Fuzzy logic based melting layer recognition from 3 GHz dual polarization radar: appraisal with NWP model and radio sounding observations

The advent of polarimetry makes it possible to categorize hydrometeor inferences more accurately by providing detailed information of the scattering properties. In light of this, the authors have developed a fuzzy logic based system for the recognition of melting layer in the atmosphere. The fuzzy system is based on characterizing melting layer scatterers from non-melting scatterers using five crisp inputs, namely, horizontal reflectivity (Z _H), differential reflectivity (Z _DR), co-polar correlation coefficient (ρ _HV), linear depolarization ratio (LDR) and height of radar measurements (H). For the implementation of melting layer recognition, the study employs the dual polarized signatures from the 3 GHz Chilbolton Advanced Meteorological Radar (CAMRA). Furthermore, a simple but effective averaging procedure for melting level estimation from a volume RHI scan is proposed. The proposed scheme has been evaluated with Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model simulated and radio soundings retrieved melting level height over a total of 84 RHI scan-based bright band cases. The results confirm that the estimated melting level heights from the proposed method are in good agreement with the WRF model and radio sounding observations. The 3 GHz radar melting level height estimates correspond with the R ² and RMSE values of 0.92 and 0.24 km, respectively, when compared to the radio soundings, and 0.93 and 0.21 km, respectively, when compared to the WRF model results. Moreover, the related R ² and RMSE values are reported as 0.93 and 0.22 km respectively between the WRF and radio soundings retrievals. This implies that the downscaled WRF modelled melting level height may also be used for operational or research needs.     

Reconnection in the Solar Corona: Role of the Kelvin–Helmholtz Instability

We consider the stability of current sheets where a normal component of the field is present. It is well known that reconnection in such systems progresses orders of magnitude too slow to explain observations, even when full kinetic models are used. We consider here a new possible mechanism for fast reconnection in such systems. We consider the effect of the possible presence of velocity shear that can drive the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI). The effect of the KHI is shown to convert shear flow into compression flow that drives reconnection. Three scaling effects can be discerned in the simulations. First, the reconnection rate is directly controlled by the driving mechanism which is provided by the KHI. The result of this new mechanism is that fast reconnection can be achieved even in absence of anomalous resistivity. Second, the effect of varying the initial sheared flow along the main magnetic field direction enhances the reconnection process. Finally, the reconnection rate is insensitive to the value of resistivity.     

Paleobiology of the Mesoproterozoic-Neoproterozoic transition: the Sukhaya Tunguska Formation, Turukhansk Uplift, Siberia

Silicified carbonates of the latest Mesoproterozoic Sukhaya Tunguska Formation, northwestern Siberia, contain abundant and diverse permineralized microfossils. Peritidal environments are dominated by microbial mats built by filamentous cyanobacteria comparable to modern species of Lyngbya and Phormidium. In subtidal to lower intertidal settings, mat-dwelling microbenthos and possible coastal microplankton are abundant. In contrast, densely woven mat populations with few associated taxa characterize more restricted parts of tidal flats; the preservation of vertically oriented sheath bundles and primary fenestrae indicates that in these mats carbonate cementation was commonly penecontemporaneous with mat growth. Eoentophysalis mats are limited to restricted environments where microlaminated carbonate precipitates formed on or just beneath the sediment surface. Most microbenthic populations are cyanobacterial, although eukaryotic microfossils may occur among the simple spheroidal cells interpreted as coastal plankton. Protists are more securely represented by large (up to 320 micrometers in diameter) but poorly preserved acritarchs in basinal facies. The Sukhaya Tunguska assemblage contains 27 species in 18 genera. By virtue of their stratigraphic longevity and their close and predictable association with specific paleoenvironmental conditions, including substrates, Proterozoic cyanobacteria support a model of bacterial evolution in which populations adapt rapidly to novel environments and, thereafter, resist competitive replacement. The resulting evolutionary pattern is one of accumulation and stasis rather than the turnover and replacement characteristic of Phanerozoic plants and animals.     

New cranial remains of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of Fox-Amphoux-Métisson (Var,SE France)

The Fox-Amphoux Syncline of the Aix Basin (SE France) has yielded a diverse Late Cretaceous vertebrate assemblage, including several taxa of dinosaurs. Here, we report on cranial material of titanosaurian sauropods, which consist of a partial braincase, two fragmentary skull roofs, and nine teeth, from the Métisson locality (Var Department). The braincase differs from those found previously in Europe (i.e., Ampelosaurus atacis, Lirainosaurus astibiae, and an unnamed juvenile skull from Romania) as well as from other titanosaurian braincases in having a groove that extends along the ventral surface of the occipital condyle neck (this feature may be autapomorphic). One of the fragmentary skull roofs may belong to the same taxon, whereas the other suggests the presence of a second titanosaur at Métisson very close to Ampelosaurus. Two dental morphologies are present in the sample; one of them includes teeth of different sizes. We suggest that this could be accounted for by age differences within a single taxon, or be due to different positions in the tooth row. The presence of a new, still unnamed titanosaurian taxon in the Ibero-Armorican Island supports previous works indicating a high titanosaurian diversity during the Campanian-Maastrichtian in southern Europe.     

