Transgression from drawing to making

a peer reviewed journal article

HATCHLING SEX RATIOS AND LOCOMOTOR PERFORMANCE OF MIDLAND PAINTED TURTLES (CHRYSEMYS PICTA MARGINATA)

The primary objectives of this study were to understand how canopy cover and nest temperatures affect hatchling sex ratios and locomotor performance (i.e., swimming sprint speed and righting response) of Chrysemys picta marginata nests. Seventeen nests were monitored with temperature data-loggers during the 2009 nesting season and found to contain 100% male-biased clutches with a mean nest temperature range of 20.0–24.0°C during the thermosensitive period (TSP). The percentage of canopy cover over each nest was inversely and significantly correlated with mean nest temperatures experienced during the TSP. Mean nest temperatures (MNT) did not have a statistical effect on either measure of locomotor performance; however, there was an observed trend toward increased performance with increased MNT

Where do winds come from? A new theory on how water vapor condensation influences atmospheric pressure and dynamics

Phase transitions of atmospheric water play a ubiquitous role in the Earth's climate system, but their direct impact on atmospheric dynamics has escaped wide attention. Here we examine and advance a theory as to how condensation influences atmospheric pressure through the mass removal of water from the gas phase with a simultaneous account of the latent heat release. Building from the fundamental physical principles we show that condensation is associated with a decline in air pressure in the lower atmosphere. This decline occurs up to a certain height, which ranges from 3 to 4 km for surface temperatures from 10 to 30 deg C. We then estimate the horizontal pressure differences associated with water vapor condensation and find that these are comparable in magnitude with the pressure differences driving observed circulation patterns. The water vapor delivered to the atmosphere via evaporation represents a store of potential energy available to accelerate air and thus drive winds. Our estimates suggest that the global mean power at which this potential energy is released by condensation is around one per cent of the global solar power -- this is similar to the known stationary dissipative power of general atmospheric circulation. We conclude that condensation and evaporation merit attention as major, if previously overlooked, factors in driving atmospheric dynamics

People priorities and perceptions. Towards conservation partnership in Mamberamo

Conservation International Indonesia has launched several initiatives in the Mamberamo area since early 2000, targeting biodiversity conservation and sustainable environmental management, as well as facilitating the development of the "Mamberamo Biodiversity Corridor". The Mamberamo watershed is noted as Papua¿s most important area of undisturbed terrestrial ecosystems, which contain high levels of biodiversity. Since 2004 CI and CIFOR have collaborated to adapt and apply an interdisciplinary approach to the study of local perceptions of natural resources, forest landscapes and biodiversity, including local priorities for their management. The 2004 survey revealed a strong sense of ownership of this vast territory, a strong commitment to guard specific areas in the landscape and to maintain key resources, but also species with less tangible values. This report refers to the follow-up activities in Mamberamo developed by CIFOR and CI in 2006. The new activities included additional socio-economic surveys in three villages. The accuracy of the participatory maps of the natural resources and important landscape features were improved using GPS ground checks. Participatory maps of territorial land claims and land use by clans were also drafted. Additional information was then collected on local biodiversity monitoring and control of the land and resources. The results show that local communities with village territories of between 1000 and 1700 km2 per village which they regularly patrol, have a strong awareness of the threats to their wild resources, and equally the need to maintain the watershed¿s services. Based on these results, we recommend that the land-use maps should be used to negotiate with local people the zoning of future conservation areas. Conservation management should also be designed to support existing systems in order to maintain balance in the face of outside intrusions and to survey strategic villages the length of the Mamberamo Biodiversity Corridor. Rather than introducing new rules, which pay no heed to local cultures and traditions, the search should be for traditional rules and regulations that have managed to conserve this vast area, of near pristine forests, for generations. (Résumé d'auteur

Forests, people, and the rest of the world: local participation in REDD+ Measuring, Reporting and Verification (PMRV)

Community's participation has been promoted as a way to empower local communities in REDD+ programs. A particular goal is that they would monitor forest change and measure carbon stocks, and thus reduce the costs of such assessments. More generically, the recent Paris Climate Agreement has further emphasized the need for transparency in reporting, the importance of the land use sector for both mitigation and adaptation, and the fact the targets can only be achieved through bottom-up engagement of multiple actors. So far, little empirical evidence shows that participatory measurement, reporting and verification (PMRV) is feasible. A series of multidisciplinary studies investigated the feasibility of local participation into MRV. The research was conducted in Indonesia, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Mexico, and China. We find that effective PMRV requires local communities' motivation. Motivation depends on people's knowledge, their interests, incentives, tenure, and the relevance of these monitoring activities to their other livelihood activities. Monitoring and reporting changes in forest cover, drivers of change, and carbon sequestration, are in general costly and require the capacity to monitor and report. Other sectors provide some relevant lessons and experiences on reporting from village to national levels. In Indonesia, for example, we learned that the health care system has simpler governance for monitoring and reporting compared to the forestry sector and has successfully been in place for more than 40 years. In contrast, the forestry sector failed in engaging local communities in the reporting of timber and non-timber forest products. Verification refers to assessing the accuracy, consistency and transparency of measurements to verify the attainment of emission reduction targets. We explain how verification can use a combination of remote sensing data, land use and land cover maps developed by/with villagers to identify gaps and points of disagreement, for which ground check will be necessary. The notion of "independent" monitoring and multi-stakeholder engagement is gaining momentum and the role of participatory approaches linking both monitoring and management will be central. Communities will play a major role in achieving REDD+ but this requires greater attention to their needs and motivations. (Texte intégral

