Analysis Of Weather Data Research Articles

Effects of regional context and landscape composition on diversity and composition of small rodent assemblages in Argentinian temperate grasslands and wetlands

This study aims to describe landscape evolution in two contiguous ecoregions with different land use intensity, to assess changes in small mammal assemblages. Rodent remains in pellet samples from barn owls were used to estimate the attributes of rodent assemblages. Two major biomes were considered in this study, a mosaic of wetlands (Delta and Paraná Islands ecoregion) and a mosaic of grasslands and cultivated fields (Pampa ecoregion). Environmental characterization was based on the analysis of satellite images and weather data. Fourteen rodent species in 28 sampling sites were identified, totaling 7645 prey items. Linear combinations of variables that characterized the landscape explained 66.6% of variation in the composition of rodent assemblages. A positive linear relationship between rodent diversity and the number of different patches was found in the Pampa. Our results suggest that landscape disturbances caused by agricultural intensification favor the increase of generalist and competitively subordinated species. In turn, changes in rodent diversity at the Paraná Delta were negatively associated with the percentage of water-covered area and the number of patches. The hydrological regime of this ecoregion acts as a filter for species establishment, restricting the richness of the rodent assemblages.

Trend analysis of weather data in shrimp farming areas of Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu

Examining the trends and building the forecasting models for the meteorological parameters has got significance in climate research. An attempt was made to study the trends of temperature and rainfall of Nagapattinam District, a main shrimp farming area in Tamil Nadu. Surface weather data of the study area obtained from Indian Meteorological Department, Pune were analysed using Mann–Kendall trend test (MK test) for the weather parameters viz., maximum, minimum, highest maximum (HMax), lowest minimum (LMin) and mean temperatures, rainfall and number of rainy days. Month-wise, seasonwise (winter, summer and rainy) and year-wise trends were computed for the monthly data from 1961 to 2000. Results of analysis revealed a significant trend for maximum temperature for all the cases of experimentation, whereas the trend was significant for few months or seasons for minimum, mean, highest and lowest temperatures and number of rainy days. Trend does not exist for rainfall of the region. Time series forecasting model was built for monthly maximum temperatures using the data from 1961 to 1980 for building the model and evaluated with the data from 1981 to 2000. Autoregressive integrated moving average model (ARIMA) (2, 0, 1) (1, 1, 1) s was found to be suitable model with highest R2 value of 0.94 and lowest Root Mean Square Error. Model predictions were reassessed with Willmott’s index and found to be reasonably good (0.95) for the study area. The forecasting model for temperature in the study area can be used for shrimp farming crop calendar planning.

Survival and growth of eastern larch, balsam fir, and black spruce six years after winter browning in northeastern Ontario, Canada

In spring 2007, young conifers suffered extensive needle and bud injury near Hearst, Kapuskasing, and Cochrane in northeastern Ontario, Canada. Analysis of weather data revealed that the damage was likely caused by earlier than normal loss of cold hardiness during higher than normal temperatures in late April and early May. The dehardened trees were damaged in the cold days that followed. We report the survival and growth of eastern larch (Larix laricina), balsam fir (Abies balsamea), and black spruce (Picea mariana) in the affected area based on field assessments and stem analysis of affected trees following the event. Total survival through six growing seasons following damage was 98% in eastern larch but only about 70% in balsam fir and black spruce. The effect of the damage on tree growth was greater and longer lasting for diameter than height. Both survival and growth reductions were associated with high levels of mature needle loss and bud damage. Implications of these findings for forest management are discussed in light of expected climate change.

