High Precipitation Amounts Research Articles

Characteristics of Variability in the Water Consumption by Forest and Meadow Ecosystems of the Arid Region of Central and South Ningxia

The state and development of vegetation cover is an important criterion for the improvement of the ecological environment of arid regions; therefore, the study of the ecological water use of vegetation has become a pressing problem in ecology and hydrology. This study covered eight counties in the central and southern parts of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, which are located from north to south in an arid region in northwestern China. The purpose of the study was to assess the potential evaporation and environmental water consumption of local vegetation based on meteorological data, vegetation-distribution data, data on the state of water resources, etc. This study can help us to understand and assimilate patterns in the spatiotemporal distribution of ecological water consumption and can provide a basis for the planning and cultivation of forest–meadow vegetation in a region. First, the models of Thornthwaite and Penman-Monteith were used to calculate ecological water consumption. Comparison of the calculation results showed that the data obtained from the Penman-Monteith model were more acceptable, since the model uses a number of meteorological variables and geographic location factors. At the same time, the Jensen formula and the regional soil characteristics curve were used in the calculation of the ecological water consumption to determine the factor for soil moisture correction. Second, the potential evaporation and ecological water consumption of local vegetation was estimated month by month based on precipitation. The spatial and temporal variability of potential values was analyzed on this basis. The results showed that th epotential evaporation tends to increase from month to month from January to July and decrease from August to December. Regarding the spatial distribution, the potential evaporation gradually increases from south to north. The spatial variability of the balance between precipitation and the ecological water consumption of vegetation was analyzed; the results showed that the ecological reserves of water in the central region are more substantial than in the southern region, and the largest reserves of water were found in Yanchi, the northernmost district of the central arid region. Conversely, the ecological water consumption in forests was excessive throughout the growing season in the southernmost district of Jingyuan. In addition, the spatiotemporal variability of the relationship between precipitation-dependent ecological water consumption and water resources is discussed. The results showed that there is still enough space for the regional distribution of vegetation in Yanchi, Tongxin, and Haiyuan in the central arid region and relatively dry districts, such as Yuanzhou, Siji and Pengyang in the southern highlands. More land for an increase in vegetation was observed in the Longde districts and Jingyuan, located in the south of a highland where there is a relatively high amount of precipitation.

Precipitation amounts and variability in a cool climate wine region, southern Quebec, Canada

ABSTRACTRecent climatic changes to warmer conditions, in both winter and summer, are creating more amenable conditions for growing vitis vinifera grapes in southern Quebec, an area considered to be a cool climate wine region. Gradual increases in growing season length, growing and dormant season temperatures, both maximum and minimum, are creating a general amelioration in wine grape growing conditions here. Although these recent increases in temperatures, as has been documented in southern Quebec, are well established, results from precipitation investigations are lacking. Both the intensity and magnitude of precipitation events require analysis. The present study uses non-parametric time series to analyze changes in growing season and September total precipitation, and changes in precipitation intensity during the September ripening period. This mid-latitude climatic zone has historically seen relatively high precipitation amounts. The results from this study indicate that in the southern Quebec wine grape growing regions little change has occurred in both the total amount of precipitation received and the intensity of that precipitation over the 35-year study period. Wet growing season and ripening period conditions continue to present a challenge for growers in this region.

Paleoclimate reconstruction of the Prince Creek Formation, Arctic Alaska, during Maastrichtian global warming

The Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Prince Creek Formation of Arctic Alaska (~82–85°N paleolatitude) preserves successions of alluvial paleosols that are used to estimate mean annual precipitation (MAP), mean annual temperature (MAT) and meteoric water oxygen isotope composition. For the Prince Creek Formation, the highest MAP estimates range between 1000 and 3900 mm/yr and the lowest range between 350 and 1200 mm/yr. The precipitation variability, derived from stable carbon isotope analysis, occurs on a time scale of 104 years. MAP values agree with previous interpretations from fossil pollen, pedological features, soil types, vegetation composition, sedimentological indicators and CLAMP estimates that suggest high precipitation amounts and high humidity. Despite the considerable uncertainty with MAT proxies, our values are consistent with warm month mean temperatures obtained previously from paleobotanical data. The δ18O of smectite from bentonite beds clusters around ~+5.0‰ (VSMOW). The δ18O of meteoric water calculated from bentonitic smectite is ~−23‰ (VSMOW), assuming a mean annual temperature of 6.3 °C, which is slightly more 18O-depleted than meteoric water calculated from pedogenic siderite in stratigraphically younger beds closer to the Brooks Range. Chronostratigraphic correlation with the lower Cantwell Formation, Denali National Park, Alaska (~64°N paleolatitude), suggests higher precipitation rates and highly 18O-depleted precipitation in the Late Cretaceous paleo-Arctic compared to central Alaska. These data are consistent with previous studies that suggest a warmer and moister greenhouse Earth and an intensified hydrological cycle that enhanced latent heat transport, resulting in increased rainout effects.

