A probabilistic framework for improving reverse geocoding output

Reverse geocoding, which transforms machine‐readable GPS coordinates into human‐readable location information, is widely used in a variety of location‐based services and analysis. The output quality of reverse geocoding is critical because it can greatly impact these services provided to end‐users. We argue that the output of reverse geocoding should be spatially close to and topologically correct with respect to the input coordinates, contain multiple suggestions ranked by a uniform standard, and incorporate GPS uncertainties. However, existing reverse geocoding systems often fail to fulfill these aims. To further improve the reverse geocoding process, we propose a probabilistic framework that includes: (1) a new workflow that can adapt all existing address models and unitizes distance and topology relations among retrieved reference data for candidate selections; (2) an advanced scoring mechanism that quantifies characteristics of the entire workflow and orders candidates according to their likelihood of being the best candidate; and (3) a novel algorithm that derives statistical surfaces for input GPS uncertainties and propagates such uncertainties into final output lists. The efficiency of the proposed approaches is demonstrated through comparisons to the four commercial reverse geocoding systems and through human judgments. We envision that more advanced reverse geocoding output ranking algorithms specific to different application scenarios can be built upon this work.     

A comparison of estimated and calculated effective porosity

 Effective porosity in solute-transport analyses is usually estimated rather than calculated from tracer tests in the field or laboratory. Calculated values of effective porosity in the laboratory on three different textured samples were compared to estimates derived from particle-size distributions and soil–water characteristic curves. The agreement was poor and it seems that no clear relationships exist between effective porosity calculated from laboratory tracer tests and effective porosity estimated from particle-size distributions and soil–water characteristic curves. A field tracer test in a sand-and-gravel aquifer produced a calculated effective porosity of approximately 0.17. By comparison, estimates of effective porosity from textural data, moisture retention, and published values were approximately 50–90% greater than the field calibrated value. Thus, estimation of effective porosity for chemical transport is highly dependent on the chosen transport model and is best obtained by laboratory or field tracer tests. Received, March 1997 · Revised, August 1997 · Accepted, August 1997     

The kinematics of the ionized gas in the Circinus galaxy

The TAURUS-2 Fabry–Perot interferometer, mounted on the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope, has been used to observe the Circinus galaxy. We have mapped the intensity and velocity distribution of the ionized hydrogen in the galaxy using the Balmer series Hα spectral line.
The semiresolved core (observed with a seeing disc of 30 pc) appears amorphous in shape, which is commonly observed in Seyfert 2 galaxies. Its peak coincides with the core position measured in the radio continuum, suggesting that ionized gas surrounds a non-thermal source.
A circumnuclear ring or spiral of radius 220 pc and a rotational velocity of 350 km s⁻¹ (assuming circular motions) surrounds the core. The inclination angle of this feature, i =40°±10°, is less than that of the previously observed radio continuum disc. The velocity channel maps obtained for the Hα ring show that the kinematics resemble those of a rotating ring and the intensity displays a complex structure indicative of several, unresolved, H II regions. We believe the ring to represent a circumnuclear starburst.
Our Hα data also show the presence of the previously detected [O III ] ionization cone to the north-west of the core, measuring more than 400 pc in length. We suggest that the ionization cone lies in a different plane from that of the starburst ring and is directed away from us. Several kinematic components of the core are derived and we calculate an outflow velocity in excess of 150–200 km s⁻¹ for gas above the core of Circinus. We also present evidence for inflowing ionized gas at the centre of Circinus.
The correlation of the Hα and radio continuum features is discussed, as well as the possible presence of a starburst-driven superwind in the Circinus galaxy.     

