Freely available and reliable meteorological datasets are highly demanded in many scientific and business applications. However, the structure of publicly available databases is often difficult to follow, especially for users who only deal with this kind of dataset on occasion. The “climate” R package aims to fill this gap with an easy-to-use interface for downloading global meteorological data in a fast and consistent way. The package provides access to different sources of in-situ meteorological data, including the Ogimet website, atmospheric vertical sounding gathered at the University of Wyoming’s webpage, and hydrological and meteorological measurements collected by the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management—National Research Institute (i.e., Polish Met Office). This article also provides a quick overview of the key functionalities available within the climate R package, and gives examples of an efficient and tidy workflow of meteorological data within the R based environment. The automation procedures included in the packages allow one to download data in a user-defined time resolution (from hourly to annual), for a user-defined time span, and for a specified group of stations or countries. The package also contains metadata, including a list of available stations, their geospatial information, and measurement descriptions with their units. Finally, the obtained datasets can be processed in R or exported to external tools (e.g., spreadsheets or GIS software).

The paper examines the variability of long-wave radiation fluxes in two contrasting types of urban active surfaces - grassy surface and surface without plants (bare soil) in Wrocław (Poland) within a 12-year period (August 2007-July 2019). The study used net radiation and heat balance formulas to calculate the share of individual radiation fluxes in these balances, and then utilized the Stefan-Boltzmann formula to calculate the effective temperatures of researched surfaces. The analysis showed the temporal variability of these fluxes against the background of weather and climatic conditions and in relation to the variability of short-wave radiation fluxes. The role of long-wave radiation fluxes in forming net radiation was examined in detail to show the buffering role of vegetation surfaces regarding the variability of solar radiation fluxes and their heat effects. The mean monthly values of outgoing long-wave radiation fluxes change from 309.0 W·m^-2 for bare soil, 309.8 W·m^-2 for grassy surface, and 288.8 W·m^-2 for downward atmospheric radiation to respectively 435.8, 425.0 and 369.4 W·m^-2 in July. The coefficient of variability for long-wave radiation daily fluxes are approximately one order of magnitude lower than for the short-wave radiation. The differences between values of long-wave radiation fluxes for bare soil and grassy surfaces vary from slight negative values in winter to relatively sizable positive values during the vegetation period (March-October). The weakening of the buffering effect for grassy surface and how air temperature then changes considerably compared to the effective temperature of the active surfaces were explained using the dry summer period of August 2015 as example. The obtained results are important, as they provide empirical arguments for urban planning to extend plant areas' share in big cities as well as to introduce there a friendly environmental system of irrigation in these areas using renewable solar energy.

Superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) are used in agriculture and environmental engineering to increase soil water retention. Under such conditions, the swelling pressure of the SAP in soil affects water absorption by SAP, and soil structure. The paper presents the results of swelling pressure of three cross-linked copolymers of acrylamide and potassium acrylate mixed at the ratios of 0.3%, 0.5% and 1.0% with coarse sand and loamy sand. The highest values of swelling pressure were obtained for the 1% proportion, for coarse sand (79.53 kPa) and loamy sand (78.23 kPa). The time required to reach 90% of swelling pressure for each type of SAP differs. Samples of coarse sand mixed with SAP K2 in all concentrations reached 90% of total swelling pressure in 100 min, while the loamy sand mixtures needed only about 60 min. The results were the basis for developing a model for swelling pressure of the superabsorbent and soil mixtures, which is a fully stochastic model. The conducted research demonstrated that the course of pressure increase depends on the available pore capacity and the grain size distribution of SAPs. The obtained results and the proposed model may be applied everywhere where mixtures of SAPs and soils are used to improve plant vegetation conditions.

This work analyses the temporal and spatial characteristics of bioclimatic conditions in the Lower Silesia region. The daily time values (12UTC) of meteorological variables in the period 1966–2017 from seven synoptic stations of the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW) (Jelenia Góra, Kłodzko, Legnica, Leszno, Wrocław, Opole, Śnieżka) were used as the basic data to assess the thermal stress index UTCI (Universal Thermal Climate Index). The UTCI can be interpreted by ten different thermal classes, representing the bulk of these bioclimatic conditions. Stochastic autoregressive moving-average modelling (ARMA) was used for the statistical analysis and modelling of the UTCI as well as separately for all meteorological components. This made it possible to test differences in predicting UTCI as a full index or reconstructing it from single meteorological variables. The results show an annual and seasonal variability of UTCI for the Lower Silesia region. Strong significant spatial correlations in UTCI were also found in all stations of the region. “No thermal stress” is the most commonly occurring thermal class in this region (about 38%). Thermal conditions related to cold stress classes occurred more frequently (all cold classes at about 47%) than those of heat stress classes (all heat classes at about 15%). Over the available 52-year period, the occurrence of “extreme heat stress” conditions was not detected. Autoregressive analysis, although successful in predicting UTCI, was nonetheless unsuccessful in reconstructing the wind speed, which showed a persistent temporal correlation possibly due to its vectorial origin. We conclude thereby that reconstructing UTCI using linear autoregressive methods is more suitable when working directly on the UTCI as a whole rather than reconstructing it from single variables.

The aim of this paper is to understand the role of the macrocirculation factor in shaping the dynamics of long-term bioclimatic conditions, with reference to Kłodzko in the Polish part of the Central Sudetes. The variability of bioclimatic conditions in Kłodzko for the period 1966–2017 was analysed, exposing its local specificity. The Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) was taken as an indicator of the analysed bioclimatic features. The influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the variability of this index and its constituent meteorological elements, e.g. air temperature, vapour pressure, wind speed, and solar conditions, was examined. On the basis of the winter NAO Hurrell coefficient, the analysed years were divided into two opposing groups representing either a negative or positive Hurrell index. A comparison between these two year-groups for the mean values of UTCI and the examined meteorological elements showed a clear intergroup difference in these values. Except for cloudiness, the importance of the macrocirculation genesis of NAO was verified by the statistically significant correlation between the Hurrell index on the one hand and the tested UTCI index and its constituent meteorological elements on the other.

Landscape identification forms a base for landscape management and sustainable land use policy. According to the European Landscape Convention, each Member State needs to recognize the landscapes as an essential component of people’s surroundings. Poland developed a method for landscape auditing that will be conducted for landscapes in the whole country. The identification of landscape units is based on landscape type characteristics and spatial data that is layered and analyzed in order to identify landscape units. In this paper, we aim to test the possibilities of automatic landscape identification. We take the assumptions designed for landscape identification for the needs of the audit. Based on the “Typology of Poland’s current landscapes”, we design a process to identify landscape units with the use of the aggregation of land cover data and multivariable analysis. We use tools in an ArcGIS environment to design a process that will support human perception. Our approach is compared with the approach presented in the method designed for a landscape audit in order to be used for landscape unit identification at the municipal level. The case study area is the municipality of Siechnice within the suburban area of the city of Wrocław, an example of a changing landscape under suburbanization pressure. We conclude that both approaches can support each other in the landscape identification process.