Papers by Wilfried Endlicher
Shrinking Cities: Effects on Urban Ecology and Challenges for Urban Development
Die Erde; Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin
Urban areas are hot spots, contributing to climate change on multiple scales; but they are simult... more Urban areas are hot spots, contributing to climate change on multiple scales; but they are simultaneously affected by and most vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to their high density of susceptible population, their often risk-aggravating environmental conditions and low socio-economic standards (Grimm et al. 2008, Kraas 2007). The changes in climate may have a severe impact on human illness and mortality and are likely to produce a sustained change in the occurrence and spatial distribution of diseases. Although the relationship between temperature and human health has been studied for several regions and cities in the developed world, there is still little knowledge about the atmospheric influences on the burden of disease in developing countries, in particular tropical climates. However, the increase in the speed and extent of worldwide urbanisation, often referred to as ‘urban turn’, is leading to the emergence of so-called megacities, more than three-quarters of w...
AGUFM, Dec 1, 2011
ABSTRACT Many speleothem records of Holocene (MIS 1) and Eemian (MIS 5e) climate evolution have b... more ABSTRACT Many speleothem records of Holocene (MIS 1) and Eemian (MIS 5e) climate evolution have been investigated, but there is very little work being done in the Balkan region, despite the fact that the area is very rich in limestone caves with speleothems. Here we present a first proxy record from a stalagmite collected in Vernjikica Cave, Serbia (Carpatho-Balkan, ~400m asl). The studied stalagmite, Vernjikica-4.2, extends conically from the base to the top and presents one distinct growth hiatus that separates the upper 12 cm spanning the period from 63 ka to 107 ka (BP), and the lower 32 cm, spanning from 107 ka to 113 ka. The stable oxygen and carbon isotope ratios (δ18O and δ13C) display opposing gradual trends with δ18O decreasing from averagely -8.5 % (PDB) to about -9.4 % and with δ13C increasing from -8.8 % to about -6.0 %. The long-term record of δ18O and δ13C shows frequent simultaneous and distinct high-amplitude shifts towards more positive values that coincide with pronounced accumulations of denser and darker laminae. In regard to present isotopic compositions in rainfall in the study area, the Vernjikica-4.2 proxy record shows a change from more humid to drier environmental conditions. The distinct increases in stable isotopic ratios reflect short warm and dry intervals during which calcite precipitation is affected by non-equilibrium conditions. The data mirrors both global climatic signals as seen in δ18O variations from the NGRIP ice-core record, and regional climatic signals as seen in δ18O from speleothems from Soreq Cave and Peqiin Cave (Israel) as well as in aeolian dust records from the Vojvodina in North Serbia. Altogether, the proxy record reflects alternating precipitation regimes and/or processes, likely connected to long-term shifts in the relative position of the Polar Front and to short-term shifts of the subtropical high-pressure ridge and their seasonal duration. Once the temporal resolution of the Vernjikica-4.2 record is improved, the precise timing and duration of described events in the proxy record, including the observed shorter-termed increases in δ18O as well as δ13C, will be fully explored. Eventually, the proxy record will be complemented with additional stalagmites from Vernjikica Cave extending the record from 38 ka to 121 ka.
EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Apr 1, 2012
ABSTRACT Past climate dynamics associated with the Eurasian continent are well studied. However, ... more ABSTRACT Past climate dynamics associated with the Eurasian continent are well studied. However, the impact of intra-hemispheric-scale climate variability on the entire Eurasian landmass, as well as the self-generated effects of the continent on the global climate system, is still a matter of considerable debate. While western Atlantic polar and tropical air masses penetrate into the continent and are modified and transformed as they cross Eurasia, the interior regions of Eurasia strongly influence Earth's climate system. Significant cooling and heating of Central and High Asia drive interactions between atmosphere and ocean processes and regulate teleconnection patterns of the Northern Hemisphere. The distribution of Eurasian loess deposits allows interregional palaeoclimatic investigations along a west-east transect across the entire Eurasian loess belt of the Northern Hemisphere, offering the potential to reconstruct Pleistocene atmospheric circulation patterns and aeolian dust dynamics on a wide spatial scale. This paper utilizes high resolution particle size data from several loess sequences across Eurasia (Serbia, Romania, Kazakhstan, and China) that provide a detailed signal of glacial-interglacial atmospheric dynamics and long term, semi-continuous trends in the aeolian dust record since marine isotope stage 10. In consideration of the modern synoptic atmospheric circulation patterns and aeolian dust transport across the Eurasian landmass, we propose that the observed data reflect oscillations superimposed on a long term signal of seasonality, triggered by changes in duration and permanency of the seasonal shift of the Eurasian polar front during the middle to late Pleistocene. As the activity of the polar front jet is intimately connected with the high level planetary frontal zone (HPFZ), the Eurasian loess archives may also serve as a recorder of intra-hemispheric climate connections in past atmospheric circulation. Although there are large scale similarities in the dust transport record from numerous sites across Eurasia, the data reveal distinct differences in short-term climate variability along the studied transect from SE Europe over Central Asia to China. In Central and East Asia the observed dynamics in aeolian dust transport closely mirror δ18O and fine dust variations seen in Greenland ice cores, suggesting a correlation with short-term climate oscillations (DO events) recorded therein. An Asian origin of fine aeolian dust preserved in Greenland ice cores has been discussed previously, and recent papers reveal a close link between Asian aeolian dust dynamics and DO events recorded in Greenland ice cores. In this context, the presented data represent the first Central and East Asian aeolian dust records in which DO events are recorded, providing a means to verify hypothesized links between short-term climate variability recorded in Greenland and associated climate dynamics at Asian dust source areas. Ultimately, the data extend existing theories, suggesting that the Central and High Asian mountains are a crucial element within the sensitive glacier-desert-dust response system in interior Eurasia and may be considered a pacemaker of suborbital global climate changes and an initiator of abrupt climate oscillations in the Northern Hemisphere.
