Literature widely recognize the strong influence of urban green spaces in the microclimatic regulation and its potential applications to mitigate warming in cities. Promote viable actions to the climate change adaptation from cities through vegetation and help to palliate the urban heat island effect (UHI) to reduce health risk during extreme heat episodes, requires accurate criteria for each context in its different scales. This study presents a multi-scale approach to quantify the influence of urban green spaces on climate behavior of the Viladecans-Gava-Castelldefels conurbation in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. For this purpose, first, air (Ta) and surface (Ts) temperature of 124 points located in the interior and surroundings of seven green spaces are registered through field measurement campaigns during day and night between July 26 and August 4 of 2018. Then, Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from Landsat 8 and Sentinel 2 data imagery for a clear-sky day nearby to the measurement days are retrieved and complemented with the NDVI of the spring-summer period of 2018 (1m) available in the Cartographic and Geographic Institute of Catalonia (ICGC). Analytical methods departed from the UHI characterization of the three-municipal area, resulted in 1.63°C LST increase in the urban Corine land cover (CLC) in relation with the rural at the whole ambit. Then, an OLS model to predict LST is constructed with NDVI and distance to parks (spaces with NDVI>=0.30) in the whole ambit (R²=0.59) and in the urban area (R²=0.47). At this point, results indicate that increase a tenth of NDVI reduces 1.15°C the LST of the whole ambit and 0.73°C on the urban area (p<0.01); while for each 100m further from parks, the LST rises 0.61°C for the whole ambit and 1.81°C on urban area (p<0.01). Particularly for the seven study cases, field measurements registered coincident spatial distribution with LST and NDVI, as well as highlighted the UHI effect during night. The quantification of the intensity and extent of the cooling effect of the study cases, registered a maximum cooling intensity of 2.7°C with a 300m buffer area; as well as the cooling effect calculation through concentric rings resulted between 40 to 130m extents from the parks boundaries and cooling intensity from 0.29 to 2.15°C. In conclusion, even when the multiple-scale analysis present coincidences and discrepancies between the different approaches, the models and methods applied in this study resulted in values that allow starting to talk about adequate actions to adapt to climate change in the context of the metropolitan area of Barcelona. The present study is part of the “Urban-CLIMPLAN. The urban heat island: effects on climate change and modeling for territorial and urban planning strategies. Application to the metropolitan region of Barcelona”, financed by the Ministry of Economy of Spain (MINECO) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The CHIMERA project, contracted by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) and co-funded by the EuropeanUnion Cohesion Fund (Portugal 2020 | POSEUR) intended to characterize the sedimentary record of three 10km2 areas and one 5 km2 area in the Portuguese inner shelf. Multibeam bathymetry and backscatter, parametricecho-sounder, ultra-high resolution multichannel seismics and magnetic data were acquired along high resolutionorthogonal grids. The main aim of the project was to evaluate potential borrow areas for high-magnitude beachnourishments in long term eroding stretches of the Portuguese western coast. The diversity, the large density andthe high quality of geophysical data allow for a multidisciplinary geological interpretation of the datasets.In this presentation we focus on magnetic data and its interpretation combined with acoustic data. We applieda detailed processing scheme to acquired magnetic data, which allowed retrieving several components of themagnetic spectrum and estimating some source depths. We then analyzed the geological significance of theanomalies by studying their correspondence to seismostratigraphic units mapped from seismic data. Fit betweenmagnetic signature and geologic structure was found for most of the cases, although magnetic anomalies withinthe same wavenumber spectrum may express different geological units for each study area. A correspondence wastypically found for the basement, and for recent sedimentary structures such as paleo-channels and paleo-coastalbarriers. In other cases, low wavenumber anomalies may express intra-basement geology, too deep to be observedby our high-resolution seismics. For individual anomalies we check for a relation with shallow features, eventuallyarcheological artifacts.Publication supported by FCT- project UID/GEO/50019/2019 - Instituto Dom Luiz.

