Mapping Soils,Vegetation, and Landforms: An Integrative Physical Geography Field Experience*

Students in a graduate seminar at Michigan State University produced a series of detailed vegetation, soils, and landform maps of a 1.5‐square‐mile (3.9 km²) study area in southwest Lower Michigan. The learning outcomes (maps) and skill development objectives (sampling strategies and various GIS applications) of this field‐intensive mapping experience were driven by the assumption that students learn and understand relationships among physical landscape variables better by mapping them than they would in a classroom‐based experience. The group‐based, problem‐solving format was also intended to foster collaboration and camaraderie. The study area lies within a complex, interlobate moraine. Fieldwork involved mapping in groups of two or three, as well as soil and vegetation sampling. Spatial data products assembled and used in the project included topographic maps, a digital elevation model (DEM), aerial photographs, and NRCS (National Resource Conservation Service) soil maps. Most of the soils are dry and sandy, with the main differentiating characteristic being the amount of, and depth to, subsurface clay bands (lamellae) or gravelly zones. The presettlement (early 1830s) vegetation of the area was oak forest, oak savanna, and black oak “barrens.” Upland sites currently support closed forests of white, black, and red oak, with a red maple, dogwood, and sassafras understory. Ecological data suggest that these oak forests will, barring major disturbance, become increasingly dominated by red maple. This group‐based, problem‐solving approach to physical geography education has several advantages over traditional classroom‐based teaching and could also be successfully applied in other, field‐related disciplines.     

goGPS: open-source MATLAB software

GPS Solutions - goGPS is a positioning software application designed to process single-frequency code and phase observations for absolute or relative positioning. Published under a free and...     

Regimes of magma recharge and their control on the eruptive behaviour during the period 2001–2005 at Mt. Etna volcano

Mount Etna volcano (Italy) during the period 2001–2005 has undergone a period of intense eruptive activity marked by three large eruptions (2001, 2002–2003 and 2004–2005). These eruptions encompassed diverse eruptive styles and regimes: from intensely explosive, during 2001 and 2002–2003 eruptions, to exclusively effusive in the 2004–2005 event. In this work, we put forward the idea that these three eruptions are the response of the progressive arrival into the uppermost segment of the open-conduit system of a new magma, which was geochemically distinct in terms of trace element and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope signature from the products previously emitted by the Etnean volcano. The magma migrated upwards mainly through a peripheral tectonic system, which can be considered as eccentric in spite of its relative proximity to the main system. The ingress of the new magma and its gradual displacement from the eccentric system into the uppermost sector of the open-conduit gave rise to different eruptive behaviours. At the beginning, the ascent of the undegassed magma, able to exsolve a gas phase at depth, and its interaction with closed-system magma reservoirs less than 10 km deep gave rise to the explosive events of 2001 and 2002–2003. Later, when the same magma entered into the open-conduit system, it took part in the steady-state degassing and partially lost its volatile load, leading to a totally effusive eruption during the 2004–2005 event. One further consideration highlighted here is that in 2001–2005, migration of the feeding axis from an eccentric and peripheral position towards the main open-conduit has led to the development of a new vent (South East Crater 2) located at the eastern base of the South East Crater through which most of the subsequent Etnean activity occurred.     

Seasonal variation of gaseous HNO3 and NH3 at a Tropical Savannah site

Gaseous nitric acid and ammonia were sampled with annular denuders at a forest savannah site from April to December 1987. The analysis of the extract was made spectrophotometrically and by a selective electrode for NO₃ ^– and NH₄ ⁺, respectively. Higher concentrations were observed during the vegetation burning period at the end of the dry season. In the studied savannah area, large soil emissions of NO occur during the rainy season, although very low concentrations of HNO₃ (0.035 ppb) and also of particulate NO₃ ^– (0.43 g m^-3) were observed; it is likely that NO_x are lost by fast vertical transport to the upper troposphere. During the nonburning period, the average concentration of NH₃ was 2.7 ppb, which is much lower than values given in the literature for the tropical America atmosphere. The concentrations of HNO₃ and NH₃ were always below the values needed to produce ammonium nitrate aerosols.     

