Extremely High Temperatures Research Articles

Duration of exposure to compound daytime-nighttime high temperatures and changes in population exposure in China under global warming

Global warming has led to the enhancement of diurnal (daytime-nighttime) compound heat waves, which can severely affect the population’s physical health and productive life; this is particularly the case for vulnerable populations that are more susceptible to psychological and physiological harm with the future normalization of heatwave scenarios. In this study, we attributed the changes in population exposure under diurnal compound high temperatures (HTs) and extremely high temperatures (EHTs) to the influence of climatic (exposure duration) and population factors and their combined influence to determine the relationship between exposure duration and the changes in exposure of vulnerable populations. Diurnal compound HT and EHT covered a land area of 4,016,800 and 1,984,200 km2, respectively. The heat-exposed area spread step-like in all directions, centering on the 24-h high-exposure area with a strong gradient effect. The area of prolonged exposure shifted from the Yellow-Huai-Huai Plain across the geographical boundary between the south and the north to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Plain. Meanwhile, the average maximum value of vulnerable population exposure reached 186,800 and 93,100 person-h, with high values in Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Wuhan, Chengdu, Beijing, and other cities. Changes in vulnerable population exposure were dominated first by demographic factors and then by climatic factors, with the dominance of climatic factors evident in areas of prolonged exposure. Under prolonged exposure to daytime-nighttime compound EHT, changes in the exposure of child and older populations were dominated by climatic factors with a contribution rate of 87.16% and 87.43%, respectively. Therefore, suitable cooling measures should be proposed for vulnerable populations under prolonged exposure, focusing more on the physical and mental health of children and older adults exposed to compound EHT.

High-concentrated Electrolyte Design Enables Lithium-ion Pouch Batteries to Stably Operate at Extremely High Temperatures

High-concentrated Electrolyte Design Enables Lithium-ion Pouch Batteries to Stably Operate at Extremely High Temperatures

Ability of the GRAPES Ensemble Forecast Product to Forecast Extreme Temperatures over the Tibetan Plateau

Due to climate change, extreme temperature events are receiving increased attention. Based on the climate state deviation and threat score (TS), the ability of the Global/Regional Assimilation and Prediction System (GRAPES) ensemble model to forecast extreme temperature events was examined. The “optimal” Extreme Forecast Index (EFI) was derived for plateau forecasting, and its predictability was examined based on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve method. Meanwhile, the applicability of the Shift of Tails (SOT) index to extreme temperature forecasting was analyzed using extreme temperature cases. Results showed that the GRAPES model has a warm bias for both summer extreme high temperature and winter extreme low temperature, and the warm bias decreases slightly with an increase in the forecasting lead time. The ensemble mean and median forecasts are less effective, and the maximum value is more predictable. However, for the ensemble forecast model, the extreme information in its forecast is more unstable, and the limitation of the extreme temperature forecast in the plateau region is higher. With different forecast lead times, the TS tends to increase and then decrease with an increase in the EFI threshold, which means that there is an optimal EFI. The optimal EFI thresholds for summer extreme high-temperature forecasts are all less than −0.5, while for winter extreme low-temperature forecasts, they are almost all less than 0. From the ROC curves, the EFI has a certain level of predictability for summer extreme high temperatures but poorer forecasting effects. Furthermore, the EFI has some predictability for extreme summer high temperatures, but the prediction effect is poor. For the extremely low temperatures in winter, which are poorly predicted by the model itself, post-processing of the extreme information predicted by the model with the EFI can improve the forecasting effect of the model. Through analysis of individual cases, it was found that the extreme intensity reflected by the SOT_+ (0.9) index of the model was closer to reality for the prediction of extremely high temperatures, whereas for the prediction of extremely low temperatures, the extreme intensity indicated by the SOT_− (0.1) index of the model was weaker. Therefore, the SOT index can play an important auxiliary role in the prediction of the intensity of extreme events based on the EFI.

