Hydrologic models coupled with 2D hydrodynamic model for high-resolution urban flood simulation

Natural Hazards - Floods are the most frequent natural disaster and pose a very challenging threat to many cities worldwide. Understanding the flood dynamic is essential for developing strategies...     

Onshore sandbar migration at Tairua Beach (New Zealand): Numerical simulations and field measurements

We observed the onshore migration (3.5 m/day) of a nearshore sandbar at Tairua Beach, New Zealand during 4 days of low-energy wave conditions. The morphological observations, together with concurrent measurements of waves and suspended sediment concentrations, were used to test a coupled, wave-averaged, cross-shore model. Because of the coarse bed material and the relatively low-energy conditions, the contribution of the suspended transport to the total transport was predicted and observed to be negligible. The model predicted the bar to move onshore because of the feedback between near-bed wave skewness, bedload, and the sandbar under weakly to non-breaking conditions at high tide. The predicted bathymetric evolution contrasts, however, with the observations that the bar migrated onshore predominantly at low tide. Also, the model flattened the bar, while in the observations the sandbar retained its steep landward-facing flank. A comparison between available observations and numerical simulations suggests that onshore propagating surf zone bores in very shallow water (< 0.25 m) may have been responsible for most of the observed bar behaviour. These processes are missing from the applied model and, given that the observed conditions can be considered typical of very shallow sandbars, highlight a priority for further field study and model development. The possibility that the excess water transported by the bores across the bar was channelled alongshore to near-by rip-channels further implies that traditional cross-shore measures to judge the applicability of a cross-shore morphodynamic model may be misleading.     

The influence of 70 and 120 kHz tonal signals on the behavior of harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) in a floating pen

Two harbor porpoises in a floating pen were subjected to five pure tone underwater signals of 70 or 120kHz with different signal durations, amplitudes and duty cycles (% of time sound is produced). Some signals were continuous, others were intermittent (duty cycles varied between 8% and 100%). The effect of each signal was judged by comparing the animals' surfacing locations and number of surfacings (i.e. number of respirations) during test periods with those during baseline periods. In all cases, both porpoises moved away from the sound source, but the effect of the signals on respiration rates was negligible. Pulsed 70kHz signals with a source level (SL) of 137dB had a similar effect as a continuous 70kHz signal with an SL of 148dB (re 1muPa, rms). Also, a pulsed 70kHz signal with an SL of 147dB had a much stronger deterring effect than a continuous 70kHz signal with a similar SL. For pulsed 70kHz signals (2s pulse duration, 4s pulse interval, SL 147dB re 1muPa, rms), the avoidance threshold sound pressure level (SPL), in the context of the present study, was estimated to be around 130dB (re 1muPa, rms) for porpoise 064 and around 124dB (re 1muPa, rms) for porpoise 047. This study shows that ultrasonic pingers (70kHz) can deter harbor porpoises. Such ultrasonic pingers have the advantage that they do not have a "dinner bell" effect on pinnipeds, and probably have no, or less, effect on other marine fauna, which are often sensitive to low frequency sounds.     

On the use of logistic regression for stellar classification

We are totally immersed in the Big Data era and reliable algorithms and methods for data classification are instrumental for astronomical research. Random Forest and Support Vector Machines algorithms have become popular over the last few years and they are widely used for different stellar classification problems. In this article, we explore an alternative supervised classification method scarcely exploited in astronomy, Logistic Regression, that has been applied successfully in other scientific areas, particularly biostatistics. We have applied this method in order to derive membership probabilities for potential T Tauri star candidates from ultraviolet-infrared colour-colour diagrams.     

Sur la présence de nickel dans un gisement de bauxite près de Mégare

Résumé L'exploitation récente d'un gisement de bauxite près de Mégare (Grèce) a fait apparaître sur les calcaires de base une concentration verte d'oxyde de nickel relativement élevée. La présence dans le gisement d'argiles rouges, renfermant de fortes proportions d'oxyde de fer avec des teneurs relativement faibles en alumine et des traces d'oxyde de nickel, induit à penser qu'il s'agit d'un produit latéritique dérivé d'une roche ultrabasique et transporté ultérieurement sur la région calcaire karstifiée avec ses remplissages bauxitiques. L'étude se termine par une hypothèse sur la genèse de ce gîte singulier.

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The recent mining of a bauxite deposit near Megara (Greece) has shown on the footwall limestone a relatively high concentration of a green nickel oxide. The occurrence in the same deposit of red clays with a rather high percentage of iron oxide and a low content of alumina, together with some traces of nickel, induces to think that this material is composed of a lateritic soil derived from an ultrabasic rock and subsequently transported on karstified limestone with its bauxitic fillings. — The study ends with an hypothesis on the genesis of this unusual deposit.

