| 1. |
- Achberger, Christine, 1968, et al.
(författare)
-
State of the Climate in 2011
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. - 0003-0007. ; 93:7
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Large-scale climate patterns influenced temperature and weather patterns around the globe in 2011. In particular, a moderate-to-strong La Nina at the beginning of the year dissipated during boreal spring but reemerged during fall. The phenomenon contributed to historical droughts in East Africa, the southern United States, and northern Mexico, as well the wettest two-year period (2010-11) on record for Australia, particularly remarkable as this follows a decade-long dry period. Precipitation patterns in South America were also influenced by La Nina. Heavy rain in Rio de Janeiro in January triggered the country's worst floods and landslides in Brazil's history. The 2011 combined average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was the coolest since 2008, but was also among the 15 warmest years on record and above the 1981-2010 average. The global sea surface temperature cooled by 0.1 degrees C from 2010 to 2011, associated with cooling influences of La Nina. Global integrals of upper ocean heat content for 2011 were higher than for all prior years, demonstrating the Earth's dominant role of the oceans in the Earth's energy budget. In the upper atmosphere, tropical stratospheric temperatures were anomalously warm, while polar temperatures were anomalously cold. This led to large springtime stratospheric ozone reductions in polar latitudes in both hemispheres. Ozone concentrations in the Arctic stratosphere during March were the lowest for that period since satellite records began in 1979. An extensive, deep, and persistent ozone hole over the Antarctic in September indicates that the recovery to pre-1980 conditions is proceeding very slowly. Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations increased by 2.10 ppm in 2011, and exceeded 390 ppm for the first time since instrumental records began. Other greenhouse gases also continued to rise in concentration and the combined effect now represents a 30% increase in radiative forcing over a 1990 baseline. Most ozone depleting substances continued to fall. The global net ocean carbon dioxide uptake for the 2010 transition period from El Nino to La Nina, the most recent period for which analyzed data are available, was estimated to be 1.30 Pg C yr(-1), almost 12% below the 29-year long-term average. Relative to the long-term trend, global sea level dropped noticeably in mid-2010 and reached a local minimum in 2011. The drop has been linked to the La Nina conditions that prevailed throughout much of 2010-11. Global sea level increased sharply during the second half of 2011. Global tropical cyclone activity during 2011 was well-below average, with a total of 74 storms compared with the 1981-2010 average of 89. Similar to 2010, the North Atlantic was the only basin that experienced above-normal activity. For the first year since the widespread introduction of the Dvorak intensity-estimation method in the 1980s, only three tropical cyclones reached Category 5 intensity level-all in the Northwest Pacific basin. The Arctic continued to warm at about twice the rate compared with lower latitudes. Below-normal summer snowfall, a decreasing trend in surface albedo, and above-average surface and upper air temperatures resulted in a continued pattern of extreme surface melting, and net snow and ice loss on the Greenland ice sheet. Warmer-than-normal temperatures over the Eurasian Arctic in spring resulted in a new record-low June snow cover extent and spring snow cover duration in this region. In the Canadian Arctic, the mass loss from glaciers and ice caps was the greatest since GRACE measurements began in 2002, continuing a negative trend that began in 1987. New record high temperatures occurred at 20 m below the land surface at all permafrost observatories on the North Slope of Alaska, where measurements began in the late 1970s. Arctic sea ice extent in September 2011 was the second-lowest on record, while the extent of old ice (four and five years) reached a new record minimum that was just 19% of normal. On the opposite pole, austral winter and spring temperatures were more than 3 degrees C above normal over much of the Antarctic continent. However, winter temperatures were below normal in the northern Antarctic Peninsula, which continued the downward trend there during the last 15 years. In summer, an all-time record high temperature of -12.3 degrees C was set at the South Pole station on 25 December, exceeding the previous record by more than a full degree. Antarctic sea ice extent anomalies increased steadily through much of the year, from briefly setting a record low in April, to well above average in December. The latter trend reflects the dispersive effects of low pressure on sea ice and the generally cool conditions around the Antarctic perimeter.
|
|
| 2. |
- Blunden, Jessica, et al.
