Extreme Cold Weather Conditions Research Articles

The effects of genotype-by-environment interactions on body condition score across three winter supplemental feed environments in a composite beef cattle breed in Montana.

Cattle operations in the Northern Great Plains region of the United States face extreme cold weather conditions and require nutritional supplementation over the winter season in order for animals to maintain body condition. In cow-calf operations, body condition scores (BCS) measured at calving and breeding have been shown to be associated with several economically important health and fertility traits, so maintenance of BCS is both an animal welfare and economic concern. A low-to-medium heritability has been found for BCS when measured across various production stages, indicating a large environmental influence but sufficient genetic basis for selection. The present study evaluated BCS measured prior to calving (late winter) and breeding (early summer) under three winter supplementation environments in a multitrait linear mixed model. Traits were discretized by winter supplementation and genetic correlations between environments were considered a reflection of evidence for genotype-by-environment interactions between BCS and diet. Winter supplementation treatments were fed October through April and varied by range access and protein content: 1) feedlot environment with approximately 15% crude protein (CP) corn/silage diet, 2) native rangeland access with 1.8kg of an 18% CP pellet supplement, and 3) native rangeland access with a self-fed 50% CP and mineral supplement. A total of 2,988 and 2,353 records were collected across multiple parities on 1,010 and 800 individuals for prebreeding and precalving BCS, respectively. Heifers and cows came from a composite beef cattle breed developed and maintained by the USDA Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory near Miles City, Montana. Genetic correlations between treatments 1 and 2, 1 and 3, and 2 and 3 were 0.98, 0.78, and 0.65 and 1.00, 0.98, and 0.99 for precalving and prebreeding BCS, respectively. This provides moderate evidence of genotype-by-environment interactions for precalving BCS under treatment 3 relative to treatments 1 and 2, but no evidence for genotype-by-environment interactions for prebreeding BCS. Treatment 3 differed substantially in CP content relative to treatments 1 and 2, indicating that some animals differ in their ability to maintain BCS up to spring calving across a protein gradient. These results indicate the potential for selection of animals with increased resilience under cold weather conditions and high protein, restricted energy diets to maintain BCS.

Engineered leathers for extreme cold weather application

• NEPCMs is the excellent thermal energy storage material. • Preparation of NEPCMs is a simple and cost-effective process. • NEPCM coated leather shows a 4.0 °C higher than control leather in cold conditions. Leather as a material is well known for its application in cold climatic conditions. However, its use is challenged in extreme cold weather conditions. To make leathers suitable for such applications, they must be treated with phase change materials (PCMs) known for thermal energy storage (TES). Nano and microencapsulation enhance the thermal and mechanical properties of the PCMs by increasing the heat transfer area and preventing the leakage of PCMs. In this study, we have used silicone oil as PCM, which was encapsulated using PMMA through emulsion polymerization. The synthesized nano-encapsulated PCM (NEPCM) has been characterized by FT-IR, DSC, DLS, FE-SEM, and HR-TEM analysis. The synthesized NEPCMs have particle size in the range of ∼ 150–220 nm. The optimised NEPCM has been coated on the leather surface to enhance the leather application in extreme cold weather conditions and the coated leather offers excellent cold insulation property up to 4.0 ± 0.2 °C higher than control leather in extremely cold weather test conditions.

The effect of the street environment on two types of essential physical activity in industrial neighborhoods from the perspective of public health: a study from the Harbin low-income population health survey, China

A large number of low-income residents in industrial neighborhoods rarely engage in recreational and physical activities in green spaces in extremely cold weather. This study mainly explores the relationship between the street environment and physical activities under special industrial properties and extreme cold weather conditions. In addition, we further divide essential physical activity into two categories, life-type and traffic-type physical activity, to explore and refine the related studies.We use principal component analysis to classify the street environment indicators and use multiple linear regression to analyze the impact of each indicator on different physical activities. The conclusions are as follows. For low-income people, the street environment in industrial neighborhoods has a much greater impact on life-type physical activity than traffic-type physical activity, and there is a conflict between the two. In addition, a high greening density is not conducive to either type of physical activity in the street environment. It reduces the paved area of streets and create sports conflicts between people undertaking different physical activities. The findings contribute to the development and optimization of public health research on environmental interventions in industrial neighborhood streets and enable effective recommendations for increasing outside physical activity among low-income people in severe weather conditions. In future studies, we will use the physical environment as a mediator to explore the relationship between the street environment and high-frequency chronic diseases in old industrial neighborhoods.

