New evidence shows UK solar parks can provide for bees and butterflies

A new study shows that UK solar parks, if managed correctly, can provide vital resources to help stem the decline in the nation’s bees and butterflies.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

LANCASTER UNIVERSITY

 

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MEADOW BROWN AND GATEKEEPER BUTTERFLIES ON A UK SOLAR PARK

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CREDIT: HOLLIE BLAYDES

A new study shows that UK solar parks, if managed correctly, can provide vital resources to help stem the decline in the nation’s bees and butterflies.

The new research, led by scientists at Lancaster University and in collaboration with the University of Reading, has been published in the journal Ecological Solutions and Evidence. It provides the first peer-reviewed field data of insect pollinators at solar parks in the UK, covering 15 sites.

The scientists recorded around 1,400 pollinators across more than 30 species, including nearly 900 butterflies, more than 170 hoverflies, more than 160 bumble bees, as well as moths and honeybees.

The most commonly observed species was the meadow brown butterfly. Bumble bees were observed at two thirds of the solar parks, while the small heath butterfly, a priority biodiversity species, was observed at three of the solar parks.

Their field data, gathered through repeated surveys during the summer of 2021, shows two critical factors are at play in determining whether solar parks can become beneficial to pollinators – the flowering plants available to pollintaors within solar farms and the characteristics of the surrounding landscape.

The availability of a greater diversity of flowering plant species was a key factor in increased pollinator abundance and biodiversity within solar parks. Parks containing a wider variety of flowering plants saw increased numbers of bumblebees, butterflies and hoverflies.

The study also showed the number of flowering plants available is less important to the pollinators than having a variety of flowering species to forage across.

The surrounding landscape was also a critical determining factor. Solar parks managed for biodiversity that are located in disconnected landscapes with fewer features such as hedgerows appear to benefit pollinators the most.

The researchers say this is because those pollinating insects are more reliant on the food resources on offer in the solar parks than they would be for solar parks located in landscapes containing more food and habitat options.

Hollie Blaydes, of Lancaster University and lead author of the study, said: “Pollinating insects such as bees, butterflies and hoverflies have been in dramatic decline in recent years and there is a need to restore more resources for these species in our landscapes. One potential option is to use sites such as solar parks to help benefit biodiversity – however, until now empirical evidence has been lacking around how, and which, solar parks might best support pollinators.

“We’ve shown that through management decisions such as planting a variety of flowering plants, solar parks can support insect pollinators and also those communities can be relatively diverse and abundant - particularly in those landscapes where there are few hedgerows and wildflowers for pollinators to depend on.”

Professor Alona Armstrong, also of Lancaster University and Principal Investigator of the study, said: “This is the first time that pollinators have been systematically and repeatedly surveyed on solar parks across the UK - building on previous modelling work.

“This adds to the evidence showing that solar parks, while helping to meet the UK’s renewable energy goals, and if managed correctly, also have the potential to support insect biodiversity.”

The study is outlined in the paper ‘On-site floral resources and surrounding landscape characteristics impact pollinator biodiversity at solar parks’.

The paper’s authors are Hollie Blaydes, Professor Duncan Whyatt and Professor Alona Armstrong of Lancaster University; and Professor Simon Potts of the University of Reading.

The study was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council with support from Low Carbon.

Common blue butterfly on UK solar park

CREDIT

Hollie Blaydes

JOURNAL

Ecological Solutions and Evidence

DOI

10.1002/2688-8319.12307 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

On-site floral resources and surrounding landscape characteristics impact pollinator biodiversity at solar parks

 

Citizen science to mitigate the environmental crisis in the marine environment

In defence of marine ecosystems

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF BARCELONA

 

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A NEW STUDY BY THE UB AND THE ICM-CSIC REVEALS THAT THE PARTICIPATION OF VOLUNTEERS IN CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECTS IS AN EFFECTIVE TOOL TO HELP CONSERVE CORALS AND GORGONIANS, WHICH ARE HIGHLY THREATENED IN THE MEDITERRANEAN DUE TO GLOBAL CHANGE.

