Refined conceptualization of TOPMODEL for shallow subsurface flows

The TOPMODEL framework was used to derive expressions that account for saturated and unsaturated flow through shallow soil on a hillslope. The resulting equations were the basis for a shallow‐soil TOPMODEL (STOPMODEL). The common TOPMODEL theory implicitly assumes a water table below the entire watershed and this does not conceptually apply to systems hydrologically controlled by shallow interflow of perched groundwater. STOPMODEL provides an approach for extending TOPMODEL's conceptualization to apply to shallow, interflow‐driven watersheds by using soil moisture deficit instead of water table depth as the state variable. Deriving STOPMODEL by using a hydraulic conductivity function that changes exponentially with soil moisture content results in equations that look very similar to those commonly associated with TOPMODEL. This alternative way of conceptualizing TOPMODEL makes the modelling approach available to researchers, planners, and engineers who work in areas where TOPMODEL was previously believed to be unsuited, such as the New York City Watershed in the Catskills region of New York State. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Validating the Flash Code: Vortex-Dominated Flows

As a component of the Flash Center’s validation program, we compare FLASH simulation results with experimental results from Los Alamos National Laboratory. The flow of interest involves the lateral interaction between a planar M _a = 1.2 shock wave with a cylinder of gaseous sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) in air, and in particular the development of primary and secondary instabilities after the passage of the shock. While the overall evolution of the flow is comparable in the simulations and experiments, small-scale features are difficult to match. We focus on the sensitivity of numerical results to simulation parameters.     

The role of current velocity in structuring eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) meadows

Measurements of velocity profiles, bathymetry, and surface sediment characteristics across eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) meadows yielded information on community development processes and functional attributes of this ecosystem. Height/length ratios of the meadows were positively correlated with tidal current velocity. Low, medium, and high current regimes were separated by surface current velocities of approximately 50 and 90 cm s^?1. Z. marina can tolerate approximately 120–150 cm/sec current velocities in the areas studied. Per cent silt-clay and organic matter content of the surface sediments are negatively associated with shear velocity, suggesting that meadows in high current areas are sources while meadows in low current areas are sinks of autochthonous detritus. Current velocity maintains seagrass meadows at different equilibrium levels (relative climaxes). We theorize these different equilibrium levels provide unequal habitat utilization potentials for the associated faunal community.     

Exact formulas for approximating variogram function integrals

The application of regionalized variables requires the estimation of the variogram function and the evaluation of its integral. By representing the variogram by a polygonal function the integral may be easily approximated by closed form representations of polygonal integrals. This approach provides a basis for more extensive statistical evaluation not evident in existing approximation methods. This paper provides the closed form representations for two-dimensional variogram functions whose domain is represented by a finite collection of rectangles.     

The 1991 outburst of Comet P/Metcalf-Brewington: a study of the light curve

The light curve of the outburst of Comet P/Metcalf-Brewington (1991 I) is investigated. The parameters of the light curve are quite uncertain as it may be fitted both in terms of variation with heliocentric distance and exponential decay with time however, after maximum a empirical fit ofm ₁ = 4.1 + 5 log Delta + 14.8 logr gives a good fit to the data. The absolute magnitude brightened at least 11 magnitudes in outburst. The outburst is most plausibly caused by the release of micron sized grains as, were the outbust due to dust emission, it would imply the expulsion of a large fraction of the total mass of the nucleus.     

Sea level along the southeast coast of China during El Niño

In El Niño years, along the southeast China coast, the seasonal cycle of sea level variation—low in spring, high in autumn—is attenuated: specifically, the autumn peak is reduced by about 10 cm. This negative anomaly increases toward the south and occurs at the same time as a similar (but five times larger) sea level anomaly at Truk Island (7.5°N) in the western Pacific.