A case study on solar chimney-assisted ventilation for residential building in India

Purpose – The ventilation and air-conditioning systems consume the highest energy in the building sector. The proper ventilation in residential buildings through the passive solar systems can substantially reduce the energy consumption in building sector. The paper aims to identify the application of wind shaft as a solar chimney, a passive ventilation system and evaluated the performance of the system. Design/methodology/approach – The paper investigated the performance of the solar chimney with size, absorber area 9.76 m2 and height 4.57 m, based on experimental data recorded in the city, Kota (25°10N, 75°52E), India. Solar data were recorded using the state of the art weather station situated very closer to the residence. The air velocity and temperatures in the chimney and in the building are recorded in data logger. A simple mathematical model was used for the evaluation of the air change per hour (ACH) in the residential building. Findings – From the analysis of weather data, it was found that the ambient temperature varies linearly with the solar irradiance. Air change rate of 5.7-7.7 can be achieved from this solar chimney, in peak summer season which is appropriate and meets the ventilation requirement as per BIS (Handbook of Functional Requirements of Buildings – 1987). Originality/value – The air temperature increases from bottom to top in the solar chimney. The solar irradiance dictates the chimney air temperature, and both are in step with each other. It shows that the solar chimney is working in tune with the solar radiation availability. In peak summer, it provides sufficient ACH to the tune of 3-6. Resulting wind shaft can act effectively as a solar chimney. It is a feasible solution for the ventilation needs and it improves the looks of any residential building.

Online weather data analysis and visualization tools for applications in ecoinformatics

As large quantities of physical data are always collected for Ecoinformatics research, it is difficult for them to be cleaned, shared, visualized, and analyzed by research collaborators. To resolve this difficulty, this study presents online weather data analysis and visualization cyber-infrastructures consisting of (1) online weather data analysis and visualization tools and (2) near real-time online weather data portal. Firstly, these online tools at www.twibl.org/weather provide data sharing in three web pages: information on instruments and site; data access protected by simple password security; data analysis and visualization services so-called “Ecoinfows”. Secondly, the near real-time online weather data portal for visualizing and forecasting weather data from cloud storage of many automatic weather stations is online at www.twibl.org/aaportal. To overcome speed and accessibility problems, we developed these tools with many technologies - i.e. cloud computing, online computing XML (webMathematica), and binary access data conversion.

Is Dirofilaria repens Endemic in the Havelland District in Brandenburg, Germany?

In Brandenburg, northeastern Germany, an outbreak of zoonotic Dirofilaria repens in a sledge dog kennel was detected in January, 2012. Using the modified Knott test, 8 out of 28 adult dogs were microfilaria positive. A D. repens-specific PCR based on the internal transcribed spacer 2 region detected filarial DNA in 11 of these dogs. Northeastern Germany is currently considered to be free of Dirofilaria. The 39% prevalence within the kennel and the fact that the dogs transiently stayed in endemic areas only during the winter suggest that autochthonous infections occurred. Analysis of weather data shows that extrinsic development of Dirofilaria was continuously possible in the summers of 1994-2012, thus allowing active transmission within the area.

Climate change and shifts in etiology of anthracnose disease of grapevines in India

An analysis of the temperature trends of two geographically and climatologically distinct grape growing locations of India viz. Solapur and Ludhiana, shows that there is a perceptible increase in temperature, especially the minimum (Tmin) temperatures. This increase may have created conditions favourable for C. gloeosporioides, which can grow at comparatively higher temperatures, to replace E. ampelina as the dominant pathogen of anthracnose. Regression analysis of weather and disease data also indicated that Tmin was significantly contributing to disease development. Further the number of occasions on which the temperature remained above 350C showed increasing trend at both Ludhiana and Solapur which could have affected survival of E. ampelina during non-active summer season.

