Warm Zone Research Articles

Meteorological Variables That Affect the Beginning of Flowering of the Winter Oilseed Rape in the Czech Republic

Winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus) is one of the most cultivated oilseeds in the Czech Republic and belongs among major pollen allergens. Pollen allergies have an extensive clinical impact worldwide, and as well as in the Czech Republic. In this paper, meteorological variables such as mean air temperature, maximum and minimum air temperature, precipitation total and number of rainy days in the period 1991–2012 were studied using the PhenoClim phenological model to find the best predictor of the beginning of flowering of the Brassica napus in the Czech Republic. In addition, temporal and spatial evaluations of the beginning of flowering of the Brassica napus were examined at individual stations in different climatic zones within the same period. In total, three phenological stations at altitudes from 270 m asl to 533 m asl located in warm (W2), medium warm (MW7) or cold (C7) climatic zones were used for detailed evaluation. Based on the observation results at selected stations, the beginning of flowering of the Brassica napus advanced progressively in timing (nearly −15 days) in the 1991–2012 period. The base temperature and temperature sums were calculated for the beginning of flowering of the winter oilseed rape using the PhenoClim computer tool. As the most accurate predictor for the beginning of flowering of the Brassica napus, the mean air temperature was determined. The optimal start day for calculation was 30th January, the threshold (base temperature) was 6.0 °C and the temperature sum was 157.0 °C. The RMSE value was 4.77 and the MBE value was −3.00. The simulated data had a good correlation with the real observed data (the correlation coefficients were within the range from 0.56 to 0.76), and the PhenoClim model results indicate using them in the forecast modeling of the beginning of flowering of the Brassica napus in the Czech Republic.

Geographic Variation in the Petiole-Lamina Relationship of 325 Eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Woody Species: Analysis in Three Dimensions.

The petiole–lamina relationship is central to the functional tradeoff between photosynthetic efficiency and the support/protection cost. Understanding environmental gradients in the relationship and its underlying mechanisms remains a critical challenge for ecologists. We investigated the possible scaling of the petiole–lamina relationships in three dimensions, i.e., petiole length (PL) vs. lamina length (LL), petiole cross sectional area (PCA) vs. lamina area (LA), and petiole mass (PM) vs. lamina mass (LM), for 325 Qinghai–Tibetan woody species, and examined their relation to leaf form, altitude, climate, and vegetation types. Both crossspecies analysis and meta-analysis showed significantly isometric, negatively allometric, and positively allometric scaling of the petiole–lamina relationships in the length, area, and mass dimensions, respectively, reflecting an equal, slower, and faster variation in the petiole than in the lamina in these trait dimensions. Along altitudinal gradients, the effect size of the petiole–lamina relationship decreased in the length and mass dimensions but increased in the area dimension, suggesting the importance of enhancing leaf light-interception and nutrient transport efficiency in the warm zones in petiole development, but enhancing leaf support/protection in the cold zones. The significant additional influences of LA, LM, and LA were observed on the PL–LL, PCA–LA, and PM–LM relationships, respectively, implying that the single-dimension petiole trait is affected simultaneously by multidimensional lamina traits. Relative to simple-leaved species, the presence of petiolule in compound-leaved species can increase both leaf light interception and static gravity loads or dynamic drag forces on the petiole, leading to lower dependence of PL variation on LL variation, but higher biomass allocation to the petiole. Our study highlights the need for multidimension analyses of the petiole–lamina relationships and illustrates the importance of plant functional tradeoffs and the change in the tradeoffs along environmental gradients in determining the relationships.