We use 7823 regional waveforms from 2520 earthquakes (M > 4.0) recorded at 244 stations, located on the Indian subcontinent and Tibet, to compute fundamental mode Rayleigh wave group velocity dispersion curves between 10 s and 120 s. The Rayleigh waveforms for all these traces had a signal-to-noise ratio above two for the periods of our interest. The dataset provides a dense sampling of the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, the Indian subcontinent, the Himalayan foreland basin, the Himalaya, and the Tibetan Plateau, between latitudes -8° to 40° and longitudes 60° to 100°. These 1-D path average group velocity curves were linearly combined through a ray theory based tomography formulation to obtain 2-D maps of lateral variation of group velocities at discrete periods. For the tomography the region is parametrised as 1° triangular elements with slowness defined at the apex of each triangle (node points). The coverage and resolution of the tomography maps are explored by computing ray density map, raypath orientation map and a standard checker board resolution test. The best resolved features in the tomography maps are at periods between 15 s and 45 s and is of the order of 4° x 4°. From the ray density and raypath orientation maps we observe that the best resolved grids are the ones where there is maximum ray density and uniform raypath orientation. To optimise the choice of the apriori slowness vis-a-vis the sharpness of the observed anomalies in the tomography inversion, we performed apriori slowness test. We used a number of fixed apriori slowness values and computed the tomography images for every period. A plot of the apriori slowness versus sum of squares(residuals) provides the choice for the optimum value for every period. We observe that for most periods this is marked by a minimum in the tradeoff curve. The regions with low velocities depict the basin areas with high sediment cover whereas the high velocity regions are indicative of the cratons and shield areas. Finally, we model the group velocity curve at each node point using a quasi-linear least squares inversion scheme of Ammon and Hermann (2004) to obtain 1-D shear wave velocity structure beneath the node point. We will use cubic spline interpolation through these 1-D models to obtain 3-D shear wave velocity structure across the region of interest.

It has been known for many decades that the lunar tidal influence in the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) is noticeably enhanced during northern hemisphere winters. Recent literature has discussed the role of stratospheric sudden warming (SSW) events behind the enhancement of lunar tides and their findings suggest a positive correlation between the lunar tidal amplitude and lower stratospheric parameters (zonal mean air temperature and zonal mean zonal wind) during SSW events. The positive correlation raises the question whether an inverse approach could also be developed which makes it possible to deduce the occurrence of SSW events before their direct observations(before 1952) from the amplitude of the lunar tides. This study presents an analysis technique based on the phase of the semi-monthly lunar tide to determine the lunar tidal modulation of the equatorial electrojet (EEJ). A statistical approach using the superposed epoch analysis is also carried out to formulate a relation between the EEJ tidal amplitude and lower stratospheric parameters. Using these results, we have estimated a threshold value for the tidal wave power that could be used to identify years with SSW events from magnetic field observations.

All my students have the potential to bring something unique and special to the world. They are ready to experiment with new things, learn from immediate environment and participate in awareness of different geographies. I feel unbelievably grateful and blessed to be a teacher and have the opportunity to impact students’ lives in a positive way. I always attempt experimenting, observing, and participating with other children and adults. While teaching Science, I always initiate the students in day to day daily life and intersperse with man and nature. One of my favorite topics is about Himalayan ecosystem. Today, the Himalaya is threatened by recurrent natural disasters and is at risk of catastrophic loss of life. Therefore for sustainable future I plan various activities, workshops, local IITM visit, arrange film screening, simulation exercises, quizzes on various topics and map work, research for better understanding of the region’s geological vulnerability, ecological fragility, and sociocultural sensitivity. Himalayas are considered to be the mystical dwelling of gods according to Indian mythology. Himalayas have profoundly shaped the cultures of the Indian subcontinent; many Himalayan peaks are considered pilgrimage sites in Hinduism and Buddhism. Teaching Earth Sciences to middle school is an opportunity to make a project about earthquakes and tectonic plates and carry out by complex analysis of the seismological, geological, geophysical and geodetic information available. Students work in small groups of 4-5 students and find out about largest earthquakes, significant events, lists and maps by magnitude, by year or by location, in the Himalayan region. India’s geography is the biggest reason for the melting pot, Himalayas are most critical element to it. Himalayas are epicenter of major civilizations and brewing ground for major cultural revolutions which influenced the entire the world. Social system thrived in Himalayan region became bedrock for major world religions like Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism. Diversity in Himalayas is not only limited to vast variety of flora and fauna but also resulted in diversity in human societies. Tens of languages and hundreds of dialects spoken in this region is reflection of same diversity. In conclusion, Himalayas provide a variety of fields of study for students and researchers. Mystical mountains of Himalayas provide great opportunity for questioning, curiosity, awareness, observation, discovery and experimentation. The philosophy of my life is to inspire each child to learn to look at every aspect of life with absolute openness without prejudice, without any region, cultural, or any other kind of inclinations. The very purpose is to broaden their horizons. The focus is not only to create a thirst for knowledge but rather encourage the child to seek a deeper experience and inner understanding of the fundamentals of life.