Strategies for In-Store Drying Based on the Analysis of Weather Data—Case Study: Key Grain Storing Regions of China

This article describes the use of weather data collected over several years for the development of strategies for planning and management of in-store grain drying operations. China was chosen for this study due to the size of its grain industry and the climatic diversity of the country. In-store drying is well established throughout China and the strategies chosen are determined by weather conditions prevailing in various regions of the country. Seven agro-climatic regions were identified, characterized by climatic conditions leading to particular storage practices. These regions include the Qingzang Plateau, Inner Mongolia Xinjiang, Northeast China, Northern China, Central China, Southwest China, and Southern China. In-store drying, combining drying and storage operations, reduces moisture content of grain from 18 to 14% (wb). It uses higher air flow rates than aeration. Weather data including temperature and relative humidity from the main storage regions in China were analyzed using computer simulations of in-store drying of three major cereal crops, namely, wheat, maize, and paddy rice. The findings from this study, related to equipment requirements and strategies to be used, provide a valuable tool for optimization of operations in the grain industry. The concepts developed could be applied in any grain-growing region in the world.

Die-off of giant Euphorbia trees in South Africa: Symptoms and relationships to climate

Euphorbia ingens is the largest of the succulent tree Euphorbias in Southern Africa. In South Africa, it is most abundant in the northern portion of the country, especially in the Limpopo and North West Provinces. In the mid-nineties, E. ingens were noted to show symptoms of disease, and by 2000 severe mortality had begun to occur in the Limpopo Province. Various factors have been suggested as possible causes of this mortality. We investigated the possible involvement of changes in climate in the sudden die-offs of E. ingens. Four sites within the severely affected Limpopo Province and two sites in the less affected North West Province were included. Nine linear transects were established at each site. Each tree within a transect was scored as alive or dead, and as mature or juvenile. Insect and disease symptoms, and environmental variables were also evaluated. Trees in the Limpopo Province were more severely affected by disease and insects and exhibited higher levels of mortality compared to trees in the North West Province. Analyses of weather data revealed greater upward trends in temperature and downward trends in precipitation in the Limpopo Province compared with the North West Province. Estimates of potential evapotranspiration and water balance indicated an increase in water demand while precipitation has remained the same or has decreased. The dramatic degree of mortality of E. ingens that has been observed since about 2000 appears to be linked to increasing moisture deficits resulting in tree stress, which in turn allows opportunistic fungal pathogens and insects to increase in severity, ultimately contributing to tree mortality.

Fruit ripening in Vitis vinifera: light intensity before and not during ripening determines the concentration of 2‐methoxy‐3‐isobutylpyrazine in Cabernet Sauvignon berries

The roles of light and temperature in the accumulation of the vegetal impact compound 2-methoxy-3-isobutylpyrazine (MIBP) in grape (Vitis vinifera L.) berries were determined. Individual clusters were exposed to various light intensities using neutral density shade cloth before ripening, during ripening or throughout the season in three growing seasons. A recently developed method using headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with GC-MS in the selected ion-monitoring mode was employed to measure MIBP in berries. Berry MIBP concentration increased subsequent to berry set, reached a maximum prior to onset of ripening, and then decreased thereafter until harvest. Complete shading of clusters increased the concentration of MIBP more than 100% compared to unshaded controls in 2 out of 3 years. Light increasingly inhibited MIBP concentrations up to 25-50% of ambient light intensities (1500 µmol photons m(-2) s(-1) ). However, only changes in light intensity before ripening had any effect on MIBP accumulation or final MIBP concentration. Analyses of weather data showed that the 1 year in which shading was ineffective was unusually warm, warm early in the season, and had more hot days and higher early season degree days than the other 2 years. In controlled environment experiments, warm growth conditions reduced MIBP concentrations in fruit about as much as light exposure reduced MIBP concentrations in the field experiments. The results indicate that both light and temperature significantly affect MIBP in harvested fruit, but that the light environment during ripening does not significantly affect MIBP concentrations in the berries at harvest.

