Outdoor Winter Research Articles

Standalone green hydrogen production powered by photovoltaic panels and solar atmospheric water harvesting hybrid system: Experimental investigation

The current study experimentally investigates the performance of a hybrid standalone solar system of atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) and solar photovoltaic powering electrolyzer for green water and green hydrogen production. The system prototype is designed, constructed, and tested under outdoor summer and winter climate conditions of Alexandria, Egypt at different operating and design enhancement conditions. Water electrolyzes concept for green hydrogen production system driven by a photovoltaic panel and silica gel absorption/desorption atmospheric water harvesting solar still concept with insertion of porous sheet metals for freshwater production is performed and evaluated. The results show a rise of the AWH freshwater production of (60% and 120%) and (146% and 260%) in summer and winter, respectively with the insertion of one and two porous metal sheets, respectively. The maximum rise of the AWH efficiency is 82% in summer and 53.4% in winter by using 2 porous metal sheets. The hydrogen production rate of the system in summer is higher than that of winter by about 25%. System efficiency is almost doubled when electrolyzer KOH concentration increased from 4 gm/kg to 12 gm/kg water. The average daily system efficiency of the AWH, electrolyzer, and overall system reaches 11.6%, 65.1%, and 2.6% when operating at a KOH concentration of 12 gm/kg with two porous metal sheets. The study contributes to achieving mainly SDG goals 6, 7, and 13.

Experimental Performance Analysis of R410A Heat Pump System in Northeastern US Winter Climates

Abstract This work is motivated by the accelerated pathways to decarbonize our cities. New York City (NYC) is a key example with local law 97 which calls to decarbonize the city by 2050. One of the major sources of carbon emissions is the usage of natural gas and oil for space heating. Air source heat pump (ASHP) systems can replace the natural gas-based heating systems due in large to their deployable in existing buildings. However, a major drawback of ASHP systems is that the performance decreases significantly when outdoor temperature becomes extremely low. It is therefore imperative for comprehensive studies on the performance of ASHP systems in cold climates to determine deployability. In this study, the performance of variable capacity ASHP using R410A refrigerant was investigated in the Northeastern US winter climate, specifically for NYC. A complete laboratory setup was built to simulate the extreme outdoor winter conditions similar to NYC temperatures in January 2022. First law and second law analyses were conducted including a comprehensive exergy analysis. The study reveals that the coefficient of performance (COP) increases from 2.53 to 3.81 when the outdoor temperature increases from 16 °F to 50 °F. The compressor has the highest exergy losses followed by the condenser, expansion valve, and evaporator. The power consumption of the system decreases significantly with the increase in outdoor temperature. This study provides insights into the feasibility and challenges of deploying air source heat pump systems in the NYC winter climates.

Could residential air-source heat pumps exacerbate outdoor summer overheating and winter overcooling in UK 2050s climate scenarios?

The UK government promotes heat pumps to replace gas boilers in the residential sector as a vital part of its strategy to achieve Net Zero by 2050. As climate change intensifies, heat pumps, traditionally used for heating, will also play a role in cooling to address indoor heat risks that threaten public health and increase energy demands. However, air-source heat pumps (ASHPs) might unintentionally exacerbate summer overheating and winter overcooling in residential neighbourhoods. This study uses a multi-scale modelling approach, combining SUEWS and EnergyPlus, to assess the impact of ASHPs on outdoor temperature in two idealised UK low-rise residential neighbourhoods under 2050s climate scenarios. Results show that in summer, ASHPs increase median anthropogenic heat emission by up to 19.3 W m-2 and raise local median 2 m air temperature by up to 0.12 °C in an idealised London neighbourhood. In winter, replacing gas boilers with ASHPs for heating reduces anthropogenic heat emissions by up to 11.1 W m-2 and lowers local air temperatures by up to 0.16 °C in London. The research shows that conventional waste heat calculations from air-conditioning can overestimate anthropogenic heat emissions by up to 86 %, and cooling entire building rather than just occupied rooms can increase energy consumption by 68 %. Although temperature changes will vary across UK cities, the response of air temperature to anthropogenic heat change is generally consistent. The study enhances understanding of role of ASHPs in the UK's net zero target for 2050, highlighting the importance of balancing outdoor and indoor thermal comfort when considering the wide use of ASHPs.

