Bulk Transfer Relations for the Roughness Sublayer

In the roughness sublayer (RSL), Monin–Obukhov surface layer similarity theory fails. This is problematic for atmospheric modelling applications over domains that include rough terrain such as forests or cities, since in these situations numerical models often have the lowest model level located within the RSL. Based on empirical RSL profile functions for momentum and scalar quantities, and scaling the height with the RSL height z _*, we derive a simple bulk transfer relation that accounts for RSL effects. To verify the validity of our approach, these relations are employed together with wind speed and temperature profiles measured over boreal forest during the BOREAS experimental campaign to estimate momentum and heat fluxes. It is demonstrated that, when compared with observed flux values, the inclusion of RSL effects in the transfer relations yields a considerable improvement in the estimated fluxes.     

Errors and correction of precipitation measurements in China

In order to discover the range of various errors in Chinese precipitation measurements and seek a correction method, 30 precipitation evaluation stations were set up countrywide before 1993. All the stations are reference stations in China. To seek a correction method for wind-induced error, a precipitation correction instrument called the ＂horizontal precipitation gauge＂ was devised beforehand. Field intercomparison observations regarding 29,000 precipitation events have been conducted using one pit gauge, two elevated operational gauges and one horizontal gauge at the above 30 stations. The range of precipitation measurement errors in China is obtained by analysis of intercomparison measurement results. The distribution of random errors and systematic errors in precipitation measurements are studied in this paper. A correction method, especially for wind-induced errors, is developed. The results prove that a correlation of power function exists between the precipitation amount caught by the horizontal gauge and the absolute difference of observations implemented by the operational gauge and pit gauge. The correlation coefficient is 0.99. For operational observations, precipitation correction can be carried out only by parallel observation with a horizontal precipitation gauge. The precipitation accuracy after correction approaches that of the pit gauge. The correction method developed is simple and feasible.     

Surface and groundwater quality characterization of Deoria District,Ganga Plain,India

A water quality investigation was carried out in the Deoria district, Ganga plain, to assess the suitability of surface and groundwaters for domestic, agricultural, and industrial purposes. As much as 50 representative samples from river and groundwater were collected from various stations to monitor the water chemistry of various ions, comprising Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, HCO₃ ⁻, SO₄ ²⁻, NO₃ ⁻, Cl⁻, F⁻, and trace metals, such as Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, Cd, and Pb. The results showed that electrical conductance (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), HCO₃ ⁻, Mg²⁺, Na⁺, and total hardness (TH) are above the maximum desirable limit, and apart from Fe and Mn all other trace metals are within the maximum permissible limit for drinking water. The calculated values for sodium absorption ratio (SAR), salinity, residual sodium carbonate (RSC), and permeability index (PI) indicate well to permissible use of water for irrigation. High values of Na%, RSC, and Mg-hazard (MH) at some stations restrict its use for agricultural purpose. Anthropogenic activities affect the spatial variation of water quality. Economic and social developments of the study area is closely associated with the characteristics of the hydrological network.     

Assessment of rock slope stability by probabilistic-based Slope Stability Probability Classification method along highway cut slopes in Adilcevaz-Bitlis (Turkey)

Rock slope stability is of great concern along highway routes as stability problems on cut slopes may cause fatal events as well as loss of property. In rock slope engineering, stability evaluations are commonly performed by means of analytical or numerical analyses, principally considering the factor of safety concept. As a matter of fact, the probabilistic assessment of slope stability is progressively getting popularity due to difficulties in assigning the most appropriate values to design parameters in analytical or numerical methods. Additionally, the effect of heterogeneities in rock masses and discontinuities on the analysis results is minimized through the probabilistic concept. In this study, slope stability of high and steep sedimentary rock cut slopes along a state highway in Adilcevaz-Bitlis (Turkey) was evaluated on the basis of probabilistic approach using the Slope Stability Probability Classification (SSPC) system. The probabilistic assessment indicates major slope stability problems because of discontinuity controlled and discontinuity orientation independent mass movements. Almost all studied cut slopes suffer from orientation-independent stability problems with very low stability probabilities. Additionally, the probability of planar and toppling failures is significantly high with respect to the SSPC system. The stability problems along the investigated rock slopes were also verified by field reconnaissance. Remedial measures such as slope re-design and reinforcement at the studied locations should be taken to prevent hazardous events along the highway. On the other hand, the probabilistic approach may be a useful tool during rock slope engineering to overcome numerous uncertainties when probabilistic and analytic results are compared.     

Misconceptions about the Hubble recession law

Almost all astronomers now believe that the Hubble recession law was directly inferred from astronomical observations. It turns out that this common belief is completely false. Those models advocating the idea of an expanding universe are ill-founded on observational grounds. This means that the Hubble recession law is really a working hypothesis. One alternative to the Hubble recession law is the tired-light hypothesis originally proposed by Zwicky (Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 15:773, 1929). This hypothesis leads to a universe that is an eternal cosmos continually evolving without beginning or end. Such a universe exists in a dynamical state of virial equilibrium. Observational studies of the redshift-magnitude relation for Type Ia supernovae in distant galaxies might provide the best observational test for a tired-light cosmology. The present study shows that the model Hubble diagram for a tired-light cosmology gives good agreement with the supernovae data for redshifts in the range 0<z<2. This observational test of a static cosmology shows that the real universe is not necessarily undergoing expansion nor acceleration. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Seismic clusters and their characteristics at the Arabian Sea Triple Junction: Supportive evidences for plate margin deformations