Energy use, indoor temperature and possible adaptation strategies for air-conditioned office buildings in face of global warming

This paper discusses and summarises a recent systematic study on the implication of global warming on air conditioned office buildings in Australia. Four areas are covered, including analysis of historical weather data, generation of future weather data for the impact study of global warming, projection of building performance under various global warming scenarios, and evaluation of various adaptation strategies under 2070 high global warming conditions. Overall, it is found that depending on the assumed future climate scenarios and the location considered, the increase of total building energy use for the sample Australian office building may range from 0.4 to 15.1%. When the increase of annual average outdoor temperature exceeds 2 °C, the risk of overheating will increase significantly. However, the potential overheating problem could be completely eliminated if internal load density is significantly reduced.

Investigating climate change: A comparative analysis of colonial and modern weather data

The understanding of weather patterns and global climate change over time is crucial for the development of models needed to predict future climate trends. With the ominous potential threats related to climate change, it is essential that our understanding of the Earth's atmosphere and weather is based on as much data-driven information as possible. In particular, to understand climate patterns and trends, more reliable historical data allows more robust climate models to be constructed. Temperatures from the late 1800s to now have already been collected and digitized in a sufficient quantity to give researchers a base of information with which to estimate temperature changes over roughly the last 150 years. However, since modern thermometers were invented in 1714, information from the prior 150 years exists in various forms, but as of now has been untapped for researchers. Digitizing and using this information with appropriate adjustments could then roughly double the amount of years of direct information available to understand our changing climate.

Latitudinal range shifts in Australian flying‐foxes: A re‐evaluation

AbstractRecent range shifts towards higher latitudes have been reported for many animals and plants in the northern hemisphere, and are commonly attributed to changes in climate. Relatively little is known about such changes in the southern hemisphere, although it has been suggested that latitudinal distributions of the fruit‐batsPteropus alectoandPteropus poliocephaluschanged during the 20th century in response to climate change in eastern Australia. However, historical changes in these species distributions have not been examined systematically. In this study we obtained historical locality records from a wide range of sources (including banding and museum records, government wildlife databases and unpublished records), and filtered them for reliability and spatial accuracy. The latitudinal distribution of each species was compared between eight time‐periods (1843–1920, 1921–1950, five 10‐year intervals between 1950 and 2000, and 2001–2007), using analyses of both the filtered point data (P. alecto870 records,P. poliocephalus2506) and presence/absence data within 50 × 50 km grid cells. The results do not support the hypothesis that either species range is shifting in a manner driven by climate change. First, neither the northern or southern range limits ofP. poliocephalus(Mackay, Queensland and Melbourne, Victoria respectively) changed over time. Second,P. alecto's range limit extended southward by 1168 km (approximately 10.5 degrees latitude) during the twentieth century (from approximately Rockhampton, Queensland to Sydney, New South Wales). Within this zone of southward expansion (25–29°S), the percentage of total records that wereP. alectoincreased from 8% prior to 1950 to 49% in the early 2000s, and local count data showed that its abundance increased from several hundred to more than 10 000 individuals at specific roost sites, as range expansion progressed.Pteropus alectoexpanded southward at about 100 km/decade, compared with the 10–26 km/decade rate of isotherm change, and analyses of historical weather data show that the species consequently moved into recently‐colder regions than it had previously occupied. Neither climate change nor habitat change could provide simple explanations to explainP. alecto's observed rapid range shift. More generally, climate change should not be uncritically inferred as a primary driver of species range shifts without careful quantitative analyses.

Is science enough? Examining ways of understanding, coping with and adapting to storm risks in Johannesburg

