Local‐government data sharing: Evaluating the foundations of spatial data infrastructures

This paper presents a typology of local‐government data sharing arrangements in the US at a time when spatial data infrastructures (SDI) are moving into a second generation. In the first generation, the US National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) theoretically involved a pyramid of data integration resting on local‐government data sharing. Availability of local‐government data is the foundation for all SDI‐related data sharing in this model. However, first‐generation SDI data‐sharing activities and principles have gained only a tenuous hold in local governments. Some formalized data sharing occurs, but only infrequently in response to SDI programmes and policies. Previous research suggests that local‐government data sharing aligns with immediate organizational and practical concerns rather than state or national policies and programmes. We present research findings echoing extending these findings to show that local‐government data sharing is largely informal in nature and is undertaken to support existing governmental activities. NSDI principles remain simply irrelevant for the majority of surveyed local governments. The typology we present distinguishes four distinct types of local‐government data sharing arrangements that reflect institutional, political, and economic factors. The effectiveness of second generation, client‐service‐based SDI will be seriously constrained if the problems of local government take‐up fail to be addressed.     

Redetermination of the transformation enthalpies of the xanthoconite–proustite, pyrostilpnite–pyrargyrite and trechmannite–smithite phase transitions

 We report here refined values of the transformation enthalpy for xanthoconite to proustite (54.81 kJ/mol) and pyrostilpnite to pyrargyrite (40.32 kJ/mol). Additionally, the enthalpy for the transformation of trechmannite to smithite (5.82 kJ/mol) has been determined. The refinement was possible by taking into account a previously unknown dependence of electrochemical signals on the amount of substance undergoing the reduction process. Received December 21, 1995/Revised, accepted June 29, 1996     

A Holocene record of climate change,fire ecology and human activity from montane Flat Top Bog,Maui

A sediment core from a high-elevation bog on Maui in the Hawaiian Islands contains evidence for drier conditions between 9.4–5.8 kyr BP, followed by a wetter interval between 5.8–2.2 kyr BP, and a variable late Holocene. These precipitation changes may be a reflection of vertical displacements of the upper boundary of the mid-Pacific Trade Wind Inversion (TWI) cloud layer. Fires, probably volcanically ignited, occurred in the forests prior to human arrival. Polynesian activity in this high-elevation, remote site was apparently limited, with no pollen, charcoal, or sedimentological evidence for local anthropogenic disturbance. After European contact, grass fires increased and introduced plant species invaded the site. Values for Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in sediments throughout the Holocene indicate low trace-metal deposition from atmospheric particulates at the site, even in the twentieth century.This paper is one of a series of papers guest edited by Dr. Mark Brenner on tropical paleolimnology     

Wide-angle vibroseis test across the Rhine graben

Summary. As a joint operation of ECORS and DEKORP, a deep wide-angle seismic experiment using vibrators was carried out in the autumn of 1984. The object was to get information on the deep crust under the Rhine graben without crossing through sedimentary layers. Offsets were in the range of 50 to 89 km. In the first phase, two vibration points were executed in the Vosges mountains. A signal was received in the Black Forest from solely the farthest VP. In the second phase, fourteen VPs were executed in the Black Forest. No stacking or correlation was performed in the field in France. The quality of the results is good only if an equalization is applied before vertical stacking and correlation in the computing centre.     

Toroidal versus poloidal magnetic fields in Sun-like stars: a rotation threshold

From a set of stellar spectropolarimetric observations, we report the detection of surface magnetic fields in a sample of four solar-type stars, namely HD 73350, HD 76151, HD 146233 (18 Sco) and HD 190771. Assuming that the observed variability of polarimetric signal is controlled by stellar rotation, we establish the rotation periods of our targets, with values ranging from 8.8 d (for HD 190771) to 22.7 d (for HD 146233). Apart from rotation, fundamental parameters of the selected objects are very close to the Sun's, making this sample a practical basis to investigate the specific impact of rotation on magnetic properties of Sun-like stars.
We reconstruct the large-scale magnetic geometry of the targets as a low-order  (ℓ < 10)  spherical harmonic expansion of the surface magnetic field. From the set of magnetic maps, we draw two main conclusions. (i) The magnetic energy of the large-scale field increases with rotation rate. The increase in chromospheric emission with the mean magnetic field is flatter than observed in the Sun. Since the chromospheric flux is also sensitive to magnetic elements smaller than those contributing to the polarimetric signal, this observation suggests that a larger fraction of the surface magnetic energy is stored in large scales as rotation increases. (ii) Whereas the magnetic field is mostly poloidal for low rotation rates, more rapid rotators host a large-scale toroidal component in their surface field. From our observations, we infer that a rotation period lower than ≈12 d is necessary for the toroidal magnetic energy to dominate over the poloidal component.     

