A seasonal dipolar eddy near Ras Al Hamra (Sea of Oman)

Trajectories and hydrological data from two Argo floats indicate that warm and salty water at 200–300-m depths was ejected from the coast of Oman, near Ras al Hamra, in spring 2008, 2011, and 2012. This warm and salty water, Persian Gulf Water (PGW), once ejected from the coast, recirculated cyclonically in the western Sea of Oman, but also flowed eastward along the Iranian and Pakistani coasts. There, it was expelled seaward by mesoscale eddies as shown by other float data. Seasonal maps of salinity were computed from all available Argo floats; they showed that, in spring, PGW is present in the middle and north of the Sea of Oman, contrary to fall, when the salinity maxima lie southeast of Ras al Hadd. The ejection of PGW from Ras al Hamra is related here to the influence of a mesoscale dipolar eddy which often appears near this cape in spring. The time-averaged and empirical orthogonal functions of altimetric maps over 11 years for this season confirm the frequent presence and the persistence of this feature. From surface currents and hydrology, deep currents were computed via thermal wind balance, and the associated shear and strain fields were obtained. This deformation field is intense near Ras al Hamra, with an offshore direction. This flow structure associated with the mesoscale dipole explains PGW ejection from the coast. This observation suggests that PGW distribution in the Northern Arabian Sea can be strongly influenced by seasonal mesoscale eddies.     

Tendances et ruptures au niveau des pluies journalières extrêmes en Côte d'Ivoire (Afrique de l'Ouest)

Résumé

Le changement climatique est une réalité qui affecte plusieurs variables climatiques dont les précipitations. Néanmoins, son impact sur les évènements extrêmes et en particulier sur les pluies journalières extrêmes n'est pas encore certain car peu de travaux y ont été consacrés en Afrique de l'Ouest. Dans ce contexte, il a été proposé de détecter d'éventuels tendances et ruptures dans les propriétés statistiques (moyenne, variance) des pluies journalières extrêmes à l'aide de tests statistiques locaux et régionaux. Pour détecter ces changements, les indices caractérisant la pluie maximale journalière annuelle (PJmaxan), le nombre annuel de jours de pluie dépassant 50 mm (NJsup50) et la contribution des pluies dépassant 50 mm dans les cumuls annuels (R(PJsup50/Pan)) ont été définis. L'analyse de 44 postes pluviométriques en Côte d'Ivoire sur la période 1942–2002 ne montre pas de changement généralisé ni en moyenne, ni en variance. Toutefois, en subdivisant la Côte d'Ivoire en régions climatiques homogènes, des tendances à la baisse ont été observées dans les régions IV (au Nord) et II (au Sud-Est).

Editeur Z.W. Kundzewicz; Assistant editeur G. Mahé

Citation Goula, A.B.T., Gneneyougo Soro, E., Kouassi, W. et Srohourou, B., 2012. Tendances et ruptures au niveau des pluies journalières extrêmes en Côte d'Ivoire (Afrique de l'Ouest). Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57 (6), 1067–1080.     

Estimates of groundwater discharge to a coastal wetland using multiple techniques: Taylor Slough, Everglades National Park, USA

Quantifying water exchange between a coastal wetland and the underlying groundwater is important for closing water, energy and chemical budgets. The coastal wetlands of the Florida Everglades (USA) are at the forefront of a large hydrologic restoration project, and understanding of groundwater/surface-water interactions is needed to comprehend the effects of the project. Four independent techniques were used to identify water exchange at varying spatial and temporal scales in Taylor Slough, Everglades National Park. The techniques included a water-budget study and measurements of hydraulic head gradients, geochemical tracers, and temperature. During the 18-month study, the four methods converged as to the timing of groundwater discharge, typically between June and September, contemporaneous with the wet season and increasing surface-water levels. These results were unexpected, as groundwater discharge was predicted to be greatest when surface-water levels were low, typically during the dry season. Either a time lag of 1?C5?months in the response of groundwater discharge to low surface-water levels or precipitation-induced groundwater discharge may explain the results. Groundwater discharge was a significant contributor (27?%) to the surface water in Taylor Slough with greater rates of discharge observed towards the coastline in response to seawater intrusion.     