Athlete Insights on Climate Change and Winter Sport: Impacts, Thresholds, Adaptations, and Implications for the Future

Relying directly on snow, ice, and cold temperatures, outdoor winter sports are already experiencing and responding to climate change. Through an online survey of elite-level athletes and coaches (n = 390), and semi-structured key stakeholder interviews (n = 8), this research investigates the climate thresholds and adaptations that enable world-class performance in safe and fair competitions. Ideal competition conditions include temperatures within −1 to −10 °C, on consistent snow surfaces. Over 95% of respondents stated climate change is or will negatively impact their sport, with current adaptations ranging from good (snowmaking) to poor (canceled training runs). Beyond competitions, athletes and coaches are concerned climate change will reduce training opportunities, negatively impacting next-generation athlete development and winter sport culture. The results yield important insight into athlete and coach perspectives on climate change impacts, thresholds, and adaptations that can inform future policy, planning, and management for winter sport organizations at all levels.

Performance analysis of a fresh air and indoor air co-treatment parallel-loop exhaust air heat pump for buildings

To reduce building energy consumption and solve the problem that the power of traditional exhaust air heat pump is limited by exhaust air volume, an innovative fresh air and indoor air co-treatment parallel-loop exhaust air heat pump (CPEAHP) was proposed, and three operating modes of the CPEAHP were studied. The results showed that the co-treatment mode not only increased the flexibility of system regulation, but also improved the heating performance of the system at low temperature in winter. When the winter outdoor temperature was higher than 0 °C, the temperature efficiency of the co-treatment mode was higher than 100 %, and that efficiency was higher than 100 % under all outdoor temperature conditions in summer. At a winter outdoor temperature of −15 °C, the co-treatment mode could increase the temperature of fresh air by 20.4 °C and increase the temperature of indoor air by 3.1 °C, the heating capacity of the system was 6.3 kW and the COP was 8.7 at this time. At an outdoor temperature of 42 °C in summer, the co-treatment mode could decrease the temperature of fresh air by 22.8 °C and decrease the temperature of indoor air by 3.1 °C, the cooling capacity of the system was 7.3 kW and the COP was 4.5 at this time. These results demonstrated the excellent performance of CPEAHP system, and the application of CPEAHP system was expected to reduce building energy consumption and promote carbon neutrality in the construction industry.

Reinforced nanowrinkle electrospun photothermal membranes via solvent‐induced recrystallization

AbstractWearable photothermal materials can capture light energy in nature and convert it into heat energy, which is critical for flexible outdoor sports. However, the conventional flexible photothermal membranes with low specific surface area restrict the maximum photothermal capability, and loose structure of electrospun membrane limits durability of wearable materials. Here, an ultrathin nanostructure candle soot/multi‐walled carbon nanotubes/poly (L‐lactic acid) (CS/MWCNTs/PLLA) photothermal membrane is first prepared via solvent‐induced recrystallization. The white blood cell membrane‐like nanowrinkles with high specific surface area are achieved for the first time and exhibit optimal light absorption. The solvent‐induced recrystallization also enables the membrane to realize large strength and durability. Meanwhile, the membranes also show two‐sided heterochromatic features and transparency in thick and thin situations, respectively, suggesting outstanding fashionability. The nano‐wrinkled photothermal membranes by novel solvent‐induced recrystallization show high flexibility, fashionability, strength, and photothermal characteristics, which have huge potential for outdoor warmth and winter sportswear.image

How porosity of the middle layer can affect the comfort properties of multi-layer sportswear