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CREDIT: YANIS ZENTNER (UNIVERSITY OF BARCELONA - IRBIO)

Citizen science can help to improve conservation and management strategies for Mediterranean marine ecosystems, and to mitigate the impact of the environmental crisis. This is the conclusion of a study by the University of Barcelona and the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), which highlights the scientific rigour of the work carried out by volunteers in assessing the state of conservation of corals and gorgonians on the Mediterranean coast. In addition, the results of the citizen science initiative also warn of the increase in the mortality of these species at many points along the Costa Brava (Girona, Spain).

The study, published in the journal Environmental Management, shows the improvement of the scientific quality of the data collected by the volunteers (regarding precision and accuracy). “With only one training session, they reached values equal to those obtained by scientists”, says Professor Cristina Linares, ICREA Academia professor from the UB’s Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute of the UB (IRBio), who coordinated the research, published together with Joaquim Garrabou, from ICM-CSIC, both members of the MedRecover research group. 

These results are part of Laura Figuerola-Ferrando’s doctoral thesis (UB-IRBio). The article is also signed by Yanis Zentner (UB-IRBio) and Paula López-Sendino (ICM-CSIC).

Citizen science in defence of marine ecosystems

The Mediterranean coral reef, formed by the accumulation of calcareous organisms, is home to more than 1,600 marine species that have been affected by the rise of water temperatures over the last years. This study was carried out as part of the Atenció Coralls! project, promoted by the citizen science platform Observadors del Mar, to train volunteers in the study of the distribution and ecological status of populations of octocorals and hexacorals affected by human disturbances (largely by the temperature rise).

The team compared the data obtained in the Costa Brava by the volunteers with different training levels in the application of the sampling protocol, to observe whether there as an improvement between the first and the second sampling after training. 

“The data on the assessment of the state of conservation, obtained from the percentage of affected colonies, collected by volunteers who trained for two days, are comparable to the data obtained by the scientists. After only one day of training, the volunteers obtained quite remarkable results from the first sampling”, notes Cristina Linares, from the UB’s Department of Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences.   

Key factors in the study are the previous training the volunteers receive and the expert validation of the data before their transfer and analysis. “The validation process by the experts is essential to guarantee the assessment of the conservation state to be consistent and reliable”, says Laura Figuerola, predoctoral researcher at MedRecover. 

Worse conditions of corals and gorgonians

Once the effectiveness and rigour of the volunteers' work had been validated, the researchers analysed all the data obtained. In different areas of the north-western Mediterranean, coral and gorgonian populations are, according to the authors of the study, "getting worse and worse", as the percentage of affected colonies is going from mostly unimpacted or lightly impacted populations in the 2012/14 period, to moderately and severely impacted populations in the 2015/2019 and 2020/2022 periods.

"These results are similar to those reported in scientific articles, but in areas that had not been studied before, giving an enrichment of knowledge about the conservation status of these species in areas that had not been studied until now", says ICM researcher Joaquim Garrabou.

Coralligenous Weekends: citizen science sessions

The data of this study were obtained in 2022, but the trips to assess the state of other species continued in 2023, expanding the sampling spots. Thus, last year, the UB and Observadors del Mar organized the Coralligenous Weekends, which received the participation of seventy volunteers and seven diving centers of Costa Brava that followed the Atenció Coralls! protocols to assess the impact of heatwaves on more than 10,000 gorgonians — 95 censuses in sixteen towns — in Cap de Creus and in Espai Natura 2000 Baix Empordà.

Elisenda Franco, from the Club Nàutic Port de la Selva, is one of the people who took part in the conference. "It was a very positive experience. Citizen science is great, because it allows us to mix citizens who are enthusiastic about the sea with scientists, taking advantage of the experience of each one, in my case, as a diver", she points out. For Robert López, a biologist who also participated in the activity, it is an opportunity "to help obtain data that can be disseminated or published in a scientific article".

