Saturn's electrostatic discharges: Could lightning be the cause?

It is proposed that Saturn's electrostatic discharges (SED) might be generated in the planet's equatorial atmosphere, perhaps as lightning from a storm system. The 10^h10^m periodicity of the signal envelope duplicates that of Saturn's equatorial jet. The rings shield the atmosphere from solar EUV photons, and thereby substantially reduce the local ionospheric cutoff frequency to allow low-frequency SED to leak out. Many of the unusual properties of SED could be explained in terms of changes in the storm system, the relative spacecraft position in the beaming pattern of the source, local refraction of the signal by the highly disturbed ionosphere, and the influence of the ring particles on the highest frequency component of SED. A comparison of SED with planetary lightning on other planets shows that the two are similar in general character and some time behavior; the power output of SED may be higher than most planetary lightnings but that is unclear because of uncertainties in the measurements and variations in the signal's spectrum. Our simple discussion suggests that lightning could be a viable source for SED and that exotic ring mechanisms are not necessarily required.     

Laboratory study of deep-water breaking waves

In an attempt to elucidate the mechanics of deep-water wave breaking, a variety of breaking waves, including spilling and plunging waves, of different length scales and geometries was studied. The waves were generated through wave-wave interactions using wave packets with constant-steepness components, constant-amplitude components, and also components following the Pierson-Moskowitz distribution. Wave steepening prior to breaking were found to cause an increase in the high frequency spectral slope of the wave spectrum. The slopes were correlated to the type of breaking and the intensity of the breaking. The energy loss through breaking varied with the spectral characteristics of the wave packet. On the other hand, it was also noted that, irrespective of the wave packet, the losses were from the higher frequency end of the first harmonics.     

Magnetic properties of the Lower Old Red Sandstone lavas in the Midland Valley,Scotland; palaeomagnetic and tectonic considerations

Thermal demagnetization studies of lavas in the Strathmore area of the Midland Valley, Scotland, support overall palaeomagnetic data found in previous studies of these rocks. Reduced directional scatter as compared to some earlier studies, is attributed to more effective demagnetization, resolving some of the directional complexity of previous studies. Combined magnetic fabric and directional analysis suggest that at least some deviating directions may be explained by local tectonism. The existence of almost antiparallel directional groups and field tests give supporting evidence for a “primary” (deuteric) origin of the main magnetization of these rocks. Additionally, a second remanence component having shallow reverse directions of magnetization, is attributed to later remagnetization in Old Red Sandstone time. The Midland Valley results are seen in conjunction with other Palaeozoic palaeomagnetic results and possible geodynamic implications are discussed.     

First Byurakan Spectral Sky Survey. Stars of Late Spectral Types. XI. Zone -7° ≤ δ ≤ -3°

The eleventh list of faint late M and carbon type stars detected on the plates of the First Byurakan Spectral Survey in zone -7° -3° and covering about 1000 square degrees is presented. From 126 detected stars, 88 are newly discovered objects: they are 6 carbon stars, 8 carbon star candidates, and 74 M-type stars; among the latter 38 (26 PSC + 12 FSC) are unclassified IRAS sources, and one object is an unclassified ROSAT source. Distances to the 6 newly discovered early-type carbon stars are estimated. Equatorial coordinates, red magnitudes, and spectral classes determined from the Palomar E-charts are provided. The lack of optical counterparts on Palomar O and E maps for two detected late M-type stars indicates a large variability in brightnesses of these objects (amplitude not smaller than 7.0 magnitude).     

Risk Management for Petroleum Reservoir Production: A Simulation-Based Study of Prediction

We consider numerical solutions of the Darcy and Buckley–Leverett equations for flow in porous media. These solutions depend on a realization of a random field that describes the reservoir permeability. The main content of this paper is to formulate and analyze a probability model for the numerical coarse grid solution error. We explore the extent to which the coarse grid oil production rate is sufficient to predict future oil production rates. We find that very early oil production data is sufficient to reduce the prediction error in oil production by about 30%, relative to the prior probability prediction.     