Long-term trends of wet inorganic nitrogen deposition in Rocky Mountain National Park: Influence of missing data imputation methods and associated uncertainty

Excess reactive nitrogen (Nr) deposition is occurring in Rocky Mountain National Park and impacting sensitive ecosystems. In 2006, the National Park Service, State of Colorado, and Environmental Protection Agency established the goal to reduce Nr deposition to below the ecosystem critical load by 2032. Progress is tracked using 5-year averages of annual wet inorganic nitrogen (IN) deposition measured at Loch Vale, Colorado, by the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP). This remote high alpine site is challenging to operate, and large fractions of the annual precipitation, at times >40%, had invalid IN concentrations. Annual wet IN deposition is calculated using the NADP protocol, which replaces missing concentrations with the annual precipitation-weighted mean (PWM) concentration of valid samples. This protocol does not account for seasonal variations in IN concentrations and the inverse relationship between concentration and precipitation amounts. Invalid samples occurred more frequently in the winter and at high and low precipitation amounts, and the NADP protocol generally overestimated annual deposition rates, by as much as 20%. Here, a new method for imputing missing weekly IN concentrations that accounts for their seasonal and precipitation dependence is introduced. Using a bootstrapping analysis shows that the new method reduced the errors in the annual deposition rates by about 30% compared to the NADP protocol and the biases were near zero. The overall trend in the wet IN deposition rates was found to be flat from 1990 to 2017, but the nitrate contribution decreased about 33%, which was offset by a nearly equal increase in ammonium wet deposition. These trends are consistent with known changes in nitrate and ammonium precursor emissions. The long-term trends in the annual IN deposition rates were similar using both data imputation methods, but the 2013–2017 average was about 10% smaller using the new method.

Effect of different biological solutions on microbially induced carbonate precipitation and reinforcement of sand

Sporosarcina pasteurii is widely used in the application of microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) for various applications, such as ground reinforcement, erosion mitigation or stabilization of sand foreshore slopes. This study focuses on the effect of thallus resuspended by the fresh medium (RF) on urea hydrolysis, MICP, and sand reinforcement compared with untreated biological solutions (US) with high microbial concentration. The principle is investigated by tests on thallus resuspended by saline solution [NaCl (0.9%)] (RS) and supernatant (SS). The results indicate that the addition of the fresh medium is insignificant for promoting MICP and even has a slightly negative effect on urea hydrolysis and sand improvement for stationary phase bacteria. The ability of US to hydrolyze urea and MICP is derived from two sources: urease existing in the cell bodies and free urease existing in solution for lysis of partial cells, with urease in cells accounting for the majority. The preferable sand reinforcement of US is primarily due to the high amount of carbonate precipitation and formation of non-biological calcium carbonate located primarily in the pores. The results indicate that the preference of US in various engineering applications with lower cost for the realizable reinforcement.

Environmental significance and zonal characteristics of stable isotope of atmospheric precipitation in arid Central Asia

