BiSON performance

Since 1981 we have been operating the Birmingham Solar-Oscillations Network (BiSON), a global network of resonant-scattering spectrometers, observing the low-l solar p modes. Here we discuss historical developments, culminating in the establishment of a 6-station network in 1992 September, and the subsequent performance of that network. The data record of each station from 1992 to 1994 has been analysed in terms of weather and equipment breakdowns. Our early experience suggests that the best long-term coverage possible with a 6-station network is limited in practice to about 80%, which falls short of previous predictions.     

The daily‐scale entrance dynamics of intermittently open/closed estuaries

Intermittently open/closed estuaries (IOCE) are a dynamic form of estuary characterised by periodic entrance closure to the ocean. Entrance closure is a function of the relative balance between on and offshore sediment transport with closures occurring during periods of low fluvial discharge whereby the estuary ebb‐tidal prism is reduced. Although the broad scale processes of entrance closure are becoming better understood, there remains limited knowledge on channel morphodynamics during an individual closure event. In this study, the entrance dynamics of three IOCE on the coast of Victoria, Australia, were monitored over a daily timescale following both artificial and natural openings. The influence of changing marine and fluvial conditions on the relative sedimentation rate within the entrance channel was examined. IOCE in Victoria showed two distinct modes of entrance closure: (a) lateral accretion, whereby the estuary gradually closes by longshore drift‐driven spit growth during low river flows; and (b) vertical accretion, where the channel rapidly aggrades under high (> 2 m), near‐normal waves. During storms, when fluvial discharge and wave heights simultaneously increase, large swells will not always close the mouth due to an increase in the ebb‐tidal prism. The estuary water depth and the maximum channel dimensions following opening were not proportional to the opening duration, with this being a function of the wave and fluvial conditions occurring following lagoon drainage. Based on the findings of this work, implementing a successful artificial entrance opening is dependent on reduced onshore sedimentation rates which occur when wave energy is low (< 2 m Hs) relative to river flow. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bayesian maximum entropy and data fusion for processing qualitative data: theory and application for crowdsourced cropland occurrences in Ethiopia

Categorical data play an important role in a wide variety of spatial applications, while modeling and predicting this type of statistical variable has proved to be complex in many cases. Among other possible approaches, the Bayesian maximum entropy methodology has been developed and advocated for this goal and has been successfully applied in various spatial prediction problems. This approach aims at building a multivariate probability table from bivariate probability functions used as constraints that need to be fulfilled, in order to compute a posterior conditional distribution that accounts for hard or soft information sources. In this paper, our goal is to generalize further the theoretical results in order to account for a much wider type of information source, such as probability inequalities. We first show how the maximum entropy principle can be implemented efficiently using a linear iterative approximation based on a minimum norm criterion, where the minimum norm solution is obtained at each step from simple matrix operations that converges to the requested maximum entropy solution. Based on this result, we show then how the maximum entropy problem can be related to the more general minimum divergence problem, which might involve equality and inequality constraints and which can be solved based on iterated minimum norm solutions. This allows us to account for a much larger panel of information types, where more qualitative information, such as probability inequalities can be used. When combined with a Bayesian data fusion approach, this approach deals with the case of potentially conflicting information that is available. Although the theoretical results presented in this paper can be applied to any study (spatial or non-spatial) involving categorical data in general, the results are illustrated in a spatial context where the goal is to predict at best the occurrence of cultivated land in Ethiopia based on crowdsourced information. The results emphasize the benefit of the methodology, which integrates conflicting information and provides a spatially exhaustive map of these occurrence classes over the whole country.     

Shapes on a plane: evaluating the impact of projection distortion on spatial binning

ABSTRACT

One method for working with large, dense sets of spatial point data is to aggregate the measure of the data into polygonal containers, such as political boundaries, or into regular spatial bins such as triangles, squares, or hexagons. When mapping these aggregations, the map projection must inevitably distort relationships. This distortion can impact the reader’s ability to compare count and density measures across the map. Spatial binning, particularly via hexagons, is becoming a popular technique for displaying aggregate measures of point data sets. Increasingly, we see questionable use of the technique without attendant discussion of its hazards. In this work, we discuss when and why spatial binning works and how mapmakers can better understand the limitations caused by distortion from projecting to the plane. We introduce equations for evaluating distortion’s impact on one common projection (Web Mercator) and discuss how the methods used generalize to other projections. While we focus on hexagonal binning, these same considerations affect spatial bins of any shape, and more generally, any analysis of geographic data performed in planar space.     