Individual local human thermal climates in the Hungarian lowland: Estimations by a simple clothing resistance‐operative temperature model

AbstractHuman thermal climate in the Hungarian lowland is investigated by using a clothing resistance‐operative temperature model performing individual, local, and long‐term concurrent observations of weather and human thermal perception. Human thermal load is characterized in terms of clothing resistance rcl and operative temperature To. The model is also used as a tool to analyse the relationship between rcl and the structural parameters of the body (relative fat mass index (fatBMI) and relative muscle mass index (muscleBMI)). This analysis works with data collected on more than 1,000 occasions of weather and thermal perception observation and uses body structure data of more than 3,000 adults and children. By analysing the data, the following human thermal climate characteristics have been established. (a) To of about 80°C can be considered as the upper limit of heat stress in the Hungarian lowland, similarly, To of about −35 to −37°C can be taken as the lower limit of cold stress. (b) Interpersonal thermal load variations increase with increasing of cold stress; these variations are the smallest within the “thermoneutral” zone. (c) In cold stress situations, there is a significant sexual dimorphism in the relationship between rcl and fatBMI. (d) In night time period of the day, To can vary between 25°C and the lower limit of cold stress. In this range of To, thermal perception types “neutral,” “cool,” “cold,” and “very cold” occurred. Based on the results, it can be seen that interpersonal thermal load variations cannot be neglected in extreme cold weather conditions, and that interpersonal variations of fatBMI index are determinant in the formation of individual clothing resistance.

Thermal performance of two enclosed rooms with different phase change materials under different weather conditions

In most of either space heating or space cooling applications, heat absorbed by the enclosing walls plays an important role. Phase change materials (PCMs) can either absorb or give out the absorbed latent heat energy. Latent heat absorption depends on the operating temperature and pressure conditions. In the present study, feasibility of different PCMs as building facades or walls for a single room in different climatic regions is investigated; two different room dimensions were chosen – shallow and tall. Heat transfer inside the buildings significantly depends on the shape / size of the walls. The modeling and simulations have been carried out using the Energyplus tool. Various built-in algorithms were used to solve for transient latent heat storage in PCM, conduction, convection, and radiation heat fluxes. PCMs were found to perform better lowering the room temperature in hot-arid and warm tropic regions. On the other hand, in extreme cold weather conditions, the considered PCMs were found to maintain relatively higher room temperatures and was chiefly due to thermal inertia of PCM in solid phase. The room air temperature attainment with and without various PCMs as building façade material or walls have been discussed and compared for shallow and tall room dimensions under different weather conditions.

Energy consumption and battery sizing for different types of electric bus service

With the deployment of battery electric buses (BEB) increasing worldwide, proper battery sizing becomes more critical for operators as it dictates bus driving range and costs. In this paper, we present a battery sizing framework based on comprehensive energy needs assessment for BEB. The bus operating conditions are first defined for different types of bus service (City, intercity, shuttle, regional, rapid-transit). Then, BEB energy consumption is evaluated using a comprehensive energy model developed by the authors. Finally, the required battery size is estimated for different types of charging infrastructure. Modeling results show that BEB energy consumption is sensitive to bus service type, ranging widely between 2 and 4.6 kWh/km, and that intercity buses require the largest battery size (320–680 kWh). A practical finding for operators from our Paris case study is that city bus batteries are unnecessarily oversized to accommodate a typically small fraction of trips in rare extreme cold weather conditions.

Patrolling Public Areas under Extreme Warm and Extreme Cold Weather Conditions, Protecting Police Personnel, Civilian Populace, Service Animals and Technical EquipmentAnimals Equipment

Nowadays in the extreme weather conditions accompanying the climate change caused by global warming, it has become a challenge to perform patrolling in public areas. Since patrolling public areas must be carried out regardless of the weather conditions, in my paper I intend to describe and review the police tasks in relation to protection against extreme hot and cold weather together with their consequences. In addition to reviewing the current statutory rules and regulations, I formulate proposals to be used during adaptation to inclement weather conditions.

