The plasma plumes of Europa and Callisto

We investigate the proposition that Europa and Callisto emit plasma plumes, i.e., a contiguous body of ionospheric plasma, extended in the direction of the corotation flow, analogous to the plume of smoke emitted in the downwind direction from a smokestack. Such plumes were seen by Voyager 1 to be emitted by Titan. We find support for this proposition in published data from Galileo Plasma Science and Plasma Wave observations taken in the corotation wakes of both moons and from magnetometer measurements reported from near the orbit of, but away from, Europa itself. This lends credence to the hypothesis that the plumes escaping from the ionospheres of Europa and Callisto are wrapped around Jupiter by corotation, survive against dispersion for a fairly long time and are convected radially by magnetospheric motions. We present simple models of plume acceleration and compare the plumes of the Europa and Callisto to the known plumes of Titan.     

Geographic information system for semi‐detailed mapping of soils in a semi‐arid region

Abstract

The paper presents a GIS model for mapping soils in the semi arid region of Israel. The model is based on a priori knowledge of the soil generating factors in the study area, namely (1) the parent‐material (lithology) which determines the origin of the soil; and (2) the relief (including the drainage patents) which is responsible for erosion, deposition, and leaching processes along the catena. A special attempt was made to represent soil belts in small subwatersheds with different parent‐material. The width of these belts can be varied as a function of the local relief.

We believe that GIS techniques, in contrast to conventional survey and mapping methods, have the potential to overcome the manpower and fiscal restrictions which limit monitoring of large areas and areas which are for different reasons difficult to access. However, systematically generalizing a spatial model for a large area may introduce some errors, either due to local variations which were not taken into account, or regional variations.     

Recovery rates of microbiotic crusts within a dune ecosystem in the Negev Desert

Despite the important role played by microbiotic crusts in desert ecosystems, data concerning their recovery rates are scarce and are mainly based on estimates that fluctuate between several years to a few hundred years. In order to study the recovery rates of microbiotic crusts inhabiting sand dunes in the western Negev Desert, Israel, annual measurements of chlorophyll, protein, carbohydrates and moss counts were carried out during 1990–1995. Measurements were taken in two pairs of plots (1.5–6.3 m²) established in each north- and south-facing aspect from which the upper 10 cm surface from one plot of each pair was removed. Recovery of the crusts was fast with surface-removed plots showing a complete recovery of chlorophyll a within 6–7 years, of protein within 6–8 years and of carbohydrates within 8–9 years. Recovery of the mosses was slightly longer at 17–22 years. The data are higher than the lower estimates of recovery but much lower than the higher estimates proposed in the literature. The data also suggest that upon prohibition of goat and sheep grazing (and consequently trampling) a relatively rapid stabilization process may take place in the north-eastern Sinai dune field.     

Earthquake engineering research needs in light of lessons learned from the 2011 Tohoku earthquake

Earthquake engineering research and development have received much attention since the first half of the twentieth century. This valuable research presented a huge step forward in understanding earthquake hazard mitigation,which resulted in appreciable reduction of the effects of past earthquakes. Nevertheless,the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and the subsequent tsunami resulted in major damage. This paper presents the timeline of earthquake mitigation and recovery,as seen by the authors. Possible research directions where the authors think that many open questions still remain are identified. These are primarily based on the important lessons learned from the 2011 Tohoku earthquake.     

On the red coloration of saltern crystallizer ponds

To assess, respectively, the contribution of red bacteria of theHalobacterium-Haloferax-Haloarcula group and of the β-carotene-rich green algaDunaliella salina to the red colour of saltern crystallizer ponds, we studied the optical properties of the brines of NaCl-saturated saltern ponds in Eilat, Israel, and quantified the pigments present in their biota. The absorption spectrum of the brines, as measured using the opal glass method to reduce the interference by scattering, or using an integrating sphere, nearly corresponded to thein vivo absorption spectrum of bacterioruberin-containing red archaeobacteria. However, extracts of the microbial community in organic solvents were dominated by β-carotene, a pigment occurring in high concentrations in theDunaliella cells present, and bacterioruberin contributed only between 13 and 28 per cent of the total visible light absorption by the extracts. The apparent discrepancy between these results can be explained by the very small in vivo optical cross-section of β-carotene, which is densely packed in globules inside theD. salina cells.     

Retail ribbon development in the industrial area of Haifa, Israel

Retail ribbon developments specializing in the automobile, furniture and food trades arise mainly along highways. Such a ribbon development has evolved during the last few years in the industrial area of Haifa, located between the core city and the suburbs, and specializing mainly in the automobile and furniture businesses. with two concentrations near major junctions. This ribbon development does not represent competition with the city's CBDs, and is balanced by government industrial location policies.     

