Temporal variations of tides on the west coast of Great Britain

Summary. Temporal variations of tides are investigated by analysing tidal observations from five ports on the west coast of Great Britain. Variations considered here are those occurring in the semi-diurnal species daily, in the tidal constituents resolved from analyses of 29 day sets over a period of two years, 1980–81, and in the tidal constituents resolved from 1 yr sets over a period of 19 yr. The time variations of tidal constituents are mainly due to inseparable terms grouping with the principal term due to the short length of data and the insufficiency of the procedures to account for them. Surges and surge-tide interaction are affecting the resolution of tides. Time variations of constituents of the diurnal species induced by non-tidal forces are spatially consistent. The use of equilibrium relationships to account for modulations of principal constituents by waves separable in an 18.61 yr nodal cycle improves the analysis. However, the modulation is smaller in the real tide than in the equilibrium tide. When the application of this principle is extended to a wider frequency band to cover constituents which cannot be resolved from one month of observations, it may produce the opposite effect. These problems start compounding with decreasing length of data, i.e. increasing band width of resolution.
Functional approximations of interaction coefficients (bi-admittance) of non-linear tides, similar to the response (admittance) of linear tides are computed for semi-diurnal, fourth-diurnal and sixth-diurnal bands. These functional estimates may be used to interpolate unseparable constituents to improve the quality of analyses. The results are consistent with the fact that the response of the sea does not change in a narrow frequency band covering a nodal cycle of the Moon. The change in the equilibrium relationship between the principal term and its nodal term can be interpreted in terms of the damping effect of bottom friction.     

An approach to the problem of coastal erosion in quaternary sediments

Approximately 40 per cent of the shorelines of the lower Great Lakes are backed by relatively weak Quaternary sediments, and similar shorelines are found on many middle and high-latitude coasts. The high rates of bluff recession which are characteristic of these areas lead to economic losses through erosion of land and damage to buildings, and may prompt a wide range of measures designed to reduce erosion and protect property. Assessment of the physical problem and of possible solutions to it can best be achieved through a sediment budget approach. This is illustrated through a case study of an area near Grimsby, Ontario. The volume of sediment supply to the beach was calculated from measurements of bluff height and annual recession rates. The potential volume of longshore sediment transport was determined from the wave climate of the area and computer modelling of wave refraction. The relationship between sediment supply and potential transport rate can be used to assess the magnitude of the sediment deficit or surplus at points along the shoreline, and this provides an insight into the controls on alongshore variations in recession rates.     

The chemical evolution in a model of contracting cloud

The evolution of the different chemical species are followed in a model of contracting interstellar cloud. The central density increases from n = 10 cm^–3 diffuse initial cloud model to a dense cloud with central density number of n >- 10⁵ cm^–3 after a time of 1.2 × 10⁷ yr. A network of 622 reactions has been involved. The chemistry of the cloud is integrated simultaneously with the hydrodynamic equations of contraction.The results predict that the different molecular species increase in abundance as the contraction proceeds. The species which enhance significantly are CO, HCO, CS and NO. The fractional abundances of many of the other molecular species increase distinctly with contraction, e.g. CH, C₂H, CN, SO₂, CO₂, H₂O, C₂, NH₃, HCN, SO, OCS and SN. The transformation of the initial diffuse cloud model with small abundances of molecular species to a dense molecular cloud with enhancement of the different molecular species is confirmed. The results predict good agreements of our results with both the observations and other theoretical studies.     

Time dependent chemical study of contracting interstellar clouds. III. the charge distribution in interstellar clouds

We have constructed a chemical reaction model in a contracting interstellar cloud including 104 species which are involved in a network of 557 reactions. The chemical kinetic equations were integrated as a function of time by using gear package. The evolution of the system was followed in the density range 10–10⁷ particles cm^-3.The calculated fractional abundances of the charged species are in good agreement with those given by other investigators. The charge density has been followed in diffuse, intermediate and dense regions. The most dominant ionic species are metallic ions, HCO⁺ and H ₃ ⁺ in the shielded regions and atomic ions H⁺, C⁺, Si⁺, He⁺, S⁺ and metal ions in the diffuse and intermediate regions. The abundances of negatively charged ions were found to be negligible. The results of the calculations on the different metallic ions are interpreted.     