Residential Natural Gas Demand Response Potential during Extreme Cold Events in Electricity-Gas Coupled Energy Systems

In regions where natural gas is used for both power generation and heating buildings, extreme cold weather events can place the electrical system under enormous stress and challenge the ability to meet residential heating and electric demands. Residential demand response has long been used in the power sector to curtail summer electric load, but these types of programs in general have not seen adoption in the natural gas sector during winter months. Natural gas demand response (NG-DR) has garnered interest given recent extreme cold weather events in the United States; however, the magnitude of savings and potential impacts—to occupants and energy markets—are not well understood. We present a case-study analysis of the technical potential for residential natural gas demand response in the northeast United States that utilizes diverse whole-building energy simulations and high-performance computing. Our results show that NG-DR applied to residential heating systems during extreme cold-weather conditions could reduce natural gas demand by 1–29% based on conservative and aggressive strategies, respectively. This indicates a potential to improve the resilience of gas and electric systems during stressful events, which we examine by estimating the impact on energy costs and electricity generation from natural gas. We also explore relationships between hourly indoor temperatures, demand response, and building envelope efficiency.

Experiments on the damping characteristics of a high-speed train hydraulic damper under low-temperature conditions

Aiming at studying the low-temperature damping characteristics of hydraulic damper, experimental research in the temperature range of -50°C∼+30°C was carried out to test the dynamic damping characteristics of a Chinese CRH high-speed train hydraulic yaw damper. Research results show that damping characteristics of the hydraulic damper will vary significantly at low temperature conditions when compared with that at normal temperatures, in general cases, the Force-displacement (F-s) curves are distorted and the damping forces are in abnormal levels; at very low temperatures, when the excitation speed is increasing, more severe empty strokes will occur during the damper compressions, so the absorption works of the damper will decrease significantly in these cases; in addition, dynamic stiffness of the damper will increase with the decreasing of temperatures, but in the compression stroke with large excitation speed, the dynamic stiffness at very low temperature conditions will drop sharply due to empty strokes. The results obtained in this study are significant for reference to improve the environment adaptability of high-speed rail hydraulic dampers and dynamics of the train operating under extreme cold weather conditions.

System dynamics modeling and experimental study of railway track with thermoelectric heater/generator in extreme weather conditions

This paper develops a novel railway fastener system with thermoelectric heater/generator to heat the rail pads with the clean and sustainable electric energy harvested from the ambient thermal radiation. Due to the extremely cold temperature in some areas, the varying dynamic properties of rail pads result in a potential threat to the safe operation of the railway track system. The proposed thermoelectric generator can be used to continuously supply sufficient clean electric power to heat the rail pad, ensuring the railway fastener work within a proper temperature range. The experimental results show that the thermoelectric generator can provide an electric power of 5.8 mW with a low temperature gradient of 8 °C, and the working temperature of the rail pads can be improved by an average of 9.5 °C with 4 heaters of 2.5 W, which is consistent with the theoretical results of the finite volume method by FloTHERM. A fractional derivative Zener model of the coupled vehicle-track system is established to investigate the random vibration of the railway track structure with and without the proposed intelligent fastener system, and the calculated results show that the peak amplitude of wheel-rail contact force changes from 1.37 kN/Hz to 2.34 kN/Hz; whereas the first dominant frequency varies from 56.8 Hz to 68.0 Hz. It indicates that the vibration of the coupled vehicle-track system can be reduced by 41.5% with the proposed fastener system in extreme cold weather conditions.

Experimental research into the low-temperature characteristics of a hydraulic damper and the effect on the dynamics of the pantograph of a high-speed train running in extreme cold weather conditions

There is likely to be a demand to run high-speed trains in extreme cold weather conditions in the near future; therefore, it is important to study the change in the characteristics of the materials and components in an extreme cold environment and their effects on the vehicle system dynamics. Experimental research into the low temperature characteristics of a pantograph hydraulic damper was carried out in this study. The results show that low temperature causes an increase in damping forces, and when the temperature is above the boundary temperature range, most indices of the damping capability increase with the decrease of temperature; when the temperature is below the boundary temperature range, most indices decrease with the decrease of temperature. Key parameters are identified to obtain the theoretical description of low-temperature damping characteristics using a simplified-parametric damper model and the experimental data. A mathematical model of the pantograph–catenary system incorporating the pantograph damper model is then established to calculate the effect of the damper performance on the pantograph dynamics low temperatures. Simulation results show that the lowering performance of the pantograph deteriorates noticeably due to the unstable low-temperature damping characteristics, but the deterioration of the raising performance and contact quality of the pantograph due to the low-temperature characteristics of the damper are less obvious. The results obtained in this study are valuable for understanding the low-temperature characteristics of a hydraulic damper, and instructive in the optimal specification of the pantograph damper for high-speed trains running in cold weather conditions.

