An asymptotic approach to the inversion of free oscillation data

Summary. A technique is suggested for the non-linearized inversion of subsets of free oscillation periods which are short enough that their asymptotic properties may be exploited. The general background of the method for monotonic and non-monotonic velocity distributions are described and applications to torsional and spheroidal free oscillation data are suggested. The advantages of joint analysis of travel times and free oscillation periods as a single data stream for non-linearized inversion are discussed.     

An introduction to wave propagation in anisotropic media

Summary. Wave motion in an anisotropic solid is fundamentally different from motion in an isotropic solid, although the effects are often subtle and difficult to recognize. There are such a wide range of three-dimensional variations possible in anisotropic media that it is difficult to understand the behaviour of wave motion without experimentation. Laboratory experiments are very difficult to construct and extensive numerical experiments have now given many theoretical insights so that the behaviour of waves in anisotropic media is now comparatively well understood. This introduction summarizes some of the relationships and insights required for this understanding.     

An introduction to the climate of the United Arab Emirates

An information survey of the recent climate of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was conducted and existing data were used in order to compile a sound and brief introduction to the countries' climates, which are little described in detail.Generally the climate of the UAE is classified as hyperarid. Within the country there are different bioclimatic zones. In the north-eastern areas there are higher mean precipitation rates, and lower temperatures, in comparison with the southern and the western region. The climates of the UAE are similar to those of other areas in Arabia, with low mean precipitation rates, whereas the mean annual temperatures increase along a north–south gradient from Kuwait and Riyadh towards Dibba and Muscat.     

A method of comparison of exact and asymptotic wave field computations

Summary. A method of comparison of exact numerical computations with an asymptotic ray series expansion consisting of the two first terms is proposed. The method makes it unnecessary to derive complicated explicit expressions for the second leading term of the ray series.
As a practical example we consider the anomalous PS arrival generated in the case of a near-vertical incidence of a spherical P wave on a solid/solid boundary. The areas in which the PS wave may be described by two leading terms of the ray series expansion are marked and deviations from the ray theory are analysed.     

Paleolimnological investigations of anthropogenic environmental change in Lake Tanganyika: I. An introduction to the project

We investigated paleolimnological records from a series of river deltas around the northeastern rim of Lake Tanganyika, East Africa (Tanzania and Burundi) in order to understand the history of anthropogenic activity in the lakes catchment over the last several centuries, and to determine the impact of these activities on the biodiversity of littoral and sublittoral lake communities. Sediment pollution caused by increased rates of soil erosion in deforested watersheds has caused significant changes in aquatic communities along much of the lakes shoreline. We analyzed the effects of sediment discharge on biodiversity around six deltas or delta complexes on the east coast of Lake Tanganyika: the Lubulungu River delta, Kabesi River delta, Nyasanga/Kahama River deltas, and Mwamgongo River delta in Tanzania; and the Nyamuseni River delta and Karonge/Kirasa River deltas in Burundi. Collectively, these deltas and their associated rivers were chosen to represent a spectrum of drainage-basin sizes and disturbance levels. By comparing deltas that are similar in watershed attributes (other than disturbance levels), our goal was to explore a series of historical experiments at the watershed scale, with which we could more clearly evaluate hypotheses of land use or other effects on nearshore ecosystems. Here we discuss these deltas, their geologic and physiographic characteristics, and the field procedures used for coring and sampling the deltas, and various indicators of anthropogenic impact.     

An efficient method to compute the dynamic response of a fluid-filled crack

The vibration of a fluid-filled crack is considered to be one of the most plausible source mechanisms for the long-period events and volcanic tremors occurring around volcanoes. As a tool for the quantitative interpretation of source process of such volcanic seismic signals, we propose a method to numerically simulate the dynamic response of a fluid-filled crack. In this method, we formulate the motions of the fluid inside and the elastic solid outside of the crack, using boundary integrals in the frequency domain and solve the dynamic interactions between the fluid and the elastic solid using the point collocation method. The present method is more efficient compared with the time-domain finite difference method, which has been used in simulations of a fluid-filled crack and enables us to study the dynamics of a fluid-filled crack over a wide range of physical parameters. The method also allows us direct calculation of the attenuation quality factor of the crack resonance, which is an indispensable parameter for estimating the properties of the fluid inside the crack. The method is also designed to be flexible to many applications, which may be encountered in volcano seismology, and thus, extensions of the method to more complicated problems are promising.     

Modes to replace transitional asymptotic ray fields in a vertically inhomogeneous earth model

Summary. Asymptotic ray theory (ART) fails in transition regions near critically reflected, bottom glancing or caustic-forming rays in a vertically inhomogeneous layered earth. These deficiencies are repaired here by replacing the transitional ray fields with guided modes plus truncation remainders. Exact ray-mode equivalences and their high-frequency asymptotic approximations are formulated, and their validity and efficiency are verified by numerical comparisons for SH motion in a two-layer earth model comprised of an inhomogeneous sediment above an homogeneous semi-infinite bedrock.     

基于EVI指数的DMSP/OLS夜间灯光数据去饱和方法

DMSP/OLS夜间灯光数据被广泛应用于表征人类活动强度及其生态环境影响的诸多研究中,但因OLS传感器设计的局限,在用电强度较高的城市中心,灯光信号存在明显的饱和,这一不足可能影响到一些基于夜间灯光数据研究成果的可靠性。针对这一问题,NOAA-NGDC研发了辐射定标算法,但因缺乏星上定标系统,算法较为复杂,且受较多条件限制等原因,目前只有部分时期的辐射定标数据产品（RCNTL）。近期有学者提出一种基于植被指数NDVI构建的城市灯光指数VANUI,为灯光数据去饱和研究提供了一个操作简单且结果良好的方法,但该方法在一些城市效果不佳。基于此,本文综合利用夜间灯光与EVI指数信息,通过对VANUI指数构建方法进行改进,建立了一个新的缓解夜间灯光强度饱和的EANTLI指数。为了评价指数的效果,将EANTLI与VANUI从三个方面进行比较：① 区分、识别饱和区内地物的能力;② 与RCNTL的拟合程度;③ 对用电量估算的效果。结果表明：EANTLI在三个方面均表现出优势,在潜在饱和区内对特征地物具有更高的可区分性,与RCNTL的线性相关程度更高,与用电量的相关性相比于NTL、VANUI亦明显提高。因此可以认为EANTLI在指数的设计上较为合理,不仅易于计算,而且能达到较好的缓解灯光强度饱和、凸现城市内部差异的目的,在用于反演城市发展指标时能获得更为准确的结果,因此具有较高的应用价值。     

The nation-state and the city: introduction to a debate

In recent years, the urban political landscape has become infused with a potent and incendiary mixture of popular-democratic, anti-globalisation, and separatist rhetoric. One central process driving this has been the problematic relations between the nation-state and the city. This Debates and Interventions forum aims to prompt a debate about where the city should be situated intellectually in respect of the nation-state. Four questions are addressed: (1) How do contemporary processes of urban development reflect changing national geopolitical priorities? (2) To what extent are struggles around immigration, citizenship and recognition conducted within cities rather than around the nation-state? (3) To what degree does the city (as e.g. a physical form, social environment or discourse) help to mobilise, propel and/or contest this new urban politics? And (4) Is the concept of a “post-national” global order appropriate for understanding the city and urban politics today?