Soil characteristics and microbial community structure on along elevation gradient in a Pinus armandii forest of the Qinling Mountains, China

Lots of studies have shown that elevation, plant species, and soil characteristics and their relationships significantly affect microbial community in forest soils. However, how do elevation, soil characteristics, and their relationship affect microbial community in the same plant community in different latitudes, such as warm temperature zone and subtropical zone, remains unclear. Here, microbial community structure, soil characteristics, and their relationship were analyzed in Pinus armandii forests in subtropical zone at an altitude of 1700–2300 m in the Huoditang Forest of the Qinling Mountains, China. Bacterial and fungal communities were analyzed by Illumina sequencing. Elevation showed a significant effect on soil organic matter (SOM) and pH. Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota were higher abundant phyla across elevations. Ectomycorrhizal fungi abundance decreased with increasing elevation. The fungi richness decreased with increasing elevation and was negatively and significantly correlated with SOM and elevation. The relative abundance of Acidobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Sordariomycetes, and Eurotiomycetes and Ectomycorrhizal fungi abundance was significantly correlated with soil pH. Additionally, Agaricomycetes abundance was positively correlated (p < 0.05) with available potassium (AK) in soils. Elevation, pH, soil temperature, SOM, and AK were significant factors affecting microbial communities according to the data on Pearson and redundancy analyses. Overall, responses of soil characteristics to elevation significantly affected microbial community structure in P. armandii forests of the Qinling Mountains. The results will make us better understand the roles of microbial communities in providing ecosystem services in subtropical forests.

Towards low-carbon housing in Chile: Optimisation and life cycle analysis of energy-efficient solutions

Significant action is needed across the Chilean housing sector to reduce energy consumption and meet climate change mitigation goals. In this study, the performance of a typical house, an optimised house and a Passivhaus in various climates is evaluated and compared, considering eight distinct climatic zones of Chile. For the thermal optimisation of the house, an OpenBIM workflow between REVIT-CYPETHERM and EnergyPlus with JEPlus were interfaced to analyse over a thousand possible combinations of energy optimisation measures for each climate zone. Additionally, a Life Cycle Assessment is used to compare the cases studied. The results show that in the manufacturing stage, building a Passivhaus would have greater environmental impacts than a traditional house. Additionally, it is shown that in warm climatic zones, a thermally optimised house can have an energy performance equivalent to housing constructed to Passivhaus standards but with less environmental impacts in all its phases of the life cycle.

Cataclastic and crystal-plastic deformation in shallow mantle-wedge serpentinite controlled by cyclic changes in pore fluid pressures

Episodic tremor and slip (ETS) events in the forearc mantle wedge of a warm subduction zone may reflect mixed brittle–ductile deformation of serpentinite in association with high pore fluid pressures. To understand deformation mechanisms and processes occurring in the hydrated mantle wedge, we examined in the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt, SW Japan, an antigorite serpentinite shear zone derived from mantle wedge that was formed under pressure and temperature conditions that correspond to the ETS regions. The serpentinite underwent multiple extensional (mode I) and extensional–shear (mode I–II) failure events at supralithostatic pore fluid pressures (Pf). Such failure events led to drops in Pf (several MPa) and formation of a distributed ‘fault–fracture mesh’. Antigorite precipitation in the fracture openings contributed to an increase in Pf until the failure condition was reached again, and thereby antigorite kinetics controlled the recurrence interval of seismic events. We also suggest that under the low-Pf conditions that facilitate intracrystalline plasticity rather than cataclasis, the newly precipitated antigorite aggregates (localized along shear bands) deform by dislocation creep at a high strain rate and high shear stress, resulting in the transient, accelerated viscous creep that may characterize slow slip transients.

Assessing the thermal performance of a conventional architecture in a dry warm climate

In this article, we present the results of the evaluation of the thermal performance of a conventional home in a dry warm climate, a case study in Bucaramanga, Colombia. This simulation, evaluation, and analysis make it necessary since currently in the case study area there is no thermal assessment of the dwellings, which are old houses built with resistive and mechanical analyses, but without regard to thermal behavior or thermal housing comfort. This evaluation is done by means of software simulation. Thus, a valid simulation identifies the weather data present in a dry warm climate zone and determines the geographical location and behavior in the solar diagram. Likewise, the thermal characterization of the soil and the construction materials of support and envelopes of the architecture is performed, to establish its thermal transmittance, thermal resistance, and thermal capacity. As a result of the research, the thermal behavior of the house is presented by means of the calculations made that determine the thermal behavior of the envelopes, energy load balancing, and housing thermal comfort based on the ASHRAE 55 standard by Fanger's method. Consequently, with the above, the results of the simulation and a detailed analysis of the recorded data are presented in the document.

