Late Quaternary Water-Level Variations and Vegetation History at Crooked Pond, Southeastern Massachusetts

Sediment cores collected along a transect in Crooked Pond, southeastern Massachusetts, provide evidence of water-level changes between 15,000 cal yr B.P. and present. The extent of fine-grained, detrital, organic accumulation in the basin, inferred from sediment and pollen stratigraphies, varied over time and indicates low water levels between 11,200 and 8000 cal yr B.P. and from ca. 5300 to 3200 cal yr B.P. This history is consistent with the paleohydrology records from nearby Makepeace Cedar Swamp and other sites from New England and eastern Canada and with temporal patterns of regional changes in effective soil moisture inferred from pollen data. The similarities among these records indicate that (1) regional conditions were drier than today when white pine (Pinus strobus) grew abundantly in southern New England (11,200 to 9500 cal yr B.P.); (2) higher moisture levels existed between 8000 and 5500 cal yr B.P., possibly caused by increased meridonal circulation as the influence of the Laurentide ice sheet waned; and (3) drier conditions possibly contributed to the regional decline in hemlock (Tsuga) abundances at 5300 cal yr B.P. Although sea-level rise may have been an influence, moist climatic conditions during the late Holocene were the primary reason for a dramatic rise in water-table elevations.     

Market‐based control of linear structural systems

To limit the response of structures during external disturbances such as strong winds or large seismic events, structural control systems can be used. In the structural engineering field, attention has been shifted from active control to semi‐active control systems. Unlike active control system devices, semi‐active devices are compact, have efficient power consumption characteristics and are less expensive. As a result, an environment of a large number of actuators and sensors will result, rendering a complex large‐scale dynamic system. Such a system is best controlled by a decentralized approach such as market‐based control (MBC). In MBC, the system is modelled as a market place of buyers and sellers that leads to an efficient allocation of control power. The resulting MBC solution is shown to be locally Pareto optimal. This novel control approach is applied to three linear structural systems ranging from a one‐storey structure to a 20‐storey structure, all controlled by semi‐active hydraulic dampers. It is shown that MBC is competitive in the reduction of structural responses during large seismic loadings as compared to the centralized control approach of the linear quadratic regulation controller. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Equivalent Transform Method for Evaluating the Effect of Water-Column Mismatch on Geoacoustic Inversion

An "equivalent transform method" for quantitatively evaluating the effect of water-column mismatch on geoacoustic inversions is presented. This method is based on the concept of error transferral from one medium to another and is derived from linear perturbative inverse theory. To illustrate the method, geoacoustic inversions using adiabatic mode data, including wave numbers, group velocities, and travel times, are considered. In the test cases, both linear and nonlinear internal waves are considered as the causes of the water-column mismatch, and the inversion errors due to the water-column mismatch in each case are discussed. In the case of linear internal waves, range-averaged inversion errors are largely eliminated at the full cycle distance of the internal wave; however, in the case of nonlinear internal waves, the range-averaged inversion errors are accumulated but scaled down with increasing range. Furthermore, the inversion errors produced by water-column mismatch will be large if the modes used for inversion are sensitive to the mismatch; for instance, using higher order modes might lead to increased error even though it would normally improve inversion results. Using lower frequency signal, which penetrates deeper into the bottom, extends the effective depth of the inversion solutions, but this also allows the water-column mismatch to transfer error into the deeper bottom     

The Hillarys Transect (3): Optical and chlorophyll relationships across the continental shelf off Perth

An interdisciplinary study of the waters across the continental shelf off Perth, Western Australia, has provided the first detailed climatology of the physical, chemical, optical, and biological processes across the shelf. In support of this work, remote-sensing data were utilised to provide a broad view of the spatial and temporal chlorophyll concentration dynamics, to support in situ observations, and to help “fill the gaps” inherent in in situ point sampling.     

