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opencc-by-4.0Nov 2019View details →

Global Fire Weather Indices - FWI using default DC start-up

This dataset was developed by Natural Resources Canada using the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ERA5-HRS Reanalysis product (C3S, 2017) as inputs to the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System R Package (Wang et al. 2017). The dataset provides gridded values of the Canadian Fire Weather Index (FWI) System indices of fuel moisture and fire behaviour, including the Fine Fuel Moisture Code (FFMC), Duff Moisture Code (DMC), Drought Code (DC), Initial Spread Index (ISI), Build-Up Index (BUI), Fire Weather Index (FWI), and Daily Severity rating (DSR). Each of these indices are produced using two calculation methods applied at the beginning of fire season start-up. The first method used the default DC value (DC=15) to start-up the FWI System calculation and only accounted for the longest stretch of active fire season each year (as determined by Wotton and Flannigan, 1993). The second method used the overwintered DC value, calculated from the DC value of the last day of the previous fire season and a percentage of overwinter precipitation, and accounted for all periods of fire season throughout the year. We recommend users of this data use indices where DC has been overwintered in regions where the fire season shuts off for winter and where low overwinter precipitation occurs (eg. parts of western Canada, the western US and the Siberian Boreal forest). References: Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) (2017): ERA5: Fifth generation of ECMWF atmospheric reanalyses of the global climate . Copernicus Climate Change Service Climate Data Store (CDS), Accessed June 20th 2019. <a href="https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/cdsapp#!/home">https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/cdsapp#!/home</a> Wang, X., Wotton, B. M., Cantin, A. S., Parisien, M. A., Anderson, K., Moore, B., & Flannigan, M. D. (2017). cffdrs: an R package for the Canadian forest fire danger rating system. Ecological Processes, 6(1), 5. Wotton, B. M., & Flannigan, M. D. (1993). Length of the fire season in a changing climate. The Forestry Chronicle, 69(2), 187-192.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2019View details →

Global Fire Weather Indices - BUI using default DC start-up

Discrimination of biological scatterers in polarimetric weather radar data: opportunities and challenges

The associated dataset represents the base training/test data used for analyses by S. Gauthreax and R. Diehl in “Discrimination of biological scatterers in polarimetric weather radar data: opportunities and challenges.”

Discussion Survey from Chapman Conference on Scientific Challenges Pertaining to Space Weather Forecasting Including Extremes

These files include summaries of pre-meeting survey of  important topics to discuss at the Chapman Conference on Scientific Challenges Pertaining to Space Weather Forecasting Including Extremes The Chapman Conference was supported by NASA Grants: 936723.02.01.09.14 and 936723.02.01.11.21 and by NSF Award AGS 1848885

Questions for Presenters at the Chapman Conference on Scientific Challenges Pertaining to Space Weather Forecasting Including Extremes

This file lists the questions asked of  Chapman Conference presenters by the Chapman Conference attendees. -Questions, along with presenter names and presentation titles are included -The document contains        1) an explanation sheet          2) a sheet with all questions sorted by day and presenter         3) a sheet with questions that were asked in a general setting. The materials have been lightly edited to spell out acronyms, correct spelling and clarify non specific references when possible. The Chapman Conference on Scientific Challenges Pertaining to Space Weather Forecasting Including Extremes was supported by NASA Grants 936723.02.01.09.14 and 936723.02.01.11.21 and by  NSF Award AGS 1848885

Priorities Survey from the Chapman Conference on Scientific Challenges Pertaining to Space Weather Forecasting Including Extremes

Mid-meeting survey results on Priorities from the Chapman Conference on Scientific Challenges Pertaining to Space Weather Forecasting Including Extremes 2 Files are provided:  An Excel Spreadsheet and a summary pdf of highest priorities. Statistics compiled by Tomoko Matsuo The Chapman Conference was supported by NSF Award AGS 1848885 and NASA grants  936723.02.01.09.14 and  936723.02.01.11.21

Discussion Notes from Chapman Conference on Scientific Challenges Pertaining to Space Weather Forecasting Including Extremes

