Epiphytic orchids and their ecological niche under anthropogenic influence in central Himalayas,Nepal

The survival chance of epiphytic orchids today not only depends on the natural site conditions required by the orchids but also on anthropogenic changes in site conditions.This study answers two questions:(1) What is the ecological niche of the different epiphytic orchid species?(2) What are the ecological factors that threaten epiphytic orchid's population under anthropogenic disturbances? Our study area was the Kathmandu valley,Nepal,with its subtropical forest.We established 156 systematically selected sampling points in the Kathmandu area covering different types of ecosystems under human impacts such as densely populated area,agricultural land,mixed agricultural and settled area,old tree patches,and a natural forest in a national park.The ecological niche of the orchid species was analyzed with a principal component analysis(PCA).The correlations between the different site factors were statistically significant.Spearman's rank correlation matrices showed that the variables land-use intensities with altitude,and height with diameter in breast height(dbh) of host had the highest significant positive correlation coefficient(0.67 and 0.64 respectively).On the other hand,host bark p H and altitude as well as land use had a significantly strong negative correlation coefficient(-0.80 and-0.61,respectively).Different epiphytic orchid species interact differently with the given set ofenvironmental factors:for occurrence of Vanda cristata there is no single environmental factor of special influence,while for Rhynchostylis retusa high bark p H and high light availability are important.First two axis of the PCA explained more than 50% of the total variance.Most orchid species occupy a specific,narrow niche in this ecological space.The main causes of anthropogenic influence of orchid population in the Kathmandu Valley are loss of adequate host trees(species and size) and increasing air pollution,resulting in increasing host bark p H.     

Post-injection trapping of mobile CO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Bold">2</Emphasis></Subscript> in deep aquifers: Assessing the importance of model and parameter uncertainties

Predicting the fate of the injected CO₂ is crucial for the safety of carbon storage operations in deep saline aquifers: especially the evolution of the position, the spreading and the quantity of the mobile CO₂ plume during and after the injection has to be understood to prevent any loss of containment. Fluid flow modelling is challenging not only given the uncertainties on subsurface formation intrinsic properties (parameter uncertainty) but also on the modelling choices/assumptions for representing and numerically implementing the processes occurring when CO₂ displaces the native brine (model uncertainty). Sensitivity analysis is needed to identify the group of factors which contributes the most to the uncertainties in the predictions. In this paper, we present an approach for assessing the importance of model and parameter uncertainties regarding post-injection trapping of mobile CO₂. This approach includes the representation of input parameters, the choice of relevant simulation outputs, the assessment of the mobile plume evolution with a flow simulator and the importance ranking for input parameters. A variance-based sensitivity analysis is proposed, associated with the ACOSSO-like meta-modelling technique to tackle the issues linked with the computational burden posed by the use of long-running simulations and with the different types of uncertainties to be accounted for (model and parameter). The approach is tested on a potential site for CO₂ storage in the Paris basin (France) representative of a project in preliminary stage of development. The approach provides physically sound outcomes despite the challenging context of the case study. In addition, these outcomes appear very helpful for prioritizing the future characterisation efforts and monitoring requirements, and for simplifying the modelling exercise.     

Bodenkundliche Probleme in ihrer Bedeutung für die Geologie

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Marine Minerals in the Mexican Pacific: Toward Efficient Resource Management

Vast reserves of marine minerals are known to occur within the Mexican Exclusive Economic Zone. These reserves include: (1) heavy mineral placers rich in titanium and iron along the coast of San Antonio del Mar, Baja California and the southern States of Oaxaca and Guerrero; (2) phosphorites, which represent the only source for superphosphate fertilizers along the Pacific coast off the Baja California peninsula and the Gulf of Tehuantepec; and (3) manganese oxide deposits in nodule and crusts located adjacent to the Clarion-Clipperton Zone and containing high concentrations of Cu + Ni + Co (up to 1.9%), which are essential for the steel and super-alloy industries. Few but important efforts toward surveying these deposits have been carried out by Mexican and international researchers. Relevant data generated by these investigations are reviewed here and put together in a single document. Adequate knowledge of Mexican mineral resources is essential for the development of management strategies when offshore mining starts during this century. Thus, the review discusses the economics inherent to ocean mining in Mexico, setting baselines for future exploration and development activities in the Mexican Exclusive Economic Zone.     

