Metrics for characterizing network structure and node importance in Spatial Social Networks

Social Network Analysis offers powerful tools to analyze the structure of relationships between a set of people. However, the addition of spatial information poses new challenges, as nodes are embedded simultaneously in network space and Euclidean space. While nearby nodes may not form social ties, ties may exist at a distance, a configuration ill-suited for traditional spatial metrics that assume adjacent objects are related. As such, there are relatively few metrics to describe these nuanced situations. We advance the burgeoning field of spatial social network analysis by introducing a set of new metrics. Specifically, we introduce the spatial social network schema, tuning parameter and the flattening ratio, each of which leverages the notion of ‘distance’ to augment insights obtained by relying on topology alone. These methods are used to answer the questions: What is the social and spatial structure of the network? Who are the key individuals at different spatial scales? We use two synthetic networks with properties mimicking the ones reported in the literature as validation datasets and a case study of employer–employee network. The methods characterize the employer–employee as spatially loose with predominantly local connections and identify key individuals responsible for keeping the network connected at different spatial scales.     

Analyzing Animal Movement Characteristics From Location Data

When individuals of a species utilize an environment, they generate movement patterns at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. Field observations coupled with location technologies (e.g. GPS tags) enable the capture of detailed spatio‐temporal data regarding these movement patterns. These patterns contain information about species‐specific preferences regarding individual decision‐making, locational choices and the characteristics of the habitat in which the animal resides. Spatial Data Mining approaches can be used to extract repeated spatio‐temporal patterns and additional habitat preferences hidden within large spatially explicit movement datasets. We describe a method to determine the periodicity and directionality in movement exhibited by a migratory bird species. Results using a High Arctic‐nesting Svalbard Barnacle Goose movement data yielded undetected patterns that were secondarily corroborated with expert field knowledge. Individual revisits by the geese to specific locations in the breeding and wintering grounds of Svalbard, Norway and Solway, Scotland, occurred with a periodicity of 334 days . Further, the orientation of this movement was detected to be mostly north‐south. During long‐range migration the geese use the north‐south oriented Norwegian islands as “stepping stones”, Short‐range movement between mudbank roosts to feeding fields in Solway also retained a north‐south orientation.     

H i content and star formation in the interacting galaxy Arp86

We present the results of Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) observations of the interacting system Arp86 in both neutral atomic hydrogen, H  i , and in radio continuum at 240 606 and 1394 MHz. In addition to H  i emission from the two dominant galaxies, NGC 7752 and NGC 7753, these observations show a complex distribution of H  i tails and bridges due to tidal interactions. The regions of highest column density appear related to the recent sites of intense star formation. H  i column densities  ∼1–1.5 × 10²¹ cm⁻²  have been detected in the tidal bridge which is bright in Spitzer image as well. We also detect H  i emission from the galaxy 2MASX J23470758+2926531, which is shown to be a part of this system. We discuss the possibility that this could be a tidal dwarf galaxy. The radio continuum observations show evidence of a non-thermal bridge between NGC 7752 and NGC 7753, and a radio source in the nuclear region of NGC 7753 consistent with it having a low-ionization nuclear emission region nucleus.     

A paradoxical situation in determining relative competence from wavelength/arclength ratios within buckle folded multilayers

By measuring the ratio of wavelength to arclength of folds in closely associated disharmonically folded competent layers, it is possible to determine which layer has undergone a greater layer-parallel strain and has a smaller competence. This method may lead to a paradoxical situation. For example when foliated quartzite and mica schist layers are folded together, the mica schist laminae show a much larger buckle shortening than the quartzite layers. On the other hand, the geometry of folds in quartzite indicates that quartzite was more competent than the mica schist. The structure can be explained by different modes of buckling, general buckling in quartzite layers and internal buckling in strongly anisotropic mica schists.     

Deformation of pebbles in relation to associated structures in parts of Singhbhum Shear Zone,Eastern India

The Singhbhum Shear Zone separates the rocks of a highly metamorphosed northern group from an unmetamorphosed southern group. It had been recognised by earlier workers as a thrust zone in which the thrust movements were achieved by slip along a pre-existing schistosity. Deformed conglomerates crop out in discontinuous bands along the Shear Zone. Strain determinations from these conglomerates have been made to ascertain the strain pattern within the Shear Zone. None of the existing methods of determining strain from stretched pebbles can be applied to these conglomerates. An approximate value for shortening perpendicular to the schistosity can however be obtained from cross-cutting buckled veins. Detailed study of various small-scale structures clearly indicates that the principal structures of this region cannot be explained simply by a slipping on the schistosity.

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Zusammenfassung Die Singhbhum-Scherzone trennt die Gesteine der stark metamorphen nördlichen Gruppe von denjenigen einer nicht metamorphen südlichen Gruppe. Nach früheren Autoren ist es eine Überschiebungszone, worin die Überschiebungsbewegungen durch das Gleiten entlang einer älteren Schieferung zustande kamen. Deformierte Trümmergesteine treten in ununterbrochenen Bändern entlang der Scherzone auf. Man hat Deformationsbestimmungen von diesen Trümmergesteinen gemacht, um das Deformationsbild in der Scherzone zu erklären. Eine ausführliche Untersuchung der verschiedenen kleinmaßstäblichen Strukturen zeigt deutlich, daß die Hauptstrukturen dieser Gegend nicht einfach durch das Gleiten auf der Schieferung erklärt werden können.

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Résumé La zone de cisaillement de Singhbhum sépare les roches très métamorphiques au nord, de celles d'un groupe non-métamorphique au sud. Elle avait été reconnue lors de recherches précédentes comme étant la base de charriages suivant laquelle la poussée se serait faite par glissement le long d'une schistosité pré-existante. Des conglomérats déformés affleurent par bandes discontinues le long de cette zone. Grâce à ces conglomérats, des estimations sur la déformation ont été faites pour définir le style de déformation dans la zone de glissement. Une étude détaillée de différentes structures à petite échelle indique clairement qu'on ne peut pas expliquer les principales structures de cette région uniquement par un glissement sur la schistosité.

