A controlling factor approach to estuary classification

A new approach to the classification of estuaries is described. The estuary environment classification (EEC) is based on a hierarchical view of the abiotic components that comprise the environments of estuaries. The EEC postulates that climate, oceanic, riverine and catchment factors ‘control’ a hierarchy of processes and broadly determine the physical and biological characteristics of estuaries. The classification differentiates estuaries at four levels of detail. Level 1 differentiates global scale variation based on differences in climatic and oceanic processes, which are discriminated by the factors: latitude, oceanic basins and large landmasses. Level 2 differentiates variation in estuary hydrodynamic processes, which are discriminated by estuary basin morphometry, river and oceanic forcing. Level 3 differentiates variation among estuaries that are due to catchment processes, which are discriminated by catchment geology and catchment land cover. The approach has been applied to all the estuaries in New Zealand using existing data sources. Estuaries were assigned class membership at each level of the classification by applying criteria in the form of decision rules to the database of assignment characteristics. GIS was then used to map the estuaries with classes being defined by colour at any level of the classification. The resulting map provides a multi-scale spatial framework that is suitable for many environmental or conservation management applications.     

Hamilton's principle and the vorticity laws for a relativistic perfect fluid

Abstract

The equations for a relativistic perfect fluid result from the requirement that the total mass-energy be stationary with respect to variations δx^α(a, b, c, s) in the space-time location of the fluid particle identified by Lagrangian labels (a, b, c) at the point s on its world-line. By considering variations of the Lagrangian labels that leave the specific volume and entropy unchanged, we obtain a general covariant statement of vorticity conservation. The conservation laws for circulation, potential vorticity, and helicity are simple corollaries. This Noether-theorem derivation shows that the vorticity laws have no analogues in particle mechanics, where the corresponding particle labels cannot be continuously vaned.     

Eclipsing binary Trojan asteroid Patroclus: Thermal inertia from Spitzer observations

We present mid-infrared observations of the binary L5-Trojan system (617) Patroclus-Menoetius before, during, and after two shadowing events, using the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) on board the Spitzer Space Telescope. For the first time, we effectively observe changes in asteroid surface temperature in real time, allowing the thermal inertia to be determined very directly. A new detailed binary thermophysical model is presented which accounts for the system’s known mutual orbit, arbitrary component shapes, and thermal conduction in the presence of eclipses.We obtain two local thermal-inertia values, representative of the respective shadowed areas: and . The average thermal inertia is estimated to be , potentially with significant surface heterogeneity. This first thermal-inertia measurement for a Trojan asteroid indicates a surface covered in fine regolith. Independently, we establish the presence of fine-grained (<a few μm) silicates on the surface, based on emissivity features near 10 and similar to those previously found on other Trojans.We also report V-band observations and report a lightcurve with complete rotational coverage. The lightcurve has a low amplitude of peak-to-peak, implying a roughly spherical shape for both components, and is single-periodic with a period equal to the period of the mutual orbit, indicating that the system is fully synchronized.The diameters of Patroclus and Menoetius are 106±11 and , respectively, in agreement with previous findings. Taken together with the system’s known total mass, this implies a bulk mass density of , significantly below the mass density of L4-Trojan asteroid (624) Hektor and suggesting a bulk composition dominated by water ice.All known physical properties of Patroclus, arguably the best studied Trojan asteroid, are consistent with those expected in icy objects with devolatilized surface (extinct comets), consistent with what might be implied by recent dynamical modeling in the framework of the Nice Model.     

Average structure of the crust and upper mantle in East Africa

An average crust-mantle model has been derived for the East African Rift system based on a number of presently available seismic data. The inversion of experimentally determined spectral transfer ratios of long-period body waves recorded at stations AAE (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), NAI (Nairobi, Kenya) and LWI (Lwiro, Zaïre) requires at least a two-layer crust. Except for station AAE. the observed P-wave delays can be accounted for by differences in the deduced crustal structure. Phase- and group-velocity measurements of Rayleigh waves along the path AAE-NAI provide additional information on the gross structure of the crust and upper mantle. Only a well-developed asthenosphere channel can explain the observed surface-wave dispersion. It is shown that the average model MS-71 permits a satisfactory interpretation of all the data presented in this paper.     

Comparison of production computation methods in a Southeastern North CarolinaSpartina alterniflora salt marsh

Tagging studies ofSpartina alterniflora Loisel showed no significant differences in stem longevity of short, medium, and tall height forms. Mean stem longevity was 7.9 months, and the experimental turnover rate was 1.5 crops per yr. Five methods to measure productivity (peak standing crop, Milner and Hughes, Smalley, Wiegert and Evans, and Lomnicki, et al.) yielded annual net aerial primary production (NAPP) estimates ranging from 214 to 1,038 g dry wt per m² per yr in a stand of shortSpartina. Turnover rates were computed for each of the methods by dividing the respective production value by the peak standing crop (242 g dry wt per m² per yr). Each computed turnover rate was compared with the experimental value of 1.5 crops per yr to ultimately determine that the methods of peak standing crop, Milner and Hughes, and Smalley were underestimates and that the Wiegert and Evans method was an overestimate of NAPP in tidal marsh systems. Based on its calculated turnover rate of 1.9 crops per yr, a modified Lomnicki, et al. method provided the best NAPP estimate (454 g dry wt per m² per yr).     

