Factors shaping large-scale gradients in seed physical defence: Seeds are not better defended towards the tropics

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Si-Chong Chen ◽  
Angela T. Moles
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mateusz Taszarek ◽  
John T. Allen ◽  
Mattia Marchio ◽  
Harold E. Brooks

AbstractGlobally, thunderstorms are responsible for a significant fraction of rainfall, and in the mid-latitudes often produce extreme weather, including large hail, tornadoes and damaging winds. Despite this importance, how the global frequency of thunderstorms and their accompanying hazards has changed over the past 4 decades remains unclear. Large-scale diagnostics applied to global climate models have suggested that the frequency of thunderstorms and their intensity is likely to increase in the future. Here, we show that according to ERA5 convective available potential energy (CAPE) and convective precipitation (CP) have decreased over the tropics and subtropics with simultaneous increases in 0–6 km wind shear (BS06). Conversely, rawinsonde observations paint a different picture across the mid-latitudes with increasing CAPE and significant decreases to BS06. Differing trends and disagreement between ERA5 and rawinsondes observed over some regions suggest that results should be interpreted with caution, especially for CAPE and CP across tropics where uncertainty is the highest and reliable long-term rawinsonde observations are missing.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Koji Kawamura ◽  
Suzune Nishikawa ◽  
Kotaro Hirano ◽  
Ardianor Ardianor ◽  
Rudy Agung Nugroho ◽  
...  

AbstractAlgal biofuel research aims to make a renewable, carbon–neutral biofuel by using oil-producing microalgae. The freshwater microalga Botryococcus braunii has received much attention due to its ability to accumulate large amounts of petroleum-like hydrocarbons but suffers from slow growth. We performed a large-scale screening of fast-growing strains with 180 strains isolated from 22 ponds located in a wide geographic range from the tropics to cool-temperate. A fast-growing strain, Showa, which recorded the highest productivities of algal hydrocarbons to date, was used as a benchmark. The initial screening was performed by monitoring optical densities in glass tubes and identified 9 wild strains with faster or equivalent growth rates to Showa. The biomass-based assessments showed that biomass and hydrocarbon productivities of these strains were 12–37% and 11–88% higher than that of Showa, respectively. One strain, OIT-678 established a new record of the fastest growth rate in the race B strains with a doubling time of 1.2 days. The OIT-678 had 36% higher biomass productivity, 34% higher hydrocarbon productivity, and 20% higher biomass density than Showa at the same cultivation conditions, suggesting the potential of the new strain to break the record for the highest productivities of hydrocarbons.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina Nilsson-Kerr ◽  
Pallavi Anand ◽  
Philip B. Holden ◽  
Steven C. Clemens ◽  
Melanie J. Leng

AbstractMost of Earth’s rain falls in the tropics, often in highly seasonal monsoon rains, which are thought to be coupled to the inter-hemispheric migrations of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone in response to the seasonal cycle of insolation. Yet characterization of tropical rainfall behaviour in the geologic past is poor. Here we combine new and existing hydroclimate records from six large-scale tropical regions with fully independent model-based rainfall reconstructions across the last interval of sustained warmth and ensuing climate cooling between 130 to 70 thousand years ago (Marine Isotope Stage 5). Our data-model approach reveals large-scale heterogeneous rainfall patterns in response to changes in climate. We note pervasive dipole-like tropical precipitation patterns, as well as different loci of precipitation throughout Marine Isotope Stage 5 than recorded in the Holocene. These rainfall patterns cannot be solely attributed to meridional shifts in the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone.


2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (12) ◽  
pp. 4384-4399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rolando R. Garcia ◽  
Ruth Lieberman ◽  
James M. Russell ◽  
Martin G. Mlynczak

Abstract Observations made by the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) instrument on board NASA’s Thermosphere–Ionosphere–Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite have been processed using Salby’s fast Fourier synoptic mapping (FFSM) algorithm. The mapped data provide a first synoptic look at the mean structure and traveling waves of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) since the launch of the TIMED satellite in December 2001. The results show the presence of various wave modes in the MLT, which reach largest amplitude above the mesopause and include Kelvin and Rossby–gravity waves, eastward-propagating diurnal oscillations (“non-sun-synchronous tides”), and a set of quasi-normal modes associated with the so-called 2-day wave. The latter exhibits marked seasonal variability, attaining large amplitudes during the solstices and all but disappearing at the equinoxes. SABER data also show a strong quasi-stationary Rossby wave signal throughout the middle atmosphere of the winter hemisphere; the signal extends into the Tropics and even into the summer hemisphere in the MLT, suggesting ducting by westerly background zonal winds. At certain times of the year, the 5-day Rossby normal mode and the 4-day wave associated with instability of the polar night jet are also prominent in SABER data.