Discussion notes from the Chapman Conference on Scientific Challenges Pertaining to Space Weather Forecasting Including Extremes Notes from Days 1, 3 and 4 are provided.  Conference Day 2 was a 'Poster Day' These notes were aggregated from meeting scribes and conveners The Chapman Conference was supported by NSF Award AGS 1848885 and NASA grants  936723.02.01.09.14 and  936723.02.01.11.21

Table of Contents for Meeting Artifacts from Chapman Conference on Scientific Challenges Pertaining to Space Weather Forecasting Including Extremes

Table of Contents of Meeting Artifacts and Output from the Chapman Conference on Scientific Challenges Pertaining to Space Weather Forecasting Including Extremes, 11-15 February 2019, Pasadena, CA, USA Each entry in the table of contents provides a short description and/or artifact title, along with the number of associated files and a weblink showing the associated DOI or permanent URL. The Chapman Conference was supported by NSF Award AGS 1848885 and NASA grants  936723.02.01.09.14 and  936723.02.01.11.21

opencc-by-4.0Jun 2020View details →

SailBuoy weather measurements during NORSE19 experiment

Weather measurements from SailBuoy weather station during NORSE2019 experiment. The data and experiment is described in Brekke et al., Integration of multi-sensor datasets and oil drift simulations - a free floating oil experiment in open ocean, to be submitted to JGR Oceans June 2020.

opencc-by-4.0Jul 2020View details →

Distinguishing Between Shock Darkening and Space Weathering Trends in Ordinary Chondrite Reflectance Spectra

The data file contains raw spectra of Chelyabinsk meteorite IM, SD, and SW series as described in the linked journal publication.

opencc-zeroAug 2020View details →

Moisture alone is sufficient to impart strength but not weathering resistance to termite mound soil

Soil is used for construction of structures by many animals, at times admixed with endogenous secretions. These additives, along with soil components, are suggested to have a role in biocementation. However, the relative contribution of endogenous and exogenous materials to soil strength has not been adequately established. Termite mounds are earthen structures with exceptional strength and durability including weathering resistance to wind and rain. With in-situ and lab-based experiments we demonstrate that the fungus-farming termite Odontotermes obesus which builds soil nest mounds, when given a choice, prefers soil close to its liquid limit for construction. At this moisture content, the soil–water mixture alone even in the absence of termite handling undergoes self-weight consolidation and upon drying attains a monolithic, densely packed structure with compressive strength comparable to the in-situ strength of the mound soil; however, the soil–water mixture alone has lower resistance to water erosion than the in-situ mound samples suggesting that termite secretions impart weathering resistance and thereby long-term stability to the mound. Therefore, weathering resistance and compressive strength are conferred by different aspects of termite soil manipulation. Our work provides novel insights into termite mound construction and strength correlates for earthen structures built by animals.

opencc-by-4.0Aug 2020View details →

In situ microcosms deployed at the coast of British Columbia (Canada) to study dilbit weathering and associated microbial communities under marine conditions. (Metagenomic data support).

This file repository contains the co-assembly of all samples from the manuscript entitled "In situ microcosms deployed at the coast of British Columbia (Canada) to study dilbit weathering and associated microbial communities under marine conditions". It also contains predicted genes sequence files in faa (fasta amino acids) and fna (fasta nucleic acids) formats.

opencc-by-4.0Oct 2020View details →

Tabular representation of weather and Housing data used in EDA

This is the historical weather data of North America recorded in 2012.

opencc-zeroOct 2021View details →

Data from: Sampling beetle communities: trap design interacts with weather and species traits to bias capture rates

