scholarly journals Monitoring and Modeling the Terrestrial System from Pores to Catchments: The Transregional Collaborative Research Center on Patterns in the Soil–Vegetation–Atmosphere System

2015 ◽  
Vol 96 (10) ◽  
pp. 1765-1787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clemens Simmer ◽  
Insa Thiele-Eich ◽  
Matthieu Masbou ◽  
Wulf Amelung ◽  
Heye Bogena ◽  
...  

Abstract Most activities of humankind take place in the transition zone between four compartments of the terrestrial system: the unconfined aquifer, including the unsaturated zone; surface water; vegetation; and atmosphere. The mass, momentum, and heat energy fluxes between these compartments drive their mutual state evolution. Improved understanding of the processes that drive these fluxes is important for climate projections, weather prediction, flood forecasting, water and soil resources management, agriculture, and water quality control. The different transport mechanisms and flow rates within the compartments result in complex patterns on different temporal and spatial scales that make predictions of the terrestrial system challenging for scientists and policy makers. The Transregional Collaborative Research Centre 32 (TR32) was formed in 2007 to integrate monitoring with modeling and data assimilation in order to develop a holistic view of the terrestrial system. TR32 is a long-term research program funded by the German national science foundation Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), in order to focus and integrate research activities of several universities on an emerging scientific topic of high societal relevance. Aiming to bridge the gap between microscale soil pores and catchment-scale atmospheric variables, TR32 unites research groups from the German universities of Aachen, Bonn, and Cologne, and from the environmental and geoscience departments of Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH. Here, we report about recent achievements in monitoring and modeling of the terrestrial system, including the development of new observation techniques for the subsurface, the establishment of cross-scale, multicompartment modeling platforms from the pore to the catchment scale, and their use to investigate the propagation of patterns in the state and structure of the subsurface to the atmospheric boundary layer.

2017 ◽  
Vol 107 (07-08) ◽  
pp. 530-535
Author(s):  
T. Miebach ◽  
M. Schmidt ◽  
P. Prof. Nyhuis

Der Fachbeitrag stellt eine Methode vor, mit der sich Bibliotheken von Instandhaltungsmaßnahmen selbstlernend gestalten lassen. Die „Intelligenz“ solcher Systeme bietet mehrfachen Nutzen, einerseits durch die Auswahl der passenden Instandhaltungsmethode zum richtigen Zeitpunkt, andererseits durch die damit verbundene Erhöhung des kompletten Abnutzungsvorrates. Die Ergebnisse sind im Sonderforschungsbereich 653 „Gentelligente Bauteile im Lebenszyklus – Nutzung vererbbarer, bauteilinhärenter Informationen in der Produktionstechnik“ entstanden.   This article describes a method to design a self-learning maintenance library. The benefit derived from the intelligence of those systems refers to the right choice of maintenance measures at the right time and the enhancement of the whole wear margin. The results are part of the Collaborative Research Centre 653: Gentelligent components in their lifecycle – Utilization of inheritable component information in product engineering.


2018 ◽  
Vol 885 ◽  
pp. 187-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena C. Altherr ◽  
Nicolas Brötz ◽  
Ingo Dietrich ◽  
Tristan Gally ◽  
Felix Geßner ◽  
...  

Resilience as a concept has found its way into different disciplines to describe the ability of an individual or system to withstand and adapt to changes in its environment. In this paper, we provide an overview of the concept in different communities and extend it to the area of mechanical engineering. Furthermore, we present metrics to measure resilience in technical systems and illustrate them by applying them to load-carrying structures. By giving application examples from the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 805, we show how the concept of resilience can be used to control uncertainty during different stages of product life.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Slavomir Entler ◽  
Jan Kysela

Research Centre Rez in the Czech Republic has carried out a number of research and development activities on the nuclear technology of the fusion reactor International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). These contributions have led to the development of numerous experimental facilities. The initial experimental research related to ITER was focused on the technology of the LiPb eutectic alloy, and a production unit and technological channel were constructed. At a later time, material tests were performed in the neutron field of the LVR-15 research nuclear reactor. Interactions of EUROFER 97 and the LiPb eutectic alloy were examined in in-pile and out-pile tests, and the technology of the LiPb was developed. First wall mock-ups were in-pile and out-pile tested under high heat flux (HHF) cycle loads. At present, a full-size mock-up of the ITER Test Blanket System (TBS) and an HHF testing complex are constructed. This paper provides an overview of the research activities and experimental facilities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 5195-5216
Author(s):  
Ulrike Proske ◽  
Verena Bessenbacher ◽  
Zane Dedekind ◽  
Ulrike Lohmann ◽  
David Neubauer

