Improving age estimates for late Holocene glacial landforms using dendrochronology – Some examples from Garibaldi Provincial Park,British Columbia

Dating of late Holocene landforms below treeline in high mountains is commonly done using dendrochronology. Four factors can reduce the accuracy of ages obtained by dendrochronology: (1) locating the oldest living tree on a surface; (2) the method of counting the rings; (3) the age-height correction factor; and (4) ecesis, which is the time it takes trees to successfully germinate on a bare surface. A review of published studies from the western Cordillera of the Americas shows that some of these issues have not been fully addressed. Research in Garibaldi Provincial Park in the southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia shows that the accuracy of tree-ring ages can be improved if (1) crossdating and chronology construction, rather than simple ring counts, are done; (2) individual age-height correction factors are applied; and (3) site-specific ecesis estimates are made. While these suggestions are not always necessary to their fullest extent, researchers should at least report their methods in more detail and provide uncertainties in their age estimates that take into account age-height and ecesis corrections.     

Evaluation of the impact of atmospheric pressure loading modeling on GNSS data analysis

In recent years, several studies have demonstrated the sensitivity of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) station time series to displacements caused by atmospheric pressure loading (APL). Different methods to take the APL effect into account are used in these studies: applying the corrections from a geophysical model on weekly mean estimates of station coordinates, using observation-level corrections during data analysis, or solving for regression factors between the station displacement and the local pressure. The Center for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE) is one of the global analysis centers of the International GNSS Service (IGS). The current quality of the IGS products urgently asks to consider this effect in the regular processing scheme. However, the resulting requirements for an APL model are demanding with respect to quality, latency, and—regarding the reprocessing activities—availability over a long time interval (at least from 1994 onward). The APL model of Petrov and Boy (J Geophys Res 109:B03405, 2004) is widely used within the VLBI community and is evaluated in this study with respect to these criteria. The reprocessing effort of CODE provides the basis for validating the APL model. The data set is used to solve for scaling factors for each station to evaluate the geophysical atmospheric non-tidal loading model. A consistent long-term validation of the model over 15 years, from 1994 to 2008, is thus possible. The time series of 15 years allows to study seasonal variations of the scaling factors using the dense GNSS tracking network of the IGS. By interpreting the scaling factors for the stations of the IGS network, the model by (2004) is shown to meet the expectations concerning the order of magnitude of the effect at individual stations within the uncertainty given by the GNSS data processing and within the limitations due to the model itself. The repeatability of station coordinates improves by 20% when applying the effect directly on the data analysis and by 10% when applying a post-processing correction to the resulting weekly coordinates compared with a solution without taking APL into account.     

Melting and subsolidus reactions in the system K2O-CaO-Al2O3-SiO2-H2O: corrections and additional experimental data

Melting relationships in the system K₂O-CaO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O have been reinvestigated using Schreinemakers analysis and hydrothermal experiments. The reaction sanidine+muscovite+zoisite+quartz+vapor =melt has been bracketed at 10, 15, and 20 kbars and 670–680, 680–690, and 690–700° C, respectively and it marks the lowest solidus temperatures in the system investigated.Below 10 kbars, experimental data on the beginning of melting in zoisite- or muscovite-bearing anorthite+sanidine assemblages have been obtained, which are not showing any differences and therefore point to melt compositions close to the feldspar-quartz join.     

State‐Led Innovation at the City Level: Policy Measures to Promote New Energy Vehicles in Shenzhen,China

Unlike many Western countries, the Chinese state has a much more active role in innovation that includes direct involvement with actors in innovation processes and the use of state capacity, money, and power to attain certain goals. With the rise of China, innovation processes that critically depend on state action, often labeled state‐led innovation, have thus received growing scholarly attention. However, only few contributions study the specific sector of new energy vehicles (NEV) and policy measures applied at the city level. This paper examines policy and planning tools used in Shenzhen, China, to assert innovation in the NEV industry, using an evaluation of documents and interviews. The paper finds that a city can play a decisive role in the implementation of innovation policy, and Chinese cities in particular make use of a broad set of innovation support measures ranging from binding quotas, public procurement, and incentives to bans and orders. The findings underline the importance of strong regulatory instruments that do not conform to the Western notion of market‐compliant policy, but nevertheless work effectively in the Chinese context. Moreover, the results highlight how successful policy support for innovation in the NEV can be implemented.     

