Numerical integration of a quasi-geostrophic atmospheric model with an asymmetric zonal current

Summary A two-level quasi-geostrophic model on a -plane, with an initial state characterized by an asymmetric zonal current was integrated numerically for a period of 14 days. Various field variables were computed and compared with the corresponding distributions obtained in two experiments with the same model and with initial states characterized by a constant zonal flow and by a flow varying sinusoidally with latitude.The research in this report has been sponsored wholly by the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories under Grant AF EOAR 63-108 through the European Office of Aerospace Research (OAR), US Air Force.     

Effects of the Jessica oil spill on artisanal fisheries in the Galápagos

In contrast to local perceptions, the impact on the local Galápagos artisanal fishery of the 16 January 2001 grounding of the Jessica and subsequent oil spill was relatively minor. No significant changes in fishing effort, total fishing catches or catch-per-unit effort were detected after the spill based on analyses of fisheries monitoring data. Nevertheless, large boats tended to move away from sites near the path of the spill following the grounding in 2001, with no fishing recorded from the oil-affected regions of Floreana and southern Isabela in February 2001. The total fishing effort of small boats operating from the Jessica-grounding island of San Cristóbal also declined immediately after the spill, probably in part because such boats were used in clean up operations. During 2001, prices paid to fishers remained stable at levels higher than in 2000, with the notable anomaly that prices fell precipitously to 30% of previous levels during a 1-2 week period in early February 2001. Fish exports remained at similar levels for the years 2000 and 2001; however, as in the previous year, little fish product was exported from Galápagos in the month following the spill, with most fish product dried and stored for up to two months prior to transport to the continent.     

Six years of dew observations in the Negev Desert, Israel

Dew measurements taken at the desert site of Sede Boker for nearly 6 years are analysed. The instrument used is a Hiltner-type dew balance. Several parameters describing various aspects of dew formation are discussed. The total monthly amount of dew and the distribution of the number of dew nights per month shows two maxima (in September and in December–January) and two minima (in April and November). The average dew deposit per dew night behaves differently: the most striking feature of this quantity is the appearance of distinct summer and winter regimes, with the winter having more dew per dew night. With respect to the total monthly dew hours, the year appears to be divided in half: first, the 6 months from August to January, with an average of 145 h per month, and second, the 6 months from February to June, with 80 h per month. The average duration of dew per dew night appears to follow very closely the length of the night: there is a clear maximum of dew duration in December (9·7 h) and a clear minimum in July (5·5 h). Finally, the rate of dew accumulation is found to have a distinct dry season regime and a winter, rainy season regime.     

A miscibility gap in trioctahedral Mn-Mg-Fe chlorites: Evidence from the Lienne Valley manganese deposit,Ardennes, Belgium

Low-temperature veinlets crosscutting low-grade manganiferous ironstones of Ordovician age contain four texturally distinct types of chlorites with nearly constant Al/Si-ratios that form two separate populations regarding their Mn/Mg/Fe-ratios: One with low iron contents (<1.5 w.% FeO) and molar Mg/Mn-ratios just below unity (magnesian pennantites), the other with higher iron (7–11 w.% FeO) and Mg/Mn?4 (manganoan clinochlores). The two populations, which can be distinguished readily by their characteristic optical elongation and dispersion colors, are intimately intergrown and have formed partly during consecutive stages of a chlorite crystallization sequence, partly by simultaneous growth and possibly even as exsolution products of a pre-existing homogeneous chlorite phase of intermediate composition. These findings indicate a miscibility gap in the chlorite solid solutions beginning along the binary Mg-Mn series and extending into the ternary system. There may be a solvus relationship with the miscibility gap closing at higher temperatures (400° C?). One very intensely colored chlorite type of the pennantite population may contain Fe³⁺ or Mn³⁺ or both. Additional minerals in the veinlets are spessartine, kutnahorite, quartz, and an allanite-piemontite phase. Crystallization began near the centers of the present veins with Mn-rich minerals and continued towards their edges and into the extremely thin ends of the developing fractures with the deposition of the more Fe-rich chlorites that are in equilibrium with the ironstone.     

Effects of Wormhole Configurations on Performance of Cyclic Solvent Injection in Heavy Oil Systems

Natural Resources Research - In this study, the effect of three different wormhole configurations: single-linear, single-branched, and double-branched wormholes on the performance of cyclic solvent...     

Prediction of Groundwater Level in Ardebil Plain Using Support Vector Regression and M5 Tree Model

The Ardebil plain, which is located in northwest Iran, has been faced with a recent and severe decline in groundwater level caused by a decrease of precipitation, successive long‐term droughts, and overexploitation of groundwater for irrigating the farmlands. Predictions of groundwater levels can help planners to deal with persistent water deficiencies. In this study, the support vector regression (SVR) and M5 decision tree models were used to predict the groundwater level in Ardebil plain. The monthly groundwater level data from 24 piezometers for a 17‐year period (1997 to 2013) were used for training and test of models. The model inputs included the groundwater levels of previous months, the volume of entering precipitation into every cell, and the discharge of wells. The model output was the groundwater level in the current month. In order to evaluate the performance of models, the correlation coefficient (R) and the root‐mean‐square error criteria were used. The results indicated that both SVR and M5 decision tree models performed well for the prediction of groundwater level in the Ardebil plain. However, the results obtained from the M5 decision tree model are more straightforward, more easily applied, and simpler to interpret than those from the SVR. The highest accuracy was obtained using the SVR model to predict the groundwater level from the Ghareh Hasanloo and Khalifeloo piezometers with R = 0.996 and R = 0.983, respectively.