A deep seismic profile of 800 km length recorded in southern Queensland, Australia

Summary. In 1984, the Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources and the Geological Survey of Queensland recorded a regional seismic reflection profile of over 800 km length from the eastern part of the Eromanga Basin to the Beenleigh Block east of the Clarence Moreton Basin. A relatively transparent upper crustal basement with an underlying, more reflective lower crust is characteristic of much of the region. Prominent westerly dipping reflectors occur well below the sediments of the eastern margin of the Clarence Moreton Basin and the adjacent Beenleigh Block, and provide some of the most interesting features of the entire survey. A wide angle reflection/refraction survey of 192 km length and an expanding reflection spread of 25 km length were recorded across the Nebine Ridge. The only clear deep reflectors are interpreted as P-to-SV or SV-to-P converted reflections from a mid-crustal boundary at a depth of about 17 km. The combined Nebine Ridge data provide well-constrained P and S wave velocity models of the upper crust, and suggest a crustal structure quite different from that beneath the adjacent Mesozoic basins.     

Triaxial induction tool with electrode sleeve: FD modeling in 3D geometries

We have developed a finite-difference (FD) method to model the response of a multiple-spacing triaxial array induction tool with a multiple-electrode type sleeve. The FD software was verified versus two other independent modeling methods. The model response was checked for the FD grid refinement, while attempting to minimize run time. Many details of the electrode-sleeve geometry were studied using this method that led to the final electrode-sleeve design. The electrode sleeve reduces the response of the transverse couplings to eccentering in a conductive borehole. Quantitative agreement was found between the measurements and calculations. Using the FD software we study the tool response to various effects of 3D geometry.     

Genetic structure of the tall sea pen Funiculina quadrangularis in NW Scottish sea lochs

The tall sea pen Funiculina quadrangularis has a patchy distribution around the UK, being found in sheltered waters below 20 m depth on the northwest coast of Scotland and Ireland. The limited distribution and sensitivity to bottom fishing activities make F. quadrangularis vulnerable to reduction in population numbers that may lead to genetic isolation and reduced diversity. Because of this vulnerability and low resilience to physical disturbance, the tall sea pen is recognised as a Species of Principle Importance under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act, 2006, UK. ( http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/16/contents ) and is also on the Biodiversity Action Plan list of Priority Species for the UK. In the Mediterranean it is recognised as a sensitive and essential fish habitat because it forms habitat for several commercially important crustaceans. The aim of this study was to understand the current state of the genetic structure and gene flow of F. quadrangularis in areas of NW Scotland. We developed 10 microsatellite markers and used them to genotype 176 samples from four populations. Overall, our results suggest that there is high genetic diversity and high gene flow between colonies of F. quadrangularis in and among locations in Loch Linnhe and Loch Duich. As a result of the high rates of gene flow, genetic differentiation between sites was low. This may provide resilience to human impacts if distant populations have a high connectivity. However, care must be taken, as small but significant isolation by distance was found between the most geographically distant sites and only a small part of the species range was examined in this study. The genetic tools developed here will provide a foundation for wider studies of this vulnerable species.     

建筑物立面分类与DIM点云滤波

针对目前基于近景摄影测量方法构建建筑物立面模型过程中因密集影像匹配（DIM）点云噪声所引起的建筑物立面TIN网格模型畸变问题,本文借鉴机器学习中样本学习的思想,对建筑物立面进行了分类并对DIM点云提出了相应的滤波方法,以达到去除DIM点云噪声和改善其TIN网格模型畸变的目的。其中,针对平面结构立面,采取先对点云样本进行学习计算构建数学立面模型所需参数,再对该立面模型设定阈值并对其点云进行滤波处理的方法;针对曲面结构立面,则结合DIM点云特性先将点云样本分类标记归为立面点与非立面点,再进行样本特征值学习,使用Logistic回归算法迭代计算求解最佳回归系数,从而构建滤波分类器的方法对立面点云进行滤波处理。试验结果表明,本文滤波处理方法能将立面DIM点云噪声有效识别并去除,而且使用该方法处理后所得点云构建的建筑物立面TIN网格模型精细化程度得到有效提高,模型质量得到明显改善。     

Controls on biochemical oxygen demand in the upper Klamath River,Oregon

A series of 30-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) experiments were conducted on water column samples from a reach of the upper Klamath River that experiences hypoxia and anoxia in summer. Samples were incubated with added nitrification inhibitor to measure carbonaceous BOD (CBOD), untreated to measure total BOD, which included demand from nitrogenous BOD (NBOD), and coarse-filtered to examine the effect of removing large particulate matter. All BOD data were fit well with a two-group model, so named because it considered contributions from both labile and refractory pools of carbon: BOD_t = a₁(1 ? e^? a₀t) + a₂t. Site-average labile first-order decay rates a₀ ranged from 0.15 to 0.22/day for CBOD and 0.11 to 0.29/day for BOD. Site-average values of refractory zero-order decay rates a₂ ranged from 0.13 to 0.25 mg/L/day for CBOD and 0.01 to 0.45 mg/L/day for BOD; the zero-order CBOD decay rate increased from early- to mid-summer. Values of ultimate CBOD for the labile component a₁ ranged from 5.5 to 28.8 mg/L for CBOD, and 7.6 to 30.8 mg/L for BOD. Two upstream sites had higher CBOD compared to those downstream. Maximum measured total BOD₅ and BOD₃₀ during the study were 26.5 and 55.4 mg/L; minimums were 4.2 and 13.6 mg/L. For most samples, the oxygen demand from the three components considered here were: labile CBOD > NBOD > refractory CBOD, though the relative importance of refractory CBOD to oxygen demand increased over time. Coarse-filtering reduced CBOD for samples with high particulate carbon and high biovolumes of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae. There was a strong positive correlation between BOD, CBOD, and the labile component of CBOD to particulate C and N, with weaker positive correlation to field pH, field dissolved oxygen, and total N. The refractory component of CBOD was not correlated to particulate matter, instead showing weak but statistically significant correlation to dissolved organic carbon, UV absorbance at 254 nm, and total N. Particulate organic matter, especially the alga A.flos-aquae, is an important component of oxygen demand in this reach of the Klamath River, though refractory dissolved organic matter would continue to exert an oxygen demand over longer time periods and as water travels downstream.     