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One dimensional elastic wave propagation in a non-homogeneous conical rod

Summary A one dimensional problem concerning the wave propagation in a non-homogeneous conical rod having its cross-section directly proportional to the square of the distance from a chosen point is considered in this paper. One end of the rod is subjected to a pressure step while the other end is stress free and the pulse shape is examined when the propagation speed of the wave has a particular continuous distribution over the entire rod.     

Delineation of arsenic-contaminated zones in Bengal Delta, India: a geographic information system and fractal approach

Groundwater extracted from shallow aquifers in the Bengal Delta is contaminated with arsenic. The fluviodeltaic process that creates aquifers, ironically, extends its role to also contaminating them with arsenic. The arsenic distribution maps show a spatial association of arsenic-contaminated wells with palaeo/cut-off/abandoned channels. Weight-on-evidences analysis indicates that the zones of contamination occur around palaeo-channels within a corridor of 500–700 m that contains most of the contaminated wells. These corridors are interpreted to be the zone of channel shifting. Contaminated wells represent point fractal geometry that can be separated into isolated points and clusters. Clusters occur within the zone of channel shifting as obtained by weight-on-evidences analysis. Isolated points occur within floodplain or back swamp areas. Clusters and isolated point fractals are interpreted to reflect the process of arsenic release into groundwater. The migration of biomass within the permeable sandy domain of channel deposits is proposed to be the predominant process in generating clusters. The isolated points represent restricted biomass spreading in less permeable clay-silt dominated floodplains.     

An assessment of soil contamination due to heavy metals around a coal-fired thermal power plant in India

Combustion of coals in thermal power plants is one of the major sources of environmental pollution due to generation of huge amounts of ashes, which are disposed off in large ponds in the vicinity of the thermal power plants. This problem is of particular significance in India, which utilizes coals of very high ash content (∼55 wt%). Since the thermal power plants and the ash ponds are located in densely populated areas, there is potential chance for contamination of soil and groundwater of the surrounding areas from the toxic trace elements in the ash. An attempt has been made to study the extent of soil contamination around one of the largest thermal power plants of India located at Kolaghat, West Bengal India. Chemical analysis of the top soils and the soils collected from the different depth profiles surrounding the ash ponds, show that the top soils are enriched in the trace elements Mo, As, Cr, Mn, Cu, Ni, Co, Pb, Be, V, Zn, which show maximum enrichment (2–5) in the top soils collected from all the soil profiles. These elements are also enriched in the pond ash. Since there are no other sources of industrial effluents, it can be said that the enrichment of the trace elements (Mn, Co, Mo, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, As, Ni, Be, V) is attributed to their input from ash from the disposal pond. The study has been further strengthened by log-normal distribution pattern of the elements.     

Intraseasonal oscillations and interannual variability of surface winds over the Indian monsoon region

The role of intraseasonal oscillations (ISOs) in modulating synoptic and interannual variations of surface winds over the Indian monsoon region is studied using daily averaged National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) reanalyses for the period 1987–1996. Two dominant ISOs are found in all years, with a period between 30–60 days and 10–20 days respectively. Although the ISOs themselves explain only about 10–25% of the daily variance, the spatial structure of variance of the ISOs is found to be nearly identical to that of high frequency activity (synoptic disturbances), indicating a significant control by the ISOs in determining the synoptic variations. Zonal and meridional propagation characteristics of the two modes and their interannual variability are studied in detail. The synoptic structure of the 30–60 day mode is similar in all years and is shown to be intimately related to the strong (‘active’) or weak (‘break’) phases of the Indian summer monsoon circulation. The peak (trough) phase of the mode in the north Bay of Bengal corresponds to the ‘active’ (‘break’) phase of monsoon strengthening (weakening) the entire large scale monsoon circulation. The ISOs modulate synoptic activity through the intensification or weakening of the large scale monsoon flow (monsoon trough). The peak wind anomalies associated with these ISOs could be as large as 30% of the seasonal mean winds in many regions. The vorticity pattern associated with the 30–60 day mode has a bi-modal meridional structure similar to the one associated with the seasonal mean winds but with a smaller meridional scale. The spatial structure of the 30–60 day mode is consistent with fluctuations of the tropical convergence zone (TCZ) between one continental and an equatorial Indian Ocean position. The 10–20 day mode has maximum amplitude in the north Bay of Bengal, where it is comparable to that of the 30–60 day mode. Elsewhere in the Indian Ocean, this mode is almost always weaker than the 30–60 day mode. In the Bay of Bengal region, the wind curl anomalies associated with the peak phases of the ISOs could be as large as 50% of the seasonal mean wind curl. Hence, ISOs in this region could drive significant ISOs in the ocean and might influence the seasonal mean currents in the Bay. On the interannual time scale, the NCEP/NCAR reanalysed wind stress is compared with the Florida State University monthly mean stress. The seasonal mean stress as well as interannual standard deviation of monthly stress from the two analyses agree well, indicating absence of any serious systematic bias in the NCEP/NCAR reanalysed winds. It is also found that the composite structure of the 30–60 day mode is strikingly similar to the dominant mode of interannual variability of the seasonal mean winds indicating a strong link between the ISOs and the seasonal mean. The ISO influences the seasonal mean and its interannual variability either through increased/decreased residence time of the TCZ in the continental position or through occurrence of stronger/weaker active/break spells. Thus, the ISOs seem to modulate all variability in this region from synoptic to interannual scales.