2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 363-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Bencherif ◽  
L. El Amraoui ◽  
G. Kirgis ◽  
J. Leclair De Bellevue ◽  
A. Hauchecorne ◽  
...  

Abstract. This paper reports on an increase of ozone event observed over Kerguelen (49.4° S, 70.3° E) in relationship with large-scale isentropic transport. This is evidenced by ground-based observations (co-localised radiosonde and SAOZ experiments) together with satellite global observations (Aura/MLS) assimilated into MOCAGE, a Méteo-France model. The study is based on the analyses of the first ozonesonde experiment never recorded at the Kerguelen site within the framework of a French campaign called ROCK that took place from April to August 2008. Comparisons and interpretations of the observed event are supported by co-localised SAOZ observations, by global mapping of tracers (O3, N2O and columns of O3) from Aura/MLS and Aura/OMI experiments, and by model simulations of Ertel Potential Vorticity initialised by the ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) data reanalyses. Satellite and ground-based observational data revealed a consistent increase of ozone in the local stratosphere by mid-April 2008. Additionally, Ozone (O3) and nitrous oxide (N2O) profiles obtained during January–May 2008 using the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) aboard the Aura satellite are assimilated into MOCAGE (MOdèle de Chimie Atmosphérique à Grande Echelle), a global three-dimensional chemistry transport model of Météo-France. The assimilated total O3 values are consistent with SAOZ ground observations (within ±5%), and isentropic distributions of O3 match well with maps of advected potential vorticity (APV) derived from the MIMOSA model, a high-resolution advection transport model, and from the ECMWF reanalysis. The event studied seems to be related to the isentropic transport of air masses that took place simultaneously in the lower- and middle-stratosphere, respectively from the polar region and from the tropics to the mid-latitudes. In fact, the ozone increase observed by mid April 2008 resulted simultaneously: (1) from an equator-ward departure of polar air masses characterised with a high-ozone layer in the lower stratosphere (near the 475 K isentropic level), and (2) from a reverse isentropic transport from the tropics to mid- and high-latitudes in the upper stratosphere (nearby the 700 K level). The increase of ozone observed over Kerguelen from the 16-April ozonesonde profile is thus attributed to a concomitant isentropic transport of ozone in two stratospheric layers: the tropical air moving southward and reaching over Kerguelen in the upper stratosphere, and the polar air passing over the same area but in the lower stratosphere.


2007 ◽  
Vol 135 (6) ◽  
pp. 2226-2241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasu-Masa Kodama ◽  
Haruna Okabe ◽  
Yukie Tomisaka ◽  
Katsuya Kotono ◽  
Yoshimi Kondo ◽  
...  

Abstract Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission observations from multiple sensors including precipitation radar, microwave and infrared radiometers, and a lightning sensor were used to describe precipitation, lightning frequency, and microphysical properties of precipitating clouds over the midlatitude ocean. Precipitation over midlatitude oceans was intense during winter and was often accompanied by frequent lightning. Case studies over the western North Pacific from January and February 2000 showed that some lightning occurred in deep precipitating clouds that developed around cyclones and their attendant fronts. Lightning also occurred in convective clouds that developed in regions of large-scale subsidence behind extratropical cyclones where cold polar air masses were strongly heated and moistened from below by the ocean. The relationships between lightning frequency and the minimum polarization corrected temperature (PCT) at 37 and 85 GHz and the profile of the maximum radar reflectivity resembled relationships derived previously for cases in the Tropics. Smaller lapse rates in the maximum radar reflectivity above the melting level indicate vigorous convection that, although shallow and relatively rare, was as strong as convection over tropical oceans. Lightning was most frequent in systems for which the minimum PCT at 37 GHz was less than 260 K. Lightning and PCT at 85 GHz were not as well correlated as lightning and PCT at 37 GHz. Thus, lightning was frequent in convective clouds that contained many large hydrometeors in the mixed-phase layer, because PCT is more sensitive to large hydrometeors at 37 than at 85 GHz. The relationship between lightning occurrence and cloud-top heights derived from infrared observations was not straightforward. Microphysical conditions that support lightning over the midlatitude ocean in winter were similar to conditions in the Tropics and are consistent with Takahashi’s theory of riming electrification.


