The impact of rural land management changes on soil hydraulic properties and runoff processes: results from experimental plots in upland UK

To develop an evidence base to help predict the impacts of land management change on flood generation, four experimental sites were established on improved grassland used for sheep grazing at the Pontbren catchment in upland Wales, UK. At each site, three plots were established where surface runoff was measured, supplemented by measurements of soil infiltration rates and soil and vegetation physical properties. Following baseline monitoring, treatments were applied to two of the plots: exclusion of sheep (ungrazed) and exclusion of sheep and planting with native broadleaf tree species (tree planted), with the third plot acting as a control (grazed pasture). Due to a particularly dry summer that occurred pre‐treatment, the soil hydrological responses were initially impacted by the effects of the climate on soil structure. Nevertheless, treatments did have a clear influence on soil hydrological response. On average, post‐treatment runoff volumes were reduced by 48% and 78% in ungrazed and tree‐planted plots relative to the control, although all results varied greatly over the sites. Five years following treatment application, near‐surface soil bulk density was reduced and median soil infiltration rates were 67 times greater in plots planted with trees compared to grazed pasture. The results illustrate the potential use of upland land management for ameliorating local‐scale flood generation but emphasise the need for long‐term monitoring to more clearly separate the effects of land management from those of climatic variability. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the sampling of airborne measurements of radiative properties of cloud fields: Results from International Cirrus Experiment (ICE), 1987

Summary During the first pilot phase of the International Cirrus Experiment (ICE) in September/October 1987 radiation measurements were carried out above and below broken cloud fields over the German Bight. Analyses of the measurements of 25.9.1987 (broken cumulus cloud field) showed an unexpected high absorption of solar radiation but not those of 28.9.1987 (stratocumulus/stratus cloud field). This might be explained by a partial negligence of cloud side factor under the viewing geometry of the pyranometer and other reasons. The light guide effect (leakage) within holes can account for the depletion of cloud reflectance and the enhancement of cloud transmittance at large cloud cover, as observed during the measurements on 28.9.1987. The fluctuation of the irradiances, which can be characterized by the intermittency parameter, has been related to the corresponding cloud cover by a regression equation. On the condition of similarity, this scaling parameter derived from sample measurements could be extrapolated to that of the whole cloud field. Thus, the estimation of the irradiance spectrum for the whole cloud field may be possible, from samples taken with aircraft and imaging data.With 5 Figures     

Nature of the small main belt Asteroid 3169 Ostro

We present a set of rotational lightcurve measurements of the small main belt Asteroid 3169 Ostro. Our observations reveal an unambiguous, double-peaked rotational lightcurve with a peak-to-peak variation up to 1.2±0.05 mag and a synodic period of 6.509±0.001 h. From the large flux variation and the overall shape of the lightcurves, we suggest that 3169 Ostro could be a tightly bound binary or a contact binary, similar to the Trojan Asteroid 624 Hektor. A shape model of this system is proposed on the assumption that 3169 Ostro is a Roche binary described by a pair of homogeneous elongated bodies, with a size ratio of 0.87, in hydrostatic equilibrium and in circular synchronous motion around each other. The direction of the spin axis is determined modulo 180° by its J2000 ecliptic coordinates λ₀=50±10°, β₀=±54±5°. The binary interpretation and the pole solution adequately fit the earlier photometric observations made in 1986 and 1988. However, additional supporting lightcurves are highly desirable especially in the next mutual events occurrence of 2008 and 2009 in order to remove the pole ambiguity and to confirm unambiguously the binary nature of 3169 Ostro.     

Hα emission objects in Circinus

We present a new survey for Hα emission objects in the Circinus cloud complex and introduce an efficient photometric method for detecting Hα emission via observations in a narrow‐band filter. The observed flux is compared to a blackbody fit of the continuum. Our search strategy reveals 20 stars with strong Hα emission (EW > 10 Å), eight of them being new detections. All Hα stars display infrared excess corroborating their youth. On the other hand, the region contains a number of infrared excess objects that do not show Hα emission. Our results support the picture that accretion – as witnessed by Hα emission – is a highly variable phenomenon. Therefore, Hα surveys can only trace the temporarily active objects. In contrast, infrared excess is a more robust tracer that reveals most of the population of young stellar objects in a star forming region. Our analysis of the general stellar content of the region yields a reliable distance of 450 pc for the Circinus cloud. Moreover, we find a ratio of total‐to‐selective extinction of R^V = 2.8 suggesting that smaller‐than‐normal dust grains may be present. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Rock physics template (RPT) analysis of well logs and seismic data for lithology and fluid classification in Cambay Basin

