Basic concepts for convection parameterization in weather forecast and climate models: COST Action ES0905 final report

The research network “Basic Concepts for Convection Parameterization in Weather Forecast and Climate Models” was organized with European funding (COST Action ES0905) for the period of 2010–2014. Its extensive brainstorming suggests how the subgrid-scale parameterization problem in atmospheric modeling, especially for convection, can be examined and developed from the point of view of a robust theoretical basis. Our main cautions are current emphasis on massive observational data analyses and process studies. The closure and the entrainment–detrainment problems are identified as the two highest priorities for convection parameterization under the mass–flux formulation. The need for a drastic change of the current European research culture as concerns policies and funding in order not to further deplete the visions of the European researchers focusing on those basic issues is emphasized.

Basic theory behind parameterizing atmospheric convection

Last fall, a network of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST), called “Basic Concepts for Convection Parameterization in Weather Forecast and Climate Models” (COST Action ES0905; see http://w3.cost.esf.org/index.php?id=205&action_number=ES0905), organized a 10-day training course on atmospheric convection and its parameterization. The aim of the workshop, held on the island of Brac, Croatia, was to help young scientists develop an in-depth understanding of the core theory underpinning convection parameterizations. The speakers also sought to impart an appreciation of the various approximations, compromises, and ansatz necessary to translate theory into operational practice for numerical models.

Design of redundant drive joint with adjustable stiffness and damping mechanism to improve joint admittance

Improving admittance of robotic joints is the key issue for making rehabilitation robots safe. This paper describes a design of Redundant Drive Joint (RD-Joint) which allows greater flexibility in the design of robotic mechanisms. The design strategy of the RD-Joint employs a systematic approach which consists of 1) adopting a redundant joint mechanism with internal kinematical redundancy to reduce effective joint inertia, and 2) adopting an adjustable admittance mechanism with a novel Cross link Reduction Mechanism and mechanical springs and dampers as a passive second actuator. First, the basic concepts used to construct the redundant drive joint mechanism are explained, in particular the method that allows a reduction in effective inertia at the output joint. The basic structure of the RD-Joint is introduced based on the idea of reduced inertia along with a method to include effective stiffness and damping. Then, the basic design of the adjustable admittance mechanism is described. Finally, a prototype of RD-joint is described and its expected characteristics are discussed.

Energy efficient building design

This chapter covers the basic concepts of passive building design and its relevant strategies, including passive solar heating, shading, natural ventilation, daylighting and thermal mass. In environments with high seasonal peak temperatures and/or humidity (e.g. cities in temperate regions experiencing the Urban Heat Island effect), wholly passive measures may need to be supplemented with low and zero carbon technologies (LZCs). The chapter also includes three case studies: one residential, one demonstrational and one academic facility (that includes an innovative passive downdraught cooling (PDC) strategy) to illustrate a selection of passive measures.

Proposal of redundant drive wire mechanism for producing motions with high acceleration and high precision

A new wire mechanism called Redundant Drive Wire Mechanism (RDWM) is proposed. The purpose of this paper is to build up the theory of a RDWM with fast motion and fine motion. First, the basic concepts of the proposed mechanism is presented. Second, the vector closure condition for the proposed mechanism is developed. Next, we present the basic equations, propose the basic structure of RDWM with the Internal DOF module, Double Actuation Modules and Precision Modules together with the properties of the mechanism. Finally, we conduct the simulation to show the validity of the RDWM.

Megacities and climate change: a brief overview

Cities have developed into the hotspots of human economic activity. From the appearance of the first cities in the Neolithic to 21st century metropolis their impact on the environment has always been apparent. With more people living in cities than in rural environments now it becomes crucial to understand these environmental impacts. With the immergence of megacities in the 20th century and their continued growth in both, population and economic power, the environmental impact has reached the global scale. In this paper we examine megacity impacts on atmospheric composition and climate. We present basic concepts, discuss various definitions of footprints, summarize research on megacity impacts and assess the impact of megacity emissions on air quality and on the climate at the regional to global scale. The intention and ambition of this paper is to give a comprehensive but brief overview of the science with regard to megacities and the environment.

Excitation and decay of solar-wind driven flows in the magnetosphere-ionosphere system

Basic concepts of the form of high-latitude ionospheric flows and their excitation and decay are discussed in the light of recent high time-resolution measurements made by ground-based radars. It is first pointed out that it is in principle impossible to adequately parameterize these flows by any single quantity derived from concurrent interplanetary conditions. Rather, even at its simplest, the flow must be considered to consist of two basic time-dependent components. The first is the flow driven by magnetopause coupling processes alone, principally by dayside reconnection. These flows may indeed be reasonably parameterized in terms of concurrent near-Earth interplanetary conditions, principally by the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) vector. The second is the flow driven by tail reconnection alone. As a first approximation these flows may also be parameterized in terms of interplanetary conditions, principally the north-south component of the IMF, but with a delay in the flow response of around 30-60 min relative to the IMF. A delay in the tail response of this order must be present due to the finite speed of information propagation in the system, and we show how "growth" and "decay" of the field and flow configuration then follow as natural consequences. To discuss the excitation and decay of the two reconnection-driven components of the flow we introduce that concept of a flow-free equilibrium configuration for a magnetosphere which contains a given (arbitrary) amount of open flux. Reconnection events act either to create or destroy open flux, thus causing departures of the system from the equilibrium configuration. Flow is then excited which moves the system back towards equilibrium with the changed amount of open flux. We estimate that the overall time scale associated with the excitation and decay of the flow is about 15 min. The response of the system to both impulsive (flux transfer event) and continuous reconnection is discussed in these terms.

Being and goodness

The old scholastic principle of the "convertibility" of being and goodness strikes nearly all moderns as either barely comprehensible or plain false. "Convertible" is a term of art meaning "interchangeable" in respect of predication, where the predicates can be exchanged salva veritate albeit not salva sensu: their referents are, as the maxim goes, really the same albeit conceptually different. The principle seems, at first blush, absurd. Did the scholastics literally mean that every being is good? Is that supposed to include a cancer, a malaria parasite, an earthquake that kills millions? If every being is good, then no being is bad—but how can that be? To the contemporary philosophical mind, such bafflement is understandable. It derives from the systematic dismantling of the great scholastic edifice that took place over half a millennium. With the loss of the basic concepts out of which that edifice was built, the space created by those concepts faded out of existence as well. The convertibility principle, like virtually all the other scholastic principles (not all, since some do survive and thrive in analytic philosophy), could not persist in a post-scholastic space wholly alien to it.

General concepts in meteorology and dynamics

The aim of this chapter is to give a general overview of the atmospheric circulation, highlighting the main concepts that are important for a basic understanding of meteorology and atmospheric dynamics relevant to atmospheric data assimilation.