EDI electron time-of-flight measurements on Equator-S

We present the first electron time-of-flight measurements obtained with the Electron Drift Instrument (EDI) on Equator-S. These measurements are made possible by amplitude-modulation and coding of the emitted electron beams and correlation with the signal from the returning electrons. The purpose of the time-of-flight measurements is twofold. First, they provide the drift velocity, and thus the electric field, when the distance the electrons drift in a gyro period becomes sufficiently large. Second, they provide the gyro time of the electrons emitted by the instrument, and thus the magnitude of the ambient magnetic field, allowing in-flight calibration of the flux-gate magnetometer with high precision. Results of both applications are discussed.     

Additional Provisional Elemental Values for LKSD-1, LKSD-2, LKSD-3, LKSD-4, STSD-1, STSD-2, STSD-3 and STSD-4

Provisional values related to element concentration derived from partial extractions as well as some additional total concentration data are reported for eight CCRMP sediment reference materials. These values are intended to supplement previously published data for these samples. The partial extractions for which data are reported include dilute HNO₃ - dilute HCl, concentrated HNO₃ -concentrated HCl and concentrated HNO₃ -concentrated HClO₄.     

Using wind run to predict sand drift

Conventional aeolian sand transport models relate mass transport rate to wind speed or shear velocity, usually expressed and empirically tested on a 1-s time scale. Projections of total sand delivery over long time scales based on these models are highly sensitive to any small bias arising from statistical fitting on empirical data. We analysed time series of wind speed and sand transport rate collected at 14 independent measurement stations on a beach during a prior field experiment. The results show that relating total sand drift to cumulative above-threshold wind run yields models which are more statistically robust when fitted on empirical data, generating smaller prediction errors when projected to longer time scales. Testing of different power exponents indicates that a linear relationship between sand drift and above-threshold wind run yields the best results. These findings inspire a speculative novel phenomenological model relating the mass flow of air in the boundary layer to the mass transport of sand over the surface. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

武隆喀斯特及其地壳抬升性质解读

在特定的地质结构及峡谷水文网分布条件下,武隆喀斯特以独立发育的诸多包气带喀斯特系统为主要特征,而且不同喀斯特系统间的结构与形态组成差异甚大。喀斯特系统的分析可解读相适应的地壳运动性质是: 自新近纪末期以来,地壳运动只有上升没有下降过程;前80～ 100万年为持续上升,即几乎没有相对稳定的经历;继后是间歇性抬升与相对稳定,似以后者占优;分布于深切峡谷相对高度150～ 300m间的大型成层性洞穴,主要发育于中更新世;晚更新世以来的上升与相对稳定彼此平分秋色。      

The fetch effect on aeolian sediment transport on a sandy beach: a case study from Magilligan Strand,Northern Ireland

Experiments were conducted on Magilligan Strand, Northern Ireland, to assess the influence of the fetch effect on aeolian sediment transport. During each experiment surface sediments were uniformly dry and unhindered by vegetation or debris. The leading edge of erodible material was well defined, with the limit of wave up‐rush demarcating the wet–dry boundary; the work was conducted during low tides. A number of electronic and integrating traps were utilised, with two ultrasonic anemometers used to measure wind direction and velocity at 1 Hz. The combination of 1^o direction data and trap locations resulted in a range of fetch distances, from 2 to 26 m. Data integrated over 15‐minute intervals (corresponding to the integrating trap data) revealed a distinct trend for all the experiments. An initial rapid increase in the transport rate occurred over a short distance (4–9 m). This maximum transport rate was maintained for a further 5–6 m before a steady decay in the flux followed, as fetch distance increased. A measured reduction in wind speed (6–8%) across the beach suggests a negative feedback mechanism may be responsible for the diminishing transport rate: the saltating grains induce energy dissipation, thus reducing the capability of the wind to maintain transport. For one experiment, the presence of compact sediment patches may also have contributed to the reduction of the transport rate. The decay trend calls into question the utility of the fetch effect as an important parameter in aeolian studies that seek to understand sediment budgets of the foredune‐beach zone. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.