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At least 1,369 records · Page 76

Synthesis, energy transfer and luminescence properties of Ca{sub 2}MgWO{sub 6}:Sm{sup 3+}, Bi{sup 3+} phosphor

Graphical abstract: PL spectra of Ca{sub 2}MgWO{sub 6}:Sm{sup 3+} and Ca{sub 2}MgWO{sub 6}:Sm{sup 3+}, Bi{sup 3+} phosphors with excitation at 407 nm, and the corresponding CIE chromaticity diagram and chromaticity coordinates. - Highlights: • Novel Ca{sub 2}MgWO{sub 6}:Sm{sup 3+}, Bi{sup 3+} phosphor is synthesized by solid-state reaction method in air. • Emission intensity of Ca{sub 2}MgWO{sub 6}:Sm{sup 3+} phosphor is enhanced ∼2 times after co-doped Bi{sup 3+} ion. • Charge compensation and energy transfer may be explained via luminescence properties. • Luminous mechanism is analyzed by energy level diagrams of WO{sub 6}{sup 6−} group, Sm{sup 3+} and Bi{sup 3+} ions. - Abstract: Novel Ca{sub 2}MgWO{sub 6}:Sm{sup 3+}, Bi{sup 3+} phosphor is synthesized by solid-state reaction method in air. Host Ca{sub 2}MgWO{sub 6} with excitation 300 nm emits blue light. Ca{sub 2}MgWO{sub 6}:Bi{sup 3+} phosphor with excitation 300 and 338 nm emits yellow light. Ca{sub 2}MgWO{sub 6}:Sm{sup 3+} phosphor with excitation 300 nm exhibits tunable emission from blue to red light by increasing Sm{sup 3+} doping concentration from 0 to 8 mol%, however, only emits red light with excitation 407 nm. Ca{sub 2}MgWO{sub 6}:Sm{sup 3+}, Bi{sup 3+} phosphor with excitation 300 and 338 nm emits red light. The optimal Sm{sup 3+} doping concentration is ∼5 mol% in Ca{sub 2}MgWO{sub 6}:Sm{sup 3+} phosphor. After Bi{sup 3+} ion is co-doped, luminescence properties of Ca{sub 2}MgWO{sub 6}:Sm{sup 3+} phosphor can be improved obviously because of Bi{sub 2}O{sub 3} as fluxing agent role and energy transfer from Bi{sup 3+} to Sm{sup 3+} ions. The possible luminous mechanism of Ca{sub 2}MgWO{sub 6}:Sm{sup 3+}, Bi{sup 3+} phosphor is analyzed and explained by simplified energy level diagrams of WO{sub 6}{sup 6−} group, Bi{sup 3+} and Sm{sup 3+} ions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Research of sensing characteristic and dynamic measurement of graphene oxides modified flexible arrayed RuO2 chlorine ion sensor

Highlights: • Sensitivity of the flexible arrayed RuO2/GO chlorine ion sensor was improved with optimal GO concentration, which could increase the reaction area between the chlorine ion and chlorine sensing membrane. • The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and atomic force microscope (AFM) were utilized to explain the relationships among the electron transfer resistance, GO modified amount and sensitivity. • The 30 μL/min flow rate of dynamic measurement for flexible arrayed RuO2/0.010 wt% GO chlorine ion sensor was obtained the best sensitivity and linearity 66.673 mV/pCl and 0.998, respectively. - Abstract: In this study, we used the graphene oxide (GO) solution, in which the concentration was from 0.005 wt% to 0.500 wt%, to modify the flexible arrayed ruthenium dioxide (RuO{sub 2}) chlorine ion sensor. It is found that the flexible arrayed RuO{sub 2}/0.010 wt% GO chlorine ion sensor had the best sensitivity (44.445 mV/pCl) and the linearity was 0.971. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and atomic force microscope (AFM) were utilized to explain the relationships among the electron transfer resistance, GO modified amount and sensitivity. After that, we used the flexible arrayed RuO{sub 2}/0.010 wt% GO chlorine ion sensor and the microfluidic measurement system to investigate the dynamic sensing characteristics with different flow rates from 5 μL/min to 40 μL/min. According to the experimental results, the best sensitivity and linearity of flexible arrayed RuO{sub 2}/0.010 wt% GO chlorine ion sensor were 66.673 mV/pCl and 0.992 at 30 μL/min.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Morphology of phase-separated VO2 films deposited on TiO2-(001) substrate