The plate margin features defining the Arabian Sea Triple Junction (ASTJ) are: the Aden Ridge (AR), Sheba Ridge (SR) with their intervening Alula-Fartak Transform (AFT), Carlsberg Ridge (CR) and Owen Fracture Zone (OFZ). Exact nature of ASTJ is presently debated: whether it is RRF (ridge-ridge-fault) or RRR (ridge-ridge-ridge) type. A revised seismicity map for ASTJ is given here using data for a period little more than a century. “Point density spatial statistical criterion” is applied to short-listed 742 earthquakes (mb ≥ 4.3), 10 numbers of spatio-temporal seismic clusters are identified for ASTJ and its arms. Relocated hypocentres help better constraining the cluster identification wherever such data exist. Seismic clusters actually diagnose the most intense zones of strain accumulation due to far field as well as the local stress operating at ASTJ. An earthquake swarm emanating from a prominent seismic cluster below SR provides an opportunity to investigate the pore pressure diffusion process (due to the active source) by means of “r-t plot”. Stress and faulting pattern in the active zones are deduced from 43 CMT solutions. While normal or lateral faulting is characteristic for these arms, an anomalous thrust earthquake occurs in the triangular ‘Wheatley Deep’ deformation zone proximal to ASTJ. The latter appears to have formed due to a shift of the deformational front from OFZ towards a transform that offsets SR. Though ASTJ is still in the process of evolution, available data favour that this RRF triple junction may eventually be converted to a more stable RRR type.     

A comparative study of sequential minimal optimization-based support vector machines,vote feature intervals,and logistic regression in landslide susceptibility assessment using GIS

Landslide susceptibility assessment using GIS has been done for part of Uttarakhand region of Himalaya (India) with the objective of comparing the predictive capability of three different machine learning methods, namely sequential minimal optimization-based support vector machines (SMOSVM), vote feature intervals (VFI), and logistic regression (LR) for spatial prediction of landslide occurrence. Out of these three methods, the SMOSVM and VFI are state-of-the-art methods for binary classification problems but have not been applied for landslide prediction, whereas the LR is known as a popular method for landslide susceptibility assessment. In the study, a total of 430 historical landslide polygons and 11 landslide affecting factors such as slope angle, slope aspect, elevation, curvature, lithology, soil, land cover, distance to roads, distance to rivers, distance to lineaments, and rainfall were selected for landslide analysis. For validation and comparison, statistical index-based methods and the receiver operating characteristic curve have been used. Analysis results show that all these models have good performance for landslide spatial prediction but the SMOSVM model has the highest predictive capability, followed by the VFI model, and the LR model, respectively. Thus, SMOSVM is a better model for landslide prediction and can be used for landslide susceptibility mapping of landslide-prone areas.     

Uncertainty representation of ocean fronts based on fuzzy-rough set theory

Analysis of ocean fronts' uncertainties indicates that they result from indiseemibility of their spatial position and fuzzi-ness of their intensity. In view of this, a flow hierarchy for uncertainty representation of ocean fronts is proposed on the basis of fuzzy-rough set theory. Firstly, raster scanning and blurring are carried out on an ocean front, and the upper and lower approximate sets, the indiscernible relation in fuzzy-rough theories and related operators in fuzzy set theories are adopted to represent its uncer-tainties, then they are classified into three sets: with members one hundred pereent belonging to the ocean front, belonging to the ocean front's edge and definitely not belonging to the ocean front. Finally, the approximate precision and roughness degree are util-ized to evaluate the ocean front's degree of uncertainties and the precision of the representation. It has been proven that the method is not only capable of representing ocean fronts' uncertainties, but also provides a new theory and method for uncertainty representation of other oceanic phenomena.     

Remote estimation of surficial seafloor properties through the application Angular Range Analysis to multibeam sonar data

The variation of the backscatter strength with the angle of incidence is an intrinsic property of the seafloor, which can be used in methods for acoustic seafloor characterization. Although multibeam sonars acquire backscatter over a wide range of incidence angles, the angular information is normally neglected during standard backscatter processing and mosaicking. An approach called Angular Range Analysis has been developed to preserve the backscatter angular information, and use it for remote estimation of seafloor properties. Angular Range Analysis starts with the beam-by-beam time-series of acoustic backscatter provided by the multibeam sonar and then corrects the backscatter for seafloor slope, beam pattern, time varying and angle varying gains, and area of insonification. Subsequently a series of parameters are calculated from the stacking of consecutive time series over a spatial scale that approximates half of the swath width. Based on these calculated parameters and the inversion of an acoustic backscatter model, we estimate the acoustic impedance and the roughness of the insonified area on the seafloor. In the process of this inversion, the behavior of the model parameters is constrained by established inter-property relationships. The approach has been tested using a 300 kHz Simrad EM3000 multibeam sonar in Little Bay, NH. Impedance estimates are compared to in situ measurements of sound speed. The comparison shows a very good correlation, indicating the potential of this approach for robust seafloor characterization.     

Occurrence and characteristics of sporadic sodium layer observed by lidar at a mid-latitude location

Na lidar observations of SSL during the past 5 years at a mid-latitude location (Wuhan, China, 31°N, 114°E) are reported in this paper. From 26 SSL events detected in about 230 h of observation, an SSL occurrence rate of 1 event/9 h at our location was obtained. This result, combined with that reported by Nagasawa and Abo (Geophys. Res. Lett. 22 (1995) 263) at Tokyo, Japan, reveals that the SSL occurrence can be relatively frequent at some mid-latitude locations. The statistical analyses of main parameters for the 26 SSL events were made, and the results were compared with those previously reported. By examining the corresponding data from a nearby ionosonde, it was found that there was a fairly good correlation between SSL and Es. Of the 18 pairs of SSL and Es events checked, 15 of SSL were accompanied by Es, and 8 pairs of them were correlated within 1 h in time and within 5 km in altitude. From the analyses of observed perturbations during SSL development, the role of dynamic processes of atmosphere in the SSL formations were emphasized.