Flexible and Transformable Ceramic Aerogels via a Fire‐Reborn Strategy for Thermal Superinsulation in Extreme Conditions

AbstractEffective thermal superinsulation in extremely high temperatures (EHT) is crucial for aerospace, industrial, and civilization activities. However, current strategies relying on ceramic materials face limitations due to their high thermal conductivity and brittleness in specific conditions. In this study, a feasible and scalable method for synthesizing a flexible, lightweight, and transformable fire‐reborn silica‐alumina hybrid ceramic aerogel (FR‐SACA) is presented, which is achieved by rearranging silica aerogel microparticles and Al2O3 ceramic fibers using a self‐sacrifice polymer, resulting in a bio‐inspired bird nest structured FR‐SACA. The SACA exhibits exceptional properties, including an ultra‐low density of 0.01 g cm−3, a low thermal conductivity of 0.029 W m−1 K−1, and a reversible compression of up to 80%. Notably, a 20 mm‐thick FR‐SACA demonstrates a remarkable temperature reduction of 1179.6 °C when exposed directly to a 1300 °C flame, suggesting its potential as a thermal superinsulation material in EHT environments. Furthermore, the transformability of SACA enables in situ fabrication on surfaces with diverse heteromorphic structures, such as flat, bent, and angled shapes, thereby providing thermal superinsulation for various constructions. The Phoenix Nirvana process opens up new possibilities for synthesizing ceramic aerogels with desirable flexibility and adaptive properties, facilitating effective thermal management under extreme conditions.

Graphene Nanoparticles for Ultralow Friction at Extremely High Pressures and Temperatures.

This study uses the molecular dynamics approach to design graphene nanoparticles from the graphene sheets seeded randomly and investigates their lubricity. These nanoparticles are found to provide stable lubrication at extremely high pressure and temperature of up to 15 GPa and 2000 K, respectively. From the influences of both nanoparticle and graphene, the friction between the diamond slab and the nanoparticles shows ultralow values of the friction coefficient of 0.0034-0.0162 under 1-15 GPa and 300 K and 0.0065-0.0338 under 300-2000 K and 1 or 10 GPa. Providing stable lubrication and ultralow friction under these conditions is the large advantage of graphene nanoparticles.

Features and Evolution of Autumn Weather Regimes in the Southeast China

Autumn is the transitional season when the atmospheric circulation pattern changes from summer to winter. The temperature and precipitation in Southeastern China in autumn are significantly influenced by the change in circulation patterns, and both show significant uniqueness. The clustering method can be used to observe the changes of circulation patterns in detail and to observe and analyze the transition from warm to cold seasons from a detailed view of the daily circulation pattern perspective. This method may have important research implications on how to study the generation and dissipation of extreme weather events. The Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) method is used to a 500 hPa geopotential height and 850 hPa wind and sea level pressure for 1981–2020 to identify the characteristic weather patterns (WTs) in autumn (September–November) over Southeastern China. Characteristics of the captured WTs are also analyzed in terms of the distribution characteristics of weather patterns, occurrence frequency, typical progression, precipitation and extreme precipitation (EP), temperature and extreme high temperature (EHT), and the relationship with atmospheric teleconnection. Nine WTs were identified in autumn, which represents a series of weather situations consisting of troughs and ridges. On this basis, these WTs were used to carry out the differentiation of seasonal differences between early and late autumn. The maximum mean and extreme precipitation occur in several early season patterns (WT1, WT2, WT4, and WT7). It is highly likely that extremely high temperatures occur in the WT1 and WT2 patterns. The most common progression between WTs is WT7−WT1−WT2−WT4 in the early season. This seasonality allows us to distinguish between early and late seasons based on daily weather types. A preliminary trend analysis suggests that patterns in the early season occur more frequently and last longer in the early season, and patterns in the late season occur less frequently and later. That is, the longer cool season pattern is shifting to the shorter warm season pattern. In addition, the persistence of both cool and warm patterns increased during 2001–2020 relative to 1981–2000, and the risk of both flooding and drought occurrence is on the rise.

