Altitude Difference Research Articles

Sweet cherry fruit nutritional profile modulation and molecular docking studies of major compounds.

This research was conducted to determine how the altitude difference affects the fruit quality in sweet cherries by using different cultivars (Kordia, Regina, Sweetheart, and 0900 Ziraat) grown at two different altitudes (200m, 800m) in Eskişehir (Türkiye) for two consecutive years. Malic acid and chlorogenic acid, which stood out as the major organic acid and phenolic, respectively were found to be at 9039.17mg·L-1 and 64.88mg·L-1, respectively, at low altitude, positively affected and increased to 9309.58mg·L-1 and 66.99mg·L-1 with altitude increase. Kordia came to the fore with its high and stable performance at both altitudes. Low pH in the fruit is critical for promoting phytochemical accumulation and antioxidant activity. Molecular docking simulations revealed how malic acid and chlorogenic acid would bind with furin, pointing to possible antioxidant effects. Farmers and researchers are expected to benefit from the obtained results during cultivar selection and scientific research.

A Study on the Evolution of Emission Altitude with Frequency Among 104 Normal Pulsars

Utilizing the databases from the European Pulsar Network (EPN), the Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF), and published literature data, a geometric method was used to investigate the multifrequency emission altitude of 104 pulsars. We found that the evolution of emission altitudes with frequency for the majority of pulsars can be fitted using a power-law function with a normalization constant. In this work, it is found that the frequency evolution of pulsar emission altitude can be divided into three groups according to their different frequency dependencies of emission altitude (emission altitude decreases with frequency (Group A, η≤−0.1), keeps relatively constant with frequency (Group B, −0.1<η≤0.1), and increases with frequency (Group C, η≥0.1)), where η is the emission altitude variation rate. We also computed the emission altitudes across multiple frequency bands for these pulsars, thereby estimating the approximate range of the pulsar emission regions. We found that most pulsar emissions occur at altitudes of tens to hundreds of kilometers above the polar cap, with differences in emission altitude between the three groups becoming more clear at lower frequencies.

Comparative study on lake ice phenology changes and driving factors in large lakes of mid-latitude Xinjiang, China.

The changes in lake ice phenology (LIP) can intuitively reflect the climate evolution in the regions where lakes are located, serving as an important indicator of climate change. The Tianshan Mountains, situated at the southern edge of freezing lakes in the Northern Hemisphere, are a crucial water resource base in Xinjiang and support significant ecosystems closely related to human activities. In the context of intensified climate change, this study focuses on the geographical location, altitude, and water quality differences among large lake groups in the mid-latitude region of Xinjiang, aiming to explore the characteristics of LIP changes in these lakes and their responses to driving factors, thereby providing a basis for effective environmental management and protection. This research conducts a comparative analysis of the LIP changes and driving factors of three large lakes-Sayram Lake (SL), Bosten Lake (BL), and Ebnur Lake (EL)-using multi-source remote sensing data to reveal the response and adaptation mechanisms of lakes under global warming. It effectively captures the time series variations of ice formation and melting, as well as the common responses to environmental and climatic factors. The results indicate that SL has experienced significant climate change effects, with earlier freezing times and accelerated melting speeds; In contrast, EL and BL have shown relatively minor changes, suggesting that geographical and hydrological factors may buffer the impacts of climate. The study finds that all three lakes are jointly influenced by environmental factors such as temperature, wind speed, and precipitation; however, due to differences in altitude, lake surface area, and water transparency, their responses to these climatic factors vary significantly. For instance, SL's high altitude gives water transparency a dominant role in LIP, while BL's larger surface area enhances the impact of precipitation and thermal capacity on the melting process. This indicates that, despite facing similar climate pressures, local environmental conditions can lead to different trends in ice phenology changes. This study offers a novel and efficient monitoring method for LIP, providing valuable insights for future LIP research and water resource management.

