Herschel SPIRE fourier transform spectrometer: calibration of its bright-source mode

The Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) of the Spectral and Photometric Imaging REceiver (SPIRE) on board the ESA Herschel Space Observatory has two detector setting modes: (a) a nominal mode, which is optimized for observing moderately bright to faint astronomical targets, and (b) a bright-source mode recommended for sources significantly brighter than 500 Jy, within the SPIRE FTS bandwidth of 446.7–1544 GHz (or 194–671 microns in wavelength), which employs a reduced detector responsivity and out-of-phase analog signal amplifier/demodulator. We address in detail the calibration issues unique to the bright-source mode, describe the integration of the bright-mode data processing into the existing pipeline for the nominal mode, and show that the flux calibration accuracy of the bright-source mode is generally within 2 % of that of the nominal mode, and that the bright-source mode is 3 to 4 times less sensitive than the nominal mode.     

Holocene freshwater diatoms: palaeoenvironmental implications from south Kamchatka,Russia

Holocene palaeolimnological conditions were reconstructed by analysing fossil diatom assemblages within a lacustrine sediment core from Lake Sokoch, southern Kamchatka (Russia). Sediments of this proglacial lake cover the past 9400 years and hence represent almost the whole Holocene history. The biosiliceous muddy sample material was analysed for several geochemical and biological parameters, such as the total organic carbon and biogenic silica content, and the diatom community (quantitative and qualitative changes). Based on changes in the relative abundances of the most frequent species Aulacoseira subarctica, Staurosira martyi and Stephanodiscus alpinus and a depth‐constrained cluster analyses (CONISS), five diatom assemblage zones could be identified. The oldest stage recovered lies between 9400 and 9000 cal. a BP and reflects the initial lake stage after the retreat of local glaciers, with a high detrital sediment supply, shallow‐water conditions and a high diatom diversity. The next zone (9000–6200 cal. a BP) shows a more mature lake system with accumulating biogenic remains and higher water levels during climate amelioration. This is followed by the most obvious change in the diatom assemblage, delineated by an occurrence of S. alpinus, between 6200 and 2700 cal. a BP. Wet conditions in spring probably led to an enhanced fluvial runoff and eutrophic to hypertrophic conditions. The end of this period might reflect climate deterioration related to the Neoglacial epoch of the Holocene. Between 2700 and 1600 cal. a BP the sediments of Lake Sokoch reveal oligotrophic water conditions in a windy high‐energy environment. The youngest interval, between 1600 cal. a BP and the Present, indicates shallow‐water conditions and a very short growing season, which might reflect the Little Ice Age. The results may offer a baseline for the interpretation of Holocene palaeoenvironmental changes in Kamchatka and their relation to regional climate change from a palaeoecological perspective.     

Low-temperature thermochronology of the flanks of the southern Upper Rhine Graben

The Upper Rhine Graben (URG) is the most perceptible part of the European Cenozoic Rift System. Uplifted Variscan basement of the Black Forest and the Vosges forms the flanks of the southern part of the graben. Apatite and zircon fission-track (FT) analyses indicate a complex low-temperature thermal history of the basement that was deciphered by inverse modelling of FT parameters. The models were tested against the observed data and independent geological constraints. The zircon FT ages of 28 outcrop samples taken along an E–W trending transect across the Black Forest and the Vosges range from 136 to 312 Ma, the apatite FT ages from 20 to 83 Ma. The frequency distributions of confined track lengths are broad and often bimodal in shape indicating a complex thermal history. Cooling below 120°C in the Early Cretaceous to Palaeogene was followed by a discrete heating episode during the late Eocene and subsequent cooling to surface temperature. The modelled time–temperature (t–T) paths point to a total denudation of the flanks of URG in the range of 1.0–1.7 km for a paleogeothermal gradient of 60°C/km, and 1.3–2.2 km for a paleogeothermal gradient of 45°C/km since the late Eocene.     

Stock changes or fluxes? Resolving terminological confusion in the debate on land-use change and forestry

Abstract

This article collates definitions of some key terms commonly used in greenhouse gas reporting and accounting for the Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector, and highlights areas of ambiguity and divergent interpretations of key concepts. It uses the example of harvested wood products to demonstrate the impact of different interpretations. The objective is to facilitate clear communication amongst negotiators and practitioners in relation to the terms emissions, removals, sources and sinks. Confusion and misunderstandings that have arisen in the past are rooted in diverging interpretations of the terms ‘emissions’ and ‘removals’ in the context of land use and wood products. One interpretation sees emissions and removals to be approximated by a change in carbon stocks in a number of selected carbon pools that may include or exclude harvested wood products. Another interpretation views emissions and removals as gross fluxes between the atmosphere and the land/wood products system. The various alternative approaches that have been proposed for reporting for harvested wood products are applicable to one or the other of these interpretations: the stock-change and production approaches, focused on stock changes, are applicable to the first interpretation; whereas the atmospheric flow and simple decay approaches focus on fluxes, as in the second interpretation. Whether emissions/removals are approximated by stock change or from gross fluxes, it is critical that a consistent approach is applied across the whole LULUCF/AFOLU sector. Approaches based on stock change are recommended over those based on fluxes.     