Protection of the body against heat loss is vital to provide appropriate conditions for athletes of outdoor winter sports. Besides, considering the breathability of sportswear and its air permeability that can affect clothing ventilation should be noticed to provide athlete comfort. The application of multi-layered sportswear is a method to improve protection against cold and mobility of the person instead of wearing thick and heavy single-layer clothing, which has been under focus in winter sports. However, the properties of the constituent’s layers can determine the comfort properties of multi-layer sportswear. In this study, the influence of the middle layer porosity on the comfort properties of three-layer samples was investigated. The outer and inner layers remained unchanged for all samples and the middle layers were nonwoven samples with various needle punching densities including 15, 45, 70, 95, and 108 needles/cm2. The comfort properties of single layers and three-layer samples were evaluated before and after joining them by sewing. The obtained outcomes reveal that increasing the number of needle punching densities from 15 to 108 needles per square centimeter leads to the reduction of layer porosity by 35.43% which leads to the reduction of air and water vapour permeability and also thermal insulation of samples. After assembling layers, the comfort properties of three-layer samples are affected by the properties of various constituent layers and also the sewing process.

Visual tracking in camera-switching outdoor sport videos: Benchmark and baselines for skiing

Skiing is a globally popular winter sport discipline with a rich history of competitive events. This domain offers ample opportunities for the application of computer vision to enhance the understanding of athletes’ performances. However, this potential has remained relatively untapped in comparison to other sports, primarily due to the limited availability of dedicated research studies and datasets. The present paper takes a significant stride towards bridging these gaps. It conducts a comprehensive examination of skier appearance tracking in videos capturing their entire performance—an essential step for more advanced performance analyses. To implement this investigation, we introduce SkiTB, the largest and most annotated dataset tailored for computer vision applications in skiing. We subject a range of visual object tracking algorithms to rigorous testing, including both well-established methodologies and a novel skier-specific baseline algorithm. The results yield valuable insights into the suitability of various tracking techniques for vision-based skiing analysis and into the generalization of state-of-the-art algorithms to complex target behaviors and conditions set by winter outdoor environments. To foster further development, we make SkiTB, the associated code, and the obtained results accessible through https://machinelearning.uniud.it/datasets/skitb.

Distributed IMU Sensors for In-Field Dynamic Measurements on an Alpine Ski.

Modern ski design is an inherently time-consuming process that involves an iterative feedback loop comprised of design, manufacturing and in-field qualitative evaluations. Additionally consumers can only rely on qualitative evaluation for selecting the ideal ski, and due to the variation in skier styles and ability levels, consumers can find it to be an inconsistent and expensive experience. We propose supplementing the design and evaluation process with data from in-field prototype testing, using a modular sensor array that can be ported to nearly any ski. This paper discusses a new distributed Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) suite, including details regarding the design and operation, sensor validation experiments, and outdoor in-field testing results. Data are collected from a set of spatially distributed IMUs located on the upper surface of the ski. We demonstrate that this system and associated post-processing algorithms provide accurate data at a high rate (>700 Hz), enabling the measurement of both structural and rigid ski characteristics, and are robust to repetitive testing in outdoor winter conditions.

Quality of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Avalanche Victims with a Single Rescuer: A Prospective, Crossover, Manikin Pilot Study.

Tanaka, Shota, Koshi Nakagawa, Yosuke Kanagawa, Takashi Katsurahara, Kazuki Kozakai, Ken Tsuhako, Fumitaka Yoshikawa, Soh Gotoh, Kensuke Osanai, Madoka Sono, Hironori Inoue, Shuji Sakanashi, Hiroyuki Takahashi, and Hideharu Tanaka. Quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in avalanche victims with a single rescuer: a prospective, crossover, manikin pilot study. High Alt Med Biol. 25:60-67, 2024. Background: Winter outdoor recreational activities such as off-piste skiing have gained popularity and, as a result, the number of avalanche-related deaths has increased. However, the quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at avalanche sites remains unclear. Our study compared the quality of CPR performed in a simulated avalanche burial on a snowy mountain with that performed indoors. Methods: Ten prehospital health care providers participated in the crossover pilot study. Various methods, including over-the-head CPR (OTH-CPR) and standard CPR, were used to perform avalanche resuscitation, with five rescue breaths, followed by 30 chest compressions and two breaths. The quality CPR was judged by four variables of chest compression and ventilation. Results: The OTH-CPR performed indoors was better in quality: 5.33% [95% confidence interval (CI) -14.2 to 3.5] higher in adequate compression depth (94.3 ± 10.6% on the snow vs. 99.3 ± 1.1% indoors), 3.4% [95% CI -16.1 to 22.9] higher in adequate compression rate (70.4 ± 38.0% vs. 76.1 ± 35.7%), and 2.3% [95% CI -6.4 to 1.72] higher in adequate recoil (96.9 ± 4.8% vs. 99.2 ± 1.6%) than OTH-CPR on the snow. In terms of ventilation quality, OTH-CPR performed indoors had a 50% higher ventilation score [95% CI -73.0 to -27.0] than OTH-CPR on the snow (1.4 ± 4.3% vs. 45.9 ± 32.6%, Cohen's d = -1.81). Conclusions: Chest compression quality was slightly impaired in the avalanche scenarios on the snow than in indoor settings. Asphyxiation is the main cause of avalanche-related deaths; however, low ventilation quality was observed on snow compared with the indoor setting.