Altitude differences impact gene expression and accumulation of main medicinal ingredients of Zanthoxylum planispinum var. Dintanensis in rocky desertification control areas

Abstract Environmental factors such as altitude may significantly influence both the morphological trait and accumulation of metabolite products in plant. In present study, gene expression profiles of Z. planispinum var. Dintanensisin grown at different altitude (A1:1054 m.a.s.l., A2:821 m.a.s.l., A3:645 m.a.s.l.) were generated by using RNA-Seq. Four main medicinal ingredients of peels were determined, including the total acylamide, total flavonoids, total alkaloids and volatile oil content. The results showed that a total of 10,703 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified among the three samples (A1, A2, A3), of these, 315 DEGs were putative transcription factors (TFs) belonging to 74 TF families. In particular, some candidate genes related to accumulation of main medicinal ingredients have been screened through combining Kmeans cluster and KEGG enrichment analysis. Besides, the total flavonoid accumulation exhibited a positive correlation with increasing altitude, suggesting that higher altitudes favor metabolite accumulation. Notably, seven genes and one MYB TF involved in the biosynthesis of the main medicinal ingredients were confirmed through RT-qPCR analysis The data obtained in this study offers a global survey of gene expression patterns of Z. planispinum var. Dintanensis grown in rocky desertification control areas, which support for further research on the high-altitude adaptation mechanism and identification of peels with higher medicinal value.

Isotopic heterogeneity in U.S. Urban water supply systems reflects climatic, environmental, and sociodemographic factors: Implications for forensic identification.

The forensic application of stable oxygen isotope data from human tissues depends on naturally occurring isotopic variation in drinking water across geographic areas. One factor which complicates interpretation of forensic data is local variability: if a wide range of drinking water values is in a small geographic region it may be difficult to identify or rule out that region as a location of origin. We examine data from community collection programs documenting tap water isotope variation within 30 cities\developed areas throughout the United States. Isotopic variation within individual developed areas ranged widely, from essentially nil to greater than 9‰ (δ18O interdecile range). Many (14/30) of the study areas exhibited multi-modal isotope distributions, even in cases where the isotopic range was very small (e.g., <2.0‰), suggesting that the use of multiple, isotopically different sources was common. Most variation was attributed to differences in the source-region altitude or degree of evaporation for different water sources, and we observe limited variation in areas where contrasts in these variables are small. Variation tended to be largest in cities across the western USA. We explored correlations between the magnitude of local isotopic variation and climatic, environmental, and socioeconomic variables. We found that higher levels of variation occurred at sites where local water resources were likely to be more isotopically heterogeneous and in lower supply, consistent with the development of supply systems in these areas that access diverse and isotopically heterogeneous water resources. We also found that variation was positively correlated with larger developed areas, suggesting that pressures related to city growth may affect the degree to which infrastructure tapping diverse water resources is developed. Collectively, our results suggest that the influence of local tap water isotope heterogeneity on the precision of forensic geolocation is systematic and somewhat predictable, information to be factored into future applications.

Species Differentiation of Prunus serrulata and Prunus xueluoensis Based on Combined Analysis of SSR and cpDNA Markers

