University of the Aegean

About: University of the Aegean is a education organization based out in Mytilene, Greece. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 2818 authors who have published 8100 publications receiving 179275 citations. The organization is also known as: UAEG.

A land for flowers and bees: studying pollination ecology in Mediterranean communities

Abstract: Plant – pollinator relationships are of great importance to ecosystem health. Here, we review the importance of Mediterranean habitats for bees, and interactions between plants and pollinators using the pollinator food web approach. We explore the characteristics of reward and attraction in plants, the utility of pollination syndromes and, most importantly, the effect of disturbance and human influence on plant – pollinator communities in the Mediterranean. Finally, we address the major impediment faced in pollination studies in the Mediterranean, i.e., the taxonomic limitation of bees and aculeates in general, and we introduce the ‘Melissotheque of the Aegean’ a reference bee collection that aims to place some taxonomic capacity in the eastern Mediterranean area.

Development and evaluation of an urban parameterization scheme in the Penn State/NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5)

Abstract: [1] In the present study, the Penn State/NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5) was modified by considering recent advances in the urban boundary layer. In particular, the modifications were carried out in two directions: (1) With respect to the thermal properties of an urban surface the surface energy balance was modified by taking into account the anthropogenic heat released in urban areas and the urban heat storage term to account for urban/building mass effects, including hysteresis; and (2) the surface stress and fluxes of heat and momentum were modified following recent advances in the atmospheric boundary layer over rough surfaces under unstable conditions. The whole process was supplemented by detailed information on land use cover, derived from satellite image analysis. The modifications were applied to the high-resolution nonlocal medium-range forecast planetary boundary layer parameterization scheme, based on work by Troen and Mahrt (1986). The improvements seen with the modified model, after comparison with available measurements of temperature and fluxes, refer to (1) the strengthening of the nocturnal urban heat island; (2) the changes in the temperature, which proved to be favorable through the whole diurnal cycle, resulting in decreasing the temperature amplitude wave; (3) the decrease of turbulence and fluxes during the daytime; and (4) the diffusion coefficient and potential temperature profiles that are reduced during daytime and are increased at the lower levels during the night and thus affect accordingly the mixing height.