Microphysical properties of stratocumulus clouds during ACE‐2

Microphysical measurements performed during 8 flights of the CLOUDYCOLUMN component of ACE‐2, with the Meteo‐France Merlin‐IV, are analyzed in terms of droplet number concentration and size. The droplet concentration is dependent upon the aerosol properties within the boundary layer. Its mean value over a flight varies from 55 cm⁻³, for the cleanest conditions, to 244 cm⁻³, for the most polluted one. For each flight, the variability of the concentration, in selected cloud regions that are not affected by mixing with dry air or drizzle scavenging, ranges from 0.5 to 1.5 of the mean value. The mean volume diameter increases with altitude above cloud base according to the adiabatic cloud model. The frequency distribution of mean droplet volume normalized by the adiabatic value, for the selected regions, shows the same dispersion as the distribution of normalized concentration. The values of droplet concentration versus mean volume diameter are then examined in sub‐adiabatic samples to characterize the effects of mixing and drizzle scavenging. Finally, the ratio of mean volume diameter to effective diameter is analyzed and a simple relationship between these 2 crucial parameters is proposed.     

Glacial-interglacial mean sea level pressure change due to sea level, ice sheet and atmospheric mass changes

The change in the global mean atmospheric pressure between glacial and interglacial periods is evaluated at sea level. This change originates in a modification of topography and in a possible variation in the atmospheric mass. In this calculation the atmosphere is at hydrostatic equilibrium, and the parameters describing the glacial period are varied in a plausible range. The result, with constant atmospheric mass, is a mean sea level pressure decrease of 9–15 hPa linked with the deglaciation. The corresponding pressure change at the reference level corresponding to the present day sea level does not exceed one hPa. When considering only the change in the atmospheric mass, an increase which does not exceed 2 hPa is found, linked with the deglaciation.     

Fossil hyrax dung and evidence of Late Pleistocene and Holocene vegetation types in the Namib Desert

Pollen was derived from fossil dung of herbivorous hyraxes, deposited in a rock shelter on the highest mountain in Namibia, Dâures or Brandberg, situated on the Namib Desert margin. Radiocarbon dating ranging in age between modern times and 30 000 yr BP showed it represents the first empirical pollen evidence of continental palaeovegetation during the Late Pleistocene along the western escarpment of southern Africa. The initial results indicate Last Glacial Maximum vegetation differed totally from the current pattern as vegetation types were dominated by small Asteraceae shrubs, in contrast to those of the Holocene and modern times which show more succulents, grass and woody elements (arboreal pollen). The results suggest that Cape floral communities did not reach into the tropics along the western escarpment of Africa, despite such pollen types occurring in marine cores. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE FREE-WILSON PARADIGM REDUX:SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FREE-WILSON COEFFICIENTS,INSIGNIFICANCE OF COEFFICIENT ‘UNCERTAINTIES’ AND STATISTICAL SINS

The Free-Wilson paradigm is an established and powerful tool for quantitatively relating activity withchemical structure.Current implementations of the paradigm,however,are flawed both conceptually andin execution.As part of an attempt to more fully realize the promise of the paradigm,it was necessaryto examine these limitations in detail.This report introduces a robust,theory-founded Free-Wilson implementation:stepwise principalcomponents regression analysis(SPCRA).SPCRA is computationally superior to previousimplementations but does not in itself correct their conceptual flaws.The development of SPCRA did,however,facilitate derivation of a simple and chemically significantinterpretation of the Free-Wilson structure-activity model.A number of statistical aspects of this modelcommonly misused in previous applications are discussed at length.These discussions provide criticalbackground for the development of an alternative implementation of the Free-Wilson paradigm.     

