Atmospheric Rivers in the Southeastern Pacific and Their Impact on Extreme Orographic Precipitation
Volando en El Tiempo
Volando en El Tiempo es un cuento para niños y niñas (de 3 a 9 años) que se presenta en un novedoso formato: calendario con cuento de pared. La historia narra el viaje de una lora Tricahue desde la Región de OHiggins a 12 lugares del país, donde conoce e interactúa con diferentes fenómenos meteorológicos y climatológicos. El producto unirá relatos cortos junto a ilustraciones y tendrá una página para cada mes, la identificación de las cuatro estaciones del año y actividades/preguntas para fomentar la observación de las niñas y niños del tiempo meteorológico.
La creación de este producto contempla un equipo multidisciplinario con experiencia en divulgación de la ciencia, ciencias atmosféricas y en divulgación con niños y niñas. Se repartirán 1.500 unidades de los calendarios y además se propone crear un formato digital descargable del calendario y otro del cuento (junto con un audio-cuento) para poder difundir en otros públicos.
Esperamos despertar la curiosidad de las niñas y niños que viven en Chile sobre las Ciencias Atmosféricas y Cambio Climático una manera simple: mirando un calendario y pudiendo observar por la ventana o saliendo a ver el cielo y así conocer sobre el tiempo a través del vuelo que hace la lora.
Sistema Articulado de Investigación en Cambio Climático y Sustentabilidad de Zonas Costeras de Chile (URO RED21992)
Sistema Articulado de Investigación en Cambio Climático y Sustentabilidad de Zonas Costeras de Chile CUECH/RISUE RED21992
Compound and Cascading Climate Extremes in Chile
Chile se ha visto cada vez más afectado por múltiples eventos extremos climáticos que ocurren simultáneamente,
como eventos compuestos, o consecutivamente, como eventos en cascada.
Los eventos climáticos se consideran compuestos cuando ocurren al mismo tiempo. Por ejemplo, el centro de
Chile (la región más poblada del país) se ha visto afectada por sequías frecuentes y severas, agravadas por el
aumento de las olas de calor (HWs) que a su vez han favorecido persistentes incendios forestales. Estos eventos
extremos han afectado la economía al dañar cultivos y provocar escasez de alimentos para el ganado.
Los eventos en cascada actúan como una serie de fichas de dominó que se derrumban. Por ejemplo, en el sur de
Chile, las fuertes lluvias orográficas asociadas con potentes ríos atmosféricos (ARs) han provocado graves
inundaciones que, al arrastrar sedimentos ricos en nutrientes a lagos y fiordos, a menudo han favorecido
floraciones de algas nocivas (HABs). En la misma región, el rápido derretimiento de los campos de hielo
patagónicos no solo está canalizando hierro hacia lagos y fiordos (favoreciendo más floraciones de algas), sino
que también ha formado cientos de nuevos lagos. El vaciamiento repentino de lagos glaciales (GLOFs) han
provocado deslizamientos de tierra e inundaciones que han borrado del mapa pequeños poblados en la
Patagonia.
Fondecyt de Iniciación 11230184 Atmospheric water vapor and precipitation processes in central and southern Chile
Water vapor is a key component of the hydrological cycle since it is directly involved in the production of precipitation (rain, snow, hail). The transport of water vapor from the tropics (20ºN-20ºS) is fundamental to produce precipitation in midlatitudes (30ºS-50ºS) were local amounts atmospheric moisture are lower than the water column precipitated during a typical storm. This is especially evident during extreme precipitation events, where precipitation accumulation can surpass 2 or 3 times the local atmospheric water vapor available.
Extreme precipitation events (EPEs) are expected to increase due to the anthropogenic climate change, and therefore studies addressing the dynamics and forcing factors of these events are increasingly important. Current research examining the relationship between water vapor transport and precipitation in central-southern Chile have advanced in this direction. However, there is a lack of research aiming to understand water-vapor-precipitation process at the mesoscale, where changes in the order of hours associated to convection are important. Even more, despite many storms in central-southern Chile show convective characteristics (e.g. precipitation rates of 10 mm/h or larger), studies looking at the mesoscale processes has not been addressed so far, partially due to the lack of ground-based weather radars.
