Search results for " RAD"
showing 10 items of 7082 documents
Evaluation of different methods to retrieve the hemispherical downwelling irradiance in the thermal infrared region for field measurements
2013
International audience; The thermal infrared hemispherical downwelling irradiance (HDI) emitted by the atmosphere and surrounding elements contributes through reflection to the signal measured over an observed surface by remote sensing. This irradiance must be estimated in order to obtain accurate values of land-surface temperature (LST). There are some fast methods to measure the HDI with a single measurement pointing to the sky at a specified viewing direction, but these methods require completely cloud-free or cloudy skies, and they do not account for the radiative contribution of surrounding elements. Another method is the use of a diffuse reflectance panel (usually, a rough gold-coated…
Global Sensitivity Analysis of Leaf-Canopy-Atmosphere RTMs: Implications for Biophysical Variables Retrieval from Top-of-Atmosphere Radiance Data.
2019
Knowledge of key variables driving the top of the atmosphere (TOA) radiance over a vegetated surface is an important step to derive biophysical variables from TOA radiance data, e.g., as observed by an optical satellite. Coupled leaf-canopy-atmosphere Radiative Transfer Models (RTMs) allow linking vegetation variables directly to the at-sensor TOA radiance measured. Global Sensitivity Analysis (GSA) of RTMs enables the computation of the total contribution of each input variable to the output variance. We determined the impacts of the leaf-canopy-atmosphere variables into TOA radiance using the GSA to gain insights into retrievable variables. The leaf and canopy RTM PROSAIL was coupled with…
New tree-ring evidence for the Late Glacial period from the northern pre-Alps in eastern Switzerland
2018
Abstract The rate and magnitude of temperature variability at the transition from the Last Glacial Maximum into the early Holocene represents a natural analog to current and predicted climate change. A limited number of high-resolution proxy archives, however, challenges our understanding of environmental conditions during this period. Here, we present combined dendrochronological and radiocarbon evidence from 253 newly discovered subfossil pine stumps from Zurich, Switzerland. The individual trees reveal ages of 41–506 years and were growing between the Allerod and Preboreal (∼13′900–11′300 cal BP). Together with previously collected pines from this region, this world's best preserved Late…
Volcanic climate forcing preceding the inception of the Younger Dryas: Implications for tracing the Laacher See eruption
2021
Climatic warming from the last glacial maximum to the current interglacial period was punctuated by a similar to 1300 years long cold period, commonly referred to as the Younger Dryas (YD). Several hypotheses have been proposed for the mechanism triggering the abrupt inception of the YD, including freshwater forcing, an extra-terrestrial impact, and aerosols from volcanic eruptions. Here, we use synchronised sulphate and sulphur records from both Greenland and Antarctic ice cores to reconstruct volcanic forcing between 13,200-12,800 a BPGICC05 (years before 1950 CE on the Greenland Ice Core Chronology 2005; GICC05). This continuous reconstruction of stratospheric sulphur injections highligh…
Spatial and temporal disparities in human subsistence in the Neolithic Rhineland gateway
2020
International audience; The Alsace region bordering the Rhine River was extensively occupied during the Neolithic by farming societies with domesticated animal. The first settlers were two sub-groups of the Linearbandkeramik who appeared to diverge in several respects, including: pottery styles, house orientations and funerary rituals. To explore whether this was reflected in food procurement practices investigations were performed of organic residues in nearly 900 pottery vessels from sites across the region. The results reveal lipid biomarker and stable carbon evidence for exploitation of plant and bee products, and most significantly, extensive domestic animal products including: non-rum…
Prehistoric palaeodemographics and regional land cover change in eastern Iberia
2019
Much attention has been placed on the drivers of vegetation change on the Iberian Peninsula. While climate plays a key role in determining the species pools within different regions and exerts a strong influence on broad vegetation patterning, the role of humans, particularly during prehistory, is less clear. The aim of this paper is to assess the influence of prehistoric population change on shaping vegetation patterns in eastern Iberia and the Balearic Islands between the start of the Neolithic and the late Bronze Age. In all, 3385 radiocarbon dates have been compiled across the study area to provide a palaeodemographic proxy (radiocarbon summed probability distributions (SPDs)). Modelled…
Les Ammonoïdes (Mollusca, Cephalopoda) : avancées et contributions récentes à la paléobiologie évolutive.
2009
12 pages; Les ammonoïdes qui perdurent 335 Ma constituent un modèle de choix dans l'analyse du fait évolutif. Cet article de synthèse se propose d'aborder (1) : leur place phylogénétique au sein des céphalopodes et le choix d'un modèle actuel de référence ; (2) : la construction d'espaces phénotypiques qui offrent un angle d'étude pertinent de l'évolution biologique ; (3) : les concordances et discordances entre reconstruction phylogénétique et registre fossile et (4) : les reconquêtes postcrises, modèles d'étude de l'évolution à grande échelle. Il ressort que les ammonoïdes peuvent servir d'appui à de nombreuses thématiques paléontologiques (dynamique de la biodiversité, analyse phylogénét…
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance and petrographic analysis for dating Mesolithic and Neolithic pottery from Al Khiday (Sudan)
2016
Abstract Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) dating, like luminescence techniques, is based on the time-dependent accumulation of trapped charges at mineral defect centres. However, Fe(III) ions prevent the common Continuous Wave (CW-EPR) approach for dating pottery, which always contains iron. The Pulsed method (ED-EPR) allowed this limitation to be overcome, with recording of radiation-induced defect signals, as shown by increased signal intensity after artificial irradiation of samples. The method was applied to studying Mesolithic and Neolithic pottery from Al Khiday (Central Sudan), characterized by quartz-rich tempers and coming from dated contexts. As the occurrence of a natural ED…
Taphonomic processes inconsistent with indigenous Mesolithic acculturation during the transition to the Neolithic in the Western Mediterranean
2018
Abstract We applied taphonomic analysis combined with geostatistical approaches to investigate the hypothesis that Cocina cave (Eastern Iberia) represents an acculturation context for the appearance of Neolithic Cardial pottery. In the 1970s, Fortea suggested that this important site was a prime example of acculturation because of the presence of early Neolithic pottery in late Mesolithic contexts. Since that time Cocina cave has been heralded as an example of indigenous hunter-gatherers incorporating Neolithic cultural elements into their lifeways. We analyzed the area excavated by Fortea in the 1970s by digitizing archaeological records and testing the spatial distribution of artifacts us…
Pathways towards a sustainable future envisioned by early-career conservation researchers
2021
Scientists have warned decision-makers about the severe consequences of the global environmental crisis since the 1970s. Yet ecological degradation continues and little has been done to address climate change. We investigated early-career conservation researchers' (ECR) perspectives on, and prioritization of, actions furthering sustainability. We conducted a survey (n = 67) and an interactive workshop (n = 35) for ECR attendees of the 5th European Congress of Conservation Biology (2018). Building on these data and discussions, we identified ongoing and forthcoming advances in conservation science. These include increased transdisciplinarity, science communication, advocacy in conservati…