Estimation of surface heat and momentum fluxes using the flux-variance method above uniform and non-uniform terrain

Eddy-correlation measurements above an uneven-aged forest, a uniform-irrigated bare soil field, and within a grass-covered forest clearing were used to investigate the usefulness of the fluxvariance method above uniform and non-uniform terrain. For this purpose, the Monin and Obukhov (1954) variance similarity functions were compared with direct measurements. Such comparisons were in close agreement for momentum and heat but not for water vapor. Deviations between measured and predicted similarity functions for water vapor were attributed to three factors: 1) the active role of temperature in surface-layer turbulence, 2) dissimilarity between sources and sinks of heat and water vapor at the ground surface, and 3) the non-uniformity in water vapor sources and sinks. It was demonstrated that the latter non-uniformity contributed to horizontal gradients that do not scale with the vertical flux. These three factors resulted in a turbulence regime that appeared more efficient in transporting heat than water vapor for the dynamic convective sublayer but not for the dynamic sublayer. The agreement between eddy-correlation measured and flux-variance predicted sensible heat flux was better than that for latent heat flux at all three sites. The flux-variance method systematically overestimated the latent heat flux when compared to eddy-correlation measurements. It was demonstrated that the non-uniformity in water vapor sources reduced the surface flux when compared to an equivalent uniform terrain subjected to identical shear stress, sensible heat flux, and atmospheric water vapor variance. Finally, the correlation between the temperature and water vapor fluctuations was related to the relative efficiency of surface-layer turbulence in removing heat and water vapor. These relations were used to assess critical assumptions in the derivation of the flux-variance formulation.     

Novel evaluation metrics for sparse spatio-temporal point process hotspot predictions - a crime case study

Many physical and sociological processes are represented as discrete events in time and space. These spatio-temporal point processes are often sparse, meaning that they cannot be aggregated and treated with conventional regression models. Models based on the point process framework may be employed instead for prediction purposes. Evaluating the predictive performance of these models poses a unique challenge, as the same sparseness prevents the use of popular measures such as the root mean squared error. Statistical likelihood is a valid alternative, but this does not measure absolute performance and is therefore difficult for practitioners and researchers to interpret. Motivated by this limitation, we develop a practical toolkit of evaluation metrics for spatio-temporal point process predictions. The metrics are based around the concept of hotspots, which represent areas of high point density. In addition to measuring predictive accuracy, our evaluation toolkit considers broader aspects of predictive performance, including a characterisation of the spatial and temporal distributions of predicted hotspots and a comparison of the complementarity of different prediction methods. We demonstrate the application of our evaluation metrics using a case study of crime prediction, comparing four varied prediction methods using crime data from two different locations and multiple crime types. The results highlight a previously unseen interplay between predictive accuracy and spatio-temporal dispersion of predicted hotspots. The new evaluation framework may be applied to compare multiple prediction methods in a variety of scenarios, yielding valuable new insight into the predictive performance of point process-based prediction.     

The soft X-ray polychromator for the Solar Maximum Mission

The 1.4–22.4 Å range of the soft X-ray spectrum includes a multitude of emission lines which are important for the diagnosis of plasmas in the 1.5–50 million degree temperature range. In particular, the hydrogen and helium-like ions of all abundant solar elements with Z > 7 have their primary transitions in this region and these are especially useful for solar flare and active region studies. The soft X-ray polychromator (XRP) is a high resolution experiment working in this spectral region. The XRP consists of two instruments with a common control, data handling and power system. The bent crystal spectrometer is designed for high time resolution studies in lines of Fe i-Fe xxvi and Ca xix. The flat crystal scanning spectrometer provides for 7 channel polychromatic mapping of flares and active regions in the resonance lines of O viii, Ne ix, Mg xi, Si xiii, S xv, Ca xix, and Fe xxv with 14 spatial resolution. In its spectral scanning mode it covers essentially the entire 1.4–22.5 Å region.This paper summarizes the scientific objectives of the XRP experiment and describes the characteristics and capabilities of the two instruments. Sufficient technical information for experiment feasibility studies is included and the resources and procedures planned for the use of the XRP within the context of the Solar Maximum Mission is briefly discussed.     

Internal tidal bore warm fronts and settlement of invertebrates in central Chile

We studied the occurrence of large high frequency temperature fluctuations and their potential association with settlement of intertidal invertebrates during the spring/summer period 1999/2000 at Las Cruces, on the coast of central Chile. Our results showed the existence of internal tidal bores, characterized by sharp drops in water temperature at the surface and near the bottom, and subsequent temperature increases, which occurred with a semidiurnal periodicity. Measured currents support the hypothesis of alternating onshore and offshore movement of warm-water fronts. The frequency of the events varied through the summer and their amplitude seems to be modulated by onshore winds. The strongest events were observed when strong onshore winds occurred in late afternoon hours and the entire water column showed a semidiurnal temperature signal. Highest values of chlorophyll concentration in the intertidal zone and daily settlement of bivalves, gastropods and crustaceans were observed at times when conditions were favorable for occurrence of internal tidal bores. Results suggest that internal tidal bore warm fronts could play an important role in the transport of neustonic larval invertebrates and the delivery of phytoplankton to at least some intertidal sites along the coast of Chile.     