Highlights: • Phase separation in VO{sub 2} films at room temperature was studied by TEM. • Tetragonal phase with a zig-zag interface was observed in the neighborhood of the VO{sub 2}/TiO{sub 2} boundary. • The peculiar interface could be explained by the crystallographic relationship between the monoclinic and tetragonal phases. - Abstract: The basic morphology of phase-separated VO{sub 2} films, in which the tetragonal (metallic) phase coexists with the monoclinic (insulating) phase, was studied using transmission electron microscopy. While the phase transformation temperature in an unstrained crystal is approximately 340 K, it was observed that at 298 K, elastic strain (caused by lattice mismatch with the TiO{sub 2}-(001) substrate) stabilized the tetragonal phase near the VO{sub 2}/TiO{sub 2} boundary. The observed zig-zag-shaped interface of the tetragonal phase was explained by the crystallographic orientation relationship between the tetragonal and monoclinic phases. The observations provide valuable information for future applications of VO{sub 2} films.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Enhanced resonant nonlinear absorption and optical limiting in Er3+ ions doped multicomponent tellurite glasses

Highlights: • Nonlinear optical properties of TPBKZFEr glasses investigated by Z-scan technique. • Optical limiting property of the TPBKZFEr glasses is studied for the first time. • Nonlinearity of the prepared glasses found to be enhanced with Er{sup 3+} concentration. • The mechanism behind the nonlinear properties is successfully explained. • It is evident that these glasses can be developed as tunable optical limiters. - Abstract: Nonlinear optical properties of multicomponent tellurite glasses doped with Er{sup 3+} ions were investigated by open aperture Z-scan measurements. Compositional and linear optical properties of the glasses were examined by the energy dispersive X-ray spectrum and UV–vis–NIR absorption spectrum analysis respectively. The mechanism behind the optical nonlinearity and optical limiting efficiency was successfully explained by evaluating the physical properties such as density, refractive index and polarizability of the glasses. The nonlinear properties critically depend on the polarizability, which is found to increase with the addition of Er{sup 3+} ions by the creation of non-bridging oxygen ions. By the systematic addition of Er{sup 3+} ions, we have dictated the physical properties and thus tuned the optical limiting efficiency of the glasses. This makes the Er{sup 3+}-doped multicomponent tellurite glasses flexible tunable optical limiters for potential device applications.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Crystal structure, Raman spectra, infrared spectra and microwave dielectric properties of Li2Mg3Ti1-X(Mg1/3Ta2/3)XO6 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2) solid solution ceramics

Highlights: • Microwave properties of ε{sub r} = 14.70, Q·f = 200,600 GHz and τ{sub f} = −11.83 ppm/°C were obtained. • A small amount of (Mg{sub 1/3}Ta{sub 2/3}){sup 4+} can obviously improve properties. • Rietveld refinement and spectra were used to analyze properties. • Relationships between intrinsic parameters and properties were established. - Abstract: Li{sub 2}Mg{sub 3}Ti{sub 1-X}(Mg{sub 1/3}Ta{sub 2/3}){sub X}O{sub 6} (x = 0.00, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20) solid solution ceramics were prepared by the conventional solid-state reaction method. Rietveld refinements, Raman spectra, infrared spectra, polarizability and bond energy were used to research the changes of microwave dielectric properties of these solid solutions. With the increase of x values from 0 to 0.2, dielectric constants (ε{sub r}) gradually increased, which could be explained by the variations of the polarizability, infrared resonant modes and Raman vibration modes. The variations of the quality factor (Q·f) could be explained by the changes of the bond valences. The temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τ{sub ƒ}) correlated with the bond energy of TiO bonds. A small quantity of (Mg{sub 1/3}Ta{sub 2/3}){sup 4+} can obviously improve the microwave dielectric properties. Excellent microwave dielectric properties of ε{sub r} = 14.70, Q·f = 200,600 GHz and τ{sub f} = −11.83 ppm/°C were obtained for Li{sub 2}Mg{sub 3}Ti{sub 0.95}(Mg{sub 1/3}Ta{sub 2/3}){sub 0.05}O{sub 6} ceramic sintered at 1550 °C.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Oxygen deficiency induced nickel based oxides for UV & IR sensitive photo-conductive devices