Model systems for anatexis of pelitic rocks

Subsolidus and melting reactions involving calcic plagioclase in pelitic assemblages in the K-Na-Ca model system occur at higher temperatures than their K-Na counterparts. For the most calcic plagioclase compositions observed in high-grade pelitic rocks (An₂₅-An₄₀) the equilibria are rarely extended by more than 30 ° C above those in KA1O₂-NaAlO₂-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O, although all discontinuities in facies inferred for the K-Na system are continuously displaced when they involve Ca-bearing plagioclase. The maximum pressure-temperature overlap between muscovite dehydration and initial melting reactions occurs in the pressure range of 4–6 kbar between about 640 ° and 720 ° C. This provides optimum conditions for anatectic melt generation in felsic rocks of the appropriate compositions progressively metamorphosed in kyanite-sillimanite facies series. Progressive regional metamorphism at pressures of 2–4 kbar, corresponding to andalusite-sillimanite facies series, shows little overlap between muscovite dehydration and initial melting reactions. Consequently anatectic melt generation in andalusite-sillimanite facies series would require the participation of biotite in dehydration-melting reactions. Felsic intrusive rock in andalusite-sillimanite terranes could have risen upward from their anatectic sites in high grade kyanite-sillimanite facies series at depth. Many andalusite-sillimanite facies series terranes culminating in migmatites could represent upward movement of kyanite-sillimanite facies series rocks to shallower depths with uplift rates faster than cooling rates.     

Petrology and genetic significance of an ultramafic xenolith suite from Tahiti

A suite of ultramafic xenoliths 2–10 cm in size occurs in basanite near Papeete, Tahiti, and consists of spinel lherzolites with minor dunites and wehrlites. Petrographic examination of xenoliths reveals that they are typically coarse grained with well-developed annealed textures. Microprobe analyses of constituent minerals in 11 xenoliths indicate that bulk compositions of xenoliths are magnesian but with significant variability from xenolith to xenolith especially in Fe/Mg and Cr/Al ratios and in absolute amounts of Al₂O₃ and Cr₂O₃. Within any single xenolith, however, coexisting minerals are homogeneous and appear to be compositionally equilibrated. Geothermometry of coexisting orthopyroxene and augite indicates temperatures of equilibration of about 1100°C but there is considerable uncertainty in this estimate due to significant non-quadrilateral pyroxene substitutions. There is no accurate way to determine pressures, but the ubiquity of Cr-poor spinel and absence of garnet imply pressures less than about 15–20 kbar.The margins of most xenoliths show significant alteration through reaction with enclosing alkaline magma. Principal reaction features include zoning of spinels and olivines toward compositions in equilibrium with the magma, and reaction-melting of orthopyroxene to a symplectite of olivine plus silica-rich glass. Glass composition profiles across the symplectites indicate that alkalis, titanium and aluminum diffused into the symplectite from the magma and that silica diffused into the magma. All glass analyses show very low iron, magnesium and calcium.Xenolith mineral assemblages and chemistry indicate their origin in the upper mantle at relatively shallow depths. They are therefore not related genetically to the enclosing basanite magma which came from deeper in the mantle, but rather are accidental fragments of country rock picked up by magma on its way to the surface. The details of the reaction features strongly imply that the magma had partially crystallized by the time it reacted with xenoliths, possibly while still in the mantle.     

Persistent organic pollutants and stable isotopes in biopsy samples (2004/2006) from Southern Resident killer whales

“Southern Resident” killer whales include three “pods” (J, K and L) that reside primarily in Puget Sound/Georgia Basin during the spring, summer and fall. This population was listed as “endangered” in the US and Canada following a 20% decline between 1996 and 2001. The current study, using blubber/epidermis biopsy samples, contributes contemporary information about potential factors (i.e., levels of pollutants or changes in diet) that could adversely affect Southern Residents. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes indicated J- and L-pod consumed prey from similar trophic levels in 2004/2006 and also showed no evidence for a large shift in the trophic level of prey consumed by L-pod between 1996 and 2004/2006. ∑PCBs decreased for Southern Residents biopsied in 2004/2006 compared to 1993–1995. Surprisingly, however, a three-year-old male whale (J39) had the highest concentrations of ∑PBDEs, ∑HCHs and HCB. POP ratio differences between J- and L-pod suggested that they occupy different ranges in winter.     

