Spatial Distribution of Black Carbon Concentrations in the Atmosphere of the North Atlantic and the European Sector of the Arctic Ocean

We discuss the measurements of black carbon concentrations in the composition of atmospheric aerosol over the seas of the North Atlantic and European sector of the Arctic Ocean (21 expeditions in 2007–2020). The black carbon concentrations were measured by an aethalometer and filter method. The comparison of the two variants of the measurements of the black carbon concentrations showed that the data acceptably agreed and can be used jointly. It is noted that the spatial distribution of black carbon over the ocean is formed under the influence of outflows of air masses from the direction of continents, where the main sources of emission of absorbing aerosol are concentrated. We analyzed the statistical characteristics of black carbon concentrations in five marine regions, differing by the outflows of continental aerosol. The largest black carbon content is a salient feature of the atmosphere of the North and Baltic Seas, surrounded by land: average values of concentrations are 210 ng/m3, and modal values are 75 ng/m3. In other regions (except in the south of the Barents Sea), the average black carbon concentrations are 37–44 ng/m3 (modal concentrations are 18–26 ng/m3). We discuss the specific features of the spatial (latitude-longitude) distributions of black carbon concentrations, relying on ship-based measurements and model calculations (MERRA-2 reanalysis data). A common regularity of the experimental and model spatial distributions of black carbon is that the concentrations decrease in the northern direction and with the growing distance from the continent: from several hundred ng/m3 in the southern part of the North Sea to values below 50 ng/m3 in polar regions of the ocean.

Innovation and Collaboration: Opportunities for the European Seaweed Sector in Global Value Chains

The European seaweed sector transitions from harvesting wild stocks only to harvesting and farming seaweed. This transition comes with the need to rethink the role of the European sector on the global scale; insight is needed into the organization of, and innovation in, the global seaweed value chain. This article presents results from our study on value chains using Gereffi’s conceptual framework. A systematic review of scientific publications published between 2010 and 2020 was executed for five markets: pharmaceuticals, bioplastics, biostimulants, alginate and cosmetics. It is concluded that innovation in the use of seaweed takes place across the globe and thus that a focus on high-value applications alone will not set the nascent European seaweed sector apart from established producing regions such as Asia. The studied global value chains are organised around strong lead firms that require suppliers to produce according to codified product characteristics. The European seaweed sector needs to increase the collaboration and develop joint efforts to develop safe and sustainable products that meet the demands of regulators, lead firms and consumers. Stronger coordination in the value chain will facilitate further business development, by stimulating collaboration and innovations.

The remote influence of the extra-tropical stratosphere and tropical troposphere on North Atlantic-European winter circulation

<p>Many seasonal forecast systems show skill at monthly to seasonal timescales in predicting the winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the primary mode of variability in surface pressure over the North Atlantic and European sector.  This skill has practical benefit for prediction of winter conditions over Northern Europe, and arises from the representation of remote teleconnections within the prediction system, such as from the stratosphere or the tropical troposphere.  Despite skill in the NAO, most prediction systems have little skill in other patterns of North Atlantic winter circulation variability, such as East Atlantic Pattern (EAP – the second mode of regional winter surface pressure variability). This is despite the clear contribution that patterns such as the EAP make to European winter climate variability and their demonstrated role in the generation of extreme winter conditions.</p><p> </p><p>We examine the role of the tropical troposphere and extra-tropical stratosphere in driving North Atlantic and European winter circulation patterns, with a focus on teleconnections to the EAP.  We use relaxation experiments, in which a set of seasonal-length hindcasts are run with the atmospheric conditions within the relaxation region constrained to be similar to reanalysis.  These are then compared with an initialised, but otherwise freely evolving, hindcast set, and with reanalysis, in regions outside the relaxation region. The aim is to assess how better prediction of the relaxation regions would influence the skill in prediction of winter atmospheric circulation in the North Atlantic-European sector.</p><p> </p><p>We find that both regions play a role in influencing regional circulation. Tropical tropospheric relaxation in particular increases the reproduction of winter surface pressure anomalies. A key part of this improvement is in the EAP, which is very well reproduced. It is shown that forcing of the EAP occurs via propagating Rossby waves linked to convective anomalies in the tropical Atlantic. In addition, we find that teleconnections from either the tropics or stratosphere lead to reproduction of observed large-scale surface pressure patterns in most winters.  In contrast, the diagnosed response to tropical forcing is rarely matched in the hindcast without relaxation, despite a similar rate of matches with the response to stratospheric forcing. This suggests that while winter stratospheric influences are well represented in the prediction system, tropical influences are under-represented.  The results suggest that the improvement of tropical Atlantic predictability could lead to improvements for European winter predictability, and should be an important focus for future work.</p>

Auctions and the Making of the Nabob in Late Eighteenth-Century Calcutta and London

