Predicting June Mean Rainfall in the Middle/Lower Yangtze River Basin

We demonstrate that there is significant skill in the GloSea5 operational seasonal forecasting system for predicting June mean rainfall in the middle/lower Yangtze River basin up to four months in advance. Much of the rainfall in this region during June is contributed by the mei-yu rain band. We find that similar skill exists for predicting the East Asian summer monsoon index(EASMI) on monthly time scales, and that the latter could be used as a proxy to predict the regional rainfall. However, th...     

Pleistocene stratigraphy in the Dellen region, central Sweden

Robertsson, A.-M., Svedlund, J.-O., Andrén, T. & Sundh, M. 1997 (September): Pleistocene stratigraphy in the Dellen region, central Sweden. Boreas, Vol. 26, pp. 237–260. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483. The Pleistocene stratigraphy in the Dellen region, central Sweden was studied using field observations made during mapping of Quaternary deposits and fabric analyses in excavated sections. The lithostratigraphy was also studied by seismic refraction measurements, analyses of grain-size distribution and organic carbon content. Biostratigraphical methods applied were pollen and diatom analyses. A general outline of the Pleistocene stratigraphy in the area is presented. Three different till beds are identified, the lowermost suggested to have been deposited during the Saalian glaciation and the other two during the Weichselian glaciation. According to the interpretation of the stratigraphy, it is questioned whether the first Weichselian ice sheet did in fact reach the Dellen area. A clayey sediment sequence at Norra Sannas accumulated during an interglacial, probably the Eemian. Most of the interglacial vegetation succession is reflected in the identified pollen flora. An initial phase with a light-demanding forest of Belula and Pinus was followed by immigration of Alnus, Picea and scattered occurrences of Corylus. A freshwater diatom flora was identified dominated by plankton taxa, e.g. Aulacoseira italica, A. distans and Cyclotella spp. In the lower part of the sequence a brackish-marine flora was registered, representing accumulation in a bay of the Eemian Sea. Fine-grained sediments at the Sundson and Vastansjd sites are interpreted as rebedded Eemian sediments according to the pollen flora. An (Early Weichselian) interstadial age is suggested for sediments found at Bjuraker. Dating by the ¹⁴C- and OSL methods was carried out on the interglacial and interstadial sediments, respectively. The ages range from approximately 19000 to 92000 BP. Correlation of interglacial vegetation history with central Finland and other areas is discussed.     

Promoting Business Networks

Interest in the role cooperative networks can play in small business development is increasing. Evidence from a survey of three network promoting small business associations based in three different cities is examined and a number of different ways the agencies could deliver their services are suggested. Two networking initiatives by the New Zealand Trade Development Board are then considered. It is concluded that individual networking initiatives need to be developed and evaluated as part of a broad policy push to facilitate the development of an environment more conducive to business cooperation.     

Comparison of laser grain size analysis with pipette and sieve analysis: a solution for the underestimation of the clay fraction

Classically, the grain size of soil and sediment samples is determined by the sieve method for the coarse fractions and by the pipette method, based on the ‘Stokes’ sedimentation rates, for the fine fractions. Results from the two methods are compared with results from laser diffraction size analysis, which is based on the forward scattering of monochromatic coherent light. From a point of view of laboratory efficiency, the laser sizing technique is far superior. Accuracy and reproducibility are shown by measurements on certified materials. It appears that laser grain size measurements of certified materials correspond very well with the certificated measurements. Tests were also done on a set of randomly selected sediments of fluvial, aeolian and lacustrine origin. Except for the (<2 μm) clay fraction, there is a coarsening of the mean diameter of one to two size classes (0.25 ?), caused by the non-sphericity of the particles. The platy form of the clay particles induces considerable differences (eight size classes) between pipette and laser measurements: the <2 μm grain size, defined by the pipette method corresponds with a grain size of 8 μm defined by the Laser Particle Sizer for the studied sediments. Using a higher grain size level for the clay fraction, when laser analysis is applied, enables workers in the geological and environmental field to compare classical pipette analysis with a laser sizing technique.     

MODELLING OF GI GUN SIGNATURES1

In 1989 a new type of marine seismic source was introduced. This new air-gun, which consists of two air chambers instead of one, is called the GI gun. The main feature of this gun is that the bubble created by the gun is stabilized by an injection of extra air from the second chamber at a later time. This injection mechanism reduces the amplitude of the bubble oscillations, which also means that the acoustic signal from a GI gun shot is characterized by a very clean primary pulse followed by very small bubble oscillations. A method for calculating the acoustic signal generated by a GI gun is presented. Based on the solution of a damped Kirkwood–Bethe equation, the far-field pressure of single GI guns and of arrays of GI guns is calculated. It is shown that the optimal values for injection start time and injection period vary with injector volume and gun depth. It is also shown that the precision in the firing time for the injector should be of the order of 4 ms, while the precision of the injection period should be of the order of 8 ms. Modelled and measured far-field signatures have been compared, and the relative error energy is found to be less than 3.5% for all examples.     

USE OF PRECIPITATION RECORDS IN THE CORRELATION OF STREAMFLOW RECORDS

Abstract

An empirical study using three pairs of stream basins in Eastern United States showed that the regression of monthly streamflow from one basin on that from a nearby basin generally was improved by use of a regression model which included, as an additional variable, the difference in precipitation on the two basins.     

Late Pleistocene–early Holocene polychaete borings in NE Spitsbergen and their palaeoecological and climatic implications: an example from the Basissletta area

Hanken, N.‐M., Uchman, A. & Jakobsen, S. L. 2012 (January): Late Pleistocene–early Holocene polychaete borings in NE Spitsbergen and their palaeoecological and climatic implications: an example from the Basissletta area. Boreas, Vol. 41, pp. 42–55. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2011.00223.x. ISSN 0300‐9483 Limestone and dolomite bedrock surfaces, together with blocks derived from these underlying bedrocks, at Basissletta, NE Spitsbergen, contain Late Pleistocene–early Holocene, shallow‐marine, spionid polychaete borings Caulostrepsis taeniola Clarke, Caulostrepsis contorta Bromley & D'Alessandro, and Maeandropolydora isp. The borings occur about 9–78 m above present sea level, and this is the northernmost known occurrence of these trace fossils. ¹⁴C dating of wood, whalebone and bivalves in the vicinity and in neighbouring areas indicates that the borings have a radiocarbon age spanning from about 7 to 11 ka. Recent borings of these ichnotaxa have not been found in the sea around Spitsbergen. The presence of the fossil borings indicates that invasion of boring polychaetes to the northern part of the Barents Sea region was limited to a Late Pleistocene–early Holocene temperature optimum. The presence of Caulostrepsis and Maeandropolydora on subaerially exposed shallow‐water Pleistocene–Holocene bedrock surfaces in arctic areas can be a valuable tool with which to evaluate both postglacial emergence and climatic oscillations because they indicate a summer surface water temperature of at least 8 °C.