CT scanning, rapid prototyping and re-examination of a partial skull of a basal crocodylomorph from the Late Triassic of Germany

An incomplete skull (SMNS 12352) from the Norian (Late Triassic), found at the same locality (Pfaffenhofen, Germany) as Procompsognathus triassicus, has previously been attributed to either a theropod or a crocodylomorph. The specimen is partially embedded in matrix and, therefore, was CT scanned so that the concealed portion could be visualized and a 3D model could be printed by means of rapid prototyping. Mainly based on the separation between the nasal and the antorbital fossa, the skull likely pertains to an indeterminate basal crocodylomorph (non-Crocodyliformes), which is, however, distinct from Saltoposuchus connectens.     

Clay mineralogy, organic carbon burial, and redox evolution in Proterozoic oceans

Clay minerals formed through chemical weathering have long been implicated in the burial of organic matter (OM), but because diagenesis and metamorphism commonly obscure the signature of weathering-derived clays in Precambrian rocks, clay mineralogy and its role in OM burial through much of geologic time remains incompletely understood. Here we have analyzed the mineralogy, geochemistry and total organic carbon (TOC) of organic rich shales deposited in late Archean to early Cambrian sedimentary basins. Across all samples we have quantified the contribution of 1M and 1M_d illite polytypes, clay minerals formed by diagenetic transformation of smectite and/or kaolinite-rich weathering products. This mineralogical signal, together with corrected paleo-weathering indices, indicates that late Archean and Mesoproterozoic samples were moderately to intensely weathered. However, in late Neoproterozoic basins, 2M₁ illite/mica dominates clay mineralogy and paleo-weathering indices sharply decrease, consistent with an influx of chemically immature and relatively unweathered sediment. A late Neoproterozoic switch to micaceous clays is inconsistent with hypotheses for oxygen history that require an increased flux of weathering-derived clays (i.e., smectite or kaolinite) across the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary. Compared to previous studies, our XRD data display the same variation in Schultz Ratio across the late Neoproterozoic, but we show the cause to be micaceous clay and not pedogenic clay; paleo-weathering signals cannot be recovered from bulk mineralogy without this distinction. We find little evidence to support a link between these mineralogical variations and organic carbon in our samples and conclude that modal clay mineralogy cannot by itself explain an Ediacaran increase in atmospheric oxygen driven by enhanced OM burial.     

Mineralogy,petrography, geochemistry,and classification of the Košice meteorite

The Ko?ice meteorite was observed to fall on 28 February 2010 at 23:25 UT near the city of Ko?ice in eastern Slovakia and its mineralogy, petrology, and geochemistry are described. The characteristic features of the meteorite fragments are fan‐like, mosaic, lamellar, and granular chondrules, which were up to 1.2 mm in diameter. The fusion crust has a black‐gray color with a thickness up to 0.6 mm. The matrix of the meteorite is formed mainly by forsterite (Fo_80.6); diopside; enstatite (Fs_16.7); albite; troilite; Fe‐Ni metals such as iron and taenite; and some augite, chlorapatite, merrillite, chromite, and tetrataenite. Plagioclase‐like glass was also identified. Relative uniform chemical composition of basic silicates, partially brecciated textures, as well as skeletal taenite crystals into troilite veinlets suggest monomict breccia formed at conditions of rapid cooling. The Ko?ice meteorite is classified as ordinary chondrite of the H5 type which has been slightly weathered, and only short veinlets of Fe hydroxides are present. The textural relationships indicate an S3 degree of shock metamorphism and W0 weathering grade. Some fragments of the meteorite Ko?ice are formed by monomict breccia of the petrological type H5. On the basis of REE content, we suggest the Ko?ice chondrite is probably from the same parent body as H5 chondrite Morávka from Czech Republic. Electron‐microprobe analysis (EMPA) with focused and defocused electron beam, whole‐rock analysis (WRA), inductively coupled plasma mass and optical emission spectroscopy (ICP MS, ICP OES), and calibration‐free laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (CF‐LIBS) were used to characterize the Ko?ice fragments. The results provide further evidence that whole‐rock analysis gives the most accurate analyses, but this method is completely destructive. Two other proposed methods are partially destructive (EMPA) or nondestructive (CF‐LIBS), but only major and minor elements can be evaluated due to the significantly lower sample consumption.     

Three“first places”for Ediacaran Period

Definition of a new geologic period for the Iast interval of the Proterozoic Eon, the Ediacaran, was recently ratified by the IUGS. The Ediacaran Period is the first Proterozoic period to be recognized on the basis of chronostratigraphic criteria, the first internationally ratified, chronostratigraphically defined period of any age to be introduced in more than 120 years, and the first to be defined by a “golden spike” in the Southern hemisphere.     

Female newcomers’ adjustment to life in Toronto,Canada: sources of mental stress and their implications for delivering primary mental health care

Stress disorders and other mental ill health may be brought on by the disruption caused by resettlement. We examine female newcomers’ experiences of adjusting to a new place, metropolitan Toronto, Canada and a new health care system. We consider sources of mental stress experienced during adjustment. We frame this adjustment as a process that happens over place and through time. Thematic findings of interviews (n = 35) with female newcomers from five cultural-linguistic groups are reported. Sources of stress in adjusting to life in Toronto include: navigating a new place, personal safety concerns, adapting to a new lifestyle, and finding employment. Sources of stress in adjusting to a new health care system include: learning how to access care, not having access to specialists, and adapting to a new culture of care. We conclude by considering the implications of what newcomers report for the delivery of primary mental health care (i.e. ‘first contact’ care).