Predictions of El Niño, La Niña and Record Low Chicago Temperature by Sunspot Number

The El Nino Index, defined as 4 intensities (very strong, strong, moderate, weak) in Oceanic Niño Index (ONI), was positively correlated with the average sunspot number at each intensity. The La Niña Index, defined as 3 intensities (strong, moderate, weak) in ONI, was negatively correlated with the average sunspot number from 1954 to 2017. It appears that very strong El Niño events occur frequently during the maximal sunspot number while strong La Niña events more often occur during the minimal sunspot number. Since greenhouse-gas is continuously increased, it is therefore proposed that the maximal sunspot number is a major parameter for prediction of El Niño while the minimal sunspot number applies in the same way for La Niña. El Nino/La Nina events can be classified as four typical cases depending upon the submarine volcanic activities at seamounts in Antarctica and South America. The Sea Surface Temperature (SST) of the South and Central Americas are warmer than SST of East Australian Current (EAC), due to the strong volcanic eruptions in the Seamounts and the Ridges in South and Central Americas. This results in the Central Pacific Current (CPC) flowing from east to west due to the second law of thermodynamics for thermal flow from hot source to cold sink. In contrast the opposite direction is made if SST in EAC is warmer than SST in the Central/South American Seamounts and Ridges, due to the strong volcanic eruptions in the Antarctic Seamounts and Ridges. Chicago was selected as a case study for the relationship between extreme cold weather conditions and minimal sunspot number. Previous attempts at predicting weather patterns in Chicago have largely failed. The years of the record low temperatures in Chicago were significantly correlated with the years of the minimal sunspot number from 1873 to 2019. It is forecast that there may occur a weak La Niña in 2019 and another record low temperature in Chicago in January of 2020 due to the phase of the minimal sunspot number in 2019. It may be possible to predict very strong El Nino events with the year of maximal sunspot number as El Niño Index (R2 = 0.7363) and the years of strong volcanic eruption in the Galapagos Hot Spot (GHS) (R2 = 0.9939), respectively. An El Niño event is thus expected during the year of strong volcanic eruption in the GHS. Strong La Niña events can be expected during the year of minimal sunspot number with La Niña Index (R2 = 0.9922). Record low temperatures in Chicago can be also predicted (R2 = 0.9995) during the year of the minimal sunspot number, as was recently the case in January, 2019.

Aircraft Emissions and the Environment

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports have shown that global warming is due to increase in greenhouse gases (GHGs). Several studies have linked extreme weather to global warming and the frequency of extreme weather events is increasing. Global warming is projected to pose a major threat to the aviation sector; the direct consequence arising from the reduced lift (dependent on air density). It is projected that under extreme conditions, it would be difficult for aircraft to take-off during summer in the tropics. Storms such as cyclones and tornadoes pose challenges to the aviation sector. Cyclones can cause flooding of airfields and terminals. Underground power utilities are likely to short due to inundation, which can cause power outages. Strong winds can damage control towers and other ground equipment and installations. Due to the recent floods (August 2018), the international airport at Kochi, one of the busy airports of India, was shut down for nearly two weeks, consequent to extreme precipitation in the catchment areas of rivers. One of Japan’s busiest airports, Kansai International Airport in Osaka, had to be closed recently (September 2018) because of flooding caused by typhoon Jebi, the strongest to hit Japan in 25 years. Flood waters covered runways, leaving several planes submerged up to their engines and more than 1000 flights were cancelled. Just a few years ago, the Chennai International Airport was completely shut down after the unusually heavy precipitation flooded the airfield. Blizzards and other extreme cold weather conditions can cause icy runways and frozen fuelling equipment. Icy runways make safe take-offs and landings extremely difficult. Airports need to close during heavy blizzards. Necessary safety precautions for open airports include gritting of runways and de-icing of aircraft.