ENVRIplus is a Horizon2020 project in which ethics applied to geosciences features as a fundamental issue, at the core of the scientific research and practice. ENVRIplus brings together Environmental and Earth System Research Infrastructures (RIs), projects, and networks, with technical specialist partners to create a more coherent, interdisciplinary and interoperable cluster of Environmental Research Infrastructures across Europe (http://www.envriplus.eu/). Within the project, an entire work package (WP13) is dedicated to develop an ethical framework of reference for RIs, able to increase the awareness of scientists on the importance of ethical aspects in Earth and Environmental sciences and on the responsibility they have in conducting research activities. The Ethical Label (EL) is a tool created by WP13 with the aim to identify and highlight ethical and social aspects of “activities, products, and data” (deliverables) undertaken within and/or resulting from the ENVRIplus project (http://www.envriplus.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/D13.2-Ethical-label-template.pdf). The specificity of the EL template is to provide additional information to the description of the technical-scientific characteristics usually associated to deliverables of a research project. The EL template is structured as a user-friendly tool, with different tables related to: “type of product”, “field affected”, “accessibility”, “end-users”, “potential impact”, “area concerned”, and “potential misuse”. The final table “summary” groups information selected in the previous sections of the table into a simple format, useful to tag a deliverable. Finally, a procedure to approve the EL associated to an ENVRIplus deliverable is suggested. The adoption of the EL will allow a more complete characterization of the outcomes of the project. While the EL was developed within a specific project, it is meant to be applicable to any research activity leading to published products, with the long-term goal to improve the way in which (geo)scientists can communicate their scientific and technological achievements both to specialist and not-specialist end-users.

The Mediterranean basin is characterized by the coexistence of various aerosol types such us anthropogenic, desert dust, biomass burning (BB) and background marine particles, with relatively high aerosol load affecting the regional radiative budget. This diversity results in complex aerosol properties with high temporal and spatial variability, which is enhanced by the sporadic character of dust transport and wildfire events. The impact of aerosol load on the regional or local radiative budget is intensified during the summer cloud-free period due to the intense solar radiation. During the warm period the Mediterranean experiences the impact of BB emissions when forest and shrubland fires occur due to favorable meteorological conditions. BB aerosols consisting of two major components, black carbon which is the most absorbing aerosol species and organic aerosols that scatters solar radiation, can have a strong impact on the solar radiation budget, altering atmospheric temperature lapse rates and dynamics over a region. In this work an assessment of temporal variability and spatial distribution of biomass burning aerosol optical properties over the broader Mediterranean basin for the period 2002-2016 is conducted. To that end satellite databases are used. At first, wildfire events are identified in terms of ignition date and geographical location based on MODIS (MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) collection 006 data. For our analysis wildfires with a burned area of at least 500ha are considered. Then, for each event aerosol optical properties namely spectral AOD, Ångström Exponent (AE), Fine Fraction (FF) and Aerosol Index (AI), that describe the atmospheric load and size of BB aerosols, are assessed. The relevant data are derived from Collection 006 MODIS - Terra database, except for AI which is taken from TOMS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer) and OMI-Aura (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) databases for the periods 2002-2004 and 2005-2016, respectively. The spatial distribution and the inter-annual variability of BB aerosol optical properties are analyzed. The AI values are greater than 2 with maxima attaining 4.3. Ångström Exponent presents a mean value around 1.5 with maxima exceeding 2.5, whereas mean value of FF is about 0.84. AOD (AOD550) can reach values up to 3.3. For selected large wildfire events (mega-fires) the spatial expansion of smoke plume is estimated through forward - trajectories using the HYSPLIT (Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model) model and then BB aerosol properties are calculated over areas affected by the smoke.