Relationships between Holocene sea-level variations,trophic development,and climatic change in Negra Lagoon,Southern Uruguay

Paleolimnological data are presented on trophic development, climatic change and sea level variations in Negra Lagoon, a 142 km² coastal lagoon in southern Uruguay. Using a sediment core that extended to the early Holocene, analyses of organic matter, carbonate, diatoms and opal phytoliths allowed us to track changes in trophic state and paleosalinity levels, which were closely related to Holocene sea level variation, temperature and humidity. Diatom Association Zones (DAZ) corresponding to transgressive events were dominated by marine/brackish taxa and relatively low organic matter values, while those DAZ corresponding to regressive events showed increases in brackish/freshwater diatoms and organic matter. Opal Phytoliths Association Zones (OPAZ) also were identified, temperature and humidity indices were calculated, and climatic trends were inferred. During the middle Holocene (i.e., ~5000–4000 yr BP), cool–dry climatic conditions were established. After ~4000 yr BP, a transition from cool to warm–humid conditions was observed, but fully warm humid conditions established only after ~1700 yr BP. Such climatic amelioration led to increases in trophic state.     

Photoelectric device for monitoring the movement of a torsion balance beam

Manufactured and tested in his work is a photoelectric device that makes it possible to automatically determine the relative angular position of the beam of a miniature torsion balance, angular readings being discretized with various time step values and stored in a computer. Measurements were taken with this device that captured the occurrence of the partial solar eclipse on September 11, 2007, and confirmed the fact, established previously through visual observation, that the position of torsion balance beams changed at the instant an eclipse took place.     

Experiments on numerical modeling of intense convection

Results of numerical simulations using the WRF-ARW nonhydrostatic model are presented for eight episodes of intense convection over European Russia in the summer of 2007. The calculations were performed on four nested grids with horizontal grid meshes of 27, 9, 3, and 1 km. Convection was parametrized on the first two grids and explicitly resolved on the other two. It has been found that simulations on finer grids with explicit calculation of convective flows make it possible to reproduce heavy rainfalls and strong-wind zones in the areas of intense convection. A preliminary verification of the short-range predictions of convective systems shows that the maximum 12-h precipitation totals and the maximum winds at 10 m are close, in the order of magnitude, to the observed values. Prediction of convection centers is the weakest point. Difficulties in the model verification associated with the absence of data with high space-time resolution are discussed.     

Spectroscopic binaries near the North Galactic Pole paper 6: BD 33° 2206

Photoelectric radial-velocity measurements have confirmed O. C. Wilson’s finding that BD 33° 2206, the secondary star in the wide visual binary ADS 8470, is a spectroscopic binary. It has an eccentric orbit with a period of 100 days. Its γ-velocity is close to the constant radial velocity of the visual primary, confirming the physical association of the stars.     

Understanding the surface hydrology of the Lake Eyre Basin: Part 1—Rainfall

This is the first of two papers that describe the surface hydrology of the Lake Eyre Basin (LEB) (1,140,000 km²) in central Australia and compares some key characteristics with those observed from arid regions globally. This paper concentrates on annual rainfall, whereas the second paper is devoted to streamflow. The first part describes the LEB's climate (arid to semi-arid), which is dominated by a subtropical high pressure ridge stretching latitudinally across central Australia. Then follow major analyses that include the characteristics of rainfall, wet and dry spell lengths and cumulative surpluses and deficiencies, rainfall trends and intra- and inter-decadal fluctuations, and the relationship between rainfall and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The paper concludes with six conclusions, the key ones being: the variability of the annual rainfall (based on the coefficient of variation) in the LEB is approximately 60% greater than that found for stations located in arid regions in the rest of the world; there is a bias towards longer lengths of dry years than observed in the rest of Australia; and, there is a significant lag correlation between rainfall and ENSO, particularly in the east and in the latter part of a year.