(författare)
-
State of the Climate in 2012
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Bulletin of The American Meteorological Society - (BAMS). - 0003-0007 .- 1520-0477. ; 94:8, s. S1-S258
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- For the first time in serveral years, the El Nino-Southern Oscillation did not dominate regional climate conditions around the globe. A weak La Ni a dissipated to ENSOneutral conditions by spring, and while El Nino appeared to be emerging during summer, this phase never fully developed as sea surface temperatures in the eastern conditions. Nevertheless, other large-scale climate patterns and extreme weather events impacted various regions during the year. A negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation from mid-January to early February contributed to frigid conditions in parts of northern Africa, eastern Europe, and western Asia. A lack of rain during the 2012 wet season led to the worst drought in at least the past three decades for northeastern Brazil. Central North America also experienced one of its most severe droughts on record. The Caribbean observed a very wet dry season and it was the Sahel's wettest rainy season in 50 years. Overall, the 2012 average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces ranked among the 10 warmest years on record. The global land surface temperature alone was also among the 10 warmest on record. In the upper atmosphere, the average stratospheric temperature was record or near-record cold, depending on the dataset. After a 30-year warming trend from 1970 to 1999 for global sea surface temperatures, the period 2000-12 had little further trend. This may be linked to the prevalence of La Ni a-like conditions during the 21st century. Heat content in the upper 700 m of the ocean remained near record high levels in 2012. Net increases from 2011 to 2012 were observed at 700-m to 2000-m depth and even in the abyssal ocean below. Following sharp decreases in to the effects of La Ni a, sea levels rebounded to reach records highs in 2012. The increased hydrological cycle seen in recent years continued, with more evaporation in drier locations and more precipitation in rainy areas. In a pattern that has held since 2004, salty areas of the ocean surfaces and subsurfaces were anomalously salty on average, while fresher areas were anomalously fresh. Global tropical cyclone activity during 2012 was near average, with a total of 84 storms compared with the 1981-2010 average of 89. Similar to 2010 and 2011, the North Atlantic was the only hurricane basin that experienced above-normal activity. In this basin, Sandy brought devastation to Cuba and parts of the eastern North American seaboard. All other basins experienced either near-or below-normal tropical cyclone activity. Only three tropical cyclones reached Category 5 intensity-all in Bopha became the only storm in the historical record to produce winds greater than 130 kt south of 7 N. It was also the costliest storm to affect the Philippines and killed more than 1000 residents. Minimum Arctic sea ice extent in September and Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent in June both reached new record lows. June snow cover extent is now declining at a faster rate (-17.6% per decade) than September sea ice extent (-13.0% per decade). Permafrost temperatures reached record high values in northernmost Alaska. A new melt extent record occurred on 11-12 July on the Greenland ice sheet; 97% of the ice sheet showed some form of melt, four times greater than the average melt for this time of year. The climate in Antarctica was relatively stable overall. The largest maximum sea ice extent since records begain in 1978 was observed in September 2012. In the stratosphere, warm air led to the second smallest ozone hole in the past two decades. Even so, the springtime ozone layer above Antarctica likely will not return to its early 1980s state until about 2060. Following a slight decline associated with the global 2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production reached a record 9.5 +/- 0.5 Pg C in 2011 and a new record of 9.7 +/- 0.5 Pg C is estimated for 2012. Atmospheric CO2 concentrations increased by 2.1 ppm in 2012, to 392.6 ppm. In spring 2012, 2 concentration exceeded 400 ppm at 7 of the 13 Arctic observation sites. Globally, other greenhouse gases including methane and nitrous oxide also continued to rise in concentration and the combined effect now represents a 32% increase in radiative forcing over a 1990 baseline. Concentrations of most ozone depleting substances continued to fall.
|
|
| 3. |
- Plos, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Non-Linear Analysis and Remaining Fatigue Life of Reinforced Concrete Bridges
- 2007
-
Rapport (refereegranskat)abstract
- The work provides methods for non-linear structural analysis and fatigue safety evaluation in assessment of existing railway bridges. The use of non-linear analysis leads to higher load carrying capacities, but also to improved understanding of the structural response, forming a better basis for decisions in the assessment. The methods for fatigue assessment lead to increased remaining service life of reinforced concrete railway bridges.The achievements of the work are:• Models for assessment of concrete bridges by non-linear analysis are described, and examples and general recommendations for practical application of the methods aregiven.• An overview of the effect of corrosion on the bond properties has been developed through non-linear analyses and tests found in literature. Recommendations for practical assessment of anchorage capacity in corroded railway concrete bridges are presented.• The determination of reliable in-situ material properties in old concrete bridges is described,including properties for fully probabilistic analysis. A particular aim was to develop better methods to describe development of concrete properties with age and degree of hydration.• Recommendations are given regarding re-distribution of sectional forces and moments, obtained through linear structural analysis (with FEM). In a case study, a typical slab bridge was designed using different methods, and its response evaluated through nonlinearanalyses.• A good understanding of the load-carrying mechanisms in combined bending-shear-torsion gives a possibility to make more accurate assessments than with standard code methods. Methods and examples are presented.• A state-of-the-art review of fatigue behaviour of reinforced concrete railway bridges is presented and a methodology to assess the remaining fatigue life of existing reinforced concrete bridges subjected to railway traffic is developed.
|
|
| 4. |
- Schiessling, Joachim, et al.