Labor Stress and Nursing Support: How do They Relate?

Selected aspects of the phenomenon of labor stress including the relationship between labor stress and nursing support were explored using a correlational design with 85 postpartum women who delivered vaginally and were recruited from a Midwestern general hospital in the United States. The Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire measured labor stress while the Bryanton Adaptation of the Nursing Support in Labor Questionnaire measured nursing support during labor. Significant positive correlations were found between number of labor hours and labor stress (r = .25, p = .020) and number of labor hours and number of labor procedures (r = .23, p = .031). A significant negative correlation (r = - .36, p \u3c .01) between labor stress and nursing support was found. Data from this study confirmed previous findings regarding nursing support and emphasized the important role that nursing support plays in alleviating labor stress

Comment on "The Tropospheric Land-Sea Warming Contrast as the Driver of Tropical Sea Level Pressure Changes" by Bayr and Dommenget

T Bayr and D Dommenget [J. Climate 26 (2013) 1387] proposed a model of temperature-driven air redistribution to quantify the ratio between changes of sea level pressure $p_s$ and mean tropospheric temperature $T_a$ in the tropics. This model assumes that the height of the tropical troposphere is isobaric. Here problems with this model are identified. A revised relationship between $p_s$ and $T_a$ is derived governed by two parameters -- the isobaric and isothermal heights -- rather than just one. Further insight is provided by the model of R S Lindzen and S Nigam [J. Atmos. Sci. 44 (1987) 2418], which was the first to use the concept of isobaric height to relate tropical $p_s$ to air temperature, and did this by assuming that isobaric height is always around 3 km and isothermal height is likewise near constant. Observational data, presented here, show that neither of these heights is spatially universal nor do their mean values match previous assumptions. Analyses show that the ratio of the long-term changes in $p_s$ and $T_a$ associated with land-sea temperature contrasts in a warming climate -- the focus of Bayr and Dommenget [2013] -- is in fact determined by the corresponding ratio of spatial differences in the annual mean $p_s$ and $T_a$. The latter ratio, reflecting lower pressure at higher temperature in the tropics, is dominated by meridional pressure and temperature differences rather than by land-sea contrasts. Considerations of isobaric heights are shown to be unable to predict either spatial or temporal variation in $p_s$. As noted by Bayr and Dommenget [2013], the role of moisture dynamics in generating sea level pressure variation remains in need of further theoretical investigations.Comment: 26 pages, 11 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1404.101

Quantifying the global atmospheric power budget

The power of atmospheric circulation is a key measure of the Earth's climate system. The mismatch between predictions and observations under a warming climate calls for a reassessment of how atmospheric power $W$ is defined, estimated and constrained. Here we review published formulations for $W$ and show how they differ when applied to a moist atmosphere. Three factors, a non-zero source/sink in the continuity equation, the difference between velocities of gaseous air and condensate, and interaction between the gas and condensate modifying the equations of motion, affect the formulation of $W$. Starting from the thermodynamic definition of mechanical work, we derive an expression for $W$ from an explicit consideration of the equations of motion and continuity. Our analyses clarify how some past formulations are incomplete or invalid. Three caveats are identified. First, $W$ critically depends on the boundary condition for gaseous air velocity at the Earth's surface. Second, confusion between gaseous air velocity and mean velocity of air and condensate in the expression for $W$ results in gross errors despite the observed magnitudes of these velocities are very close. Third, $W$ expressed in terms of measurable atmospheric parameters, air pressure and velocity, is scale-specific; this must be taken into account when adding contributions to $W$ from different processes. We present a formulation of the atmospheric power budget, which distinguishes three components of $W$: the kinetic power associated with horizontal pressure gradients ($W_K$), the gravitational power of precipitation ($W_P$) and the condensate loading ($W_c$). We use MERRA and NCAR/NCEP re-analyses to evaluate the atmospheric power budget at different scales: $W_K$ increases with temporal resolution approaching our theoretical estimate for condensation-induced circulation when all convective motion is resolved.Comment: 55 pages, 14 figures; minor revisions after another discussion, see https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2017-17-AC7 and www.bioticregulation.ru/ab.php?id=h