Spatial Variability of Turbulent Fluxes in the Roughness Sublayer of an Even-Aged Pine Forest

The spatial variability of turbulent flow statistics in the roughness sublayer (RSL) of a uniform even-aged 14 m (= h) tall loblolly pine forest was investigated experimentally. Using seven existing walkup towers at this stand, high frequency velocity, temperature, water vapour and carbon dioxide concentrations were measured at 15.5 m above the ground surface from October 6 to 10 in 1997. These seven towers were separated by at least 100m from each other. The objective of this study was to examine whether single tower turbulence statistics measurements represent the flow properties of RSL turbulence above a uniform even-aged managed loblolly pine forest as a best-case scenario for natural forested ecosystems. From the intensive space-time series measurements, it was demonstrated that standard deviations of longitudinal and vertical velocities (_u, _w) and temperature (_T) are more planar homogeneous than their vertical flux of momentum (u_* ²) and sensible heat (H) counterparts. Also, the measured H is more horizontally homogeneous when compared to fluxes of other scalar entities such as CO₂ and water vapour. While the spatial variability in fluxes was significant (>15 %), this unique data set confirmed that single tower measurements represent the canonical structure of single-point RSL turbulence statistics, especially flux-variance relationships. Implications to extending the moving-equilibrium hypothesis for RSL flows are discussed. The spatial variability in all RSL flow variables was not constant in time and varied strongly with spatially averaged friction velocity u_*, especially when u_* was small. It is shown that flow properties derived from two-point temporal statistics such as correlation functions are more sensitive to local variability in leaf area density when compared to single point flow statistics. Specifically, that the local relationship between the reciprocal of the vertical velocity integral time scale (I_w) and the arrival frequency of organized structures (/h) predicted from a mixing-layer theory exhibited dependence on the local leaf area index. The broader implications of these findings to the measurement and modelling of RSL flows are also discussed.     

Species differences in stomatal control of water loss at the canopy scale in a mature bottomland deciduous forest

In order to evaluate factors controlling transpiration of six common eastern deciduous species in North America, a model describing responses of canopy stomatal conductance (G_S) to net radiation (R_N), vapor pressure deficit (D) and relative extractable soil water (REW) was parameterized from sap flux data. Sap flux was measured in 24 mature trees consisting of the species Carya tomentosa, Quercus alba, Q. rubra, Fraxinus americana, Liriodendron tulipifera, and Liquidambar styraciflua in a bottomland oak-hickory forest in the Duke Forest, NC. Species differences in model coefficients were found during the 1997 growing season. All species showed a reduction in G_S with increasing D. R_N influenced G_S in the overstory shade intolerant L. styraciflua to a larger extent than the other species measured. In addition, despite a severe drought during the study period, only L. tulipifera showed a decline in G_S with decreasing REW. The primary effect of the drought for the other species appeared to be early autumn leaf senescence and abscission. As a result, despite the drought in this bottomland forest accustomed to ample water supply, maximum daily transpiration (1.6 mm) and growing season transpiration (264 mm) were similar to a nearby upland forest measured during a year of above average precipitation. These results may aid in assessing differences in water use and the ability of bottomland deciduous species to tolerate alterations in the frequency or amount of precipitation. Results also suggest little variation in water use among forests of similar composition and structure growing in different positions in the landscape and subjected to large interannual variation in water supply.     

Contamination of groundwater under cultivated fields in an arid environment, central Arava Valley, Israel

The purpose of this study is to obtain a better understanding of groundwater contamination processes in an arid environment (precipitation of 50 mm/year) due to cultivation. Additional aims were to study the fate of N, K, and other ions along the whole hydrological system including the soil and vadose zone, and to compare groundwater in its natural state with contaminated groundwater (through the drilling of several wells).

A combination of physical, chemical, and isotopic analyses was used to describe the hydrogeological system and the recharge trends of water and salts to the aquifers. The results indicate that intensive irrigation and fertilization substantially affected the quantity and quality of groundwater recharge. Low irrigation efficiency of about 50% contributes approximately 3.5–4 million m³/year to the hydrological system, which corresponds to 0.65 m per year of recharge in the irrigated area, by far the most significant recharge mechanism.

Two main contamination processes were identified, both linked to human activity: (1) salinization due to circulation of dissolved salts in the irrigation water itself, mainly chloride, sulfate, sodium and calcium, and (2) direct input of nitrate and potassium mainly from fertilizers.

The nitrate concentrations in a local shallow groundwater lens range between 100 and 300 mg/l and in the upper sub-aquifer are over 50 mg/l. A major source of nitrate is fertilizer N in the excess irrigation water. The isotopic compositions of δ¹⁵N–NO₃ (range of 4.9–14.8‰) imply also possible contributions from nearby sewage ponds and/or manure. Other evidence of contamination of the local groundwater lens includes high concentrations of K (20–120 mg/l) and total organic carbon (about 10 mg/l).     

Optimal design of supplemental viscous dampers for linear framed structures

A methodology for the optimal design of supplemental viscous dampers for framed structures is presented. It addresses the problem of minimizing the added damping subject to a constraint on the maximal interstorey angular drift for an ensemble of realistic ground motion records while assuming linear behaviour of the damped structure. The solution is achieved by actually solving an equivalent optimization problem of minimizing the added damping subject to a constraint on a maximal weighted integral on the squared angular drift. The computational effort is appreciably reduced by first using one ‘active’ ground motion record. If the resulting optimal design fails to satisfy the constraints for other ground motions from the original ensemble, additional ground motions (loading conditions) are added one by one to the ‘active’ set until the optimum is reached. An efficient selecting process which is presented herein will usually require one or two records to attain an optimum design. Examples of optimal designs of supplemental dampers are presented for a 2‐storey shear frame and a 10‐storey industrial frame. The 2‐storey shear frame is required to withstand one given ground motion whereas the 10‐storey frame is required to withstand an ensemble of twenty ground motions. The resulting viscously damped structures have envelope values of interstorey drifts equal or less than the target drifts. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.