Abstract. Clouds and cloud feedbacks represent one of the largest uncertainties in climate projections. As the ice phase influences many key cloud properties and their lifetime, its formation needs to be better understood in order to improve climate and weather prediction models. Ice crystals sedimenting out of a cloud do not sublimate immediately but can survive certain distances and eventually fall into a cloud below. This natural cloud seeding can trigger glaciation and has been shown to enhance precipitation formation. However, to date, an estimate of its occurrence frequency is lacking. In this study, we estimate the occurrence frequency of natural cloud seeding over Switzerland from satellite data and sublimation calculations. We use the DARDAR (radar lidar) satellite product between April 2006 and October 2017 to estimate the occurrence frequency of multi-layer cloud situations, where a cirrus cloud at T < −35 ∘C can provide seeds to a lower-lying feeder cloud. These situations are found to occur in 31 % of the observations. Of these, 42 % have a cirrus cloud above another cloud, separated, while in 58 % the cirrus is part of a thicker cloud, with a potential for in-cloud seeding. Vertical distances between the cirrus and the lower-lying cloud are distributed uniformly between 100 m and 10 km. They are found to not vary with topography. Seasonally, winter nights have the most multi-layer cloud occurrences, in 38 % of the measurements. Additionally, in situ and liquid origin cirrus cloud size modes can be identified according to the ice crystal mean effective radius in the DARDAR data. Using sublimation calculations, we show that in a significant number of cases the seeding ice crystals do not sublimate before reaching the lower-lying feeder cloud. Depending on whether bullet rosette, plate-like or spherical crystals were assumed, 10 %, 11 % or 20 % of the crystals, respectively, could provide seeds after sedimenting 2 km. The high occurrence frequency of seeding situations and the survival of the ice crystals indicate that the seeder–feeder process and natural cloud seeding are widespread phenomena over Switzerland. This hints at a large potential for natural cloud seeding to influence cloud properties and thereby the Earth's radiative budget and water cycle, which should be studied globally. Further investigations of the magnitude of the seeding ice crystals' effect on lower-lying clouds are necessary to estimate the contribution of natural cloud seeding to precipitation.


Author(s):  
Dan Obreja

The estimation of the hydrodynamics characteristics of the small ships rudders is an important issue in the initial design process. The manoeuvring performance depends on the type and geometry of the rudder. The control forces and moments generated by the rudder deflection can be calculated on the basis of the hydrodynamics characteristics of the rudder. A short description of the Mordvinov theoretical model is presented in this paper, in order to determine the hydrodynamics characteristics of a small ship rudder, with the propeller and hull influences. On the basis of the control forces and moments, the optimum position of the rudder stock and the selection of the steering gear can be performed. Using the Mordvinov method, the computer code PHP NM-MAN-HC was develop at the Research Centre of the Naval Architecture Faculty of “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati. This computer code is integrated in the software platform PHP (Preliminary Hydrodynamics Performance) and is used for didactic applications and practical research activities in the small ship design process


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Cotterill ◽  
Sharon Katz Cooper ◽  
Angela Slagle ◽  
Carl Brenner

