Using a New Sky Brightness Monitor to Observe the Annular Solar Eclipse on 15 January 2010

For the future development of Chinese Giant Solar Telescope (CGST) in Western China, a new sky brightness monitor (SBM) has been produced for the site survey for CGST. To critically examine the performance and sensitivity of SBM, we used it in the observation of the annular solar eclipse in Dali City, Yunnan, on 15 January 2010. The observation met good weather conditions with an almost clear sky during the eclipse. The SBM measurement translates into the solar illuminance changes at a level of 2.4×10^?4 I?s^?1 during the eclipse. The time of the minimal sky brightness in the field of view (FOV) is found consistent with the time of maximum eclipse. Two local sky regions in the FOV are chosen to make a time series of the calibrated skylight profiles. The evolution of the sky brightness thus calibrated also shows good consistency with the eclipse, particularly between the second and the third contacts. The minimal sky brightness in each local sky region took place within half a minute from the corresponding predicted contact time. Such small time delays were mainly caused by occasional cirri. The minimal sky brightness measured during the eclipse is a few millionths of I _?? with standard deviation of 0.11 millionths of I _??. The observation supports that the single-scattering process (optically thin conditions) is the main contributor to the atmospheric scattering. We have demonstrated that many important aerosol optical parameters can be deduced from our data. We conclude that the new SBM is a sensitive sky photometer that can be used for our CGST and coronagraph site surveys.     

Modeling fluvial response to in‐stream woody vegetation: implications for stream corridor restoration

River restoration and bank stabilization programs often use vegetation for improving stream corridor habitat, aesthetic and function. Yet no study has examined the use of managed vegetation plantings to transform a straight, degraded stream corridor into an ecologically functional meandering channel. Experimental data collected using a distorted Froude‐scaled flume analysis show that channel expansion and widening, thalweg meandering and riffle and pool development are possible using discrete plantings of rigid, emergent vegetation, and the magnitudes of these adjustments depend on the shape of the vegetation zone and the density of the vegetation. These experimental results were verified and validated using a recently developed numerical model, and model output was then used to discuss mechanistically how rivers respond to the introduction of in‐stream woody vegetation. Finally, a hybrid method of meander design is proposed herein where managed vegetation plantings are used to trigger or force the desired morphologic response, transforming a straight, degraded reach into a more functional meandering corridor. It is envisioned that such numerical models could become the primary tool for designing future stream restoration programs involving vegetation and assessing the long‐term stability of such activities. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Heat capacity,compressibility and thermal expansion coefficient of ilmenite-type MgGeO3

The accuracy of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) on a heat capacity measurement was evaluated using MgO. The result indicated that the deviation of the result in comparison to literature values was less than 0.4% at temperatures above 300 K and 2.1% below this temperature. Since this experiment proved the reliability of DSC, heat capacity, compressibility, and thermal expansion of ilmenite-type MgGeO₃ were measured by means of DSC, a diamond anvil high pressure device, and a high-temperature X-ray camera, respectively. The heat capacity was approximated by C _p = a + b·T + c·T ^?2 at high temperatures and by the Debye function at low temperatures. The compressibility was well-represented by the Murnaghan-Birch equation of 2nd order. The thermal expansion coefficient was constant up to 1073 K.     

Halite oolites and ripples in the Dead Sea, Israel

Clastic features in recent halite deposits are observed along the beaches of an artificially dammed part of the Dead Sea. These features include halite oolites (termed halolites in this paper) and ripples. Halite precipitates initially either at the brine surface or on the floor. It is suggested that moderate increase of wave agitation shifts the balance towards brine-surface crystallization, and keeps the growing halite grains in constant motion. In this way rippled structures are formed. A further increase of wave energy leads to the growth of coated halite grains. The accumulation of the various halite grains along the beach, to form soft rippled floor and oolitic beach ridge is brought about during shoreward winds. During calm periods the bulk of the halite crystallizes directly on the floor. It develops into a hard crust which assumes the morphology of the substrate, including the ripple forms.     

Algorithm for non-hydrostatic dynamics in the Regional Oceanic Modeling System

A non-hydrostatic algorithm for the Regional Oceanic Modeling System (ROMS) is proposed. It is based on a decomposition technique for hydrostatic and non-hydrostatic pressure. The algorithm has a pressure-correction scheme with split-explicit time-stepping for baroclinic and barotropic vertical modes with a free surface. The algorithm implementation requires solving a Poisson equation for a non-hydrostatic pressure that has a non-symmetric matrix in discrete form. The efficiency of a different class of solvers and preconditioners were tested. The algorithm is successfully implemented with several examples where non-hydrostatic effects are important. These include standing external gravity waves; strongly nonlinear internal wave generation and transformation; stratified shear instability and its associated mixing; and nonlinear internal tidal generation over a ridge. The corresponding changes in the pre-processing and post-processing infrastructure in the existing hydrostatic ROMS code were performed to implement parallel elliptic solvers and a new set of dynamical equations.     

Professionalization of the shipping industry via postgraduate education

The paper investigates the roles and nature of postgraduate education on the professionalization of the shipping industry. The recent growth of postgraduate education is marked by the massive expansion of professional programmes on disciplines which traditionally emphasized non-academic, apprentice-style learning approach, including shipping business and management. The reasons behind such growth of demands, however, have remained scarce and empirically under-researched. Understanding this deficiency, in this study, we have undertaken a questionnaire survey completed by students/graduates who are pursuing/have recently pursued masters' programmes in shipping-related business and management offered by six Asian and European universities. Specifically, we analyze student motivations, considerations, and sources of information before enrolling such programmes, the extent that the shipping industry or other forces act as driving forces towards such enrollment, as well as students' evaluation of the postgraduate programmes that they are pursing/have pursued. Integrated in these discussions are comparative analyses of the data provided by different student groups based on their professional experiences and cultural backgrounds. We believe that this study has provided the lacking empirical inputs essential for achieving the sustainable development of postgraduate education in shipping business and management.