Comments on filament-disintegration and its relation to other aspects of solar activity

Studies of disparitions brusques in solar cycles 19 and 20 (to 1969) indicate that such events occur frequently. Approximately 30% of all large filaments in these cycles disintegrated in the course of their transit across the solar disk. Major flares occurred with above average frequency on the last day on which 141 large disappearing filaments were observed (1958–60; 1966–69). Relationships between a disintegrating filament on July 10–11, 1959, a prior major flare, a newly formed spot, and concomitant growth of H plage are presented. Observation of prior descending prominence material apparently directed towards the location of the flare of 1959 July 15^d19^h23^m is reported. The development of the filament-associated flare of February 13, 1967 is described.Visiting Astronomer, McMath-Hulbert Observatory.     

Sporting narratives and globalization: Making links between the All Black tours of 1905 and 2005

Abstract:  In this paper, we use commodity chain ideas to compare the All Blacks rugby tour of Great Britain and Ireland in 2005 with the formative 1905 tour, and to relate their cultural economy to their political economy. We argue that 'globalization' has become imagined and institutionalized in new ways that more thoroughly exploit rugby's production values. We highlight the value-adding potential of a 100-year-old tension between a colonial/imperial and a national identity. Our point is that fresh insights can be drawn from bringing cultural economy sensitivities to political economy approaches and concerns with identity and consumption to those of value and production.     

Unnatural Selection: An Analysis of the Ecological Representativeness of Natural World Heritage Sites*

In 1994, the World Heritage Committee adopted a strategy to make World Heritage Sites more “representative.” This article assesses the biogeographic representativeness of natural World Heritage Sites, identifying well‐represented and underrepresented biomes and ecological realms. The analysis reveals that sites are not representative in biogeographic terms. However, the identification of an optimal definition of representation is a controversial challenge. Furthermore, the value of representativeness as a goal for a program geared toward protecting exceptional sites is questionable. Instead, representativeness is of greater importance across all protected areas, leaving the World Heritage Convention to fulfill its original mission of protecting the “outstanding.”     

Metal-organic complexation in the marine environment

We discuss the voltammetric methods that are used to assess metal-organic complexation in seawater. These consist of titration methods using anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) and cathodic stripping voltammetry competitive ligand experiments (CSV-CLE). These approaches and a kinetic approach using CSV-CLE give similar information on the amount of excess ligand to metal in a sample and the conditional metal ligand stability constant for the excess ligand bound to the metal. CSV-CLE data using different ligands to measure Fe(III) organic complexes are similar. All these methods give conditional stability constants for which the side reaction coefficient for the metal can be corrected but not that for the ligand. Another approach, pseudovoltammetry, provides information on the actual metal-ligand complex(es) in a sample by doing ASV experiments where the deposition potential is varied more negatively in order to destroy the metal-ligand complex. This latter approach gives concentration information on each actual ligand bound to the metal as well as the thermodynamic stability constant of each complex in solution when compared to known metal-ligand complexes. In this case the side reaction coefficients for the metal and ligand are corrected. Thus, this method may not give identical information to the titration methods because the excess ligand in the sample may not be identical to some of the actual ligands binding the metal in the sample.     

Volume contents

Volume Contents

Volume contents     

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN GEOGRAPHY: CONJECTURES ON THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

Artificial intelligence (Al) and geography are brought together within a broad context involving fundamental issues of theory, epistemology and scientific method. The little known logico-mathematical background of Al is explored and shown to have substantial implications for modeling in general, prediction, the interpretation of theoretical structures, and our understanding of science itself. These more abstract aspects of the “computational revolution,”of which Al is one product, could have far-reaching consequences for geographic research.     

The NOAA Goes-12 Solar X-Ray Imager (SXI) 1. Instrument, Operations, and Data

The Solar X-ray Imager (SXI) was launched 23 July 2001 on NOAAs GOES-12 satellite and completed post-launch testing 20 December 2001. Beginning 22 January 2003 it has provided nearly uninterrupted, full-disk, soft X-ray solar images, with a continuous frame rate significantly exceeding that for previous similar instruments. The SXI provides images with a 1 min cadence and a single-image (adjustable) dynamic range near 100. A set of metallic thin-film filters provides temperature discrimination in the 0.6 – 6.0 nm bandpass. The spatial resolution of approximately 10 arcsec FWHM is sampled with 5 arcsec pixels. Three instrument degradations have occurred since launch, two affecting entrance filters and one affecting the detector high-voltage system. This work presents the SXI instrument, its operations, and its data processing, including the impacts of the instrument degradations. A companion paper (Pizzo et al., this issue) presents SXI performance prior to an instrument degradation that occurred on 5 November 2003 and thus applies to more than 420000 soft X-ray images of the Sun.     

Weather Forecasts are for Wimps: Why Water Resource Managers Do Not Use Climate Forecasts

Short-term climate forecasting offers the promise of improved hydrologic management strategies. However, water resource managers in the United States have proven reluctant to incorporate them in decision making. While managers usually cite poor reliability of the forecasts as the reason for this, they are seldom able to demonstrate knowledge of the actual performance of forecasts or to consistently articulate the level of reliability that they would require. Analysis of three case studies in California, the Pacific Northwest, and metro Washington DC identifies institutional reasons that appear to lie behind managers reluctance to use the forecasts. These include traditional reliance on large built infrastructure, organizational conservatism and complexity, mismatch of temporal and spatial scales of forecasts to management needs, political disincentives to innovation, and regulatory constraints. The paper concludes that wider acceptance of the forecasts will depend on their being incorporated in existing organizational routines and industrial codes and practices, as well as changes in management incentives to innovation. Finer spatial resolution of forecasts and the regional integration of multi-agency functions would also enhance their usability.The title of this article is taken from an advertising slogan for the Oldsmobile Bravura SUV.     

Search for the 3.4-μm C-H Spectral Bands on Low-Albedo Asteroids

A report of the detection of the C-H hydrocarbon band complex at 3.4 μm in an asteroid spectrum, by D. P. Cruikshank and R. H. Brown (1987, Science238, 183-184) is not confirmed by recent data of higher quality. Spectra of the same asteroid and six other low-albedo asteroids do not show this feature, which if present would indicate the presence of hydrocarbons and might link these asteroids with certain classes of carbonaceous meteorites.