strategies to enhance energy efficient design and increase the performance of thermal comfort in a typical residential building in New Minia, Egypt. The approaches are conducted by computational IDA ICE 4.7.1 program to simulate different scenarios. The Passive design strategy is relying on the site and climate conditions. It is considered as one of the most effective approach to enhance occupant’s thermal comfort and reduce energy consumption of the building. Several scenarios of passive design were applied, including thermal insulation, wall to window ratio (WWR), glazing pane, form compact, infiltration, fixed shading, wind catcher and fixed shading. The results showed that thermal insulation contributed to the most effective passive strategies while the infiltration is accounted to the least effective passive strategy. The acceptable thermal comfort hours in all scenarios achieved satisfactory results and the average daily hours for the unacceptable thermal comfort is around 4hours for the whole year. This study concluded that adopting certain passive design strategies can reduce the energy for cooling and increase the thermal comfort performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in high performance computing technologies are increasing the model complexity, model resolution and the number of simulations in the climate science. Interactive exploration and analysis of these complex, multi-field climate data sets has been identified as one of the major current challenges in scientific visualization today. Without direct 3D multi-field visualization it is hard to see, for example, important correlative effects between vertical wind velocities and transport of volumetric atmosphere. Since the data have complicated 3D structures and are highly time-dependent, the visualization approach must handle this dynamic data in a highly interactive way. In this paper we propose a real-time multi-field visualization framework for earth climate simulation data. A novel visualization pipeline is presented for on-demand data processing, enabling scalable handling large-scale climate dataset. The GPU hardware accelerated multi-field visualization method in the framework allows for the interactive visual analysis of the multiple intersecting climate phenomenons. An information-theoretic based wind field analysis method is also implemented in the visualization framework to help scientist to gain deeper understanding of underlying multi-field climate data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A physical and distributed approach was proposed by Reggiani et al. (1998) to describe the hydrological responses at the catchment scale. The rigorous balance equations for mass, momentum, energy and entropy are applied on the divided spatial domains which are called Representative ElementaryWatershed (REW). Based on the 2nd law of thermodynamics, Reggiani (1999) put forward several constitutive relations of hydrological processes. Associated with the above equations, the framework of a physically based distributed hydrological model was established. The crucial step for successfully applying this approach is to develop physically based closure relations for these terms and simplify the set of equations. The paper showed how a theoretical hydrological model based on the REW method was applied to prosecute the hydrological response simulation for a humid watershed. The established model was used to carry on the long-term (daily runoff forecasting) and short-term (runoff simulation of storm event) hydrological simulation in the studied watershed and the simulated results were analysed. These results and analysis proved that this physically based distributed hydrological model can produce satisfied simulation results and describe the hydrological responses correctly. Finally, several aspects to improve the model demonstrated by the results and analysis were put forward which would be carried out in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the climatic and pedological conditions for fruit and grapevine cultivation on the territory of the city of Smederevo. The analysis of climate parameters and the availability and quality of land resources, of which agricultural production depends on, led to the conclusion that this area has favorable weather conditions and good quality land resources for intensive and profitable fruit and grape productions. In the second part of the paper, the authors analyze the structure of production and yields of fruits and grapes in the period 1997-2013 and propose measures for their improvement by introducing complex agro-technical and hydro-ameliorative measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate change represents an issue recognized at international level and has impacts both in developing human society and environment. Also, climate change is influenced by the economic activities of mankind. For these reasons, the governments are adopting policies and are implementing measures for mitigating climate change. This paper has the purpose to examine the relationships between agriculture and climate change by analyzing, on one hand, the impacts of climate change on agriculture and, on other hand, the greenhouse gas emissions generated by all activities from agriculture. This has been done by reviewing the scientific literature, by using the international and national databases and by applying the regression model. