ARPA-E

About: ARPA-E is a government organization based out in Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Climate change. The organization has 1161 authors who have published 1267 publications receiving 30049 citations. The organization is also known as: Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy.

Documentación 3D de pinturas rupestres con Photomodeler Scanner: los motivos esquemáticos de la Cueva del Barranc del Migdia (Xàbia, Alicante)

Abstract: During the recent campaign of excavation at the Cova del Barranc del Migdia (Javea, Alicante)we have carried out the 3D documentation of the wall painting motifs, which corresponds to the schematic rock art style. To produce the 3D models, we have used Photomodeler Scanner, a commercial digital photogrammetry software with increased use in the cultural heritage sector. The results have been exported to a format compatible with 3D printers, creating a 1/1 scale replica of the original panel. In this paper we describe the typical workflow in a project with Photomodeler Scanner and the results obtained from the x-3 panel.

Projection of fire potential to future climate scenarios in the Alpine area: some methodological considerations

Abstract: In Europe, wildfires are an issue not only for the Mediterranean area, but also in the Alpine regions in terms of increasing number of events and severity. In this study we evaluate the impact of climate change on the fire potential in the Alps in the past and in future scenarios. The Fine Fuel Moisture Code (FFMC) of the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System, which successfully distinguishes among recorded fire/no fire events, is applied to projections of Regional Climate Models (RCMs) calculated on the SRES scenario A1B. We compare two different techniques: 1) a single model run of the COSMO-CLM RCM at 18 km resolution, and 2) a combination of 25-km resolution RCMs from the ENSEMBLES project, combined with the Multimodel SuperEnsemble technique and a new probabilistic Multimodel SuperEnsemble Dressing. The single-model RCM allows for a greater coherence among the input parameters, while the Multimodel techniques permit to reduce the model biases and to downscale to a higher resolution where long term records of observations are available. The projected changes with the Multimodel in the scenario give an estimation of increasing wildfire potential in the mid XXI century. In particular the frequency of severe wildfire potential days is shown to increase dramatically. The single (independent) COSMO model gives a weaker signal and in some regions of the study area the predicted changes are opposite to the ones by the Multimodel. This is mainly due to increasing precipitation amounts simulated especially in the northern parts of the Alps. However, there are also some individual models included in the Multimodel ensemble that show a similar signal. This confirms the ambiguity of any impact study based on a single climate model due to the uncertainty of the projections of the climate models.

Calibrated multi-model ensemble summer temperature predictions over Italy

Abstract: A statistical calibration scheme is applied to multi-model global seasonal ensemble reforecasts in order to predict the interannual variability of summer averaged surface maximum temperature over Italy In some cases, this technique is shown to be able to improve the skill scores of the seasonal predictions during the last 35 years, with respect to the direct model output (DMO), using seasonal predictions initialised 1 month before the beginning of the season It is shown that the presence of some skill in the DMO multi-model predictions is mostly due to the correct prediction of the observed secular trends in maximum temperature, and, partly, to the correct prediction of outliers, in particular, of the summer of 2003 At the same time, while the removal of trends produces a small reduction of skill in both the raw and calibrated predictions, the removal of outliers improves the performance of the calibration scheme Once all trends and outliers are removed, the DMO predictions have no skill, while the calibrated predictions still present a detectable skill The improvement introduced by the calibration are shown to be statistically significant by applying resampling techniques It is shown that the reason of this partial success is linked to the fact that although the models present several shortcomings, some models can capture the existence of a weak large-scale signal, possibly linked with the presence of a summer teleconnection between the equatorial Pacific and Europe, with a spatial pattern substantially different from that associated with the temperature secular trend The teleconnection is associated with a modulation of the quasi-stationary barotropic eddies in the Northern Hemisphere extra-tropics

Natural radionuclides in the rocks of the Valle del Cervo Pluton in Piedmont

Abstract: Monitoring of the gamma radiation in Valle del Cervo Pluton was performed by determining U and Th contents in the main rock types cropping out over the entire area and pertaining to the granitic complex, syenitic complex and monzonitic complex. In particular, syenitic rocks were largely used as building and ornamental materials (e.g. Sienite della Balma). All the samples are fresh and do not present joints or fractures filled with U minerals. In the crushed samples the activity of uranium varies from 346 to 764 Bq/kg. Concentration of thorium varies from 202 to 478 Bq/kg. For all the analysed rocks uranium activity is higher than thorium one. The lowest value of radioactive concentration is referred to rocks of the granitic complex. The most active rocks are syenites. The data confirm the high activities of Valle del Cervo rock types, strongly connected with high K content of the source magma (geochemical signature); on the contrary, the activity seems to be not related to the location of the samples.