About the training, the volunteer recalls that it is "very visual and understandable". "It gives you a different view of the sea: now you can see how the gorgonians are and you can see that many of them are damaged," she explains. In the same vein, Robert López, a member of the Biology Immersion Club of the UB's Faculty of Biology, adds: "It makes you aware of the impact on the gorgonians and the changes that are taking place under the water due to the warming of the sea".

Finally, both volunteers agree that it is a way of "raising awareness" about the reality of climate change and ensuring that this knowledge reaches the public. "The fact that they told us about it so well, that it was such a motivating experience, makes you try to transfer it to your environment. In a way, it is a step that remains, it is a kind of chain to educate, raise awareness and disseminate what we have learned", stresses Elisenda Franco.

Mortality due to high temperatures

The first results revealed that, in all the populations that suffered mortality due to the high temperatures over the last years, “the white gorgonian was the most affected one, with 80% of the populations being severely affected, while in the case of the red gorgonian, 50% of the populations were severely affected”, note the researchers. 

The effects also vary according to depth. "In the first twenty metres, severe damage predominates, between twenty and thirty metres, moderate damage predominates — corresponding to 30% -60% of the gorgonians being affected — and it is not until we go beyond thirty metres that we find populations with low damage, i.e. with less than 30% of the gorgonians affected", the experts conclude.

This conference is part of the activities of the CORFUN project (TED2021-131622B-I00), financed by the Spanish State Research Agency and coordinated from the UB by Cristina Linares and Joaquim Garrabou.
 

 

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JOURNAL

Environmental Management

DOI

10.1007/s00267-023-01913-x 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Marine Citizen Science and the Conservation of Mediterranean Corals: The Relevance of Training, Expert Validation, and Robust Sampling Protocols

 

Aston University to find greener method of processing Ghana’s staple crop

Business Announcement

ASTON UNIVERSITY

 

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ASTON UNIVERSITY TO FIND GREENER METHOD OF PROCESSING GHANA’S STAPLE CROP

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CREDIT: AUGUSTINE FIIFI AMOAH

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• Aston University is to help one of the world’s largest cassava processers develop a sustainable way to dry its crops
• The University has entered a knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) with the Tropical Starch Company
• Current dryers use electricity or fossil fuels, are difficult to regulate and expensive to run.

Aston University is to help one of the world’s largest cassava processers develop a sustainable and faster way to dry its crops.

The University has entered a knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) with the Tropical Starch Company, Ghana’s leading cassava processing business.

According to The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the country is the second biggest consumer of cassava and contributes to almost a quarter of the country’s agricultural gross domestic product.

Despite its popularity cassava is difficult to process as it needs to be thoroughly cleaned, mashed, sieved, dried and packaged. 

Currently the Tropical Starch Company uses industrial uses bin dryers which need electricity or fossil fuels to generate heat and can only dry one crop per production line. They are expensive to run and as it is hard to regulate their temperatures sometimes products are overcooked or discoloured.

A KTP is a three-way collaboration between a business, an academic partner and a highly qualified researcher, known as a KTP associate. The UK-wide programme helps businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills. Aston University is a sector leading KTP provider, with 80% of its completed projects being graded as very good or outstanding by Innovate UK, the national body.

The aim of the KTP is to develop an integrated drying device which can operate off-grid, using several different technologies. Aston University will develop an off-grid, solar-powered drying device that is faster, temperature-controllable, uses less energy and can process bigger volumes of raw cassava.

Augustine Fiifi Amoah, who is a supervisor at the company said: “We already have the customers demanding it and so we are praying that we will be able to meet demand. 

“If we could produce 20 tons a day we would be so happy. We have the market, we just need the product!”
Although some of these technologies are already developed individually, the way they will be integrated will be new. In particular, data needs to be collected to design and optimise the system which will be completed with computer simulation modelling.