Cadmium uptake and accumulation by the decapod crustacean Penaeus indicus

Juveniles of the dendrobranchiate decapod Penaeus indicus take up radiolabelled cadmium from solution over the exposure concentration range of 1.8-31.5 microg L(-1), with an uptake rate constant of 0.090 L g(-1)d(-1) at 15 salinity and 25 degrees C. New cadmium taken up is added to the existing cadmium content of the prawn with no significant excretion, and the rate of accumulation of radiolabelled cadmium is a measure of the absolute cadmium uptake rate from solution. Moulting had no significant effect on the accumulation of cadmium. Newly accumulated cadmium is distributed to all organs with the highest proportions of body content being found in the hepatopancreas, exoskeleton, gills and remaining soft tissues, the hepatopancreas and gills containing the highest labelled cadmium concentrations. Like other crustaceans, penaeid prawns inhabiting anthropogenically contaminated coastal waters with raised cadmium bioavailabilities can be expected to contain raised body concentrations of cadmium. Cadmium concentrations of most field-collected adult penaeids are relatively low, as a probable consequence of the growth dilution of their cadmium contents as a result of the rapid growth rates of penaeid prawns.     

Core Jamming in Unconsolidated Formations

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - In coring operations, core jamming is a permanent concern, taking place when the rock core sample becomes stuck within the inner core barrel, thus...     

Trace metal behaviour in riverine sediments: Role of organic matter and sulfides

Three sediment cores were collected in the Scheldt, Lys and Spiere canals, which drain a highly populated and industrialized area in Western Europe. The speciation and the distribution of trace metals in pore waters and sediment particles were assessed through a combination of computational and experimental techniques. The concentrations of dissolved major and trace elements (anions, cations, sulfides, dissolved organic C, Cd, Co, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) were used to calculate the thermodynamic equilibrium speciation in pore waters and to evaluate the saturation of minerals (Visual Minteq software). A sequential extraction procedure was applied on anoxic sediment particles in order to assess the main host phases of trace elements. Manganese was the most labile metal in pore waters and was mainly associated with carbonates in particles. In contrast, a weak affinity of Cd, Co, Ni, Pb and Zn with carbonates was established because: (1) a systematic under-saturation was noticed in pore waters and (2) less than 10% of these elements were extracted in the exchangeable and carbonate sedimentary fraction. In the studied anoxic sediments, the mobility and the lability of trace metals, apart from Mn, seemed to be controlled through the competition between sulfidic and organic ligands. In particular, the necessity of taking into account organic matter in the modelling of thermodynamic equilibrium was demonstrated for Cd, Ni, Zn and Pb, the latter element exhibiting the strongest affinity with humic substances. Consequently, dissolved organic matter could favour the stabilization of trace metals in the liquid phase. Conversely, sulfide minerals played a key role in the scavenging of trace metals in sediment particles. Finally, similar trace metal lability rankings were obtained for the liquid and solid phases.     

Coupling bio-logging with nutritional geometry to reveal novel insights into the foraging behaviour of a plunge-diving marine predator

It is widely believed that predators maximise their energy intake while foraging and consume prey that are nutritionally similar. We combined GPS data loggers, miniaturised cameras, dietary sampling and nutritional geometry to examine the nutritional variability in the prey and selected diet, and foraging performance, of the masked booby (Sula dactylatra tasmani), a wild carnivore and marine top predator. Data loggers also revealed no significant differences between sexes in the foraging performance of chick-rearing adults. Females provided more food to their chicks than the males and, regardless of the nutritional variability of prey consumed, both sexes showed similar amounts of protein and lipid in their diets. Miniaturised cameras combined with nutritional analysis of prey provided, for the first time, fine-scale detail of the amounts of macronutrients consumed in each plunge dive and the overall foraging trip. Our methodology could be considered for future studies that aim to contribute to the general understanding of the behavioural and physiological mechanisms and ecological and evolutionary significance of animal foraging (e.g. energy expenditure budgets and prey selection for self- and offspring-feeding that could lead to sex-specific foraging strategies).     

Analytical solution for the response of a flexible retaining structure with an elastic backfill

An extension of an existing analytical solution for the response of a flexible retaining wall subjected to seismic loading is presented. The solution is based on the assumption that the wall and the soil remain elastic and that there are no shear stresses at the wall–soil interface while the contact remains tied. In addition to the wall displacements due to bending, the wall can experience rigid‐body motions due to rotation and horizontal and vertical movements. The solution is verified by comparing its results with those of a finite element method. Results from the analytical solution together with those of the (FEM) are used to identify and quantify the relative importance of key parameters on the seismic response of a wall. The study shows that wall flexibility and horizontal rigid‐body motions of the wall and frequency content of the seismic input have a significant effect on the wall loads. The pressures behind a rigid wall decrease as the wall rotates about its base, whereas for a flexible wall, the soil pressures decrease as the friction between the backfill and the wall increases. The rigid‐body vertical movements of a wall have little impact on the dynamic pressures induced in the wall, except for a flexible wall where, when prevented, the dynamic loads may be reduced. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.