     

Middle Pleistocene temperate deposits at Dingé, Ille-et-Vilaine,northwest France: pollen,plant and insect macrofossil analysis

Nine cores were taken from a damp depression at Dingé, Ille-et-Vilaine, northwest France. Analyses of the pollen, plant macrofossil and Coleoptera remains preserved in the same organic samples of two profiles suggest a temperate vegetation characterised by a mixed deciduous forest with mesophilous taxa (Carpinus, Fagus, Quercus) followed by a coniferous forest with Pinus and Picea. The determination of plant taxa to species was made either directly through the identification of plant macrofossil remains and pollen or indirectly through the identification of phytophagous Coleoptera specifically related to certain plants. Stratigraphical information derived from pollen, plant macrofossil and insect data indicates that this sequence may be correlated with a temperate episode older than the Eemian and younger than the Holsteinian, possibly the Bouchet 2 (Oxygen Isotope Stage 7c) or Bouchet 3 (Oxygen Isotope Stage 7a) temperate periods or the Landos Interglacial (Oxygen Isotope Stage 9 pro parte). © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The chemistry of orthophosphate uptake from seawater on to calcite and aragonite

The chemistry of orthophosphate uptake from synthetic seawater onto the surfaces of synthetic calcite, aragonite and low-magnesium biogenic calcite has been studied, in order to elucidate the kinetics of the process (generally believed to be the major control of dissolved reactive phosphate in carbonate-rich marine sediments). Our results differ from those obtained by others, who have studied orthophosphate uptake in low ionic strength solutions and at much higher supersaturations relative to apatite.In both ‘free drift’ and chemostat experiments, Mg and F have only a minor effect on the reaction rate. Even at constant solution composition the rate of orthophosphate uptake was found to decrease by 10⁶ over a two week period. The data from the ‘free drift’ experiments can be fitted to the Elovich equation. This indicates that the kinetics observed for this reaction can be explained by an exponential decrease in available surface reaction sites and/or a linear increase in the activation energy associated with chemisorption as the reaction proceeds.     

地球重力模型及中国大陆重力场的计算

融多颗卫星数据、地面重力值和其它资料一起的地球重力模型EGM 96 ,为研究中国大陆的重力场及相关问题提供了一个高精度 36 0阶的球谐系数。在分析EGM 96的基础上 ,计算并简单解释了中国大陆的自由空气异常和布格重力异常。计算所得重力场的精度和分辨率大大高于常用的1∶140 0 0 0 0 0自由空气异常图及布格重力图     

Carbonatites from Eastern Paraguay and genetic relationships with potassic magmatism: C, O, Sr and Nd Isotopes

Summary Geochemical characteristics were systematically determined for Early Cretaceous samples of carbonatitic rocks from Eastern Paraguay (Rio Apa, Amambay and Central Provinces). The data show that all the occurrences have an enriched isotopic signature and that the carbonatites have negligible or absent crustal signature. A petrogenetic model (parent liquids, fractional crystallization, hydrothermal interactions and weathering) is proposed as a function of incompatible trace element, stable (O-C) and radiogenic (Sr-Nd) isotope variations with the aim to test the significance of carbonatitic complexes as a marker of the metasomatized subcontinental lithospheric mantle. The results indicate that the carbonatites and primary carbonates from eastern Paraguay, and those from the north eastern Paraná Basin (SE Brazil), were affected by metasomatic events distinct in time and composition.

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Karbonatite aus Ost-Paraguay und ihre genetische Beziehung zu Kalium-Magmatismus: C O, Sr und Nd isotope

Zusammenfassung Die geochemischen Charakteristika von frühkretazischen Karbonatitproben aus Ostparaguay (Rio Alpa, Amambay und Zentrale Provinzen) wurden untersucht. Die Daten belegen, daß alle Vorkommen eine isotopische Anreicherungssignatur zeigen und daß ihnen eine entsprechende Krustensignatur fehlt. Ein Petrologisches Modell (Ausgangsschmelze, fraktionierte Kristallisation, hydrothermale Interaktion und Verwitterung) wird auf Grund der Verteilung der inkompatiblen Spurenelemente, der stabilen (C-O) und radiogenen (Sr-Nd) Isotope vorgeschlagen. Es versucht die Bedeutung der Karbonatitkomplexe als Markerhorizonte des metasomatischen subkontinentalen Mantels zu überprüfen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, daß die Karbonatite und die primären Karbonate in Ostparaguay, und jene aus dem Paraná Becken SüdostBrasiliens durch zeitlich und zusammensetzungsmäßig unterschiedliche metasomatische Prozesse erfaßt wurden.

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With 10 Figures