The Cyprus Institute

About: The Cyprus Institute is a other organization based out in Nicosia, Cyprus. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Aerosol & Environmental science. The organization has 418 authors who have published 1252 publications receiving 32586 citations.

Abrupt recent trend changes in atmospheric nitrogen dioxide over the Middle East.

Abstract: Nitrogen oxides, released from fossil fuel use and other combustion processes, affect air quality and climate. From the mid-1990s onward, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) has been monitored from space, and since 2004 with relatively high spatial resolution by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument. Strong upward NO2 trends have been observed over South and East Asia and the Middle East, in particular over major cities. We show, however, that a combination of air quality control and political factors, including economical crisis and armed conflict, has drastically altered the emission landscape of nitrogen oxides in the Middle East. Large changes, including trend reversals, have occurred since about 2010 that could not have been predicted and therefore are at odds with emission scenarios used in projections of air pollution and climate change in the early 21st century.

Nucleon scalar and tensor charges using lattice QCD simulations at the physical value of the pion mass

Abstract: We present results on the light, strange and charm nucleon scalar and tensor charges from lattice QCD, using simulations with Nf=2 flavors of twisted mass clover-improved fermions with a physical value of the pion mass. Both connected and disconnected contributions are included, enabling us to extract the isoscalar, strange and charm charges for the first time directly at the physical point. Furthermore, the renormalization is computed nonperturbatively for both isovector and isoscalar quantities. We investigate excited state effects by analyzing several sink-source time separations and by employing a set of methods to probe ground state dominance. Our final results for the scalar charges are gSu=5.20(42)(15)(12), gSd=4.27(26)(15)(12), gSs=0.33(7)(1)(4), and gSc=0.062(13)(3)(5) and for the tensor charges gTu=0.794(16)(2)(13), gTd=-0.210(10)(2)(13), gTs=0.00032(24)(0), and gTc=0.00062(85)(0) in the MS¯ scheme at 2 GeV. The first error is statistical, the second is the systematic error due to the renormalization and the third the systematic arising from estimating the contamination due to the excited states, when our data are precise enough to probe the first excited state.

Ice nucleating particles over the Eastern Mediterranean measured by unmanned aircraft systems

Abstract: . During an intensive field campaign on aerosol, clouds, and ice nucleation in the Eastern Mediterranean in April 2016, we measured the abundance of ice nucleating particles (INPs) in the lower troposphere from unmanned aircraft systems (UASs). Aerosol samples were collected by miniaturized electrostatic precipitators onboard the UASs at altitudes up to 2.5 km. The number of INPs in these samples, which are active in the deposition and condensation modes at temperatures from −20 to −30 °C, were analyzed immediately after collection on site using the ice nucleus counter FRIDGE (FRankfurt Ice nucleation Deposition freezinG Experiment). During the 1-month campaign, we encountered a series of Saharan dust plumes that traveled at several kilometers' altitude. Here we present INP data from 42 individual flights, together with aerosol number concentrations, observations of lidar backscattering, dust concentrations derived by the dust transport model DREAM (Dust Regional Atmospheric Model), and results from scanning electron microscopy. The effect of the dust plumes is reflected by the coincidence of INPs with the particulate matter (PM), the lidar signal, and the predicted dust mass of the model. This suggests that mineral dust or a constituent related to dust was a major contributor to the ice nucleating properties of the aerosol. Peak concentrations of above 100 INPs std L−1 were measured at −30 °C. The INP concentration in elevated plumes was on average a factor of 10 higher than at ground level. Since desert dust is transported for long distances over wide areas of the globe predominantly at several kilometers' altitude, we conclude that INP measurements at ground level may be of limited significance for the situation at the level of cloud formation.

Eastern Pacific Coral Reef Provinces, Coral Community Structure and Composition: An Overview

Abstract: Advances in our knowledge of eastern tropical Pacific (ETP) coral reef biogeography and ecology during the past two decades are briefly reviewed. Fifteen ETP subregions are recognized, including mainland and island localities from the Gulf of California (Mexico) to Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile). Updated species lists reveal a mean increase of 4.2 new species records per locality or an overall increase of 19.2 % in species richness during the past decade. The largest increases occurred in tropical mainland Mexico, and in equatorial Costa Rica and Colombia, due mainly to continuing surveys of these under-studied areas. Newly discovered coral communities are also now known from the southern Nicaraguan coastline. To date 47 zooxanthellate scleractinian species have been recorded in the ETP, of which 33 also occur in the central/south Pacific, and 8 are presumed to be ETP endemics. Usually no more than 20–25 zooxanthellate coral species are present at any given locality, with the principal reef-building genera being Pocillopora, Porites, Pavona, and Gardineroseris. This compares with 62–163 species at four of the nearest central/south Pacific localities. Hydrocorals in the genus Millepora also occur in the ETP and are reviewed in the context of their global distributions. Coral community associates engaged in corallivory, bioerosion, and competition for space are noted for several localities. Reef framework construction in the ETP typically occurs at shallow depths (2–8 m) in sheltered habitats or at greater depths (10–30 m) in more exposed areas such as oceanic island settings with high water column light penetration. Generally, eastern Pacific reefs do not reach sea level with the development of drying reef flats, and instead experience brief periods of exposure during extreme low tides or drops in sea level during La Nina events. High rates of mortality during El Nino disturbances have occurred in many ETP equatorial areas, especially in Panama and the Galapagos Islands during the 1980s and 1990s. Remarkably, however, no loss of resident, zooxanthellate scleractinian species has occurred at these sites, and many ETP coral reefs have demonstrated significant recovery from these disturbances during the past two decades.

Low-lying baryon masses using N f = 2 twisted mass clover-improved fermions directly at the physical pion mass

Abstract: The masses of the low-lying baryons are evaluated using an ensemble with two degenerate light twisted mass clover-improved quarks with mass tuned to reproduce the physical pion mass. The Iwasaki improved gluonic action is employed. The coupling constant value corresponds to a lattice spacing of $a=0.0938(3)(2)\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{fm}$, determined from the nucleon mass. We find that the clover term supresses isospin symmetry breaking as compared to our previous results using ${N}_{f}=2+1+1$ twisted mass fermions. The masses of the hyperons and charmed baryons evaluated using this ensemble are in agreement with the experimental values. We provide predictions for the mass of the doubly charmed ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Xi}}}_{cc}^{*}$, as well as of the doubly and triply charmed $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}$s that have not yet been determined experimentally.