Long circumpolar atmospheric waves

Summary The periods of long waves in the circumpolar atmosphere are considerably longer than at lower latitudes because the variation of the Coriolis parameter with latitude decreases from the equator to the poles. The period length increases with decreasing meridional extent of the oscillation and with increasing meridional wave number. Numerical examples of period lengths for different longitudinal and meridional wave numbers and for different meridional extents of the oscillations are shown in Figs. 1–3. The vertical variation of the oscillations is considered only for the simple case of an isothermal atmosphere in order to illustrate the role of the vertical structure of the atmosphere in determining the free oscillations and in regulating the atmospheric response to a forcing function. As a specific example a periodic heating function has been assumed whose intensity decreases upward exponentially. With plausible values for the amplitude of this heating function reasonable values are obtained for the wind and pressure disturbance due to the heating.

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Lange Wellen in der polaren Atmosphäre

Zusammenfassung Die Perioden langer Wellen in der polaren Atmosphäre sind wesentlich länger als in den niederen Breiten, da die Änderung des Coriolisparameters mit der Breite vom Äquator zu den Polen abnimmt. Die Periodenlänge nimmt zu mit abnehmender meridionaler Ausdehnung der Schwingung und mit zunehmender meridionaler Wellenzahl. Numerische Werte von Periodenlängen sind aus Abb. 1–3 zu ersehen. Die Vertikalstruktur der Schwingungen ist für den einfachen Fall einer isothermen Atmosphäre behandelt, um zu zeigen, wie die vertikale Schichtung der Atmosphäre die freien Schwingungen bestimmt und die Ansprechung auf erzwungene Schwingungen reguliert. Als konkretes Beispiel wird eine periodische Erwärmung und Abkühlung angenommen, die mit der Höhe exponentiell abnimmt. Mit realistischen Werten für diese periodische Erwärmung ergeben sich plausible Wind- und Druckwerte.

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With 5 Figures     

The Role of a Digital Intelligent Camera in Automating Industrial Photogrammetry

In the past few years the automation of digital industrial photogrammetric systems has increased dramatically. Due to digital image processing software, coded targets and automatic matching methods, a huge number of photogrammetric measurement tasks can be fully automated. In many cases a "one button click" is enough to provide the three dimensional co-ordinates of measured points without any manual interaction, immediately after acquiring the images. The technology of intelligent cameras is a logical step towards automated photogrammetric measurements. An intelligent camera, which has an integrated computer, analyses the image immediately after it is taken. This technology provides not only a much shorter processing time for the images but also more control over the measurement process just when it is needed, during image acquisition. This takes place in the form of real time feedback.
This paper describes the role of a digital intelligent camera in the automation of an industrial photogrammetric measurement system and gives an overview of existing automation techniques in industrial photogrammetry. As an example of an intelligent camera, the performance of the new INCA digital intelligent camera, developed and manufactured by Geodetic Services, Inc. (GSI) and distributed by Leica, is described.     

Correction of laser scanning intensity data: Data and model-driven approaches

Most airborne and terrestrial laser scanning systems additionally record the received signal intensity for each measurement. Multiple studies show the potential of this intensity value for a great variety of applications (e.g. strip adjustment, forestry, glaciology), but also state problems if using the original recorded values. Three main factors, a) spherical loss, b) topographic and c) atmospheric effects, influence the backscatter of the emitted laser power, which leads to a noticeably heterogeneous representation of the received power. This paper describes two different methods for correcting the laser scanning intensity data for these known influences resulting in a value proportional to the reflectance of the scanned surface. The first approach – data-driven correction – uses predefined homogeneous areas to empirically estimate the best parameters (least-squares adjustment) for a given global correction function accounting for all range-dependent influences. The second approach – model-driven correction – corrects each intensity independently based on the physical principle of radar systems. The evaluation of both methods, based on homogeneous reflecting areas acquired at different heights in different missions, indicates a clear reduction of intensity variation, to 1/3.5 of the original variation, and offsets between flight strips to 1/10. The presented correction methods establish a great potential for laser scanning intensity to be used for surface classification and multi-temporal analyses.