Structural elements in southeastern Quebec,northwestern Appalachians,Canada

An attempt is made to correlate and separate in terms of style and time two contrasting sets of structural elements in the northwestern part of the Appalachian Uplands in the Province of Quebec, Canada. There is sufficient evidence to indicate that a fold system with north-south trending axes is superimposed on a fold system with east-west axes. It is suggested that the two sets of structures represent pulses of one long-continued deformation accompanied by corresponding early and late phases of metamorphism.

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Zusammenfassung Es wurde versucht, in den Appalachen des südöstlichen Teiles der Provinz Quebec, Kanada, zwei ungleichzeitige tektonische Systeme verschiedenen Baustils zu trennen. Die komplexen Kleinstrukturen zeigen, da\ Ost-West streichende Faltenachsen von einer jüngeren Nord-Süd-Faltung überprägt worden sind. Der Autor ist der Meinung, da\ die zwei tektonischen Systeme, die von einer frühen und späten Phase der Metamorphose begleitet werden, den zeitlich getrennten Verformungsstadien einer Orogenese entsprechen.

     

The role of prior model calibration on predictions with ensemble Kalman filter

This paper, based on a real world case study (Limmat aquifer, Switzerland), compares inverse groundwater flow models calibrated with specified numbers of monitoring head locations. These models are updated in real time with the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) and the prediction improvement is assessed in relation to the amount of monitoring locations used for calibration and updating. The prediction errors of the models calibrated in transient state are smaller if the amount of monitoring locations used for the calibration is larger. For highly dynamic groundwater flow systems a transient calibration is recommended as a model calibrated in steady state can lead to worse results than a noncalibrated model with a well-chosen uniform conductivity. The model predictions can be improved further with the assimilation of new measurement data from on-line sensors with the EnKF. Within all the studied models the reduction of 1-day hydraulic head prediction error (in terms of mean absolute error [MAE]) with EnKF lies between 31% (assimilation of head data from 5 locations) and 72% (assimilation of head data from 85 locations). The largest prediction improvements are expected for models that were calibrated with only a limited amount of historical information. It is worthwhile to update the model even with few monitoring locations as it seems that the error reduction with EnKF decreases exponentially with the amount of monitoring locations used. These results prove the feasibility of data assimilation with EnKF also for a real world case and show that improved predictions of groundwater levels can be obtained.     

Developing a modern pollen–climate calibration data set for Norway

Bjune, A. E., Birks, H. J. B., Peglar, S. M. & Odland, A. 2010: Developing a modern pollen–climate calibration data set for Norway. Boreas, Vol. 39, pp. 674–688. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00158.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Modern pollen–climate data sets consisting of modern pollen assemblages and modern climate data (mean July temperature and mean annual precipitation) have been developed for Norway based on 191 lakes and 321 lakes. The original 191‐lake data set was designed to optimize the distribution of the lakes sampled along the mean July temperature gradient, thereby fulfilling one of the most critical assumptions of weighted‐averaging regression and calibration and its relative, weighted‐averaging partial least‐squares regression. A further 130 surface samples of comparable taphonomy, taxonomic detail and analyst became available as a result of other projects. These 130 samples, all from new lakes, were added to the 191‐lake data set to create the 321‐lake data set. The collection and construction of these data sets are outlined. Numerical analyses involving generalized linear modelling, constrained ordination techniques, weighted‐averaging partial least‐squares regression, and two different cross‐validation procedures are used to asses the effects of increasing the size of the calibration data set from 191 to 321 lakes. The two data sets are used to reconstruct mean July temperature and mean annual precipitation for a Holocene site in northwest Norway and a Lateglacial site in west‐central Norway. Overall, little is to be gained by increasing the modern data set beyond about 200 lakes in terms of modern model performance statistics, but the down‐core reconstructions show less between‐sample variability and are thus potentially more plausible and realistic when based on the 321‐lake data set.