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the correlation between the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture and the arable land at Romanian level in order to determine if the size of arable land represents a causing factor of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. The results of the research show the existence of an interdependency relationship between agriculture and climate change, emphasize the importance of a good management of GHG emissions from agriculture for the future of our planet, present a comparison with the energy and construction sectors, and show that the GHG emissions from agriculture are not influenced by the dimension of the arable land. This study could be used further by policy makers to reduce emissions and to mitigate climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long term analysis of 15 years of lidar data derived from a Raman lidar at Thessaloniki is presented here. All measurements have been processed with the latest version 4 of the EARLINET Single Calculus Chain algorithm and are compared with the results from the current operational retrieval algorithm. In this paper we investigate the consistency between the EARLINET database and SCC for the case of Thessaloniki and we identify the issues to be considered when switching from current operations to SCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the frequency and trend of the rainfall amounts of the rainy periods lasting 2, 3 and 4 days, which occurred at 4 weather stations in MaramureŠ County, in the period 1961-2016. The homogeneity of the daily data set has been analyzed, using the methodology described by Wijngaard et al. (2003), based on Pettitt, Standard normal homogeneity, Buishand and von Neumann tests, at the 99% significance level and for the frequency analysis, HYFRAN software was used. Subsequently, the frequency of the precipitation amounts of the mentioned periods was calculated, using the method of equal intervals. The cumulative amounts in 2-day intervals show the highest frequency for Class 1 (0.2-6.5 mm), with a probability of occurrence of 45-55%, the cumulative amounts in 3 days for Classes 1 (0.4-7.4 mm) and 2 (7.5-14.5 mm), with a probability of 22-37%, and the cumulative amounts in 4 days for Class 2 (9.9-17.8 mm), with a probability of 21-30%. The decadal distribution of periods accumulating exceptional amounts of precipitation, ≥50 mm, was then analyzed and it was established that the maximum risk interval of their occurrence is June-September. The frequency, trend, degree of assurance and variability of the maximum annual rainfall quantities of the mentioned periods were also studied. The return periods of maximum annual rainfall quantities registered in 2-4 days are ranging between 29.8 and 580 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the perspective of the global climate changes, the aim of this paper is to analyse the extreme events that have taken place near the Romanian harbors in the last 30 years. In order to identify these extreme events, the hindcast data simulated by a wave modelling system implemented in the Black Sea will be used. The main wave parameters simulated by a wave prediction system implemented over the entire basin of the Black Sea are evaluated together with the wind fields considering the data provided by the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction, Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (NCEP-CFSR). Through a statistical processing, the representative parameters of the extreme weather events will be evaluated in order to achieve a forecast by identifying a pattern of repetitiveness or intensification of the values of these parameters that manifest themselves within a limited geographical limit over a known period of time. Four different areas were targeted in this work: Port of Constanta, Port of Mangalia, Port of Midia and Port of Sulina (the entrance in the Sulina arm of the Danube River). Most the economic activities developed in the harbor areas are directly dependent of the navigation conditions. From this perspective, the main objective of this work is to increase the safety operations in the harbor areas, especially by a better understanding of the most relevant patterns of the environmental matrix in the vicinity of the main Romanian harbors at the Black Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the climatic suitability for touristic activities in Constanta county so that the valorization of the services in this domain should be as lucrative as possible. It was thus observed that the impact of climate on tourism is manifested firstly at the level of psychology, bad weather becoming through its inconveniences an obstacle rarely overcome by the tourist. This paper emphasizes the degree of involvement of the main climatic elements such as nebulosity, frequency of precipitations and their aggregation state, air temperature, winds etc in the definition of the notion "good weather", using two indicators : The climatic-balneary index and the climatic-touristic index [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern scientific enterprises are inherently knowledge-intensive. In general, scientific studies in domains such as geosciences, climate, and biology require the acquisition and manipulation of large amounts of experimental and field data in order to create inputs for large-scale computational simulations. The results of these simulations must then be analyzed, leading to refinements of inputs and models and additional simulations. Further, these results must be managed and archived to provide justifications for regulatory decisions and publications that are based on these models. In this paper we introduce our Velo framework that is designed as a reusable, domain independent knowledge management infrastructure for modeling and simulation. Velo leverages, integrates, and extends open source collaborative and content management technologies to create a scalable and flexible core platform that can be tailored to specific scientific domains. We describe the architecture of Velo for managing and associating the various types of data that are used and created in modeling and simulation projects, as well as the framework for integrating domain-specific tools. To demonstrate a realization of Velo, we describe the Geologic Sequestration Software Suite (GS3) that has been developed to support geologic sequestration modeling. This provides