To analyse the environmental significance and zonal characteristics of stable isotopes of precipitation in Arid Central Asia systematically, this study took the Pan-Hexi region as an example study area. A total of 1747 precipitation samples were collected from 25 sampling points from May 2013 to July 2014. The results showed that the elevation effects of δ18O and δ2H of precipitation in the Pan-Hexi region were − 0.07‰/100 m and − 0.17‰/100 m, respectively. However, the elevation effects of δ18O and δ2H were lower in the oasis area than the mountainous section of the study area. The temperature effect was significant in the oasis area when the temperature was <10 °C and >15 °C, but it was only significant in the mountain area when the temperature was <0 °C. The evaporation rate of falling raindrops (f) and the enrichment rate (E) were significantly higher in the oasis area (E: 34.87%; f: 20%) than in the mountain area (E: 20.56%; f: 11.71%), and the E and f values showed a significant decreasing trend from oasis area to mountain area. Sub-cloud evaporation had a significant effect on the stable isotopes in precipitation. It was found that if f increases by 1%, E increases by 0.58% in the oasis area and by 0.86% in the mountain area. The precipitation amount effect mainly occurs during summer (June to August) in the Pan-Hexi region, especially in the oasis area. This effect was caused mainly by sub-cloud evaporation rather than by monsoon circulation. Further analysis demonstrated that when precipitation is higher, sub-cloud evaporation of falling raindrops is lower and enrichment of δ18O is weaker. Therefore, rainfall events with higher precipitation amounts had more depleted δ18O and vice versa. Thus, it can be concluded that precipitation amount effect in the study area is dominated by sub-cloud evaporation, which provides new information pertaining to the isotopic evolution of precipitation in arid regions.

Atmospheric River–Induced Precipitation and Snowpack during the Western United States Cold Season

Abstract Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are narrow, elongated corridors of high water vapor content transported from tropical and/or extratropical cyclones. We characterize precipitation and snow water equivalent associated with ARs intersecting the western U.S. coast during the cold season (November– March) of water years 1949–2015. For each AR landfalling date, we retrieved the precipitation and relevant hydrometeorological variables from dynamically downscaled atmospheric reanalyses (NCEP–NCAR) using the WRF mesoscale numerical weather prediction model. Landfalling ARs resulted in higher precipitation amounts throughout the domain than did non-AR storms. ARs contributed the most extreme precipitation events during January and February. Daily snow water equivalent (SWE) changes during ARs indicate that high positive net snow accumulation conditions accompany ARs in December, January, and February. We also assess the historical impact of AR storm duration and precipitation frequency by considering the precipitation depth estimated during a 72-h window bounding the AR landfall date. More extreme precipitation amounts are produced by ARs in the South Cascades and Sierra Nevada ranges compared with ARs with landfall farther north. Most AR extreme precipitation events (and lower SWE accumulations) are produced during warm AR dates, especially toward the northern end of our domain. Analysis of ARs during dry and wet years reveals that ARs during wet years are more frequent and produce heavier precipitation and snow accumulation as compared with dry years. Such conditions are evident in drought events that are associated with a reduced frequency of ARs.

Long-term distribution patterns of remotely sensed water quality variables in Pearl River Delta, China

Pearl River Delta (PRD) is the third largest and one of the most productive Deltas in south China, where long-term monitoring and its assessment of water quality are necessary to understand the distribution patterns to infer the coastal zone management. The studies on long-term monitoring in water quality variable concerning the changing climate and anthropogenic effects can be made possible by continuous coverage of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor. This study attempts to study the long-term trends, quantitative measurements, and assessment of water quality variables including total suspended solids (TSS), diffuse attenuation coefficient for downwelling irradiance at 490 nm (Kd (490)), and sea surface temperature (SST) using 8-day composite and monthly data products of MODIS data for the period between July 2002 and August 2018 in the turbid waters of the PRD. Monthly products are used to quantify the variability of these water quality properties on long-term climatology, seasonal and as well as spatial distributions to interannual timescales. We observed a decreasing trend of TSS and Kd (490) between 2002 and 2018, though not significant, whereas, an increasing trend of SST has recorded for the PRD region during the same time. Seasonal patterns of TSS, Kd (490) and SST showed significant differences between the seasons. The high values of TSS (>15 gm−3) and Kd (490) (>2 m−1) were found in summer, autumn followed by winter, and low values (<0.5 gm −3 and 0.1 m-1) in spring. Consequently, high SSTs were noticed in the in summer-Autumn season and low SSTs in winter. The spatial concentrations of TSS, Kd (490) and SST were found high in the northern region and low values in the offshore and the southern part of the PRD. The increased values of TSS and Kd (490) in summer can be attributed to the high amount of precipitation, and strong monsoonal winds lead to the significant amounts of highly turbid waters in the water column. Based on the MODIS derived time series of TSS and Kd (490), a significant correlation with wind speed was found between these variables, suggesting a critical role of precipitation, river discharge and wind forcing in the variability of ocean variables in the PRD region.