Weather or not? Welfare impacts of natural gas pipeline expansion in the northeastern U.S.

With the rapid development of new natural gas resources in the United States has come a number of proposals for new natural gas transmission infrastructure. We use a unique and fine-grained data set on natural gas spot pricing and gas transmission operations to model how a local pipeline expansion connecting a Marcellus Shale producing area to the main Transco pipeline system would affect flow patterns and zonal gas pricing across the Transco. Our modeling approach is based on arbitrage cost models for constrained energy networks, accounting for the effects of zonal gas transmission rates as mandated by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Application of our model to a data set of daily gas market outcomes and operating conditions on the Transco between 2012 and mid 2014 suggests that the modeled pipeline expansion would increase overall economic welfare in the spot market for Transco deliveries by $1.7 billion and have positive net social benefits of about $0.4 billion. However, more than 80% of this estimated welfare gain occurs in one season (winter 2014) featuring high gas demand due to colder weather. Thus, the spot market efficiency gains associated with pipeline projects in the Marcellus region may be limited by the frequency of extreme cold weather conditions. To examine the sensitivity of our estimates of welfare gains to different weather conditions, we calculate the expected benefits of the pipeline expansion in terms of historical temperatures from 1992 to 2011, and find that Atlantic Sunrise would have increased welfare by approximately $1.8 billion over a two and half year period, on average.

Differential Scanning Calorimetry Studies on the Cold Flow Properties of Fuel Mixtures from Bio-Oil, Crude Glycerol, Methanol, and/or Biochar

Differential scanning calorimetry is employed to investigate the cold flow property of a series of fuel mixtures prepared from fast pyrolysis bio-oil, crude glycerol, methanol, and/or biochar. Bio-oil alone has a melting peak temperature (TMP) of −21.9 °C that may lead to difficulties in practical applications under extreme cold weather conditions. Bio-oil water-soluble fraction (WSF) is even more problematic as its TMP is −8.7 °C. The results show that these problems can be alleviated or even eliminated by mixing various formulated crude glycerols (FCGs) with bio-oil or WSF. The TMP of FCG/methanol/bio-oil (FCGMB) blends significantly decreased from −21.9 to −38.1 °C. Similar phenomena were also seen for the FCG/WSF (FCGWSF) blends, with decreases in TMP from −8.7 to −32.0 °C. Water can worsen the cold flow properties of FCGMB and FCGWSF blends. However, other components in FCGs can lower the TMP and hence improve the cold flow properties of these fuel mixtures (with the effectiveness in the order of NaC...

120 Protection against acute cold stress-induced impairment of skin integrity

Exposure of skin to different climatic conditions is considered to be a main source of discomfort with a significant impact on daily life. Mainly cold and dry weather, as encountered in the winter season in countries far away from the equator, has been associated with these negative effects. Here we present clinical data showing reduced barrier strength and increased xerosis during the winter season in Belgium, which is considered to be a mild climate. We then developed an in vitro model that mimics the effects of extreme cold weather conditions on skin. 3D epidermal skin models were exposed to an intermittent flow of liquid nitrogen air. The acute cold stress induced a reduction of the Trans Epithelial Electrical Resistance (TEER), caused toxicity and increased the release of inflammatory markers IL1a and IL8 in the medium. This model was used to evaluate the protective effect of topically applied cosmetic formulations. A significant protective effect was measured as a reduction in cell death, lower levels of inflammation markers, and maintenance of barrier function after the cold stress. In conclusion we have illustrated that in vivo cold stress caused impaired skin integrity. By means of a novel in vitro assay, we have identified cosmetic formulations that protect against the cold stress induced adverse modifications.