Prunus xueluoensis C. H. Nan &amp; X. R. Wang is a new species of the Subg. Cerasus Mill., described by C. H. Nan and X. R. Wang in 2013. Since the publication of P. xueluoensis, its taxonomic status has been the subject of ongoing debate. This study focuses on wild populations of P. xueluoensis and Prunus serrulata (Lindley) London, utilizing 18 pairs of SSR molecular markers and variations in chloroplast DNA sequences (matK, trnD-E, and trnS-G) to delineate the relationship between the two species. The results showed that P. serrulate (N = 12.400, Na = 5.144, H = 0.578, I = 1.129, Ho = 0.493) and P. xueluoensis (N = 13.625, Na = 6.264, H = 0.614, I = 1.342, Ho = 0.495) populations exhibit rich genetic diversity, which may be related to their wide geographical distribution. The CpDNA genetic diversities of P. serrulata (Hd = 0.553, Pi = 0.00136) and P. xueluoensis (Hd = 0.496, Pi = 0.00180) are at a high level within the Subg. Cerasus Mill. The UPGMA clustering, along with MP and ML phylogenetic trees, show that the unique haplotypes of P. xueluoensis cluster separately as a terminal branch in the evolutionary tree with high support. The shared haplotypes and unique haplotypes of P. serrulata are predominantly located at the base of the phylogenetic tree, suggesting that the two species have diverged. In the TCS haplotype network, the central and key node haplotypes are primarily unique to P. serrulata and shared haplotypes, while the unique haplotypes of P. xueluoensis are all distributed along the network’s periphery. Both P. serrulata (Nst = 0.254, Gst = 0.103, Nst/Gst = 2.466, p &lt; 0.05) and P. xueluoensis (Nst = 0.366, Gst = 0.268, Nst/Gst = 1.366, p &lt; 0.05) exhibit phylogeographic structures. However, when considered as a whole, the combined entity of P. serrulata and P. xueluoensis does not show a significant phylogeographic structure (Nst = 0.317, Gst = 0.400, Nst/Gst = 0.793, p &lt; 0.05), which supports the classification of these as two distinct species. The estimate of the average age of the latest common ancestor of P. serrulata and P. xueluoensis is 3.22 mya (PP = 1; 95% HPD: 3.07~3.46 mya). Due to environmental differences in altitude, the group of P. serrulata differentiated in the expansion into the cold and humid alpine environment and gradually formed P. xueluoensis. The findings support the classification of P. serrulata and P. xueluoensis as two distinct species.

Comparative Analysis of Some Morpho-cultural Characters of Venturia inaequalis (Apple Scab Pathogen) under Kashmir Conditions

Apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) represents one of the most widely cultivated and economically important temperate fruit crops in the world. However, its cultivation faces significant challenges due to various fungal pathogens, particularly apple scab inflicted by Venturia inaequalis, which has a profound impact on the yield and quality of apple, resulting in substantial economic loss. The pervasive nature of V. inaequalis and its ability to damage crops poses a serious threat to sustainable apple production. In this study, the morpho-cultural characteristics of V. inaequalis were systematically analyzed and compared between the Shopian and Baramullah districts of the Kashmir Valley. Ten isolates from each district were grown on Malt Extract Agar (MEA) and Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) for comparative analysis. The colonies were characterized by a compact hue ranging from greyish-green to blackish and exhibited a densely velvety texture. Mycelial growth was predominantly aerial, with some isolates displaying partial irregularity in colony margins, while others exhibited greater uniformity. The mean colony radii for potato dextrose agar and malt extract agar media was measured as 23.01 mm and 28.50 mm for the Shopian district, and 28.09 mm and 33.33 mm for the Baramullah district, respectively. The mean conidial spore density was recorded at 27.87 spores/cm² for the Baramullah district and 34.67 spores/cm² for the district Shopian, respectively. This variation could be attributed to several factors, including genetic diversity within the pathogen populations, differences in altitude, climate, and other environmental factors, the selection pressure exerted by fungicide applications, the emergence of novel pathogen races, and phenotypic plasticity driven by the differing agricultural practices and microclimatic conditions in the respective regions.

IRAL: Robust and versatile UAV localization using infrared vision and altitude sensor fusion

Supplementing or replacing the Global Satellite Navigation System (GNSS) for robust UAV localization remains a challenge. In this work, we propose an infrared vision and altitude sensor fusion method called IRAL, which mainly includes on-board near-infrared (NIR) beacons, off-board narrowband-pass vision sensors with the same wavelength as the beacon and strapdown high precision altitude sensors. The beacon with a high signal-to-noise ratio as a cooperative target provides robust features, thereby facilitating beacon recognition through the designed gradient-based sequential frame template matching (GSFTM) algorithm. The proposed method measures the altitude difference between the UAV and the vision sensor through the altitude sensor to accomplish depth estimation. After obtaining the beacon’s pixel coordinates and depth, combined with the intrinsics and extrinsics of the vision sensor, the observation equation can be set up to solve the UAV’s spatial position. Real-world experiments under various scenarios demonstrate that the proposed method stably achieves high accuracy.

