Intelligent ship traffic monitoring for oil spill prevention: risk based decision support building on AIS

The paper describes a model, which estimates the risk levels of individual crude oil tankers. The intended use of the model, which is ready for trial implementation at The Norwegian Coastal Administrations new Vard? VTS (Vessel Traffic Service) centre, is to facilitate the comparison of ships and to support a risk based decision on which ships to focus attention on. For a VTS operator, tasked with monitoring hundreds of ships, this is a valuable decision support tool. The model answers the question, "Which ships are likely to produce an oil spill accident, and how much is it likely to spill?".     

Integrated estimates of global terrestrial carbon sequestration

Assessing the contribution of terrestrial carbon sequestration to climate change mitigation requires integration across scientific and disciplinary boundaries. A comprehensive analysis incorporating ecologic, geographic and economic data was used to develop terrestrial carbon sequestration estimates for agricultural soil carbon, reforestation and pasture management. These estimates were applied in the MiniCAM integrated assessment model to evaluate mitigation strategies within policy and technology scenarios aimed at achieving atmospheric greenhouse gas stabilization by 2100. Terrestrial sequestration reaches a peak rate of 0.5–0.7 GtC yr⁻¹ in mid-century with contributions from agricultural soils (0.21 GtC yr⁻¹), reforestation (0.31 GtC yr⁻¹) and pasture (0.15 GtC yr⁻¹). Sequestration rates vary over time and with different technology and policy scenarios. The combined contribution of terrestrial sequestration over the next century ranges from 23 to 41 GtC.     

Jerusalem – Figment of the imagination

Jewish tradition refers to the city of Jerusalem in both abstract and concrete terms, celestial Jerusalem and earthly Jerusalem. The two are intricately bound up with each other and Jerusalem, the eternal capital city of the Jewish people, derives its powerful mystique, from its original appearance in Jewish history, although Biblical Jerusalem, the ancient city surrounded by hills, and modern Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel, surrounded by satellite urban appendages, lack geographical congruity. In general, this is geo-politically relevant given the potent sensitivities that most Jews in Israel and elsewhere have for the symbolic value of their ancient capital. Significantly, most of the Arab inhabitants the capital city of Israel, are not Israeli citizens and the vast majority of them refuse to participate in municipal elections, even though Israeli law allows non-citizens who are permanent residents to vote in local elections. That Israel permits several countries to maintain separate consulates, in the western and eastern parts of Israel's capital, indicates Israel's implicit recognition of a dual status in Jerusalem. After the 1967 war, while careful to avoid using the formal language of annexation, Israel generally considered that east Jerusalem and some surrounding areas had become part of Israel, when by Basic Law: Jerusalem, the Capital City, it was declared to be the united and eternal capital of the State of Israel. This paper examines these political and legal developments.     

TRACE and Yohkoh Observations of High-Temperature Plasma in a Two-Ribbon Limb Flare

The ability of the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) to image solar plasma over a wide range of temperatures (Te approximately 104-107 K) at high spatial resolution (0&farcs;5 pixels) makes it a unique instrument for observing solar flares. We present TRACE and Yohkoh observations of an M2.4 two-ribbon flare that began on 1999 July 25 at about 13:08 UT. We observe impulsive footpoint brightenings that are followed by the formation of high-temperature plasma (Te greater, similar10 MK) in the corona. After an interval of about 1300 s, cooler loops (Te<2 MK) form below the hot plasma. Thus, the evolution of the event supports the qualitative aspects of the standard reconnection model of solar flares. The TRACE and Yohkoh data show that the bulk of the flare emission is at or below 10 MK. The TRACE data are also consistent with the Yohkoh observations of hotter plasma (Te approximately 15-20 MK) existing at the top of the arcade. The cooling time inferred from these observations is consistent with a hybrid cooling time based on thermal conduction and radiative cooling.     

A method for measuring ingestion rate of deposit feeders and its use with the polychaeteNereis succinea

In situ ingestion rates of some infaunal deposit feeders can be determined without collecting feces by labeling the sediment with fluorescent particles and using these to trace ingested material through the gut of the animals. This technique was applied to the polychaeteNereis succinea and showed that ingestion rate, expressed as material ingested per body weight, increased with temperature and decreased with body size. Total annual ingestion of sediment and detritus for aN. succinea population in a salt marsh near Beaufort, N.C., was estimated to be 5 kg of dry material m^?2, more than 4 times that reported for salt marsh epifaunal deposit feeders. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** A01BY009 00005     

Lead-isotope inhomogeneity in Precambrian igneous K-feldspars

Stepwise Pb-removal experiments, using both vacuum volatilization and HF-leaching techniques, on acid-washed K-feldspar concentrates from Precambrian igneous rocks show that all contain some unsupported radiogenic Pb. Two types of radiogenic Pb were recognized. One has a “normal” isotopic composition, with relative abundances of ²⁰⁶Pb, ²⁰⁷Pb and ²⁰⁸Pb consistent with the age and U-Th contents of the rocks. The other type of unsupported radiogenic lead in the feldspars is apparently pure ²⁰⁶Pb, derived from long-term migration and accumulation of radioactive daughter(s) of ²³⁸U. This “pure ²⁰⁶pb” lead occupies different sites from the “normal” radiogenic lead, and tends to show a release maximum during vacuum volatilization at about 1150°C.The usefulness of stepwise vacuum volatilization may be limited by the tendency of a small amount of radiogenic lead to concentrate in the least volatile fraction. Stepwise partial HF attacks appear to give at least as good separation of radiogenic from original feldspar lead, and are recommended as a routine procedure for isotopic analyses of Precambrian feldspars. The fact that most of the five K-feldspars examined contained unsupported radiogenic lead implies that caution must be used in applying total-sample lead analyses of Precambrian feldspars to problems of lead-isotope evolution in crustal rocks.