a concrete example of the inherent extensibility and utility of our approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerosol backscatter and extinction coefficient profiles derived by the Single Calculus Chain (SCC) algorithm, which was developed within the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET) are compared with profiles derived by the operational inversion algorithm of Thessaloniki. Measurements performed during the period 2001-2014, that have already been uploaded in the EARLINET database, are considered in this study. The objective of this study is to verify, for the case of Thessaloniki, the consistency of the climatology of the aerosol profiles based on SCC and the EARLINET database data respectively. In this paper we show example comparisons for each lidar product submitted in the official database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with applying of the biogeographic model of climatic conditions of forest vegetation zones in the Czech Republic to forest management strategy under predicted climate changes. The biogeographic model which was developed at Palacky University Olomouc is based on climatological prediction data for the time period 2010 - 2100 according to Representative Concentration Pathways regional scenarios and geobiocoenological data related to forest vegetation zonation. As results presented, climatic conditions of forest vegetation zones in the Czech Republic will improve the climate conditions of the area of the first - fifth forest vegetation zones and the area of these zones will increase. On the contrary, the area with climatic conditions of sixth to eighth forest vegetation zones will significantly decrease in prediction time horizon. The biogeographic model can be applied as a support tool for forest management strategies of adaptation and mitigation measures in forested landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The built environment of man has never been and is still not controlled by specialists (architect, planner, etc.). This environment was the result of a popular architecture, which is the product of mass culture nourished by everydayness, the environment and local engineering. This habitat expresses the relationship between environmental constraints and local values, because it reasons in terms of ecosystems and environmental constraints. But, these days in a climate that is increasingly changing, the genius of the physical environment (from city to home) fades. The city, the home succumb simultaneously to an environmental crisis, man at the center of concerns is undermined, subject to climatic discomfort. This paper aims to show the ingenuity of the ancestral production in the most difficult environments to live, facing the passivity of contemporary production in relation to climate and climatic change.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elements of Earth's cryosphere, such as the summer Arctic sea ice pack, are melting at precipitous rates that have far outpaced the projections of large scale climate models. Understanding key processes, such as the evolution of melt ponds that form atop Arctic sea ice and control its optical properties, is crucial to improving climate projections. These types of critical phenomena in the cryosphere are of increasing interest as the climate system warms, and are crucial for predicting its stability. In this paper, we consider how geometrical properties of melt ponds can influence ice-albedo feedback and how it can influence the equilibria in the energy balance of the planet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing evidence that variability associated with the 11-year solar cycle has an impact at the Earth's surface and influences its weather and climate. Although the direct response to the Sun's variability is extremely small, a number of different mechanisms have been suggested that could amplify the signal, resulting in regional signals that are much larger than expected. In this paper the observed solar cycle signal at the Earth's surface is described, together with proposed mechanisms that involve modulation via the total incoming solar irradiance and via modulation of the ultraviolet part of the solar spectrum that influences ozone production in the stratosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays the world is changing in many ways. There is a significant influence of the climate change, which can make natural disasters even stronger than before. Moreover, the disaster consequences are more serious due to rising living standards in developed society, the rising level of urbanization, technological development, migration and density of population, and other changes in environment. The organizations of crisis management in public administration have to implement a number of measures to react to these changes and to adapt to the new situation. An important tool for such response and adaptation is implementation of the resilience concept. The purpose of the article is to highlight the importance of the resilience concept in cities and it is role for disaster risk reduction. There are few approaches for adoption of resilient city concept. In the paper, we are focusing on UNIDSR methodology. Main research results are focused on measures, which makes cities more resilient to the changes of climate and natural disasters. In the article is presented our theoretical framework of resilient city concept application in the Slovak republic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rayleigh and Raman scatter measurements from The University of Western Ontario Purple Crow Lidar (PCL) have been used to develop temperature climatologies for the stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere using data from 1994 to 2013 (Rayleigh system) and from 1999 to 2013 (vibrational Raman system). Temperature retrievals from Rayleigh-scattering lidar measurements have been performed using the methods