Improving explicit time integration by modal truncation techniques

This paper describes a modal weighting technique that improves the stability characteristics of explicit time-integration schemes used in structural dynamics. The central difference method was chosen as the trial algorithm because of its simplicity, both in terms of formulation and ease of numerical stability and convergence analysis. It is shown how explicit algorithms may be reformulated in order to make them stable for any integration time by attenuating high-frequency oscillation modes that are generated by mesh geometry rather than generic dynamical features. We discuss results from trial calculations obtained from mathematical models that represent hysteretic restoring force elements and an application on a physical, four-degree-of-freedom, base-isolated structure using the pseudodynamic technique. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The displacement coefficient method in near‐source conditions

The use of nonlinear static procedures for performance‐based seismic design (PBSD) and assessment is a well‐established practice, which has found its way into modern codes for quite some time. On the other hand, near‐source (NS) ground motions are receiving increasing attention, because they can carry seismic demand systematically different and larger than that of the so‐called ordinary records. This is due to phenomena such as rupture forward directivity (FD), which can lead to distinct pulses appearing in the velocity time‐history of the ground motion. The framework necessary for taking FD into account in probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) has recently been established. The objective of the present study is to discuss the extension of nonlinear static procedures, specifically the displacement coefficient method (DCM), with respect to the inelastic demand associated with FD. In this context, a methodology is presented for the implementation of the DCM toward estimating NS seismic demand, by making use of the results of NS‐PSHA and a semi‐empirical equation for NS‐FD inelastic displacement ratio. An illustrative application of the DCM, with explicit inclusion of NS‐pulse‐like effects, is given for a set of typical plane R/C frames designed under Eurocode provisions. Different scenarios are considered in the application and nonlinear dynamic analysis results are obtained and discussed with respect to the static procedure estimates. Conclusions drawn from the results may help to assess the importance of incorporating NS effects in PBSD. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using Argo data to investigate the Meridional Overturning Circulation in the North Atlantic

Using a variety of oceanographic data, including direct volume transports in the Florida Strait, and Argo float profiles and drift velocities at 24°N and 36°N in the North Atlantic, inverse calculations are presented in which the net meridional transport, down to a depth of approximately 1600 m, is estimated at both latitudes for a 5-year period 2003–2007. The upper ocean is divided into seven layers using neutral density, and mass conservation constraints have been applied to a closed box bounded by these latitudes, including the Florida Strait. Ekman layer transports have been included in the top-most layer, and the inverse calculation has solved for changes from the initial reference velocities, Ekman and Florida Strait transports, given a priori estimates on the accuracy of each of these quantities. Solutions with and without transformations due to Mediterranean Water (MW) formation are made. Our results indicate that (1) time-averaged transport estimates derived from Argo have significant less eddy noise than individual hydrographic sections, (2) Argo drift velocities provide information to the inverse solution for the ocean interior, and (3) comparison of the total integrated interior mass transports in the thermocline waters for the period 2003–2007 with the previous estimates based on trans-ocean hydrographic sections shows that, within the errors of our estimation, the upper limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation has not significantly changed since 1957.     

Physiological response to high temperature in the Tropical Eastern Pacific coral Pocillopora verrucosa

The ecological and economic values of coral reef communities have encouraged efforts to implement periodic visual survey programs to secure their conservation. To date, visual monitoring‐based approaches have detected bleaching events weeks or months after the initial onset. An evaluation of the stress response of coral colonies, as well as their ability to resist and recover from the stress events, may increase our understanding of the physiological processes underling the stress and/or acclimation responses. Coral bleaching events, caused primarily by abnormally high temperatures, are continuously affecting coral communities worldwide. To evaluate the stress and recovery responses of the reef‐building coral Pocillopora verrucosa, a laboratory study was conducted herein. Coral nubbins were exposed to high temperatures to induce bleaching, and their ability to resist and recover from bleaching was subsequently monitored after returning the corals to ambient temperature. Lipid and chlorophyll concentrations, as well as Symbiodinium spp. density, decreased in samples exposed to nearly 31°C, slowly recovering to near‐control levels upon return to non‐stressful conditions. The present data set allows for an assessment of the vulnerability and ability of this common species to resist sub‐optimal environmental conditions, particularly the thermal stress events that will occur more commonly in their habitats as global seawater temperatures continue to rise.     

Comparison of Integrated Geodetic Data Models and Satellite Radar Interferograms to Infer Magma Storage During the 1991–1993 Mt. Etna Eruption

We compare the results obtained from the modelling of EDM, GPS, levelling and tilt data measured in the first part of the 1991–1993 eruption at Etna to the InSAR data acquired during the second part. The geodetic changes are very marked in the first half of the eruption and constrain a deflation source located at a few kilometers of depth ( 3 km b.s.l.), in agreement with other independent geophysical evidence. SAR data, available during the second part of the eruption, were analysed for different time intervals in the second part of the eruption. The interpretation of SAR interferograms reveals a large-scale but less marked deflation of the volcano that could be caused by a deeper source. This second source is in accord with a second deeper anomaly revealed by recent seismic investigations. The combination of geodetic data modelling and SAR images suggests a complex plumbing system composed at least of two possible storage regions located at different depths.