Least squares parameter estimation in chaotic differential equations

A recent least squares algorithm, which is designed to adapt implicit models to given sets of data, especially models given by differential equations or dynamical systems, is reviewed and used to fit the Hénon-Heiles differential equations to chaotic data sets.This numerical approach for estimating parameters in differential equation models, called theboundary value problem approach, is based on discretizing the differential equations like a boundary value problem,e.g. by a multiple shooting or collocation method, and solving the resulting constrained least squares problem with a structure exploiting generalized Gauss-Newton-Method (Bock, 1981).Dynamical systems like the Hénon-Heiles system which can have initial values and parameters that lead to positive Lyapunov exponents or phase space filling Poincaré maps give rise to chaotic time series. Various scenarios representing ideal and noisy data generated from the Hénon-Heiles system in the chaotic region are analyzedw.r.t. initial conditions, parameters and Lyapunov exponents. The original initial conditions and parameters are recovered with a given accuracy. The Lyapunov spectrum is then computed directly from the identified differential equations and compared to the spectrum of the true dynamics.presently at IWR, Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 368, D-6900 Heidelberg, Germany     

AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF THE ELECTRON TEMPERATURE AND HEAVY ION VELOCITIES IN THE SOUTH POLAR CORONAL HOLE

The solar wind ions flowing outward through the solar corona generally have their ionic fractions freeze-in within 5 solar radii. The altitude where the freeze-in occurs depends on the competition between two time scales: the time over which the wind flows through a density scale height, and the time over which the ions achieve ionization equilibrium. Therefore, electron temperature, electron density, and the velocity of the ions are the three main physical quantities which determine the freeze-in process, and thus the solar wind ionic charge states. These physical quantities are determined by the heating and acceleration of the solar wind, as well as the geometry of the expansion. In this work, we present a parametric study of the electron temperature profile and velocities of the heavy ions in the inner solar corona. We use the ionic charge composition data observed by the SWICS experiment on Ulysses during the south polar pass to derive empirically the electron temperature profile in the south polar coronal hole. We find that the electron temperature profile in the solar inner corona is well constrained by the solar wind charge composition data. The data also indicate that the electron temperature profile must have a maximum within 2 solar radii. We also find that the velocities of heavy ions in their freeze-in regions are small (<100 km s^-1) and different elements must flow at different velocities in the inner corona.     

Balkanforschungen des geologischen Instituts der Universität Leipzig. 1. Reise 1926

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Short‐term versus medium‐term monitoring for detecting gully‐erosion variability in a Mediterranean environment

This study investigates how medium‐term gully‐development data differ from short‐term data, and which factors influence their spatial and temporal variability at nine selected actively retreating bank gullies situated in four Spanish basin landscapes. Small‐format aerial photographs using unmanned, remote‐controlled platforms were taken at the gully sites in short‐term intervals of one to two years over medium‐term periods of seven to 13 years and gully change during each period was determined using stereophotogrammetry and a geographic information system. Results show a high variability of annual gully retreat rates both between gullies and between observation periods. The mean linear headcut retreat rates range between 0·02 and 0·26 m a^–1. Gully area loss was between 0·8 and 22 m² a^–1 and gully volume loss between 0·5 to 100 m³ a^–1, of which sidewall erosion may play a considerable part. A non‐linear relationship between catchment area and medium‐term gully headcut volume change was found for these gullies. The short‐term changes observed at the individual gullies show very high variability: on average, the maximum headcut volume change observed in 7–13 years was 14·3 times larger than the minimum change. Dependency on precipitation varies but is clearly higher for headcuts than sidewalls, especially in smaller and less disturbed catchments. The varying influences of land use and human activities with their positive or negative effects on runoff production and connectivity play a dominant role in these study areas, both for short‐term variability and medium‐term difference in gully development. The study proves the value of capturing spatially continuous, high‐resolution three‐dimensional data using small‐format aerial photography for detailed gully monitoring. Results confirm that short‐term data are not representative of longer‐term gully development and demonstrate the necessity for medium‐ to long‐term monitoring. However, short‐term data are still required to understand the processes – particularly human activity at varying time scales – causing fluctuations in gully erosion rates. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.