Indoor air levels of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAC) in public buildings with creosote impregnated constructions – A pilot case study using passive samplers

Creosote has been used in Sweden as a wood preservative in buildings since the 19th century. These buildings can function as workplaces, homes, and cultural buildings to which the public has access. Creosote contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) which are well known carcinogens. To understand exposure and risks in an indoor environment, it is important to determine air levels of parent PAHs as well as the more toxic nitrated and oxygenated PAH derivatives (NPAH, OPAH).This study aims to investigate indoor air levels of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) e.g., PAH, NPAH, OPAH and dibenzothiophenes in buildings containing creosote sources and whether these levels pose a health risk.Four cultural buildings were studied, all located within a radius of 130 m. Two were known to have creosote sources, and two had not. Polyurethane foam passive air samplers (PUF-PAS) were used to indicate possible point sources. PUF-PAS measurements were performed for one month in each building winter and summer. Simultaneously, PAC outdoor level measurements were performed.Buildings with creosote impregnated constructions had notably higher indoor air levels of PAC (31–1200 ng m−3) compared to the two buildings without creosote sources (14–45 ng m−3). The PAH cancer potency (sum of benzo[a]pyrene equivalents (BaPeq)) was more than one order of magnitude higher in the buildings containing creosote impregnated wood compared to reference buildings. The highest value was 5.1 BaPeq ng m−3 which was significantly higher than the outdoor winter measurement (1.3 BaPeq ng m−3). Fluoranthene and phenanthrene, with significant distribution in gas phase, but also several particulate NPAHs contributed significantly to the total cancer risk. Thus, creosote containing buildings can still contaminate the indoor air with PACs despite being over a hundred years old. The PUF-PAS was shown to be a good tool providing quantitative/semiquantitative measures of PACs exposure in indoor microenvironments.

Climate change versus winter sports; can athlete climate activism change the score?

Outdoor winter sports sit on the frontlines of climate change, with athletes subject to increasingly unsafe, unfair and non-ideal competition and training conditions as a result. With athletes’ livelihoods and the future of winter sports on the line, this research investigates if and how winter athletes use their position as public figures, celebrities and role models to challenge the hegemonic structures in sports and society driving climate change. Framed through the broad athlete-activism literature, this study used a qualitative survey of 390 elite winter-sport athletes and coaches combined with eight key stakeholder interviews to understand athlete climate activism. Results demonstrate that winter athletes’ climate action is generally low risk constituting advocacy rather than activism. Athletes express fear of being called out as hypocritical for their high-carbon sport and lifestyle, insecurity over their level of climate education and frustration with the lack of climate action from international- and national-level winter-sport organizations. Scholarly, grassroots and sport-based activism may help athletes engage more effectively in climate activism within and beyond sport.

Profiting from individual investment in winter outdoor activities: expanding participants’ life horizons

ABSTRACT Outdoor education in various forms has a long and rich tradition in the Czech Republic. This paper focuses on research into the benefits or return on investment of a winter travel course organised by the Department of Recreology at the Faculty of Physical Culture of Palacký University Olomouc which combines snowshoeing and camping in the snow. On the basis of the processing of qualitative data from essays written by 28 participants in 2018 and 2019, we found that the course has an impact on the participants and the investment that is involved is balanced by a number of perceived benefits in the areas of personal development and the acquisition of new skills and knowledge of a stay outdoors in the winter and movement there. On the basis of the identified findings, we believe that the experiences recorded by our respondents also have the transformative power to transform their existing horizon of possibilities, the so-called life horizon.

