The differential method for calculation of cloud motion vectors

The problem ofcloud data retrieval for the periods between the fixed terms ofobservations from geostationary satellites is solved using the differential methods for the optical flow. To solve the problem, the possibility of using different methods for computing cloud motion vectors is investigated. The estimates of the accuracy of computed vectors based on artificially generated test sequences are presented. The test results reveal that the accuracy of the optical flow calculation with the modt fied Brox’s method excels the other mentioned methods. The software is implemented for creating the smooth animation of cloud movement using the modified Brox’s method.     

Investigating the molecular systematic relationships amongst selected Plesionika (Decapoda: Pandalidae) from the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea

Despite the high number of species and ecological diversity of pandalid shrimps, there has been no previous attempt to resolve evolutionary relationships of several genera using molecular tools. Although mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I (COI) is widely used in barcoding studies to delimit species boundaries, additional insights into phylogenetic affinities can be obtained, especially when used in combination with data from additional genes. The knowledge of molecular diversity is essential to understand phylogenetic relationships and will help systematic clarifications. Based on partial fragments of the 16S and COI genes, we have focused specifically on addressing the systematic relationships of the economically and ecologically important shrimp genus Plesionika within a framework of five genera from within the Pandalidae. Our results showed that species within Plesionika are substantially divergent when compared with other genera, exhibiting the highest average nucleotide divergence, with 0.1123 and 0.0846 in COI and 16S genes, respectively. In addition, sequence divergence was found to vary greatly within the genus Plesionika (COI/16S): 0.0247/0.0016 between Plesionika antigai and Plesionika heterocarpus and 0.1616/0.098 between Plesionika heterocarpus and Plesionika edwardsii. We did not find amino acid sequence divergence between P. heterocarpus and P. antigai compared with P. heterocarpus and P. edwardsii (8.10%, K2P distance). Three species of Plesionika (P. antigai, P. heterocarpus and Plesionika scopifera) appear well separated from other Plesionika species in both maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses. The present study confirms the utility of COI over 16S as a genetic marker to resolve relationships between different species of Plesionika from the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea, in addition to species delimitation. The findings highlight the need to further review paraphyly within Plesionika in an attempt to recognize a concordance in the evolutionary history of Plesionika with major ecological and geological events.     

Satellite observations and numerical simulation results for the comprehensive analysis of ash cloud transport during the explosive eruptions of Kamchatka volcanoes

Ash clouds resulting from explosive volcanic eruptions pose a real threat to human life (for aircraft flights, airport operations, etc.); therefore, the detection, monitoring, and forecast of their movement is an urgent and important issue. The features and examples of application of the new tool developed on the basis of "Monitoring of Active Volcanoes of Kamchatka and the Kurile Islands" information system (VolSatView) are described. It allows the integrated monitoring and forecasting of ash cloud transport using the data of remote sensing and mathematical modeling as well as the assessment of the parameters of explosive events.     

On the character of evolution of orbits in the vicinity of the 1 : 3 Kirkwood gap

The character of orbital evolution for bodies moving near the if 1 : 3 commensurability with Jupiter was studied by model calculations for the time interval of ～500 years. A comparison of oscillations of the orbital elements a, e, q and q′ is made for ensembles of bodies along three starting orbits in the vicinity of the sharp commensurability with Jupiter. These orbits are eccentric ones of low inclinations having perihelia near the Earth's orbit. Examples of a deceleration of the rate of orbital evolution near the sharp commensurability are revealed. The existence of a group of asteroids connected with the Kirkwood gap, i.e., being in a resonant motion with Jupiter, is suggested. A connection of asteroids 887 Alinda and 1915 Quetzalcoatl with this gap is confirmed.     