Rational assessment and selection of air source heat pump system operating with CO2 and R407C for electric bus

Heat pump technology has gained surging interests due to its abilities in reducing the battery burden of the electric bus. Here, three heat pump systems for an 8 m bus are compared, including a R407C system, a basic transcritical CO2 system (CO2-BASE), and a transcritical CO2 system with an expansion-compression integrated machine (CO2-Advanced). The results demonstrate that the optimal ratio of the theoretical volume of the expander to the compressor in expander-compressor machine can improve the coefficient of performance (COP) of the CO2-BASE system in all cooling conditions, with a range of 0.165–0.190. The COP of the CO2-Advanced system has 13.59% improvement than that of the R407C system at most in cooling mode. In addition, the performances of the three systems run in five typical climates in China are compared. The comparison result shows that the CO2-BASE system is more suitable for Severe Cold Zone and Mild Zone, and the R407C system performs better in Hot summer and Warm winter Zone. However, the CO2-Advanced system, which has the best energy-saving effect in all climate zones in China, has a great potential to replace the existing R407C system for electric buses.

Placement of Observations to Correct Return-Flow Forecasts

The continued presence of systematic errors in operational forecasts of return flow over the Gulf of Mexico has motivated an investigation into this problem. The theme of the work is use of a low-order mixed-layer model that is faithful to the phenomenon in the context of dynamic data assimilation. Data assimilation experiments in the identical-twin mode determine the best place to make observations that minimize the forecast error through adjustment of model controls. The emphasized controls are those associated with the fluxes of heat and moisture from sea to atmosphere. Results indicate that the best observations are at that time and place when the outflowing continental air passes over the warmest sea surface temperatures. In the case studied, this warmest zone is directly over the Loop Current. Observations at times long after the modified air leaves these warmest waters lead to relatively poor control adjustments and little improvement in the forecast. If input to data assimilation is restricted to observations of a single model variable over short intervals of time (the order of several hours), results are relatively poor. Yet, a significant improvement is forthcoming if one of the observations is replaced by an observation from another model variable. This result is understood through arguments based on forecast sensitivity to model control. The paper ends with discussion of steps to be taken that hold promise for correcting systematic error in return-flow forecasts.

The response of calcareous plankton to the Sapropel S1 interval in North Ionian Sea

A high resolution study of calcareous nannofossils has been performed on samples from the Sapropel S1interval deposited in the North Ionian Sea, with the aim to assess the paleoenvironmental changes in the photic zone during this crucial interval in Mediterranean circulation. Calcareous nannofossil data have been integrated with planktonic foraminiferal data recently published from which the paleoclimatic curve has been constructed. Placoliths (namely Emiliania huxleyi) and Florisphaera profunda distributions, along with that of planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber white, evidence that, after a progressive weakening of surface water mixing, a deep chlorophyll maximum developed just prior to the sapropel deposition. We suggest that these changes took place as a response to enhanced precipitation conditions and riverine discharge as testified by increasing trend of reworked coccoliths and the occurrence of lower salinity taxon Braarudosphaera bigelowii. Calcareous nannofossils also point out that the oceanographic (water column stratification, reduced bottom water ventilation) and biogeochemical (increased primary production) processes that occurred during the S1 formation were particularly dominant during the earliest part of the older S1 warm phase (S1a). Our results support than some re-ventilation events of the shallow depth of studied site (665 m) occurred to some extent, particularly during the final phases of S1a. The distribution of holococcoliths, more abundant during the cold interruption phase S1i, seems confirm that the preservation of these tiny and delicate coccoliths, highly susceptible to dissolution, is enhanced under seafloor re-ventilation conditions. Finally, we tentatively suggest that preservation also plays a significant role in the distribution of the warm upper photic zone taxa, particularly during the warm S1b interval.