Ensemble filter methods with perturbed observations applied to nonlinear problems

The ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) has been shown repeatedly to be an effective method for data assimilation in large-scale problems, including those in petroleum engineering. Data assimilation for multiphase flow in porous media is particularly difficult, however, because the relationships between model variables (e.g., permeability and porosity) and observations (e.g., water cut and gas–oil ratio) are highly nonlinear. Because of the linear approximation in the update step and the use of a limited number of realizations in an ensemble, the EnKF has a tendency to systematically underestimate the variance of the model variables. Various approaches have been suggested to reduce the magnitude of this problem, including the application of ensemble filter methods that do not require perturbations to the observed data. On the other hand, iterative least-squares data assimilation methods with perturbations of the observations have been shown to be fairly robust to nonlinearity in the data relationship. In this paper, we present EnKF with perturbed observations as a square root filter in an enlarged state space. By imposing second-order-exact sampling of the observation errors and independence constraints to eliminate the cross-covariance with predicted observation perturbations, we show that it is possible in linear problems to obtain results from EnKF with observation perturbations that are equivalent to ensemble square-root filter results. Results from a standard EnKF, EnKF with second-order-exact sampling of measurement errors that satisfy independence constraints (EnKF (SIC)), and an ensemble square-root filter (ETKF) are compared on various test problems with varying degrees of nonlinearity and dimensions. The first test problem is a simple one-variable quadratic model in which the nonlinearity of the observation operator is varied over a wide range by adjusting the magnitude of the coefficient of the quadratic term. The second problem has increased observation and model dimensions to test the EnKF (SIC) algorithm. The third test problem is a two-dimensional, two-phase reservoir flow problem in which permeability and porosity of every grid cell (5,000 model parameters) are unknown. The EnKF (SIC) and the mean-preserving ETKF (SRF) give similar results when applied to linear problems, and both are better than the standard EnKF. Although the ensemble methods are expected to handle the forecast step well in nonlinear problems, the estimates of the mean and the variance from the analysis step for all variants of ensemble filters are also surprisingly good, with little difference between ensemble methods when applied to nonlinear problems.     

Quantitative Research Performing other Worlds: lessons from sustainable agriculture in the Philippines

For those interested in ethical research, quantitative methods are often dismissed as apolitical; as unreflective exercises in ‘mere counting’. If, however, in doing research, we bring into being the very worlds we purport to describe, the question begs: what kinds of worlds might quantitative methods bring into being? Is there space for a reflexive, quantitative research agenda? In this paper, I will discuss an action-based predominantly quantitative research project that aimed to investigate the diverse impacts of sustainable agriculture on small-scale farmers in the Philippines. The study, one of the largest ever undertaken on organic rice production, was consciously designed, not merely to describe, but to perform organic agriculture differently. While most quantitative, and indeed much qualitative, research ignores its performativity, this research was intended to enact a reality of sustainable agriculture as a viable and vital alternative to mainstream, capitalist agriculture.     

Two rapid assays for screening of patulin biodegradation

The mycotoxin patulin is produced by the blue mould pathogen Penicillium expansum in rotting apples during postharvest storage. Patulin is toxic to a wide range of organisms, including humans, animals, fungi and bacteria. Wash water from apple packing and processing houses often harbours patulin and fungal spores, which can contaminate the environment. Ubiquitous epiphytic yeasts, such as Rhodosporidium kratochvilovae strain LS11 which is a biocontrol agent of P. expansum in apples, have the capacity to resist the toxicity of patulin and to biodegrade it. Two non-toxic products are formed. One is desoxypatulinic acid. The aim of the work was to develop rapid, high-throughput bioassays for monitoring patulin degradation in multiple samples. Escherichia coli was highly sensitive to patulin, but insensitive to desoxypatulinic acid. This was utilized to develop a detection test for patulin, replacing time-consuming thin layer chromatography or high-performance liquid chromatography. Two assays for patulin degradation were developed, one in liquid medium and the other in semi-solid medium. Both assays allow the contemporary screening of a large number of samples. The liquid medium assay utilizes 96-well microtiter plates and was optimized for using a minimum of patulin. The semi-solid medium assay has the added advantage of slowing down the biodegradation, which allows the study and isolation of transient degradation products. The two assays are complementary and have several areas of utilization, from screening a bank of microorganisms for biodegradation ability to the study of biodegradation pathways.