On the decorrelation filtering of RL05 GRACE data for global applications

In autumn 2012, the new release 05 (RL05) of monthly geopotencial spherical harmonics Stokes coefficients (SC) from GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) mission was published. This release reduces the noise in high degree and order SC, but they still need to be filtered. One of the most common filtering processing is the combination of decorrelation and Gaussian filters. Both of them are parameters dependent and must be tuned by the users. Previous studies have analyzed the parameters choice for the RL05 GRACE data for oceanic applications, and for RL04 data for global application. This study updates the latter for RL05 data extending the statistics analysis. The choice of the parameters of the decorrelation filter has been optimized to: (1) balance the noise reduction and the geophysical signal attenuation produced by the filtering process; (2) minimize the differences between GRACE and model-based data; (3) maximize the ratio of variability between continents and oceans. The Gaussian filter has been optimized following the latter criteria. Besides, an anisotropic filter, the fan filter, has been analyzed as an alternative to the Gauss filter, producing better statistics.

EnvironmentalWaveletTool: Continuous and discrete wavelet analysis and filtering for environmental time series

A MATLAB-based computer code has been developed for the simultaneous wavelet analysis and filtering of several environmental time series, particularly focused on the analyses of cave monitoring data. The continuous wavelet transform, the discrete wavelet transform and the discrete wavelet packet transform have been implemented to provide a fast and precise time–period examination of the time series at different period bands. Moreover, statistic methods to examine the relation between two signals have been included. Finally, the entropy of curves and splines based methods have also been developed for segmenting and modeling the analyzed time series. All these methods together provide a user-friendly and fast program for the environmental signal analysis, with useful, practical and understandable results.

Estimation of Key Dates and Stages in Rice Crops Using Dual-Polarization SAR Time Series and a Particle Filtering Approach

Information of crop phenology is essential for evaluating crop productivity. In a previous work, we determined phenological stages with remote sensing data using a dynamic system framework and an extended Kalman filter (EKF) approach. In this paper, we demonstrate that the particle filter is a more reliable method to infer any phenological stage compared to the EKF. The improvements achieved with this approach are discussed. In addition, this methodology enables the estimation of key cultivation dates, thus providing a practical product for many applications. The dates of some important stages, as the sowing date and the day when the crop reaches the panicle initiation stage, have been chosen to show the potential of this technique.

Irrigation canals in a semi-arid agricultural landscape surrounded by wetlands: Their role as a habitat for birds during the breeding season

Traditional water supply systems in semi-arid agrarian ecosystems, mainly irrigation canals, contribute to the diversity of the landscape and influence the composition of species. To evaluate their effect on bird communities in the breeding season, we selected a rural area in southeastern Spain, where an intricate and extensive network of irrigation canals and cultivated areas is located between two wetlands declared as Natural Parks. Birds were counted at representative points distributed throughout the canal network at which we recorded several variables related to the physical features, the vertical and horizontal structure of associated vegetation, reed development (Phragmites australis) and land use in the neighboring areas. We detected 37 bird species, most of which were also breeding in the wetlands nearby. We used Hierarchical Partitioning analyses to identify the variables most strongly related to the probability of the presence of selected species and species richness. Vegetation cover and height close to the canals, together with reed development, were the most important types of variables explaining species presence and richness. We found that current management practices for reeds in canals are not well-suited for biodiversity conservation. We therefore propose alternatives that could be implemented in the area in cooperation with stakeholders.