Wildfires have been recognized as an intrinsic factor of the Earth system affecting vegetation functioning, structure and distribution with consequent impacts on terrestrial ecosystems, biogeochemical cycle, atmospheric composition, surface albedo and climate. At the same time, large uncontrolled fires are an environmental hazard due to their adverse effects on natural systems, the economy and human health. Wildfires regime is controlled by both, natural and human factors, such as vegetation type and cover, climate, weather, land management practices including human ignitions. Weather in particular, plays a key role in fire ignition and fire behavior as well, in terms of spreading, severity and suppression. Frequently, large fire events are the synergistic result of fuel load and anomalous atmospheric conditions. This work examines the atmospheric circulation characteristics associated with wildfires events occurring in the Mediterranean basin, a region which counts the most fires, and hence burned areas, in Europe. Wildfire data, namely ignition date and total burned area, are taken from MODIS (MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) database over the period 2002-2016. For our analysis 2533 wildfires with a burned area of at least 500ha, which occurred in 871 days during the warm period of the year (May to September) are considered. In order to identify the atmospheric circulation characteristics associated with those wildfires, gridded (2.5°x 2.5°) NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data of 500 and 1000hPa geopotential height and 1000hPa temperature over the broader European area and 850hPa relative humidity across the Mediterranean basin are analyzed. Following the synergistic application of Factor Analysis for data dimensionality reduction, and Cluster analysis for the objective classification of daily synoptic conditions, seven (7) homogenous and distinct to each other mean atmospheric circulation patterns emerged. Specific characteristics of the revealed patterns favor the ignition and spread of wildfires in certain regions of the Mediterranean Basin. Wildfires in the Balkan Peninsula are favored by the intensification of the northerly flow over the region, due to the strengthening of the pressure gradient between the enhanced and spatially extended Azores Subtropical Anticyclone and the Asian thermal low. Iberian Peninsula wildfires are associated with the dominance of dry and windy conditions, controlled by the relative position and strength of the anticyclonic circulation over the Atlantic Ocean, whereas a thermal low developed over southern Spain and/or northwestern Africa plays also a key role.

Environmental pollution is generally caused by two main factors that include high rate of industrialization and rapid increase in population thereby putting more pressure on natural resources such as petroleum. As a result the petroleum industry affects the environment through oil spills causing many negative effects on human health and the surrounding ecosystem due to presence of toxic compounds in crude oil such as the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) that is potentially carcinogenic to humans. The aim of this research is to investigate the efficiency of Chrypsopogon zizanioides also known as vetiver grass with the aid of bio surfactants and N.P.K. fertilizer in dissipating and containing organic pollutants in the soil. It is specifically focused on the 16 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) classified by United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) as priority pollutants. The general methodology involved a glasshouse experiment by growing the plant C. zizanioides in a freshly spiked oil contaminated soil and a weathered hydrocarbon contaminated soil from where the soil samples were treated with ramphnolipids including (95% (Mono-Rhamnolipid dominant) and 95% (Di-Rhamnolipid dominant) produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and N.P.K. fertilizer to promote plant and the microbial biomass. Some of the control samples were left uncontaminated (oil free) while others were left unplanted (plant free) to investigate the growth of the plant in the absence of oil and the fate (degradation) of crude oil in the absence of the grass. Thereafter, soil samples were collected periodically on monthly basis and the concentration of PAHs was assessed in the laboratory via Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC MS). The result of this research has already indicated an improvement in plant and microbial biomass in all the samples treated with N.P.K. fertilizer and rhamnolipids after a period of 72 days. More plant culms and heights were observed to have emerged in samples treated with N.P.K. fertilizer only followed by samples treated with N.P.K. and biosurfactants. Furthermore, there has been a reduction in the concentration of the PAHs in the crude oil contaminated soils as a result of the combined action of C. zizanioides, ramphnolipids and N.P.K. fertilizer as compared to the control samples. It also highly anticipated that C. zizanioides may help in breaking down the PAHs in the weathered hydrocarbon contaminated soil.

An accurate characterization of the global hydrologic cycle is essential not only to study and forecast climate variations, but also for extreme event mitigation and agricultural planning. Since precipitation is the major driving force of the hydrological cycle, current and future satellite missions are critical to estimate precipitation globally. Error estimates associated with satellite precipitation retrievals are crucial to allow inferences about the reliability of such products in their operational applications. However, evaluating satellite precipitation error characteristics is challenging because of the inherent temporal and spatial variability of precipitation, measurement errors, and sampling uncertainties, especially at fine temporal and spatial resolutions. This study proposes to use a stochastic error model – PUSH (Probability Uncertainty in Satellite Hydrology) – for estimating uncertainties associated with fine resolution satellite precipitation products. The framework is tested on the daily IMERG (Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM) infrared-only (IR) precipitation component using a satellite-based radar product (the Level-3 Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar, 3DPRD) as reference. PUSH decomposes the error into four components and employs different modeling approaches for each case: correct no-precipitation detection; missed precipitation; false alarm; hit bias. PUSH is calibrated globally over land for different climatological regions. The calibrated parameters are validated using an independent period to verify whether they can be applied to estimate uncertainties associated with future IR retrievals without degrading the model performance. The four error components are then investigated as a function of climate region to study their spatial variability.

