Varve counting reveals high resolution radiocarbon reservoir age variations in palaeolake Lisan

The laminated lacustrine sediments deposited in the last glacial Lake Lisan represent annual deposits of primary aragonite and silty detritus that reflect the annual supply of bicarbonate‐bearing freshwater to the lake. A varve‐counting curve was constructed for the time interval of ca. 17.4–22 cal. ka BP based on aragonite U/Th, and atmospheric radiocarbon ages of organic debris recovered from the studied section. Radiocarbon in the primary (evaporitic) aragonite comprises both atmospheric and old carbon (reflecting the reservoir age). The aragonite reservoir ages were determined by comparing the aragonite radiocarbon dates to the varve counting curve, and are found to lie in the range 1900–600 a and display a continuous decline. This opens the possibility for high (annual) resolution monitoring of the reservoir age, similar in quality to tree ring counting, during the upper part of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2. Our work also demonstrates that a ‘uniform’ reservoir age correction is inappropriate when determining the chronology of short‐term climate events in lacustrine environments. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrated cluster ion formation rates and winter anomaly

Expressions for the effective cluster formation rates are written in terms of neutral densities and recent laboratory data on reaction rate coefficients. At D-region heights these parameters show seasonal variations due to mesospheric temperature changes. Reduction in cluster formation rates for winter months would result in a decrease in the concentration of hydrated ions and hence reduced effective recombination coefficient for electrons. The results show latitude and seasonal variations which are similar to that of a normal winter anomaly in radio wave absorption.     

Application of a stochastic model to the frequency and duration of monsoon rainfall

The paper deals with an application of a stochastic model to the frequency and duration of precipitation events. With the aid of the model, the magnitudes ofmth highest rainfall amount in 24 hours' duration with 97.5% probability are obtained for various climatic regimes over a tropical monsoon region. There is good agreement between them-day minimum rainfall estimated through the model and the observed value. The model satisfactorily explains the frequency of the extreme rainfall event.     

Dispersion-flocculation studies on hematite-clay systems

Studies have been made on the separability of clay minerals such as kaolinite, illite and montmorillonite from hematite in dispersant-starch flocculant systems. The grossly different dispersibility of hematite from that of clay minerals aided separation by selective dispersion and flocculation. Moderate success has been achieved with a selectivity index nearing 4.0 (average recovery values around 80%).The studies have been extended to hematite recovery and clay rejection from the slimes of the Barsua iron ore washing plant owned by Rourkela Steel Plant, India. Limited success achieved in the starch selective flocculation method has been attributed to the difficulties associated with fine grain size, clay mineraloty and liberation.The ore exhibits the phenomenon of differential grinding. Hematite-rich coarser particles in the slime can be separated by differential settling in dispersant systems followed by selective flocculation in low-starch systems.     

A study of the empirical functions of the height fields over India and their relation with the rainfall

The empirical orthogonal functions have been obtained for the individual summer monsoon (June through September) months using the grid point values of monthly 700 mb geopotential heights over Indian region. The data for 21 summer monsoon months for the years 1958 to 1978 have been used in the present computation. The major variance reduction is due to the first three dominant functions accounting over 80% of the total variance in each month. The variance reduction only due to the first function ranges from 45 to 65%. The first function has in-pbase oscillation throughout the area indicating that the area under study is homogeneous and the centre of the oscillation lies over northwest India. The amplitudes of the first function also show generally quasipers stence in their sign within a season. The second function has two centres of action over the region of monsoon trough which are in phase. The third function has also two centres oriented in the east-west direction but they are in the opposite phase. Fairly large values of correlation coefficients between the patterns of the different monsoon months suggest that the patterns for these months corresponding to the first and the second functions respectively are quite similar. The patterns for these months also evolve with time in a related way. The spectrum analysis to the time series of amplitudes indicates the presence of the quasi-periodicity of 3 years during these monsoon months. The amplitudes corresponding to the dominant functions are found to be significantly related with the rainfall of central and western parts of India     

Noise-Storm Continua: Power Estimates for Electron Acceleration

We use a generic stochastic acceleration formalism to examine the power L_in (erg s^-1) input to non-thermal electrons that cause noise-storm continuum emission. The analytical approach includes the derivation of the Greens function for a general second-order Fermi process, and its application to obtain the particular solution for the non-thermal electron distribution resulting from the acceleration of a Maxwellian source in the corona. We compare L_in with the power L_out observed in noise-storm radiation. Using typical values for the various parameters, we find that L_in 10²³–10²⁶ erg s^-1, yielding an efficiency estimate L_out/L_in in the range 10^-10 10^-6 for this non-thermal acceleration/radiation process. These results reflect the efficiency of the overall process, starting from electron acceleration and culminating in the observed noise-storm emission.     

Reduced order observer based identification of base isolated buildings

The objective of this study is to identify system parameters from the recorded response of base isolated buildings, such as USC hospital building, during the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Full state measurements are not available for identification. Additionally, the response is nonlinear due to the yielding of the lead-rubber bearings. Two new approaches are presented in this paper to solve the aforementioned problems. First, a reduced order observer is used to estimate the unmeasured states. Second, a least squares technique with time segments is developed to identify the piece-wise linear system properties. The observer is used to estimate the initial conditions needed for the time segmented identification. A series of equivalent linear system parameters are identified in different time segments. It is shown that the change in system parameters, such as frequencies and damping ratios, due to nonlinear behavior of the lead-rubber bearings, are reliably estimated using the presented technique. It is shown that the response was reduced due to yielding of the lead-rubber bearings and period lengthening.     

Bangladeshi American Response to the 1998 Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA): An Assessment*

Following the devastating flood in 1998, the U.S. government proposed a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to the Bangladesh government. Accepting the 1998 SOFA would have allowed entry of U.S. troops in Bangladesh without passports or visas and without requiring declaration of military hardware. This would have facilitated American forces support for relief operations and rehabilitation of disaster victims in the shortest possible time. Unfortunately, the Bangladesh government rejected the U.S. terms outlined in the 1998 proposal. A sample survey was conducted among Bangladeshi Americans to examine their opinions regarding the 1998 SOFA. Survey data reveals that slightly over 58 percent of the respondents supported signing the SOFA. Reasons for their support or opposition to the U.S. proposal are also presented. Statistical analyses suggest that whether respondents have studied or are currently studying in the United States emerged as the most significant factor associated with approval or disapproval of the 1998 SOFA. Implications of the study findings are also discussed.