&lt;p&gt;There aren&amp;#8217;t many circumstances that require looking into the future to decide what people will be interested in about the past, while writing in the present. Dr. Roz Coggan wasn&amp;#8217;t kidding when she drew a picture of a scientific ocean drilling vessel and labelled it as a Time Machine! So how do we go about communicating the science in the sediments, the cliff-hangers in the cores?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Since 1966, the scientific community has looked to the oceans, and the natural laboratories hidden beneath them, to answer fundamental questions concerning the composition, structure, and key processes of the Earth, unravelling geochemical, biological, physical, structural, climatic and geohazard-related complexities along the way. As the current phase of scientific ocean drilling (IODP) is drawing to an end, an international team has drafted a new vision for the future of this inspiring and unique program, released officially in Fall 2020.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The 2050 Science Framework for Scientific Ocean Drilling consists of seven Strategic Objectives and five Flagship Initiatives. Spanning all of these are four Enabling Elements - key facets that facilitate research activities, enhance outputs, and maximise their impact. Enabling Element 1 covers the broader impacts and outreach associated with scientific ocean drilling, including highlighting the societal relevance of its research topics, inspiring and training the next generation of ocean scientists, addressing knowledge sharing and collaborations, and working towards greater diversity and inclusion in geoscience. These are not small issues to address, and overall Enabling Element 1 sets an aspirational target for science communication going forward:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#8220;Using a variety of social media and web-based platforms, data and results will be broadly disseminated to educators, policymakers, and the public, securing scientific ocean drilling&amp;#8217;s position as the authoritative source of information about the Earth system.&amp;#8221; (Koppers and Coggon, 2020)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We believe that with such broad aims, now is the time to formulate large-scale strategies for science communication. By bringing in aspects of strategy and branding, stirred together with a good dose of umbrella narratives, we aim to develop a transmedia approach to science communication, taking different present audiences on unique journeys into the past with an eye on the future. We will need to assess framing and relevance, the power of storytelling to communicate facts, and how best to ensure that our activities contribute to excitement about learning the unfolding stories of the Earth. Now is the perfect time to initiate this effort, and it is hoped that this review of multiple aspects of Science Communication, Public Engagement and branding can help begin these discussions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#8220;What is it that we human beings ultimately depend on? We depend on our words. We are suspended in language. Our task is to communicate experience and ideas to others&amp;#8221;. Niels Bohr&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://contentmanager.copernicus.org/fileStorageProxy.php?f=gepj.9eeeacff500068037360161/sdaolpUECMynit/12UGE&amp;app=m&amp;a=0&amp;c=7695791849a0f9cd39fd62c7511f16b5&amp;ct=x&amp;pn=gepj.elif&amp;d=1&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Original illustration by GeoProse from the 2050 From Koppers, A.A.P., and R. Coggon, eds. 2020. Exploring Earth by Scientific Ocean Drilling: 2050 Framework.&lt;/p&gt;


Author(s):  
Kwan Yi ◽  
Tao Jin ◽  
Ping Li

Since 1973 the Canadian Association for Information Science (CAIS/ACSI) has consecutively held 43 annual conferences. The purpose of this study is to better understand the research and collaborative activities in the community of CAIS conferences, based on a social network analysis (SNA) approach. A total of 827 papers from 778 authors have been presented in CAIS for the period of 1993 to 2015, in association with 209 different organizations and 25 countries. A component analysis that has been applied to the collaboration network has discovered research collaboration patterns. This study contributes to discovering collaborative research activities and formation through the CAIS conference and to the literature of the scientific collaboration in the LIS field. Depuis 1973, l'Association canadienne de sciences de l'information (ACSI/CAIS) a tenu 43 congrès annuels consécutifs. Le but de cette étude est de mieux comprendre les activités de recherche et de collaboration dans la communauté de l’ACSI, à l’aide d’une approche d’analyse des réseaux sociaux (ARS). Un total de 827 articles de 778 auteurs ont été présentés à l’ACSI dans la période 1993-2015, en association avec 209 organisations différentes et 25 pays. L’analyse des composantes du réseau de collaboration met en lumière l’existence de patrons de collaboration de recherche au sein de la communauté. Cette étude contribue à l’étude des activités  de collaboration au sein des congrès de l’ACSI ainsi qu’à la littérature sur la collaboration scientifique dans le domaine BSI.


Author(s):  
Robert Bogue

Purpose This paper aims to provide an insight into the future for disaster relief (DR) and search and rescue (SAR) robots by considering research activities which seek to address real-world applications and by identifying key user requirements and development priorities. Design/methodology/approach Following a short introduction, this first provides a brief overview of the use of robots in DR and SAR and gives examples of organisations promoting their use. This is followed by details of development programmes aimed at meeting users’ requirements. Specific needs are identified and considered in detail and were derived from both the literature and through discussions with users. This paper concludes with a tabulated summary of key development priorities. Findings This study shows that several collaborative research programmes aim to address real DR and SAR applications, with robots being tested in simulated disaster scenarios. A number of key user requirements and development priorities are identified for aerial, ground and marine robots. Originality/value By identifying a number of specific requirements, this paper will assist in focussing research and development activities towards real users’ needs.


Author(s):  
Susanne Durst

Purpose This paper aims to review research on the topic of knowledge risks to establish the current body of knowledge and, on this basis, to suggest some promising avenues for future research. Design/methodology/approach This study consists of a systematic review of 52 refereed articles on knowledge risks. Findings The findings contribute to a more holistic view of the topic and related aspects and, thus, complement the study of knowledge management. Additionally, a number of research questions are proposed, aimed at guiding and informing future research activities. Research limitations/implications This study may not have enabled a complete coverage of all articles in the field of knowledge risks. Yet, based on the chosen research methodology, it seems reasonable to assume that the review process covered a large share of studies available. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, no systematic literature review on knowledge risks and related issues has previously been published in academic journals.


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