Many traditional university-level science classes consist of multiple hours of lecture each week accompanied by a two-hour, hands-on laboratory session in which participants use high-tech equipment to explore the world around them. However, this model does not align with the typical elementary classroom schedule, and thus, it does not adequately prepare future teachers to be successful at providing hands-on experiences for their students. A typical elementary teacher cannot dedicate a two-hour block each week for their students to perform science experiments, and public schools often cannot afford high-end science equipment. Thus, there is a disconnect between how universities are preparing future science teachers and the reality of the day-to-day elementary classroom. This disconnect can be addressed by restructuring the college science classroom to more closely mirror the elementary classroom, not in content but in time format. At Dickinson State University, science courses for future teachers have been adjusted to meet one hour a day for five days a week rather than three lectures a week plus a two-hour lab. This provides the same amount of time to teach content, but the lab times have been broken into two shorter lab days. These one-hour lab sessions allow future teachers to experience more hands-on labs which can be completed in a shorter amount of time, and they provide those teachers a wealth of classroom activities which can easily be converted to the elementary classroom. Beyond a shift in time scheduling, Dickinson State University has also re-organized the equipment used in these labs. Rather than offering labs using equipment that will rarely be found in a public school classroom, the labs have been adjusted to make best use of simplified equipment that is reproducible by future teachers in their own classrooms. This allows for direct transferability of skills between the university classroom and the elementary classroom. While every change in teaching format can pose its own challenges, these alterations are already producing positive results. The education majors completing these classes tend to be more excited about teaching science in their own classrooms, and they are more comfortable with the hands-on activities that are available to them. The new format is also providing a richer opportunity for the college instructors to model correct scientific thinking and experimental design skills that are specifically applicable to future elementary classrooms.

The Geology teaching and learning processes should be carried out through the interaction of different learning environments, inside the classroom and outdoors. Practical activities are a methodological strategy widely suggested by the Portuguese Ministry of Education for the Geology teaching whose aim is to promote the development of skills (knowledge, ability and attitudes) denying the idea that the subjects of this science are complex and far from the students’ academic interests and needs. This work presents some formal and non-formal education practical activities (e.g. laboratory and fieldwork, mineral fairs, national contests), developed throughout the last year in Sé School, a small school in the north of Portugal, with students of the different grades (Kindergarten to high school).

An aerosol albedometer was combined with laser-induced incandescence (LII) to achieve simultaneous measurements of aerosol scattering, extinction coefficient, and soot mass concentration. Frequency doubling of a Nd:YAG laser line resulted in a colinear beam of both λ = 532 and 1064 nm. The green beam was used to perform cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS), with simultaneous measurements of scattering coefficient made through use of a reciprocal sphere nephelometer. The 1064 nm beam was selected and directed into a second integrating sphere and used for LII of light-absorbing kerosene lamp soot. Thermal denuder experiments showed the LII signals were not affected by the particle mixing state when laser peak power was 1.5–2.5 MW. The combined measurements of optical properties and soot mass concentration allowed determination of mass absorption cross section (M.A.C., m2/g) with 1 min time resolution when soot concentrations were in the low microgram per cubic meter range. Fresh kerosene nanosphere soot (ns-soot) exhibited a mean M.A.C and standard deviation of 9.3 ± 2.7 m2/g while limited measurements on dry ambient aerosol yielded an average of 8.2 ± 5.9 m2/g when soot was >0.25 μg/m3. The method also detected increases in M.A.C. values associated with enhanced light absorption when polydisperse, laboratory-generated ns-soot particles were embedded within or coated with ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, and glycerol. Glycerol coatings produced the largest fractional increase in M.A.C. (1.41-fold increase), while solid coatings of ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate produced increases of 1.10 and 1.06, respectively. Fresh, ns-soot did not exhibit increased M.A.C. at high relative humidity (RH); however, lab-generated soot coated with ammonium nitrate and held at 85% RH exhibited M.A.C. values nearly double the low-humidity case. The hybrid instrument for simultaneously tracking soot mass concentration and aerosol optical properties in real time is a valuable tool for probing enhanced absorption by soot at atmospherically relevant concentrations.