Experimental Study and Numerical Analysis of Structural Performance of CRTS II Slab Track under Extreme High Temperature

A ballastless track is susceptible to damage and even failure of structural components under the long-term effects of extremely high temperatures. In this paper, considering the influence of different constraint boundaries, a 1 : 4 scaled model of a ballastless track-bridge structural system was produced and placed in a large-sized environmental chamber. The thermal performance of the track structure was studied by carrying out temperature loading tests at extreme temperatures. In combination with the scaled-down model test data, a 3D nonlinear finite element model was established to investigate the damage evolution of broad-narrow joints under temperature gradient loading. The results are shown as follows: (1) the cement asphalt (CA) mortar layer has a hysteretic effect on the vertical temperature transfer. The most unfavorable structural part is between the track slab and the CA mortar layer of the track structure. (2) The constraint conditions accelerate the rate of temperature transfer, creating disturbances to the internal stresses of the track structure and amplifying the internal stresses induced by the environmental temperature increase. (3) Temperature and longitudinal stresses in the track’s structural layers are highly correlated. There is a significant quadratic regression between internal temperature and structural stresses in different extreme high-temperature environments. (4) As the temperature gradient load increases, the damage occurs at the junction of the broad-narrow joint and tends to expand towards the ends, which has little effect on the compression damage of the broad-narrow joint but significantly increases the tension damage. The research could provide useful guidance for the scientific operation and maintenance of the ballastless track in extreme high-temperature environments.

Об особенностях пространственно-временной изменчивости характеристик волн тепла последних трех десятилетий (Араратская долина, Армения)

The aim of this work to study, identify the repeatability and duration of heat waves of the study area. For it were suggested and decided the following tasks: Findings. The study of regularities of variability of the spatial-temporal distribution of characteristics of heat wave in conditions of regional and global changes of climate is current task of modern geographical science. Extremely high temperatures and heat waves of study area excessively conditioned by the influence of secondary thermal depressions from the Arabian Peninsula, a number of cases that last for 2-3 decades are significantly increased. Tropical thermal depression, forming of extreme hot summers and heat waves, have cycles of activation and weakening, periodicity of which is estimated at 20-22 years. Starting from July (sometimes from the second half of June) to the last ten days of August (sometimes to first half of September), weather conditions of Ararat valley are formed under influence of thermal depression. The invasion of southern and south-eastern tropical warm and dry air currents from the Arabian deserts is increasing. As a result in some years the air temperature in Ararat valley is increased to 40-43 °C, and relative humidity is low than 30%. Heat waves are dangerous weather phenomena, is threat for live and activity, are characterized with some negative consequences. They can be accompanied by droughts and dry winds, forest fires, desertification, disruption of the natural ecosystem, economic damage, decreased working capacity, psychological and sociological consequences, even deaths. Temporal tendencies in course of values of the characteristics of heat wave for last 2-3 decades have positive unambiguous character, more frequent heat waves and extremely warm summers. Heat waves of low and medium intensity have a particularly high frequency. The probability of strong waves is less. The study area is distinguished a characteristic regime and an almost uniform spatial distribution of summer extreme high temperatures. They range from 41,5 to 42,6 °C. The entire study area is vulnerable to heat waves. Heat waves can cause dangerous meteorological phenomena such as droughts or dry winds, which cause great damage to various sectors of the economy, especially agriculture. Therefore the results of the work can be used in the field of agriculture, mitigating and reducing the consequences of possible damage caused. They can also be used in agrometeorological forecasts. In the study area, summer conditions become warmer and drier, which should be taken into account when developing strategic programs for the future development of this area.

Health-related vulnerability to climate extremes in homoclimatic zones of Amazonia and Northeast region of Brazil.