Orographic distillation and spatio‐temporal variations of stable isotopes in precipitation in the North Atlantic

AbstractLittle is known about the spatial and temporal variability of the stable isotopic composition of precipitation in the North Atlantic and its relationship to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and anthropogenic climate change. The islands of the Azores archipelago are uniquely positioned in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean to address this knowledge gap. A survey of spatial and temporal variability of the stable isotope composition of precipitation in Azores is discussed using newly presented analyses along with Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation data. The collected precipitation samples yield a new local meteoric water line (δ2H = 7.1 * δ18O + 8.46) for the Azores region and the North Atlantic Ocean. The annual isotopic mean of precipitation shows a small range for the unweighted and precipitation mass‐weighted δ18O‐H2O values. Results show an inverse relation between the monthly δ18O‐H2O and the amount of precipitation, which increases in elevation and into the interior of the island. Higher amounts of precipitation (from convective storm systems) do not correspond to the most depleted values of stable isotopes in precipitation. Precipitation shows an orographic effect with depleted δ18O‐H2O values related to the Rayleigh effect. Monthly δ18O‐H2O values for individual precipitation sampling stations show little relationship to air temperature. Results show a local source of moisture during the summer with the characteristics of the first vapour condensate. The stable isotope composition of precipitation is strongly correlated to the NAO index, and δ18O‐H2O values show a statistically significantly trend towards enrichment since 1962 coincident with the increased air temperature and relative humidity due to climate change. Results are in line with observations of increasing sea surface temperature and relative humidity.

Observed interactions between boundary-layer mesoscale frontal features during summers in the Carolinas coastal region of eastern USA

In the Carolinas of the United States, there are two significant land-surface features, the coastline and the Sandhills (inland), over which convection frequently forms during the summer months. The Sandhills, an area of sandy soil surrounded by other soil types, extends through the central Carolinas and is often the origin of convective storms. Nearby, sea-breeze circulations form along the coastline initiating convection during summers. The interaction between the outflow from the Sandhills convection, “the Sandhills front”, and the sea-breeze front initiates and enhances deep convection in the region. The objective of this paper is to characterize and classify these mesoscale interactions, taking into account the geography and the background flow. Using radar and in situ observations, it is found that these interactions typically occur on 24% of all days in June and 36% of the days in June when synoptic forcing is weak or absent. Onshore, offshore, and southwesterly background flows result in different strengths and locations of the convection associated with these interactions. Additionally, light winds (< 3 m s−1) and moderate winds (3–6 m s−1) influence these interactions differently. Interactions between the two fronts during moderate southwesterly flow produce widespread regional precipitation with the highest precipitation amounts due to the advection of warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico. Interactions during light offshore winds also produce strong interactions between the sea-breeze front and the Sandhills front possibly due to opposing flows that aid in the strengthening of a well-developed sea-breeze. Interactions occur less frequently during onshore flow and have the least precipitation amounts. The sea-breeze circulation is weak in such cases.

Stabilization Mechanisms and Decomposition Potential of Eroded Soil Organic Matter Pools in Temperate Forests of the Sierra Nevada, California

AbstractThe lateral destination and potential decomposition of soil organic matter mobilized by soil erosion depends on factors such as the amount and type of precipitation, topography, the nature of mobilized organic matter (OM), potential mixing with mineral particles, and the stabilization mechanisms of the soil OM. This study examined how the relative distribution of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in different OM fractions varied in soils from eroding slopes and in eroded sediments in a series of low‐order forested catchments in the western Sierra Nevada, California. We found that precipitation amount played a major role in mobilizing OM. More than 40% of the OM exported from these forested catchments was free particulate OM, or OM physically protected inside relatively less stable macroaggregates, compared to OM inside microaggregates or chemically associated with soil minerals. Years with high amounts of precipitation generally transported more mineral‐associated OM, with lower C and N concentrations, while sediment transported in drier years was more enriched in unprotected, coarse particulate OM derived from surficial soils. When incubated under the same conditions, sediment C (from material captured in settling basins) produced 72–97% more CO2 during decomposition than soil C did. Our results suggest that without stabilization through burial or reconfigured organomineral associations, this sediment OM is prone to decomposition, which may contribute to little to no terrestrial CO2 sink induced from erosion in these Mediterranean montane forest ecosystems.