As a result, this research proposal takes the challenge of studying the transport of water vapor and link it with precipitation processes (stratiform and convective) at the mesoscale level in central and southern Chile by using a suit of observations and numerical modeling. To determine the water vapor mechanisms involved in the precipitation processes, the study will employ an atmospheric moisture budget, which involves the balance between a storage term (precipitation in this case) and the linear interaction between local changes, advection, and convergence of water vapor following an air parcel. The budget will be computed using gridded data from a state-of-the-art atmospheric reanalysis (ERA5), numerical simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, and mathematical techniques such as finite differences and the trapezoidal integration rule. In addition, a relatively dense network of GPS deployed in central-southern Chile will provide direct estimates of local changes of the column water vapor, allowing us to perform a thorough validation of both ERA5 and WRF.
Precipitation processes will be examined using several sources. The polar orbiting Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite mission provides global swaths of radar reflectivity using a dual-frequency radar (Ku and Ka bands) in a swath-width of 245 km with 5 km resolution at nadir, and vertical beams spaced at 250 m. Along with radar reflectivity, GPM provides estimates of precipitation rates and a classification of the precipitation type, facilitating the identification of precipitation processes. A vertically pointing precipitation radar (Micro Rain Radar, MRR) is currently installed at Universidad de Concepción and will provide time-height sections of radar reflectivity that will complement GPM observations. In addition, a second MRR is planned to be installed in central Chile to provide further meridional context of precipitation processes. Finally, a couple of optical disdrometers and meteorological stations will deliver surface estimates of precipitation at hourly (and higher) rates. In parallel, ERA5 will provide precipitation estimations and classification (stratiform, convective), while WRF will allow to examine precipitation in detail for selected case studies.
At the end of this project, it will be clear what component(s) of the moisture budget are dominating precipitation during EPE storms, clarify the relative importance of stratiform and convective precipitation during EPEs, and elucidate if EPEs with strong convective precipitation are forced by atmospheric instabilities, advection of moisture being lifted by the complex terrain, or moisture convergence occurring over the ocean and moving inland. These results will provide the basis for future efforts looking to improve precipitation forecasting tools.
El presente trabajo, financiado por la Dirección de Equidad de Género y Diversidades
de la Universidad de OHiggins (Convocatoria 2022), busca evaluar las principales
motivaciones y dificultades de las mujeres para ingresar a carreras de las Ciencias de
la Ingeniería, titularse y continuar una carrera académica en la Región de OHiggins.
La Universidad Estatal de OHiggins es una institución de 7 años que desde sus inicios
ha promovido políticas para la equidad de género, sin embargo estas medidas
pareciera ser aún insuficientes o no se le ha dado un seguimiento para ver su
verdadero impacto en esta materia.
La diferencia en el número de matrículas de mujeres vs hombres en carreras de
Ciencias de la Ingeniería de Universidades chilenas es abismante, a pesar de la no
existencia de diferencias inherentes/innatas entre hombres y mujeres que expliquen
las brechas en los aprendizajes o trayectorias académicas en las matemáticas (
Bakker et al., 2021; Kersey et al., 2019; Lachance & Mazzocco, 2006; Spelke, 2005).
Según Ing2030 (2018), el aumento de mujeres en carreras de ingeniería en Chile no
ha sido significativo en un lapso de 10 años: 20% el año 2004 y 24% el año 2014.
Tanto así que en el año 2019, el 7% de las mujeres que se titularon de pregrado en
Chile, lo hicieron en las áreas de ciencia, tecnología, ingeniería y matemáticas (STEM),
siendo el país con el porcentaje más bajo de los miembros de la OCDE (Ministerio de
Ciencia, Tecnología, Conocimiento e Innovación, 2022).
Para llevar a cabo este estudio se han usado metodologías cuantitativas y
cualitativas. El estudio cuantitativo se realiza mediante encuestas online mientras que
el estudio cualitativo es a través del desarrollo de Focus group. Se analizaron 468
encuestas online a estudiantes de enseñanza media de la Región de OHiggins, 94
encuestas a estudiantes de las carreras de Ingeniería de la Universidad de OHiggins y
25 encuestas a académicos(as) e investigadores del Instituto de Ciencias de la
Ingeniería de la Universidad de OHiggins. Adicionalmente, se analizaron los
resultados de 3 focus groups a alumnas de enseñanza media de la comuna de
Rancagua y 3 focus groups a alumnas de las carreras de Ingeniería de la Universidad
de OHiggins.