Ni(NO{sub 3}){sub 3}.6H{sub 2}O has been thermally decomposed to synthesize NiO{sub x} (0 3-δ synthesis. These metal oxides have been characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS and UV–vis spectroscopy for the determination of their crystal structures, structural morphologies, oxidation states and optical band gaps. The devices, made of nanocrystalline-composites or nanocomposites, have been fabricated on gold coated soda lime glasses, where the device based on NiO{sub x} has been found applicable for UV photo-conducting and LaNiO{sub 3-δ} has been recognized as a potential IR photo-conducting sensors. Their respective current amplifications have been recorded 8 and 2.2 times more than the dark current at 2 V of DC bias. The UV sensor has been explained by direct band gap semiconducting nature of NiO{sub x} and IR sensitivity of LaNiO{sub 3-δ} was explained in terms oxygen deficiency induced band gap opening.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Deep red emitting Mg2La2SnO7:Mn4+ phosphor: Synthesis and luminescence properties

Highlights: • Novel Mg{sub 2}La{sub 2}SnO{sub 7}:Mn{sup 4+} deep-red-emitting phosphor is synthesized in air. • Emission band peaking at ∼ 706 nm is observed in the range of 640–780 nm. • The thermal stability and luminous mechanism is explained. - Abstract: Mg{sub 2}La{sub 2}SnO{sub 7}:Mn{sup 4+} phosphor is synthesized by the solid-state reaction method in air. Monitored at 706 nm, excitation spectrum of Mg{sub 2}La{sub 2}SnO{sub 7}:Mn{sup 4+} phosphor including peaks at ∼ 300, 333, 395, and 516 nm can be observed in the range of 220–600 nm. With excitation at 333 nm, emission band of Mg{sub 2}La{sub 2}SnO{sub 7}:Mn{sup 4+} phosphor is shown in the range of 640–780 nm owing to the {sup 2}E → {sup 4}A{sub 2} transitions of Mn{sup 4+} ion. The optimal Mn{sup 4+} ion concentration is ∼ 0.3 mol% in Mg{sub 2}La{sub 2}SnO{sub 7}:Mn{sup 4+} phosphor. The lifetime decreases from 1.23 to 0.83 ms with the increase of Mn{sup 4+} concentration from 0.1 to 1.2 mol%. There is only one luminescence center (Mn{sup 4+}) in Mg{sub 2}La{sub 2}SnO{sub 7}:Mn{sup 4+} phosphor, which is confirmed by the luminescence properties, decay curves, and time-resolved emission spectra. Mg{sub 2}La{sub 2}SnO{sub 7}:Mn{sup 4+} phosphor has good thermal stability. Luminous mechanism is explained by energy level diagram of Mn{sup 4+} ion and the thermal quenching phenomenon is analyzed by the configuration coordinate diagram of Mn{sup 4+} ion.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A constitutive model for elastomers tailored by ionic bonds and entanglements

Over the past decade or two, the concept has emerged of using multiple types of weak interactions simultaneously to enhance the mechanical properties of elastomers. These weak interactions include physical entanglements, hydrogen bonds, metal-coordination bonds, dynamic covalent bonds, and ionic bonds. The combination of entanglements and ionic bonding has been minimally explored and is particularly exciting because of the broad application space for polyelectrolytes. In this work, a constitutive model framework is developed to describe the response of elastomers with both ionic bonds and entanglements. Here we formulate a micromechanical model that couples together chain stretching, ionic bond slipping, and entanglement evolution. The ionic bonds provide toughness by enabling plastic deformation in comparison to covalently crosslinked material and add strength compared to a linear polymer. Evolution of the entanglement density is taken as a key mechanism that can govern stiffness, toughness, and self-recovery in elastomers. The model is used to match bulk polyelectrolytes with different fractions of ionic components under a variety of loading histories. The variations in material parameters are then used to help understand the relative importance of different governing mechanisms in the bulk polymers. We show that the theoretical framework can explain our experimental uniaxial tensile experimental results for polyelectrolytes. This model can help to design better material with high stiffness and toughness. We expect that our model can be extended to explain the mechanical behavior of other polyelectrolytes and other soft materials with a wide range of dynamic bonds.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Dynamic imaging of metastable reaction pathways in lithiated cobalt oxide electrodes