Impact of urbanization on hourly precipitation in Beijing, China: Spatiotemporal patterns and causes

Abstract Human-induced impacts, such as urbanization, on regional climate changes and precipitation changes in particular have been attracting increasing international interests. However, there are different evaluations of urban effects on precipitation changes in both space and time. In this study, taking Beijing Municipality (BJM) as a case study, the hourly precipitation data from 20 automatic weather stations for a period of 2011–2015 were analyzed using the circular statistical analysis and grange causality test technique. Changes in precipitation intensity, amount, duration, and timing were investigated, and extreme precipitation indices were defined by percentiles and consecutive precipitation processes. Results indicated that impacts on precipitation varied with the type of urbanization. Urban areas with the highest population density were dominated by the slightly longer precipitation duration, higher precipitation intensity and larger precipitation amount with lengthening consecutive dry days. Therefore, urbanization has the potential to intensify precipitation processes. In addition, due to varying topographical features in the vicinity of BJM, complicated precipitation changes can be identified along two sides of the urban area. Larger precipitation amount and higher precipitation intensity can be found along the western side than along the eastern flank of the BJM. Further, higher precipitation amount can be observed in the downwind areas. High-level urban heat island can trigger more pronounced urban precipitation islands which lags behind the UHI. What's more, urban high buildings can benefit slowing down air mass, hence lengthening precipitation events. These results provide useful information for management of urban activities, and offer a new viewpoint for further understanding of the urban precipitation island (UPI) effect.

Decadal variability analysis of extreme precipitation in Turkey and its relationship with teleconnection patterns

AbstractNatural disasters such as droughts and floods originate as a consequence of excessive high or low precipitation amount and/or frequency. Due to the temporal persistence of the latter, the disasters tend to cluster in time. Because global ocean–atmosphere teleconnection patterns with (multi‐)decadal oscillations are tightly related with the precipitation variability, it is useful to analyse precipitation variability at the same timescale to understand any possible connection between them. In this study, decadal oscillations of daily extreme precipitation are investigated using quantile perturbation method for 65 stations in Turkey for the period 1955–2014. Arctic Oscillation (AO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), and Western Mediterranean Oscillation teleconnection patterns are examined for their relation with the extreme precipitation variability. The analyses are conducted for four climatic seasons and seven subregions. According to the analysis based on single drivers, NAO is identified as the most effective driver of Turkish extreme precipitation variability in winter, especially over regions influenced by the Mediterranean climate, whereas AO has a similar effect. When the teleconnection patterns are investigated in pairs, the combination of the NAO and SOI results in the strongest influence on the winter extremes. Though obvious differences are not recorded between the results of linear and nonlinear methods for single driver analysis, the nonlinear method is superior for the multiple driver analysis.

Conundrum or paradox: deconstructing the spurious case of water scarcity in the Himalayan Region through an institutional economics narrative

Abstract Water scarcity in mountain regions such as the Himalaya has been studied with a pre-existing notion of scarcity justified by decades of communities' suffering from physical water shortages combined by difficulties of access. The Eastern Himalayan Region (EHR) of India receives significantly high amounts of annual precipitation. Studies have nonetheless shown that this region faces a strange dissonance: an acute water scarcity in a supposedly ‘water-rich’ region. The main objective of this paper is to decipher various drivers of water scarcity by locating the contemporary history of water institutions within the development trajectory of the Darjeeling region, particularly Darjeeling Municipal Town in West Bengal, India. A key feature of the region's urban water governance that defines the water scarcity narrative is the multiplicity of water institutions and the intertwining of formal and informal institutions at various scales. These factors affect the availability of and basic access to domestic water by communities in various ways resulting in the creation of a preferred water bundle consisting of informal water markets over and above traditional sourcing from springs and the formal water supply from the town municipality.