Dentro de los resultados se observa que un 83% de los y las estudiantes de
enseñanza media de la Región de OHiggins considera que tanto hombres como
mujeres avanzan con igual rapidez en sus carreras, un 84% de las y los estudiantes
de carreras de Ingeniería de la Universidad de OHiggins considera que mujeres y
hombres tienen igualdad de avance en sus carreras, mientras que un 76% de
académicos(as) e investigadores(as) estima que los hombres avanzan más rápido en
su carrera. Se constató que estudiantes de enseñanza media, estudiantes de las
carreras de ingeniería y académicas e investigadoras de la Región de OHiggins
experimentan brechas y barreras, sumado a la falta de confianza en sus capacidades
y logros (Síndrome de la Impostora; Paterson & Vincent-Akpu, 2021). Adicionalmente,
a pesar de considerar que en la Región de OHiggins y en la Universidad de OHiggins
se promueve una cultura para la igualdad de género, el grupo en estudio tiene la
creencia que las estudiantes y académicas de las Geociencias y Ciencias de la
Ingeniería son más propensas a sufrir acoso. Asimismo, las estudiantes y científicas
enfrentan importantes dificultades para compatibilizar la vida familiar y laboral.
A través de este estudio buscamos visibilizar las principales dificultades que enfrentan
estudiantes e investigadoras de esta área durante el desarrollo de su carrera. Tomar
conciencia de la realidad de las mujeres en áreas STEM en la Región de OHiggins
permitirá tomar medidas más eficientes y eficaces tanto para la atracción como para
evitar la fuga y/o estancamiento de estudiantes y científicas con alto potencial,
permitiendo un acceso más igualitario en carreras STEM y un desarrollo en un espacio
seguro y de respeto.
Water confined in Å- to nm-scale pores is volumetrically and chemically important in surficial and near surface geological environments. Partitioning of water between bulk liquid and vapor phases and water confined in spaces within and between minerals plays a critical role in determining the fate of geochemical and geobiological processes. Despite considerable effort over the past several decades focused on the properties of confined water, rigorous thermodynamic models permitting simultaneous consideration of confined water stability relative to bulk water that are consistent with widely employed geochemical models are generally not available. In part, this is due to a paucity of physical chemical models permitting quantitative description of the hysteresis that is commonly observed between sorption and desorption of confined water.
The present study addresses these needs through a combination of equilibrium observations, calorimetric measurements, and thermodynamic modeling of a selected suite of systems containing confined water. Model zeolite and nanoporous systems exhibiting hysteretic sorption/desorption behavior will be studied in order to test a newly developed thermodynamic model that shows promise in predicting hysteretic behavior. In addition, two other types of systems will be studied to fill in gaps currently present in the understanding of the factors controlling the stability of confined water: a) pure silica zeolites in which water molecules do not solvate ions; and c) zeolite systems containing confined water that is only bonded to ions. Water in these systems exhibits ?endmember? structural states, that when combined form the environments found in most previously studied microporous confined water systems (that is, those containing water molecules that both solvate ions and interact with the confining medium).