Volcanoes of the Cape Hoskins area,New Britain,territory of Papua and New Guinea

One active and ten extinct Quaternary volcanoes are described from the Cape Hoskins area, on the north coast of New Britain. They are mostly strato volcanoes built up of lava flows, lava domes, pyroclastic flows, lahars, tephra, and derived alluvial sediments. The volcanic products range in composition from basalt to rhyolite, but basaltic andesite and andesite predominate. Much of the area is covered by tephra, several metres thick, consisting mainly of rhyolitic pumice. The active volcano, Pago, is built up of several glacier-like lava flows, the last of which was formed during an eruption in 1914–18. Pago lies within a well-preserved caldera forming the central part of a broad low-angle cone, named Witori, which consists largely of welded and unwelded pyroclastic flow deposits. C-14 dates obtained on charcoal indicate that the caldera eruption occurred about 2500 years B. P. Another caldera of similar age lies south of Witori. Of the other eight volcanoes described four are relatively well-preserved steep-sided cones formed mainly of lava flows, one is a remnant of a low-angle cone with a caldera, and three are deeply eroded cones which have none of their constructional surfaces preserved.     

Measuring water quality from individual fractures in open wellbores using hydraulic isolation and the dissolved oxygen alteration method

This study describes a low-cost method for sampling individual fractures in open wellbores in crystalline bedrock utilizing naturally occurring flow conditions in the well. The method entails using the dissolved oxygen alteration method (DOAM) to identify transmissive fractures and vertical flow direction. After obtaining information about relative hydraulic gradients, flow direction in the well is modified using a single control pump to isolate fractures of interest for sampling. Additional dissolved oxygen, injected during the DOAM procedure, serves as a tracer to ensure the water quality in the sampling zone is characteristic of the fracture of interest by requiring a tracer-free zone prior to sampling. Sampling procedures are described conceptually for nine bedrock wells with varying flow conditions containing one, two, or three transmissive inflowing fractures. The method was demonstrated in two crystalline bedrock wells containing one and two transmissive inflowing fractures.     

Coal combustion by-product quality at two stoker boilers: Coal source vs. fly ash collection system design

Fly ashes from two stoker boilers burning Pennsylvanian Eastern Kentucky high volatile A bituminous coal blends were examined for their petrology and chemistry. The source coals have similar trace element contents. One of the ash collection systems was retrofitted with a baghouse (fabric filter) system, collecting a finer fly ash at a cooler flue gas temperature than the plant that has not been reconfigured. The baghouse ash has a markedly higher trace element content than the coarser fly ash from the other plant. The enhanced trace element content is most notable in the As concentration, reaching nearly 9000 ppm (ash basis) for one of the collection units. Differences in the ash chemistry are not due to any substantial differences in the coal source, even though the coal sources were from different counties and from different coal beds, but rather to the improved pollution control system in the steam plant with the higher trace element contents.     

The Suburbanization of Food Insecurity: An Analysis of Projected Trends in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area

Although general patterns of food insecurity in the United States are known, few studies have attempted to estimate small area food security or account for ongoing socioeconomic changes. Here we address these issues by producing small area estimates of food insecurity in the Atlanta metropolitan area using two methodologies: fixed effects modeling and demographic metabolism. In both cases, we use county-level data from the Current Population Survey to determine the association between food insecurity and demographic predictors. These associations are then applied to tract-level data from the 2009 to 2013 American Community Survey and projected data for 2020 to create small area estimates of food insecurity. We find broad consensus between our two methods. For both time periods, food insecurity is highest in southern sections of the city of Atlanta and its neighboring suburbs. Projections to 2020, however, show that food insecurity rates are projected to increase in outer-ring suburbs east and west of the city while decreasing in the urban core. These results highlight the need to further adapt antihunger efforts for often sprawling suburban communities, where poverty rates are increasing but spatial mismatch combined with poor transit access might hinder access to food assistance.