Globally, many insect populations are declining, prompting calls for action. Yet these findings have also prompted discussion about sampling methods and interpretation of long-term datasets. As insect monitoring and research efforts increase, it is critical to quantify the effectiveness of sampling methods. This is especially true if sampling biases of different methods covary with climate, which is also changing over time. We assess the effectiveness of two types of flight intercept traps commonly used for beetles, a diverse insect group responsible for numerous ecosystem services, under different climatic conditions in Norwegian boreal forest. One of these trap designs includes a device to prevent rainwater from entering the collection vial, diluting preservatives and flushing out beetles. This design is compared to a standard trap. We ask how beetle capture rates vary between these traps, and how these differences vary based on precipitation levels and beetle body size, an important species trait. Bayesian mixed models reveal that the standard and modified traps differ in their beetle capture rates, but that the magnitude and direction of these differences change with precipitation levels and beetle body size. At low rainfall levels standard traps catch more beetles, but as precipitation increases the catch rates of modified traps overtake those of standard traps. This effect is most pronounced for large-bodied beetles. Sampling methods are known to differ in their effectiveness. Here, we present evidence for a less well-known but likely common phenomenon - an interaction between climate and sampling, such that relative effectiveness of trap types for beetle sampling differs depending on precipitation levels and species traits. This highlights a challenge for long-term monitoring programs, where both climate and insect populations are changing. Sampling methods should be sought that eliminate climate interactions, any biases should be quantified, and all insect datasets should include detailed methodological metadata.

opencc-zeroSep 2021View details →

Data from: Seed quality and seed quantity in red maple depends on weather and individual tree characteristics

Under future climate change, plant species are expected to shift their ranges in response to increasing temperatures and altered precipitation patterns. As seeds represent the single opportunity for plants to move, it is critical to quantify the factors that influence reproduction. While total seed production is clearly important, seed quality is equally as critical and often overlooked. Thus, to quantify how environmental and tree-level characteristics affect seed quality and quantity, the reproductive output of red maple (Acer rubrum) was measured along an elevation gradient in the Monongahela National Forest, WV. A variety of individual-level characteristics were measured (i.e., DBH, canopy area, tree cores), and seed traps were placed under seed-bearing trees to collect samaras and quantify total seed production. A random subsample of collected seeds from each tree were micro-CT scanned to determine embryo volume, photographed for morphology measurements, and used for germination trials. The number of seeds produced was negatively affected by frost events during flowering, and stand density. The trees with the most seeds also showed reduced growth in recent years. Only 63% of scanned seeds showed embryo development, and of those seeds – only 23% germinated. The likelihood of embryo presence increased as growth rate decreased, while embryo size increased with tree height, smaller DBH, and in areas dominated by hemlock. Both larger embryo volume and larger overall seed size increased the likelihood of germination. The results highlight the importance of including seed quality in addition to seed quantity for a more complete representation of reproductive output.

opencc-zeroDec 2015View details →

Data from: Exploiting Poisson additivity to predict fire frequency from maps of fire weather and land cover in boreal forests of Québec, Canada

Predictive models of fire frequency conditional on weather and land cover are essential to assess how future cover-type distributions and weather conditions may influence fire regimes. We modelled the effects of bottom-up variables (e.g. land cover) and top-down variables (e.g. fire weather) simultaneously with data aggregated or interpolated to spatial and temporal units of 100 km2 and 1yr in the boreal forest of Québec, Canada. For models of human-caused fires, we used road density as a surrogate for human access and behaviour. We exploited the additive property of Poisson distributions to estimate cover-type specific fire count rates, which would normally not be possible with data of this spatial resolution. We used piecewise linear functions to model nonlinear relations between fire weather and fire frequency for each cover-type simultaneously. The estimated conditional rates may be considered as expected mean counts per unit area and time. It follows that these rates can be rescaled to arbitrary spatial and temporal extents. Our results showed fire frequency increased nonlinearly as aridity increased and more quickly in disturbed areas than other types. Road density exerted the strongest influence on the frequency of human-caused fires, which were positively correlated with road density. The estimates may be used to parameterize the fire ignition component of spatial simulation models, which often have a resolution different from that at which the data were collected. This is an essential step in incorporating biotic and abiotic feedbacks, land-cover dynamics, and climate projections into ecological forecasting. The insight into the power of Poisson additivity to reveal high-resolution ecological processes from low-resolution data could have applications in other areas of ecology.

opencc-zeroDec 2010View details →

Data from: The effect of weathering on bird bone survivorship in modern and fossil saline-alkaline lake environments