A review of volunteered geographic information quality assessment methods

With the ubiquity of advanced web technologies and location-sensing hand held devices, citizens regardless of their knowledge or expertise, are able to produce spatial information. This phenomenon is known as volunteered geographic information (VGI). During the past decade VGI has been used as a data source supporting a wide range of services, such as environmental monitoring, events reporting, human movement analysis, disaster management, etc. However, these volunteer-contributed data also come with varying quality. Reasons for this are: data is produced by heterogeneous contributors, using various technologies and tools, having different level of details and precision, serving heterogeneous purposes, and a lack of gatekeepers. Crowd-sourcing, social, and geographic approaches have been proposed and later followed to develop appropriate methods to assess the quality measures and indicators of VGI. In this article, we review various quality measures and indicators for selected types of VGI and existing quality assessment methods. As an outcome, the article presents a classification of VGI with current methods utilized to assess the quality of selected types of VGI. Through these findings, we introduce data mining as an additional approach for quality handling in VGI.     

Effect of hot dry summer tropical climate on forage intake and milk yield in Holstein–Friesian and indigenous zebu cows in Sudan

The effects of dry summer ambient temperature on some physiological and productive responses were studied in an exotic European breed (Holstein–Friesian) and a local zebu breed (Butana ecotype) of cattle in Sudan. Rectal temperature and respiration rate were positively correlated, and dry matter intake and milk yield were negatively correlated with variation in ambient temperature. However, significant adverse effects on high ambient temperature were only observed in the exotic breed.     

Structural Mapping of the Bentong‐Raub Suture Zone Using PALSAR Remote Sensing Data,Peninsular Malaysia: Implications for Sediment‐hosted/Orogenic Gold Mineral Systems Exploration

The Bentong‐Raub Suture Zone (BRSZ) of Peninsular Malaysia is one of the major structural zones in Sundaland, Southeast Asia. It forms the boundary between the Gondwana‐derived Sibumasu terrane in the west and Sukhothai Arc in the east. The BRSZ is genetically related to the sediment‐hosted/orogenic gold deposits associated with the major lineaments in the Central Gold Belt of Peninsular Malaysia. In this investigation, the Phased Array type L‐band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) satellite remote sensing data were used to map major geological structures in Peninsular Malaysia and provide detailed characterization of lineaments and curvilinear structures in the BRSZ, as well as their implication for sediment‐hosted/orogenic gold exploration in tropical environments. Major structural lineaments such as the Bentong‐Raub Suture Zone (BRSZ) and Lebir Fault Zone, ductile deformation related to crustal shortening, brittle disjunctive structures (faults and fractures) and collisional mountain range (Main Range granites) were detected and mapped at regional scale using PALSAR ScanSAR data. The major geological structure directions of the BRSZ were N–S, NNE–SSW, NE–SW and NW–SE, which derived from directional filtering analysis to PALSAR fine and polarimetric data. The pervasive array of N–S faults in the Central Gold Belt and surrounding terrain is mainly linked to the N–S trending of the Suture Zone. N–S striking lineaments are often cut by younger NE–SW and NW–SE‐trending lineaments. Gold mineralized trend lineaments are associated with the intersection of N–S, NE–SW, NNW–SSE and ESE–WNW faults and curvilinear features in shearing and alteration zones. Compressional tectonic structures such as the NW–SE trending thrust, ENE–WSW oriented faults in mylonite and phyllite, recumbent folds and asymmetric anticlines in argillite are high potential zones for gold prospecting in the Central Gold Belt. Three generations of folding events in Peninsular Malaysia have been recognized from remote sensing structural interpretation. Consequently, PALSAR satellite remote sensing data is a useful tool for mapping major geological structural features and detailed structural analysis of fault systems and deformation areas with high potential for sediment‐hosted/orogenic gold deposits and polymetallic vein‐type mineralization along margins of Precambrian blocks, especially for inaccessible regions in tropical environments.