This will require expertise in several fields including modular design, desiccant drying techniques (where desiccant materials are used in a piece of industrial equipment to eliminate water) energy systems, post-harvest technology and food engineering.

The project is supervised by Dr Ahmed Rezk, senior lecturer in mechanical engineering from Aston University’s College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, an expert in thermal systems, whose mainstream research is in sustainable and zero-carbon heating and cooling technologies, in collaboration with Dr Tabbi Wilberforce Awotwe, a lecturer in engineering, who specialises in design optimisation of mechanical systems and energy storage modelling. 

Dr Rezk said: “The main goal of our research is to find more efficient and green ways of heating and cooling. They are two sides of the same problem, both requiring energy. 

“If we devise a good heating method through this project it could have implications for cooling methods in other countries as well.”

Dr Wilberforce Awotwe who is based at Kings College London, has previously conducted research at Aston University. He said “I’m a Ghanaian myself and my vision for this project goes beyond delivering work packages. 

“If we can get this done we will support many companies in this field, not just one, and address the issue of young people leaving the countryside in search of employment. 

“The long-term impact on the community is the most important thing.”

The project will also involve Professor Robert Sarpong Amoah and Dr Fatimah Abubakar Von from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. In addition a KTP associate will be recruited to work at the company’s main site in Abura-Dunkwa, Ghana. 

Once the system has been agreed, the Tropical Starch Company will collaborate with a local fabrication partner, First Product Enterprise Limited, to construct and test the system. Local farmers will later be trained to use the new food drying practices and it is expected that the final dryer will use either sustainable or scrap local materials.

The two-year project will run till January 2026.

 

Women in healthcare face significantly higher burnout rates compared to their male colleagues

New study also identifies factors that protect women healthcare professionals against harmful stress

Peer-Reviewed Publication

GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

 

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A NEW STUDY BY RESEARCHERS AT THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SHOWS THAT WOMEN IN HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONS ENDURE HIGHER BURNOUT RATES THAN THEIR MALE COLLEAGUES.

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CREDIT: THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY; REPORTERS CAN USE THIS TO GO ALONG WITH THE STUDY

WASHINGTON (Feb. 22, 2024)--A new study finds women in healthcare occupations endure significantly more stress and burnout compared to their male counterparts. The analysis by researchers at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences also found that job satisfaction and better work-life balance can protect women healthcare professionals from harmful stress.

 

“Human beings are not equipped to handle the combined, intense pressures in healthcare in part due to the pressure to not take time to care for yourself,” Leigh A. Frame, associate director of the GW Resiliency & Well-being Center, said.

 

The study is the first comprehensive analysis to examine the relationship between work-related stress and the well-being of women in healthcare professions, not just in the United States but worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic cast a spotlight on the issue of healthcare burnout; Frame says women are under tremendous pressure to succeed simultaneously both at home and on the job. That pressure can lead to toxic stress, occupational burnout, depression, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts, Frame said.

 

Frame and her colleagues identified and reviewed 71 studies published in 26 countries and 4 languages between 1979 and 2022. The research looked at female healthcare professionals including nurses, physicians, clinical social workers, and mental health providers. Many of the studies were conducted using evidence-based measures of well-being such as an index created by the World Health Organization.

 

Key Findings of the Study:

 

• Gender inequality in the workplace led to added stress and burnout for female healthcare professionals. For example, Frame says women wearing scrubs in a hospital are often assumed to be a nurse even if they are the physician on call.
• Other factors leading to harmful stress include poor work-life integration and a lack of workplace autonomy.
• On the flip side, factors that protect women from stress and burnout include a supportive and flexible working environment, access to professional development, supportive relationships, and an intentional mindfulness practice.

 

Frame says the healthcare workplace may amplify the stress for women in the US and around the world. She says that female healthcare workers often must work long hours, multiple shifts and still balance the on the job demands with family responsibilities such as child care, housework and other duties that often fall to women.