Fusarium Species Shifts in Maize Grain as a Response to Climatic Changes in Poland

Maize, along with wheat and rice, is the most important crop for food security. Ear rots caused by Fusarium species are among the most important diseases of maize. The distribution of Fusarium species provides essential epidemiological information for disease management. The effect of weather conditions, climate change and geographic localization on the Fusarium population in Poland was evaluated between 2015 and 2018. Grain samples (n = 233) were collected from hybrids at 16 locations (L1–L16). The differences in altitude between locations ranged from 39 to 243 m above sea level, longitude varied between 15°55′ and 23°12′ E, and latitude spanned from 50°12′ to 54°01′ N. Isolates were identified using molecular techniques. The highest Fusarium species frequency was recorded for 2016 (30.70%) and 2017 (28.18%), and the lowest for 2018 (5.36%). F. verticillioides and F. temperatum were the most frequent. Altitude has an effect on F. vericillioides frequency: F. graminearum showed a negative correlation with both latitude and longitude. In Polish conditions, from silking to harvesting, the number of days with higher precipitation and lower temperatures is associated with an increased frequency of F. verticillioides, F. temperatum, F. graminearum and F. avenaceum. This suggests that the Fusarium presence in Poland is significantly influenced not only by climate change but also by extreme weather changes.

Comparison of Fruit Quality Characteristics of Çakıldak, Palaz and Tombul Hazelnut (Corylus colurna L.) Varieties Grown at Different Altitudes of Ordu Province

The hazelnut, which is known to be among the homelands of Anatolia, has been grown in our country for centuries. Hazelnut cultivation in Turkey dates back to ancient times. In the province of Ordu, the hazelnut varieties Çakıldak, Palaz and Tombul are mainly cultivated but other varieties are also grown. This study was carried out between 2022-2023 to determine the effects of altitude and location difference on the fruit characteristics of hazelnut varieties Çakıldak, Palaz and Tombul grown in Fatsa (300 m), İkizce (590 m) and Kumru (400 m) districts of Ordu province. In the study, the lowest average values for nut and kernel fruit weight, nut and shell thickness and kernel size were obtained from trees at 400 m altitude, while the highest values were obtained from trees at 590 m altitude. According to the results, the altitude had a different effect on the weight of the nuts and kernels depending on the variety. While the weight of nuts and kernels increased with increasing altitude in Çakıldak and Palaz varieties, these values decreased in Tombul variety. As a result some fruit quality characteristics of hazelnut varieties grown at different altitudes in Ordu province were found to be different.

Differences among the total electron content derived by radio occultation, global ionospheric maps and satellite altimetry

In recent years, significant progress has been in ionospheric modeling research through data ingestion and data assimilation from a variety of sources, including ground-based global navigation satellite systems, space-based radio occultation and satellite altimetry (SA). Given the diverse observing geometries, vertical data coverages and intermission biases among different measurements, it is imperative to evaluate their absolute accuracies and estimate systematic biases to determine reasonable weights and error covariances when constructing ionospheric models. This study specifically investigates the disparities among the vertical total electron content (VTEC) derived from SA data of the Jason and Sentinel missions, the integrated VTEC from the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC) and global ionospheric maps (GIMs). To mitigate the systematic bias resulting from differences in satellite altitudes, the vertical ranges of various VTECs are mapped to a standardized height. The results indicate that the intermission bias of SA-derived VTEC remains relatively stable, with Jason-1 serving as a benchmark for mapping other datasets. The mean bias between COSMIC and SA-derived VTEC is minimal, suggesting good agreement between these two space-based techniques. However, COSMIC and GIM VTEC exhibit remarkable seasonal discrepancies, influenced by the solar activity variations. Moreover, GIMs demonstrate noticeable hemispheric asymmetry and a degradation in accuracy ranging from 0.7 to 1.7 TECU in the ocean-dominant Southern Hemisphere. While space-based observations effectively illustrate phenomena such as the Weddell Sea anomaly and longitudinal ionospheric characteristics, GIMs tend to exhibit a more pronounced mid-latitude electron density enhancement structure.