by Hauchecorne and Chanin (1980; henceforth HC) and Khanna et al. (2012). Argall and Sica (2007) used the HC method to compute a climatology of the PCL measurements from 1994 to 2004 for 35 to 110 km, while Iserhienrhien et al. (2013) applied the same technique from 1999 to 2007 for 10 to 35 km. Khanna et al. (2012) used the inversion technique to retrieve atmospheric temperature profiles and found that it had advantages over the HC method. This paper presents an extension of the PCL climatologies created by Argall and Sica (2007) and Iserhienrhien et al. (2013). Both the inversion and HC methods were used to form the Rayleigh climatology, while only the latter was adopted for the Raman climatology. Then, two different approaches were used to merge the climatologies from 10 to 110 km. Among four different functional identities, a trigonometric hyperbolic relation results in the best choice for merging temperature profiles between the Raman and Low level Rayleigh channels, with an estimated uncertainty of 0.9 K for merging temperatures. Also, error function produces best result with uncertainty of 0.7 K between the Low Level Rayleigh and High Level Rayleigh channels. The results show that the temperature climatologies produced by the HC method when using a seed pressure are comparable to the climatologies produced by the inversion method. The Rayleigh extended climatology is slightly warmer below 80 km and slightly colder above 80 km. There are no significant differences in temperature between the extended and the previous Raman channel climatologies. Through out this study, we discuss the data collected by PCL for a long term (1994-2013) up to 110 km. Moreover, different merging functions in various methods were used to merge the temperature climatologies for different channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will provide an overview of some projects in support of Wind Energy development involving Doppler lidar measurement of wind flow profiles. The high temporal and vertical resolution of these profiles allows the uncertainty of Numerical Weather Prediction models to be evaluated in forecasting dynamic processes and wind flow phenomena in the layer of rotor-blade operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

West Africa and the adjacent oceanic regions are very important locations for studying dust properties and their influence on weather and climate. The SHADOW (Study of SaHAran Dust Over West Africa) campaign is performing a multi-scale and multi-laboratory study of aerosol properties and dynamics using a set of in situ and remote sensing instruments at an observation site located at IRD (Institute for Research and Development) Center, Mbour, Senegal (14°N, 17°W). In this paper, we present the results of lidar measurements performed during the first phase of SHADOW which occurred in March-April, 2015. The multiwavelength Mie- Raman lidar acquired 3β+2α+1δ measurements during this period. This set of measurements has permitted particle intensive properties such as extinction and backscattering Ångström exponents (BAE) for 355/532 nm wavelengths corresponding lidar ratios and depolarization ratio at 532 nm to be determined. The backscattering Ångström exponent during the dust episodes decreased to ~-0.7, while the extinction Ångström exponent though being negative, was greater than -0.2. Low values of BAE can likely be explained by an increase in the imaginary part of the dust refractive index at 355 nm compared to 532 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An overview is provided of the obscurantpenetrating OPAL lidar sensor developed for harsh environments, including poor visibility conditions. The underlying technology, hardware and software architecture of the sensor are presented along with some examples of its software modules' applications. The paper also discusses the performance of the OPAL in the presence of various types of obscurants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proposed climate monitoring system aims to address the substantial risks to human health, climate stability, and ecological balance posed by air pollution, utilizing Raspberry Pi as a central procession unit and integrating various sensors which also incorporate sensors to measure the concentrations of PM1, PM2.5, PM10, and black carbon. This method meets the need for effective and immediate air quality monitoring and offers useful information to communities, academics, and policy makers. Through IoT connectivity, the gathered data are sent to a cloud-based platform for analysis and visualization. The system offers a user-friendly interface that presents actionable insights for informed decision making. Its warning capabilities alert users when pollution levels exceed thresholds, and this system also contributes to a comprehensive understanding of air pollution. By measuring particulate matter and black carbon levels, it supports the development of effective air quality management strategies. The system helps to take proactive measures and create cleaner and healthier environments. In conclusion, the proposed climate monitoring system utilizing Raspberry Pi, sensors, IoT connectivity, and machine learning techniques offers an effective and real-time solution for monitoring air quality. The integration of IoT connectivity allows for remote access to air quality data, while machine learning algorithms analyze the data and initiate alerts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the interplay between self-efficacy and digital skills can open our eyes to the ways in which students view their own abilities to cope with the range of software and hardware that they might experience inside and outside of education. It may help us understand how better to ensure our students are prepared for gainful employment. This paper suggests that, by applying Q methodology, we can more fully appreciate the various aspects of digital literacy