 

The analysis also showed that compared to their male colleagues, many female healthcare professionals were assigned to patients with complex medical problems. Handling a complicated medical case takes more emotional energy and time, which ramps up stress in healthcare settings that reward speed, Frame said.

 

Research shows that restorative sleep, physical activity, a healthy diet (rich in plants and fresh foods), and other health-promoting habits can help mitigate job stress. However, the problem goes beyond what individual women can do, Frame says. She says healthcare employers and policymakers need to develop solutions to help prevent burnout, a system-wide problem that leads to issues like healthcare workforce shortages, which are becoming increasingly common.

 

The analysis, “The Well-being of Women in Healthcare Professions: A Comprehensive Review,” was published in Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health by Frame and first author Viktoriya Karakcheyeva, who is also the behavioral services director of the GW Resiliency & Well-being Center. In addition, Haneefa Willis-Johnson and Patrick Corr–both at the GW Resiliency & Well-being Center served as co-authors on the paper.

 

For more information about supporting well-being in workers in healthcare and beyond, visit the GW Resiliency & Well-being Center website for resources, on-demand lectures, and the Resiliency & Well-being for Whole Health Worksheet, a guide for individuals to prevent burnout and promote well-being.

 

-GW-

 

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JOURNAL

Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

The Well-being of Women in Healthcare Professions: A Comprehensive Review

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

22-Feb-2024

 

New technique can quickly detect fentanyl and other opioids

Testing method can analyze blood samples twice as quickly as other techniques

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO

 

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PICTURE OF THE MICROFLUIDIC OPEN INTERFACE SYSTEM DESCRIBED IN THE PRESS RELEASE.

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CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO

University of Waterloo researchers have developed a new blood testing method that can detect potent opioids much faster than traditional approaches and potentially save lives. 

The method, the latest effort by Waterloo researchers and entrepreneurs to lead health innovation in Canada, can simultaneously analyze 96 blood samples that could contain opioids such as fentanyl in under three minutes – twice as quickly as other techniques. 

"The difference between our blood testing method and traditional methods used in laboratories and hospitals is that we can do it faster and reach the same conclusion," said Emir Nazdrajić, a postdoctoral fellow in Waterloo's Department of Chemistry and co-author of a study that details the new technique. 

"Let's say someone who has overdosed is in the emergency room, and doctors need to quickly determine what they've taken to treat them effectively. The speed of our method can be lifesaving."

In 2022, over 70,000 Americans died of overdoses from fentanyl, an opioid that is 50 times more powerful than heroin. About 7,000 people die from fentanyl annually in Canada, nearly one-third of which occurs in British Columbia, which is among the worst rates per capita in North America.

When using the Waterloo-designed method, the researchers place a small amount of blood in a 96-well plate with a phosphate buffer. The well plate is then put in a machine that agitates the samples, and a solid phase microextraction (SPME) probe is introduced to enhance the drugs of interest. The sample is then analyzed by a mass spectrometer coupled to a microfluidic open interface, with results available in about 90 seconds.  

"There is a high demand for rapid screening methods using mass spectrometry (MS) that can decrease the turnaround time, cost, and limits of quantitation of existing methodologies," said Dr. Janusz Pawliszyn, corresponding author of the study and a professor in Waterloo's Department of Chemistry. "Our method targets not only fentanyl but other drugs and certain types of diseases."

A study detailing the new blood testing method, co-author by Nazdrajić, Pawliszyn and Daniel Ricket, a PhD candidate in Waterloo's Department of Chemistry, was recently published in the journal Analytical Chemistry. 

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JOURNAL

Analytical Chemistry

 

Adaptive fusion of structure and attribute guided polarized communities search

Peer-Reviewed Publication

HIGHER EDUCATION PRESS

 

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AN EXAMPLE OF THE POLARIZED COMMUNITIES IN AN ATTRIBUTED SIGNED NETWORK. SOLID EDGES ARE POSITIVE, WHILE DASHED EDGES ARE NEGATIVE. THE POLARIZED COMMUNITIES WHERE THE GREEN BOX IS LOCATED UTILIZE TOPOLOGY, WHILE THE POLARIZED COMMUNITIES WHERE THE RED BOX IS LOCATED CONSIDER BOTH TOPOLOGY AND ATTRIBUTE.

