A SuperWASP search for additional transiting planets in 24 known systems

We present results from a search for additional transiting planets in 24 systems already known to contain a transiting planet. We model the transits due to the known planet in each system and subtract these models from light curves obtained with the SuperWASP (Wide Angle Search for Planets) survey instruments. These residual light curves are then searched for evidence of additional periodic transit events. Although we do not find any evidence for additional planets in any of the planetary systems studied, we are able to characterize our ability to find such planets by means of Monte Carlo simulations. Artificially generated transit signals corresponding to planets with a range of sizes and orbital periods were injected into the SuperWASP photometry and the resulting light curves searched for planets. As a result, the detection efficiency as a function of both the radius and orbital period of any second planet is calculated. We determine that there is a good (>50 per cent) chance of detecting additional, Saturn-sized planets in   P ∼  10 d orbits around planet-hosting stars that have several seasons of SuperWASP photometry. Additionally, we confirm previous evidence of the rotational stellar variability of WASP-10, and refine the period of rotation. We find that the period of the rotation is  11.91 ± 0.05  d, and the false alarm probability for this period is extremely low  (∼10⁻¹³)  .     

Making market rationality: material semiotics and the case of congestion pricing in New York City

What were politicians, planners, and activists able to make of market concepts and market devices as they crafted congestion pricing plans in the context of New York City’s regional governance structure, its transportation infrastructure, and its physical geography? The answer challenges typical assumptions about the use of market mechanisms in restructuring urban space. Market mechanisms and market rationality created a platform for political debate about citywide mobility and its costs. From 2003 to 2014, through five formal plans, advocates and detractors opened up a political space for debating the interests of actors, from drivers, to pedestrians, to the local and global environment to citywide mobility. Market rationality was a provisional assemblage into which actors sought to embed values like sustainability and fairness. These values became more important in each new plan as advocates sought to address the political vulnerabilities of the one that had come before. The changes from plan to plan show challenges, liabilities, and possibilities for using market tools to address ecological and justice issues.     

Kinematics of quasars and AGN

The VLBA has been used over a period of four years to study the internal motions within a sample of quasars and AGN. In most sources, features appear to propagate away from the central engine along a well collimated radio jet with apparent transverse velocities between zero and 10c, with some evidence for apparent accelerations and decelerations. The distribution of apparent velocity is not consistent with any simple ballistic model and appears to require either a spread in intrinsic velocity or a difference between the bulk velocity and pattern velocity. The dependence of apparent angular velocity with redshift is consistent with standard Friedmann world models. Further observations of a larger source sample, especially at large redshift may lead to meaningful constraints on world models.     

Improving neural network performance on the classification of complex geographic datasets

Neural Networks are now established computational tools used for search minimisation and data classification. They offer some highly desirable features for landuse classification problems since they are able to take in a variety of data types, recorded on different statistical scales, and combine them. As such, neural networks should offer advantages of increased accuracy. However, a barrier to their general acceptance and use by all but `experts' is the difficulty of configuring the network initially.  This paper describes the architectural problems of applying neural networks to landcover classification exercises in geography and details some of the latest developments from an ongoing research project aimed at overcoming these problems. A comprehensive strategy for the configuration of neural networks is presented, whereby the network is automatically constructed by a process involving initial analysis of the training data. By careful study of the functioning of each part of the network it is possible to select the architecture and initial weights on the node connections so the constructed network is `right first time'. Further adaptations are described to control network behaviour, to optimise functioning from the perspective of landcover classification. The entire configuration process is encapsulated by a single application which may be treated by the user as a `black box', allowing the network to the applied in much the same way as a maximum likelihood classifier, with no further effort being required of the user.     

Geospatial Information Service Based on Digital Measurable Image——Take Image City·Wuhan as an Example

LBS (location-based service) is a remarkable outcome of the development from GIS to geospatial information service. Faced by the requirements of geospatial information from the masses and the opportunity provided by the next generation Internet and Web 2.0, a new model of geospatial information service based on DMI (digital measurable image) is presented. First, the concept of LBS and the opportunities of Web 2.0 are introduced, then the characteristic of DMI is discussed. Taking the Image City·Wuhan as an ...     

Stability of end-bearing piles in a non-homogeneous elastic foundation

The stability of end-bearing piles that are supported laterally along their entire length by an elastic Winkler foundation is investigated for the case when the coefficient of horizontal subgrade reaction varies linearly with depth. A pattern of clustering of buckling modes is shown to occur and the approximate modelling of the elastic foundation by averaging the stiffness of the subgrade is discussed. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of storm-triggered landslides on sediment dynamics and catchment-wide denudation rates in the southern Central Range of Taiwan following the extreme rainfall event of Typhoon Morakot

Extreme erosion events can produce large short-term sediment fluxes. Such events complicate erosion rates estimated from cosmogenic nuclide concentrations in river sediment by providing sediment with a concentration different from the long-term basin average. We present a detrital ¹⁰Be study in southern Taiwan, with multiple samples obtained in a time sequence bracketing the 2009 Typhoon Morakot, to assess the impact of landslide sediment on ¹⁰Be concentrations (N¹⁰Be) in river sediment. Sediment samples were collected from 13 major basins, two or three times over the last decade, to observe the temporal variation of N¹⁰Be. Landslide inventories with time intervals of 5–6 years were used to quantify sediment flux changes. A negative correlation between N¹⁰Be and landslide areal density indicates dilution of N¹⁰Be by landslide sediment. Denudation rates estimated from the diluted N¹⁰Be can be up to three times higher than the lowest rate derived from the same basins. Observed increases imply that, 3 years after the passage of Typhoon Morakot, fluvial channels still contain a considerable amount of sediment provided by hillslope landslides during the event. However, higher N¹⁰Be in 2016 samples indicate that the contribution from landslide sediment at the sampled grain size has decreased with time. The correlation between changes in N¹⁰Be and landslide area and volume is not strong, likely resulting from the stochastic and complex nature of sediment transport. To simultaneously evaluate the volume of landslide-derived sediment and estimate the background denudation rate, associated with less impulsive sediment supply, we constructed a sediment-mixing model with the time series of N¹⁰Be and landslide inventories. The spatial pattern of background erosion rate in southern Taiwan is consistent with the regional tectonic framework, indicating that the landscape is evolving mainly in response to the tectonic forcing, and this signal is modified, but not obscured by impulsive sediment supply. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Scattered ground‐roll attenuation using model‐driven interferometry

Scattered ground roll is a type of noise observed in land seismic data that can be particularly difficult to suppress. Typically, this type of noise cannot be removed using conventional velocity‐based filters. In this paper, we discuss a model‐driven form of seismic interferometry that allows suppression of scattered ground‐roll noise in land seismic data. The conventional cross‐correlate and stack interferometry approach results in scattered noise estimates between two receiver locations (i.e. as if one of the receivers had been replaced by a source). For noise suppression, this requires that each source we wish to attenuate the noise from is co‐located with a receiver. The model‐driven form differs, as the use of a simple model in place of one of the inputs for interferometry allows the scattered noise estimate to be made between a source and a receiver. This allows the method to be more flexible, as co‐location of sources and receivers is not required, and the method can be applied to data sets with a variety of different acquisition geometries. A simple plane‐wave model is used, allowing the method to remain relatively data driven, with weighting factors for the plane waves determined using a least‐squares solution. Using a number of both synthetic and real two‐dimensional (2D) and three‐dimensional (3D) land seismic data sets, we show that this model‐driven approach provides effective results, allowing suppression of scattered ground‐roll noise without having an adverse effect on the underlying signal.