Canonical Correlation Analysis and climate research

Correlation analysis as used by meteorologists and oceanographers is a tool for the analysisof the spacial or temporal variability of physical fields. In his notes, Dr. Hasselmann pro-posed to combine correlation analysis and linear regression analysis in climate prediction re-search. The main idea is to decompose the physical field into its principal oscillation patterns.     

Incorporating the dynamics of marine systems into the stock assessment and management of sablefish

Progress in ecosystem management requires the characterisation of the dynamics of a species's ecosystem and the influences of climatic oscillations on those dynamics. Within the North Pacific, ecosystem dynamics have been described on decadal-scales (regimes) and have been shown to shift abruptly (regime shifts). The year class success of sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) exhibit decadal-scale patterns that relate to decadal-scale patterns in North Pacific climate–ocean conditions. As an example, and a step towards, incorporating the dynamics of marine systems into the stock assessment and management of sablefish, we produce a ‘report card’ that characterises the species's ecosystem on decadal-scales. This report card consists of a matrix of climatological and oceanographic indices for the North Pacific, and regional environmental and biological indices. It indicates that both Pacific-wide and regionally, conditions were generally good for sablefish year class strength during the 1977–1988 regime, but these favourable conditions did not persist into the 1990s. Exploitation scenarios can be developed around the decadal-scale dynamics in sablefish year class success and their life history, in particular longevity. Fisheries managers can begin to develop exploitation strategies that acknowledge these changes in the sablefish ecosystem. The report card presents an aggregation of parameters that, on average, gives an impression of productivity during a specific regime and can be used to augment present stock assessment and management efforts.     

Intra- and inter-species differences in persistent organic contaminants in the blubber of blue whales and humpback whales from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada

Biopsy samples of blubber from adult male and female blue whales, and from female and young-of-the-year humpback whales were collected during the summers of 1992-1999 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. In blue whales, concentrations of 25 PCB congeners, DDT and metabolites and several other organochlorine compounds were present at higher concentrations in the blubber of males relative to females; reflecting maternal transfer of these persistent contaminants from females into young. Sex-related differences in concentrations were not observed with less persistent contaminants, such as HCHs. In humpback whale samples, there were no significant differences in the concentrations of PCBs and organochlorine compounds in the blubber of females and calves. These data indicate that calves quickly bioaccumulate contaminants by transplacental and lactational routes to concentrations that are in equilibrium with females. In comparisons between contaminant concentrations and patterns in the blubber of female blue and humpback whales, there were no significant differences in concentrations, but the proportions of some PCB congeners, HCH isomers, and DDT and its metabolites were different in the two baleen whale species. These may reflect differences in the diet of the two species, since fish comprise a large part of the diet of humpback whales and blue whales feed exclusively on euphausiid crustaceans (i.e. krill).     

Pleistocene forest on Tenerife's southern coast: a case study of Montaña Negra

Montaña Negra is a 121 m cinder cone in the Bandas del Sur region of southern Tenerife. Formed in the Middle Pleistocene, it comprises alternating phonolitic pumice deposits and scoria layers; the latter are extremely fossiliferous with good taphonomical fidelity. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age determination provides new dates of 302 ± 7.6 ka and 299.9 ± 11.4 ka for the Lower and Upper Aldea Blanca pumice fall deposits, respectively. This chronological constraint allows comparison of the palaeo‐habitat with the global climate at the time of pyroclastic activity. Abundant terrestrial gastropod species and rare disarticulated Coleoptera fragments are to be found. The occurrence of the endemic semi‐slug genus Plutonia (Family Vitrinidae) is significant in indicating a woodland habitat in the region during the Middle Pleistocene. We suggest that this may have been forest, possibly dominated by laurel, which is in stark contrast to the present‐day semi‐desert. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characteristics, development and utilization of geothermal resources- a Nordic perspective

Geothermal energy is classified as a renewable energy source and it utilizes the heat generated in the earth primarily from the natural radioactive decay of isotopes of uranium, thorium and potassium. Heat is extracted from the earth to generate geothermal energy via a carrier, usually water occurring either in the liquid or steam phase. In the late 19th century and the early 20th century, the first developments of geothermal resources for power generation and household heating got underway successfully. Many of these geothermal fields are still being utilized today, proving their sustainability. Today geothermal energy is being utilized in more than 72 countries around the world and of the Nordic countries Iceland and Sweden have been in the forefront in each of their respective fields. While geothermal heat pumps are widely used for space heating in Sweden, geothermal energy covers 55% of the primary energy consumption in Iceland where it is used for space heating, power generation and industrial purposes. Future developments aim at expanding the range of viable geothermal resources by improving the capabilities to generate electricity from geothermal resources at temperatures as low as 100℃, as well as developing geothermal resources where water needs to be introduced, so-called hot dry rock resources. But the biggest expansion is expected to continue to be in the installations of geothermal heat pumps.     

Clear‐sky closure studies of lower tropospheric aerosol and water vapor during ACE‐2 using airborne sunphotometer, airborne in‐situ, space‐borne, and ground‐based measurements

We report on clear‐sky column closure experiments (CLEARCOLUMN) performed in the Canary Islands during the second Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE‐2) in June/July 1997. We present CLEARCOLUMN results obtained by combining airborne sunphotometer and in‐situ (optical particle counter, nephelometer, and absorption photometer) measurements taken aboard the Pelican aircraft, space‐borne NOAA/AVHRR data and ground‐based lidar and sunphotometer measurements. During both days discussed here, vertical profiles flown in cloud‐free air masses revealed 3 distinctly different layers: a marine boundary layer (MBL) with varying pollution levels, an elevated dust layer, and a very clean layer between the MBL and the dust layer. A key result of this study is the achievement of closure between extinction or layer aerosol optical depth (AOD) computed from continuous in‐situ aerosol size‐distributions and composition and those measured with the airborne sunphotometer. In the dust, the agreement in layer AOD (λ=380–1060 nm) is 3–8%. In the MBL there is a tendency for the in‐situ results to be slightly lower than the sunphotometer measurements (10–17% at λ=525 nm), but these differences are within the combined error bars of the measurements and computations.     

Comparison of excavation-induced wall deflection using top-down and bottom-up construction methods in Taipei silty clay

This paper compares the excavation-induced wall deflection caused by the top-down method (TDM) and the bottom-up method (BUM). First, a total of 26 quality excavation case histories in Taipei silty clay were collected and analyzed. The field observations show that the maximum lateral wall deflection (δ_hm) induced by the TDM were 1.28 times as large as that induced by the BUM. Factors affecting wall deflection are investigated and four of them are selected for further numerical experimentation to investigate the discrepancy of δ_hm caused by the two methods. Analysis results showed that the average ratio of δ_hm induced by the TDM over that induced by the BUM is approximately equal to 1.1, excluding the effect of thermal shrinkage of concrete floor slabs. Both observed data and analysis results revealed that greater δ_hm is generally induced by the TDM despite its use of floor slabs with higher support stiffness.