(författare)
-
Synchrotron radiation study of the electronic structure of multiwalled carbon nanotubes
- 2003
-
Ingår i: Journal of Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 0953-8984 .- 1361-648X. ; 15:38, s. 6563-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present photoelectron (PE) and x-ray absorption spectra (XAS) of macroscopically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes. We identify the peaks in the valence PE spectra with regions of high density of states through comparison to calculations for graphite. Finally, we outline and illustrate a simple method for using XAS to determine the average alignment of a nanotube sample.
|
|
| 5. |
|
|
| 6. |
- Treat, Claire C., et al.
(författare)
-
Permafrost Carbon : Progress on Understanding Stocks and Fluxes Across Northern Terrestrial Ecosystems
- 2024
-
Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 2169-8953 .- 2169-8961. ; 129:3
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Significant progress in permafrost carbon science made over the past decades include the identification of vast permafrost carbon stocks, the development of new pan-Arctic permafrost maps, an increase in terrestrial measurement sites for CO2 and methane fluxes, and important factors affecting carbon cycling, including vegetation changes, periods of soil freezing and thawing, wildfire, and other disturbance events. Process-based modeling studies now include key elements of permafrost carbon cycling and advances in statistical modeling and inverse modeling enhance understanding of permafrost region C budgets. By combining existing data syntheses and model outputs, the permafrost region is likely a wetland methane source and small terrestrial ecosystem CO2 sink with lower net CO2 uptake toward higher latitudes, excluding wildfire emissions. For 2002–2014, the strongest CO2 sink was located in western Canada (median: −52 g C m−2 y−1) and smallest sinks in Alaska, Canadian tundra, and Siberian tundra (medians: −5 to −9 g C m−2 y−1). Eurasian regions had the largest median wetland methane fluxes (16–18 g CH4 m−2 y−1). Quantifying the regional scale carbon balance remains challenging because of high spatial and temporal variability and relatively low density of observations. More accurate permafrost region carbon fluxes require: (a) the development of better maps characterizing wetlands and dynamics of vegetation and disturbances, including abrupt permafrost thaw; (b) the establishment of new year-round CO2 and methane flux sites in underrepresented areas; and (c) improved models that better represent important permafrost carbon cycle dynamics, including non-growing season emissions and disturbance effects.
|
|
| 7. |
|
|
| 8. |
|
|
| 9. |
|
|
| 10. |
- Plos, Mario, et al.
(författare)
-
Structural assessment of railway concrete bridges : non-linear analysis and remaining fatigue life
- 2006
-
Ingår i: Bridge Maintenance, Safety, Management, Life-Cycle Performance and Cost. - London : Taylor and Francis Group. - 0415403154 ; , s. 271-
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- For a sustainable development in Europe, there is a need to at least double the railway transports in the coming 20 years. In order to reach this, the residual service lives of existing concrete bridges need to be extended at the same time as they are subjected to higher axle loads, higher railway speeds and heavier traffic intensity. Today, many concrete bridges are replaced or strengthened because their reliability cannot be guaranteed based on the structural assessments made. The aim of the work presented here is to provide enhanced assessment methods that are able to prove higher load carrying capacities and longer fatigue lives for existing concrete railway bridges. One main objective is to facilitate the use of non-linear analysis for structural assessment. In addition to higher load carrying capacities, the methods give improved understanding of the structural response, forming a better basis for decisions in the assessment. Another main objective is to improve knowledge about the fatigue behaviour of concrete bridges and to develop realistic methods for the evaluation of remaining fatigue life of existing bridges. The emphasis here is on short-span bridges and secondary elements. The work presented is a part of the ongoing EU-project Sustainable Bridges. The results will be implemented in the Guideline for Load and Resistance Assessment of existing European Railway Bridges that is being developed
|
|