Understanding how lithium-ion batteries function down to the atomic level during charge and discharge cycling can provide valuable guidance to optimize structure-property relationships and to design and understand new electrode materials. Lithium insertion and reactions with the electrodes during charge and discharge cycling can occur via metastable structures with complex ordering and related non-equilibrium phenomena. Remarkably, these processes remain still poorly understood despite their significance in the operation of lithium battery systems in critical technologies. In this communication, we present the dynamics of lithium insertion into Co3O4 and the evolution of metastable phases as probed by in-situ transmission electron microscopy, in concert with first principles density functional theory calculations. We show that the initial lithium intercalation reaction occurs with the formation of several metastable and intermediate phases, followed by a sequence of conversion reactions that perturb and expand the cubic-close-packed oxygen array, ultimately generating an end-product of finely dispersed cobalt metal clusters within a Li2O matrix. The calculated non-equilibrium lithiation pathways corroborate with the experimental lithiation voltages, and explain the significant hysteresis that occurs during electrochemical cycling. The data provide new insights into the complexity of solid state lithium electrochemistry in metal oxides that are relevant to advancing lithium battery technology.

conversion reaction electrode↗

Failure investigation of nuclear grade POCO graphite target in high energy neutrino physics through numerical simulation

In many high energy physics neutrino beamlines, targets are made up of isotropic POCO graphite grade for production of neutrinos for high energy particle physics research and are bombarded with highly energetic pulsed proton beam. The pulsed proton beam with a small beam size creates thermal stress waves as well as radiation damage such as displacement damage, void formation, swelling, and gas formation amongst others. As a result, after a few years of operation one of the longest operated targets appears to have undergone bulk swelling and fractured along the beam centerline. A complex interaction of dynamic loading due to beam, material degradation due to irradiation are thought to have caused such a failure. Here, we present a numerical simulation to capture the combined effects of swelling and the dynamic effect of thermal stress waves due to beam heating, to explain the failure of target. An empirical formula has been developed to take into account swelling as a function of temperature and proton fluence and has been implemented in a commercial finite element code. Extensive X-ray diffraction (XRD) were performed on graphite samples from the failed target to understand the lattice parameter changes due to irradiation and build a valid empirical model. Simulation results show that swelling plays a major role in elevating the stress state in the material exceeding the failure strength while the pulsed beam heating also introduces fatigue loading that would explain brittle fracture emanating from inside of the material and propagating outward. Such empirical formulations will help in identifying the threshold values of critical parameters to extend the service life of future multi-megawatt neutrino targets and targets in other accelerator environments.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

A NEA review on innovative structural materials solutions, including advanced manufacturing processes for nuclear applications based on technology readiness assessment

The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Expert Group on Innovative Structural Materials (EGISM) was established in 2008 under the guidance of the Nuclear Science Committee (NSC). Its objectives are to conduct joint and comparative studies to support the development, selection and characterisation of innovative structural materials that can be implemented in advanced nuclear fuel cycles, under long service lifetime and extreme conditions, such as high temperature, high dose/dose rate and corrosive chemical environments. In this context of growing interest and initiatives, the EGISM initiated at the beginning of 2018 an activity among its members to: Identify, in a non-exhaustive way, the currently existing programs on innovative materials and fabrication processes in NEA member countries and China; Establish a first cartography of the activities that are underway on these topics and identify common subjects and thematic; Propose a Technology Readiness Level scale to estimate the maturity of both innovative materials and fabrication processes; Carry out a reflection on what the enablers are to quickly climb this TRL scale, as well as the obstacles, in order to identify solutions to overcome them. This paper first gives definitions shared between the EGISM members on what are considered as advanced structural materials solutions. Next, some international initiatives for the accelerated development of high performance materials are presented both in non-nuclear and nuclear fields. Then, the methodology adopted for technology readiness assessment is explained. A non-exhaustive synthesis of the projects identified among the EGISM members on innovative structural materials and advanced manufacturing solutions such as additive manufacturing is presented. The TRL level of these projects is evaluated. A focus is also made on some of these projects to illustrate and explain the TRLs chosen as well as highlighting enablers or obstacles identified to climbing up the TRL scale.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Electron Microscopic Evaluation and Fission Product Identification of Irradiated TRISO Coated Particles from the AGR-1 Experiment: A Preliminary Review