Amazonia and the Northeast region of Brazil exhibit the highest levels of climate vulnerability in the country. While Amazonia is characterized by an extremely hot and humid climate and hosts the world largest rainforest, the Northeast is home to sharp climatic contrasts, ranging from rainy areas along the coast to semiarid regions that are often affected by droughts. Both regions are subject to extremely high temperatures and are susceptible to many tropical diseases. This study develops a multidimensional Extreme Climate Vulnerability Index (ECVI) for Brazilian Amazonia and the Northeast region based on the Alkire-Foster method. Vulnerability is defined by three components, encompassing exposure (proxied by seven climate extreme indicators), susceptibility (proxied by sociodemographic indicators), and adaptive capacity (proxied by sanitation conditions, urbanization rate, and healthcare provision). In addition to the estimated vulnerability levels and intensity, we break down the ECVI by indicators, dimensions, and regions, in order to explore how the incidence levels of climate-sensitive infectious and parasitic diseases correlate with regional vulnerability. We use the Grade of Membership method to reclassify the mesoregions into homoclimatic zones based on extreme climatic events, so climate and population/health data can be analyzed at comparable resolutions. We find two homoclimatic zones: Extreme Rain (ER) and Extreme Drought and High Temperature (ED-HT). Vulnerability is higher in the ED-HT areas than in the ER. The contribution of each dimension to overall vulnerability levels varies by homoclimatic zone. In the ER zone, adaptive capacity (39%) prevails as the main driver of vulnerability among the three dimensions, in contrast with the approximately even dimensional contribution in the ED-HT. When we compare areas by disease incidence levels, exposure emerges as the most influential dimension. Our results suggest that climate can exacerbate existing infrastructure deficiencies and socioeconomic conditions that are correlated with tropical disease incidence in impoverished areas.

Analysis of 600 V/650 V SiC Schottky Diodes at Extremely High Temperatures

This paper evaluates the thermal characterization of late generation SiC schottky diodes. 600 V/650 V SiC diodes from 3 well-known manufacturers are tested: Wolfspeed, Infineon and Rohm. A comprehensive study is performed for a wide temperature range from 20 °C (room temperature) up to 500 °C, aiming to find the absolute maximum parameters of SiC schottky diodes at extremely high temperature environments. Both static and dynamic characterizations are evaluated and explained. TCAD simulations are proposed to express the abnormal phenomenon occurred in test results, especially the mechanism of hole carrier transportation in extremely high temperature. This work exhibits the performance of SiC schottky diodes for high temperature application conditions.

Induction of a Toxin-Antitoxin Gene Cassette under High Hydrostatic Pressure Enables Markerless Gene Disruption in the Hyperthermophilic Archaeon Pyrococcus yayanosii.

The discovery of hyperthermophiles has dramatically changed our understanding of the habitats in which life can thrive. However, the extreme high temperatures in which these organisms live have severely restricted the development of genetic tools. The archaeon Pyrococcus yayanosii A1 is a strictly anaerobic and piezophilic hyperthermophile that is an ideal model for studies of extreme environmental adaptation. In the present study, we identified a high hydrostatic pressure (HHP)-inducible promoter (P hhp ) that controls target gene expression under HHP. We developed an HHP-inducible toxin-antitoxin cassette (HHP-TAC) containing (i) a counterselectable marker in which a gene encoding a putative toxin (virulence-associated protein C [PF0776 {VapC}]) controlled by the HHP-inducible promoter was used in conjunction with the gene encoding antitoxin PF0775 (VapB), which was fused to a constitutive promoter (P hmtB ), and (ii) a positive marker with the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase-encoding gene from P. furiosus controlled by the constitutive promoter P gdh The HHP-TAC was constructed to realize markerless gene disruption directly in P. yayanosii A1 in rich medium. The pop-out recombination step was performed using an HHP-inducible method. As proof, the PYCH_13690 gene, which encodes a 4-α-glucanotransferase, was successfully deleted from the strain P. yayanosii A1. The results showed that the capacity for starch hydrolysis in the Δ1369 mutant decreased dramatically compared to that in the wild-type strain. The inducible toxin-antitoxin system developed in this study greatly increases the genetic tools available for use in hyperthermophiles.IMPORTANCE Genetic manipulations in hyperthermophiles have been studied for over 20 years. However, the extremely high temperatures under which these organisms grow have limited the development of genetic tools. In this study, an HHP-inducible promoter was used to control the expression of a toxin. Compared to sugar-inducible and cold-shock-inducible promoters, the HHP-inducible promoter rarely has negative effects on the overall physiology and central metabolism of microorganisms, especially piezophilic hyperthermophiles. Previous studies have used auxotrophic strains as hosts, which may interfere with studies of adaptation and metabolism. Using an inducible toxin-antitoxin (TA) system as a counterselectable marker enables the generation of a markerless gene disruption strain without the use of auxotrophic mutants and counterselection with 5-fluoroorotic acid. TA systems are widely distributed in bacteria and archaea and can be used to overcome the limitations of high growth temperatures and dramatically extend the selectivity of genetic tools in hyperthermophiles.