Experimental investigation on the thermal performance of high temperature two-phase loop thermosyphon

High-temperature two-phase loop thermosyphons (TPLTs) have the potential to be applied in high-temperature thermochemical conversions, concentrated solar energy, and nuclear energy. However, there has been limited investigation on the thermal performance of TPLTs so far. This work experimentally examines the thermal performance of TPLTs using alkali metals (NaK alloy and pure Na) as working fluids, aiming for internal energy recovery of a double-riser reactor. The effects of filling ratios (FRs), heating temperature, and altitude difference between the evaporator and condenser are investigated regarding start-up characteristics and steady-state performance. The experimental results show that the TPLT with NaK as the working fluid can successfully complete the start-up when the heating temperature is set to above 650 °C under the test conditions. However, the TPLT using pure Na as the working fluid can't successfully complete the start-up from a frozen state without a preheating operation. According to the variations in thermal resistance, an FR of 38% in the TPLT allows for the best heat-transfer performance under steady state when compared to the conditions that FRs are equal to 25% and 50%. Additionally, placing the condenser slightly higher than the evaporator is beneficial for improving the steady-state performance. However, if the condenser is lower than the evaporator, its steady-state performance is remarkably degraded.

Distinct influences of altitude on microbiome and antibiotic resistome assembly in a glacial river ecosystem of Mount Everest

The profound influences of altitude on aquatic microbiome were well documented. However, differences in the responses of different life domains (bacteria, microeukaryotes, viruses) and antibiotics resistance genes (ARGs) in glacier river ecosystems to altitude remain unknown. Here, we employed shotgun metagenomic and amplicon sequencing to characterize the altitudinal variations of microbiome and ARGs in the Rongbu River, Mount Everest. Our results indicated the relative influences of stochastic processes on microbiome and ARGs assembly in water and sediment were in the following order: microeukaryotes < ARGs < viruses < bacteria. Moreover, distinct assembly patterns of the microbiome and ARGs were found in response to differences in altitude, the latter of which shift from deterministic to stochastic processes with increasing differences in altitude. Partial least squares path modeling revealed that mobile genetic elements (MGEs) and viral β-diversity were the major factors influencing the ARG abundances. Taken together, our work revealed that altitude-caused environmental changes led to significant changes in the composition and assembly processes of the microbiome and ARGs, while ARGs had a unique response pattern to altitude. Our findings provide novel insights into the impacts of altitude on the biogeographic distribution of microbiome and ARGs, and the associated driving forces in glacier river ecosystems.

Numerical simulation of reversal point dynamics in intracloud lightning: Back-and-forth promoting effect

Lightning is a self-developing charge transport system that exhibits fundamental manifestations of the macro-scale polarity asymmetry. This asymmetry is tightly connected with peculiarities of the reversal point (the point of zero leader sheath charge or, alternatively, a site where the lightning channel potential coincides with the intracloud one) movement along the leader growth direction. The study presents a stochastic lightning discharge model that is used to analyze the reversal point dynamics. It is shown that the reversal point shifts towards the direction of growth of the dominant leader, i.e. the leader with prevailing peripheral current. The cases of upward and downward directions of the positive leader propagation are considered to study how the difference in altitudes of positive and negative lightning poles influences the mode of reversal point drift. The model predicts that, for the case of an intracloud lightning, the amplitudes of oscillation of reversal point altitude and voltage are of the order of 1 km and 100 MV, respectively, with the reversal point voltage change rate being of the order of 10 MV/ms. The results allow to conclude that the reversal point meandering is a fundamental manifestation of lightning evolution.

Immunocytochemical evaluation of aquaporins and cell wall components and their influence on foliar water uptake in Andean Melastomataceae.