Post-irradiation examination of coated particle fuel from the AGR-1 experiment is in progress at Idaho National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In this paper a brief summary of results from characterization of microstructures in the coating layers of selected irradiated fuel particles with burnup of 11.3% and 19.3% FIMA will be given. The main objectives of the characterization were to study irradiation effects, fuel kernel porosity, layer debonding, layer degradation or corrosion, fission-product precipitation, grain sizes, and transport of fission products from the kernels across the TRISO layers. Characterization techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and wavelength dispersive spectroscopy were used. A new approach to microscopic quantification of fission-product precipitates is also briefly demonstrated. Microstructural characterization focused on fission-product precipitates in the SiC-IPyC interface, the SiC layer and the fuel-buffer interlayer. The results provide significant new insights into mechanisms of fission-product transport. Although Pd-rich precipitates were identified at the SiC-IPyC interlayer, no significant SiC-layer thinning was observed for the particles investigated. Characterization of these precipitates highlighted the difficulty of measuring low concentrations of Ag in precipitates with significantly higher concentrations of Pd and U. Different approaches to resolving this problem are discussed. An initial hypothesis is provided to explain fission-product precipitate compositions and locations. No SiC phase transformations were observed and no debonding of the SiC-IPyC interlayer as a result of irradiation was observed for the samples investigated. Lessons learned from the post-irradiation examination are described and future actions are recommended.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Insights on the origin of the Tb5Ge4 magnetocaloric effect

In this report the magnetic, atomic structures and spin-lattice coupling have been thoroughly studied through high magnetic field magnetometry, Synchrotron X-ray diffraction under applied magnetic field and magnetostriction measurements in the Tb5Ge4 compounds. A field induced phase transition from an antiferromagnetic towards a ferromagnetic ordering was confirmed but with absence of structural transformation. This absence has been confirmed experimentally through synchrotron x-ray diffraction under applied field (up to 30 T). Moreover, this absence was explained via a thermodynamic free energy model: first principles calculations determined a large energy gap (ΔE=0.65 eV) between the two possible structures, O(I) and O(II). From magnetic and structural properties, a H-T phase diagram has been proposed for Tb5Ge4. Finally it was observed a large magnetostriction (up to 600 ppm) induced by ΔH=7 T.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Physical properties and electronic structure of La 3 Co and La 3 Ni intermetallic superconductors

La 3 Co and La 3 Ni are reported superconductors with transition temperatures of 4.5 and 6 K, respectively. In this work, we reinvestigate the physical properties of these two intermetallic compounds with magnetic susceptibility χ, specific heat C p and electrical resistivity ρ measurements down to 1.9 K. Although bulk superconductivity is confirmed in La 3 Co, as observed previously, only a trace of it is found in La3Ni, indicating that the superconductivity in La 3 Ni originates from an impurity phase. Superconducting state parameters for La 3 Co, including lower and upper critical fields and the superconducting gap, are estimated. Results of the theoretical calculations of the electronic structure for both materials are also presented, and comparison of the Fermi level location in La 3 Co versus La 3 Ni explains its larger superconducting T c . A major discrepancy between band structure calculations and the experimentally measured Sommerfeld coefficient is found. The measured electronic density of states is about 2.5 times larger than the theoretical value for La 3 Co. This effect cannot be explained by the electron-phonon interaction alone. Renormalization of γ, as well as an ~T 2 behavior of the resistivity, suggests the presence of spin fluctuations in both systems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Exotic hidden-heavy hadrons and where to find them