A Deep-Learning-Based Geological Parameterization for History Matching Complex Models

A new low-dimensional parameterization based on principal component analysis (PCA) and convolutional neural networks (CNN) is developed to represent complex geological models. The CNN–PCA method is inspired by recent developments in computer vision using deep learning. CNN–PCA can be viewed as a generalization of an existing optimization-based PCA (O-PCA) method. Both CNN–PCA and O-PCA entail post-processing a PCA model to better honor complex geological features. In CNN–PCA, rather than use a histogram-based regularization as in O-PCA, a new regularization involving a set of metrics for multipoint statistics is introduced. The metrics are based on summary statistics of the nonlinear filter responses of geological models to a pre-trained deep CNN. In addition, in the CNN–PCA formulation presented here, a convolutional neural network is trained as an explicit transform function that can post-process PCA models quickly. CNN–PCA is shown to provide both unconditional and conditional realizations that honor the geological features present in reference SGeMS geostatistical realizations for a binary channelized system. Flow statistics obtained through simulation of random CNN–PCA models closely match results for random SGeMS models for a demanding case in which O-PCA models lead to significant discrepancies. Results for history matching are also presented. In this assessment CNN–PCA is applied with derivative-free optimization, and a subspace randomized maximum likelihood method is used to provide multiple posterior models. Data assimilation and significant uncertainty reduction are achieved for existing wells, and physically reasonable predictions are also obtained for new wells. Finally, the CNN–PCA method is extended to a more complex nonstationary bimodal deltaic fan system, and is shown to provide high-quality realizations for this challenging example.

     

Rauhwacken und ihre Entstehung

This publication comprises the results of a detailed investigation of rauhwackes regarding both their stratigraphic/tectonic positions and their macroscopic/microscopic aspects. The conclusion drawn is that rauhwackes are carbonate breccias of tectonic origin, which usually suffered extensive recrystallization and calcitization. Moreover, these breccias became strongly weathered as a result of which they acquired a typical porous to cavernous appearance. Rauhwackes were formed by way of brecciation of carbonate rocks with a comparatively slight cohesion of their constituting grains; these rocks have been deposited in a saline environment. Rauhwackes may be divided into two main varieties:

1. monomict rauhwaekes, formed by fragmentation of only one type of rock (usually a sucrose dolostone), and
2. polymict rauhwackes, formed by fragmentation and mixing of two or more types of rock.

The typical boxwork rauhwackes represent a subtype of monomict rauhwackes. They originated from fractured dolostones and are extensively developed in only slightly tectonized regions, e. g. in the German Zechstein and Muschelkalk. Polymict rauhwackes represent intraformational crush-breccias which were formed by sliding (décollement) parallel to the bedding. Examination of polymict rauhwackes occurring in the metamorphic nappes of Tertiary orogenes may increase our knowledge about the relation existing between the tectonic evolution and Alpine metamorphism in these orogenes.     

Inter-annual variability in larval supply to populations of three invertebrate taxa in the northern California Current

We investigated sources of inter-annual variability in larval supply to crab and sea urchin populations at Bodega Head and Point Reyes in northern California. During the spring and summer upwelling seasons of the years 1992 through 1997 we monitored the weekly settlement rates of nine species of crabs and two species of sea urchins. As observed in previous studies, daily values of alongshore windstress, temperature and salinity provided evidence for the poleward flow of relatively warm, low salinity water from south of Point Reyes, an apparent retention zone, during upwelling relaxation events. In years dominated by these events (1992, 1993, 1995 and 1996) we observed that alongshore windstress, temperature and salinity were coherent and temperature was significantly correlated with cancrid crab settlement. During these years the magnitude of cancrid crab settlement and the fraction of cancrid crabs relative to other crab species settling were high. Over four years of concurrent sampling there was consistently greater cancrid crab settlement at the Point Reyes site, within the retention zone, than at Bodega Head. Settlement of non-cancrid crabs (porcellanids, grapsids, pagurids and majids) was not as closely linked to intra-annual patterns of upwelling and relaxation, possibly due to the shorter seasonal availability of larvae allowing for the influence of fewer relaxation events. Settlement of this group among years was positively correlated with environmental indicators of strong seasonal upwelling; high salinity, Bakun upwelling index and low temperature. Sea urchin settlement events were observed in June and July of 1992, 1994 and 1997 during warming periods when salinity and temperature were increasing and alongshore windstress was low. Across the six years of the study, we found that cancrid crab larvae had a more even seasonal availability than larvae of non-cancrid species, which settled in greatest numbers during the early portion of the upwelling season. Sea urchins settled in greatest numbers during the later part of the upwelling season. Together these patterns demonstrate the taxon-specific way that inter-annual variability in larval supply is forced by the coincidence of larval availability with favorable physical transport mechanisms.