Andean ecosystems are characterized by high humidity, mainly from rain and fog events. Because of differences in altitude two Andean ecosystems - sub-Andean forest and Páramo -face different environmental pressures that affect leaf anatomy and cell wall composition and, consequently, species foliar water uptake (FWU) capacity. Here, FWU capacity of eight species in the Melastomataceae was evaluated and found to be related to proportions of cell wall components and aquaporins in the two ecosystems. Cellulose was labelled with Calcofluor white, and aquaporin and pectins were labelled with monoclonal antibodies. There were differences in plant FWU capacity in both ecosystems, with higher FWU capacity in sub-Andean forest species than in Páramo forest species. Cell wall components were positively related to FWU, with increased FWU related to pectin and aquaporin content of the plasma membrane. Differences in water availability in the two analysed environments led to differences in FWU capacity that are associated with leaf anatomical traits and cell wall composition. In these two environments, plants with similar traits are selected to respond to given environmental pressures. Traits that favour FWU in sub-Andean forest species may lead to further advances of these species in this environments.

Relationship between serum iron, zinc, calcium, and HIF-1a-comparative analysis of 2 regions and 4 ethnic groups in China.

Altitude illness has serious effects on individuals who are not adequately acclimatized to high-altitude areas and may even lead to death. However, the individualized mechanisms of onset and preventive measures are not fully elucidated at present, especially the relationship between altitude illness and elements, which requires further in-depth research. Fresh serum samples were collected from individuals who underwent health examinations at the two hospitals in Xining and Sanya between November 2021 and December 2021. The blood zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), and calcium (Ca) concentrations, as well as hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF-1α) concentrations, were measured. This study conducted effective sample size estimation, repeated experiments, and used GraphPad Prism 9.0 and IBM SPSS version 19.0 software for comparative analysis of differences in the expression of elements and HIF-1α among different ethnic groups, altitudes, and concentration groups. Linear regression and multiple linear regression were employed to explore the relationships among elements and their correlation with HIF-1α. This study included a total of 400 participants. The results from the repeated measurements indicated that the consistency of the laboratory test results was satisfactory. In terms of altitude differences, except for Fe (p = 0.767), which did not show significant variance between low and high altitude regions, Zn, Ca, and HIF-1α elements all exhibited notable differences between these areas (p < 0.0001, p = 0.004, and p < 0.0001). When grouping by the concentrations of elements and HIF-1α, the results revealed significant variations in the distribution of zinc among different levels of iron and HIF-1α (p < 0.05). The outcomes of the linear regression analysis demonstrated that calcium and zinc, iron and HIF-1α, calcium and HIF-1α, and zinc and HIF-1α displayed substantial overall explanatory power across different subgroups (p < 0.05). Finally, the results of the multiple linear regression analysis indicated that within the high-altitude population, the Li ethnic group in Sanya, and the Han ethnic group in Sanya, the multiple linear regression model with HIF-1αas the dependent variable and elements as the independent variables exhibited noteworthy overall explanatory power (p < 0.05). The levels of typical elements and HIF-1α in the blood differ among various altitudes and ethnic groups, and these distinctions may be linked to the occurrence and progression of high-altitude illness.

Integrating Topographical Map Information in SUMO to Simulate Realistic Micromobility Trips in Hilly and Steep Terrains

Nowadays, shared micromobility has become a trend in cities as an alternative to conventional automotive vehicles, especially for short-distance travel. It also plays an important role in the reduction of the number of automotive vehicles which results in a decrease of air pollution and traffic congestion. Shared micromobility is, however, influenced by the terrain characteristics. Varying elevation within a fleet operational area can cause imbalances in the use of micromobility stations if a steep terrain lies between stations. It also impacts the energy consumption of electric micromobility vehicles such as e-bicycles and e-scooters. Therefore, to simulate the state of charge (SOC) of traction batteries for micromobility close to reality, it is essential to include elevation data into the simulation model. This paper proposes a workflow for Simulation of Urban MObility (SUMO) comprising several steps with concrete implementation and validation in order to prepare and define the simulation model with micromobility stations and the integration of elevation data using a REST API. The integration of elevation and bike station data is validated with a defined vehicle type following a route in the hilly part of Stuttgart, Germany. A comparison of micromobility trips, with and without elevation data, was performed through a simulation by recording changes in energy consumption and driven altitude differences. The proposed workflow provides a basis for more complex use cases such as analysing micromobility business areas, improving vehicle.