Habitat preferences, fork lengths and isotopic ratios of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) in and around Lake Hazen, Ellesmere Island

Owing to limited knowledge of the habitat use and diet of juvenile Arctic charr from the High Arctic, particularly young-of-the-year (YOY), we assembled data obtained from samples taken in and around Lake Hazen, Nunavut, Canada, to assess juvenile habitat use and feeding. Juvenile charr demonstrated a preference for stream environments, particularly those fed by warm upstream ponds. Charr occupying both stream and nearshore lake habitats were found to feed similarly, with chironomids occurring most frequently in diets. Some older stream-dwelling charr preyed on smaller, younger Arctic charr. Preferred stream occupancy is likely mediated by physical barriers created mainly by water velocity, and by distance from the lake, lake-ice dynamics, low water depth, and turbidity. Water velocities resulted in stream habitat segregation by size, with YOY mainly found in low-velocity pools and back eddies adjacent to stream banks, but not in water velocities >0.1 m/s. Greatest charr densities in streams were found in small, shallow, slow-flowing side channels, which are highly susceptible to drought. Under predicted climate change scenarios, streams fed by small ponds will be susceptible to intermittent flow conditions, which could result in increased competition among juvenile charr for the remaining stream habitats. In addition, glacier-fed streams are likely to experience increased flow conditions that will exacerbate physical barriers created by water velocity and further reduce the availability of preferred stream habitat.

Spatial distribution of key zooplankton species using continuous plankton recorder (CPR) data from the North Atlantic (2000-2009)

The continuous plankton recorder (CPR) survey is an upper layer plankton monitoring program that has regularly collected samples, at monthly intervals, in the North Atlantic and adjacent seas since 1946. Water from approximately 6 m depth enters the CPR through a small aperture at the front of the sampler and travels down a tunnel where it passes through a silk filtering mesh of 270 µm before exiting at the back of the CPR. The plankton filtered on the silk is analyzed in sections corresponding to 10 nautical miles (approx. 3 m**3 of seawater filtered) and the plankton microscopically identified (Richardson et al., 2006 and reference therein). In the present study we used the CPR data to investigate the current basin scale distribution of C. finmarchicus (C5-C6), C. helgolandicus (C5-C6), C. hyperboreus (C5-C6), Pseudocalanus spp. (C6), Oithona spp. (C1-C6), total Euphausiida, total Thecosomata and the presence/absence of Cnidaria and the Phytoplankton Colour Index (PCI). The PCI, which is a visual assessment of the greenness of the silk, is used as an indicator of the distribution of total phytoplankton biomass across the Atlantic basin (Batten et al., 2003). Monthly data collected between 2000 and 2009 were gridded using the inverse-distance interpolation method, in which the interpolated values were the nodes of a 2 degree by 2 degree grid. The resulting twelve monthly matrices were then averaged within the year and in the case of the zooplankton the data were log-transformed (i.e. log10 (x+1).

Sea ice habitat characteristics and number of narwhal (Monodon monoceros) sightings in Disko Bay, West Greenland

There is a paucity of information on abundance, densities, and habitat selection of narwhals Monodon monoceros in the offshore pack ice of Baffin Bay, West Greenland, despite the critical importance of winter foraging regions and considerable sea ice declines in the past decades. We conducted a double-platform visual aerial survey over a narwhal wintering ground to obtain pack ice densities and develop the first fully corrected abundance estimate using point conditional mark-recapture distance sampling. Continuous video recording and digital images taken along the trackline allowed for in situ quantification of winter narwhal habitat and for the estimation of fine-scale narwhal habitat selection and habitat-specific sighting probabilities. Abundance at the surface was estimated at 3484 (coefficient of variation [CV] = 0.46) including whales missed by observers. The fully corrected abundance of narwhals was 18 044 (CV = 0.46), or approximately one-quarter of the entire Baffin Bay population. The narwhal wintering ground surveyed (~9500 km**2) had 2.4 to 3.2% open water based on estimates from satellite imagery (NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and 1565 digital photographic images collected on the trackline. Thus, the ~18 000 narwhals had access to 233 km**2 of open water, resulting in an average density of ~77 narwhals/km**2 open water. Narwhal sighting probability near habitats with <10% or 10 to 50% open water was significantly higher than sighting probability in habitats with >50% open water, suggesting narwhals select optimal foraging areas in dense pack ice regardless of open water availability. This study provides the first quantitative ecological data on densities and habitat selection of narwhals in pack ice foraging regions that are rapidly being altered with climate change.