A modern Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) assemblage was collected along the shoreline of Lake Emakat, a saline-alkaline lake in northern Tanzania. Taphonomic analysis found the assemblage to be heavily weathered. This is likely due to the bone's heightened exposure to solar radiation and corrosive soil and water chemistries, as is expected to occur in such depositional environments. Analysis found that deep, wide, longitudinal cracks penetrate the medullar cavities of both weathered and unweathered long bones. The cause and taphonomic consequence of these cracks are addressed here, using data from Lake Emakat and from controlled studies. Results support repeated (episodic) submersion, followed by drying, as the causal mechanism behind these wet-dry cracks. Mineral salt uptake by bone may explain the early appearance and prevalence of these cracks in saline-alkaline lake settings, as compared to other depositional settings. The rate of weathering and incidence of wet-dry cracking varies significantly across limb elements. This difference correlates to element specific resistance properties to external loading forces. Heavy weathering weakens the structural integrity of bone and can accelerate its fragmentation. This can lead to bird bone loss in nearshore and ephemeral wetland settings, which may then affect resulting skeletal part, diversity, and richness profiles. Heavy weathering can therefore obscure important taphonomic and paleoecological information. The weathering data collected here are then applied to a fossil bird assemblage from the FLK Complex, (late Pliocene), Olduvai Gorge, in Tanzania. Results provide evidence for the effect of weathering on paleoecological and behavioral interpretations. Weathering should be considered when analyzing fossil bird assemblages.

opencc-zeroDec 2017View details →

Data from: Local weather and body condition influence habitat use and movements on land of molting female southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina)

Southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) are known to move and aggregate while moulting, but little is known about their behaviour on land during this time. In this study, 60 adult females were monitored (23 with GPS tags) during four moulting seasons, between 2012 and 2016 at Kerguelen Archipelago, Indian Ocean. Population surveys were recorded each year (N = 230 daily counts) and habitat use was analysed in relation to the stage of the moult and local weather. Based on stage of moult, habitat use and movements on land, we classified the moult of elephant seals into three phases: 1) a "search phase" at the initial stage of moult when grass and wallow habitats were used and characterised by greater mean distances travelled on land per day compared with the two other phases, 2) a "resident phase": during initial and mid-stage of moult when animals were found in grass and wallow habitats but with less distance moved on land, and 3) a "termination phase" at the final stage of moult where grass and beach habitats were occupied with no change in distances. Windchill and solar radiation influenced individual distances moved per day (mean 590 ± 237.0 m) at the mid and final stage of moult, such that animals travelled greater distances on days of low windchill or high solar radiation. Individual variation in distance moved and relative habitat use were also linked to body mass index (BMI) at arrival on the colony, as females with higher BMI moved less and preferred beach habitat. Moreover, the individual rate of moult increased with the use of wallows. Aggregation rate tended to be negatively correlated with distances moved. We therefore suggest that individuals face an energetic trade-off while moulting, balancing energy expenditure between movement and thermoregulation.

opencc-zeroAug 2019View details →

Data from: Stochasticity and infectious disease dynamics: density and weather effects on a fungal insect pathogen

In deterministic models of epidemics, there is a host abundance threshold, above which the introduction of a few infected individuals leads to a severe epidemic. Studies of weather-driven animal pathogens often assume that abundance thresholds will be overwhelmed by weather-driven stochasticity, but tests of this assumption are lacking. We collected observational and experimental data for a fungal pathogen, {\it Entomophaga maimaiga}, that infects the gypsy moth, {\it Lymantria dispar}. We used an advanced statistical-computing algorithm to fit mechanistic models to our data, such that different models made different assumptions about the effects of host density and weather on {\it E. maimaiga} epizootics (epidemics in animals). We then used AIC analysis to choose the best model. In the best model, epizootics are driven by a combination of weather and host density, and the model does an excellent job of explaining the data, whereas models that allow only for weather effects, or only density-dependence effects, do a poor job of explaining the data. Density-dependent transmission in our best model produces a host-density threshold, but this threshold is strongly blurred by the stochastic effects of weather. Our work shows that host-abundance thresholds may be important even if weather strongly affects transmission, suggesting that epidemiological models that allow for weather have an important role to play in understanding animal pathogens. The success of our model means that it could be useful for managing the gypsy moth, an important pest of hardwood forests in North America.