The influence of spatial variability of solar radiation on the mass balance of glaciers in the Grønfjorden Bay area (the Svalbard archipelago)

In this article, we investigate how the irregular insolation of two low-elevated Svalbard glaciers exerts effect on rates of their surface melting. We compare the spatial distribution of rates of the surface lowering of glaciers Vøringbreen (0.76 km2) and Aldegondabreen (5.5 km2), both are located near Barentsburg settlement in the western part of Nordenskiöld Land (the Spitsbergen Island). As an approximation of the solar radiation flux, we used the potential incoming solar radiation calculated by the ArcticDEM digital elevation model for the period July 15–September 15, which is a typical time of ice ablation in the region under consideration. Motions of both glaciers are extremely slow, which allows assuming that lowering of their surfaces are identical to the rates of surface melting. We have found that both glaciers are distinctly divided into two parts, more and less sunlit. The spatial pattern of insolation of the Vøringbreen glacier is controlled by the shading of the walls surrounding the cirque, while the Aldegondabreen one due to its concave shape has two different areas with a more southern and more northern exposure. The lowering of the surface shows that the more and less illuminated parts differ significantly in ice ablation. The maximum differences in melting caused by the irregular insolation are 2.1 m of ice depth over five years for the Aldegondabreen Glacier (2008–2013 and 2013–2018) and 2.2 m over six years for the Vøringbreen Glacier (2013–2019), that is 40, 30 and 25% of the total values of the surface depression for the corresponding periods. Within every 50-meter altitude interval, correlation coefficients between surface ablation and insolation vary from –0.33 to –0.62 for the Aldegondabreen and from –0.50 to –0.92 for the Vøringbreen glacier. When compared with the vertical gradient of the ice melting, the variability of ablation caused by the irregular insolation correspond to a difference in altitudes of 45–50 m in vertical for the Aldegondabreen and 60 m for Vøringbreen. These values are significant taking into account the small altitudinal range of the glaciers in that part of Spitsbergen.

Climate‐Driven Topographic Asymmetry Enhanced by Glaciers: Implications for Drainage Reorganization in Glacial Landscapes

AbstractClimate contrasts across drainage divides, such as orographic precipitation, are ubiquitous in mountain ranges, and as a result, mountain topography is often asymmetric. During glacial periods, these climate gradients can generate asymmetric glaciation, which may modify topographic asymmetry and drive divide migration during glacial‐interglacial cycles. Here we quantify topographic asymmetry caused by asymmetric glaciation and its sensitivity to different climate scenarios. Using an analytical model of a steady‐state glacial profile, we find that the degree of topographic asymmetry is primarily controlled by differences in the equilibrium line altitude across the divide. Our results show that glacial erosion can respond to the same climate asymmetry differently than fluvial erosion. When there are precipitation differences across the divide, glacial erosion produces greater topographic asymmetry than fluvial erosion, all else equal. These findings suggest that glaciations may promote drainage reorganization and landscape transience in intermittently glaciated mountain ranges.

Understanding Dynamics of Land Cover Changes Using GIS Technique in a River Catchment with High Altitude Differences – an Analysis from Kosovo

This article analyses Land Cover Changes in the Lumbardhi of Prizreni (LP) River catchment in southern Kosovo. As a landlocked country, Kosovo has highly diverse landform features. LP River catchment is located in Sharri's transboundary high mountain range and the southern part of Dukagjini Plain. In the last two decades, the landscape has experienced a transformation in land cover changes, especially in the increasing of artificial surfaces in the plains. Using GIS techniques, data were calculated for the selected years, and their dynamics were visualised for the last two decades. The analysis shows a decrease in agricultural land and complex cultivation patterns (-806 ha), an increase in artificial surface, especially discontinuous urban fabric (+354 ha), and small changes in forest and seminatural areas, which are primarily included in "Sharri" National Park.