Comparison of approaches to spatial estimation in a bivariate context

The problem of estimating a regionalized variable in the presence of other secondary variables is encountered in spatial investigations. Given a context in which the secondary variable is known everywhere (or can be estimated with great precision), different estimation methods are compared: regression, regression with residual simple kriging, kriging, simple kriging with a mean obtained by regression, kriging with an external drift, and cokriging. The study focuses on 19 pairs of regionalized variables from five different datasets representing different domains (geochemical, environmental, geotechnical). The methods are compared by cross-validation using the mean absolute error as criterion. For correlations between the principal and secondary variable under 0.4, similar results are obtained using kriging and cokriging, and these methods are superior slightly to the other approaches in terms of minimizing estimation error. For correlations greater than 0.4, cokriging generally performs better than other methods, with a reduction in mean absolute errors that can reach 46% when there is a high degree of correlation between the variables. Kriging with an external drift or kriging the residuals of a regression (SKR) are almost as precise as cokriging.     

Observations of sea ice interannual variations and spring bloom occurrences at the Japanese scallop farming area in the Okhotsk Sea using satellite imageries

The dynamics of ice formation and phytoplankton bloom development in the coastal region of the Okhotsk Sea, Hokkaido, where the Japanese scallop, Mizuhopecten yessoensis, are cultured were investigated using seven years (1998–2004) satellite data from the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) and Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). The interannual variability of sea ice cover and timing of spring bloom occurrences were analyzed. Longer ice cover in 1999, 2001 and 2003 with the presence of ice until early April and shortened ice cover in 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2004 with the occurrence of ice until early March were recognized at this area. Variability in the timing of sea ice retreat and development of spring blooms at the scallop areas were observed. Progression of a single ice edge bloom showed higher Chl-a concentration compared to development of an initial ice edge bloom followed by a later open water bloom. Higher concentration of phytoplankton biomass was observed in the initial bloom when sea ice melting is delayed compared to when the sea ice leaves earlier. Wind events were also observed to affect the occurrences of spring bloom.     

Report on the Diatoms and Dinoflagellates Distribution along the Algerian Coasts: Inter-Region Comparison

The phytoplankton group’s composition is an excellent indicator of the state of coastal waters. The aim of this study is to explore spatial variability of phytoplankton in shallow coastal areas from different regions (East, Center and West) of the Algerian coast. The quantitative and qualitative study of the phytoplankton population was conducted on samples taken during the 2012-2013 period by the research vessel GRINE BELKACEM. The qualitative results show a significant diversity of diatoms and dinoflagellates, which rank first and second in the total flora (Fr > 50%). This finding is also confirmed quantitatively by the abundance values in both 2013 and 2012 samples which largely exceeds the average value in most other areas of the western region (56%) and slightly exceeding 52% in all central areas which represent an equi-distribution between diatoms and dinoflagellates. The Dinoflagellates contribute significantly to the quantitative richness in the eastern region (>60%). The minimum value of Dia/Dino index, recorded in the eastern region confirms the dominance of the dinoflagellates especially in Skikda (0.31) (Skikda).However, our results reveal the presence, in smaller proportion, of other groups such as the cocolithophoridae and euglenophyceae.     

Substructure design optimization and nonlinear responses control analysis of the mega-sub controlled structural system(MSCSS) under earthquake action

The newly proposed mega sub-controlled structure system(MSCSS) and related studies have drawn the attention of civil engineers for practice in improving the performance and enhancing the structural effectiveness of mega frame structures. However, there is still a need for improvement to its basic structural arrangement. In this project, an advanced, reasonable arrangement of mega sub-controlled structure models, composed of three mega stories with different numbers and arrangements of substructures, are designed to investigate the control performance of the models and obtain the optimal model configuration(model with minimum acceleration and displacement responses) under strong earthquake excitation. In addition, the dynamic parameters that affect the performance effectiveness of the optimal model of MSCSS are studied and discussed. The area of the relative stiffness ratio RD, with different mass ratio MR, within which the acceleration and displacement of the optimal model of MSCSS reaches its optimum(minimum) value is considered as an optimum region. It serves as a useful tool in practical engineering design. The study demonstrates that the proposed MSCSS configuration can efficiently control the displacement and acceleration of high rise buildings. In addition, some analytical guidelines are provided for selecting the control parameters of the structure.     

Ion-acoustic rogue waves in a plasma with a q-nonextensive electron velocity distribution

Ion-acoustic rogue waves (IARWs) are addressed in a two-component plasma with a q-nonextensive electron velocity distribution. A weakly nonlinear analysis is carried out to derive a Korteweg-de Vries (K-dV) equation with a particular emphasis on its application to the IARWs. This K-dV equation is transformed to a nonlinear Schr?dinger equation, provided that the frequency of the carrier wave is much smaller than the ion plasma frequency. Interestingly, it is found that the IARWs may be drastically affected by electron nonextensivity depending on whether the entropic index q is positive or negative. In view of the crucial importance of RWs in space environments, our results should be useful in understanding the basic features of the nonextensive IARGs that may occur in space plasmas.     

Surface water quality contamination source apportionment and physicochemical characterization at the upper section of the Jakara Basin, Nigeria

The present study investigates the surface water quality of three important tributaries of Jakara Basin, northwestern Nigeria to provide an overview of the relationship and sources of physicochemical and biological parameters. A total of 405 water samples were collected from 27 sampling points and analyzed for 13 parameters: dissolved oxygen (DO), 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅), chemical oxygen demand (COD), suspended solids (SS), pH, ammonia-nitrogen (NH₃NL), dissolved solids (DS), total solids (TS), nitrates (NO₃), chloride (Cl), phosphates (PO₄), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and fecal coliform bacteria (FCB). Pearson’s product–moment correlation matrix and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to distinguish the main pollution sources in the basin. Four varimax components were extracted from PCA, which explained 84.86, 83.60, and 78.69 % of the variation in the surface water quality for Jakara, Tsakama, and Gama-Kwari Rivers, respectively. Strong positive loading included BOD₅, COD, NH₃NL, E. coli, and FCB with negative loading on DO attribute to a domestic waste water pollution source. One-way ANOVA revealed that there was no significant difference in the mean of the three water bodies (p?>?0.05). It is therefore recommended that the government should be more effective in controlling the point source of pollution in the area.     