Using Two-Point Set Statistics to Estimate the Diameter Distribution in Boolean Models with Circular Grains

This paper deals with the counting and measuring of overlapping circular objects in binary images, a problem that arises in the mineral processing industry when estimating the distribution of bubble diameters in flotation cells in order to predict the geometallurgical performance of the flotation process. By viewing the images as realizations of a stationary planar Boolean model with circular grains and by using two-point set statistics, it is possible to jointly estimate the average number of objects per unit area and their diameter distribution. When applied to real and simulated images, this method is shown to give accurate estimates, to be robust to the presence of noise contaminating the images and of moderate drifts in the number of objects per unit area, and to speed up the processing time with respect to currently used methods. Combined, these properties serve to make the method suitable for an on-line monitoring of the flotation process.     

Quality assessment of GPS reprocessed terrestrial reference frame

The International GNSS Service (IGS) contributes to the construction of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) by submitting time series of station positions and Earth Rotation Parameters (ERP). For the first time, its submission to the ITRF2008 construction is based on a combination of entirely reprocessed GPS solutions delivered by 11 Analysis Centers (ACs). We analyze the IGS submission and four of the individual AC contributions in terms of the GNSS frame origin and scale, station position repeatability and time series seasonal variations. We show here that the GPS Terrestrial Reference Frame (TRF) origin is consistent with Satellite laser Ranging (SLR) at the centimeter level with a drift lower than 1 mm/year. Although the scale drift compared to Very Long baseline Interferometry (VLBI) and SLR mean scale is smaller than 0.4 mm/year, we think that it would be premature to use that information in the ITRF scale definition due to its strong dependence on the GPS satellite and ground antenna phase center variations. The new position time series also show a better repeatability compared to past IGS combined products and their annual variations are shown to be more consistent with loading models. The comparison of GPS station positions and velocities to those of VLBI via local ties in co-located sites demonstrates that the IGS reprocessed solution submitted to the ITRF2008 is more reliable and precise than any of the past submissions. However, we show that some of the remaining inconsistencies between GPS and VLBI positioning may be caused by uncalibrated GNSS radomes.     

ITRF2008: an improved solution of the international terrestrial reference frame

ITRF2008 is a refined version of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame based on reprocessed solutions of the four space geodetic techniques: VLBI, SLR, GPS and DORIS, spanning 29, 26, 12.5 and 16?years of observations, respectively. The input data used in its elaboration are time series (weekly from satellite techniques and 24-h session-wise from VLBI) of station positions and daily Earth Orientation Parameters (EOPs). The ITRF2008 origin is defined in such a way that it has zero translations and translation rates with respect to the mean Earth center of mass, averaged by the SLR time series. Its scale is defined by nullifying the scale factor and its rate with respect to the mean of VLBI and SLR long-term solutions as obtained by stacking their respective time series. The scale agreement between these two technique solutions is estimated to be 1.05 ± 0.13 ppb at epoch 2005.0 and 0.049 ± 0.010?ppb/yr. The ITRF2008 orientation (at epoch 2005.0) and its rate are aligned to the ITRF2005 using 179 stations of high geodetic quality. An estimate of the origin components from ITRF2008 to ITRF2005 (both origins are defined by SLR) indicates differences at epoch 2005.0, namely: ?0.5, ?0.9 and ?4.7?mm along X, Y and Z-axis, respectively. The translation rate differences between the two frames are zero for Y and Z, while we observe an X-translation rate of 0.3?mm/yr. The estimated formal errors of these parameters are 0.2?mm and 0.2?mm/yr, respectively. The high level of origin agreement between ITRF2008 and ITRF2005 is an indication of an imprecise ITRF2000 origin that exhibits a Z-translation drift of 1.8?mm/yr with respect to ITRF2005. An evaluation of the ITRF2008 origin accuracy based on the level of its agreement with ITRF2005 is believed to be at the level of 1?cm over the time-span of the SLR observations. Considering the level of scale consistency between VLBI and SLR, the ITRF2008 scale accuracy is evaluated to be at the level of 1.2?ppb (8?mm at the equator) over the common time-span of the observations of both techniques. Although the performance of the ITRF2008 is demonstrated to be higher than ITRF2005, future ITRF improvement resides in improving the consistency between local ties in co-location sites and space geodesy estimates.     