The Born-Oppenheimer potentials for QCD with light quarks include adjoint-hadron potentials that are repulsive at short distances and heavy-hadron-pair potentials that approach thresholds at large distances. The adjoint-hadron potentials must connect smoothly to the heavy-hadron-pair potentials at intermediate distances. We identify exotic hidden-heavy hadrons as bound states and resonances in adjoint-hadron potentials that cross below a heavy-hadron-pair threshold before approaching it. This explains why many exotic hidden-charm and hidden-bottom hadrons have energies near heavy-hadron-pair thresholds. The remarkable properties of some exotic hidden-heavy mesons can be explained by fine tunings of adjoint-meson energies in QCD.

Born-Oppenheimer approximation↗

Nuclear level density, thermalization, chaos, and collectivity

The knowledge of the level density is necessary for understanding nuclear reactions involving excited nuclear states. In particular, it is an important element in description of astrophysical processes and in technological applications. This review article explains main ideas of physics forming the level density in complex nuclei that grows very fast due to combinatorial complexity of total excitation energy shared by many constituents. This can be translated into a language of statistical physics by the Darwin–Fowler method. We briefly go through the historical development from the nuclear Fermi-gas model to the self-consistent mean field including the pairing effects. At the next step we introduce the ideas of thermalization in a closed mesoscopic system and quantum chaos with very complicated eigenfunctions. This is supported by the experience of the shell model in a limited orbital space that either provides an exact solution or uses the Monte Carlo approach. The statistical method of moments allows one to avoid the exact diagonalization keeping intact the quality of the results. We discuss the popular “constant temperature model” that describes well available data and the shell-model results; it is shown that its success cannot be explained by the phase transition from superfluid to a normal phase. The interpretation is suggested, supported by the numerical studies, in terms of dynamical chaotization including the collective enhancement of the level density. The role of incoherent collision-like interactions is stressed as a necessary element of the thermalization process.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Runtime Tracing of the Community Earth System Model: Feasibility Study and Benefits

The Community Earth System Model (CESM) is one of US's leading earth system modeling frameworks, which has decades of development history and was embraced by a large, active user community. In this paper, we first review the software development history of CESM and we explain the general objectives of performance analysis. Then we present an offline global community land model simulation within the CESM framework to demonstrate the procedure of runtime tracing of CESM using the Vampir toolset. Finally, we explain the benefits of runtime tracing to the general earth system modeling community. We hope those considerations can be beneficial to many other modeling research programs involving legacy high-performance computing applications.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Abiotic influences on continuous conifer forest structure across a subalpine watershed

Understanding the abiotic drivers of high-elevation forest physiognomy is essential for forecasting how mountain ecosystems will respond to emerging environmental pressures. Most prior studies of these relationships have relied on small samples of the full landscape, resulting in limited power to detect dominant covariates and their interactions. Here we report the first evaluation of abiotic influences on a complement of accurate, wall-to-wall estimates of conifer forest structure and composition at the watershed scale. In a subalpine conifer domain in the Colorado Rocky Mountains (USA), we developed a novel method for deriving stand structure metrics from waveform LiDAR data, which showed high fidelity with field inventory. We quantified the relationships between structural and compositional metrics and climate, topographic, edaphic, and geologic factors. Our results showed that peak snow water equivalent (SWE), snow disappearance rate, and elevation explained most of the variation in forest structure. The highest stand density, basal area, maximum canopy height, and quadratic mean diameter occurred in sites with SWE around one standard deviation below mean, but with long snow residence times. Stand density decreased linearly with elevation, while other metrics peaked between 3000 m and 3200 m. Substrate properties had weaker influence. Continuous mapping of through-canopy forest structure enabled our novel findings of the dominant role of snowpack in explaining structural and compositional variation, and of elevation thresholds. Our reproducible approach facilitates assessment of forest-topoclimate relationships in other conifer-dominated landscapes and improves understanding of the baseline patterns controlling forest structure, which is needed for predicting long-term ecological change.

forest ecology↗