Qualité des eaux du cours principal de la Medjerda (Tunisie et Algérie) et trois de ses affluents Nord

Résumé

Une étude a été effectuée dans la zone Nord-Ouest du bassin versant de la Medjerda avec pour objectif de fournir de nouvelles connaissances sur la qualité des eaux ainsi que sur le type de relation qui peut exister entre les variables physico-chimiques, bactériologiques et les indices de diversité/densité de la méiofaune. Les résultats montrent une dégradation de la qualité du cours principal de la Medjerda et de trois de ses affluents Nord (augmentation de la salinité, teneur en nitrate, matière organique, coliformes…). Les indices de diversité et d’équitabilité suivent cette évolution régressive des variables physico-chimiques et apportent de nouvelles connaissances sur le type et la qualité du sédiment.

Editeur Z.W. Kundzewicz ; Editeur associé B. Touaïbia     

Oxidation modes and thermodynamics of Fe oxyhydroxycarbonate green rust: Dissolution-precipitation versus in situ deprotonation

Fe^II-III hydroxycarbonate green rust GR(CO₃²⁻), Fe^II₄ Fe^III₂ (OH)₁₂ CO₃·3H₂O, is oxidized in aqueous solutions with varying reaction kinetics. Rapid oxidation with either H₂O₂ or dissolved oxygen under neutral and alkaline conditions leads to the formation of ferric oxyhydroxycarbonate GR(CO₃²⁻)∗, Fe^III₆ O₁₂ H₈ CO₃·3H₂O, via a solid-state reaction. By decreasing the flow of oxygen bubbled in the solution, goethite α-FeOOH forms by dissolution-precipitation mechanism whereas a mixture of non-stoichiometric magnetite Fe_(3−x)O₄ and goethite is observed for lower oxidation rates. The intermediate Fe^II-III oxyhydroxycarbonate of formula Fe^II_6(1−x) Fe^III_6x O₁₂ H_2(7−3x) CO₃·3H₂O, i.e. GR(x)∗ for which x ? [1/3, 1], is the synthetic compound that is homologous to the fougerite mineral present in hydromorphic gleysol; in situ oxidation accounts for the variation of ferric molar fraction x = [Fe^III]/{[Fe^II]+[Fe^III]} observed in the field as a function of depth and season but limited to the range [1/3, 2/3]. The domain of stability for partially oxidized green rust is observed in the E_h-pH Pourbaix diagrams if thermodynamic properties of GR(x)∗ is compared with those of lepidocrocite, γ-FeOOH, and goethite, α-FeOOH. Electrochemical equilibrium between GR(x)∗ and Fe^II in solution corresponds to E_h-pH conditions close to those measured in the field. Therefore, the reductive dissolution of GR(x)∗ can explain the relatively large concentration of Fe^II measured in aqueous medium of hydromorphic soils containing fougerite.     

High-order Statistics of Spatial Random Fields: Exploring Spatial Cumulants for Modeling Complex Non-Gaussian and Non-linear Phenomena

The spatial distributions of earth science and engineering phenomena under study are currently predicted from finite measurements and second-order geostatistical models. The latter models can be limiting, as geological systems are highly complex, non-Gaussian, and exhibit non-linear patterns of spatial connectivity. Non-linear and non-Gaussian high-order geostatistics based on spatial connectivity measures, namely spatial cumulants, are proposed as a new alternative modeling framework for spatial data. This framework has two parts. The first part is the definition, properties, and inference of spatial cumulants—including understanding the interrelation of cumulant characteristics with the in-situ behavior of geological entities or processes, as examined in this paper. The second part is the research on a random field model for simulation based on its high-order spatial cumulants. Mathematical definitions of non-Gaussian spatial random functions and their high-order spatial statistics are presented herein, stressing the notion of spatial cumulants. The calculation of spatial cumulants with spatial templates follows, including anisotropic experimental cumulants. Several examples of two- and three-dimensional images, including a diamond bearing kimberlite pipe from the Ekati Mine in Canada, are analyzed to assess the relations between cumulants and the spatial behavior of geological processes. Spatial cumulants of orders three to five are shown to capture directional multiple-point periodicity, connectivity including connectivity of extreme values, and spatial architecture. In addition, they provide substantial information on geometric characteristics and anisotropy of geological patterns. It is further shown that effects of complex spatial patterns are seen even if only subsets of all cumulant templates are computed. Compared to second-order statistics, cumulant maps are found to include a wealth of additional information from underlying geological patterns. Further work seeks to integrate this information in the predictive capabilities of a random field model.     

Nonplanar ion-acoustic Gardner solitons in a pair-ion plasma with nonextensive electrons and positrons

The properties of nonplanar (cylindrical and spherical) ion-acoustic solitary waves (IA SWs) in an unmagnetized, collisionless electron-positron-ion (e-p-i) plasma, whose constituents are q-distributed electrons and positrons and inertial ions, are investigated by deriving the modified Gardner (MG) equation. The well known reductive perturbation method is employed to derive the MG equation. The basic features of nonplanar IA Gardner solitons (GSs) are discussed. It is found that the properties of nonplanar IA GSs (rarefactive and compressive) are significantly affected by the particle nonextensivity.