The dust distribution within the inner coma of comet P/Halley 1982i: encounter by Giotto's impact detectors

Analysis of the data from Giotto's Dust Impact Detection System experiment (DIDSY) is presented. These data represent measurement of the size of dust grains incident on the Giotto dust shield along its trajectory through the coma of comet P/Halley on 1986 March 13/14. First detection occurred at some 287000 km distance from the nucleus on the inbound leg; the majority of the DIDSY subsystems remained operational after closest approach (604 km) yielding the last detection at about 202000 km from the nucleus. In order to improve the data coverage (and especially for the smallest grains, to approximately 10(-19) kg particle mass), data from the PIA instrument has been combined with DIDSY data. Flux profiles are presented for the various mass channels showing, to a first approximation, a 1/R2 flux dependence, where R is the distance of the detection point from the cometary nucleus, although significant differences are noted. Deviations from this dependence are observed, particularly close to the nucleus. From the flux profiles, mass and geometrical area distributions for the dust grains are derived for the trajectory through the coma. Groundbased CCD imaging of the dust continuum in the inner coma at the time of encounter is also used to derive the area of grains intercepted by Giotto. The results are consistent with the area functions derived by Giotto data and the low albedo of the grains deduced from infrared emission. For the close encounter period (-5 min to +5 min), the cumulative mass distribution function has been investigated, initially in 20 second periods; there is strong evidence from the data for a steepening of the index of the mass distribution for masses greater than 10(-13) kg during passage through dust jets which is not within the error limits of statistical uncertainty. The fluences for dust grains along the entire trajectory is calculated; it is found that extrapolation of the spectrum determined at intermediate masses (cumulative mass index alpha = 0.85) is not able to account for the spacecraft deceleration as observed by the Giotto Radio Science Experiment and by ESOC tracking operations. Data at large masses (>10(-8) kg) recently analysed from the DIDSY data set show clear evidence of a decrease in the mass distribution index at these masses within the coma, and it is shown that such a value of the mass index can provide sufficient mass for consistency with the observed deceleration. The total particulate mass output from the nucleus of comet P/Halley at the time of encounter would be dependent on the maximum mass emitted if this change in slope observed in the coma were also applicable to the emission from the nucleus; this matter is discussed in the text. The flux time profiles have been converted through a simple approach to modeling of the particle trajectories to yield an indication of nucleus surface activity. There is indication of an enhancement in flux at t approximately -29 s corresponding to crossing of the dawn terminator, but the flux detected prior to crossing of the dawn terminator is shown to be higher than predicted by simple modelling. Further enhancements corresponding to jet activity are detected around +190 s and +270 s.     

A Custom Chip Set for a Frequency-Agile High-Resolution Sonar Array

This paper describes two custom-integrated circuits, which form the core building blocks of a versatile wideband sonar array. An analog 0.5-mum complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) chip houses a preamplifier, an antialias filter, and a high-resolution (14-16 b) data converter based on delta-sigma modulation techniques. A complementary 0.35-mum digital CMOS chip incorporates a four-stage multirate filter cascade, which provides a wideband and two narrowband outputs. The complex narrowband outputs are obtained via a subsampling mixer and span over the top 15% or the top 10%, respectively, of the original band. The system sampling clock can vary from 2 to 10 MHz to enable tuning to a specific frequency window located anywhere between 30 and 150 kHz. Both chips process four sonar channels in parallel and, when clocked at 10 MHz, dissipate a combined power of 416 mW (104 mW per channel).     

Ice thawing,mountains falling—are alpine rock slope failures increasing?

Many high‐mountain environments of the world have seen dramatic changes in the past years and decades. Glaciers are retreating and downwasting, often at a dramatically fast pace, leaving large amounts of potentially unstable debris, moraines and rock slopes behind. Although in the main invisible to the eye of an observer, permafrost, i.e. rock and debris with permanent zero or subzero temperatures, is thawing. Several slopes have become unstable and landslides potentially related to permafrost degradation have received wide‐ranging attention from both scientists and the media. A number of those landslides can be related to the effects of recent changes in the cryosphere, which are ultimately driven by changes in climatic parameters, in particular temperature and precipitation.     

Doing community geography

Community Geography offers researchers, community groups, and students opportunities to engage in action oriented applied geographical research. Creating and sustaining these research programs can be challenging, programs can involve many partners from both academic and the community, have different goals and purposes, and utilize a variety of methods to perform research. In this paper we offer a framework of three primary overarching principles for implementing CG projects; (1) Who, (2) Why, and (3) How. (1) “Who” describes who is involved in CG, including researchers, community partners, academic institutions, (2) “Why” describes the justifications and benefits of taking this approach. (3) “How” explains how CG borrows methodologies from many disciplines within geography and beyond. Our examples are not exhaustive; rather, they serve as starting points to inspire researchers interested in CG.