High spatial resolution soil moisture information is important for regional–scale hydrologic, climatic and agricultural applications. However, available point-scale in-situ measurements and coarse-scale (~10s of km) satellite soil moisture retrievals are unable to capture hillslope to sub-catchment level spatial variability of soil moisture as required by many of these applications. Downscaling L-band satellite soil moisture retrievals appears to be a viable technique in estimating near surface (~ top 5 cm) soil moisture at a high spatial resolution. Among different downscaling approaches, thermal data based methods exhibits a good potential over arid and semi-arid regions, i.e. in many parts of Australia. This study investigates three downscaling approaches based on soil thermal inertia to estimate near surface soil moisture at high spatial resolution (1 km) over Krui and Merriwa River catchments in the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. These methods are based upon the relationship between the diurnal soil temperature difference (ΔT) and daily mean soil moisture content (μSM). Regression tree models between ΔT and μSM were developed by using in-situ observations (in the first approach) and using land surface model (LSM) based estimates (in the second approach). The relationship between ΔT and μSM was modulated by the vegetation density and the Austral season. In the in-situ data based approach, soil texture was also employed as a modulating factor. These in-situ datasets were obtained from the Scaling and Assimilation of Soil Moisture and Streamflow (SASMAS) network and model-based estimates from the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS). Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) products were used to define vegetation density. An ensemble machine-learning model was employed in the third approach using ΔT, NDVI and Austral season as predictors and μsm values as responses. Aggregated airborne soil moisture retrievals were used as the coarse resolution soil moisture products. These coarse resolution soil moisture simulations were downscaled to 1 km by employing the above three approaches using MODIS-derived ΔT and NDVI values. The results from the three downscaling methods were compared against the 1 km soil moisture retrievals from the National Airborne Field Experiment 2005 (NAFE’05) over 3 days in November 2005. The results from both in-situ data and GLDAS-based regression tree models show RMSEs of 0.07 cm3/cm3 when compared against the high resolution NAFE’05 airborne soil moisture observations. The GLDAS-based model can be applied over a larger extent, whereas the in-situ data based model is catchment specific. These results were compared with the results from the machine-learnt model. A combination of these methods with additional forcing factors such as topography, meteorology, etc. can be utilized to develop an improved downscaling model. Such a mod

The Earth orientation parameters (EOP), the regular products of IERS Earth Orientation Centre, are computed at daily bases by combination of EOP solutions by different astro-geodetic techniques. At SYRTE we have developed a new strategy of combination using the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) techniques at normal equation level thanks to the IERS COL-WG [1]. This approach allows to produce the EOP at the daily bases, polar coordinates (x,y) and rates (xr,yr), universal time UT1 and rate LOD, and corrections from IAU200A/2006 precession-nutation mode (dX,dY), simultaneously with station coordinates constituting the terrestrial frame (TRF) and possibly the quasar coordinates constituting the celestial frame (CRF). For studying these EOP solutions continuously with respect to the IERS EOP products, we have developed an operational process which take the recently solution files produced respectively by IGS and IVS international services which are converted at normal equation level. The recorded solutions obtained from GNSS and VLBI combination at weekly bases is recently maintained by SYRTE. The process of this combination are presented and results are analysed.

This study seeks to better understand the vertical variation in the transport and fate of radiocesium via branchflow and stemflow in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. Working in both a coniferous forest (Cryptomeria japonica, young Japanese cedar stands, average height is 14.0 m) and a mixed deciduous broadleaved forest (Quercus serrata, Japanese oak stands, average height is 13.3 m), we employed isotopic tracers to help determine the fate of radiocesium transported by branchflow and stemflow from the upper and lower portions of the canopy. Branchflow was harvested and examined from the upper canopy layers (including younger foliage, dead foliage, and live branches), whereas stemflow was collected in both the upper and lower portions of the canopy (with varying portions of live and dead branches). Particular attention was paid to the washoff, leaching, adsorption, transport, and storage (stem and bark) of radiocesium. The preliminary results showed radiocesium leaching (Cs-137 concentration) was greater for branchflow that received washoff and leachate from the dead foliage than the branchflow receiving radiocesium inputs from mixed and young foliage. For the tree trunk, radiocesium leached more in stemflow from the lower part of the canopy as compared to the upper canopy. We also found that the isotopic composition of branchflow was generally enriched in δ18O and δD compared to open rainfall and throughfall, however, the differences in enrichment between branchflow and stemflow remains unclear. Further work should examine the effect of tree architecture on the cycling of radiocesium both stemflow and branchflow.