Application of Tropospheric Sulfate Aerosol Emissions to Mitigate Meteorological Phenomena with Extremely High Daily Temperatures

Abstract This research examined whether tropospheric sulfate ion aerosols (SO4 2−) might be applied at a regional scale to mitigate meteorological phenomena with extremely high daily temperatures. The specific objectives of this work were: 1) to model the behaviour of SO4 2−aerosols in the troposphere and their influence on surface temperature and incident solar radiation, at a regional scale, using an appropriate online coupled mesoscale meteorology and chemistry model; 2) to determine the main engineering design parameters using tropospheric SO4 2−aerosols in order to artificially reduce the temperature and incoming radiation at surface during events of extremely high daily temperatures, and 3) to evaluate a preliminary technical proposal for the injection of regionally engineered tropospheric SO4 2−aerosols based on the integral anti-hail system of the Province of Mendoza. In order to accomplish these objectives, we used the Weather Research & Forecasting Model coupled with Chemistry (WRF/Chem) to model and evaluate the behaviour of tropospheric SO4 2−over the Province of Mendoza (Argentina) (PMA) on a clear sky day during a heat wave event occurred in January 2012. In addition, using WRF/Chem, we evaluated the potential reductions on surface temperature and incident shortwave radiation around the metropolitan area of Great Mendoza, PMA, based on an artificially designed aerosol layer and on observed meteorological parameters. The results demonstrated the ability of WRF/Chem to represent the behaviour of tropospheric SO4 2− aerosols at a regional scale and suggested that the inclusion of these aerosols in the atmosphere causes changes in the surface energy balance and, therefore, in the surface temperature and the regional atmospheric circulation. However, it became evident that, given the high rate of injection and the large amount of mass required for its practical implementation by means of the technology currently used by the anti-hail program, it is inefficient and energetically costly.

Regional features of changes in winter extreme temperatures and precipitation in Russia in 1970–2015

Te space-time dynamics of the occurrence of winter extreme events is investigated on the territory of Russia in 1970-2015 on the basis of daily observations at weather stations. It was found that a whole on the territory a noticeable increase in the occurrence of days with extremely high daily temperatures and daily precipitation and a decrease in the occurrence of extremely cold days was noted. Te most noticeable changes happened in the European part of Russia, where at the beginning of the XXI century occurrence of the extremes was greater than during the previous thirty years. Note also that at the beginning of XXI century in Southern Siberia increase of occurrences of both daily maximum and daily minimum temperature was concurrent. Tis combination appears to be caused by the increase in temperature variability in the region due to the alternation of winters with extreme frosts and warmer and wet winters. Te increase in the frequency of extremely high temperatures in the European part of Russia could have been caused by both general warming and the increased influence of AMO. An increase in the frequency of extreme high and low temperatures in the south of Siberia may be due to the formation of an anticyclonic circulation anomaly with a center near the coast of the Kara Sea, which is responsible for advection of cold air masses from the northeast. As well as cyclonic formation in southern Siberia, along the eastern periphery of which temperate latitudes can receive anomalously warm air from the subtropics.