Sea,freshwater or saltpans? Foraging ecology of terns to assess mercury inputs in a wetland landscape: The Ebro Delta

The Ebro catchment, the largest river basin in Spain, includes various heavily industrialized areas. Among these is the Flix site, where a chemical plant has been operating since the beginning of the 20th century. This extended operational period, together with the construction of a dam next to the factory around 1960, resulted in the accumulation of large amounts of heavily polluted sediments in the adjacent riverbed, many of which are contaminated by mercury. Pollutants from Flix are carried downstream by the Ebro River to its delta. In order to assess the transfer of mercury to the complex river estuary ecosystem, we studied the ecology of the tern community living there as these birds segregate into a range of habitats. For this purpose, first we used stable isotope analysis (SIA) (δ³⁴S, δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) of eggs to determine the trophic ecology and habitat partitioning of several tern species (Common, Sandwich, Little, Gull-Billed and Whiskered Tern) breeding sympatrically, in order to link their foraging ecology with habitat types. Next we measured mercury concentrations in eggs to monitor the input of this metal into the diverse habitats. With the exception of the Little Tern, the other terns used a restricted habitat range in the Ebro Delta, as shown by C and S isotopes; the Gull-Billed and Whiskered Tern foraged in freshwater habitats, while the Common and Sandwich Tern used marine habitats. This restricted feeding behavior of the Gull-Billed and Common Tern contrasts with previous reports in other breeding sites. The Little Tern, which showed a wide range of isotopic values, was found to be an opportunistic forager but fed mainly in saltpans, a feeding habitat not reported previously for this species in this area. We found that mercury concentrations are related to foraging habitat and diet, and are unexpectedly higher in species feeding on demersal prey in marine habitats and also higher in birds feeding in saltpans than in those feeding in freshwater habitats. The mercury concentrations found in the Little and Common Tern eggs sampled in “Punta de la Banya” may be sufficiently high to endanger breeding success.     

A Top-Cut Model for Deposits with Heavy-Tailed Grade Distribution

In some ore deposits, the grade distribution is heavy-tailed and high values make the inference of first- and second-order statistics nonrobust. In the case of gold data, high values are usually cut and the block estimation is performed using truncated grades. With this method, a part of the deposit is omitted, resulting in a potential bias on resources figures. Ad-hoc corrections can be applied on the final figures to take into account the tail of the grade distribution, but no theoretical guidelines are available. A geostatistical model has been developed to handle high values based on the assumption that for high grade zones, the only tangible information is the geometry. The grade variable z can be split into three parts: the truncated grade ( $\operatorname{Min} (z, z_{\mathrm{e}})$ where z _e is the top-cut grade), a weighted indicator above top-cut grade (1{z≥z _e}), and a residual. Within this framework, the residual is poorly structured, and in most cases is a pure nugget-effect. Moreover, it has no spatial correlation with the truncated grade and the indicator above top-cut grade. This decomposition makes the variographic study more robust because variables (indicator and truncated grade) do not keep high grade values. The underlying hypotheses can be tested on experimental indicator variograms and the top-cut grade can be justified. Finally, the estimation is based on a truncated grade and indicator cokriging. The model is applied to blast holes from a gold deposit and on a simulated example. Both cases illustrate the benefits of keeping the high values in the estimation process via an appropriate mathematical model.     

Change of Support for Estimating Local Block Grade Distributions

An important aspect in mineral resource evaluation is the reduction of variance when post-processing the grade distributions defined on the support (volume) of the available data into distributions defined on the support of the proposed selective mining units. Although the volume-variance relationship is well understood for the estimation of global grade distributions, it is still an unsolved issue for local estimation studies based on non-parametric geostatistical methods, such as indicator kriging, for which the support correction is not inherent to the method. To clarify this relationship, the local change of support problem is examined in the scope of two parametric models (multi-Gaussian and discrete Gaussian models). It is shown that the variance reduction factor between point and block-support local distributions depends on the block being considered and is less than the global variance reduction factor. As a consequence, post-processing the local point-support grade distributions on the basis of the latter systematically understates the importance of the change of support at the local scale and makes selective mining appear more economically attractive than it really is. In the light of these results, a methodology is proposed to post-process the local point-support distributions obtained via non-parametric (indicator) methods into block-support distributions. An application to simulated data indicates that this methodology provides an accurate estimation at the block support when dealing with diffusion-type random fields.