Coastal environment pollution is one of major challenge facing coastal area development. A large number of Sicilian population lives in low laying area where, among other economy activities, tourist and intensive agriculture are two of most important sources of revenue. However, its beaches are threatened by natural and anthropic phenomena ranging from sea level rise, coastal erosion to marine pollution. In efforts to manage the influx of harmful substances reaching Sicily’s south-east coast, we present methodological approach integrating land use\land cover and normalized difference suspended sediment index mapping techniques to identify the origin of dissolved sediments observed in coastal water especial during rainy season. In this paper we used 12 freely-available Copernicus sentinel-2 images acquired during 2018. Water color analysis on satellite images shows that the contaminants reach the sea through river runoff and when arrived in relatively calm water in particularly in pocket beaches they stay in near shoreline for a while however they can also be exported further offshore when they reach the sea in high dynamic water where currents and waves play a role in their distribution. These sediments are sometimes erosion products from agricultural fields or contaminated soils containing organic or chemical fertilizers used for crop protection or for vegetation growth. The monitoring of sediments can help characterize and determine the fate of these products for a better management of this coastal area.

Test runs for the Region of Freshwater Influence (ROFI) in the Gulf of Trieste were setup using the ‘Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean’ (NEMO) model. Two test simulations of plume spreading were performed: the first was run for the winter season with initially homogeneous water and a constant bora wind blowing along the Gulf’s axis with a speed of 13 The second simulation was run for summer conditions with vertically stratified water and without wind forcing. The - turbulence scheme on an Arakawa C-type grid common for NEMO, was applied as described in (Madec, 2008). The modeled area of the Gulf, 31.8 33 km, is gridded in cells of dimension 0.6 km 0.6 km, similar to the model setup in (Žagar et al. 2013). A simplification of the OBC was achieved by extending the domain by 15 km in a westward direction, and by closing the simulation area. Along the vertical, 25 z-layers were inserted. The forcing of the river Soča (Isonzo) was simulated with the conversion of the volume flow-rates for the summer (120 ) and winter (150 ) situations to the vertical mass density flow through the topmost cell by applying discharges of 0.33 and 0.42 , respectively. The river temperature was set to the ambient temperature, while the salinity of the river runoff was set to 0 PSU. Both simulations run for the period of 48h, when the nearly ‘steady’ state was reached. The winter simulation revealed a strong outflow current in the form of a belt of fresher water, attached to the northern coastline of the Gulf. This is mainly a wind-driven process, and in this case the salinity acts as a passive tracer. The water mass returns through the deeper layers in the central and southern parts of the Gulf, according to the topographic control (Malačič et al. 2012). In the summer windless simulation, radial spreading of the freshwater stemming from the Soča River is present in the inertial plume area. The velocity vectors deflect due to the Coriolis force, forming outward spiraling paths of surface parcels. Once the scaling of terms in the equation of motion is completed, the transient situations with variable winds, tides, and the river flow rate can be tackled, as (Querin et al. 2007). Madec, G., 2008. Nemo Ocean Engine. Note du Pôle de modélisation, Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace (IPSL), France, pp. 396. Malačič, V., B. Petelin, and M. Vodopivec, 2012: Topographic Control of Wind-driven Circulation in the Northern Adriatic. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 117, 1–16. Querin, S., A. Crise, D. Deponte, and C. Solidoro, 2007: Numerical Study of the Role of Wind Forcing and Freshwater Buoyancy Input on the Circulation in a Shallow Embayment (Gulf of Trieste, northern Adriatic Sea). Journal of Geophysical Research, 111, 1–19. Žagar, D., E. Džebo, and G. Petkovšek, 2013: Comparison of Models MIKE3 and PCFLOW3D: Hydrodynamic Simulations in the Gulf of Trieste –Acta hydrotechnica, 26, 117–133.