Effect of Different Phenolic Compounds on Performance of Organically Cross-Linked Terpolymer Gel Systems at Extremely High Temperatures

The effect of four different phenolic compounds (i.e., phenol, catechol, resorcinol, and hydroquinone) on the performance of organically cross-linked terpolymer gel systems at the temperature of 150 °C was investigated. The phenol-based gelant systems were not able to form visible bulk gels at this extremely high temperature because the cross-linked clusters between phenol and hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) only contained a small number of hydroxyl groups for cross-linking reactions. The catechol- and hydroquinone-based gelants were able to form relatively strong bulk gels because the amount of the cross-linked clusters between these two phenolic compounds and HMTA increased significantly. This increment also contributed to the decrease of the grid sizes of the gel network structures and the emergence of dendritic structures on them, thereby significantly increasing the viscosity, storage modulus, and thermal stability of the obtained gels. However, these two gel systems could not be maintained for long; s...

Impacts of heat stress on leaf area index and growth duration of winter wheat in the North China Plain

Impact of high temperature stress on crop growth and productivity is one key concern with respect to crop production and food security under climate change. Due to the complexity and diversity of crop characteristics and farmers’ management practices, as well as the difficulties in quantifying those agronomic management practices at reasonable temporal and spatial scales, crop responses to heat stress at a regional scale have not been properly assessed yet. In this study, we used remote-sensing data to investigate the responses of growth duration and leaf area index (LAI) of winter wheat to extreme high temperature during reproductive growing stage in the North China Plain from 2001 to 2008. Growing degree days above 0°C (GDD) from heading to maturity was used to represent average temperature of growing environment, and the extreme temperature (>34°C) degree days (EDD) was used as an indicator for heat stress. We detected statistically significant shortening of reproductive growing duration due to increase in GDD and EDD at both site and regional scales. We also found acceleration of leaf senescence under warmer environment, as well as considerable damages to leaf area by extremely high temperatures according to LAI values from remote-sensing data. Our results present the explicit patterns of crop responses to heat stress at different spatial scales and periods, indicating the complexity of the impacts of extreme events. Moreover, we highlighted that exposure, vulnerability and adaptation all should be considered in evaluating the impacts of extreme events. In addition, our findings suggest great potential for improving regional crop growth monitoring and yield prediction through assimilating remote-sensing data into mechanistic crop simulation models.

The association between consecutive days\u2019 heat wave and cardiovascular disease mortality in Beijing, China

BackgroundAlthough many studies have examined the effects of heat waves on the excess mortality risk (ER) posed by cardiovascular disease (CVD), scant attention has been paid to the effects of various combinations of differing heat wave temperatures and durations. We investigated such effects in Beijing, a city of over 20 million residents.MethodsA generalized additive model (GAM) was used to analyze the ER of consecutive days’ exposure to extreme high temperatures.ResultsA key finding was that when extremely high temperatures occur continuously, at varying temperature thresholds and durations, the adverse effects on CVD mortality vary significantly. The longer the heat wave lasts, the greater the mortality risk is. When the daily maximum temperature exceeded 35 °C from the fourth day onward, the ER attributed to consecutive days’ high temperature exposure saw an increase to about 10% (p < 0.05), and at the fifth day, the ER even reached 51%. For the thresholds of 32 °C, 33 °C, and 34 °C, from the fifth day onward, the ER also rose sharply (16, 29, and 31%, respectively; p < 0.05). In addition, extreme high temperatures appeared to contribute to a higher proportion of CVD deaths among elderly persons, females and outdoor workers. When the daily maximum temperature was higher than 33 °C from the tenth consecutive day onward, the ER of CVD death among these groups was 94, 104 and 149%, respectively (p < 0.05), which is considerably higher than the ER for the overall population (87%; p < 0.05).ConclusionsThe results of this study may assist governments in setting standards for heat waves, creating more accurate heat alerts, and taking measures to prevent or reduce temperature-related deaths, especially against the backdrop of global warming.