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CREDIT: FANYI YANG, HUIFANG MA, WENTAO WANG, ZHIXIN LI, LIANG CHANG

The exploration of polarized communities, which consist of two antagonistic subgraphs and include a set of query nodes, is a crucial task in community search on signed networks. Most existing methods either predominantly rely on topological structure while disregarding node attributes or tend to prioritize the global identification of all polarized communities. Thus, they fail to consider two crucial insights. Firstly, integrating node attributes with network structure can enhance the search quality for polarized communities in attributed signed networks by leveraging complementary information. Secondly, global criteria-based polarized community detection aims to identify all polarized communities, neglecting personalized analyses centered around individual users.

To solve the problems, a research team led by Huifang MA published their new research on 15 Feb 2024 in Frontiers of Computer Science co-published by Higher Education Press and Springer Nature.

The research team introduced a novel community search framework termed "Polarized Communities via Adaptively Fusing Structure and Attribute in Attributed Signed Networks." Their approach starts by performing statistical analyses on the signed graph at the attribute level, establishing associations with the topological relationships. Subsequently, an adaptive fusion mechanism of the topological structure and attribute information is introduced. In order to detect polarized communities that include query nodes, a sparse indicator-vector is formulated based on the generalized Rayleigh quotient in local spectral eigenspaces, achieved by solving a linear programming problem.

DOI: 10.1007/s11704-023-2776-7

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JOURNAL

Frontiers of Computer Science

DOI

10.1007/s11704-023-2776-7 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Adaptive Fusion of Structure and Attribute Guided Polarized Communities Search

 

Understanding uncertainties in projected summer precipitation changes over the Tibetan plateau

Peer-Reviewed Publication

INSTITUTE OF ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICS, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

 

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THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF SUMMER PRECIPITATION ANOMALIES (UNITS: MM/DAY) IN 2050-2099 OVER TIBETAN PLATEAU UNDER THE SSP5-8.5 SCENARIO. THE DOTS DENOTE REGIONS WHERE AT LEAST 80% OF THE MODELS AGREE ON THE SIGN OF CHANGE. THE BLACK LINE INDICATES THE BOUNDARIES OF THE TP, WHERE THE ELEVATIONS ARE ABOVE 2500 M. THE BASELINE CLIMATOLOGY REFERS TO THE PERIOD FROM 1965-2014, AND THE MID- AND LONG-TERM IS FROM 2050-2099.

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CREDIT: IAP

The Tibetan Plateau (TP), a complex high-elevation region with an average height of 4000 meters, is widely recognized as the "Asian Water Tower" and referred to as "the third pole." Changes in precipitation over the TP significantly impact the water cycle in the surrounding areas, directly and indirectly affecting the lives of millions of people and ecosystems. Despite extensive efforts to project future precipitation changes over the TP due to global warming, there remains a considerable spread in the magnitude of existing projections. The underlying physics causing this inter-model spread of precipitation projections over the TP remains unclear. Therefore, gaining insights into the precipitation response to global warming and identifying sources of uncertainty are crucial for enhancing the reliability of these projections.

A recent study, published on February 1 in Geophysical Research Letters, highlighted the persistent increase in precipitation throughout the 21st century, with the most significant changes occurring along the southern edge of the TP. However, the study noted a substantial spread among models in precipitation projections, emphasizing that model uncertainty dominates the overall uncertainty in the mid- and long-term.

Led by Prof. Tianjun Zhou from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the study employed inter-model empirical orthogonal function analysis of projected precipitation changes under a scenario with very high Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions, termed as "SSP5-8.5" in climate modeling. The analysis revealed that the leading principal component explains over 40%, and even 80%, of the total variance at regional scales. Moisture budget analysis indicated that the increase in precipitation is primarily driven by enhanced vertical thermodynamic (TH) responses to the increased water-holding capacity of the atmosphere, with a weak effect from the vertical dynamical (DY) term. However, both vertical DY and TH components contribute to the leading mode of inter-model spread in precipitation projections.

