Estimation of the Mode by the Dominant Cluster Method

A method is presented fop estimation of the mode of analytical data reported by cooperating analysts in the preparation of reference materials. The method is referred to as the dominant cluster method, and the nodal value obtained is the value that shows most agreement between analysts.
Several examples demonstrate that this mode (for which approximate confidence intervals have been estimated), is not inconsistent with the recommended values that have been assigned to well-known geochemical reference samples. Features in its favour are that the calculation is simple, it is independent of the type of distribution, and outliers are automatically excluded.     

Comparison of two creep degradation modeling approaches for soft structured soils

The creep degradation is a common phenomenon for soft structured clays. In this paper, the creep degradation behavior for soft structured clays is first studied by combining intrinsic creep behavior and the structure indicator. A creep-implicit model and a creep-explicit model corresponding to a stress-based and a creep-based structure indicators are developed, respectively, under one-dimensional condition. Parameters determination for both models is straightforward from oedometer tests. Coupled with consolidation theory, both models are used to simulate oedometer tests with different structural levels and load durations on three clays. The predictive ability of the two models on creep behavior, creep degradation behavior and evolution of structure indicator is analyzed. The relationship between the two structure indicators is discussed based on experimental results. The comparison between experimental and numerical results demonstrates that both models can accurately describe the creep degradation behavior of soft structured clay under one-dimensional loading.     

Distribution of nutrient salts in the southern North Sea during early 1974

Nutrient salt surveys in the southern North Sea have shown that the level of phosphate and nitrate off the continental coast during January, 1974 was two to three times higher than during the same period in 1962. The level of phosphate has also increased in the Thames Estuary but to a lesser degree. It is suggested that these increases are related to the discharge of waste material from terrestrial sources and that such changes must be considered in the context of eutrophication in the southern North Sea.     

Leveraging modern climatology to increase adaptive capacity across protected area networks

Human-driven changes in the global environment pose an increasingly urgent challenge for the management of ecosystems that is made all the more difficult by the uncertain future of both environmental conditions and ecological responses. Land managers need strategies to increase regional adaptive capacity, but relevant and rapid assessment approaches are lacking. To address this need, we developed a method to assess regional protected area networks across biophysically important climatic gradients often linked to biodiversity and ecosystem function. We plot the land of the southwestern United States across axes of historical climate space, and identify landscapes that may serve as strategic additions to current protected area portfolios. Considering climate space is straightforward, and it can be applied using a variety of relevant climate parameters across differing levels of land protection status. The resulting maps identify lands that are climatically distinct from existing protected areas, and may be utilized in combination with other ecological and socio-economic information essential to collaborative landscape-scale decision-making. Alongside other strategies intended to protect species of special concern, natural resources, and other ecosystem services, the methods presented herein provide another important hedging strategy intended to increase the adaptive capacity of protected area networks.     

Mixed layer depth front and subduction of low potential vorticity water under seasonal forcings in an idealized OGCM

The mixed layer depth (MLD) front and subduction under seasonal variability are investigated using an idealized ocean general circulation model (OGCM) with simple seasonal forcings. A sharp MLD front develops and subduction occurs at the front from late winter to early spring. The position of the MLD front agrees with the curve where \({\rm D}T_{\rm s}/{\rm D}t = \partial T_{\rm s} /\partial t + {\user2{u}}_{\rm g} \cdot \nabla T_{\rm s} = 0\) is satisfied (t is time, \({\user2{u}}_{\rm g}\) is the upper-ocean geostrophic velocity, \(T_{\rm s}\) is the sea surface temperature (SST), and \(\nabla\) is the horizontal gradient operator), indicating that thick mixed-layer water is subducted there parallel to the SST contour. This is a generalization of the past result that the MLD front coincides with the curve \({\user2{u}}_{\rm g} \cdot \nabla T_{\rm s} = 0\) when the forcing is steady. Irreversible subduction at the MLD front is limited to about 1 month, where the beginning of the irreversible subduction period agrees with the first coincidence of the MLD front and \({\rm D}T_{\rm s}/{\rm D}t =0\) in late winter, and the end of the period roughly corresponds to the disappearance of the MLD front in early spring. Subduction volume at the MLD front during this period is similar to that during 1 year in the steady-forcing model. Since the cooling of the deep mixed-layer water occurs only in winter and SST can not fully catch up with the seasonally varying reference temperature of restoring, the cooling rate of SST is reduced and the zonal gradient of the SST in the northwestern subtropical gyre is a little altered in the seasonal-forcing case. These effects result in slightly lower densities of subducted water and the eastward shift of the MLD front.