Surface Water Metabolism Potential in a Tropical Estuary,Hilo Bay,Hawai’i,USA, During Storm and Non-storm Conditions

Surface water gross primary production potential (pGPP), respiration (RESP), metabolism potential (pMET), and CO₂ fluxes in Hilo Bay, Hawai’i, USA, were examined along two river plumes during storm (high-flow) and non-storm (low-flow) conditions. Significant differences in pGPP, RESP, and pMET were found between low- and high-flow conditions, with lowest rates of all processes occurring during high-flow conditions. CO₂ fluxes were influenced by metabolic processes at all but one site, with the bay’s surface waters being autotrophic and a sink for atmospheric CO₂ during low-flow conditions and less autotrophic and a source of atmospheric CO₂ during high-flow conditions. Significant differences in pMET were found between the two river plumes during low-flow conditions at spatial scales of 1.5 km; however, no differences between river plumes were found during high-flow conditions. Our study suggests that an increase in storms associated with global climate change could impact surface water metabolic dynamics of tropical estuaries.     

Till‐forming processes beneath parts of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet,British Columbia,Canada: macroscale and microscale evidence and a new statistical technique for analysing microstructure data

This paper presents the first integrated macroscale and microscale examination of subglacial till associated with the last‐glacial (Fraser Glaciation) Cordilleran Ice Sheet (CIS). A new statistical approach to quantifying till micromorphology (multivariate hierarchical cluster analysis for compositional data) is also described and implemented. Till macrostructures, macrofabrics and microstructures support previous assertions that primary till in this region formed through a combination of lodgement and deformation processes in a temperate subglacial environment. Macroscale observations suggest that subglacial environments below the CIS were probably influenced by topography, whereby poor drainage of the substrate in topographically constricted areas, or on slopes adverse to the ice‐flow direction at glacial maximum, facilitated ductile deformation of the glacier bed. Microscale observations suggest that subglacial till below the CIS experienced both ductile and brittle deformation, including grain rotation and squeeze flow of sediment between grains under moist conditions, and microshearing, grain stacking and grain fracturing under well‐drained conditions. Macroscale observations suggest that ductile deformation events were probably followed by brittle deformation events as the substrate subsequently drained. The prevalence of ductile‐type microstructures in most till exposures investigated in this study suggests that ductile deformation signatures can be preserved at the microscale after brittle deformation events that result in larger‐scale fractures and shear structures. It is likely that microscale ductile deformation can also occur within distributed shear zones during lodgement processes. Cluster analysis of microstructure data and qualitative observations made from thin sections suggest that the relative frequency of countable microstructures in this till is influenced by topography in relation to ice‐flow direction (bed drainage conditions) as well as by the frequency and distribution of voids in the till matrix and skeletal grain shapes.     

Solar meridional motions derived from sunspot observations

Sunspot drawings obtained at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan during the years 1954–1986 were used to determine meridional motions of the Sun. A meridional flow of a few ms^–1 was found, which is equatorward in the latitude range from -20° to +15° and is poleward at higher latitudes in both hemispheres. A northward flow of 0.01° day^–1 or 1.4 ms^–1 at mid-latitudes (between 10° and 20°) was also detected. From our limited data-set of three solar cycles, an indication of solar-cycle dependence of meridional motions was found.     

Evaluation of the Residual Mass Fractionation in High-Precision Cr Isotopic Analysis with TIMS

The Cr isotope ratios of terrestrial and extra-terrestrial materials are emerging as one of the most important tracers in geosciences. Previous studies on Cr isotopic measurements using TIMS have found that there is residual Cr isotopic fractionation between the mass-fractionation-corrected ⁵³Cr/⁵²Cr and ⁵⁴Cr/⁵²Cr ratios, which may cause an offset of obtained ratios from the reference values. The residual fractionation was thought to be caused by the evaporation of Cr-oxide species during thermal ionisation, but the mechanism by which this residual fractionation could be reduced remained unclear. Here we revisit the issue of residual fractionation and propose that this problem can be alleviated by utilising W filaments instead of conventionally used Re filaments for Cr ionisation. Using W filaments, the formation of CrO⁺ was suppressed during heating as the filament temperature was ~ 100 °C lower than when Re filaments were used. In repeated measurement of a carbonaceous chondrite, the intermediate precisions of ⁵³Cr/⁵²Cr and ⁵⁴Cr/⁵²Cr ratios in the W filament runs were two to three times better than those of the Re filament runs. Therefore, the new finding of this study will be of key importance for future studies of Cr isotopes for terrestrial and extra-terrestrial materials.