2021 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. e58283
Author(s):  
Clístenes Williams Araújo do Nascimento ◽  
Caroline Miranda Biondi ◽  
Fernando Bruno Vieira da Silva ◽  
Luiz Henrique Vieira Lima

Soil contamination by metals threatens both the environment and human health and hence requires remedial actions. The conventional approach of removing polluted soils and replacing them with clean soils (excavation) is very costly for low-value sites and not feasible on a large scale. In this scenario, phytoremediation emerged as a promising cost-effective and environmentally-friendly technology to render metals less bioavailable (phytostabilization) or clean up metal-polluted soils (phytoextraction). Phytostabilization has demonstrable successes in mining sites and brownfields. On the other hand, phytoextraction still has few examples of successful applications. Either by using hyperaccumulating plants or high biomass plants induced to accumulate metals through chelator addition to the soil, major phytoextraction bottlenecks remain, mainly the extended time frame to remediation and lack of revenue from the land during the process. Due to these drawbacks, phytomanagement has been proposed to provide economic, environmental, and social benefits until the contaminated site returns to productive usage. Here, we review the evolution, promises, and limitations of these phytotechnologies. Despite the lack of commercial phytoextraction operations, there have been significant advances in understanding phytotechnologies' main constraints. Further investigation on new plant species, especially in the tropics, and soil amendments can potentially provide the basis to transform phytoextraction into an operational metal clean-up technology in the future. However, at the current state of the art, phytotechnology is moving the focus from remediation technologies to pollution attenuation and palliative cares.


Climate ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 168
Author(s):  
Julien Boucharel ◽  
Loane Santiago ◽  
Rafael Almar ◽  
Elodie Kestenare

At first order, wind-generated ocean surface waves represent the dominant forcing of open-coast morpho-dynamics and associated vulnerability over a wide range of time scales. It is therefore paramount to improve our understanding of the regional coastal wave variability, particularly the occurrence of extremes, and to evaluate how they are connected to large-scale atmospheric regimes. Here, we propose a new “2-ways wave tracking algorithm” to evaluate and quantify the open-ocean origins and associated atmospheric forcing patterns of coastal wave extremes all around the Pacific basin for the 1979–2020 period. Interestingly, the results showed that while extreme coastal events tend to originate mostly from their closest wind-forcing regime, the combined influence from all other remote atmospheric drivers is similar (55% local vs. 45% remote) with, in particular, ~22% coming from waves generated remotely in the opposite hemisphere. We found a strong interconnection between the tropical and extratropical regions with around 30% of coastal extremes in the tropics originating at higher latitudes and vice-versa. This occurs mostly in the boreal summer through the increased seasonal activity of the southern jet-stream and the northern tropical cyclone basins. At interannual timescales, we evidenced alternatingly increased coastal wave extremes between the western and eastern Pacific that emerge from the distinct seasonal influence of ENSO in the Northern and SAM in the Southern Hemisphere on their respective paired wind-wave regimes. Together these results pave the way for a better understanding of the climate connection to wave extremes, which represents the preliminary step toward better regional projections and forecasts of coastal waves.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonie Villiger ◽  
Heini Wernli ◽  
Maxi Boettcher ◽  
Martin Hagen ◽  
Franziska Aemisegger

Abstract. Shallow clouds in the trade-wind region over the North Atlantic contribute substantially to the global radiative budget. In the vicinity of the Caribbean island Barbados, they appear in different mesoscale organisation patterns with distinct net cloud radiative effects (CRE). Cloud formation processes in this region are typically controlled by the prevailing large-scale subsidence. However, occasionally weather systems from remote origin cause significant disturbances. This study investigates the complex cloud-circulation interactions during the field campaign EUREC4A (Elucidate the Couplings Between Clouds, Convection and Circulation) from 16 January to 20 February 2020, using a combination of Eulerian and Lagrangian diagnostics. Based on observations and ERA5 reanalyses, we identify the relevant processes and characterise the formation pathways of two moist anomalies above the Barbados Cloud Observatory (BCO), one in the lower (~1000–650 hPa) and one in the middle troposphere (~650–300 hPa). These moist anomalies are associated with strongly negative CRE values and with contrasting long-range transport processes from the extratropics and the tropics, respectively. The low-level moist anomaly is characterised by an unusually thick cloud layer, high precipitation totals and a strongly negative CRE. Its formation is connected to an “extratropical dry intrusion” (EDI) that interacts with a trailing cold front. A quasi-climatological (2010–2020) analysis reveals that EDIs lead to different conditions at the BCO depending on how they interact with the associated cold front. Based on this climatology, we discuss the relevance of the strong large-scale forcing by EDIs for the low-cloud patterns near the BCO and the related CRE. The second case study about the mid-tropospheric moist anomaly is associated with an extended and persistent mixed-phase shelf cloud and the lowest daily CRE value observed during the campaign. Its formation is linked to “tropical mid-level detrainment” (TMD), which refers to detrainment from tropical deep convection near the melting layer. The quasi-climatological analysis shows that TMDs consistently lead to mid-tropospheric moist anomalies over the BCO and that the detrainment height controls the magnitude of the anomaly. However, no systematic relationship was found between the amplitude of this mid-tropospheric moist anomaly and the CRE at the BCO. Overall, this study reveals the important impact of the long-range transport, driven by dynamical processes either in the extratropics or the tropics, on the variability of the vertical structure of moisture and clouds, and on the resulting CRE in the North Atlantic winter trades.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document