Spatial variability in snow precipitation and accumulation in COSMO–WRF simulations and radar estimations over complex terrain

Abstract. Snow distribution in complex alpine terrain and its evolution in the future climate is important in a variety of applications including hydropower, avalanche forecasting and freshwater resources. However, it is still challenging to quantitatively forecast precipitation, especially over complex terrain where the interaction between local wind and precipitation fields strongly affects snow distribution at the mountain ridge scale. Therefore, it is essential to retrieve high-resolution information about precipitation processes over complex terrain. Here, we present very-high-resolution Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) simulations (COSMO–WRF), which are initialized by 2.2 km resolution Consortium for Small-scale Modeling (COSMO) analysis. To assess the ability of COSMO–WRF to represent spatial snow precipitation patterns, they are validated against operational weather radar measurements. Estimated COSMO–WRF precipitation is generally higher than estimated radar precipitation, most likely due to an overestimation of orographic precipitation enhancement in the model. The high precipitation amounts also lead to a higher spatial variability in the model compared to radar estimates. Overall, an autocorrelation and scale analysis of radar and COSMO–WRF precipitation patterns at a horizontal grid spacing of 450 m show that COSMO–WRF captures the spatial variability normalized by the domain-wide variability in precipitation patterns down to the scale of a few kilometers. However, simulated precipitation patterns systematically show a lower variability on the smallest scales of a few hundred meters compared to radar estimates. A comparison of spatial variability for different model resolutions gives evidence for an improved representation of local precipitation processes at a horizontal resolution of 50 m compared to 450 m. Additionally, differences of precipitation between 2830 m above sea level and the ground indicate that near-surface processes are active in the model.

Spatio-temporal variation in rainfall-runoff erosivity due to climate change in the Lower Niger Basin, West Africa

Spatio-temporal variation in rainfall-runoff erosivity resulting from changes in rainfall characteristics due to climate change has implications for soil and water conservation in developing countries. Understanding past and future variations in rainfall-runoff erosivity and its implication, in tropical areas where there are limited continuous daily rainfall records, is important. The present study attempted to (i) quantify the nature of spatiotemporal variability of erosivity from rainfall amount using Global Circulation Models (GCMs), and (ii) evaluate the implications of changes in rainfall-runoff erosivity in the Lower Niger Basin, West Africa. The GCMs scenarios (GFDLCM3, HADCM2, MIROC5, and MPIESMLR) were statistically downscaled using the delta method for three-time slices (the 2030s, 2050s, and 2070s). World climate data was used as the current baseline climate since it is the source of the future precipitation simulation. The R factor from the Revised Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was used to determine erosivity, while the RUSLE model was used to ascertain the implications of changes in erosivity. Observation data (1970–2013) from 20 meteorological stations were used to validate the erosivity model. The result indicates that there is an increasing trend in the annual rainfall-runoff erosivity from the baseline climate up to the GCMs, for all the GCMs, with an average change in rainfall-runoff erosivity of about 14.1%, 19%, and 24.2% for the 2030s, 2050s, and 2070s respectively. There was a concomitant increase in soil loss of 12.2%, 19.3% and 20.6% from the baseline for the 2030s, 2050s, and 2070s respectively. Though the combined average annual rainfall and erosivity show steady increases, some of the models (GFDLCM3-2.6 and HADCM2-2.6) reveal a likely decrease in annual rainfall and erosivity for the 2070s. Higher precipitation amounts were the major drivers of increasing spatial and temporal rainfall-runoff erosivity. More studies should be performed to include other important factors that exacerbate increases in erosivity, especially future changes in land use.

Characterization of spatial and temporal combinations of climatic factors affecting yields: An empirical model applied to the French barley belt

The adaptation of genotypes to environmental conditions is one of the main levers for maintaining an acceptable level of production, both in terms of quality and quantity. To breed suitable genotypes and for the farmers to choose the most adapted one to his farm conditions, the factors affecting production must be precisely characterized. Here, we analyzed the impacts of the climatic factors on winter barley yield in 35 départements (French geographic units) over 25 years, by partial least squares (PLS) regression analysis. Using ascendant hierarchical clustering based on PLS results, we defined the main combinations of climatic factors affecting yield in the French barley belt, hereafter referred as “climatic-stress patterns” (CPs).Four CPs captured 27% of total yield variability and widely differ in term of yield. Crops experienced low winter rainfall and few days with heat stress (31.8% of environments- mean yield of 7.2 t ha−1), high winter frost levels and high amounts of precipitation during stem elongation (34.7% of environments- mean yield of 6.5 t ha−1), high temperature during grain filling either with low vernalization temperatures (28.9% of environments- mean yield of 6.2 t ha−1), or high winter rainfall (4.6% of environments –mean yield of 5.5 t ha−1). Two-thirds of the French départements experienced all the four CPS over the years studied. Three clusters of regions with homogeneous frequencies of the CPs were identified.The regions with similar climatic-stress patterns could help breeders to design genotypes better adapted to the different local French growing conditions. It could also help farmers to choose the most appropriate cultivars to grow.