To further our understanding of global paleoclimate variations, the European Project for Ice Cori... more To further our understanding of global paleoclimate variations, the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) has started to drill two deep ice cores in Antarctica, with one located on the Amundsenisen plateau in Dronning Maud Land. In order to determine an optimal drilling location, extensive glaciological, geophysical and remote sensing projects were started in 1995. In support of these projects, this study attempts to understand the influences of physical snow pack parameters on the signal strength in RADARSAT SAR imagery. Twenty-six RADARSAT SAR standard beam images acquired in May 1997 are analysed. Processing steps include radiometric calibration, geometric correction and the generation of a mosaic that covers most of the study area. Field data were collected during the Dronning Maud Land traverse (1997/1998) of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), and include accumulation rate, firn temperature, dielectric properties and the number of layers in snow pits. The field data are interpolated spatially to cover the entire study area. To determine the influence of the different snow pack parameters on the radar backscatter signal, a linear correlation is performed on the field-derived data on a point-to-point and on an area basis. Since in the study area, the azimuthal modulation of the backscattering signal is assumed to be relatively low, variations of σ° should also be attributable to internal characteristics of the dry snow pack. Results show that the backscattering coefficient is negatively correlated to the accumulation rate, and positively correlated to the heterogeneity of the dielectric properties. The lower the accumulation rate, and the more heterogeneous the snow pack, the stronger the backscatter signal. However, correlations are still relatively poor, and therefore neither surface characteristics nor internal properties of the snow pack alone can account totally for the observed backscattering patterns.
Peter Lang eBooks, Jul 14, 2016
Springer eBooks, 2011
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does... more The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
Peter Lang eBooks, Jul 14, 2016
Peter Lang eBooks, Jul 14, 2016
Peter Lang eBooks, Jul 14, 2016
Peter Lang eBooks, Jul 14, 2016
European Respiratory Journal, 2015
Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate whether climate controlled patient rooms s... more Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate whether climate controlled patient rooms support earlier mobilization of patients admitted for exacerbation of chronic lung disease. Methods: This randomized clinical trial conducted summer 2014, branched into conventional patient rooms without climatization G2 (T mean 24.9°C, max. T 30.5 °C) versus patient rooms equipped with capillary tube mats G1 (set point temperature 23 °C (Clina Cooling Inc.)). 32 patients (mean age 67 years, COPD 76 %, 12 % PAH and 12 % Asthma) were eligible for data analyses. In order to acquire mobility data a validated activity tracker (Withings pulse, Aipermon 440) was attached to the patients and movements were continuously detected during stay in hospital. The results from activity tracking were correlated to patient continuous sheets documented 6- Minutes- Walking- Test (6-MWT). Results: Patients enrolled in the radiant climate controlled rooms group G1 had a 20.3 % higher mean daily move count - 884 (CI 95%, 453- 1314, p<0.05) versus patients in control rooms G2 - 734 (CI 95%, 340 – 1128, p<0.05). The same applied to 6-MWT, where G1 came up with 16.9% higher mean values (G1: 186.9 m, 95% CI 76-623, p<0.05 versus G2: 159.2 m, 95% CI 143.4- 230.4, p<0.05 ). Moreover, since patients in the climate controlled rooms stayed compared to control group mean 3,07 days less in hospital the maximum activity rate on discharge was obtained earlier and at a higher positive slope in G1. Conclusion: Hospital room equipped with innovative water born cooling system supports earlier mobilization in heat stress impaired patients suffering from chronic lung disease.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does... more The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
Observations of air quality are rather rare in Argentina. The city of Mendoza is located in a sem... more Observations of air quality are rather rare in Argentina. The city of Mendoza is located in a semi-arid region at the eastern edge of the Cordilleres. In Mendoza the high concentration of ozone precursors and the strong solar radiation may contribute to high levels of summer smog. Series of continuous ambient tropospheric ozone, temperature and wind measurements were taken for a period of one year starting in November 1995 and analyzed in terms of diurnal and annual variation. Indications were found of the strong impact of the mountain-valley circulation system, which ventilates and considerably cleans the air in Mendoza. The low level jet is mainly active during the summer. It lowers the peak mid-day ozone concentration and produces a temporary concentration increase at night. The WHO standard of 0.113 mg ozone/m 3 (56.5 ppb) is only rarely exceeded during winter. Thanks to the existing natural ventilation, ozone pollution is not expected to have any critical adverse health effects...
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Papers by Wilfried Endlicher