Planning for current and future climate risks depends on more than early warning signals and technical climate information. The management and enabling of effective risk approaches, we argue, is shaped by complex contextual settings. These contexts are shaped by decisions including: What climate risks are prioritised? Who makes decisions about risk response interventions and how do they make these decisions? This preliminary study uses observed changes in storm events in the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) and the City’s Climate Change Adaptation Plan as a lens through which the scope of such contexts and decisions can be interrogated. The study is used as a springboard from which to begin a dialogue on interactive approaches to adaptation and response planning for current and future climate change. We suggest that this dialogue may be required for a more proactive disaster-risk approach in the city. The major focus of the paper includes a statistical analysis of historical weather data from the OR Tambo Weather Station, located in close proximity to the city. Significant trends are identified in the frequency and intensity of thunderstorms for the period 1960-2009. This preliminary assessment shows some similarities with emerging climate change projections that suggest that heavy rainfall events may become more frequent and intense. The preliminary results presented here also concur with the recent findings contained in the CoJ’s Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2009). While the study is in no way substantive and few wider generalisations and strong conclusions can be drawn from it, the study does provide a useful starting point for considering possible planning interventions. The potential value of using science and information from studies, such as this, is highlighted along with the possible ways in which such science can interact with and help inform a comprehensive planning agenda in the City. Finally, the paper calls for more attention to be paid to the contributions and perceptions of community awareness and understanding of climate risks.Keywords: Thunderstorm trends, climate change, Johannesburg, policy response, adaption and development planning, citizen science

Probabilistic analysis of weather data for a hybrid solar/wind energy system

In this paper, a procedure for the probabilistic treatment of solar irradiance and wind speed data is reported as a method of evaluating, at a given site, the electric energy generated by both a photovoltaic system and a wind system. The aim of the proposed approach is twofold: first, to check if the real probability distribution functions (PDFs) of both clearness index and wind speed overlap with Hollands and Huget and Weibull PDFs, respectively; and then to find the parameters of these two distributions that best fit the real data. Further, using goodness-of-fit tests, these PDFs are compared with another set of very common PDFs, namely the Gordon and Reddy and Lognormal functions, respectively. The results inform the design of a pre-processing stage for the input of an algorithm that probabilistically optimizes the design of hybrid solar wind power systems. In this paper, the validity of the proposed procedure was tested using long-term meteorological data from Acireale (Italy). Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Air-Conditioning Cooling Load and Petrol-Ethanol Mixtures in Engines Impact on Global Climate Change

The climate is one of the factors on which the energy required to cool a building depends. Hourly dry-bulb temperature and relative humidity data for fifteen years (1978 – 1992) were obtained for Ilorin and Ikeja. From statistical analysis of the data, it was found that the mean dry bulb temperature and the 1, 2.5 and 5 % design dry-bulb temperature used for air-conditioning cooling load calculation were higher than the corresponding values published in 1974 from statistical analysis of weather data for the fifteen year period of 1951 – 1965. This shows that more energy will be required for cooling buildings if the trend of global warming continues. One way to reduce global warming is by using bio-fuels. A four stroke spark-ignition engine was run on pure gasoline, 5 % ethanol to 95% gasoline, 10 % ethanol to 90 % gasoline, 15 % ethanol to 85 % gasoline and 20 % ethanol to 80 % gasoline. When the engine ran on pure gasoline, it developed a maximum torque of 10.7 Nm, a brake power of 3141.6 W and a brake thermal efficiency of 25.91 %. Each of these performance parameters reduced as the percentage of ethanol increased. For the 20 % ethanol to 80 % gasoline blend the corresponding values of the performance parameters obtained were 10.2 Nm, 2827.44 W and 21.75 %. Even though the performance of the engine declined as the percentage of ethanol increased, the emission of less green house gases is enough motivation to use bio-fuels.

A Method for Ensemble Wildland Fire Simulation

An ensemble simulation system that accounts for uncertainty in long-range weather conditions and two-dimensional wildland fire spread is described. Fuel moisture is expressed based on the energy release component, a US fire danger rating index, and its variation throughout the fire season is modeled using time series analysis of historical weather data. This analysis is used to characterize the seasonal trend in ERC, autocorrelation of residuals, and daily standard deviation and stochastically generate artificial time series of afternoon fuel moisture. Daily wind speed and direction are sampled stochastically from joint probabilities of historical wind speed and direction for the date range of the fire simulation period. Hundreds or thousands of fire growth simulations are then performed using the synthetic fire weather sequences. The performance of these methods is evaluated in terms of the number of ensemble member simulations, one- versus two-dimensional fire spread simulations, and comparison with results from 91 fires occurring from 2007 to 2009. Simulations were found to be in consistent agreement with observations, but trends indicate that the ensemble average of simulated fire sizes were consistently larger than actual fires whereas the farthest extent burned by fires was underestimated.