Hui Qiu, the first author of the study and a Ph.D. student from the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, explained, "The vertical TH component is significantly related to the climate sensitivity among the models involved in the phase-6 of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, suggesting that models projecting a warmer climate also tend to project a stronger TH term." 

The study further revealed that the inter-model spread of the dynamic component is influenced by the equatorial Pacific warming pattern through the Walker Circulation change, controlling diabatic heating over the Marine continent and leading to atmospheric circulation changes affecting northward moisture transport to southern TPs.

"Both model weighting technique and selection of high skill models with better performance of historical climate simulation were traditionally used to increase the robustness of climate projection in previous studies. " Prof. Tianjun Zhou, the corresponding author, emphasized, "Our results enrich the research by highlighting that the diversity in CMIP6 models projecting precipitation changes over the TP is not solely related to local model performance but is influenced by the overall performance of climate models in the context of climate sensitivity and the response of equatorial Pacific Sea surface temperature to global warming."

The study also examined the relationship between the thermodynamic term and climate sensitivity under scenarios with low (termed as "SSP1-2.6") and intermediate (termed as "SSP2-4.5") GHG emissions, finding similar results to scenarios with very high GHG emissions. The authors call for further research on the inter-model spread of the equatorial Pacific Sea Surface Temperature response to global warming.

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JOURNAL

Geophysical Research Letters

DOI

10.1029/2023GL106553 

ARTICLE TITLE

Understanding the diversity of CMIP6 models in the projection of precipitation over Tibetan Plateau

ARTICLE PUBLICATION D

 

New study unveil East Asian spring climate influencers

Peer-Reviewed Publication

INSTITUTE OF ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICS, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

 

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SCHEMATIC PLOT OF THE PHYSICAL MECHANISMS OF THE PERSISTENT EAT ANOMALY IN MARCH-APRIL.

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CREDIT: IAP

In a study recently published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, researchers from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have revealed significant relationships between March and April variations in the East Asian trough (EAT). This atmospheric phenomenon, akin to a persistent low-pressure belt, acts as a crucial player in determining East Asian climate and weather during the crucial spring months.

Spring marks a crucial transitional period in East Asian atmospheric circulation, where different evolutions of the intraseasonal-scale circulation anomalies give rise to various climate anomalies. Seasonal averages often fall short in effectively capturing the evolving characteristics of monthly-scale circulation, presenting challenges in understanding and predicting East Asian spring climate anomalies.

The research team identified a persistent mode of EAT month-to-month variation in March-April, accompanied by long-lasting climate anomalies such as air temperature and precipitation over the region.

Delving into the potential mechanisms behind the persistent EAT anomaly in March-April, the scientists pinpointed culprits, including: Persistent dipole sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the mid-latitude North Atlantic, capable of triggering Rossby wave trains that influence the EAT during March-April; a tropical Indian SST anomaly, influencing Walker circulation and lower tropospheric atmospheric circulation in the western Pacific, significantly impacting the southern part of the EAT; and continuous snow cover anomalies in Northeast Asia, altering local thermodynamic properties and favoring the persistence of northern EAT anomalies during March-April.

"Remarkably, signals of these impact factors could be traced back to February," noted Prof. SUN Jianqi, the corresponding author of the study. "These signals offer a valuable temporal window for predicting persistent East Asian climate anomalies in spring."

This newfound understanding holds the potential to improve the accuracy of regional climate predictions, thereby contributing to more effective disaster prevention and mitigation efforts.

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JOURNAL

Advances in Atmospheric Sciences

DOI

10.1007/s00376-023-3024-7 

ARTICLE TITLE

Persistent variations in the East Asian trough from March to April and the possible mechanism