Longstanding goals of scientific ocean drilling include determining the timing and amplitudes of global sea-level change, as well as the role of eustacy in the generation and preservation of continental margin stratigraphy. However, continental margin sedimentation is a function of both allogenic and autogenic processes, and extracting a eustatic record requires an understanding of local sedimentary processes and their influence on strata formation. IODP Expedition 317 to Canterbury Basin, New Zealand provides an opportunity to identify the regional processes involved in the formation of sedimentary sequences where temporally evolving across-shelf and along-margin sediment sources potentially interact with both eustasy and tectonics to generate margin stratigraphy. This study defines sedimentary petrofacies using petrographic and X-ray diffraction techniques and combines them with lithofacies to characterize sedimentation within unconformity-bounded sequences. Differentiating the relative influence of each sediment source is made possible by the unique aspects of the onshore geology and sediment supplied by the rivers of South Island, New Zealand: in this system sediment composition is a proxy for transport mode/direction, with mica-rich schist detritus being brought in from the south, and graywacke Torlesse detritus from the west. Higher-resolution analyses will target specific seismic sequences from the Pliocene to Recent that represent changing climatic and eustatic conditions. A primary hypothesis tested is that recurring lithofacies motifs that likely formed during high-amplitude Pleistocene sea-level cycles can be linked to sediment provenance, and even where less lithologically distinct, a recognizable signal may remain in the detrital fraction. Another hypothesis is that the formation of Plio- Pleistocene sequences along the Canterbury Margin is strongly influenced by the relative sediment supply from alongshore/shelf (Clutha/Waitaki rivers) versus cross-margin (Rangitata-Ashburton-Rakaia braided system) transport, with the latter becoming more dominant in the later Pleistocene, potentially leading to an autogenic increase in accommodation space that lead to increased sequence preservation. A holistic approach is used to test these hypotheses, similar to that applied in the MARGINS Source-to-Sink focus site on North Island, New Zealand. This methodology links newly acquired data from onshore outcrops, stream and coastal deposits (collected in conjunction with New Zealand colleagues) to Expedition 317 results in order to evaluate potential basin-wide changes in sediment supply and distribution. Temporal changes in the relative timing and routing of sediment to the Canterbury margin are determined from comparisons between the cross-shelf (U1351, U1353, U1354) and the two Canterbury slope sites (ODP Site 1119 and U1352). Discrete mineralogical observations from this study eventually will be compared to and combined with high-resolution elemental and carbonate analyses proposed by Fulthorpe et al. to provide key petrologic and mineralogic constraints on core and seismic data interpretation for the margin, including distinguishing lithologic changes that might correspond to Milankovitch cyclicity. The history of global sea level change and the impact of future sea-level rise related to global warming are one of the foremost issues facing society. Drilling results from the Canterbury Margin represent a key global component of a comprehensive IODP program to extract sea-level information from continental margin stratigraphy. Our data and results will be made publically available through the IODP portal as part of the IODP Sample, Data, and Obligations Policy and through presentations at meetings and publications. This study will provide educational opportunities for a number of high school, undergraduate and graduate students at CSU Northridge and the University of Florida. One high school student from Florida will participate as part of the UF Student Science Training Program (UF-SSTP), a seven-week residential research program for junior and senior-level high schools students considering science careers. Two undergraduate and two graduate students will participate in this project from CSUN and UF, including students from underrepresented groups and it is expected this participation will form the basis for their theses (BS/MS) or dissertation. The project includes an educational outreach program at UF as part of the UF Geogator program that provides presentations to local K-12 programs about Earth and our environment. The program will make the research on global sea-level change accessible to the local Florida community, where rising sea level and the hazards associated with it are a growing societal concern.
Amazonia is Earth’s most iconic center of biological diversity and endemism and is among the most important terrestrial biomes due to its contributions to global systems ecology. This project seeks to answer an overarching question in biodiversity science: How was the modern Amazonian biota and its environment assembled across space and time? The research is designed to understand the evolutionary and environmental-ecological history of late Neogene-Recent Amazonia through a comparative approach that integrates across the disciplines of systematics, population biology, ecosystem structure and function, geology, Earth systems modeling and remote sensing, and environmental history. The project also investigates how biotic and environmental change over this time-period influenced Amazonian functional diversity in biogeochemical flows, and how these, in turn, shaped the dimensions of biodiversity seen today as well as the history of global-scale changes in biogeochemical cycling.
The project, which is a collaboration with Brazilian scientists and funding agencies, represents the most integrative examination of Amazonian biodiversity and its history to date. The approaches taken describe a methodological template for analyzing information about the history of biotic and environmental change across large, ecologically complex landscapes that can be generalized to other systems. The project creates a large framework for formal and informal education including the training of students, development of a major museum exhibit on Amazonia, workshops for K-12 STEM teachers, publications in professional educational journals, and a web portal, The Evolutionary Encyclopedia of Amazonian Biodiversity, that will make all results available to the public, as well as serve as an informational platform about Amazonian biodiversity and its global importance. This award is being co-funded by NSF’s Office of International Science and Engineering.