Geophysical Constraints on the Crustal Architecture of the Transtensional Warm Springs Valley Fault Zone, Northern Walker Lane, Western Nevada, USA

AbstractThe Walker Lane is a zone of distributed transtension where normal faults are overprinted by strike‐slip motion. We use two newly acquired, high‐resolution seismic reflection profiles and a reprocessed Consortium for Continental Reflection Profiling (COCORP) deep crustal reflection profile to assess the subsurface geometry of the Holocene‐active, transtensional Warm Springs Valley fault zone (WSVFZ) near Reno, Nevada, USA. Our multiscale observations extend to 12 km depth and suggest that the WSVFZ is more complex in the subsurface than implied by late Pleistocene surface fault traces. Two 4‐km‐long high‐resolution profiles image to a depth of ∼2 km and reveal moderately dipping reflections and truncations, some of which project to mapped scarps formed in late Pleistocene surfaces. The shallow lines are collocated with COCORP profile NV 08 along ∼40°N latitude. Reanalysis of the COCORP data reveals previously unidentified coherent reflections to a depth of ∼12 km and a previously mapped ∼30° west‐dipping fault at 8–12 km. From these seismic profiles, the WSVFZ is not a simple, subvertical fault zone extending through the entire seismogenic crust. Instead, the reflections are consistent with a zone of steeply and moderately dipping faults that simplify and steepen with depth before intersecting a mid‐crustal, low‐angle (∼25–30°) fault. The complex fault geometry of the WSVFZ implies that crustal shear is accommodated by a mix of dipping and subvertical faults in the transtensional northern Walker Lane. If so, transtensional fault zones may present challenges to paleoseismic and geodetic studies and require careful treatment when included in seismic hazard analyses.

Исследование влияния факторов окружающей среды на оптические параметры прозрачных термопластов

The use of transparent thermoplastics as construction materials imposes special requirements on them, both in terms of strength characteristics and physical properties. The stability of these properties plays an important role in the use of transparent thermoplastics in complex technical systems, where these materials are used as a structural material for the outer contour of the product, which is exposed to aggressive climatic factors. In this work, the influence of atmospheric factors in the warm humid climate zone (the coastal atmosphere of humid subtropics) on the optical properties of transparent thermoplastics was investigated, which made it possible to obtain important information for assessing the performance of polymers of this class in natural climatic conditions.

Исследование использования подземного холода в системе вентиляции туннельного типа

The article analyzed the main factors affecting the productivity of birds, indicating the importance of poultry production, and also studied the widespread use of two storage systems in poultry farming. As a result of the conducted analyses, the task was set to study the optimal parameters and operating modes of the installation providing tunnel-type ventilation as a working hypothesis for warm climatic zones. The aim of the study was to increase the reliability of the cooling effect inside the building in tunnel-type ventilation installations. Based on the existing methodology, an experiment was conducted and positive results were obtained. The obtained methods have shown that it is not possible to provide the treated moisture inside the building with normal ventilation. Cooling systems ensure normal humidity. But here the use of an underground cooling channel has a wider range of redundancy. In the experimental version, egg production increased by an average of 1.26%, and the weight of eggs increased by 1.5%, and the losses of birds for 5 months of the warm period were 21 heads less.

Gradients of cyclic indentation mechanical properties in PR520 epoxy and its 3D carbon fiber composite induced by aging at 150 °C

A cyclic indentation test was carried out on PR520 epoxy resin and its 3D interlock carbon fiber reinforced composite in order to study the effects of thermo-oxidative aging on the material local properties. Thermal aging has been performed in air at 150 °C, which is close to the service temperature in warm zones of aircrafts, for different durations. Two parameters have been considered in this study: the reload indentation modulus, representative of the elastic response, and the ratio between irreversible and total indentation energy, representative of plastic (first cycle) and viscoelastic response. The analysis of cyclic indentation curves shows that elastic and plastic behavior are affected by thermal aging, while viscoelastic behavior is not. Moreover, a gradient of local properties has been measured through the thickness of aged samples. The affected zone extends of about 150 µm from the surface exposed to the oxidative environment, while the properties of the sample core are similar to those of the virgin material. Property gradient profiles measured on resin and composite aged in the same conditions are well superposed.