Effects of extreme temperature on seedling establishment of nonnative invasive plants

Climate change and plant invasion are two of the most important ecological issues facing the world today. Extreme events are likely to play an important role in plant invasion. For example, tolerance to temperature stress is critical for plant germination and survival of seedlings. Nonnative invasive species tend to differ from co-occurring native species in several traits. Increased mean temperatures are known to enhance the risk of plant invasions, but few experimental studies have linked plant invasion to both increasing mean temperature and extreme (low and high) temperatures. Ten plant species from Asteraceae (six nonnative invasive and four native species) were chosen and six temperatures (extremely low, average winter, average annual, average summer, high and extremely high) were used to test the effects of extreme temperatures on plant invasion in southern China. The results showed that nonnative invasive plant species (IS) germinated more readily and the seedlings grew better than those of native plant species (NS) at high temperatures, suggesting that global warming may facilitate invasion. Extreme temperatures decreased the seed germination rate and seedling growth of both IS and NS, although NS were more tolerant of extremely low temperatures (5/0 °C). IS, in turn, were more tolerant of extremely high temperatures (40/35 °C). Extreme high temperatures may increase the risk of plant invasion because IS seedlings are better able to become established, whereas low temperatures may hinder invasion. In addition, the species-specific differences in plant origin (IS and NS) and temperature tolerance were correlated with other climatic factors and should be considered in managing invasive species in a changing world.

New cloud and microphysics parameterisation for use in high-resolution dynamical downscaling: application for summer extreme temperature over Belgium

We explore the use of high-resolution dynamical downscaling as a means to simulate extreme values of summer maximum surface air temperature over Belgium (TMAX). We use the limited area version of the ARPEGE-IFS model, ALADIN. Our approach involves a sequence of daily integrations driven by perfect boundary conditions at the lateral boundaries provided by the ERA40 reanalysis. In this study, three different recent past (1961–1990) simulations are evaluated against different station datasets: (1) 40 km spatial resolution (ALD40), (2) 10 km spatial resolution (ALD10), and (3) 4 km spatial resolution (ALR04) using a new parameterisation of deep convection, and microphysics allowing the use of ALADIN at resolutions ranging from a few tens of kilometers down to less than 4 km. The validation of ALD40 reveals a positive summer bias (2.2 °C), even though the considerable spatial resolution enhancement by a factor of 4, ALD10 reduces slightly the warm biases (1.7 °C). This warm bias on TMAX is strongly correlated with cloud cover representation. Result shows an overestimate of clear-sky occurrences by ALD10 and a developing solar radiation overestimate through the diurnal cycle, with 116 W m−2 maximum overestimate at noon. ALR04 reduces considerably the warm biases (−0.2 °C) which suggests of its ability to simulate weakly forced convective cloud in the summer over Belgium. In addition, the Generalized Pareto Distribution (GPD) of the extreme high temperatures produced by the different simulations has been compared to observations of the same period. ALD40 and ALD10 gave a GPD distribution that did not replicate the observed distribution well and, thus, overestimated the extremes. This study shows that the consistent treatment of deep convection and cloud–radiation interaction when increasing the horizontal resolution is very important when studying extremely high temperatures events. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society

Mortality related to temperature and persistent extreme temperatures: a study of cause-specific and age-stratified mortality

ObjectivesHigh and low ambient temperatures are associated with large numbers of deaths annually. Many studies show higher mortalities during heatwaves. However, such effects are rarely explicitly incorporated in models of...

Power Conversion With SiC Devices at Extremely High Ambient Temperatures

This paper evaluates the capability of SiC power semiconductor devices, in particular JFET and Schottky barrier diodes (SBD) for application in high-temperature power electronics. SiC JFETs and SBDs were packaged in high temperature packages to measure the dc characteristics of these SiC devices at ambient temperatures ranging from 25degC (room temperature) up to 450degC. The results show that both devices can operate at 450degC, which is impossible for conventional Si devices, at the expense of significant derating. The current capability of the SiC SBD does not change with temperature, but as expected the JFET current decreases with rising temperatures. A 100 V, 25 W dc-dc converter is used as an example of a high-temperature power-electronics circuit because of circuit simplicity. The converter is designed and built in accordance with the static characteristics of the SiC devices measured under extremely high ambient temperatures, and then tested up to an ambient temperature of 400degC. The conduction loss of the SiC JFET increases slightly with increasing temperatures, as predicted from its dc characteristics, but its switching characteristics hardly change. Thus, SiC devices are well suited for operation in harsh temperature environments like aerospace and automotive applications.