and self-efficacy for a set of students. It follows that such knowledge can yield more specific ideas about where and how to make students more confident in their digital practice and this is discussed in relation to teaching Geographical Information Systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper is analyzed rainfall regime with rainfall indices: the Martonne precipitation index is calculated Lang, Mayr tetratherm is plotted as an arithmetic average of the warmest four months in a row. We calculated the eco-climatic indices for the city of Bucharest, a city with a lot of vegetation, parks, and green spaces to highlight issues tend aridity of the region. According to the data processed, the city of Bucharest has a temperate continental climate. Specific four seasons, winter, spring, summer and autumn. Bucharest winters are very mild with little snow and relatively high temperature, while in recent years are very hot summers, very hot with little precipitation. Rainfall was recorded by the weather station. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desertification, or degradation of arid areas, is nowadays widely recognized as a major environmental problem that can severely compromise the sustainable development of the Mediterranean area. This process, often considered as a problem concerning developing countries, also involves developed countries and it is known that arid and semi-arid environments cover 40% of global earth surface where 1 billion human beings live. After the analysis of desertification indexes, this paper considers a prone area in Calabria region and proposes a parametric procedure defined IDEAs (Identification of Desertification with Environmentally Sensitive Areas) based on the MEDALUS approach in an area of the upper Ionian sea territory (Villapiana municipality, Calabria Region, Italy). This procedure exploits the ESAs methodology having the peculiarity that it gives a solution independent from the number and information layers that constitute the base layer. The model evaluates some quality indexes (climate, soil, vegetation and management), each evaluated as a function of the different base indicators considered that, being representative of the different erosion processes (such as erosion, evapotranspiration, drought resistance), help to define desertification in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes a case study approach to outlining the pursuit of early design energy analysis on two National Park Service (NPS) projects. 'Early design energy analysis' here refers to analysis during programming and schematic design with inputs based on reasonable assumptions to obtain results that guide the rest of the design process. Case Study 1: The proposed 17,000 gross square feet visitor center at Castillo de San Marcos National Monument (CASA) in St. Augustine, FL, is required by federal regulations to achieve energy performance that is 30% better than an ASHRAE 90.1-2004 baseline (a codified version of the Architecture 2030 challenge). Case Study 2: The proposed 60,000 gross square feet Marine Research and Education Center in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, is being designed to achieve net-zero energy performance and Living Building Challenge certification. Adaptive comfort based design aids in integrating passive survivability, cooling-load avoidance, natural ventilation, and onsite renewable energy generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developed from physical experiments, Coefficient of Utilization (CU - the ratio of interior illuminance to unobstructed exterior illuminance) was examined in a previous paper in terms of its effectiveness in predicting hourly daylight quantity in wall-based sidelighting designs [1]. The results showed that the CU method, which was based on exterior illuminance on a vertical plane, was effective in studying climate-based daylighting performance in building spaces with vertical glazing (Wall-based). In the present paper, the validity of the CU method is examined for spaces with upward-facing apertures (Roof-based). The results show that the CU method significantly improves the accuracy of the daylight performance assessment for toplighting systems with upward facing apertures. This study, along with the previous one focusing on wall-based apertures, provides an effective and efficient method for predicting hourly daylight quantity in buildings on a year-round basis by using an approach based on physical experiment testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is one of the major challenges of our century - a complex area in which to improve our knowledge and understanding to take immediate measures to effectively address and correct, in terms of the challenges of climate change, respecting precautionary principle. (Romanian National Strategy on Climate Change). In this paper we discussed the main issues facing the wine and measures to mitigate possible negative effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last years presented in Romania large variations regarding the temperatures and precipitations regimes. The western part of this country (which includes and the Banat region) was affected by floods and droughts, phenomenon which followed at very short periods of time. All of these phenomenon's can be understand as results of climatic changes. Due to its past hydrological situation, large areas from Banat region are covered by land reclamation and improvement areas, unfortunately part of them with an improper regime of work. These systems had an important role in facing the effects of climatic changes. Unfortunately still persist the menace of different water crisis situations; result of human's activities in the large frame of climatic changes. This paper will present graphs and maps representing different climatic indicators which were computed using different programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]