This article examines the meanings and controversies surrounding sales by public auction in British colonial Calcutta and in London during the last decades of the eighteenth century. For Britons living in Calcutta's European sector, auctions were essential for acquiring imported European items that granted a sense of gentility and Britishness abroad. Public sales in Calcutta provided Britons with goods that instilled the fantasy of living in a British geography in India. However, by the last quarter of the century, ‘sales by hammer’ throughout the colonial world carried association with corruption, cruelty, and orientalization in the metropolitan imagination. In Britain, textual and visual accounts circulated of Europeans transforming into debauched ‘nabobs’, of the horrors of American slave auctions, and of the British East India Company's use of public sales to defraud and abuse prominent Indians. For some metropolitan observers, sales by hammer were a deceitful means of seizing property and status from the traditional landed elite of India and Britain. British critics feared that colonial auction practices could become common in Britain and could lead to the upending of social hierarchization and the normalization of slavery in the metropolis.

ANALYSIS OF VERTICAL MOVEMENTS OF AIR OVER THE ATLANTIC-EUROPEAN SECTOR

On the basis of the calculated Laplacians of the geopotential 1000hPa, the features of the spatial and temporal distribution of vertical current fields at the surface of the earth in the northern hemisphere over the Atlantic-European sector, limited by longitudes of 90o w.l. – 90o e.l., in different seasons of the year and revealed their temporal dynamics. Greater temporal stability of the spatial position of the elements of vertical air movement is noted. Their directionality remains unchanged in different seasons of the year, with a slight change in flow intensity over time. It was revealed that the intensity of vertical streams in high latitudes is 1,5–2 times higher than in low latitudes.

DAY BY DAY BEHAVIOR OF GNNS POSITIONING ERRORS AND TEC FLUCTUATIONS ASSOCIATED AURORAL DISTURBANCES OVER MARCH 2015

We analyzed the occurrence of TEC fluctuations and an impact of auroral disturbances on the Precise Point Positioning (PPP) errors in European sector using GPS measurements of EPN network. Index AE was used as indicator of auroral activity. The fluctuation activity was evaluated by indexes ROT and ROTI. The positioning errors were determined using the GIPSY-OASIS software (http://apps.gdgps.net). The Precise Point Positioning is the processing strategy of the single receiver for GNSS observations that enables the efficient computation of the high-quality coordinates. For quiet conditions the algorithm provided for TRO1 stations daily average PPP errors less than 4-5 sm. The analysis indicated regular increasing positioning errors around MLT (22 UT) during March 2015. While raising the auroral activity it was observed increasing TEC fluctuation as well as positioning errors. In the report we discus also behavior PPP errors during super storm 17 March 2015. During storm at TRO1 the PPP errors reached more than 20 m. The increasing errors were observed on latitudes low than 52-54°N.

From CMIP3 to CMIP6: Northern Hemisphere Atmospheric Blocking Simulation in Present and Future Climate

A comprehensive analysis of the representation of winter and summer Northern Hemisphere atmospheric blocking in global climate simulations in both present and future climate is presented. Three generations of climate models are considered: CMIP3 (2007), CMIP5 (2012), and CMIP6 (2019). All models show common and extended underestimation of blocking frequencies, but a reduction of the negative biases in successive model generations is observed. However, in some specific regions and seasons such as the winter European sector, even CMIP6 models are not yet able to achieve the observed blocking frequency. For future decades the vast majority of models simulate a decrease of blocking frequency in both winter and summer, with the exception of summer blocking over the Urals and winter blocking over western North America. Winter predicted decreases may be even larger than currently estimated considering that models with larger blocking frequencies, and hence generally smaller errors, show larger reduction. Nonetheless, trends computed over the historical period are weak and often contrast with observations: this is particularly worrisome for summer Greenland blocking where models and observations significantly disagree. Finally, the intensity of global warming is related to blocking changes: wintertime European and North Pacific blocking are expected to decrease following larger global mean temperatures, while Ural summer blocking is expected to increase.

Prospects for upgrading by the European kelp sector

The interest in cultivating seaweed in European seas as source of food, feed and feedstock for the biobased economy is growing. Amongst the species investigated is kelp, also known as sugar kelp, Saccharina latissima or Laminaria saccharina. The European kelp sector is relatively small, compared to the global production and use, yet growth of the sector is aimed for. An inevitable question for European seaweed producers is how they can compete in the global seaweed value chain. This paper assesses to what extent the European strategy for growing the kelp sector matches with the dynamics of current kelp value chain. The global value chains (GVC) framework is applied to study how the global kelp sector is organized, including analysis of trends in science and patents. The upgrading strategy deployed by the European sector is critically evaluated against this framework. The analysis points towards various dividing lines between the established kelp cultivation and processing industry in Asia and the (far smaller) nascent cultivation and processing industry for high-value applications. These represent two unconnected worlds. Chain or intra-sectoral upgrading to spur the European kelp sector could occur if European food sector engage more closely with the European producers. Those bring financial power and a broader client base to the table and are instrumental in linking production to the demands of end-users.