Performance evaluation of CO2 supermarket refrigeration system with multi-ejector and dedicated mechanical subcooling

In this paper, a CO2 supermarket refrigeration system using multi-ejector and dedicated mechanical subcooling (MEJ + DMS) is proposed to solve the problem of low performance of the CO2 refrigeration system in high temperature area and evaluate the feasibility application in China. A detailed thermodynamic performance analysis is conducted with MATLAB software. Furthermore, the annual energy consumption and seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) are used as the major indicators to assess the system performance in five typical representative cities of diverse climate types in China. The results indicate that compared with the basic booster system (BASE), the system with dedicated mechanical subcooling (DMS), and that with multi-ejector (MEJ), the MEJ + DMS system permits not only reducing the operating pressure of the system but also enhancing the maximum COP by 61.76%, 19.17% and 20.21%, respectively at the ambient temperature of 40 °C. Furthermore, the annual analysis shows that the MEJ + DMS system can save energy by 29.94% and increase SEER by 42.73% in hot summer and warm winter zone. The new proposed system has the advantages of greatly promoting system performance and saving energy and is expected to replace the existing CO2 supermarket booster refrigeration systems.

Threshold‐based characteristics of apricot frost exposure at young fruit in the warm temperate zone, China

AbstractLate spring frost stress is one of the major environmental limiting factors for apricot in the warm zone in China. Investigation of frost exposure of apricot is of particular interest for estimating the frost risk, thus representing the potential damage for apricot production. In this study, daily minimum temperature (Tmin), disaster and phenological data of apricot from 1981 to 2020 in the warm zone were integrated to explore the temperature threshold on apricot at young fruit, facilitating the assessment of apricot frost exposure (E) under the background of climate warming. The daily Tmin was firstly extracted according to the historical disaster records, to identify the per‐ and ongoing weather conditions of the low‐temperature events. The overall accuracy and Receiver Operating Characteristics curve (ROC) were combined to identify the trigger threshold of apricot frost. 1.9°C was identified as the apricot frost trigger threshold in regional assessment, with relatively higher correct rate for disaster (90.2%) and lower incorrect rate for none‐disaster (23.4%). An area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.88 was obtained, demonstrating a good performance of Tmin as the trigger factor in discriminating between apricot frost and no frost. High frequency of days suffered from apricot and frost exposure at young fruit were mainly found in the northwestern and middle parts of the region, with frequencies of more than 2 days and E more than 3. Regional days suffered from apricot frost and E were found to have a negative trend with slope −0.0317 and −0.789, respectively, whereas the northwest and middle part of the study region were found to have an increasing trend. The results can provide technical and theoretical support for targeted apricot frost detection and risk assessment, and measures for apricot frost prevention and mitigation can be implemented according to the threshold‐based results.

Assessment of the performance of CORDEX regional climate models in simulating rainfall and air temperature over southwest Ethiopia

This study analyzed the performance of four (REgional MOdel (REMO2009), High-Resolution Hamburg Climate Model 5 (HIRAM5), Climate Limited-Area Modeling Community (CCLM4-8) and Rossby Centre Regional Atmospheric Model (RCA4)) Regional Climate Models (RCMs) simulations from Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) Africa program. The simulation period of 1985–2005 was evaluated considering how each RCM simulated the observed rainfall and air temperature over southwest Ethiopia. It was found that all the RCMs simulated the seasonal rainfall, but not the peak rainfall, with all models including their ensemble underestimating the peak rainfall. However, the ensemble was better than the individual RCMs in simulating both rainfall and air temperature. All models were slightly biased around a warm climate zone in simulating maximum air temperature when compared to the simulation of air minimum temperature. Of the four RCMs, REMO2009 performed well in simulating the maximum and minimum air temperatures. The interseasonal variation in rainfall was greater than the seasonal variation in air temperature. In terms of cumulative distribution, the HIRAM5 captured more extreme rainfall events and overestimated the return period. Overall, the differences in performance among the RCMs provided strong evidence for the use of regional-scale data at the local scale in climate impact assessments being controversial. In relation to the spatial pattern of the rainfall, most of the models simulated the observed minimum rainfall in the north and northeast, medium rainfall in the central region, and maximum rainfall in the south and southwest of the study area. The overall results indicate that choosing a reliable RCM is fundamentally necessary to delivering a strong basis for any climate-change impact study.