Landslide behaviour and climate change: predictable consequences for the Ventnor Undercliff, Isle of Wight

Abstract The Ventnor Undercliff, located on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, is an ancient landslide complex of marginal stability that is prone to ground movement and occasional landslide events. The impact of ground movement on property and services in the town has been significant in the past. Since 1995, the local authority has made a significant investment in continuous monitoring and analysis of weather and ground movement data at key sites amongst other landslide management initiatives. These data reveal strong relationships between antecedent rainfall, groundwater and ground movement rates, confirming that prolonged periods of heavy winter rainfall and excess groundwater levels are a fundamental control on landslide behaviour. Climate change projections over the next 100 years point to significant increases in sea level and winter rainfall, which are expected to result in accelerated ground movement rates and more frequent landslide events in the Undercliff. There are concerns that hitherto marginally stable areas of the Undercliff may become unstable as a result of reactivation of ground movement and the occurrence of new landslides. In areas previously affected by ground movement or landslides, the frequency and rate of ground movement and landsliding is expected to increase. The paper presents historical and new data to demonstrate the relationships between rainfall and ground movement, and uses these to predict the likely impacts of climate change on future landslide behaviour. The paper concludes that climate change poses a very real threat and significant challenge to the future management and mitigation of the ground instability risks in the Ventnor Undercliff, which may be echoed for other similarly marginally stable ancient landslides in the UK.

Continuous and discrete wavelet transforms based analysis of weather data of North Western Region of Saudi Arabia

The present study utilizes daily mean time series of meteorological parameters (air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure and wind speed) and daily totals of rainfall data to understand the changes in these parameters during 17 years period i.e. 1990 to 2006. The analysis of the above data is made using continuous and discrete wavelet transforms because it provides a time-frequency representation of an analyzed signal in the time domain. Moreover, in the recent years, wavelet methods have become useful and powerful tools for analysis of the variations, periodicities, trends in time series in general and meteorological parameters in particular. In present study, both continues and discrete wavelet transforms were used and found to be capable of showing the increasing or decreasing trends of the meterorological parameters with. The seasonal variability was also very well represented by the wavelet analysis used in this study. High levels of compressions were obtained retaining the originality of the signals.

Evaluation of adaptive thermal comfort models in moderate climates and their impact on energy use in office buildings

Abstract Thermally Activated Building Systems (TABS) are regarded as top-cooling systems rather than full air-conditioning systems. Therefore, adaptive thermal comfort models (ASHRAE55, ISSO74 or EN15251) are supposed to be applicable to TABS buildings, although the comfort model conditions are not necessarily satisfied. This paper investigates whether, for a moderate climate and with the heating and cooling set points chosen according to the adaptive models, the building’s energy use reduces. After all, applying adaptive models, if appropriate, is thought to lower energy use because higher maximum operative zone temperatures T op, max are allowed, compared to the conventional ISO7730 model. For purpose of generality, a building with an ideal heating and cooling system is considered. Analysis of moderate climate weather data reveals a low energy reducing potential for the ASHRAE55 and ISSO74 model, because high reference outdoor temperatures hardly occur. EN15251 on the other hand, allows very high T op, max and will lower the cooling need. A 2-zone building simulation demonstrates a higher cooling need for ASHRAE55 and ISSO74, compared to ISO7730. Because cooling is needed during the whole year, the lower winter T op, max of these adaptive models causes these unexpected results. With real data of warmer years or varying gains, this conclusion holds.