Comparison of indoor (refrigerated) versus outdoor winter storage of commercial honey bee, Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae), colonies in the Western United States.

Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are critical to the pollination of many important crops in the United States, and one crop that demands large numbers of colonies early each year is almonds. To provide adequate numbers of colonies for almond pollination, many beekeepers move colonies of bees to high-density holding yards in California in late fall, where the bees can fly and forage, but little natural pollen and nectar is available. In recent years, high colony losses have occurred in some operations following this management strategy, and alternative approaches, including indoor storage of colonies, have become more commonly used. The current study evaluated colonies kept indoors (refrigerated and/or controlled atmosphere) for the winter compared with those kept outdoors in either Washington or California. Colonies were evaluated for strength (frames of bees), brood area, lipid composition of worker bees, colony weight and survival, parasitic mites (Varroa mites, tracheal mites), and pathogens (Nosema spp.). No differences were found in colony weight, survival, parasitic mite levels, or pathogen prevalence among the treatments. Colonies stored indoors and outdoors in WA had significantly more frames of bees and less brood present after the storage period than colonies stored outdoors in CA. Lipid composition of honey bees stored indoors was significantly higher than colonies stored outdoors in WA or CA. The implications of these findings for overall colony health and improved pollination activity are discussed.

Disaster and risk management in outdoor recreation and tourism in the context of climate change

PurposeThe increasing frequency and intensity of the extreme weather events could cause devastating consequences in tourism. Climate change–related extreme weather events and their relation to tourism is an emerging field for education and research. The purpose of this study is to categorize the impact of climate change on tourist destinations with regard to extreme weather-related risks in outdoor recreation and tourism. Managerial implications for policymakers and stakeholders are discussed.Design/methodology/approachTo outline the risks from climate change associated with tourism, this study uses the Prisma analysis for identification, screening, checking for eligibility and finding relevant literature for further categorization.FindingsBased on a thoroughly examination of relevant literature, risks and threats posed by climate change could be categorized into following four areas: reduced experiential value in outdoor winter recreation; reduced value in beach scenery and comfort; land degradation and reduced biodiversity; and reduced value in personal safety and comfort in tourism. It also focuses on the significance of using big data applications in catastrophic disaster management and risk reduction. Recommendations with technology and data analytics to continuously improve the disaster management process in tourism education are provided based on findings of this study.Originality/valuePrimary contributions of this study include the following: providing a summarized overview of the risks associated with climate change in terms of tourist experiential value for educational implications; and revealing the role of data analytics in disaster management in the context of tourism and climate change for tourism education.

Modified stepping behaviour during outdoor winter walking increases resistance to forward losses of stability

Healthy humans are proficient at maintaining stability when faced with diverse walking conditions, however, the control strategies that lead to this proficiency are unclear. Previous laboratory-based research has predominantly concluded that corrective stepping is the main strategy, but whether this finding holds when facing everyday obstacles outside of the laboratory is uncertain. We investigated changes in gait stability behaviour when walking outdoors in the summer and winter, hypothesizing that as ground conditions worsened in the winter, the stepping strategy would be hindered. Stability would then be maintained through compensatory strategies such as with ankle torques and trunk rotation. Data was collected in the summer and winter using inertial measurement units to collect kinematics and instrumented insoles to collect vertical ground reaction forces. Using the goodness of fit for a multivariate regression between the centre of mass state and foot placement we found that, counter to our hypothesis, stepping was not hindered by winter conditions. Instead, the stepping strategy was modified to increase the anterior-posterior margin of stability, increasing the resistance to a forward loss of stability. With stepping being unhindered, we did not observe any additional compensation from the ankle or trunk strategies.

