Distribution of ciliates in relation to environmental factors along the coastline of the Gulf of Gabes, Tunisia

We studied the seasonal distribution of the ciliate community coupled with environmental factors along the coast at three stations sampled (from March 2006 to February 2007) in the Gulf of Gabes (Tunisia, Eastern Mediterranean Sea). A total of 56 species belonging to 11 orders, were identified. Harbor of Gabes station was more diversified (45 species) than both Tabia (26 species) and Karboub (31 species) stations. The ciliate assemblage was numerically dominated by Spirotrichea in Tabia (82% of the total abundance), in the Harbor of Gabes (86% of the total abundance), whereas, in Karboub, Spirotrichea represented only 40% of the total abundance. The unexpected lower quantitative importance of Spirotrichea in Karboub station was apparently the result of the high salt concentration found in water samples throughout the study, probably originating from the saline area surrounding Karboub station, known as Sabkha. The distribution of species in the nearshore of the Gulf of Gabes seemed most likely influenced by the combined effects of temperature, salinity and hydrographic conditions.     

Geothermal energy prospects in Brazil: A preliminary analysis

Results of geothermal gradient measurements in 44 localities in Brazil are presented. The Precambrian shield areas are found to be characterized by relatively low temperature gradients in the range 6 to 20°C/km while younger sedimentary basins are characterized by gradients in the range 15 to 35°C/km. An inverse correlation between geothermal gradient and tectonic age has been observed. This as well as the favourable hydrological conditions suggest that the best sites for extraction of geothermal energy in Brazil are the younger sedimentary basins. The Parana Basin is found to offer at present the best site for extraction of geothermal energy in Brazil. Preliminary examination of the temperature distributions in the major aquifer (Botucatu sandstone) suggest that this aquifer contains substantial quantities of warm waters in the temperature range 40 to 90°C. The water layer in this confined aquifer is in convective motion and can be considered as a low enthalphy geothermal system. Many of the routine uses to which geothermal waters are put, such as space heating and soil warming, are not applicable in Brazil mainly because of the favourable climatic conditions. Conversion of this geothermal energy into electrical energy is also unlikely to be economical. Hence we do not consider the Parana Basin geothermal system as an independent ec9nomically exploitable energy resource. However, a few other applications are pointed out where geothermal waters can be used as a supplementary or supporting energy source in increasing the efficiency of economically viable systems utilizing hot waters.     

Temporal and spatial zonation of macroepiphytes on Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile leaves in a meadow off Tunisia

The aim of this survey was to study the cover and the composition of macroepiphytic species on the leaves of Posidonia oceanica in the east of Tunisia. Surveys were conducted in December 2009 (winter period), March (spring period) and August 2010 (summer period) in a fringing reef located in Chebba. At each sampling date, 15 adult leaves were randomly collected and divided into basal and apical parts. The inner face of each part was examined with ocular glasses and microscope to estimate species cover by orthogonal projection. PERMANOVA and ANOSIM were used to test for differences of cover between sampling dates and leaf parts. SIMPER, cluster analysis, and PCA were used to ordinate species assemblages. Comparison of epiphytic cover along leaf blades showed significant differences for all groups, except cyanophycea, with high cover of hydrozoans and bryozoans in the basal part and high cover of algae in the apical part. The species composition and cover also vary with sampling date; minimum values were detected in December and the epiphytic community was composed of a few pioneer species, whereas maximum epiphytic cover values were registered in August, with the epiphytic community being composed of a more mature and more diverse community, termed ‘climax’. The main regulatory factors for this distribution are discussed.     

Diversity and temporal fluctuations of epiphytes and sessile invertebrates on the rhizomes Posidonia oceanica in a seagrass meadow off Tunisia

The aim of this work is to study the temporal dynamics of rhizome epiphytes and sessile animals living on the rhizomes of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica in the east of Tunisia. Surveys were conducted in October 2009, and in January, April and August 2010 on a fringing reef located in Chebba. Rhizomes were sampled by SCUBA diving at three stations. Samples were examined with a microscope to estimate the cover of macroinvertebrate and macroalgal organisms on the top 10 cm of each rhizome. Results revealed a high diversity of epiphytes on P. oceanica rhizomes with a dominance of red and brown algae, ascidians, and bryozoans. Distinct temporal changes were observed in Oued Lafrann, with a high January cover (winter period) for all groups. These winter increases can be attributed to: (i) the low phenological parameters of P. oceanica in winter that reduce the effects of shading, (ii) life cycles of the epiphytes and invertebrates, (iii) water motion and (iv) grazing.     

Graded-Density Reservoirs for Accessing High Stress Low Temperature Material States

In recently developed laser-driven shockless compression experiments an ablatively driven shock in a primary target is transformed into a ramp compression wave in a secondary target via unloading followed by stagnation across an intermediate vacuum gap. Current limitations on the achievable peak longitudinal stresses are limited by the ability of shaping the temporal profile of the ramp compression pulse. We report on new techniques using graded density reservoirs for shaping the loading profile and extending these techniques to high peak pressures.     

An iteratively reweighted least-squares approach to adaptive robust adjustment of parameters in linear regression models with autoregressive and <Emphasis Type="Italic">t</Emphasis>-distributed deviations

In this paper, we investigate a linear regression time series model of possibly outlier-afflicted observations and autocorrelated random deviations. This colored noise is represented by a covariance-stationary autoregressive (AR) process, in which the independent error components follow a scaled (Student’s) t-distribution. This error model allows for the stochastic modeling of multiple outliers and for an adaptive robust maximum likelihood (ML) estimation of the unknown regression and AR coefficients, the scale parameter, and the degree of freedom of the t-distribution. This approach is meant to be an extension of known estimators, which tend to focus only on the regression model, or on the AR error model, or on normally distributed errors. For the purpose of ML estimation, we derive an expectation conditional maximization either algorithm, which leads to an easy-to-implement version of iteratively reweighted least squares. The estimation performance of the algorithm is evaluated via Monte Carlo simulations for a Fourier as well as a spline model in connection with AR colored noise models of different orders and with three different sampling distributions generating the white noise components. We apply the algorithm to a vibration dataset recorded by a high-accuracy, single-axis accelerometer, focusing on the evaluation of the estimated AR colored noise model.     

Method for calibrating a theoretical model in karst springs: an example for a hydropower station in South China

A theoretical, dimensionless rainfall–runoff model was used to simulate the discharge of Wulongdong spring in western Hubei province, South China. The single parameter (time constant τ) in the model is easy to obtain by fitting the recession rate of the observed hydrographs. The model was scaled by simply matching the total annual flow volume of the model to the observed value. Annual distribution of actual evapotranspiration was embedded in the model input to calculate the accumulated deficit of soil moisture before each rain event. Hourly precipitation input data performed better than daily data, defining τ of 0.85 days and returning a Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency of 0.89 and the root mean square error of 0.07. This model offers an effective way to simulate the discharge of karst springs that respond sensitively to rainfall events. The model parameters of a successful simulation can be used to estimate the recharge area and indicate the intrinsic response time of the basin. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bias correction method of high-resolution satellite-based precipitation product for Peninsular Malaysia

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - Satellite-based precipitation (SBP) is emerging as a reliable source for high-resolution rainfall estimates over the globe. However, uncertainty in SBP is...