Concepts for reference frames in geodesy and geodynamics: The reference directions

Modern high accuracy measurements of the non-rigid earth are to be referred to four-dimensional, i.e., time- and space-dependent reference frames. Geodynamic phenomena derived from these measurements are to be described in a terrestrial reference frame in which both space- and time-like variations can be monitored. Existing conventional terrestrial reference frames (e.g. CIO, BIH) are no longer suitable for such purposes. The ultimate goal of this study is the establishment of a reference frame, moving with the earth in some average sense, in which the geometric and dynamic behavior of the earth can be monitored, and whose motion with respect to inertial space can also be determined. The study is conducted in several parts. In the first part problems related to reference directions are investigated, while subsequent parts deal with positions, i.e., with reference origins and scale. Only the first part is treated in this paper. The approach is based on the fact that reference directions at an observation point on the earth surface are defined by fundamental vectors (gravity, earth rotation, etc.), both space and time variant. These reference directions are interrelated by angular parameters, also derived from the fundamental vectors. The interrelationships between these space- and time-variant angular parameters are illustrated in a commutative diagram, tower of triads, which makes the derivation of the various relationships convenient. In order to determine the above parameters from observations using least squares techniques, a model tower of triads is also presented to allow the formation of linear observation equations. Although the model tower is also space and time variant, its variations are described by adopted parameters representing our current knowledge of the earth.     

Transient analysis of earthquake and explosion arrivals

Summary An electronic sound spectrograph has been used to analyze the transients in complicated earthquake and explosion signals. Transient analysis with a sound spectrograph gives a means for directly obtaining group velocity at each of the spectral frequencies for each of the separate arrival branches, for any type of transient signal. Compared to frequency analysis, it presents the fine spectral structure of the signal as it changes with time, not an average over a time that includes many parts of the seismic signal.Dispersion as well as the body wave spectrum of theP wave has been observed by transient analysis of seismic signals. Dispersion has also possibly been observed in theS wave, and in the various multiply reflectedS waves, which have been found to increase in period from one arrival to the next. The dispersed pattern of arrival of fundamental and higher mode surface waves has been observed for oceanic, continental, and mixed paths. Among these signals is a clear indication of the continental second shear mode. The separation of surface waves for the direct and complementary paths has also been accomplished. Our results compare well with those obtained by standard techniques.The dispersion of the fundamental and higher mode signals from explosive sources in shallow water may be easily studied by making sound spectrograms and amplitude sections of these seismic signals. These shallow water shots show bubble pulses and Airy phases, which are clearly defined on the spectrograms and sections.

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Zusammenfassung Ein elektronischer Schallspektrograph wurde benutzt, um die nichtstationären Vorgänge in komplizierten Erdbeben- und Explosionswellen zu analysieren. Die Analyse von nichtstationären Vorgängen mittels dieses Schallspektrographen ergibt unmittelbar die Gruppengeschwindigkeit jeder einzelnen Spektralfrequenz für die verschiedenen seismischen Wellenphasen, die ja solche nichtstationären Vorgänge darstellen. Verglichen mit einer gewöhnlichen Frequenzanalyse liefert diese Art von Analyse die Spektralfeinstruktur des zeitlich sich ändernden Signals und nicht ein Mittel über ein Zeitintervall, das einen grösseren Teil des seismischen Schwingungsablaufs umfasst.Sowohl Dispersionserscheinungen in derP-Welle als auch deren diskretes Amplitudenspektrum wurden mit Hilfe dieser Analyse seismischer Signale festgestellt. Dispersion wurde mit ziemlicher Wahrscheinlichkeit auch bei derS-Welle beobachtet, und in den verschiedenen mehrfachreflektiertenS-Wellen zeigt sich in aufeinanderfolgenden Reflexionen eine Periodenzunahme. Das disperse Erscheinungsbild der Oberflächenwellen in ihrer Grundschwingungstype und den zugehörigen Schwingungstypen höherer Ordnung wurde für ozeanischen, kontinentalen und gemischten Weg aufgenommen. Unter diesen Wellentypen findet sich eine klare Andeutung der kontinentalen Scherschwingungsform zweiter Ordnung vom Rayleigh-Typus (Second Shear Mode). Die Aufspaltung von Oberflächenwellen für direkten und antipodalen Weg wurde ebenfalls erreicht. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen eine gute Übereinstimmung mit den von herkömmlichen Methoden stammenden Resultaten.Die Dispersion von Wellentypen erster und höherer Ordnung, die durch Explosionen im Seichtwasser angeregt werden, kann leicht an Hand der Schallspektrogramme und momentanen Amplitudenspektren ihrer seismischen Signale untersucht werden. Solche Seichtwasserdetonationen zeigen Pulsationen und Airy-Phasen, die sich eindeutig auf den Spektrogrammen und Amplitudenbildern abzeichnen.

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With two plates: Figs. 6 & 17

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Preliminary results presented at the 30th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Section of the Seismological Society of America, June 13–14, 1958, inSt. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.-Lamont Geological Observatory Contribution No. 383.