DEPENDENCE OF MORTALITY FROM CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM DISEASES ON METEOROLOGIC FACTORS AMONG POPULATION OF BAKU AND GUBA

The article presents the results of study dependence of mortality from cardiovascular system diseases on meteorologic factors among population of Baku and Guba. Air temperature and rainfall have been taken as the main meteorological indicator for months. Increased risk of death from cardiovascular diseases in both cities was observed more in the spring-winter months than in the summer, which was associated with a high amount of precipitation at this time of the year and with a lower temperature.

Geostatistical assessment of warm-season precipitation observations in Korea based on the composite precipitation and satellite water vapor data

Abstract. Among the meteorological disasters, heavy rainfalls cause the second largest damage in Korea, following typhoons. To manage the potential disasters due to heavy rainfalls, understanding the observational characteristics of precipitation is of utmost importance. In this study, we investigate the spatial and temporal characteristics of warm-season precipitation in Korea, according to the precipitation types, by conducting the geostatistical analyses such as an autocorrelogram, Moran's I and general G on the composite (radar + station) precipitation data. The e-folding distance of precipitation ranges from 15 to 35 km, depending on the spatial distribution, rather than intensity, of precipitation, whereas the e-folding time ranges from 1 to 2 h. The directional analyses revealed that the warm-season precipitation systems in Korea, especially those with a high precipitation amount, have high spatial autocorrelations in the southwest–northeast and west–east directions, in association with the frontal rainfalls, convection bands, etc. Furthermore, the cluster versus dispersion patterns and the hot versus cold spots are analyzed through Moran's I and general G, respectively. Water vapor, represented by the brightness temperature, from three Himawari-8 water vapor bands also shows similar characteristics with precipitation but with strong spatial correlation over a much longer distance (∼ 100 km), possibly due to the continuity of water vapor. We found that, under the e-folding-based standard, the current observation network of Korea is sufficient to capture the characteristics of most precipitation systems; however, under a strict standard (e.g., autocorrelation of 0.6), a higher-resolution observation network is essentially required – especially in local areas with frequent heavy rainfalls – depending on the directional features of precipitation systems. Establishing such an observation network based on the characteristics of precipitation enables us to improve monitoring, tracking, and prediction skills of high-impact weather phenomena as well as to enhance the utilization of numerical weather prediction.

Effects of temperature and precipitation on grassland bird nesting success as mediated by patch size.

Grassland birds are declining faster than any other bird guild across North America. Shrinking ranges and population declines are attributed to widespread habitat loss and increasingly fragmented landscapes of agriculture and other land uses that are misaligned with grassland bird conservation. Concurrent with habitat loss and degradation, temperate grasslands have been disproportionally affected by climate change relative to most other terrestrial biomes. Distributions of grassland birds often correlate with gradients in climate, but few researchers have explored the consequences of weather on the demography of grassland birds inhabiting a range of grassland fragments. To do so, we modeled the effects of temperature and precipitation on nesting success rates of 12 grassland bird species inhabiting a range of grassland patches across North America (21,000 nests from 81 individual studies). Higher amounts of precipitation in the preceding year were associated with higher nesting success, but wetter conditions during the active breeding season reduced nesting success. Extremely cold or hot conditions during the early breeding season were associated with lower rates of nesting success. The direct and indirect influence of temperature and precipitation on nesting success was moderated by grassland patch size. The positive effects of precipitation in the preceding year on nesting success were strongest in relatively small grassland patches and had little effect in large patches. Conversely, warm temperatures reduced nesting success in small grassland patches but increased nesting success in large patches. Mechanisms underlying these differences may be patch-size-induced variation in microclimates and predator activity. Although the exact cause is unclear, large grassland patches, the most common metric of grassland conservation, appears to moderate the effects of weather on grassland-bird demography and could be an effective component of climate-change adaptation.