Energy balance during outdoor education winter training: a pilot study

ABSTRACT Learning in the mountains during winter prepares upcoming guides for tough environments by placing demands on their energy intake and enabling them to cope with a complex environment. However, few studies have explored energy intake and expenditure in outdoor education. Thus, energy intake during a 24-hour winter mountain course was investigated in a Norwegian educational context, where students must absorb large volumes of information in a challenging environment. Twenty university students (11 men, 9 women) underwent body composition, weighed energy intake, and accelerometry-based energy expenditure measurements. Overall, the students had an energy deficit of>2,300 kilocalories/day, corresponding to an energy balance of 62% for men and 54% for women (p > 0.05), despite having received lectures on energy requirements in advance. This sustained stress context combined with challenging environmental conditions and insufficient energy intake can predispose students to early exhaustion, injury risk, and potentially reduced information processing that may limit learning.

Identifying Outdoor Winter Walking Programs and Resources for Older Adults: A Scoping Review of the Grey Literature

Purpose: The objective was to synthesize outdoor winter walking programs and resources for older adults, identified as a priority by the Winter Walk team comprised of older adults; and researchers and trainees from the rehabilitation and geography sciences. Method: A scoping review of web-based grey literature was conducted. Teams of two reviewers independently assessed eligibility and extracted data. Web-based resources were included if their content dealt with adults ≥65 years of age; an outdoor winter walking program, intervention, or general resource; and was written in English. Results: Twenty-seven website resources were eligible and included in the review. Resources were from Canada or the United States and included information provided by government, non-profit organizations, media and businesses. All resources focused on some aspect of winter walking safety and only one mentioned a winter walking program. Conclusions: Web-based resources for outdoor winter walking were synthesized to assist older adults and clinicians with access to safe outdoor winter walking information.

Snow depth estimation at country-scale with high spatial and temporal resolution

Monitoring snow depth is important for applications such as hydrology, energy planning, ecology, and safety evaluation for outdoor winter activities. Most methods able to estimate snow depth for large regions can only do so in a spatial resolution of up to 1 km ground sampling distance (GSD). This limits their usage in high alpine areas, where this resolution fails to capture local snow distribution patterns caused by the pronounced topographical features. In this work we use a recurrent convolutional neural network to estimate snow depth at high spatial resolution (10 m GSD), weekly, and at large scale based on satellite data sources and elevation maps, without the need for measurement stations on the ground. The proposed method achieves unprecedented results for large-scale, high-resolution snow depth mapping. The resulting maps are evaluated over a period of three years against high-fidelity snow depth maps obtained with airborne photogrammetry. Finally, we also produce well-calibrated uncertainty estimates for every individual snow depth estimate via a probabilistic regression framework.

Effects of water-quality management mitigations on greenhouse-gas emissions from deer farms

Context Red deer farming in New Zealand has increased in intensity, increasing the emissions to water and air. Outdoor wintering systems pose a significant threat to water quality through sediment loss and nitrate leaching. Changing wintering systems to bring animals indoors shifts emphasis to greenhouse-gas emissions. Aims To investigate the relative potential emissions to water and air when red deer are wintered outdoors on forage crops or indoors on supplements. Methods The impacts of wintering red deer on forage or indoors were calculated for five farms, involving 32 herds containing 2167 deer over 2 years, in southern New Zealand. Animal classes included weaners, hinds and stags. Potential losses to water included sediment, nitrogen and phosphorous, while losses to air included methane, nitrous oxide and ammonia. Losses to air were calculated using current New Zealand greenhouse-gas inventory calculations and revised calculations recognising published forage, soil and bedding emissions factors not yet included in the inventory. Key results Calculated outdoor winter feed intake was 9.5% greater than indoor measured feed intake. The average herd size of 115 deer wintered indoors for an average of 87 days would have needed 1.8 ha of winter forage crop. Potential losses of sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus were calculated to be 5362, 106 and 5.2 kg per herd respectively, if wintered on crop. Total greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions calculated using current inventory emission factors were higher if deer grazed a forage crop than when wintered indoors (2.58 vs 2.41 kg CO2-e/head/day respectively). When revised emission factors were used, indoor wintering produced greater GHG emissions than did wintering outdoors (2.61 vs 2.28 kg CO2-e/head/day respectively). Implications Variability may occur both in contaminant loss to water and emissions to air. Trade-offs between the two need to be recognised in decision-making. As the science of GHG develops, the relative ranking of different systems may change.