The Cambay Basin is 450-km-long north–south-trending graben with an average width of 50 km, having maximum depth of about 7 km. The origin of the Cambay and other Basins on the western margin of India are related to the break up of the Gondwana super-continent in the Late-Triassic to Early-Jurassic (215 ma). The structural disposition of the Pre-Cambrian basement—a complex of igneous and metamorphic rocks exposed in the vicinity of the Cambay Basin—controls its architecture. The principal lineaments in the Basin are aligned towards NE-SE, ENE-WSW and NNW-SSE, respectively. Rock physics templates (RPTs) are charts and graphs generated by using rock physics models, constrained by local geology, that serve as tools for lithology and fluid differentiation. RPT can act as a powerful tool in validating hydrocarbon anomalies in undrilled areas and assist in seismic interpretation and prospect evaluation. However, the success of RPT analysis depends on the availability of the local geological information and the use of the proper model. RPT analysis has been performed on well logs and seismic data of a particular study area in mid Cambay Basin. Rock physics diagnostic approach is adopted in the study area placed at mid Cambay Basin to estimate the volume in the reservoir sands from 6 wells (namely; A, B, C, D, E and F) where oil was already encountered in one well, D. In the study area, hydrocarbon prospective zone has been marked through compressional (P wave) and shear wave (S wave) impedance only. In the RPT analysis, we have plotted different kinds of graphical responses of Lame’s parameters, which are the function of P-wave velocity, S-wave velocity and density. The discrete thin sand reservoirs have been delineated through the RPT analysis. The reservoir pay sand thickness map of the study area has also been derived from RPT analysis and fluid characterization. Through this fluid characterization, oil-bearing thin sand layers have been found in well E including well D. The sand distribution results prove that this methodology has able to perform reservoir characterization and seismic data interpretation more quantitatively and efficiently.     

Nonstationary pearl pulsations as a signature of magnetospheric disturbances

We analyse long-lasting (several hours) Pc1 pearl pulsations with decreasing, increasing or constant central frequencies. We show that nonstationary pearl events (those with either decreasing or increasing central frequency) are observed simultaneously with increasing auroral magnetic activity at the nightside magnetosphere while the stationary events (constant central frequency) correspond to quiet magnetic conditions. Events with decreasing central frequency are observed mostly in the late morning and daytime whereas events with increasing central frequency appear either early in the morning or in the afternoon. We explain the diurnal distribution of the nonstationary pearl pulsations in terms of proton drifts depending on magnetic activity, and evaluate the magnetospheric electric field based on the variation of the central frequency of pearl pulsations.     

辽宁省“十五”数字化地磁数据分析系统

依据台站“十五”数字化地磁工作需求,结合地磁学科组运行管理的相关技术要求,研发辽宁省“十五”数字化地磁数据分析系统.该软件采用IDL作为开发语言,Oracle 10g数据库管理数据,主要包含用户管理模块、日志管理模块和数据管理模块3部分,具备数据实时处理、快速成像、操作简便、安全稳定等特点,可以有效解决目前台站地磁数据...     

CCD Photometry and Long-Term Optical Variability of 3C 345

This paper presents evidence for long-term optical variability and colour behaviour of the blazar 3C 345 (1641+399, z=0.595). Our results show that the amplitude of the optical variations of 3C 345 has been only about 3 magnitudes from its photometric history; existent significant correlation between brightness and colours is found for 3C 345. Our recent CCD photometry of 3C 345 in May 1996 and May 1997 showed that they are in good agreement with our prediction of the optical variability period of about 10 years (see Zhang et al., 1998; Webb et al., 1988). This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

内蒙古地区场地响应区域特征分析

本文以内蒙古地区台站分布、地质构造和地震活动性为基础,将内蒙古的大部地区划分为三个研究区域分别进行了场地响应研究。对近几年积累的大量ML≥3.0级以上地震,共计39个台站记录到的124次地震事件的785条波形,根据S波的观测振幅谱,采用遗传算法分别反演了三个区域的介质非弹性衰减系数和台站场地响应,并对其进行了讨论。本文得到的介质衰减模型和台站场地响应,将对台网测定ML震级需要考虑的量规函数、台站校正值等提供重要参考。研究结果表明:除个别台站存在场地放大或缩小的响应外,绝大多数台站的场地响应表现出一定的区域性特征;西部区域(除极个别台站外)对高频存在明显衰减;中东部区域对整个频段的反映都比较稳定;东部区域对整个频段存在明显放大,这与该区域覆盖层厚度大相吻合。