生态地质调查评价——以辽宁铁岭地区为例

参照俄罗斯生态地质调查评价方法,结合辽宁铁岭地区资源与环境状况,增加了土壤侵蚀、土壤厚度及植被发育状况等相关调查内容,建立了基于“土壤、植被、水文及地质灾害发育程度等”评价指标的“生态地质综合评价法”.由此将工作区划分出5类生态地质景观,提出了相应的资源开发与环境保护建议.     

Linear theory of slow drift mirror kinetic instability at finite electron temperature

A slow drift mirror (SDM) instability has been analyzed in the scope the kinetic theory, taking into account electron pressure. Both known branches of the SDM mode have been analyzed, and two regions of the kinetic SDM instability—low and high anisotropies—have been revealed. It has been indicated that different branches are intensified at low and high anisotropies. The dependence of the SDM wave modes on different plasma parameters has been studied.     

Comparison of Winter Precipitation Measurements by Six Tretyakov Gauges at the Valdai Experimental Site

Analyses of long-term (1991–2010) intercomparison data quantify the consistency of winter precipitation observations by six identical Tretyakov gauges at the Valdai research station in Russia. Relative to the standard Tretyakov gauge, the mean catch ratios are 97 to 106% for dry snow, 94 to 104% for wet snow, 87 to 109% for blowing snow, 96 to 103% for mixed precipitation, and 98 to 101% for winter rain. The differences between the highest and lowest mean catches are about 10 to 11% for snow, 7% for mixed precipitation, and 3% for rain. On average, this difference is about 0.2?mm over the 12-hour observation period. The catch difference for blowing snow is much higher, up to 22%, or an average of 0.6?mm per observation. Comparisons of 12-hour observations show better consistency in gauge performance for low snowfall events and a large variation in gauge catch for high snowfall events. The differences in 12-hour snow catches are mostly less than 2?mm among the six gauges. The differences in the 12-hour observations are less than 1% for rain and 4% for mixed precipitation. Close linear relationships exist between the 12-hour gauge observations for all precipitation types. The maximum differences in gauge snow catches increase very weakly with wind speed, and higher differences are associated with warmer temperatures, from ?5°C to 0°C. There is, however, no significant relationship between the maximum catch difference and the mean wind speed or temperature over the 12-hour period.     

Particle motion in the vicinity of the protosun with variable luminosity

Variations of luminosity of the protosun during its Hayashi stage produced variations of its repulsive radiative action on small particles in its vicinity — or, in other words, variations of the effective mass of the protosun. Changes of the effective mass produced changes of size of orbits for particles circling around the protosun. When the luminosity increased, the effect of variable luminosity (EVL) diminished or overbalanced the Poynting-Robertson effect (PRE), hindering the small particles in their drift toward the protosun, and reinforced PRE when the luminosity decreased. An analysis of quasicircular motion of small uncharged particles moving in transparent circumsolar space under both effects — EVL and PRE — is given.     

Similarity between morphological characteristics of rills and ephemeral gullies in Sicily,Italy

This paper reports the results of a field investigation aimed to establish morphological similarity between rills and ephemeral gullies. Rill measurements were made on 14 plots having a surface area of 22–352 m² located on a 14·9% slope and on a plot 6·0 m wide and 22·0 m long having a uniform 22·0% slope. The plots are located on the experimental station for soil erosion measurements, ‘Sparacia’, of the Agricultural Faculty of Palermo University, in Sicily, Italy. All plots are subjected to natural rainfall. The measurements were made immediately following five events between November 2004 and December 2005. The ephemeral gully measurements were made on a cultivated area of about 120 ha, located in Central Sicily, which is representative of many soil‐crop conditions in the Mediterranean basin. The morphological similarity between rill and ephemeral gully was first tested. Then a power relationship between rill or gully volume and length, theoretically deduced by dimensional analysis and self‐similarity theory, was applied. This power relationship needs a different scale factor for rill and gully measurements. Finally, using two dimensionless groups representative of the channel morphology variables, the analysis showed that a single relationship can be applied to rill and gully measurements. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.