North Atlantic SST Anomalies and the Cold North European Weather Events of Winter 2009/10 and December 2010

Abstract Northern Europe experienced consecutive periods of extreme cold weather in the winter of 2009/10 and in late 2010. These periods were characterized by a tripole pattern in North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies and exceptionally negative phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). A global ocean–atmosphere general circulation model (OAGCM) is used to investigate the ocean’s role in influencing North Atlantic and European climate. Observed SST anomalies are used to force the atmospheric model and the resultant changes in atmospheric conditions over northern Europe are examined. Different atmospheric responses occur in the winter of 2009/10 and the early winter of 2010. These experiments suggest that North Atlantic SST anomalies did not significantly affect the development of the negative NAO phase in the cold winter of 2009/10. However, in November and December 2010 the large-scale North Atlantic SST anomaly pattern leads to a significant shift in the atmospheric circulation over the North Atlantic toward a NAO negative phase. Therefore, these results indicate that SST anomalies in November/December 2010 were particularly conducive to the development of a negative NAO phase, which culminated in the extreme cold weather conditions experienced over northern Europe in December 2010.

Design and Perfromance Characteristics of a Portable Solar-Driven Thermoelectric Heat Pump under Thunder Bay Extreme Cold Conditions in Northwestern Ontario, Canada

Renewable & alternative non-conventional green energy technologies used for heat-pumping applications have shown real merits and received renewed interest in recent years especially in small-scale portable heating applications. Solar-driven thermoelectric heat pumping is one of these innovative technologies. In this paper, a thermoelectric heat pump that utilizes the Peltier effect has been designed, constructed and instrumented for suitable experimentation and characterization under Thunder Bay city extreme cold weather conditions in Canada. The thermoelectric test setup is powered using a renewable solar photovoltaic system and tested under different operating conditions. It was found that the PV-powered thermoelectric heat pump system has shown an acceptable performance with COP ranging from 0.98–1.22. Typical results showed that the average heat pumping power for the system was 72.1 W when the system was operated at an ambient temperature of –17 o C with an inside system temperature increased from approximately –5 o Ct o 25 o C.

The Daily Life Challenges Faced by the Researcher in Arctic

Abstract Existing research and the body of knowledge pertaining to the daily life challenges at an extreme cold weather conditions in Arctic and Antarctic expeditions were less explored by scholars and researchers. The Arctic external environment is extremely cold, dark and isolated during winter. During the expedition in Arctic, the researcher are physically isolated from the outside world, with darkness and weather conditions exerting severe restrictions on travel, and are separated from their families and friends. This study attempted to describe the major challenges of researcher encountered in Arctic. As an instrument herself, the researcher recorded and updated her daily life and the challenges in her reflective journal throughout the expeditions. Analyses of the results showed that there are many challenges that she confronted before she completed the mission of expeditions. The main challenges that the researcher faced were the unpredictable and dangerous Pole conditions and, the harsh terrains, extreme cold weather, researcher's injuries difficulties in communication, equipment problems, food and daily life in Arctic as an expeditor. However despite all the daily challenges faced by researcher for 10 days of her journey, she manages to overcome those problems mention above and accomplished the mission. The findings and researcher's experiences dwelling with the challenges in this research is benefitted to all especially Malaysian in every angle of existence such as finding strength in daily life, travelling skills, facing unpredictable weather condition, motivation skills and education purposes.

The Effects of Orientation on Energy Consumption in Buildings in Kazakhstan

Buildings account for nearly 40% of the end-use energy consumption and carbon emissions globally. These buildings, once built, are bound to be utilized for several decades if not longer. The building sector, therefore, holds a significant responsibility for implementing strategies to increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions and thus contribute to global efforts directed toward mitigating the adverse effects of climate change. This paper presents an overview of the effect of building orientation on energy consumption in buildings for the extreme cold weather conditions in Astana (capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan), with temperature ranging between −35 and +40 °C. Passive design features coupled with integration of renewable energy technologies have been identified for the next generation of buildings in Astana. The specific nature of the work is intentional; it is a continuing attempt to generate relevant know how that has direct relevancy to Astana's system approach to energy conservation to meet its extreme winters. Simulations allowed assessing how changing certain input variables can impact the overall energy consumption of the considered object. The simulation results have shown that orientation of a building can significantly affect the energy usage rate. In fact, the building rotation has justified the initial assumptions that building orientation affects its energy consumption. The South and North facing directions are found to be the most energy efficient (initial orientation is 35 degrees toward the North-East). These findings have been confirmed by the separate calculations based on the local and international standards and codes. Keywords: energy, low energy design, passive solar heating and cooling, extreme weather conditions and energy consumption.