Intercomparison of NO column measurements during MAP/GLOBUS 1985

Column measurements of nitric oxide were made using several techniques during the MAP/GLOBUS campaign in France in September 1985. The data sets are nearly co-located and simultaneous, therefore allowing a valid intercomparison of the various measurement methods. The range of altitudes sampled differs from instrument to instrument. This complicates the comparison because the data sets are to some extent complementary. The NO distributions apparently vary significantly from day to day, and possibly over shorter timescales. Changes in dynamics may be responsible for these variations. The results from the instruments which measure in the infrared and the ultraviolet are self-consistent, and show good agreement with photochemical predictions. On 19 September, when the intercomparison was made, the profile measured by the in-situ chemiluminescent instrument differed significantly from the predicted profile, and the measured columns were generally higher.     

Some remarks on the development of sedimentary basins

A simple model for the development and evolution of sedimentary basins is proposed. The first event consists of a rapid stretching of continental lithosphere, which produces thinning and passive upwelling of hot asthenosphere. This stage is associated with block faulting and subsidence. The lithosphere then thickens by heat conduction to the surface, and further slow subsidence occurs which is not associated with faulting. The slow subsidence and the heat flow depend only on the amount of stretching, which can be estimated from these quantities and from the change in thickness of the continental crust caused by the extension. The model is therefore easily tested. Preliminary investigations of the Great Basin, the Aegean, the North Sea and the Michigan Basin suggest that the model can account for the major events in their evolution.     

A natural language processing and geospatial clustering framework for harvesting local place names from geotagged housing advertisements

Local place names are frequently used by residents living in a geographic region. Such place names may not be recorded in existing gazetteers, due to their vernacular nature, relative insignificance to a gazetteer covering a large area (e.g. the entire world), recent establishment (e.g. the name of a newly-opened shopping center) or other reasons. While not always recorded, local place names play important roles in many applications, from supporting public participation in urban planning to locating victims in disaster response. In this paper, we propose a computational framework for harvesting local place names from geotagged housing advertisements. We make use of those advertisements posted on local-oriented websites, such as Craigslist, where local place names are often mentioned. The proposed framework consists of two stages: natural language processing (NLP) and geospatial clustering. The NLP stage examines the textual content of housing advertisements and extracts place name candidates. The geospatial stage focuses on the coordinates associated with the extracted place name candidates and performs multiscale geospatial clustering to filter out the non-place names. We evaluate our framework by comparing its performance with those of six baselines. We also compare our result with four existing gazetteers to demonstrate the not-yet-recorded local place names discovered by our framework.     

Extension and subsidence of the Pearl River Mouth Basin, northern South China Sea

Abstract The uniform stretching model has been applied to seismic reflection profiles and well-log information from the Pearl River Mouth Basin on the northern flank of the South China Sea. Stretching factors were calculated from subsidence curves determined from the stratigraphy by using the backstripping technique to remove the effects of compaction and sediment loading. Variations in rift topography, palaeobathymetry and global sea-level v/ere taken into account. We argue that the Pearl River Mouth Basin formed by lithospheric extension by a factor of about 1.8, lasting from Late Cretaceous to late Oligocene times. Stretching factors calculated from subsidence agree with those determined from the geometry of normal faulting and from crustal thinning. Thus there is no indication of a significant discrepancy between the different estimates of stretching. The geometry of faulting suggests that considerable amounts of local footwall uplift occurred during the rifting period. Small differences between the observed and calculated subsidence curves (∽ 400 m in the middle Miocene) are best explained by minor amounts of extension ( β ∽ 1.1). The time-temperature history of sediments within the basin has also been calculated so that expected vitrinite reflectance and oil abundance could be determined. The results are consistent with each other and are in reasonable agreement with observations from wells.     

Seismic stratigraphy, buried beach ridges and contourite drifts: the Late Quaternary history of the closed Lago Cardiel basin, Argentina (49°S)

The results of a seismic stratigraphic analysis of a closed lake basin, Lago Cardiel, in southernmost South America are reported. Very few high-resolution, continental records spanning the Late Quaternary have been obtained from this region. Seismic sequence stratigraphic analysis allows a reconstruction of lake level variations. Two major hiatuses of unknown age occurred during the early evolution of the basin with the deposition of an alluvial fan in a restricted area in the intervening time period. Following the development of a relatively shallow lake during the late Pleistocene and a short desiccation pulse around 11 220 ¹⁴C yr BP, a transgression of over 135 m occurred at the beginning of the Holocene. The transgression was associated with the formation of beach ridges preserved in the lake stratigraphy on the floor of the modern Lago Cardiel at four different elevations. The preservation of largely unreworked beach ridges indicates a stepwise rise in the lake level. There is no seismic evidence of a major lowering of the lake below modern level during the entire Holocene. Deposition since the mid-Holocene is marked by strong lateral differences in sediment accumulation with a depocentre slightly to the north of the basin midpoint and a pronounced mounded distribution. Seismic reflection geometries, as well as sedimentological characteristics indicate a lacustrine contourite drift covering an area of 80–100 km². As Lago Cardiel is under the influence of westerly winds, these most likely drove lake circulation. The identification of drowned beach ridges and of contourite drifts illustrates that high-resolution seismic stratigraphy is not only a powerful tool in reconstructing past lake level elevations for closed lake basins, but it can also provide information about the rate of lake level changes and the presence and strength of lake currents.     

The Holocene paleohydrology and climatic history of the northern great sandy desert - fitzroy trough: With special reference to the history of the northwest Australian monsoon

The Holocene history of the northwest Australian monsoon is considered in the light of new stratigraphic findings from the southern margin of the monsoon regime. A discussion of the present-day climatology of northwestern Australia and synoptic controls on precipitation in the areas at the southern margin of the monsoon regime is given as background information for the interpretation of stratigraphic findings from swamp and alluvial sequences. The stratigraphic findings point to little change in the intensity of the northwest Australian monsoon since ca. 6.5 ka. A more tentative inference drawn from the field evidence is that the monsoon activity may well have been reduced in this region during the Early Holocene; during this time insolation levels were also reduced. The possible relationship of the northwest Australian monsoon to insolation levels is explored. It is clear that monsoon behavior cannot be accounted for as a simple linear response of monsoon intensity to variations in insolation. Possible controls are discussed with particular emphasis on the plausibility of changes in the damping of convective motions providing the mechanism. Gill's model of heat-induced circulation is used to provide some evidence in favour of this conjecture.     

Glacier recession and human vulnerability in the Yanamarey watershed of the Cordillera Blanca, Peru

Glaciers in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru, are undergoing rapid retreat, in large part due to climate change. These changes are significantly altering water availability in the region and pose critical risks to local populations that are highly dependent on these resources for livelihoods. We examine these issues through an interdisciplinary and linked evaluation of hydrological change and livelihood vulnerability in the Yanamarey watershed. Physical observations of the Yanamarey glacier show acceleration in frontal retreat at a rate of 8 m decade^???1 since 1970, accompanied by total volume loss on the order of 0.022 km³. Hydrological and hydrochemical analyses document a possible transformation of stream flow over the past decade as the seasonal storage capacity of the glacier has degraded. Recent stream discharge measurements from the proglacial lake below the glacier are more coincident with the highly variable seasonal precipitation than they were during the 1998?C1999 hydrological year. Local household perceptions of glacier recession and seasonal hydrological variability agree with this trend, which is increasing human vulnerability in the watershed. Household case-study survey results demonstrate that shifting water resources, increasing weather extremes and climate-related threats to tourism are all new vectors of vulnerability for household livelihoods.