Implementing a Novel Nursing Site Manager Role in the Pediatric Emergency Department for Patient and Staff Safety During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Implementing a Novel Nursing Site Manager Role in the Pediatric Emergency Department for Patient and Staff Safety During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Channelized CO2-Rich Fluid Activity along a Subduction Interface in the Paleoproterozoic Wutai Complex, North China Craton

Greenschist facies metabasite (chlorite schist) and metasediments (banded iron formation (BIF)) in the Wutai Complex, North China Craton recorded extensive fluid activities during subduction-related metamorphism. The pervasive dolomitization in the chlorite schist and significant dolomite enrichment at the BIF–chlorite schist interface support the existence of highly channelized updip transportation of CO2-rich hydrothermal fluids. Xenotime from the chlorite schist has U concentrations of 39–254 ppm and Th concentrations of 121–2367 ppm, with U/Th ratios of 0.11–0.62, which is typical of xenotime precipitated from circulating hydrothermal fluids. SHRIMP U–Th–Pb dating of xenotime determines a fluid activity age of 1.85 ± 0.07 Ga. The metasomatic dolomite has δ13CV-PDB from −4.17‰ to −3.10‰, which is significantly lower than that of carbonates from greenschists, but similar to the fluid originated from Rayleigh fractionating decarbonation at amphibolite facies metamorphism along the regional geotherm (~15 °C/km) of the Wutai Complex. The δ18OV-SMOW values of the dolomite (12.08–13.85‰) can also correspond to this process, considering the contribution of dehydration. Based on phase equilibrium modelling, we ascertained that the hydrothermal fluid was rich in CO2, alkalis, and silica, with X(CO2) in the range of 0.24–0.28. All of these constraints suggest a channelized CO2-rich fluid activity along the sediment–basite interface in a warm Paleoproterozoic subduction zone, which allowed extensive migration and sequestration of volatiles (especially carbon species) beneath the forearc.

Role of warm subduction in the seismological properties of the forearc mantle: An example from southwest Japan.

A warm slab thermal structure plays an important role in controlling seismic properties of the slab and mantle wedge. Among warm subduction zones, most notably in southwest Japan, the spatial distribution of large S-wave delay times and deep nonvolcanic tremors in the forearc mantle indicate the presence of a serpentinite layer along the slab interface. However, the conditions under which such a layer is generated remains unclear. Using numerical models, we here show that a serpentinite layer begins to develop by the slab-derived fluids below the deeper end of the slab-mantle decoupling interface and grows toward the corner of the mantle wedge along the interface under warm subduction conditions only, explaining the large S-wave delay times in the forearc mantle. The serpentinite layer then allows continuous free-fluid flow toward the corner of the mantle wedge, presenting possible mechanisms for the deep nonvolcanic tremors in the forearc mantle.

Effect of Grape Over-Ripening and Its Skin Presence on White Wine Alcoholic Fermentation in a Warm Climate Zone.

The current trend of rising temperatures and sun irradiation associated to climate change is pushing traditional grape-producing areas with a warm climate towards a very accelerated ripening, leading to earlier harvesting dates and grape must with an unbalanced composition. However, this climatic trend could be exploited to produce other types of wine. In this sense, the increase in temperature could be used to produce wines with overripe grapes. In this regard, the aim of this research work is to evaluate the influence of different degrees and techniques of grape over-ripening to produce wines with the presence or absence of its skins during alcoholic fermentation. To this end, a physicochemical characterization of grape musts and wines obtained from overripe grapes and the monitoring of their fermentation has been performed. Over-ripening grapes by sun-drying has been established as a viable technique viability, producing musts and wines with unique physicochemical and sensory characteristics. In view of the above, it is considered that the production of wines from overripe grapes and in the presence or absence of grape skins is a viable approach to make new white wines taking advantage of the conditions imposed by climate change in a warm climate zone and meet the trends and expectations of current wine consumers.