On the relationship of thunderstorm ice hydrometeor characteristics and total lightning measurements

Satellite-borne and ground-based devices for the detection of lightning offer the opportunity to explore relationships–on all significant scales up to global–between lightning frequency, f, and other thundercloud parameters. Calculations predict that f is proportional to the product of the downflux p of solid precipitation and the upward mass flux, I, of ice crystals. This prediction has received support from limited computational studies. The physical reasons for such a relationship are explained in terms of the paramount role of ice in the electrification of thunderstorms. Herein, this prediction is subjected to further, preliminary examination through analysis of lightning and dual-polarimetric radar data collected during the STERAO experiment conducted in Northern Colorado during the summer of 1996. The analysis has yielded some highly provisional support for this flux hypothesis. Computed trends of radar derived hydrometeor fractions of solid precipitation and small ice show correlation to the total lightning frequency and raise the possibility of determining values of p and/or I from lightning measurements.It is shown that the extent to which the observed correlations between f and both solid precipitation and small ice trends are or are not strong can provide an indication as to whether the lightning activity is limited by the available concentrations of precipitating or non-precipitating ice in the upper regions of the charging zone of the thundercloud, where most of the charge transfer occurs. It is demonstrated that the most accurate determinations of precipitation rate p from measurements of lighting frequency f are likely to be for conditions where the field-growth is limited by the availability of graupel pellets. It is shown that the simultaneous time variations of f and solid precipitation trends of the type obtained in the STERAO experiment could enable us to determine the nature of the dominant glaciation process operative in the thunderclouds studied.     

The impact of the friction of distance on the early settlement and development of Eyre Peninsula,South Australia

The cost of overcoming distance has played and continues to play an important role in the evolution of Australia's space‐economy. This paper examines the impact of the ‘friction of distance’, as well as the quality of the resource base, on the settlement and development of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. A series of maps portraying the spread of pastoralism and then agriculture on Eyre Peninsula reveals clearly the importance of ‘accessibility’ in influencing the pattern and timing of settlement. It was not until well into this century that all the potentially agricultural land in the interior was occupied, for this required the construction of a railway and water pipeline up the centre of the peninsula.     

Geochemistry of ice-covered, meromictic Lake A in the Canadian High Arctic

The geochemical processes occurring within meromictic Lake A (maxdepth 120 m) on northern Ellesmere Island, Canada, were investigated to determinethe history of the lake and to provide a baseline for future studies. The lake contained seawaterdiluted by freshwater input that had been mixed prior to the lake's isolation from tidalaction. Input of freshwater after isolation of the lake created vertical stratification resultingin the creation of distinct oxic, suboxic and anoxic zones. Dissolved oxygen was present to 13 m,and sulphide beneath 32 m. Manganese and iron cycling dominated the redox chemistrybetween these depths. Total manganese concentrations reached 176 M, higher thanin most other natural stratified lake or marine environments.     

Angular resolution of terrestrial laser scanners

Knowledge of a laser scanner's spatial resolution is necessary in order to prevent aliasing and estimate the level of detail that can be resolved from a scanned point cloud. Spatial resolution can be decoupled into range and angular components. The latter is the focus of this paper and is governed primarily by sampling interval and laser beamwidth. However, emphasis is often placed on one of these—typically sampling interval—as an indicator of resolution. Since both affect the resolution of a scanned point cloud, consideration of only one factor independent of the other can lead to a misunderstanding of a system's capabilities. This will be demonstrated to be inappropriate except under very specific conditions. A new, more appropriate resolution measure for laser scanners, the effective instantaneous field of view (EIFOV), is proposed. It is derived by modelling the shift variance of the equal angular increment sampling process, laser beamwidth-induced positional uncertainty and observed angle quantisation with ensemble average modulation transfer functions (AMTFs). Several commercially available terrestrial laser scanner systems are modelled and analysed in terms of their angular resolution capabilities using the EIFOV.     

Spectral scaling in Mars topography: effect of craters

Extensive computer simulations aimed at testing a hypothesis that impact craters may explain the scaling behaviour of surface spectra are presented. The simulations show that indeed crater effects alone may explain the spectral scaling of Mars’ topography revealed from MOLA data. The range of the scaling exponents obtained for a wide range of simulation parameters does not exceed the limits observed for Mars. The simulations suggest that the shape of large craters is the key factor leading to the two scaling ranges in the surface spectra. Particular values of the scaling exponents may additionally depend on the depth-diameter relationship and the crater size distribution.